EVERGREENS. 59 



The inomeut your trees are duj» Liiey must be put iu a pail of 

 water. Get down ou your knees, take a tree with your left 

 hand, place it against the upright bank of your trench, and 

 with the right hand bring the loose dirt against it, pressing 

 it down. Of course the root is doubled in. Tut them three 

 or four inches apart. After you have planted a while take 

 the hoe and fill the trench, stamping the earth solid on either 

 side. One serious trouble in planting evergTeens is the earth 

 is not packed solid enough around them. In a day or two go 

 over the surface with a hoe or rake to loosen the top and 

 keep it from drying out. You will soon get on to it and can 

 plant two or three thousand in a day, with little trouble. 



THE COST. 



The seeds are hard to get. There are not enough saved. 

 They usually run about $2.00 a pound. At the lowest esti- 

 mate, you should have four thousand to the pound. You 

 might get twice that amount. It does not take long to plant 

 them. After transplanting let them stay two years, when 

 they will be a foot or more in height, with splendid roots. 

 Now plant them in a grove or windbreak. Cultivate well the 

 first year. It w^ould pay you to cultivate thoroughly for 

 several years. I have raised these pines for years in this way, 

 in the digest and hottest seasons, with no irrigation except 

 that given with a diligent hoe, without losing more than 

 five per cent. Y^ou can plant eight feet apart each way and 

 put some deciduous trees between them which must be cut 

 out before they begin to crowd, or you can plant potatoes or 

 beans or some sweet corn in alternate rows. Strong field 

 corn might be too rank. In planting beware of spots infested 

 with white grubs unless you see the gTound ridged with moles, 

 which are the farmer's best friends. I had |1000 worth of 

 evergreens destroyed in one season by these grubs, as the 

 moles had not found them. These never eat vegetables but 

 always eat grubs and worms, and their presence is a sure 



