PROPAGATION. 95 



some careful growers prefer to always keep them mixed 

 with dry sand in a cool shed. 



The Seeds of the Red Cedar hang on the tree all winter, 

 and must be picked by hand. They should be soaked 

 in strong lye for twenty-four hours, the fleshy covering 

 removed by rubbing them against a fine sieve, and then 

 stratified in sand, where they will be frozen during the 

 winter. Even with this treatment they will seldom grow 

 until the second year. 



Raising Coniferous Trees from Seed. The land selected 

 for sowing the seed should have a light, porous surface 

 soil, preferably underlaid with a moist subsoil that will not 

 dry out easily. It should be so located as to have good 

 circulation of air over it, that the plants may dry off 

 quickly after rains, and it must be so shaded as to keep 

 off about one-half of the sunlight. This latter permits 

 a play of light and shade over the bed all day, and is about 

 the condition under which we find nature raising such 

 seedlings where trees partially shade the ground and 

 protect them from the constant rays of the sun. In 

 practice ' we aim to secure these conditions as follows : 

 A piece of well-drained, rather sandy soil in an airy place 

 is selected and laid out in beds four feet wide. In May 

 the seeds are sown rather thickly (about three good seeds 

 to a square inch), either broadcast or in rows, and covered 

 with about one-fourth inch of sandy loam and then with 

 about one-fourth inch of clear sand. Some of the small 

 seeds, like those of White Spruce, should not be covered 

 more than one-fourth inch. Before the seedlings break 

 the ground, a framework at least three feet above the 

 beds is made and covered with laths, laid about one 

 and one-half inches apart, running north and south, or 

 with sufficient brush to shut out about one-half the sun- 

 light. If the bed is very much exposed to the winds it 

 should have similar protection on all sides. In such 



