200 PERMANENT NURSERIES. 



nursery lines by simply removing every alternate line of seedlings 

 and thinning out the seedlings in the remaining lines so as to leave 

 a distinct interval between two consecutive seedlings. The removal 

 itself of the seedlings sufficiently loosens the soil and clears it of 

 weeds, and a dressing of manure can be given in relevelling it. A 

 further step in differentiation, if the interval between two consecu- 

 tive lines exceeded twelve inches, would be to open a trench 

 between every two consecutive lines of the same depth as the distri- 

 buting channels and to serve the same purpose as these last. 



But when the plants are so large that they require to stand at 

 least 18 inches apart both ways, then the seed-bed form would lead 

 to a considrable waste of manure and labour, and the soil should 

 therefore be carefully prepared only at the points where the seed- 

 lings are to stand. 



E. Lifting up of the seedlings. 



The amount of care to be excercised in taking up the plants from 

 the seed-bed will depend entirely on the recuperative powers of the 

 species. In the case of small plants of some species they may be 

 plucked out with the hand after the soil has been thoroughly 

 drenched. Some other species, particularly those which throw up 

 root suckers or grow up from cuttings, recover readily even from 

 extensive root injimes. Hence the rule to follow is to employ the 

 cheapest mode of lifting up the plants compatible with their safety 

 and future welfare. In what follows general directions are given 

 for lifting up plants which must be injured as little as possible. 



If the plants are very small and have come up from seed that has 

 been broad-cast, a simple and expeditious way and one that may be 

 resorted to in any kind of soil is to push a khurpa or, better still, 

 the common trowel under them and lift them upon it, The earth 

 that comes up with the roots may be kept or brushed away, as re- 

 quired. 



With larger seedlings, the roots of which have attained a certain 

 lateral as well as downward development, the employment of the 

 khurpa or trowel is out of the question. If the seedlings are stand- 

 ing isolated and they are required with cohered roots, the conical 

 transplanter (Fig. 49) is very suitable in soil that does not clog ; 

 it not only takes up the seedlings with a well-formed ball of earth, 

 but also serves to make at once a hole of the proper dimensions for 

 its reception. The semicircular transplanter (Fig. 50) may be 

 used in any soil and answers for still larger plants. 



But if the seedlings stand in lines, by far the best plan is to open 

 a trench of sufficient depth along the outside of one of the extreme 



