16 MANAGEMENT 



nursery ; the stocks are then young and succulent, and 

 the success pretty certain : when the stocks grow large 

 and tall, the operation of budding is more difficult 



and uncertain. 



\ 



In four years from the time of planting in the nur- 

 sery, in a good soil, with good cultivation, the trees 

 will have attained the height of from seven to eight 

 feet ; those of vigorous kinds will be taller, and will 

 be fit for transplanting into the orchard. The cultiva- 

 tion of a nursery is effected by ploughing and harrow- 

 ing, each operation twice or thrice in the season, with 

 ploughs and harrows of a small size, with a single 

 horse : the earth is first thrown from the trees, and 

 then towards them, and the ground is also worked 

 with a hoe between the trees to destroy the weeds ; the 

 more the earth is stirred, and the cleaner the ground 

 is kept, the faster will trees grow in every stage of 

 their progress, from the seedling to the full grown 

 tree. 



In pruning trees in the nursery, care should be 

 used not to run them up too high; this weakens the 

 stems, and throws the growth too much into the bran- 

 ches, which must be thinned before their removal, at 

 the risk of checking their growth as frequently the 

 consequence of the great size of the head, will be an 

 irremediable curve in the stem, while in the nursery. 



