IO6 HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



The instruction given for the planting of an orchard, and for the cul- 

 tivation and irrigation of fruit trees, will in the main apply to forest trees. 

 In the end, it will pay to prepare the ground thoroughly in advance of 

 planting, and to give good cultivation. Eight here is where failures are 

 made in most cases. Never make the mistake of setting a tender young 

 tree on sod, nor of sowing or planting seeds in such a place, especially 

 in this dry soil and atmosphere. It is time and money worse than thrown 

 away. For "timber claims" or extensive plantings, a good one or two 

 year old tree is the best. 



SEED SOWING. 



If seed is to be used, always sow or plant it in rich, mellow soil 

 if anything, inclined to be sandy and have it (the soil) well prepared. 

 As a rule, it is better to grow plant seeds on a suitable garden spot, 

 in beds, with rows nine or ten inches apart, and the second or third 

 season transplant to where desired. Select a Northern exposure for the 

 seed bed, or protect with screens of some kind, plant early and do not let 

 the soil bake. Seeds planted in the fall should be well covered with light 

 mulch to keep them from drying out. 



Mr. D. S. Grimes writes that he sows thickly in rows in seed bed and 

 shades the first summer. He says : " I drive down stake^ nail on cross- 

 pieces, then take old, refuse gunny-sacks, rip them open and tack them on 

 to the cross-pieces. This covering can be put on quickly and cheaply. In 

 the fall the covering should be removed, to enable the plants to sun- 

 harden. When the plants first appear, care must be taken not to keep 

 them too wet, causing them to ' damp off.' * * * Seeds 



of cone-bearing^ trees require, as a rule, more care in planting. The 

 yellow pine of the Rocky Mountains, however, (Pinus Pondurosa,) is an 

 exception, and its seed will grow readily as wheat and more rapidly than 

 any other evergreen. They will make an average growth from the seed 

 of two feet each year. I am sorry to see so few evergreens planted by our 

 farmers." 



The depth of sowing seeds depends upon the variety. The rule is, 

 the smaller the seed the less they should be covered. In this dry climate 

 probably one inch would be about right for seeds like ash, maple, elm, 

 etc.* Nut-bearing seeds are planted deeper. 



*NOTE Even deeper planting than this might be required in some instances. 



