SEEDLING TREES. 



if they knew they had the power of conferring pleasure to the beholder, and 

 desired no other recompense. 



But all this does not constitute their only charms ; scarcely have they 



" Cast their wreath at Beauty's feet," 



than they invite other happy beings to minister to our joys. To the birds, their 

 fruit presents a "dainty dish ;" as it ripens, the branches are more animated by 

 their presence, and so long as one is left on the tree, they continue to afford what 

 has justly been considered one of the happiest associations of a country life. 



Our little tree is not " hard to raise." The stones should be separated from the 

 pulp soon after gathering, and be preserved in sand till fall, and then sown ; they 

 will appear the next spring. If sown in spring, they will not come up till the 

 following year. Their after culture is very simple and easy, requiring soil and 

 treatment suitable to cherries in general. 



[We fully indorse our correspondent's praises. It is a desirable small tree for 

 all ornamental grounds. — Ed. J 



SEEDLIXG TREES. 



BY THOMAS IVIEEHAN, GERjMANTOWN, PENXA. 



Raising young nursery stock is not the simple operation some imagine. It is 

 easy enough when thoroughly understood, as, indeed, anything else is. As some- 

 thing that will pay, it is worthy of better attention ; for who can believe that an 

 European nurseryman can pay for the collection of American seeds, transporting 

 across the Atlantic, raising the trees, with all the risks of importation, and then 

 sell them to American nurserymen cheaper than they can themselves raise them ? 

 Yet this is the practice — probably nine-tenths of all the young nursery stock of 

 America being imported. 



I do not propose to go into the whole details of stock raising ; and you, my 

 dear sir, in these days of secret curculio remedies, would not wish to give to your 

 readers, for the price of a year's subscription, information that might be worth a 

 good nursery business to some of them ; but being interested in the sale of tree 

 seeds, I cannot but desire the success of my customers, and hence offer these 

 remarks on the department of seed raising. 



Whatever seeds are to be sown, it is of the first importance that the soil be 

 deej), clean, rich, and well-drained. If these conditions cannot be secured, better 

 not attempt to raise seedlings, but continue to import the young plants till they 

 can be, otherwise the attempt will " cost more than the plants come to." 



A piece of laud for seedlings should be under thorough culture for at least two 

 years previous, so that every weed shall have been entirely eradicated. It should 

 be well manured both seasons, so that, when ready for seeding, it will be rich, 

 light, and mellow ; and, aljove all, it should be trenched or subsoiled at least 

 eighteen inches deep. Thus you will not be troubled with weeds abstracting the 

 moisture and nourishment, or calling for manual labor which does not pay ; and 

 your plants will grow " like willows," holding on to their own, even in droughts 

 like that just passed. Rest assured, that if you starve your seedlings, they will 

 starve you. 



As a rule, all seeds grow better in a sandy soil than in that of a loamy texture ; 

 and some seeds, which I will specify before I conclude, will do only in such 

 cumstanccs. Aspect is not of great importance, an exposure to the full mid 



