102 FOREST CONDITIONS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 



diately and the plants have a good chance to become established. The 

 next best season is in the late autumn after the leaves have fallen. In 

 this case the plants rest during the winter and are ready to begin 

 growing the first thing in the spring. In either case planting should 

 not be done while the young tree is growing. In the spring it should 

 be done before growth begins, in the autumn after growth has stopped. 

 If the trees are planted amongst the grass, weeds, and briars of an 

 old field, some precautions must be taken the first summer to keep 

 them from being choked out. Full instructions as to the methods of 

 planting may be obtained by writing to the Forest Service, U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



In the parts of the mountains where white pine grows naturally, as 

 along the Blue Ridge and in many parts of the Plateau type, it is 

 probably the most profitable tree to plant. The young trees can be 

 purchased very reasonably at the principal forest nurseries, and a 

 large proportion of those set out usually live. From two to four year 

 old plants should generally be used. If the ground is not thoroughly 

 prepared, material once or twice transplanted in the nursery is pref- 

 erable to seedlings. White pine should be planted from five to seven 

 feet apart each way, so that the trees will early form a complete cover 

 for the ground; they will then be able to prune themselves naturally, 

 make the most satisfactory growth in height and produce the best 

 quality of timber. 



Throughout the Plateau type there are many areas in which short- 

 leaf pine will grow more satisfactorily than white pine. This species 

 has been planted in Buncombe County both pure and in mixture with 

 white pine or with some of the hardwoods, and has given great satis- 

 faction. Shortleaf pine seedlings are not as readily procured from 

 nurseries as are the white pine, and where very considerable areas are 

 to be planted it may often be advisable either to make arrangements 

 with some nurseryman to raise the desired seedlings, or else to raise 

 them one's self. This latter should not as a rule be undertaken, how- 

 ever, unless the magnitude of the operations warrants the employment 

 of a man for this special purpose. Shortleaf pine should be planted 

 in the same way as white pine. These trees can be mixed alternately 

 with some hardwood, preferably sugar maple. The mixture of the 

 hardwood benefits the pines by causing better self-pruning, and by 

 making a denser shade near the ground which keeps the soil in good 

 condition. It is not usually advisable to plant shortleaf and white pine 

 in mixture, as the conditions that suit one do not suit the other. 



Certain coniferous species not native to this region do very well un- 



