181)9.] KSSAY.S. 71 



aiul sow or stnitity before they are dry. When seeds are sown 

 in the fall, as soon as the ground is frozen cover the bed with 

 a light covering of hay or pine needles, which will keep the 

 ground from heaving and the heavy spring rains from washing 

 up the seed. If closely looked after, the covering may be left 

 on until the seed shows signs of germination, when it should be 

 carefully removed. All seed-beds and rows should l)e kept free 

 from weeds, and as soon as seeds are up the ground should be 

 hoed or cultivated frequently. This causes the young plants to 

 push more vigorously and makes them better able to withstand 

 the drought. If the weather is very warm and dry the seed- 

 beds should have a good soaking of water once or twice a week, 

 and in the case of delicate seedlings they should be screened dur- 

 ing the heated term or until the plants are deeply rooted, when 

 they may be gradually inured to the weather. After the tirst of 

 September all watering should be stopped and the plants should 

 gradually be hardened so as to go into their winter quarters with 

 well ripened wood. At the approach of winter those sown in 

 drills will stand better if a plough is run between them, throw- 

 ing a furrow against the stems. This keeps the young plants 

 from heaving with the frost, and also keeps the water and ice 

 from settling round the young stems, which often causes great 

 injury. All the others should be mulched with leaves or short 

 manure. 



Most all deciduous plants should be transplanted the follow- 

 ing spring if good shapely plants are desired. In my own work 

 I sow most of my seeds in boxes, as I find it more convenient 

 where I desire only a few hundred of a kind. They are far more 

 easily handled and the plants, especially nuts and oaks, trans- 

 plant more readily and with little or no loss. I call it the box 

 system. I procure a lot of boxes at a grocery store, of as uni- 

 form a size as possible, for they pack better in a six-foot frame 

 than various sizes. Canned goods or soap boxes are nearly 

 equal in size. With two cuts of the splitting saw you have 

 three fiats about three and a half to four inches. With one-half 

 inch auger I bore four or five holes in the bottom for drainage. 

 For the finer seed I drain the boxes with broken crocks, with 



