136 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



them better able to withstand the drought. If the weather is very 

 warm and dry, the seed beds should have a good soaking of water 

 once or twice a week, and in case of delicate seedlings they should 

 be screened during the heated term or until the plants are deeply 

 rooted, when they may be gradually inured to the weather. After 

 the first of September all watering should be stopped and the plants 

 should be hardened gradually so as to go into their winter quarters 

 with well ripened wood. At the approach of winter those so^^ti in 

 drills will stand better if a plough is run between them, throwing a 

 furrow against the stems. This keeps the young plants from heav- 

 ing with the frost and also keeps the water and ice from settling 

 around the young stems, a condition which often causes great injury. 

 All the others should be mulched with leaves or short manure. 



It is well in this place to speak of seeds which have just arrived 

 from foreign stations, Japan, China, or other places. Usually 

 this seed has been subjected to many variations of climate and 

 temperature, thereby requiring additional care. If these seeds are 

 the least bit rancid or mildewed they should be washed in a weak 

 solution of sulphate of copper and should then be subjected to a 

 bath of clear water. For instance, take a two-quart glass jar or 

 something similar, and fill with clear water. All seeds that sink 

 in this might be considered good, while those that float are not to be 

 relied upon, but in the case of new seed, I should sow those of 

 inferior character, but should mark them so, for a few even of weak 

 vegetative power might germinate and thus save the variety or 

 species. 



Most all deciduous plants should be transplanted the following 

 spring if good shapely plants are desired. In my own work, I sow 

 most of my seeds in boxes, as I find it more convenient where I 

 desire only a few hundred of a kind. They are far more easily 

 handled and the plants, especially nuts and oaks, transplant more 

 readily and with little or no loss. I call it the box system. I 

 procure a lot of boxes at a grocer's, of as uniform a size as possible, 

 for they pack better in a six foot frame than various sizes. Canned 

 goods or soap boxes are nearly equal in size. With two cuts of the 

 splitting saw, you have three flats about three and a half to four 

 inches deep. With a one-half inch augur I bore four or five holes 

 in the bottom for drainage. For the finer seed I drain the boxes 



