256 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



thousand. The number of trees killed by them during the summer was 

 approximately two per cent, so that from all causes we lost not far from 

 five per cent of all trees transplanted. 



In addition to the transplants we sowed 250 seed beds. They con- 

 sisted of 155 beds of white pine, 80 beds of Scotch pine, 10 beds of Norway 

 spruce, and 5 beds of European larch. The seed beds were made 4 feet by 

 12 feet, and in this space we sowed broadcast 12 ounces of white pine, 8 

 ounces of Scotch pine, 8 ounces of Norway spruce, or 1 pound of European 

 larch, according to the species of tree we wished to obtain. Each of these 

 seed beds was fertilized with five or six bushels of thoroughly rotted manure 

 and worked deep enough into the soil so that it would not come in contact 

 with the seeds themselves, but would be available when the roots of the 

 seedlings reached sufficient depth. The germination of most of the seeds 

 was excellent. The only exception to this was in the case of the European 

 larch which is of rather low germinating power and which came up thin and 

 scattering. 



As we lacked sufficient lath to cover some of the beds during the period 

 of germination, I made use of the burlaps that were used for winter pro- 

 tection to cover the tops of fifty of the beds. These beds, although they were 

 the last to be sown, were the first to germinate and were fully two days 

 ahead of the same species when covered with the usual lath covering. 

 I believe these burlaps serve to keep the beds warmer and are more eco- 

 nomical, in time and expense of placing and removing, than the use of a 

 loose lath covering . There use would remove the necessity for keeping on 

 hand a considerable quantity of loose lath at all times. 



We were troubled somewhat with the " Damping off " disease in our 

 seed beds. This was especially true in the Scotch pine beds and to a 

 lesser extent in the Norway spruce beds. The white pine and larch seemed 

 to be affected very little. We kept the disease in check by a liberal use 

 of washed sulphur. This treatment stopped the ravages of the disease 

 and we have 250 beds that are very uniform in appearance and contain 

 a large number of young seedlings. The white grub was also troublesome 

 in these seed beds but we lost no opportunity in seeking them out as soon 

 as we detected their presence so that very little damage resulted from 

 this cause. 



