228 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



to be used in the fieldwork, set out at spaces of four feet each way, the nurseries 

 for this purpose have, as a general rule, a combined area equal to one per cent, 

 or less, of that of the planting grounds. Schlich says one half of one per cent.* 

 But if four-year-old transplants are to be used the nurseries must necessarily 

 have a larger area, one which in their aggregate will be equivalent to four per 

 cent of that of the plantations. This percentage, however, applies to coniferous 

 species only. Broad-leaf plants, which are usually set out at wider spaces, require 

 a much larger percentage of area for their propagation. An enclosure of two 

 acres, after setting apart enough ground for seed beds, will furnish each year 

 about 138,000 four-year-old transplants of coniferous species, the number varying 

 somewhat according to- the space allotted to paths and roadways. 



A nursery may be permanent or temporary as forest conditions may require. 

 The latter is made in some instances merely to supply plants for some particular 

 locality, after which, being no longer necessary, it is abandoned. If the plot will 

 not be needed again for many years it is allowed to grow up to a young forest, 

 some of the taller and more promising transplants being left in the beds at 

 proper intervals for this purpose. 



In most nurseries screens are used for protection against heat and frost and for 

 protection against birds; and the beds are covered during the winter with moss 

 or litter to prevent the seedlings from heaving. But the practice in these respects 

 varies with the species and according to the climate or soil. 



Protection from Deer. 



Although every nursery is surrounded by a fence or hedge to protect the stock 

 from the deer, there are often large areas just outside the enclosure, freshly 

 planted with four-year-olds, to which these animals have access. If the leaders on 

 the plants are cropped by deer or cattle, the young tree is retarded in growth, 

 and is liable to become distorted in shape. 



At a nursery in Thuringia a large area just outside the fence was recently 

 filled with five-year-old transplants of Norway spruce. To prevent the deer from 

 nipping the leaders, for which these animals have a decided partiality, each plant 

 had a sharp tin guard bent around the tip. (See illustration.) These tins 

 before using are flat, one and three quarter inches long, one half an inch wide, 

 and notched into four points at the top edge. This strip of tin is bent into a 

 square, each side having a point, and slipped on the leader so that the points 

 project above the tip. They are bought by the thousand, and are placed on the 



*Schlich's Manual of Forestry. Vol. II, p. 99. 



