CHAPTER IV 

 NURSERY MANAGEMENT 



IN existing woods one often finds young plants of oak, ash, 

 sycamore, and other species springing up where they are not 

 wanted, and these may be dug up and planted in other places. 

 Usually, however, they do not give good results, for two 

 reasons firstly, because they have been growing in the shade 

 of older trees and are often partially suppressed, and do net 

 flourish when transferred out into the full light ; secondly, 

 because their roots have not been trained to withstand the 

 operation of transplanting. As a rule the plants are so 

 scattered that the cost of digging them up, and of carriage, is 

 excessive. 



Young plants may be obtained by purchase from public 

 nurseries or they may be raised in home nurseries. The latter 

 procedure is strongly recommended where the planting is on 

 an extensive scale, as the plants can be raised very cheaply and 

 usually prove more satisfactory than bought plants. As one 

 can choose the day for taking the plants out of the nursery 

 and can plant them without delay there are usually fewer 

 failures in the plantation, while when sent by rail the roots 

 may dry up if there is any delay in delivery. 



When, however, planting is done at irregular intervals, so 

 that a steady supply of plants is not required, or when it is 

 only carried out on a small scale, it is best to purchase plants 

 from one of the well-known nurserymen. 



On many estates it is the practice to purchase one or two 

 year old seedling plants and to grow these on for a few years 

 in the home nursery. This is a good system, especially for 



