Seeding and planting; a manual for the guidance of forestry students, foresters, nurserymen, forest owners, and farmers by Toumey James William 1865-1932

Author:Toumey, James William, 1865-1932
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Forests and forestry -- United States, Tree planting
Publisher: New York Wiley
Published: 1916-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

ESTABLISHING FORESTS BY DIRECT SEEDING 209

The time of sowing has a direct bearing upon the degree of success attainable in direct seeding. In a country as large as the United States with its great variety of economic species and wide diversity in climatic conditions, no particular season can be said to be the best time for direct seeding. The time of sowing depends chiefly upon:

a. The characteristics of the species.

6. The climatic conditions.

Seeds maturing before midsummer should be sown at once because of the difficulty of keeping them until the following spring. Were it not for the danger of being destroyed either by animal life or by adverse climatic conditions while lying on the ground over winter, direct seeding in the autumn would be acceptable for all autumn-maturing seeds. All species which naturally germinate in the spring can be sown either in the autumn or in the spring. Seeds w r hich can be easily stored with little danger of deterioration and at small cost are sown in most localities in the early spring. Because of their rapid deterioration when stored, birch, alder, and fir seeds are often sown in the autumn. Chestnut deteriorates rapidly under storage and, when the seed can be protected from animal life, should be sown in the autumn. Walnut, hickory, oak, and beech are sometimes sown in the autumn.

In the more southern parts of the United States the season of the most abundant rainfall is a determining factor in seeding. On the Pacific coast where the rainy season is in winter, direct seeding should be done in January or February or in late autumn in order that the seed coats may become thoroughly soaked and be in condition for germination during the first warm days of spring. Early seeding is very important in order that the young plants may become well established before the summer drought begins.

Insufficient covering is one of the chief reasons why so few of the viable seeds in natural regeneration germinate and become established. Only a comparatively small percentage of the total fall of seed is carried by the winter and spring rains into the mineral soil or even down to it. If the cover is too thin, its full value as a protection against the drying and carrying away of the seed by wind, water, and animal life is not fully attained. If too dense, germination is retarded or it may fail altogether.

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