EVERGREENS FROM SEED. 379 
using lath, brush can be used by placing the wires two feet apart 
and weaving and tying brush to them. The shade must be evenly 
distributed so that half or little more than half of the rays of the 
sun will be intercepted. After finishing your shading, go over all 
your beds with acultivator, and then let it alone until spring comes, 
and the ground is dry enough to work well. Scatter a liberal dress- 
ing of wood ashes over all the beds, then pulverize thoroughly to 
the depth of four inches and finish making the beds, having the 
edges straight, beds four feet wide and an inch or so higher in the 
middle than at the edges. The soil must be completely pulverized 
and absolutely free from rubbish of every kind 
You are now ready to sow the seed. Sow broadcast and have three 
or four seeds tothe square inch. After sowing a bed,run acommon 
garden roller over it until every seed is pressed firmly into the soil, 
Cover the whole bed with light colored, fine clean sand to the depth 
of one quarter of an inch for the spruces, Scotch pines and firs, and 
about one-half inch for seeds like the white pine. Red cedar and 
arbor vite seed are taken from the place where they are stratified 
and sown, sand and all, then they are rolled and covered as the oth- 
ers, with the exception that the arbor vitae seed is just barely cov- 
ered with sand, and pulverized dry moss is sifted over them to a 
depth of a little less than one quarter of an inch, and the bed care- 
fully sprinkled with water through a fine hose. 
After every rain the beds must be looked after and sand applied 
again wherever it has washed off. The seed germinates in from ten 
to twenty days after planting. All weeds must be pulled out by 
hand as fast as they appear, as the beds must be kept perfectly 
clean. The objectin having the sides enclosed as well as the top 
is to keep out rabbits, dogs, poultry and other vermin. A dog or 
rabbit merely walking over a bed when the trees are coming up will 
destroy thousands. A good boy with a shot gun is a necessary ad- 
junct to keep certain birds from digging up and eating up the seeds 
and trees; this must be attended to. While the little trees are com- 
ing up, if the the weather is dry, the bed must be carefully sprinkled 
every evening. Use just enough water to thoroughly dampen the 
sand on the beds. Have some dry sand stored away so that during 
long spells of rainy, damp, foggy weather you can getitand sprinkle 
the beds with it after each shower. This coating of dry sand should 
be very thin, not over 1-32 of an inch deep. Pull out the weeds be- 
fore they form the second set of leaves. Keep the alleys clean with 
the use of the hoe. 
The ground occupied by the seed beds should be at least six or 
eight rods from any buildings, trees, hedges or other windbreaks. 
A windbreak is a good thing tohave around your seed beds, if at a 
proper distance. I prefer a distance of about twenty rods or more 
to secure good air drainage. The beds must be constantly watched 
until the little plants have formed their true leaves. The most 
important objects to keep in mind are: first, the birds must be kept 
off; second, the weeds and grass must be pulled; third, if the weather 
is too dry, sprinkle, if too damp, use the dry sand. 
After the true leaves have formed, the plants require little atten- 
tion except that weeding must be kept up. Whenthe ground be- 
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