FOREST PLANTING IN THE LAKE STATES 
19 
Spring planting can be begun several da} T s earlier than otherwise 
and often before plowing is possible if furrows have been plowed the 
previous fall, because furrows thaw out before the adjacent sod. In 
the fall, planting in furrows previously plowed may begin imme- 
diately after the first good rain; although it would often be impos- 
sible to plow at that time because the soil below the surface would 
still be too dry. Plowing the furrows well in advance of planting, 
Therefore, increases the length of the planting season both in spring 
and fall. 
It is also possible in favorable seasons, to plant trees during the 
summer. Watson (74) describes the results of an experiment on 
the Higgins Lake State Forest in Michigan in which the northern 
white pine was underplanted each week from June to September, 
inclusive. Counts made later showed that the trees planted in July 
and August did as well as those planted in June, or better, and that 
80 per cent of them were living. 
On the other hand, in an experiment in 1925 and 1926, in which. 
2-year seedlings of Norway pine were, with two exceptions, planted 
each month from April to November, inclusive, on an open sandy site 
of the Huron National Forest, the following percentages of trees 
were living in the fall of 1926 : 
Month planted 
1925 
planting 
1926 
planting 
Month planted 
1925 
planting 
1926 
planting 
April. 
91 
94 
66 
27 
74 
66 
65 
77 
August . _ 
60 
74 
100 
May . . 
September 
October . ... 
100 
June _ ... 
100 
July 
46 
The season of 1925 was distinctly unfavorable, and the late spring 
and early summer of 1926 were even worse. Eepetition of the ex- 
periment in 1927 may yield better results. The figures illustrate the 
marked differences in survival from one year to the next resulting 
from the variations in weather during the planting season. On the 
whole, summer planting is less likely to be successful than either 
spring or fall planting. 
SIZE AND AGE OF TREES FOR PLANTING 
For Norway pine, 2-0 seedling 5 or 2—1 transplant stock is recom- 
mended, the latter for private planting on a small scale or for brushy 
sites. For northern white pine 2-1 transplants or 3-0 seedlings 
are suggested, and for white spruce, 2-1 or 2-2 transplants. For 
jack pine and white ash, 1-year seedlings, and for cottonwood, 1- 
year rooted cuttings are almost always the most satisfactory. 
(Table 3.) 
5 The trees available for planting from nurseries may be from 1 to 5 years old or older. 
Usually they are grown in the seed beds for 1, 2, or 3 years, and then, if not used at 
once for field planting, are transplanted in the nursery and allowed to grow 1 or 2 years 
longer before being set out. This transplanting makes sturdier trees, with compact, 
bushy root systems, more desirable for planting. Forest nursery stock is known and will 
be referred to in this bulletin by a numerical system, the first figure representing number 
of years in the seed beds and the second number of years transplanted. Thus, 2-year-old 
seedlings are called 2-0 stock, and 1-year seedlings transplanted at the end of the first 
year and grown 2 years in the transplant beds are known as 1-2 stock. 
