THE FOREST NURSERY 



263 



spaced drills, a width greater than 4 feet is objectionable as they 

 cannot be cultivated and weeded readily from the paths. When 

 the drills are wide-spaced so that one can walk between them in 

 weeding, the beds are often 6 or more feet wide. Not infrequently 

 a single bed occupies an entire compartment. Seedbeds in the 



United States in which conifers _. 



and the small-seeded broad- i 

 leaved species are grown are 

 usually 4 feet wide. 



Walnut, oak, and other hard- 

 woods that can be grown with- 

 out shade are usually sown in 

 wide-spaced drills, without di- 

 viding the compartments into 

 separate beds. 



Preliminary to forming the 

 beds, particularly when they 

 are 6 feet or less in width, a 

 measuring line is stretched 

 along the two sides of the com- 

 partment, on which the ends of 

 the beds abut. Stakes are 

 driven to mark the sides of the 

 beds and the paths. Lines are 



B. 



C. 



nnnnnnnr 



stretched across the compart- 

 ment and fastened to the FIG. 52. Diagram of the arrangement 



of seedbeds in the compartment. 

 A. Main road. 



Secondary road. 



Temporary road on which the ends 

 of the seedbeds abut. 



D. 



E. 

 F. 



stakes, thus marking off the 



beds and the paths (Fig. 52). 



When it is advisable to raise 



the surface, soil is removed 



from the paths and thrown into 



the adjacent beds until the 



desired elevation is attained. 



The surface is shaped with the 



ordinary garden rake and a special form of roller which brings 



it to a uniform contour. 



The elevation of the seedbeds above the paths depends upon 

 their width, the character of the soil, and the method of irrigation 

 practiced. Seedbeds more than 4 feet wide are seldom raised 

 above the paths and the surface rounded to bring the middle 



Seedbeds. 

 Paths. 



Line of stakes shown as black 

 dots. 



