TIMBER GROWING FOR PROFIT. 375 



seeds swollen to about four times the ordinary size. Sometimes 

 nearly half the seed will swell from the first application of 

 water, but generally but a small per cent. 



The swollen seeds must be separated from the others. With 

 a small quantity this can be done by hand, but it is more con- 

 venient to do it with a sieve, and I find that the right size is 

 five meshes to the inch. I have a mason's hand screen which 

 I use for this purpose. After separating the swollen seeds, ap- 

 ply the hot water again and go through the same process, and 

 it is often necessary to repeat it five or six times before all the 

 seed will swell. As it is difficult to sift the seed when wet, 

 spread it thinly in the sun and allow it to dry, but it should 

 not remain any longer than is necessary to dry the outside. This 

 swollen seed is ready to plant and will come up as quickly and 

 certainly as corn, but if the weather should be unsuitable for 

 planting, it can be kept safely for several days by spreading 

 not more than an inch deep, covering with a damp cloth, and set- 

 ting on the cellar floor or in some cool, damp place. Sow in 

 drills about a seed to the inch, and wide enough so as to admit of 

 horse culture ; keep them free from weeds and thoroughly worked 

 all summer, and they will grow from three to five feet high. 



Always set out in plantation at one year old. The expense 

 of taking them up and planting will be less than half what it 

 would if left another year, and the trees will scarcely be checked 

 in their growth, while if left till two years old the roots will be 

 mutilated so that the trees will be much injured in transplanting. 



The soil in the plantation should be thoroughly prepared by 

 plowing, harrowing, and rolling, as the work of setting out can 

 be done much better and more rapidly than if it is left rough 

 and cloddy. My plantations are set in rows both ways, four 

 feet apart each way, and we are now thinning to eight feet, cut- 

 ting out for bean poles and fence stakes. In my future plant- 

 ing I shall adopt the plan of making the rows eight feet apart, 

 and plant quite close in the row. Where there is a demand for 

 bean poles it will pay to set one foot apart, and I would not set 

 wider than two feet apart in the row. This close planting 

 causes a straight, upright growth, and the advantage of planting 



