RAISING THE PLANTS 43 



water should be available. If water is not laid on in 

 pipes all over the nursery, or there is not sufi&cient force, 

 a knapsack sprayer or one on wheels can be used. 



Instead of laths, the frames are sometimes covered with 

 1-inch mesh wire-netting as a protection against birds. 

 At night a covering of canvas or straw mats should be 

 placed over them to guard against frost. 



The lath frames protect the young seedlings from the 

 direct rays of the sun, and prevent the beds from becoming 

 too dry, but during a long spell of dry weather the beds 

 should be watered from a fine rose fitted to a tube or 

 watering-can. The watering must not be too heavy, 

 otherwise the ground will cake and the watering will have 

 been almost useless, as capillary attraction is more rapid 

 when the surface soil is caked, the moisture all being 

 drawn to the top, where it is evaporated quickly by the 

 sun. 



Mulching with leaf-soil will reduce evaporation to a 

 minimum and help to conserve moisture. The leaf-soil, 

 which must be free from weed seeds, should be carefully 

 scattered by hand between the rows of seedlings. Hoeing 

 between the drills is a good preventative of excessive 

 evaporation, and should be done in preference, or in 

 addition, to watering. 



Spruce or other boughs are sometimes stuck upright 

 between the beds to shade them from the sun, and often 

 Birch transplants are used for the purpose. 



Mice and voles will often do a great deal of damage to 

 seed-beds, and must be kept down. 



Hedge bottoms should always be kept clear of leaves. 



