ESTABLISHING A^WOODLOT 49 



while catalpa, ash, maple, elm and locust should be spaced not 

 more than three-fourths of an inch apart. Seeds of low 

 fertility should be planted thickly. The tendency in plant- 

 ing seeds is to plant too deep. A covering of one-fourth to 

 one-half inch is sufficient for light seeds, three-fourths of an 

 inch to one inch for boxelder, tulip, black cherry, ash, maple, 

 locust and catalpa, and one and a half to two inches for chest- 

 nut, oak and other large seed. Seed should be planted deeper 

 on light soil than on heavy soil. The soil should be made 

 firm over the seeds so as to conserve the moisture, but should 

 not be packed hard. Where there is danger of the surface 

 drying out the seed bed should be thoroughly sprinkled after 

 the seeds are planted and covered with a mulch of leaves or 

 straw. This must be removed as soon as the seeds have 

 germinated. 



Growing Trees from Cuttings. — Willows and poplars are 

 usually grown from cuttings. These can be made any time 

 after the leaves fall or before the spring growth begins. They 

 are usually made from the growth of the last year and cut 

 from eight to twelve inches long with a slanting cut. Where 

 made in the fall the cuttings should be bundled and buried 

 upright in moist sand in a cold cellar until spring. The cut- 

 tings can be started where it is desired to grow the trees or 

 they can be set out in the nursery in the spring in rows. They 

 should be planted several inches apart in the rows and planted 

 so that not more than one or two buds appear and the soil 

 packed firmly around them. After growing a year in the 

 nursery they can be set out in the woodlot. Basket willows 

 are started in this way, the cuttings being set permanently in 

 rows about i8 inches apart and about 8 inches apart in the 

 rows. 



Tending the Nursery. — The seedlings should be cultivated 

 during the growing season the same as any garden crop. The 

 weeds must be kept down and the soil frequently loosened 

 with the cultivator or hoe to conserve moisture. During very 



