Practical Sylviculture 121 



and cultivated with a horse cultivator. As a rule, however, 

 the tree seeds must be planted earlier than the agricul- 

 tural crops, so that it is better to use a separate location. 

 The seeds should be planted in much the same manner as 

 peas or beans, placing the seed in the ground to a depth of 

 about twice its own thickness. If all the seeds are good, 

 seeds like those of the oaks should be placed about one 

 or two inches apart in a row. Elm, maple, basswood, and 

 so on, should be sown three or four deep, since a consider- 

 able number of such seeds will not grow. Water must be 

 available in case of dry seasons. Germination may be 

 hastened and result more evenly if a straw or leaf mulch is 

 applied as soon as the seeds are planted. Careful culti- 

 vation and the keeping out of all weeds is necessary. 



Transplanting. — As a rule, hardwood seedlings are 

 large enough to plant into the permanent site when one 

 year old, but when it is desirable to keep them for another 

 year or two in the nursery, they should be transplanted in 

 rows wide enough to admit of horse cultivation. Trans- 

 planting operations depend to some extent on the nature of 

 the root system. Many broadleaf trees produce heavy 

 tap-roots, even during the first year. When these trees 

 are left in the nursery without transplanting, this root 

 becomes so large that the transplanting operation be- 

 comes a difficult as well as an expensive one. Seedlings 

 of this kind, when transplanted in the nursery, should have 

 the roots well pruned, since this will congest the root 

 system and make it more fibrous. While these seedlings 

 are very young, alternate freezing and thawing during the 

 fall and winter may heave them out of the earth, so that 

 for the first year or two it is advisable to use a winter 



