1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 261 



gathered together and wintered in a deep pit or frame, and slightly 

 covered with meadow hay. If no frame is available, three or four 

 inches of pine needles or leaves may be placed over the boxes, and 

 they may then be left until spring ; but on no account should the 

 boxes be left without any protection, as the young seedlings will 

 then suffer very much in so little depth of soil. 



All seedling trees can be transplanted when very young, as 

 easily as cabbages or tomatoes, if taken as good care of, and man}' 

 of them are benefited by the operation. We transplant thousands 

 of them every year, with but little loss. The best time is when 

 they are making their first or second rough leaf. 



In the spring of the second year all the young seedlings should 

 be transplanted from the seed boxes to the nursery beds, or the 

 larger ones planted where they are to remain ; and for chestnuts, 

 hickories and oaks, I believe it is best to plant them from the seed 

 box to the field where they are to remain. If planted in nursery 

 beds or rows, the treatment will be the same as I have spoken of 

 under the head of treatment in nurseries. 



The boxes I have mentioned are usually from fourteen to sixteen 

 inches square, and will hold from one hundred to one hundred and 

 twenty-five oaks, hickories, chestnuts or beeches, one hundred 

 and seventy-five to two hundred ashes or maples, two hundred 

 and fifty birches or elms, and so on, according to the growth of 

 the plants. Where a greenhouse can be used for this purpose, 

 with frames to harden off the young seedlings, much better results 

 can be obtained and many of the finer seeds can be grown, which 

 it is next to impossible to grow in large quantities out of doors. 



In conclusion, I would say that, while I have not mentioned 

 every tree by itself, the general principles are the same for all ; 

 that, as a rule, the soil should be of the best description, and shel- 

 tered ; that all seeds should be covered only a little, if any, deeper 

 than the diameter of the seed ; but they should be kept clean from 

 weeds, the watering well looked to, and the shading, in the case 

 of the finer seeds, be carefully attended to. They should be 

 protected the first season, and in the end will well repay all the 

 care and attention that have been bestowed upon them ; and any 

 one owning a few acres of land, who will plant a few boxes of 

 chestnut, black-walnut, beech, oak, hickory, or other hard-wood 

 trees, that are usually considered so difficult to transplant, after 

 growing them one year in the boxes and transplanting the follow- 

 ing spring where they are to remain, will be astonished to see how 

 much land can be covered in a few years with healthy young 

 growths of hard wood, with very little trouble or expense. In 

 New England, as well as in other parts of our country, we have 



