100 IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES 



Care and Cultivation. With the appearance of the 

 plants aboveground diligence in watching their condition 

 must be increased. The little seedlings are weak and ten- 

 der in their early days and must be cared for. Their roots 

 extend but a little way into the ground, and should the sur- 

 face for an inch or two in depth become dry the plants will 

 either die from lack of moisture or be checked in growth ; 

 therefore provision must be made to supply water in case 

 insufficient rain falls ; but what is termed " artificial water- 

 ing " should not be resorted to unless it is clearly neces- 

 sary. It is not always advisable to water young plants as 

 soon as the surface of the ground appears dry. Examina- 

 tion should be made to ascertain how near the surface moist 

 soil can be found, and if close at hand, artificial watering 

 should not be undertaken ; but if the soil proves to be dry 

 around the roots, then watering becomes necessary; and 

 when it is done there should be enough applied to last sev- 

 eral days, for light or intermittent watering may be more 

 disastrous than none at all. A slight sprinkling with a hose 

 or watering-pot will soon dry out and leave the ground 

 crusted and baked, with cracks occurring in the surface 

 through which evaporation takes place rapidly. The neces- 

 sity for thorough watering when once begun cannot be too 

 strongly insisted upon. The ground should be wet down as 

 far as the roots extend at the very least, deeper would 

 be better, and kept in that condition until rain comes to 

 their relief. Water should be applied slowly, giving time 

 for it to soak into the ground. In large nurseries an ample 

 supply should be provided and led in pipes, with hydrants 

 attached, so as to reach the entire field, where it can be 

 thrown on the beds from a hose with a spray nozzle. If a 

 small area only is planted a watering-pot can be used, but 

 if the ground is to be successively devoted to growing tree 

 plants such a makeshift will not prove satisfactory. 



Surface irrigation of seed-beds in forest nurseries, as is 

 practiced on farms in arid regions, has been tried in sev- 

 eral instances with varying success. Its adoption must be 



