40 THE NURSERY 



should be stored in the dry, and out of the reach of vermin. 

 They must not, however, be allowed to become too dry and 

 shrivelled. An ideal storehouse is one with an earthen floor 

 and a thatched roof, similar to an apple house. Large seed, 

 like acorns and beech mast, should be kept in barrels, and 

 smaller seed spread over paper laid on shelves, though large 

 quantities must be stored in bins and shovelled over at 

 intervals to prevent them heating ; so also the barrels of nuts 

 must be carefully looked over at intervals. No seed, how- 

 ever, should be stored in bulk until it is properly dry, or it 

 will quickly heat. Seed not artificially dried should be spread 

 out thinly on a dry wooden floor of some building, and there 

 allowed to dry naturally. 



(5) The Sowing of Seeds. 



The actual date at which it is preferable to sow seeds will 

 vary according to circumstances, but, generally speaking, 

 sowing in nursery beds should take place towards the end of 

 April and in May. If the laws of Nature be followed, 

 autumn sowing would generally be the case, but this latter 

 method is open to several grave objections when practised in 

 a nursery. When sown naturally in the forest, the mother 

 trees afford shelter, the ground is kept cool until late in the 

 spring, and thus growth is retarded and the danger from 

 frosts minimised ; and even if these frosts do occur, the 

 shelter of the trees will keep them off the young seedlings. 

 But when sown in autumn in a nursery, there will usually 

 be enormous losses incurred from late frosts, unless artificial 

 protection is given. Then again, mice and vermin make 

 inroads upon autumn sown seed-beds, and often cause serious 

 loss. 



On the other hand, spring sowing is not without its 

 objections. A proportion of the seed sown will often not 

 appear until the year afterwards ; for the germinative power 

 becomes weakened, and, in some cases, the germinative power 

 of a large proportion of the seed is entirely destroyed. 

 Hence, a consideration of this must modify the general rule. 



The seed of Silver Fir, Elm, Poplar, and Willow will lose 



