SHORTLEAF PINE: IMPORTANCE AND MANAGEMENT. 58 
are convenient and are extensively used. Sowing is sometimes done 
in drills spaced 6 inches apart running crosswise in the beds. This 
_ permits of cultivation between the rows. Otherwise seed is sown 
broadcast over the bed and covered by sifting fine sand to a depth 
of about one-quarter inch. This method better utilizes space in the 
seedbed and is therefore cheaper. in the latter case about 300 seeds 
should be sown on each square foot, or a total of one-quarter of a 
pound of clean seed on each standard seedbed (4 by 12 feet) in 
order to obtain a final stand of about 5,000 seedlings. This is about 
100 per square foot. Sowing at the rate of 50 seed per linear foot in 
the drills, less than one-tenth of a pound of seed will be required 
for each seed bed, on which a stand of 2,000 seedlings is desired. 
These quantities of seed are based upon a germination vigor of 50 
to 60 per cent and the probable natural loss of seedlings during the 
first few weeks. 
One-year-old seedlings are inexpensive to raise and handle and 
give good results when planted out in favorable situations. ‘Two- 
_ year-old stock, either seedlings or one year in the transplant bed, 
give better results on weedy or otherwise unfavorable sites. For 
_ the most unfavorable situations 2-year-old transplants are best. To 
produce these, 1-year-old seedlings with their roots pruned to about 
8 inches in length should be transplanted early in the preceding 
spring into open nursery beds. A spacing of 3 inches in rows 6 
inches apart is recommended. Field planting is done preferably in 
_ early spring just before root activity starts. Late fall is also a favor- 
able time, and in case of large operations advantage may be taken of 
_both seasons. 
FORM OF PLANTATION. 
Shortleaf pine is admirably adapted to pure plantations, which 
are strongly recommended over any kind of mixture in starting 
young forest stands. Shortleaf may, however, be planted in mixture 
with heavier foliaged species of slower growth—for example, sugar 
maple and such durable and valuable wood as red juniper. This mix- 
ture occurs naturally as a two-storied forest in the Piedmont region. 
Other species suitable for use in mixture are white, chestnut, red, and 
black oaks, and hickory. All of these except the close-crowned juni- 
per require much larger growing space and greatly decrease the 
yield of the pine per acre. In the higher portions of the Piedmont 
plateau and the southern Appalachian range, white pine and short- 
leaf in mixture have given good results.t. The shortleaf, unlike the 
white pine, prunes itself quickly. The red pine and western yellow 
pine are not successful in mixture with shortleaf because of the at- 
1Dr. C. A. Schenck, formerly in charge of the forest on the Biltmore Vanderbilt estate. 
