NURSERY PRACTICE ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 41 
soil, 2-0 x western yellow pine has been produced which, it is claimed, 
is superior to the 1-1 stock. 
Watering may be necessary daily, two or three times a week, once 
in two weeks, or even less frequently, depending on the weather 
and the nature of the soil. A brownish, dying condition of the 
seedlings at the Bessey Nursery, called blight for some time and 
supposedly due to disease, was later found to be due simply to in- 
sufficient water. On the other hand, excessive moisture may produce 
a yellowish, sickly appearance of the seedlings, and plants in this 
condition do not recover so readily as when somewhat damaged from 
insufficient moisture. 
The same methods of watering are followed after germination, as 
in the pregermination period. Irrigation by flooding is very suc- 
cessfully practiced in the sandy soil at the Bessey Nursery. The 
practice of watering by hand with a hose can be discarded. While 
efficient, it is slow and expensive. The use of lawn sprinklers is the 
most common method. Half a dozen of these judiciously distributed 
will water an acre of seed beds per day, and will require but a small 
portion of one man's time for their attendance. 
If applied in the late afternoon or evening, the water has an op- 
portunity to soak into the ground with less loss from evaporation 
than if applied in the morning. It is not always possible to defer 
watering until late afternoon or early evening, however, and damage 
from sunscald seldom results from watering at any time of day. 
The danger of seedlings being scalded by water and sun together if 
the water is applied in the morning or during the middle of a hot 
day has, in Forest Service nurseries, been found to exist only with 
stock of bigtree {Sequoia w ashing toniana) at the Pilgrim Creek 
Nursery and black locust (Robinia yseudacacia) at the Garden City 
Nursery. 
The periods between watering should be progressively lengthened 
after the growing season is from one-half to two-thirds over, so as to 
induce the formation of terminal buds and the hardening of the 
wood. This is essential. If heavy watering is continued until fall 
and is accompanied by warm weather, seedlings may continue growth 
until the season of heavy frosts. The plants are liable to serious 
damage by frost if they are in a succulent growing condition, and it 
is obvious that they should be hardened if possible. Withholding 
water and exposing the plants to sunlight is considered one of the best 
methods of accomplishing this result. 
If the soil is exceptionally dry just before winter sets in, the beds 
should be given a thorough watering to lessen the probability of win- 
ter killing or drying out. 
1 2-0 stock is that which is grown two years in the seed bed and not transplanted. 
1-1 stock is that which is grown one year in the seed bed and one year in the trans- 
plant bed. 
