PROPAGATION. 23 
danger of smothering the plants. The covering is merely 
to prevent the frequent freezing and thawing of the ground 
and heaving out the plants. 
TIME FOR SOWING SEEDS, 
There can be no specified time given for sowing all 
kinds of tree seeds, but for a general rule, very soon after 
they ripen is the best. It is certainly not always conveni- 
ent to do so, nor is it always necessary, but with some 
kinds a delay of a few weeks is almost certain to result in 
a complete failure. Some kinds of seeds retain their vital- 
ity for years, while others for only a few months at most. 
The want of specific knowledge upon this point has 
been the cause of many failures, and will probably con- 
tinue to be so until more general information is dissemi- 
nated. To more fully illustrate this point, I will suppose 
a case. Mr. B.,a farmer at the West, wishes to grow a 
quantity of the different kinds of maples, and he writes to 
some Eastern seedsman ordering two bushels of each of 
the following kinds: Sugar Maple, Norway Maple, Red 
Maple, Silver Maple, sending his order in the fall, knowing 
that at that time most trees ripen their seeds. But for 
once he has made a mistake; and if he has sent his order 
to an honest and intelligent seedsman, he will fill one half 
of Mr. B.’s order, and write him why he does not send him 
all the seeds ordered. But if he has sent his order to one 
who is not posted up in the matter, or who values money 
more than honesty, he will fill the order complete, and 
the result will be that the seeds of the first two kinds will 
grow, and the others not. 
