16 SEEDAGE. 



in sowing large quantities the handling of the sand entails 

 a considerable burden and becomes an item of expense. 

 It is advisable to pass the sand through a sieve of finer 

 mesh than the seeds, and the seeds can then be sifted 

 out at sowing-time. If the seeds are very small or very 

 few in number, they may be placed between folds of thin 

 muslin, which is then laid in the sand. Any shallow box, 

 like a gardener's "flat," is useful in making stratifica- 

 tions, or pots may be used with small lots of seeds. A 

 flat four inches in depth might contain two or three 

 layers or strata of seeds the size of peas. 



The disposition of the boxes when filled varies with dif- 

 ferent operators. Some prefer to bury them. In this case 

 a well-drained sandy slope is chosen. The flats are placed 

 in a trench from one to two feet deep, covered with a single 

 thickness of boards, and the trench is then filled with earth. 

 The seeds usually freeze somewhat, although freezing is not 

 considered necessary unless in the case of nut-like seeds. 

 The object attained in burying is to keep the seeds moist 

 and fresh, inducing the rotting or softening of the coverings, 

 while they are buried so deep that they will not sprout. 

 Seeds of most forest trees should be treated in this manner. 

 They are commonly left in the ground until the following 

 spring, when they are taken up and sown in drills in mellow 

 ground. If good loam, to which has been added a little 

 well-rotted manure, is used, the seeds or nuts of hardy trees 

 and shrubs may be allowed to germinate and grow for one 

 season in the flats. At the end of the season or the next 

 spring, the plants can be transplanted without losing one. 

 This is, perhaps, the best way to handle rare and difficult 

 subjects. 



Many growers place the boxes on the surface in some 

 protected place, as under trees or in a shed, and cover them 

 during winter a foot deep with clean straw or leaves. If 

 boxes are piled on top of each other they should be mulched 

 with moss, else the under ones may become too dry. Or 

 the boxes may be placed, without covering, in a shed, but 



