WORK IN THE NURSERY 225 



As regards the work itself. It may be considered 

 under two heads : (a) Work in the nursery, and (b) Work 

 in the woods. 



(a) Work in the Nursery. — In this country as in 

 many parts of the Continent the young plants required 

 for the formation of new woods are raised in an area 

 of ground termed a nursery. The commercial nursery- 

 man will be known to you all. Many of these large 

 nurserymen raise as part of their stock-in-trade young 

 trees for sale. Some confine themselves almost entirely 

 to this work. The larger landed proprietors of this 

 country who maintain a part of their estates under 

 woods usually possess a private nursery of their own 

 in which they raise the young trees required for their 

 operations. On the Continent numerous large com- 

 mercial nurseries exist, and owing to the fact that 

 they largely employ women and girls for their work, 

 and that labour is usually cheaper than with us, they 

 are able to undersell us in our home markets, or they 

 were able to do so up to the outbreak of war. Whether 

 the Continental plants are as good as those grown in 

 our home nurseries or whether plants grown on the 

 Continent and subsequently planted out in this country 

 produce as good trees or as good timber are points 

 upon which many experts have grave doubts. Any- 

 way, the war has changed our outlook in many direc- 

 tions, and in the future we should learn to produce 

 all we require in this respect in home nurseries and 

 not spend money abroad which could be earned by 

 our own people. 



You will ask what is the nature of the work to be 

 performed in a nursery maintained for the raising of 



