SEEDLINGS OF CONIFER.^. 65 



commence growth, then transplant or admit light and 

 heat sufficient to insure a healthy gi'owth. My own 

 practice — and it has been eminently successful — has been, 

 in the case of rare species, to procure them in the fall 

 or early winter, and to place each plant in a flower pot of 

 the required size, and then plunge them under the cen- 

 tral stage of my green-house, or in frames where they 

 would not freeze. 



Seedling evergreens gathered in Oregon in November 

 and received and potted the last of December, showed 

 plenty of new roots by the first of March, while at the 

 same time very few gave any signs of growtli in their 

 tops, beyond a slight swelling of the terminal buds. 

 Out of two thousand obtained one autumn, and treated 

 as above, the loss did not exceed five per cent. In 

 handling seedlings of a foot or more in hight^ the same 

 idea as expressed above should be kept in view, and it is 

 also well to prune away or cut back their leading branches 

 before planting out. 



When evergreen seedlings from forests near by are 

 taken up in the spring, they should be set near together 

 in rows or beds, and then well shaded until root growth 

 has commenced, after which the covering may be removed 

 entirely or in part. A convenient way to shade such 

 plants, is to spread a thin layer of hay over the entire tops 

 of the plants, and as showers beat down the hay from 

 time to time during the spring and early summer, the 

 foliage will be exposed more and more, and finally the 

 hay will reach tlie ground and form a mulch for the plants 

 during the rest of the season. Plants set near together, 

 with rows eighteen inches or two feet apart, may be pro- 

 tected in this manner very effectually and satisfactorily. 



Shading may be done with cloth, boards, or boughs of 

 larger evergreens, or in any other way most convenient; 

 but shade made in some way is usually necessary to in- 

 sure success with forest seedlings. Those obtained from 



