LAYING OUT THE NURSERY. 63 



the field, to resist insects, disease and unfavorable weather. 

 A practical suggestion for preventing young seedlings 

 from being eaten off at the surface of the ground by grubs 

 is to lightly wrap them with a piece of paper about three 

 inches broad where the stem joins the roots when plant- 

 ing. The risk of having the young seedlings burnt up 

 just after planting is best guarded against by various 

 simple measures for shading them. In about a year, or 

 when the plants have attained the height of about eigh- 

 teen inches, they are ready for transfer to the permanent 

 positions on the plantation which has been meantime 

 prepared for their reception. 



In selecting a plot for a nursery such a command of 

 water as will facilitate the flooding of every bed so as to 

 thoroughly saturate the soil, will be found indispensable, 

 as it has been found by experience that it is much 

 cheaper to carry soil to water than water to soil. If a 

 good supply of water cannot be conveniently had on 

 forest land by erecting a tank or directing a stream, the 

 cheapest plan will be found to be to transport the soil 

 already prepared and lay it down to the depth of a foot 

 to eighteen inches on any land that has a good command 

 of water. A couple of boys can effectually irrigate a 

 large nursery by this means if the water be conducted 

 to each bed, while twenty men will be required to carry 

 water as many yards to a nursery of the same size, 

 and even then the beds will be but one-half watered. 

 But economy alone is not the only advantage to be 

 gained by this method of flooding the beds, as this 

 process can be carried on at any time of the day, while 

 watering-pots cannot be used except early in the morn- 

 ing or late in the afternoon without scorching the leaves. 



If the nursery is formed on forest land as, if possible, 

 it should be, the timber should be felled, cut up and 



