34 Modes of keeping Nuts and Acorns. 



should not be allowed to heat, or mold, or become too dry, and in 

 some cases they should not be allowed to freeze. Where large 

 quantities of pine and other coniferous seeds are required for plant- 

 ing in Europe, drying-houses are constructed, using either solar or 

 artificial heat for drying the cones, so that the seeds may be shaken 

 out. Nuts and hard-shelled seeds may be kept fresh by packing in 

 slightly damp sand, and keeping in a cool, but not too dry a place. 

 Seeds having a pulpy covering should be washed out and dried in 

 the shade before putting away. Small seeds may be kept in sacks 

 or papers. 



A Cheap Method of Keeping Nuts and Acorns for Planting. 



130. As these may be spoiled by too much drying, or may heat 

 and mold if in large heaps, or may sprout prematurely if too wet, 

 the following method is sometimes practiced : A dry and sandy 

 place is selected in a forest, where it is level, or a little sloping to the 

 south, and where the shelter of large trees is low and abundant. 

 The place must be fenced in, and should not be liable to standing 

 water. A small ditch may be dug around it for drainage. The 

 acorns or nuts are spread on the ground as gathered, four or five 

 inches deep, the leaves and litter beiug first removed. From the 

 beginning they should be thoroughly raked daily, for the first 

 month, and afterwards once in two or three days. By the end of 

 December, the tendency to heat and mold will be over, and in very 

 cold weather they should be lightly covered with straw or leaves ; 

 but this should be removed early, to prevent sprouting. In tem- 

 perate climates no covering is needed, and in very rainy weather the 

 raking should be repeated till time of planting. 



131. Thin-shelled nuts, such as acorns and the chestnut, sooner 

 loose their vitality in the sun and dry air, and are more liable to 

 heat than those having a hard shell, like the black walnut, the but- 

 ternut, and the hickories. They will not be injured by freezing, if 

 protected by a thin covering of mulch for nature provides such a 

 cover in the herbage and fallen leaves. They will need protection 

 from standing water, and from vermin and other animals. When 

 kept under shelter, they should be spread evenly, and should be 

 stirred from time to time, till the moisture has partly dried out, so 

 that they will not mold. 



