CHAPTER VIL 



NURSERY PRACTICE. 



Nursery. This term is applied to a plot of land used for 

 raising plants that are intended for planting elsewhere for their 

 final growth. 



Soil and Cultivation. The best soil for a general nursery 

 is a deep, rich, reasonably level, retentive upland. It is cus- 

 tomary to grow most of the nursery crops in rows, so that they 

 may be readily cultivated. The land should be plowed deeply 

 when the crop is planted, and the surface soil kept loose and 

 fine during all the early part of the growing season, or until 

 about the middle of July. If the land that has to be used for 

 a nursery is rather shallow, it should be gradually deepened by 

 plowing from year to year, and, if inclined to dry out, the addi-* 

 tion of large quantities of organic matter, together with constant 

 cultivation, will do much to remedy these defects. 



The cultivation of a nursery or young forest plantation, pro- 

 vided the latter is planted in rows, should consist in keeping 

 the land stirred to the depth of three inches, thus giving a dust 

 blanket, which will protect from drouth. After the first of 

 August much cultivation is likely to encourage a late autumn 

 growth, which should be avoided; but a moderate quantity of 

 buckwheat or oats may be sown then, and be allowed to grow 

 the remainder of the season, to serve as a winter protection to 

 hold snows, and prevent the heaving out of the young seedlings 

 by frost. 



GRADES OF NURSERY STOCK. 



Nursery stock of different kinds has come to be known by 

 such convenient names as seedlings, transplants, street trees, for- 

 est-pulled seedlings, etc. 



