FOREST PLANTING IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 11 
TIME OF PLANTING. 
Practically all of the plantations examined in the region have been 
started in the spring, which seems the best season for setting out 
seedlings on the permanent site. As compared with autumn plant- 
ing, spring planting has at least two distinct advantages—the stock 
has a whole growing season in which to become established before 
beig subjected to the rigors of winter, and it is not subject to the 
immediate danger of being heaved out of the ground by alternate 
freezing and thawing. On the other hand, a dry season immediately 
after the trees are set out in the spring may prove fatal to the planta- 
tion. 
In the case of direct sowing, the time of planting is best determined 
by some characteristic of the seed to be planted, particularly the time 
of ripening. Silver maple and elm seed, for example, lose their vital- 
ity soon after they ripen in the spring and must be sown at the latter 
time. Walnut, butternut, hickory nuts, and red oak seed must be 
kept moist for a considerable period before they will germinate well; 
hence they must either be planted in the autumn or else stored over 
winter in some place where they will come in contact with damp 
sou. Any freezing which occurs during this period will be helpful 
in opening the hard shells. 
Cloudy days should be selected for planting, especially in the case 
of conifers. Exposure to the sun, even for a short time, will kill the 
young roots, and thus the plantation will fail at the very start. The 
roots of the young trees, whether hardwoods or conifers, should be 
kept moist up to the very moment when they are planted on the 
permanent site. The stock may be carried to the field in a bucket, 
with the roots immersed in water, or the roots of a bunch of trees 
may be wrapped in wet burlap, one tree being drawn out at a time 
and planted. 
PREPARATION OF THE SOIL. 
Plowing and harrowing the planting site before setting out the 
trees is a wise practice. It puts the soil in good tilth, facilitates 
planting, conserves soil moisture, increases the proportion of success- 
ful trees, and induces rapid initial growth. On very sandy soils 
which do not support a heavy sod of grass, however, preparation 
is not necessary; and on very steep slopes and among rocks or large 
roots may be too expensive. 
Fall seems to be the best time to prepare the ground, since the soil 
is thus exposed to the action of the winter frost, and has time to 
settle before receiving the young trees. The trees in a 5-year-old 
plantation of black locust in southern Michigan, on fall-plowed 
ground, were fully as large as those in a 6-year-old plantation set on 
an adjoining strip plowed in the spring. 
