JAN.] THE NURSERY. 43 



Extent, Soil, and Situation, ^fc. 



With respect to the proper extent, or dimensions of a Nursery, 

 whether for private use or public supply, it must be according to 

 the quantity of plants required, or the demand for sale : if for pri- 

 vate use, from a quarter to half an acre or more, may be sufficient, 

 which must be regulated according to the extent of garden-ground, 

 and plantations it is required to supply ; and if for a public nursery, 

 for any general cultivation, not less than three or four acres of land, 

 will be worth occupying as such, and from that, to fifteen or twenty 

 acres, or more, may be requisite according to the demand. 



With respect to soil for a nursery, the nature and quality of this, 

 requires particular attention : it ought to be naturally good, for at 

 least one full spade deep, or if more, the better ; always prefer a 

 loamy soil, of a moderately light temperament, which cannot na- 

 turally be too good, notwithstanding what some advance to the con- 

 trary ; even though the trees, should afterwards be removed into a 

 poorer soil. Reason teaches, that young trees growing vigorously 

 and freely in a good soil, will form numerous and healthy roots, and 

 when they come to be afterwards planted in worse land, they will be 

 able, from the strength of their constitution, and multiplicity of 

 roots, to feed themselves freely with coarser food. On the con- 

 trary, young trees raised upon poor land, by having their vessels 

 contracted, and their outward bark mossy and diseased, will be along 

 lime, even after being removed into a rich soil, before they attain to 

 a vigorous state. If the roots of the young plants have not a good 

 soil, or sufficient room to strike in, there will be little hope of their 

 furnishing themselves with that ample stock of roots and fibres, 

 which is necessary to a good plant, and, with which every young 

 tree ought to be well furnished, when removed for final transplant 

 tation. 



Most of the authors who have written on the kind of soil most 

 suitable for a Nursery, have differed in their opinions, even so far as 

 to be almost quite contradictory to one another, and the common 

 opinion, is in favour of the soil being the same, nearly similar, or 

 rather worse, than that into which the trees are to be finally plant- 

 ed ; but this is setting out upon a very wrong principle ; for, were 

 a nursery to be established on a poor gravel, or stiff clay, the plants 

 raised on such, would be poor, small, hide-bound, starved things,very 

 unfit for planting in any land. 



If an animal was to be only half fed, from its first having life, for 

 one year ; I believe that such would never grow to be of a large 

 size of its kind, if afterwards it was put into better keeping ; but 

 suppose it was put to harder fare, it would certainly make a poor 

 figure. If this same animal had been moderately fed for one year, 

 and then put into worse feeding, it would have made a better beast. 



Some will say, that these observations are unnecessary, as the 

 ground in which fruit-trees are generally planted, is for the most 

 part good, being particularly selected for that purpose, and that a 

 s oil similar thereto will do very well ; granted, provided the ground 



