22 



shelter of trees. The nursery is divided into a great number of beds 

 which are usually about twenty-five feet long and four feet wide. 

 The seeds may be sown in these beds in spring or fall, either by 

 sowing them broadcast or in rills. Here the seeds germinate and 

 after an incubation period of usually less than a month, but occa- 

 sionally extending over a year, they appear above the ground. The 

 germination can sometimes be stimulated by soaking the seeds in 

 water before planting. These young tender plants like children suc- 

 cumb very readily to adverse conditions. Consequently they must 

 receive careful treatment and adequate protection while they remain 

 in the nursery. They must receive protection from the intense sun, 

 excessive moisture, drought, weeds, fungi, and animals. The plants 

 which develop from the sown seed may remain for one, two, or three 

 years in the nursery. Those plants which remain for more than one 

 year may be kept in the same place where the seeds w^hich produced 

 them were sown. If too dense they must be lifted and planted in 

 another place where they will have more room. This process of lift- 

 ing the seedlings and planting them again is known as transplanting, 

 and the resulting plants are transplants. Transplanting usually 

 produces better plants because they are stockier and better prepared 

 for the shock they will receive when planted in the forest. Species 

 like White Pine, Red Pine, and Norway Spruce are usually left in 

 the nursery for two or three years and then transplanted while other 

 species like Ash, Walnut, and Oak are left in the nursery only one 

 year. 



The seedlings planted in the forest are usually raised in nurseries 

 but occasionally they may be taken from the forest floor where na- 

 ture often produces them abundantly. The cost of raising plants in 

 the nurseries varies with the species, cost and quality of the seeds, 

 and the length of time left in the nursery, but is usually from about 

 |2.50 to |4.00 per thousand. The source, method of collection, pre- 

 paration, and' storage of the seeds have a marked influence on the 

 quality of the resulting plants. The plants, taken from the nursery 

 or lifted in the forest, are usually planted in the forest about 4x4 

 or 5 X 5 feet apart. This requires from about 1,700 to 2,725 trees 

 per acre. The total cost of planting an acre of cleared land to forest 

 trees, including cost of plants, is about |12. In individual cases 

 the cost may exceed this llgure and again it may be lower. This ar- 

 tificial method of regeneration is generally used where forests have 

 been clear-cut or where openings are to be reforested. It is also used 

 for underplanting where a better humus covering is desirable. In 

 Europe, especially in Germany, this method w^as used extensively 

 during the last century as may be seen in the many even-aged forests 

 found there at the present time. During the last decade a reaction 

 has been setting in, based on scientific investigations. Many of the 



