244 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



15. SOIL MANAGEMENT 



Even under the best and most economical methods of manage- 

 ment a large amount of hand labor is required in nursery oper- 

 ations. Intensive rather than extensive culture produces the best 

 plants at the least cost. The amount of labor required to work the 

 soil properly and keep it free from weeds depends not only upon 

 its texture and compactness but also upon the thoroughness of its 

 preparation when the nursery is laid out. 1 



Where it is the purpose to grow a variety of species of various 

 ages, it is usually preferable to prepare all parts of the nursery for 

 the production of all kinds of plants. The best preparation is a 

 deep working of the soil. This loosening and mixing of the soil 

 should be done in the autumn, care being taken to keep the better 

 soil near the surface. It can be done by hand trenching or by plow- 

 ing. Although hand working, loosening the soil to a depth of from 

 1 to 2 feet and throwing in ridges, gives the most thorough prep- 

 aration, it is very costly and must usually give way to plowing. 

 It is often advantageous to use a subsoil plow in order to loosen 

 the soil to a depth of from 12 to 14 inches. All stones and roots 

 should be removed and the land should be leveled or terraced 

 where necessary. When the land is worked in the early autumn and 

 allowed to lie fallow over winter, its physical condition is improved 

 by its exposure to frost and winter rains. 



As soon as the land is in condition to work in the spring, it 

 should be manured, plowed, and harrowed. The top soil should 

 be worked until it is in a finely divided condition, entirely free 

 from lumps. On particularly foul sites where the ground is filled 

 with weed seed or where there is an excess of undecomposed organic 

 matter, it is advisable to cultivate a field crop for the first season. 

 A crop like potatoes, cabbage, or corn that requires thorough 

 and clean cultivation throughout the season is preferable. After 

 the field crop is harvested in the autumn, the ground is plowed 

 and left fallow over winter. The following spring it is in con- 

 dition for the formation of the seed and transplant beds. Under 

 no conditions should sod be turned under in the autumn or spring and 

 the area immediately used for seedbeds or transplant beds. The cost of 

 maintenance will be excessive and there is danger of serious dep- 

 redations by the larvae of the May beetle and other insects. 



1 Reuss, Hermann: Die forstliche Bestandesgrtindung. S. 113. Berlin, 

 1907. 



