FOREST PLANTING. 277 



of his crop, either by growing the seedlings in nurseries and transplanting them, or else by cutting 

 away the old growth in such a manner as to secure to the young self grown crop better chances 



for life and development. 



How to Plant a Forest. 



Forest planting and tree planting are two different things. The orchardist, who plants for 

 fruit; the landscape gardener, who plants for form 5 the roadside planter, who plants for shade, all 

 have objects in view different from that of the forest planter, and therefore select and use their 

 plant material differently. They deal with single individual trees, each one by itself destined for 

 a definite purpose. The forester, on the other hand, plants a crop like the farmer; he deals not 

 with the single seed or plant, but with masses of trees; the individual tree has value to him only 

 as a part of the whole. It may come to harvest for its timber, or it may not come to harvest, and 

 yet have answered its purpose as a part of the whole in shading the ground or acting as nurse or 

 " forwarder" as long as it was necessary. 



His object is not to grow trees, but to produce wood, the largest amount of the best quality 

 per acre, whether it be stored in one tree or in many, and his methods must be directed to that end. 



As far as the manner of setting out plants or sowing seeds is concerned, the same general 

 principles and the same care in manipulation are applicable as in any other planting, except a^ 

 the cost of operating on so large a scale may necessitate less careful methods than the gardener 

 or nurseryman can afford to apply; the nearer, however, the performance of planting can be 

 brought to the careful manner of the gardener, the surer the success. The principles underlying 

 such methods have been discussed in the chapter "How trees grow;" in the present chapter it is 

 proposed to point out briefly the special considerations which should guide the forest planter in 

 particular. 



WHAT T&EES TO PLANT. 



Adaptability to climate is the first requisite in the species to be planted. 



It is best to choose from the native growth of the region which is known to be adapted to it. 

 With regard to species not native, the reliance must be placed upon the experience of neighboring 

 planters and upon experiment (at first on a small scale), after study of the requirements of the 

 kinds proposed for trial. 



Adaptation must be studied, not only with reference to temperature ranges and rainfall, but 

 especially with reference to atmospheric humidity and requirements of transpiration. 



Many species have a wide range of natural distribution, and hence of climatic adaptation. 

 If such are to be used, it is important to secure seeds from that part of the range of natural 

 distribution where the plants must be hardiest, i. e., the coldest and driest region in which it 

 occurs, which insures hardy qualities in the offspring. For instance, the Douglas spruce from 

 the humid and evenly tempered Pacific slope will not be as hardy as that grown from seed 

 collected on the dry and frigid slopes of the Eockies. Lack of attention to this requisite accounts 

 for many failures. It must also be kept in mind that while a species may be able to grow in 

 another than its native climate, its wood may not there have the same valuable qualities which it 

 develops in its native habitat. 



Adaptability to soil must be studied less with reference to mineral constituents than to phys- 

 ical condition. Depth and moisture conditions, and the structure of the soil, which influences the 

 movement of water in it, are the most important elements. While all trees thrive best in a 

 moist to "fresh" soil of moderate depth (from 2 to 4 feet) and granular structure, some can adapt 

 themselves to drier or wetter, shallow, and compact soils. Fissures in rocks into which the roots 

 can penetrate often stand for depth of soil, and usually aid in maintaining favorable moisture con- 

 ditions. In soils of great depth (i. e., from the surface to the impenetrable subsoil) and of coarse 

 structure water may drain away so fast as not to be available to the roots. 



Soil moisture must always be studied in conjunction with atmospheric moisture, for while a 

 species may thrive in an arid soil, when the demands of transpiration are not great, it may not do 

 so when aridity of atmosphere is added. Trees of the swamp are apt to be indifferent to soil 

 moisture and to thrive quite well, if not better, in drier soils. 



Adaptability to site.— While a species may be well adapted to the general climatic conditions 

 of a region, and in general to the soil, there still renins to be considered its adaptability to the 



