8 James Stewart Wiant 



PRESENT INVESTIGATIONS 

 DESCRIPTION OF THE NURSERIES 



The Ithaca nursery consisted of twelve seedbeds located on the experi- 

 mental farm of Cornell University. The beds were 4 by 12 feet in size, 

 and were completely inclosed by a framework of wood which was covered 

 with wire mesh. An additional half-shade frame was placed over the tops. 

 The nursery was bordered by buildings and trees on three sides, but was 

 open toward the south. The soil is a silty loam. 



The Keene nursery, where most of the present investigations were con- 

 ducted, is a large commercial nursery located near the city of Keene in 

 southern New Hampshire. Situated along the southeastern terrace of the 

 Ashuelot River Valley, this nursery is some thirty feet above the level of 

 the valley bottom and is consequently well exposed to the prevailing west 

 winds. Thus, excellent air drainage is provided over the greater part of 

 the seedbed area. The soil is a medium sandy loam containing less than 



3 per cent of organic matter and with a reaction of pH 4.8 to 5.2. This 

 loam is underlain by nearly pure sand to a depth of eighteen inches, where 

 it grades off into a coarse gravel. At about eight feet below the surface 

 there is a layer of blue clay. Soil drainage is therefore rapid. 



There are sown annually at this nursery approximately 50,000 square 

 feet of seedbed, 70 per cent of which is devoted to norway spruce (Picea 

 Abies [L.] Karst.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), and red pine (Pinus 

 resinosa Ait.). The remainder is used for Colorado spruce (Picea pungens 

 Engelm.), white spruce (Picea glauca Voss.), scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris 

 L.), austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arnold var. austriaca Aschers. & Graebn.), 

 and a number of other species, including balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] 

 Mill.), concolor fir (Abies concolor Lindl. and Gord.), european larch 

 (Larix decidua Mill.), engelmann spruce (Picea Engelmanni Engelm.), 

 mugho pine (Pinus mugo Turra var. mughus Zenari), douglas spruce 

 (Pseudotsuga taxifolia Britt.), american arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis L.), 

 oriental arborvitae (Thuja orientalis L.), common hemlock (Tsuga cana- 

 densis [L.] Carr.), and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniaria Engelm.). 

 From several points of view, norway spruce is the most important species 

 grown. 



The method of preparing the seedbeds is as follows. After the land has 

 been plowed, harrowed, and fertilized, it is raked over by hand. Beds 



4 feet wide and from 50 to 300 feet long are then laid out and separated from 

 one another by 18-inch paths. The beds are raked, rolled, and marked out 

 into drills running crosswise of the beds, 4 inches apart. Except for a few 

 beds which are purposely arched in the middle, the level of the beds is 

 little, if any, higher than that of the paths. Seeding is accomplished by 

 walking down through the middle of the bed and sifting the seed into the 

 drills from a long-necked bottle. A second rolling tends to close the drills 

 and leave the seed covered with a thin layer of soil. Wherever this fails, 



