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Show Utah 36 Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in seeding operations, under what conditions of terrain and weather it could be safely used, how effectively it could distribute seeds and at what cost, and what sort of grass stands might be obtained. EXPERIMENT CONDUCTED Seeding range lands by using an airplane to scatter the seeds feasible and successful method for particular conditions in this region. The successful use of the method depends on falling leaves to provide a sufficient cover for the seeds to prevent their drying out until the young plants can develop a root system and is a become established. It had previously beerr found that seeds broadcast on the surface of the ground without any covering produced very poor stands. Because of this, drilling the seed or harrowing loose ground on which it has been broadcast is general practice. During 19401943 it had been found. however, that hand broadcasting of seeds under aspen just before, during, or immediately after the autumn leaf-fall gave satisfactory establishment of stands. Less fully proved but still satisfactory results had been obtained under maple and oakbrush. Since the use of the airplane to do broadcast seeding has promising aspects, an experimental seeding was made in October 1945. At this time 1,306 acres of deteriorated range on two aspen and one on mixed oakbrush and scrub maple areas were seeded by means of airplane. These areas were between 7,800 and 8,600 feet elevation and part of them in country badly broken by irregu lar ridges and ravines. Flying was limited to periods of little air disturbance which occurred principally in the morning from 6 to 9 a.m. It took 8 days to get in 17 Yz hours of flying time. The plane was a Government-owned plane used for spread ing grasshopper bait, transferred by the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine to us together with an experienced pilot, Clyde Bryant, for the seeding job. The plane was a "new White Standard biplane with a wing span of' 45 feet. The motor is a Wright R760-EI at 285-horsepower and the flying speed while doing seeding was 85 MPH." The front cockpit of a 2-passenger plane was made into seed hopper which held about 550 pounds of mixed grass seeds. In the bottom of the hopper was a chain drive cleated-belt feed that could be so regulated as to distribute 5 to 12 pounds of seeds per acre. The seeds dropped into a smooth, rectangular pan below the plane and were distributed by the air wash under and behind the plane. Flying was guided by means of natural topography and landscape objects assisted by Hags on long poles. In two cases |
