232 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



Scotch pine yearlings, when transplanted, are placed two and a half inches 

 apart in the row, and the rows are laid out ten inches apart. This wide spacing 

 of the rows is to prevent any loss from schiitte. If this species is given another 

 year in the nursery the plants must be transplanted again and given more space 

 for growth.* 



In Germany Scotch pine is generally taken directly to the forest plantations 

 when the seedlings are one year old. If they are to be set out on grassy land, 

 however, they are allowed the benefit of one year first in a transplant bed; and 

 if the grass is thick or apt to overshadow them too much, they are transplanted 

 twice. 



From the Halstenbek nurseries white pine is often sent to the forest when two 

 years old, untransplanted; or three years old, once transplanted, if they are to 

 to be used on grass land. It is claimed by the commercial nurserymen that this 

 species grows too slim and that the root system is poorly developed if left in 

 the seed bed more than two years. 



Douglas spruce, balsam fir (Abies concolor) and silver fir are protected from 

 frost for the first two years by mats made of coarse reeds supported by long 

 poles laid along the beds on stakes one foot in height. The Douglas spruce is 

 protected from the wind by hedges, for which purpose white cedar is planted at 

 one side of the beds. These hedges are used to considerable extent at Halstenbek, 

 although they are not essential to the growth of other species. They also serve 

 to shelter the workmen from the cold winds prevalent there in spring and fall. 



The seeds of most of the broad-leaved trees are sown in March and April; but 

 the seeds of basswood, ash and thorn are kept in "seed-chests" eighteen months 

 before planting. These seed-chests are compartments made of brick, with an 

 inside measurement of thirty-nine inches in length, twenty inches in width, and 

 twenty inches high. They are placed out doors, partly below the surface of the 

 ground, in rows of ten, each row surrounded by a thick hedge of white cedar. 

 The seeds stored in them are usually mixed with sand, although this is not 

 deemed essential, and a mat made of straw is laid over them. With this treat- 

 ment the seeds when planted germinate and come up quickly, usually in two 

 weeks. 



In the propagation of deciduous species, beds are made about the same as for 

 the needle-trees, and the seeds are sown in rows lengthwise with the bed, seven 

 rows in each. The drills or depressed grooves are made with a machine; but 



* While this treatment of Scotch pine may be necessary at Halstenbek to prevent disease, in 

 American nurseries this species is left in the seed beds two years, and in the transplant beds two 

 or three years with perfect safety, no matter how closely the seeds may be sown or the transplants 

 placed. 



