Practical Sylviculture 105 



or spots within the woodland, wherever trees have been 

 removed and open places occur. The advantages and 

 disadvantages of these methods will be taken up separately. 



Broadcast seeding. — This method, up to the present 

 time, is expensive and not altogether certain. It is best 

 practiced with small seeds — as the conifers, — and is best 

 employed directly after the forest is cut over while the 

 soil is still broken and the ground-cover in good condition 

 for the seed. The best time for broadcast seeding in 

 the woodlot is late winter or early spring. Early spring 

 seeding, either on top of the snow or as the snow is 

 melting, seems to give best results. Fall seeding has 

 the disadvantage of exposing the seed during the winter 

 to birds and rodents, particularly to squirrels, which will 

 destroy most or all of it. 



Broadcast seeding may also be employed directly after 

 a forest fire and before brush and weeds spring up. 

 The quantity of seed to be used under this method is 

 best determined after studying the conditions. Also 

 the quality of the seed must be taken into considera- 

 tion, as well as such hazards as erosion, washing away of 

 seed and the destruction of seed by rodents and birds, as 

 well as the amount of money to be expended. Consider 

 white pine as an example. This tree has about 28,000 

 seeds to the pound ; sown broadcast on one acre would 

 equal about two seeds to each three square feet, if evenly 

 distributed. Three pounds to the acre would then equal 

 about two seeds to the square foot, which ought to be 

 sufficient with seed of average quality sown on well-pre- 

 pared forest soil, especially since seedlings three years old 

 should not stand closer than six by six feet. 



