66 THE NURSERY. [JAN. 



feet wide beds, or large borders, in rows, or distances from six to 

 twelve or eighteen inches asunder, according to their nature of growth 

 and the time they are to stand. 



By the above arrangement of the various sorts of hardy trees, 

 shrubs and herbaceous plants, in rows at those small distances in the 

 nursery, a great number of plants are contained within a narrow 

 compass, which is sufficient room, as they are only to remain a short 

 time; and that by being thus stationed in a little compass they are 

 more readily kept under a proper regulation for the time they are to 

 remain in this department. 



In the public nurseries they often plant many kinds of seedling 

 trees and shrubs in much closer rows at first planting out than the 

 distances above prescribed, not only in order to husband the ground 

 to the best advantage, but by standing closer it encourages the^ stem 

 to shoot more directly upward, and prevents them expanding^them- 

 selves much anywhere but at top; as for instance, many sorts of 

 evergreens that are but of slow growth the first year or two, such as 

 the pine-trees, firs, and several others, which the nursery gardeners 

 often prick out from the seminary, first into four feet wide beds, in 

 rows lengthways, six inches asunder ; and after having two years' 

 growth there, transplant them in rows a foot asunder ; and in two 

 years after give them another and final transplantation in the nursery, 

 in rows three feet asunder, as observed above ; and by these different 

 transplan tings it will encourage the roots to branch out into many 

 horizontal fibres, and prepare them better for final transplantation, 

 which is the more particularly necessary in several of the pine and 

 fir kinds and several other evergreens. 



With respect to the different methods of planting nursery plants, 

 after being raised either by seed, layers, cuttings, &c., it is performed 

 in several ways to different sorts ; some are pricked out by dibble, 

 especially small seedlings, others are put in by the spade, either by 

 trenches, slitting-in, trenching, or holing, and some are drilled in by 

 a spade or hoe. 



As to most of the tree and shrub kind, sometimes the young seed- 

 ling-trees and shrubs are pricked out from the seminary by dibble ; 

 sometimes they are put in by the spade in the following method : 

 first, having set a line to plant by, strike the spade into the ground 

 with its back close to the line, and give another stroke at right angles 

 with it, then set a plant into the crevice made at the second stroke, 

 bring it close up into the first made crevice even with the line, and 

 press the mould close to it with the foot, then proceed to plant 

 another in the same way, and so proceed till all are planted. A 

 second method is for plants with rather larger roots; strike the spade 

 down with its back close to the line, as aforesaid, and then with a 

 spade cut out a narrow trench close along the line, making the side 

 next the line perfectly upright; then placing the plants upright 

 against the back of the trench close to the line, at the proper dis- 

 tances before mentioned; and, as you go on, trim in the earth upon 

 their roots; when one row is thus planted, tread the earth gently all 

 along close to the plants, and then proceed to plant another row. A 

 third method of planting out small tree and shrub plants is, having 



