1116 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXXT, No. 12 
The survival figures for the transplants are rather contradictory 
and seem to show that the influence of shading in the seed bed has 
at least partly disappeared and given place to other and more direct 
influences in the transplant bed itself. The fact that the shaded 
stock made a slightly better showing may indicate that shade helps 
to fit the plants to withstand the shock of transplanting. This does 
not seem reasonable, however, as the more probable effect of shade 
would be to make them less resistant to severe conditions. 
The size of the transplants in the first test did not vary in accord¬ 
ance with the shade received, those receiving one-half shade being 
much the largest, and the others about equal. The unshaded trans¬ 
plants obtained next year were distinctly the largest, however, with 
one-quarter shade stock slightly larger than that from one-half shade. 
AMOUNT OF WATER WITH OR WITHOUT CULTIVATION 
SUMMARY 
It was to obtain some definite information as a basis for the stand¬ 
ardization of watering western yellow pine that the following ex¬ 
periment was undertaken, bringing out the effect of the different 
kinds of watering and cultivation upon the growth and development 
of the stock, first as seedlings and later as transplants. 
It is evident that the cheapest method of watering is to water 
heavily at rather infrequent periods. If water is more difficult to 
obtain in large quantities, lighter and more frequent watering, with 
cultivation to conserve the moisture, might be most profitable. Or, 
if the watering became very expensive, it might pay better to cul¬ 
tivate frequently enough to maintain a good dust mulch and retain 
in the soil as much as possible of the natural rainfall. 
While the combination of moderate watering with cultivation 
produced the best results in this experiment, the difference in favor 
of this treatment was comparatively small. In order to cultivate 
it was necessary to sow in drills. In the second section of this report 
it was demonstrated that there was a material saving of seed, labor, 
and space when seed was sown broadcast. The slightly increased 
growth of the plants due to cultivation would hardly justify the 
lack of economy due to drill sowing where plenty of water was 
available. The cost of cultivating between drills, which has to be 
done with great care in order to avoid injury to the plants, would be 
an additional argument against cultivation. Broadcast sowing, 
with rather heavy watering at frequent intervals sufficient to main¬ 
tain an average water content of more than 50 per cent of dry weight, 
is therefore unquestionably the best method for use at large nurseries 
where an abundance of water under pressure is to be had. 
In small ranger nurseries where water is scarce or it is inconvenient 
or expensive to apply it, very good results may be obtained in the 
western part of the northern Rocky Mountain region on moderately 
heavy moisture-retentive soil, by raising the stock in drills and 
cultivating the surface either without artificial watering or with a 
moderate amount of water applied at times of special need. 
PROCEDURE 
Beds in the Meadow nursery were carefully prepared for sowing 
by spading the surface and mixing in sharp sand to loosen the top 
soil. Seed was sown in drills June 6, 1913, the late sowing being due 
