MICHIGAN EXPERIMENT STATION 17 



The trees to be set should usually be four to twelve inches high. At 

 this size they cost less, can be more easily planted and are more likely to 

 make good trees. 



As a guide to the selection of trfees for each kind of soil or location, 

 plant those species that formerly grew in such places. Chestnuts, if 

 planted, should be placed in soil that is sandy or gravelly, high enough 

 and vs'eil drained. 



I suggested that the boy helping in the work should carry a mixed 

 bunch of the trees, that the different kinds be grown together. But why 

 mix them, you ask? Trees so planted are less liable to the attacks of in- 

 sects or fungi; less liable to loss from flre^r wind; they economize the 

 room above the soil and below the surface to better advantage. Their 

 likes and dislikes are not just the same. Pines, beeches, oaks, maples, 

 box elders and some others will hold their lower branches covered with 

 living leaves very well in the shade, while ashes, walnuts and chestnuts 

 are impatient of shade and cannot be grown closely enough together to 

 keep out grass and weeds. It would be a mistake to attempt to grow 

 white ashes or chestnuts by the acre, each sort by itself. 



I shall not here attempt to produce a complete treatise on growing and 

 managing seeds and seedlings, but a few words seem necessary. 



In case you fail to secure seeds or to grow seedlings when you need 

 them, they can be purchased at very low prices of some nurseryman. The 

 man who has little horticultural tact will find it cheaper to buy; the man 

 who has the tact needs little instruction from me. To grow seedling 

 evergreens and other delicate things, secure a spot not likely to become 

 very dry nor to become flooded with water. The soil should be good, with 

 a surface of rich sandy loam or leaf mold. Above this should be shade. 

 This spot should be but little exposed to wind. With a little care such 

 places may be selected in almost any forest, though, the spreading roots 

 are in the way and draw out the moisture. To produce the shade it will 

 cost but little to set or drive posts five or six feet high, and from the 

 tops of one to the other put on horizontal strips or poles, on which throw 

 some fine brush destitute of leaves. Here you can grow seedlings with 

 success. Sow the seeds in rows six to eight inches apart, covering them 

 but slightly with one-fourth of an inch of light soil. Never let the ground 

 get dry, nor become soaked with water for a very long time, nor exposed 

 to the sun, nor become choked with weeds. Seeds of elms, birches and 

 maples should be planted as soon as gathered or not long after. If seeds 

 of ashes become dry before planting in the open (as they may be with 

 safety), they should be soaked a day or two in water till they become 

 swollen. 



