NURSERY PRACTICE FOR PRAIRIE-PLAEXS PLANTING 



129 



Rain and Hail 



The beating action of the rain in heavy downpours or of hail fre- 

 quently causes loss of young seedlings through breakage of the fragile 

 stems. Heavy rains may also wash the soil on slopes and expose the 

 roots of seedlings or may bury the seedlings under mud and silt. 

 Seed may also be washed out or buried so deep as to prevent germina- 

 tion. In some cases, pools formed in low areas drown out the seed- 

 lings. 



Judicious site selection will in a large measure prevent damage 

 from heavy rainfall, except that which occurs just as the seedlings 



Figure 53. — A portion of Forest Service nursery near Pierre, S. Dak., showing 

 protection afforded by native cottonwood, green ash, and redcedar. 



are germinating. Slopes exceeding 2 percent, which may wash appre- 

 ciably, should be avoided. Low, undrained spots which permit 

 formation of large puddles should be filled in by a grader. 



In case a heavy rain has buried or partially covered recently ger- 

 minated seedlings, it is advisable to get on the area as soon as possible 

 and uncover the tops of any seedlings which may be held down by 

 soil, before smothering or rotting takes place. This rotting effect is 

 especially serious on leaves of young Russian-olive seedlings, and 

 plains nurserymen have devised a tractor-drawn rotary brush to 

 remove soil from the foliage of the young plants. 



In the plains region, hail storms are of frequent occurrence but 

 generally of comparatively limited spread. The nurseryman can do 

 little to prevent hail injury. Where seedlings are grown in beds, 

 covering them with close-mesh wire screens or lath shades is effective, 

 but this is not a practical measure for large-scale nursery operation. 

 The desirability of avoiding "hail belts" in locating nursery sites has 

 already been stressed. 



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