LONGLEAF PINE 51 
old seedlings were also planted, with very good results. Among the 
residents of Southern Pines and Pinehurst, in the " sand-hill " region 
of North Carolina, it has been common practice to dig up volunteer 
longleaf seedlings from 1 to 4 years old and plant them about town 
in the winter season, and generally there has been little loss. One 
such plantation in Louisiana, about 14 years old, is shown in Plate 
XIV. After the first year or two it is certain that the degree of 
care necessary for successfully planting young longleaf seedlings 
increases greatly, apparently to such a degree as to make operations 
on a commercial scale impracticable. Up to the present time the 
evidence points to good success from the spring planting of seed- 
lings 1 year old, either when grown in prepared soil in garden beds 
or when dug up in the woods or old fields. 
In general, reforestation by the method of planting 1-year-old 
seedlings should be attempted only in unfavorable situations Avhere 
such cheaper methods as direct seed sowing have proven unsuccess- 
ful. Planting has the advantage of starting the trees in the locations 
desired, and thus, if successful, of securing an even stand at the out- 
set. Soil preparation may always be expected to result in better 
growth, at least for a number of years. The degree and kind of 
soil preparation that can be given will vary widely with conditions. 
In fairly loose soil shallow holes dug with a mattock or hoe should 
be sufficient. Undoubtedly a better method, which should prove 
practicable in light sandy soils, would be to prepare strips by plow- 
ing tAvo or three furrows together, spacing them at desired intervals 
of, say, 8 to 10 feet, and planting the seedlings about 6 feet apart in 
the furrow. Soil preparation, although helpful at the start, is 
usually not necessary for the growth of seedlings. 
Blackjack oak lands. — The presence of much scrub or blackjack 
oak on cut-over lands is generally considered to be a great interfer- 
ence with the securing of a good natural reproduction of pine. Much 
of the oak did not " come in " after logging but was already present 
as stunted shrubs hardly noticeable at the time of logging. Undoubt- 
edly the oak hinders reproduction by forming a thick layer of leaves 
which prevents many seeds from reaching the soil. The absence of 
young-growth pine, however, is often directly traceable to the ab- 
sence of sufficient seed trees and to repeated fires. This type of oak 
occurs most commonly on dry ridges where fires are frequent and 
unusually severe. Young pine which gets a start, therefore, stands 
small chance of living against such odds, while the oaks sprout and 
seem to become more dense as a result of the action of the fire. If 
sufficient seed trees were left in logging, and young growth got 
started, it is likely that the hot fires would weaken or kill many of 
the seedlings in the first few years. A good growth of longleaf 
seedlings and saplings has repeatedly been observed among oak 
thickets (PL X) in various parts of the South. 
It may be found advisable to* cut out some of the oak and make 
openings for the pine to get a start, as has been done by at least 
one lumber company in Louisiana. Various preparations, or " herbi- 
cides," are on the market for use in killing trees, and the Department 
of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, upon request furnishes informa- 
tion regarding their preparation and use. In oak thickets where seed 
trees are present in sufficient numbers and where no fires have oc- 
