62 



PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



over the frames to preyent the sudden and alternate 

 freezing and thawing of the ground. If snow comes 

 early, and drifts in and around the plants, this of itself 

 will be sufficient protection so long as it remains. If the 

 plants make a good growth the first season, or are likely 

 to be crowded during the second, they should be trans- 

 planted, but if there is room for them to grow they may 

 remain in the seed-bed two years and be transplanted in 

 the spring of the third season. But as soon as they are 

 large enough to handle conveniently, whether it be at 

 the end of the first or second season's growth, they should 

 be carefully lifted and set out in nursery rows as recom- 

 mended for deciduous trees. 



In most cases planting out may be done with a dibble, 

 as the roots or young seedling conifers are usually quite 

 small, but well furnished wdch fibers. When transplant- 

 ing, great care should be given to the protection of the 

 roots from the sun, as well as to keep them moist. The 

 time to transplant is as early in spring as the ground will 

 permit of proper preparation, and even then a close exam- 

 ination of the roots will usually sho\v that growth has 

 commenced, although the buds give no indication of the 

 movement of the sap. When first set out in nursery rows 

 the seedlings should be set not more than six inches apart 

 in the rows, but so soon as the branches of one plant touch 

 those of another, every alternate plant should be re- 

 moved, or all taken up and replanted. The latter method 

 is the one usually adopted by nurserymen w^ho desire to 

 make low stocky trees, with an abundance of fibrous 

 roots, because every time the tree is removed, the lateral 

 growth of the larger roots is checked, and new ones grow 

 from their sides. But the value of the trees and the pur- 

 pose for which they are raised should be considered, and 

 their treatment in the nursery be in accordance with the 

 results desired. If they are to be grown for timber, hight 

 will be more essential than breadth in the young trees. 



