202 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
The situation of the nursery is very good. It has a gentle 
north-easterly slope, and is well protected from various 
adverse influences by a Scots pine and beech wood about 
120 years of age. It is enclosed by a high wooden fence, 
it is protected from rabbits by wire netting which runs along 
the outside of the fence, and is fixed half a foot below the 
surface of the ground as a protection against burrowing. Along 
the outside of the nursery are spruce trees 70 years old, and, 
owing to their dense evergreen crowns, they give assured pro- 
tection. The enclosure, which is nearly an acre in extent, is 
cut into four main divisions by means of two paths cross- 
ing each other at a right angle. Each division is more or less 
subdivided. 
Soil,—Through long years of careful cultivation, the soil is 
as near perfection as possible. It is a fine sandy loam, quite 
free from stones. It has received from time to time large 
dressings of leaf-mould, and every year it receives a dressing 
of basic slag and kainit. _ It is therefore in first-class condition. 
Work.—Operations commence about the middle of March, 
the work consisting principally in the lifting and transporting 
of plants for use in the forest. When the nursery has been 
cleared of its growing stock, the greater part of which is 1-year- 
old seedling Scots pine, the ground is carefully trenched, the 
bottom spit being placed on the top; and as this sort of cultiva- 
tion is carried on every year, the most thorough mixing of the 
soil takes place, and the beneficial effect of it is seen in the 
uniform size of the plants grown. When the trenching is 
finished the soil gets a top dressing of kainit and basic slag, 
and this is gently worked into the surface-soil. The ground 
is next laid out into beds. The breadth of the bed is 4 feet, 
and the length may be from 5 to 15 yards, according to the 
situation. A breadth of 4 feet has been found to answer best, 
as with this there is no difficulty in the way of weeding, the 
beds being thoroughly under control from both sides. Weeding 
paths one foot wide are left between the beds. After the beds 
have been marked off, the surface is gently trodden, and a 
special soil-mixing implement, consisting of an arrangement 
of discs, is used to  pulverise the surface-soil. This is 
followed by a light hand-roller, which evens the surface of the 
bed and gives it a certain degree of firmness, and it is now 
ready for the drawing of the seed-drills, which are run cross- 
