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larger rodents. Not infrequently the bottom is a wire cloth one instead 

 of wood. Dimensions of the flats vary, somewhat, but a convenient 

 size is 30" long, 15"-16" wide, 3"-4" deep, sides ends and bottom being 

 made of lumber strips (creosoted for preservation purposes) f " thick 

 and 3"-4" wide. 



In these flats the nuts are placed layer upon layer, with sand, 

 loam or sawdust between, something as follows: one inch of sand or 

 other medium on the bottom, then a single layer of nuts, another inch 

 layer of sand, etc., until the flat is full, when it is covered with the 

 wire cloth, placed in the trench, covered with a few inches to a foot of 

 leaves, moist hay, cornstalks or even soil, and left for the winter. At 

 the time the medium for layering the nuts is being prepared, it will be 

 well, if ants are present in the section where the nuts are to be stored, 

 or later placed in nursery bed. to mix a liberal percentage of unleached 

 wood ashes with the sand, sawdust or loam, say one part in five, more 

 or less. 



Other flats are placed alongside or end to end in the trench until 

 the stock is all in, when the whole may be covered uniformly. The 

 layer of leaves or hay next to the wire cover of the flats assists in 

 the work of uncovering when the inspections are made for the purpose 

 of ascertaining the state of dormancy or germination. 



One step more and the seed stage passes into the province of the 

 seedling. As soon as tlie stratified nuts begin to germinate they 

 should be removed from the flats and planted in the nursery or pro- 

 pagating bed. The site for this purpose should be one that is well 

 drained, open to air and sunshine and possessing a clean, fine, mellow 

 and rather light loamy soil. The size of this plat will vary to meet the 

 needs of the quantity of nuts in hand and should be prepared, prefer- 

 ably the fall before, by stirring the soil deeply and thoroughly working 

 into it a goodly supply of well rotted stable compost. 



The rows for hand culture may be 18"-30" apart; for loose hoeing, 

 3' to 3¥ and should lie along north and south lines. The distance and 

 depth of the nuts in the row will vary with their size. In gen- 

 eral, one may say that a nut should be planted the length of the lateral 

 diameter below the surface of the soil, when it has settled, or about 

 double that depth when the soil is freshly worked over it. The dist- 

 ance apart in the row will vary somewhat with the rapidity of growth 

 of the species; six to eight inches being a fair average for walnuts 

 and chestnuts, and 4 to 6 for hickories and pecans. 



