404 THE NURSERY. [MAT 



careful to rake and carry away all you hoe or pull up, for if left lying 

 on the surface or in the alleys, many of them would there ripen seed 

 which would afterwards considerably increase your labor. Weeds 

 should never be suffered to grow between the rows of trees, &c., for 

 those rob them of a great portion of the necessary nourishment ; nor 

 should you, for the same reason, ever plant any kitchen vegetables 

 between them, as is practised by some unskilful and covetous persons. 

 The seed-beds of all young trees and shrubs should now, in par- 

 ticular, be kept remarkably free from weeds, and this must always 

 be done by a very careful hand-weeding. 



WATERING THE SEED-BEDS. 



If the weather should now prove dry, all the seed-beds, but par- 

 ticularly the evergreens, such as pines and firs, &c., ought to be 

 frequently watered, taking care not to administer it too hastily lest 

 it should wash the earth from about the young roots and expose them 

 too much to the sun, which would greatly retard their growth. 



SHADING AND SIFTING EARTH OVER SEEDLINGS. 



All the slow growing and tender seedlings, especially the ever- 

 greens, should, after having newly come up, be occasionally shaded 

 from the too powerful influence of the mid-day sun, which would de- 

 stroy a great number of them, particularly while their small stems 

 are in a tender succulent state. 



There is nothing that will be more beneficial to the young seed- 

 lings at this period of their growth, than to sift some fine, light 

 earth over them, just as much and no more as will cover their stems 

 up to the seed leaves ; this will keep their roots cool and moist, and 

 protect their steins from the power of the sun. The pines and firs 

 in particular, are very subject to be cut off, when young, at the very 

 surface of the ground, by the burning heat thereof, melting away 

 the yet soft and tender stems, while the leaves do not appear in the 

 least injured. 



WATERING NEW PLANTATIONS. 



Watering will be extremely necessary for all the new plantations 

 of the more curious and valuable sorts of evergreens and flowering 

 shrubs, and indeed for as much of the general young plantations as 

 it can be extended to with any tolerable degree of convenience. It 

 should be occasionally given to the leaves and branches as well as 

 the roots, for it will not only wash off any dirt or filth which they 

 may have contracted, but open the pores of the plants, which, in dry 

 weather, are many times almost closed, whereby the trees suffer 

 greatly ; nor is the water poured about the r.oots only capable of re- 

 lieving them when in that condition ; this is one reason why rain is 

 much more effectual than artificial watering : these waterings should 

 always be given in an evening after the heat of the day is over, tlyit 

 the water may have time to soak down to the roots, and the moisture 



