FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. 9 1 



and ends, covered with wire netting, allow a free circulation of air and 

 lessen materially an}- tendency in the plants to damping off. 



Before planting a seed bed the ground is thoroughly moistened, after 

 which the surface is slightly firmed, and then the seeds are sown broadcast 

 as evenly as possible. For the latter purpose, three-fourths of a pound 

 of white pine seed is used on a bed four by twelve feet; and half a pound 

 of Scotch pine, red pine, or Norway spruce. The seeds having been sown 

 they are lightly covered, not over one-eighth of an inch, with fine earth 

 sifted through a hand screen. Any thicker covering will retard germination 

 and increase the liability of failure. If the work is properly done the sprouts 

 will appear in fourteen days or thereabouts, the larger seeds of the white 

 pine germinating somewhat later. 



When a bed is sown it is covered immediately with a wire screen of 

 small mesh to keep out the birds and squirrels which, otherwise, would 

 eat the seeds. Then a lath screen for shade, with open spaces just the 

 width of a lath, is laid on, with its frame resting on the edges of the boards 

 that enclose the bed. As both the wire screen and the lath shade are made 

 as light as possible, the}- can be lifted and removed quickly whenever it is 

 necessary to examine the germination closely. 



As soon as the seeds are sown the open spaces in the lath screen are 

 closed with loose lath, and the openings in the sides and ends of the board 

 frames are covered with heavy brown paper to exclude the light. In this 

 way the bed is kept dark until the sprouts appear, a humid condition is 

 maintained, and any sudden change in temperature is avoided. In my 

 opinion the remarkably high percentage of germination in our seed beds is 

 due largely to this precaution. 



When the surface of the bed is fairly well covered with the tiny sprouts 

 the loose lath in the shade frames and the paper on the sides of the boxing 

 are removed, admitting light and air. 



Our seed beds are laid out east and west, so that there will be a moving 

 light and shade below the lath screens, making an even exposure along the 

 entire surface. At the end of the season the seedlings cover the bed with 

 an even, green mat that hides the ground completely and prevents the 

 growth of weeds. In such of our seed beds as are sown broadcast we save 

 the expense of weeding, but in those where, for experiment, we sow the 



