RAISING CONIFEROUS TREES. Si 
The most common cause of failure with those who try to 
raise evergreens is what is known as “damping off,’ which 
occurs only while the plants are growing rapidly the first year. 
In such a case the seeds start well, and the seedlings grow vig- 
orously for a short time, or until we have a spell of damp 
weather, and then die off with great rapidity. It seems that the 
sunlight and the mud that has been spattered on the plants so 
weaken them that they are liable to disease. For this reason 
we shade the bed, and cover with sand, which will not allow the 
mud to be spattered over the seedlings, and in very moist warm 
weather we occasionally apply dry sand to dry off the plants. 
Figure 10. Evergreen seed bed shaded with a screen of old brush 
placed on a frame. 
For most kinds of conifers the shade is required for at least two 
years. 
Coniferous tree seedlings grow very slowly when young, sel- 
dom making a growth of more than two or three inches the first 
year. The most rapid growing of our pines seldom produce a 
growth of more than sixteen inches in four years, and should 
not be moved to their permanent place until about this time. 
They should, however, be transplanted from the seed bed to a 
temporary place when two years old, to prevent crowding and 
to facilitate root growth. 
On the approach of winter the beds of coniferous seedlings 
should be covered with about three inches of straw or leaves, 
evergreen branches, or other material that will afford protec- 
tion from the sun and from alternate freezing and thawing. 
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