30 Practical Forestry 



general grafting may be taken in hand. Ornamental coni- 

 ferae may be pruned and transplanted, and towards the 

 middle of April plants from the seed-beds may safely be 

 lined out in a sheltered part of the nursery. Tree seeds of 

 all kinds should be collected as opportunity offers. In 

 February sow yew, holly and thorn ; in March, birch, 

 beech and alder ; in April, larch, silver fir, Scotch, Austrian 

 and Corsican pines ; and seeds of the less hardy coniferse 

 may be sown in pans or boxes and placed in a cool frame. 

 General nursery-work should be finished up by the end of 

 April. 



Summer. The keeping down of weeds, watering and 

 shading seed-beds, and turning over and mixing of com- 

 post-heaps will be the principal work for the months of May, 

 June and July. Hollies should be planted out in May, 

 and seedlings of the same kind lined out in the nursery 

 borders. 



Elm seeds may be collected as they ripen, and some of 

 these sown in well-pulverized beds in June. 



Autumn. Weeds will still require attention, particu- 

 larly in seed-beds, and amongst young trees that have been 

 recently planted out. General transplanting of shrubs, 

 particularly evergreens, may now go on, and seedlings be 

 lined out. Cuttings should be inserted in light sandy soil 

 by the middle of August," or when the temperature of the 

 earth and air is most nearly equal. 



Trim nursery fences, cut grass, clean walks and roads, 

 and attend generally to neatness and order. Look over the 

 brakes of pines, and remove and burn such as are attacked 

 by any of the various insect and fungus pests to which they 

 are liable. The seeds of ash, hornbeam, yew and thorn 

 should be collected and placed in barrels with about an equal 

 bulk of sand, to hasten the decomposition of the outer 

 coating. 



Winter. The early winter months will be a busy time 

 in the nursery, the lifting and dispatching of trees for forest- 

 planting being one of the principal operations at least, 

 so long as the weather remains mild and open. As time 

 permits, two and three year old plants should be lined out, 



