100 Germany. 
resorted to because it was cheaper and easier, but as the 
sowings were mostly done on unprepared soil and with 
very large amounts of seed (30 to 60 pounds per acre, 
now only 7 to 10 pounds), the results were not satisfac- 
tory, either because the seed did not find favorable con- 
ditions for germinating, or when germinated the stand 
was too dense. 
Planting, if done at all, was done only with wildlings, 
dug from the woods, and usually, following the practice 
of the planting of oak in pastures, with saplings: the 
plant material was too large for good success. Nurser- 
ies, except for oak, were not known, even to Cotta in 
1817; and Heyer, having to plant up several thousand 
acres, still relied on wildlings, two to three years old, 
which he took up with a ball of earth by means of his 
“hollow borer,” a circular spade re-invented by him and 
much praised by others. Hartig in 1833 still advised 
the use of four to five year old pine wildlings, root- 
pruned, but having met with poor success, for which he 
was much discredited, came to the conclusion that un- 
pruned two year old plants were preferable. 
The credit of having radically changed these practices 
belongs to Pfeil, who, entirely reversing his position, ad- 
vocated for pine forest a system of clearing followed by 
sowing, or by planting of wildlings with a ball of earth. 
Then, suggesting that possibly planting without this 
precaution could be attempted and pointing out the 
necessity of securing a satisfactory root system, he 
recommended, about 1830, the use of one year old seed- 
lings, grown in carefully prepared seed beds. While for 
securing these he relied upon the simple preparation of 
the soil by spading, Biermans added the use of a’ fer- 
