RAISING EVERGREENS FROM SEED. 21 



in winter and in the spring tliey sprouted in the mud and threw 

 down that taproot for which they are famous, and defied the 

 blistering sun and the hot winds with no protection whatever. 



For years I sowed them in the spring and under the screen 

 along with other Conifer seeds. But they should be sown in 

 the fall without any screen, or if you have one take it off as 

 soon as they come up. I found they damped off much more 

 under the screen than in the open. Here you have it then: 

 Tou buy the seed which will not exceed two dollars a pound, sow 

 in the fall, protect from birds and squirrels, be sure they do 

 not dry while germinating, and you can raise themi by tha 

 thousand. And where you make a business of it they will cost 

 you about $1.00 a thousand. If you have a section of the sand- 

 hills, raise your own plants. Let them grow two or three years; 

 then plant them' out, labout a thousand to the acre, and your 

 expense is light. You lay the foundation for a fine forest; only, 

 have a good fireguard and keep out the fires. 



If you are raising seedlings, much depends on the quality 

 of the soil. In Franklin County, Nebraska, under the 100th 

 meridian, the soil was fine lapd porous and full of humus. I 

 could get river sand to coyer with and I had splendid success, 

 though that section bordered on the semi-arid regions. Here 

 in York the conditions are different. The original humus 

 is worn out of the soil, and it takes time to restore it by arti- 

 ficial means; then, too, those pests of prairie 

 loam, the angleworms, have come in. They work 

 over the soil 'and leave it tough and waxy, 

 and when it dries it is like a brickbat. Then we have 

 nothing but bank sand, and if this is spread over the 

 beds, there are impurities enough in it to form a hard cement. 

 So under these circumstances we will discontinue raising any- 

 thing but the sturdy Ponderosa. 



In central Nebraska, and in the other western states, build- 

 ings should be constructed for raising evergreens from the 

 smaller seeds, for by no known process can you raise Pun- 

 gens, Engelman Spruce, or Jack Pines, as- you would other 

 Conifers. Again, you cannot put these trees in the open till 

 they have obtained some size. I have often lost two-year-old 

 Ponderosa by planting In the open; the reflection of the sun 

 in a dry, hot summer would burn them. When three years old 

 they would do better and you should . not lose more than 5 

 per cent in planting. We must have more evergreens for the 

 Prairie States, and each state should have stations to attend 

 to the growing of them. It is most too much to expect that 

 the average nurseryman Can attend to it besides all his other 

 work. 



I think this a good rule to follow: Instead of trying to 

 raise Jack Pines in Nebraska from seed, let them be grown in 

 their own habitat. An open space of sand in the woods is the 



