30 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 



The limbs above the ring have grown much larger 

 than below it. 



NURSERY. 



It has been a received opinion, that the soil for 

 a nursery should not be made rich, as the plants, 

 when removed to a more fertile soil, will flourish 

 more luxuriantly ; but later observation has decided 

 that the reverse of this will be found correct. There 

 is a close analogy between vegetable and animal 

 life; and it is a dictate of nature that both require a 

 full supply of nutriment from their earliest existence. 

 It would be absurd to suppose that the tender roots 

 of young seedlings are capable of drawing sufficient 

 nutriment from a rank, barren, and uncultivated soil, 

 and those that are barely supported, or nearly starv- 

 ed at first, will never afterwards become vigorous, 

 stately and handsome, though surrounded by the 

 richest mould. Repeated experiments have prov- 

 ed that a strong and vigorous plant, that has grown 

 up quickly, and arrived at a considerable magnitude 

 in a short time, never fails to grow better after 

 transplanting, than another of the same size that is 

 older and stinted in its growth. Where the soil is 

 poor and lean, trees, in every stage of growth, are 

 observed to be languid, weak, and stinted; while 

 those reared in a good mellow soil always assume a 

 free growth, and advance with strength and vigour. 

 It is evident, therefore, that the ground to be occu- 

 pied for a fruit nursery, requires to be made rich 

 and fertile. The soil should also be deep, well 

 pulverized, and cleared of all roots and weeds. The 

 seeds may be sown either in autumn or in April, 

 and in one year after, the young plants may be taken 

 up and replanted in the nursury. It is important 

 that the situation be such as to admit of a free cir- 

 culation of air, and open to the sun, that the plants 

 may be preserved in a healthy condition. Plants 



