PLANTING AND CULTIVATION. 299 



simple directions may, therefore, benefit some new beginner, 

 . who is desirous of surrounding himself with the comfort and 

 home-like appearance that trees alone can give. 



I find from experience that all nut-bearing trees are best 

 planted where they are to remain ; others, such as ash, maple, 

 and elm, should grow one year in the seed-bed, and then be 

 transplanted to the grove. Willows, cottonwood, and poplar, 

 are best grown from cuttings ; these may be transplanted suc- 

 cessfully, but the growth is more satisfactory and expense less, 

 if planted in their permanent places. Of course evergreens 

 must be transplanted, as they are difficult to raise from seed. 



The last fourteen acres of forest that I planted, was done 

 in a more systematic manner than was my first or previous 

 planting. I commenced in the Fall to procure seed of the nut- 

 bearing trees, such as walnut, butternut, oak, and hickory. 

 Without giving them time to dry, I covered them slightly with 

 earth in shallow trenches on dry land, scattered thinly so the 

 earth would come in contact with all or most of them. The 

 freezing and thawing during the Winter opened the nuts in a 

 natural manner, and by the time my ground was ready in the 

 Spring, they Avere in nice condition for planting, some of them 

 with sprouts on four inches long. 



The seedlings, such as ash, maple, etc., also young ever- 

 greens, I had secured by sowing seed myself, the Spring before, 

 or from nurserj^men. 



Then as soon as the ground was dry enough in the Spring, 

 I had it plowed, dragged,' and marked both ways with a corn- 

 marker, the rows being near four feet apart. Then we were 

 ready for planting. One took the nuts in a pail and dropped 

 one at each cross, making a hole with the heel of the boot where 

 the marker had not made a furrow of sufficient depth, and one 

 followed, covering with a hoe, same as planting corn in 

 the old way, and about as deep (two inches). In planting the 

 seedlings, each man took a spade, and a pailful of plants with 

 a little water in the pail to keep the roots from drying ; he then 

 set the spade in the cross, a little slanting, pushed it in the 

 length of the blade, raised it up a little on the handle, so as to 



