FOREST SEEDS, SEEDLINGS AND CUTTINGS. 39 



wheel, for trees ranging from four to six feet, and at least eighteen inches 

 deep, and fill in. Mulch from six to eight inches deep, radiating out at 

 least one foot beyond the circumference dug. There will be times in the 

 dry and late summer when all the trees must have attention, the same as in 

 the field. They begin to droop. What's the matter? Do they thirst for 

 water? Probably. But more likely the roots are so bound, they and the 

 leaves cannot breathe. They want air-circulation as well as water in the 

 ground. Throw back the mulch. Stir up the soil superficially and finely; 

 avoid harming a single root; give them enough water to drink to their fill; 

 throw back the mulch and they revive. Just before winter sets in, water 

 profusely to help them through the wintry drouth. 



HEDGES. 



As inquiry is constantly increasing as to what methods are best for rais- 

 ing hedges, the following from the pen of Prof. W. W. Pendergast, super- 

 intendent of public instruction, exactly answers all such letters. For a 

 hedge, he recommends the buckthorn. His treatment of the seed can be 

 successfully applied to the buffalo berry and other seeds for hedges : 



"Soon as the frost is out of the ground in the spring to the depth of 

 three or four inches, mix a pound of buckthorn seed with about two quarts 

 of finely pulverized sandy soil, and having rubbed it well with the hands in 

 a pail of water to separate the three seeds which grow in each pocket, 

 place the mixture in a box six inches square and six inches deep, in the 

 bottom of which several holes have been previously bored for drainage, 

 and cover the whole with half an inch of fine soil. Sink the box in loose 

 soil in some sunny spot, and occasionally sprinkle with soft water slightly 

 warmed. Be careful not to water too frequently or too abundantly, as in 

 such case the seed will rot. If the season be rainy, it will not need water- 

 ing at all. The ground should be kept somewhat moist, but not wet. 

 About the first of May begin to examine the seed to see if it has sprouted. 

 When the little white roots begin to protrude from the seeds, make a garden 

 bed about a rod square and sow the seeds half an inch deep, making four- 

 teen rows, and sowing about four hundred seeds to a row. The plants 

 should grow two years in the bed before being set in the hedge-row. Cut 

 back to half their length and set in parallel rows one foot apart, and plant 

 one foot apart in the row, breaking joints so that each shall be opposite the 

 midway point between the nearest two in the other row. Prune severely 

 for the first few years, so as to make the hedge thicken up well at the bot- 

 tom. A pound of seed should make 180 rods of hedge." 



SEASON FOB CUTTING WOOD. 



If it be desirable to preserve the continuity and density of the planta- 

 tion for future profits, and it is deemed necessary to thin out for fuel or 

 other purposes, then cut, say when ten or twelve years old, such trees as 

 the oaks, ashes, box elders, poplars, including cottonwoods, willows, lind- 

 ens, etc., on a level with the ground, not when cue sap starts, but just 

 before it starts. Do not wound or tear off the bark. Use an adze after- 

 wards and leave the stumps convex. Cut away such sprouts as are not 



