138 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



hemlock, or cedar branches. As soon as the young plants begin to 

 appear the branches should be raised some inches from the ground. 

 It is a good plan where pine needles are plentiful to cover the beds 

 thinly between the rows with them. This keeps down the weeds 

 and saves much watering. 



The critical time with young conifers is the first three weeks of 

 their existence, until they have made a crown bud. After that 

 time there is very little danger. A great quantity. of rain or a 

 scorching sun will often prove fatal to thousands. Stirring the soil 

 after heavy rains or sifting dry soil among the beds of over-wet 

 seedlings is of great benefit. After the muggy weather of August 

 is passed they require very little care for the rest of the year. Pines 

 should not stand more than two years in the seed bed unless sown 

 very thinly. The white, black, and Norway spruce will hardly be 

 fit for transplanting until the second year. The larch and arbor- 

 vitae should be transplanted after the first year. The seeds of 

 Juniperus and Taxus do not germinate until the second year. The 

 stone pines lie on the ground until the second year although a few 

 may come up the first year. The seeds of conifers with the excep- 

 tion of the silver firs will, if kept in a cool, dry place, retain their 

 germinating powers for a number of years. A^Tiite, Scotch, and 

 Austrian pine, and pitch pine come up fairly well after being kept 

 five years, and might possibly have been several years older when 

 received. 



I have found by experience that too much moisture is fatal to the 

 germination of old seed, especially if they be resinous or oily. If 

 sown in a soil barely moist and covered with dry sphagnum moss to 

 prevent the escape of the little moisture in the soil many will grow, 

 while if treated in the ordinary way the seed will swell and then rot. 



The propagation of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Kalmias from 

 seed demands great attention and care, and cannot be successfully 

 done out of doors but requires a greenhouse. The best soil in 

 which to grow young seedlings of this class is composed of good 

 peat, loam, and sand in equal parts. The sand should be fine but 

 sharp and clean, having no clay or iron in it. Earthen pans are 

 best to sow the seed in, as there is less danger of fungus than in 

 boxes; but after the first transplanting boxes may be used. Being 

 all ready to sow, — say about the first week in January — the pans 



