PLANTING. 13 



pruning*, or of suffering; the leaves to be crowded too much, so as to ex- 

 clude a free admission of light and air, as happens when trees are planted 

 too close together, and judicious thinning' and pruning are neglected. 



The. seeds of forest trees. Seed consists of three principal parts : 

 1st. The cotyledons, or seed leaves ; 2dly. The rostel, or first radicle, 

 which descends into the soil, and becomes the root of the tree; 

 3dly. The plumvla, which ascends, and becomes the stem, bole, or trunk. 

 The rostel and plumula are closely united in the seed, and there constitute 

 what is termed the germ, or embryo of the future tree. This is an essential 

 part of the seed, for however healthy in appearance the seed may appear, 

 if the germ be injured, the seed never vegetates. The cotyledons or seed- 

 leaves contain a farinaceous substance which is the source of nourishment 

 to the radicle, until established in the soil and fitted to perform its proper 

 office in the development of the stem and proper leaves of the plant. It 

 may be useful in this place to mention, that the seeds of forest trees may 

 be classed under the following heads or general characters, indicating 

 peculiar points to be observed in the practice of sowing them. 



1st. Seeds farinaceous, and covered with shells, nut-seeds. To this class 

 belong the oak, Spanish-chestnut, beech, horse-chestnut, walnut, hazel, 

 hornbeam, plane, sycamore, maple, and ash, to which may be added, though 

 not strictly belonging to the group, the birch, alder, and lime. The first 

 seven kinds, from the farina they contain, are least adapted for keeping 

 out of the soil, and the same cause renders them more difficult to pre- 

 serve in the soil when sown, by inducing the attacks of mice, birds, and 

 other vermin. The spring is considered the best season for sowing, and 

 the seeds must therefore be preserved carefully during winter ; the most 

 approved mode is to spread them out in their layers on a cool dry floor, but 

 previously to this they should be thoroughly dried by the sun and air. The 

 smaller kinds of seeds after being sufficiently dried, may be kept in a 

 smaller space. The seed of the oriental plane (Platanus orientalis), however, 

 succeed best when sown immediately as it is perfected. When sown, these 

 seeds require different degrees of covering in the soil. The larger seeds, as 

 those of the chestnut, oak, &c., should be covered with two inches of 

 mould ; for the smaller seeds of the plane, sycamore, hornbeam, maple, 

 and ash, it will be proper to mix with them sand, in quantity about equal 

 to their bulk, placing the mixture on the ground a foot in thickness, and 

 covering that with an inch thick of mould. The birch may be sown im- 

 mediately as it is taken from the tree, or preserved in the seed-loft until 

 spring. When sown, the birch is generally covered half an inch with 

 mould, the former seeds with one inch. 



2nd. Hard seeds, or stories covered with a pulpy fruit. The proper 

 covering of these seeds is so hard, as to have acquired for them the name 

 of stones. In this class are the cherry-tree, mountain-ash, whitebeam, 

 yew, holly, pear, crab, and thorn. With the exception of the cherry-tree, 

 all these remain in the soil one or two years before they vegetate. To 

 obviate the irregular vegetation of these seeds, which is attended with 

 loss of time and inconvenience, the practice of preparing them for sowing' 

 by what is called pitting has been adopted ; this is done in the manner 

 above mentioned for the hornbeam, plane, &c. ; but as one, two, or even 

 three years in the pit or preparatory bed are wanted for some of these seeds, 

 it is requisite after they have lain a certain time in the pit to uncover them 

 and turn them over, so as to assist in the separation of the pulp from the 

 stones. Holly berries require one year at least to prepare them for sow- 

 ing ; mountain ash, whitebeam, yew, and ash lie one year j the cherry 

 readily vegetates in the same spring in which it is sown. 



