METHODS OF PLANTING. 35 



and the nuts must be kept damp from the time when they are ripe till planted ; at least 

 the kernel must not be allowed to become dry, or they will surely fail to grow. Thin 

 soft-shelled nuts, like the chestnut, will, if exposed to sun and air, dry in a few hours 

 enough to prevent growth. So nuts must be kept in earth, or on the earth under 

 mulch, or in something that will prevent drying till used. Peat, moss, old straw, dust, 

 &c., will do. A very good way is to spread them iu a thin layer upon the ground, or 

 in a trench so located that water cannot stand among them, and cover them thor- 

 oughly with mulch, planting them at corn-planting time, and about as deep as corn 

 is planted. 



The bard seeds are generally somewhat slow to germinate, and need to be in soak a 

 long time, to be frozen wet, or to be scalded before planting, or to bo treated with 

 some substance to hasten germination. This class embraces honey-locust, which, if 

 ke])t dry and planted in spring, will seldom ever grow the first year, and sometimes 

 will not sprout till the third season ; also the stones of cherries and plums, and even 

 the seeds of apples and pears. If mixed with sand (two parts of sand to one of seed 

 by bnlk) and dampened fully, and subjected to moderate freezing through the winter, 

 all this class except honey-locnst, coffee-nut, the hawthorns, and red cedar are likely 

 to grow the season planted. For these exceptionally hard cases water, heated to boil- 

 ing, is poured over them, and, standing upon them an hour or two, some may swell, and 

 can then be picked out and planted, and the more incorrigible treated to another scald, 

 and thus till they all swell, or th; y are planted in fall and lett to grow when they 

 will ; or, in case of the haws, they may be mixed into bran-mash and fed to sheep or 

 cattle, and the droppings planted, when the seeds, softened by the digestion, are likely 

 to grow. 



The soft seeds, comprising all not named in the two other classes, may be still further 

 divided into spring, fall, and winter seeds, each of which requires or pernaits different 

 treatment. The spring seeds are those which riijen in spring or early summer, as silver 

 and red maples and red and white tlm, all ripening from May 15 to June 5,' and the rock- 

 elm a little later than the others. These seeds will not keep well, and should be gath- 

 ered from the trees before they fall, except where they are so situated that they may 

 fall into still water, when, being light and floating, they may sometimes bo scooped up 

 in large quantities. As soon as possible after gathering they should be planted, not 

 covered deeply, say one-half inch, in good mellow soil, and if a fine mulch, like damp 

 chaff, can be obtained, it should be lightly spread over the ground to protect from too 

 rapid drying of the ground, which sometimes takes place in June. 



The winter soft seeds are ash-leaved maple, green and black ash, sycamore, b.asswood, 

 &c., or those seeds which have a tendency to hang all winter in sheltered localities. 

 These seeds may be gathered sometimes a* late as planting-time and immediately planted ; 

 but if gathertd earlier, had better be sj)read thinly upon the ground and covered till 

 planting-time. All others of the soft or winged seeds, not classed as spring or winter, are 

 the soft fall seeds, and they should all be stoi'cd as directed for the nuts. Hackberry 

 and cherry, thougli p/operly classed with the hard s^^eds, should be freed from their 

 pulp in fall and stored in earth to freeze, and planted in spring without scalding. All 

 seeds, but nuts which are large enough to pick up readily, and such as may be gathered 

 floating on still water, as noted above, are best gathered from the trees, and stored so 

 as not to dry too much. They must not be kept in too large masses, as, so dealt with, 

 they may heat and spoil. * * * 



If ground is not very weedy, it maybe economy to plant allseeds in permanent 

 plantation ; but in old or weedy ground it is generally best to grow them iu s-ed-bed 

 or nursery rows. If put iu the permanent plantation, allowance should be made for 

 X)oor seeds, and more jdauted than you want of trees. The question of check-row or 

 drill-planting is to be decided by the planter, and the same reasons which di;termine 

 the manner of i^lantiug corn have weight iu forestry ; though generally speaking, for- 

 estry is more satisfactory iu drills than is an annual crop like corn. If check-rows 

 are used, several seeds per hill are desirable; and if drills, generally twice or three 

 times as many seeds as you need trees should go in. It is not worth while to put tree- 

 seeds into any but mellow, moist soil, and to tecure good results with them, thorough 

 culture the first year is necessary. A rule of depth sometimes given is to cover with 

 soil as deep as the seed is thick, and that is of course very thin for small seeds. But 

 seeds of trees often get covered too deep, and any seeds but the nuts ought to grow 

 with half an inch cf fine earth lightly packed above the seed. Nuts may bo jilauted a 

 little deeper, but not very much. 



Seed-beds and nursery rows are, all in all, to be advised, and they are generally used 

 for seedling trees. Seed-beds are usually four feet wide and of ary convenient length, 

 and four inches above the surrounding level. For evergreen and larch seeds, which, by 

 the way, ought not to be attempted by any one not trained in the nursery business, 

 shades are used in the form of lath hurdles, with openings of less width than the 



1 These dates, and iu fact the whole article, will be considered as applying to Iowa 

 and adjicent parts in the Western prairie country. 



