52 BULLETIN 24, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
METHODS OF PLANTING. 
In planting cottonwood either cuttings or wild-grown seedlings 
have been largely used. Although growing seedlings in nursery beds 
and transplanting them out when they are a year old is the method 
usually recommended for most trees, yet in the case of cottonwood, 
because of the difficulty of handling the seed and the simplicity of 
the first two methods mentioned, nursery practice is less practicable. 
Reforestation by direct seeding over the area to be stocked will, as a 
rule, also be impracticable. 
WILD SEEDLINGS. 
An abundance of 1-year-old wild seedlings can in most years be 
found in dense thickets on overflow lands along the Mississippi River 
and its tributaries. If these are collected, only the best should be 
straggling root system is decided contrast to the stocky, fleshy, com- 
ing on coarse sand. The latter are very apt to have a rather long, 
straggling root system in decided contrast to the stocky, fleshy, com- 
pact roots characteristic of trees growing in rich moist soil. Not 
only will this latter stock prove more vigorous, but it will be much 
easier to handle. It should not, however, be transplanted to excep- 
tionally dry sites. One-year-old trees are usually the best, except 
when they have to compete with weeds and grass. Older trees are 
apt to be so large that they are expensive to handle. The’wild seed- 
lings should be taken up before they have begun to grow in the 
spring. If possible, they should be collected after a heavy rain, 
when they can be pulled out withoutanjury to the roots. They may 
be dug up with a spade, but a better method is to turn the surface 
soil with 2 plow. Stock can sometimes be collected in this manner as 
cheaply as 50 cents per thousand, and should seldom cost $1. Wild 
seedlings can generally be purchased from nurserymen or collectors 
for from $1.50 to $2.50 per thousand. It is advisable in purchasing 
collected seedlings to make sure they come from a region of similar 
climatic conditions. : 
NUBSERY SEEDLINGS. 
Nursery-grown seedlings are seldom used in the establishment of 
cottonwood plantations. On dry sites, however, the superiority of 
seedlings over plain cuttings is unquestioned. Although nursery 
practice with cottonwood in this country is still in its infancy, a 
fairly good stand of young seedlings may be obtained in nursery 
beds at a very low cost. In fact, where rooted stock is essential 
and wild seedlings are not available, nursery seedlings can be pro- 
duced at less expense than rooted cuttings. 
Cottonwood matures its seed in the south as early as the last of 
April or first of May, while in the latitude of Minnesota seed may 
