The Bulletin. 



ALWAYS USE FRESH SEED. 



Always select seed from well-iiiatured fruits. No healthy, vigorous 

 trees can be expected from immature seed. Such seed produces 

 stunted and devitalized trees. 



The fruit is mashed or allowed to decay and the seed is then washed 

 from the pulpy mass and thoroughly cleaned. If it is desired to store 

 it for some time before planting, it should first be well dried. 



The peach, plum, cherry and pecan seeds have thick and hard seed- 

 cases. Such seed requires special treatment, so as to give the little 

 plantlet a chance to get out of the seed-coat. In this State the best 

 method undoubtedly is to stratify the seed. This consists in placing 

 the seed in layers in a box and alternating each layer with a layer of 

 sand. These boxes are buried in moist, well-drained soil, and deep 

 enough so that the box will be at least six inches below the surface of 

 the ground. It is generally best to bury boxes on the north side of a 

 building. It is also well to cover the surface of the soil with moss, 

 leaf mould or straw, so as to keep the soil moist. By the following 

 spring the seed-coats will be soft, so that the little plant can readily 

 emerge when planted in the seed-bed. Inexperienced growers have 

 often planted these thick-shelled seeds in the field without any treat- 

 ment, but the result in most cases has been failure. Drainage, moist- 

 ure, rodents, etc., are not under sufficient control in a large field to 

 allow such practice. Although this practice is especially necessary 

 for nuts and the thicker-shelled seeds, yet it is often practiced to 

 advantage with the smaller and softer-shelled seeds, like apj^les, etc. 



It should be emphasized that with nuts it is especially important 

 that the seed be fresh when planted. The following spring the seed 

 should be planted in a seed-bed or nursery row. There the plants 

 can be better cared for. The soil in the seed-bed need not necessarily 

 be very rich, but it should be mellow, moist and well drained. The 

 seed can be put from three to six inches apart in the row, and two to 

 three feet between the rows. It should be well cultivated, and hoed 

 if necessary, to keep the soil moist, mellow and free from weeds. 

 The age at which to bud or graft onto the stocks depends entirely on 

 the kind of plant, and will be discussed under each fruit later on. 



Although the growing of seedling trees is never admissible for 

 orchard purposes, it is of great importance, in the origination of new 

 varieties. We know, for example, that no seedling tree is like its 

 parent. In the varieties that have been cultivated for many years 

 the seedling sometimes resembles the parent (piite closely. Tor 

 example, English walnuts, honey peach, and Hill's Chili strain of 

 peaches. But where this is true of one variety there are hundreds 

 of varieties of which it is not true. So it is a waste of time and money 



