CH. IV 



NURSERIES 125 



tropical downpours of rain, the drip from the crown 

 would bruise delicate plants. 



The soil of the nursery should be first worked up 

 and cleared of stumps, stones, and roots. The depth to 

 which it will be turned up will depend greatly on 

 whether the seedlings are intended to develop a deep 

 rooting apparatus, and also on the nature of the soil and 

 the species to be raised. The beds are made rectangular, 

 of convenient lengths, and of such a width that the 

 middle can be reached by the hand from either side of 

 the bed without it becoming necessary to trample on 

 it when working in the middle. This means that the 

 beds should not be much over one metre (say 3 ft.) wide. 



Paths should be made, on either side of the beds, of 

 sufficient width to provide for the necessary traffic 

 without risk of injury to the plants in the beds ; and 

 in large nurseries, broader roads, capable of admitting 

 wheeled traffic, or possibly tramway lines, will have to 

 be made at convenient distances and in the most suit- 

 able directions. It will be convenient to make channels 

 to carry the water to the beds alongside the roads and 

 paths, the chief channels running alongside the main 

 roads. In some places, especially in temporary nurseries, 

 the channels between the beds may combine the duty 

 of paths when they do not carry water. 



The water may be supplied to the beds either by 

 flooding them or by percolation (Fig. 22). Flooding is 

 the favourite system of irrigation by natives of the 

 Tropics, at least in the Old World. The beds are made 

 flat, and so constructed that when water is let in from 

 the channels it covers the whole surface uniformly. 

 The water is let in either by a stroke of the hoe which 

 opens a passage from the channel to the bed, or, where 

 the channel is either lined with stones, tiles, or cement, or 

 carried in pipes, an opening of a more permanent nature 

 is made. This can be closed by means of a board or 

 sheet of iron or, in the case of pipes, by a tap. 



When seed-beds are watered by percolation, i.e. by 

 the infiltration of water from water-channels, these are 



