24 



oaks, and locust in seed-spots where they are to grow than 

 to start them in a seed-bed and transplant them later on. 

 These kinds tend to form a long tap-root which renders their 

 removal from the seed-bed to the permanent site laborious 

 and expensive. It is, therefore, better to sow them in seed- 

 spots. 



122. Seed-spots are made by working the soil lightly 

 with a hoe or mattock over a spot about a foot across. The 

 seeds are sown 3 to 4 to the spot and covered about twice 

 their depth. The spots should be about 6 feet apart each 

 way. A convenient way to secure uniformity is to set tall 

 stakes as guides for the rows, moving them at each turn 

 across the patch. The distance in the row may be paced. 

 On slopes the distance in the row may be shortened to 4 feet, 

 and the distance between rows may be increased to 9 feet, 

 the rows following around the slope like cotton rows in a 

 terraced field. This method aifords more of a barrier to 

 washing, and it gives the same amount of space, 36 square 

 feet to each tree. 



123. The best season to sow seed-spots is in the fall. 

 This does away with the trouble of keeping the seeds over 

 winter. Fail spots should be reseeded the following fall. 



124 Sowing in seed- spots costs very little. The labor 

 of preparing the spots and sowing should not exceed $1.50 

 an acre. A good hand can prepare and sow from three- 

 fourths to an acre a day. The cost of the seeds depends on 

 the kind, but it is generally small. For instance, a pound of 

 yellow locust seed may be bought for 40 cents, and it will sow 

 5 acres. 



125. Such trees as the shortleaf and loblolly pines, the 

 beech, chestnut, tulip-tree, basswood, ash, and Catalpa may 



