Apr. 1, 1925 
Reforestation by Seed Sowing 
639 
spruce were reduced to 6 per cent and 
3 per cent, respectively, in the fall 
series, and to zero in the spring of 1917 
series. The western yellow pine proved 
to be very drought resistant, but both 
series were complete failures because 
of the rodents. Western white pine 
and red cedar were also complete 
failures, largely because of drought. 
The conclusions of the 1917 season 
were similar to those of a year before 
but were less optimistic. The practice 
of seed spotting appears at best an 
uncertainty, much more so than plant¬ 
ing. The results obtained certainly 
indicated the advisability of giving up 
attempts at seed spotting and of plac¬ 
ing all attention on the surer method of 
planting. But in view of the greater 
spring of 1919 were watched. The 
superiority of Douglas fir appeared in 
each case. Western white pine was 
next in the fall sowings, and larch and 
spruce were last with but 5 per cent 
survival in 2-year-old spots. The 
spring sowings of 1919 succumbed to 
drought. Because of the extreme dry¬ 
ness of the season, drought was the 
foremost cause of loss. 
In 1920, observations of all sowings, 
from the spring of 1918 to those of the 
spring of 1920, showed Douglas fir to 
be superior without exception. 
In 1921, the survivals from previous 
series were still decreasing perceptibly 
in numbers. That season’s sowings 
failed completely because of drought 
and cutworms. 
Dates of Examinations 
Fig. 1.—Series sown, spring of 1918 
/O 2/ \ 4 !4 23\f // 22 3/ \// 20 30 | / 
MAY | JUNE \ JULY | AU6. | OCT. 
/3 24 \3 /T 1 / /2 2030)212/ 1 1 s 
MAY \ JUNE \ JULY fam MAY \ \ OCT. 
/D /9 
/920 1 / 92 f 
Dates of Examinations 
Fig. 2.—Series sown, fall of 1918 
amount of work done on planting 
experiments in comparison with seed 
spots, it was thought that the work to 
date warranted further attempts with 
Douglas fir and, to some extent, with 
Engelmann spruce. 
The season of 1918 was more favor¬ 
able. The examinations made at 7 to 
10 day intervals showed a loss from 
drought of approximately 50 per cent 
in Engelmann spruce and larch. The 
larch was the least resistant to harmful 
agencies, mainly drought and fungi. 
Douglas fir was decidedly superior to 
the others, showing a survival of 58 per 
cent at the close of the season. 
During the following season the sow¬ 
ings of spring and fall of 1918 and 
RESULTS 
What has been the result as a whole 
of the six years of painstaking effort? 
What percentage of the total number of 
spots now contain one or more sur¬ 
vivors? The best record is about 20 
per cent for Douglas fir. Other species 
are not above 15 per cent in any case. 
The marked superiority of Douglas 
fir in every sowing is evident. Al¬ 
though its germination as compared 
with its associates was less in most 
cases, fewer of the seedlings of this 
species were lost; and in every case the 
last examination showed Douglas hr to 
have more survivals per spot and a 
larger portion of spots with survivals. 
