36 PEACH CULTURE. 



CHAPTER in. 



SEED-BED. 



The proper time to prepare the seed-bed is just before 

 freezing sets in in the fall. Some convenient spot in the 

 garden or field is selected. It should be free from roots 

 or stones, and is the better for having been cultivated in 

 corn or vegetables the season before. It should be dry 

 land, that is, free from standing water during the winter 

 in which the seed is to remain in the ground. 



When a suitable spot has been selected, the next thing 

 is to mark it off. It may be of any size desired. If the 

 nursery is to be a large one, the more, of course, will be 

 required. When this is done, the seed is thickly spread 

 over the ground, about three inches deep. It is then 

 " spaded in." This is done by spading the ground cover- 

 ed by the seed in the same manner as is usual in garden 

 culture, and is usually about six inches deep. By this 

 method the seed is completely mixed with, and covered 

 up in the soil. Some is carried nearly or quite to the 

 bottom of the stirred ground, and the rest is pretty well 

 distributed between that and the surface. Here it lies 

 freezing and thawing all winter, and by spring the shells 

 are so far loosened as to be readily separated by a slight 

 effort, or even in handling. The kernels will be found to 

 be swollen, and many of them sprouted. They are now 

 ready to be planted in the nursery. 



Another method is to spread the seed on the surface of 

 the ground, cover it over with sawdust or spent tan bark, 

 from three to five inches, and leave it to the weather, as 

 before. This method is not so common as the first, but 

 we believe it equally good, and not quite so laborious. 

 Others, again, spread the bed over with the seed, then 

 cover it about an inch deep with mold, then another layer 



