SOIL PREPARATION 69 



Scotch pine — consequently weeds and shrubs take possession of the 

 soil. Under such conditions it is an obUgatory rather than an optional 

 expense to remove this cover. It is not always necessary to regularly cul- 

 tivate the soil. On the contrary, it is usually better to keep the surface 

 of the soil where the seed can reach it. It suffices, then, to tear up the 

 vegetable cover. This work should be locaUzed on those areas where there 

 are seed trees and where there is suitable Ught for seedUngs. The opera- 

 tion should be carried out only during the seed year, otherwise the vege- 

 table cover will reinstate itself before any benefits have been received. 



In oak forests, where the regeneration is prevented by grass or herba- 

 ceous growth (Jolyet, p. 362), the soil preparation must usually be carried 

 out over the whole surface of the ground. The rake is the best imple- 

 ment for this purpose. The seed crop cannot usually be determined 

 accurately before the month of August, so that the work should not be- 

 gin before this date, although it may be continued during and after the 

 crop has fallen. In certain forests, it was the practice to drive hogs 

 over the area to be seeded; this gave very fair results. The hogs ate up 

 a large amount of seed mudoubt, but in wounding the soil they gave a 

 thorough soil preparation which cost nothing. In mature Scotch pine 

 forests it is usual to find a cover of heather or shrubs which practically 

 prevents regeneration. With a mattock or hoe it is usually possible to 

 weed the area and encourage regeneration. The work is costly, jio 

 doubt , but it can be diminished by localizing the soil preparation on 

 parallel strips or in spots. The cultivated strips should have a width 

 of 5 feet and should be separated by uncultivated areas of about 10 feet. 

 This would cover about one-third of the entire ground. Spots are even 

 more economical; they may be 5 feet square and 10 feet apart. This 

 covers about one-ninth of the total area. In spruce stands similar meth- 

 ods may be of value. The choice of implements to use is usually gov- 

 erned by local conditions, although in Germany the so-called forest 

 plow is favored. It has but one wheel and is Ught enough so that one 

 horse can pull it. It wounds the soil without actually turning it over, 

 and is not sharp enough to cut the roots which it may cross. 



Where the leaf htter is too thick, as in certain pure stands where the 

 dead leaves decompose very slowly, the roots of the seedling cannot be- 

 come established in mineral soil before the summer drought. The top 

 layer and humus dry out and this results in the death of the seedUng. 

 With a good, strong iron rake, dead needles can be mixed with the humus 

 on spots about 29 inches square and 5 feet apart. In some forests in 

 France a regular harrow is used for this work. Where the soil surface is 

 too compact it must be wounded if the regeneration is to be a success. 

 This is especially true on compact soils, such as clays, where there has 

 been grazing before the seed felling. 



