520 PROTECTION AGAINST INSOLATION. 



drought better than seedlings taken directly from the seed-beds. 

 Coniferous plants taken from the nursery with balls of earth 

 round their roots, stand drought less well than strong well- 

 rooted transplants ; mound-planting also gives bad results in 

 very dry years, and it may then be necessary to plant out spruce 

 only under shelter of birch or Scots pine nurses. 



ii. The soil should be deeply trenched, and sowing, or 

 planting of yearlings, should be carried out simultaneously 

 with the growth of a crop of oats, or buckwheat, which will 

 shelter the young plants till the autumn ; the deeply trenched 

 soil enables Scots pine seedlings to form deep roots, and soil 

 which has been well worked parts with moisture less freely, 

 and is more hygroscopic than a compact soil. In years of 

 drought and on poor dry soils, moss should be placed between 

 the lines of sowings ; this costs about 1 an acre. 



iii. In hot countries, planting should be done at the very 

 commencement of the monsoon, and sowing is often preferable, 

 as many plants, such as teak, form very long tap-roots imme- 

 diately after germination. Planting may also be done by 

 means of plants grown in small bamboo-baskets, which soon 

 rot and allow the roots to spread in the soil. 



b. Rules for Nurseries. 



i. Subdivide the area of the nursery by narrow evergreen 

 hedges, or provide temporary side shelter by mats ; these 

 precautions are especially necessary for spruce. 



ii. Trench the nursery-beds deeply in autumn, and manure 

 with compost, or burned sods ; this not only keeps the beds 

 free from weeds, but also promotes the development of strong 

 fibrous roots. 



iii. Transplant yearling plants, especially of spruce, into 

 nursery-lines. 



iv. Nursery-beds of seedlings may be temporarily protected 

 by sticking branches into the ground on the south side of the 

 beds or all round them, or by covering them with mats, 

 supported by a framework, 4 to 6 feet high, as in protecting 

 plants against frost. The mats may be removed during 

 showers, and only placed over the beds at the hottest time of 

 day, from 11 A.M. to 8 P.M. Such shelter should also be 



