212 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



In addition there were, in a few beds which contained an assortment of species, 

 some larch, sycamore, maple, Colorado spruce, white fir (Adzes concolor) and Larix 

 leptolepis. 



The seedlings, as customary in most nurseries, are allowed to remain in the 

 seed beds until they are two years old, when they are transplanted into other beds 

 in the same nursery. These transplants are set out lengthwise of the beds in 

 eight rows, fifty in each row, four inches apart in the row, and with a space 

 of about six inches between the rows. This is closer than usual, but the forester 

 claims that if the rows of transplants are set too far apart there is a tendency to 

 fork, to the formation of two leaders, which, by the way, is one of the 

 disadvantages urged by some against a plantation formed of nursery stock. 



In transplanting a furrow is first made with a "hand-plough," which is drawn 

 by one man and guided by another. Then a board with notches cut in the edge at 

 distances corresponding to the spaces between the plants is placed on the bed with 

 the notches over the furrow. The seedlings are then placed, one in each notch, the 

 roots covered with prepared soil, and pressed into place. In some nurseries a 

 planting board* is used which has half circles along the edge at the required 

 spaces instead of V-shaped notches. 



The longer roots of each seedling in the Geroldsau Nursery are clipped 

 slightly to insure a greater amount of branching and a better root system in the 

 transplants. This is deemed desirable by the forester, as it saves the expense 

 of making a deeper hole when the final planting is made in the forest, and 

 because there is less liability to loss in transplanting. 



The transplants of the Weisstanne remain from three to four years in the beds, 

 mostly four years, while the Rottanne are held in the transplant beds from two 

 to three years, the length of time in each case depending on the height-growth 

 attained. For the Rottanne a height of about twelve inches is deemed desirable 

 in the transplant before removing it from the bed and taking it to the forest for 

 final planting; but the Weisstanne, which is slower in growth, is removed from 

 the nursery when eight or ten inches high. 



At the corners and sides of each bed there are posts, about three feet high, 

 which support long poles placed horizontally on top of the posts. If the post has 

 no natural crotch in which the poles can rest, a hole is bored near the top of 

 the stake and a round sticK is inserted to furnish a bearing. From the first to the 



*In New York we use this kind of board in our nursery work, but we set out our transplants 

 here in rows running across the bed, which enables us to use a shorter board and to make the 

 furrows by hand with a trowel pressed deeply into the soft earth. Furthermore, with rows placed 

 this way a man sitting in the path can do the weeding more easily. Still, each way has its 

 advantages, and, some disadvantages also. 



