THE NURSERY. 



CHAPTER I. 



Section 1. — Soil, Situation, etc. 



It is not a part of the design of this treatise to give 

 anything like a full exposition of nursery operations, for 

 this would, in itself, be a subject sufficiently extensive to 

 form a volume ; but as all fruit growers should possess at 

 least some knowledge of nursery management, it seems 

 quite necessary that the more important points should be 

 noticed. 



1st. The Soil, as to Dryness. — For a fruit-tree nursery 

 the soil must \)Q perfectly dry, both above and below. In 

 damp, springy soils, or where the subsoil is so compact as 

 not to admit of the surface water passing off immediately, 

 trees do not thrive ; the roots are destitute of fibres, the 

 wood is watery and delicate, and where frosts are severe, 

 the trees are cast out of the ground by the expansion of 

 the water with which the soil is filled. We have known 

 of a single instance in which several thousand dollars 

 were lost by planting a pear nursery on a soil imperfectly 

 drained. The plants grew finely the first season, were 

 budded, the buds had taken, and in the autumn all looked 

 prosperous ; but the autumn rains filled the soil with water ; 

 the situation was low and level, and the subsoil compact, 

 so that the water could not possibly get away. The 

 consequence was, the roots decayed, the plants were cast 

 out of the ground, and the injury was so great and so 

 general that the whole plantation had to be taken up. 

 This ground was then thoroughly drained, and is now as 

 good a pear soil as can be found. This single instance 

 illustrates the importance of a dry soil, as well as twenty 

 would. We frequently find that, in the same row of trees, 

 if there happens to be a low, damp spot, the trees in it 

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