.NURSERY WORK. 



59 



the trench, and the earth filled in and gently firmed before removing b 

 and withdrawing backwards the main piece a, c, d. 



Plants can also be raised by layering a branch of a tree and partially 

 burying it in the soil till it roots itself and can be severed (as is some- 

 times done with Lime and English 



Elm), or by planting cuts or slips ^'g- 7- 



taken from a branch (as is often 

 done with Willows and Poplars). 

 But these methods are mostly em- 

 ployed to propagate varieties for 

 ornamental purposes. 



Nursery Pests. The best 

 general protection against birds, 

 insects, and mice, is to moisten 

 the seed and roll it in red-lead 

 powder before sowing. But if 

 numerous, mice can only be 

 got rid of by laying poisoned 

 wheat in drain-tiles. Squirrels 

 have to be shot. Rabbits have 

 to be kept out by 1-inch mesh 

 wire-netting 4 ft. wide bent 

 outwards for 6 in. below the 

 ground, and for 6 in. at top, to 

 prevent burrowing and climb- 

 ing over. For roe-deer an extra 

 strand of wire is needed, to raise 

 the fence to about 5 ft. high. 



Notched Seedling-pricker. 



a. The main piece of wood notched to 



contain the seedlings. 

 I. The movable piece of wood to bold the 



seedlings in position. 

 c e d is placed on the ground-level, the 



point e being at the lip of the perpen- 



die " 



iicular side of the trench. 



Insects are best kept down 



by hanging up cheap wooden 



nesting-boxes for starlings and 



other insectivorous birds ; but emit chafer-grubs and mole-criclcets 



have to be dug up. If wire-Worms are bad, sowing mustard on 



infested parts is the best means of exterminating them. For 



slugs, grease traps should be laid down and visited every 



