22 



sheltered by forest trees. Prepare the soil thoroughly for ten or twelve 

 inches deep. Open the rows four feet apart and eight inches deep. 

 Fill to within two inches of the top with well rotted muck, drop the 

 seed three inches apart and cover with one and a half inches of soil. 



In selecting a position for the nursery, if your place is well pro* 

 tected by water on the cold points, you may risk your nursery in the 

 open field. But if you are not satisfied about the protection select a 

 position sheltered from the morning sun to prevent the too sudden 

 thawing after a frost. I would prefer shade on the south as well, a? 

 the sun sometimes breaks out suddenly during a cold snap about noon. 

 Under such circumstances I have known serious damage done to young 

 plants. A still better plan is to clear away a half or a quarter of 

 an acre of ground in the midst of a tall forest. Around this half acre 

 or quarter acre sink a ditch two feet deep in order to cut the surface 

 roots of the forest trees. Plow or spade the land deep. Open the 

 rows four feet apart and eight or ten inches deep, fill them with good 

 muck or leaf mold clear of such litter as would attract wood lice. 

 Over this muck place an inch or two of soil to keep the muck moist. 

 A dressing of ashes or slacked lime will be of advantage, especially if 

 the muck has not been previously well rotted in heaps. Your land 

 can now stand till the trees are ready to be taken from the seed bed. 

 Some prefer putting the muck, or whatever fertilizer used, broadcast 

 over the land. But my reason for advising the muck to be put in 

 drills is that if well rotted it will not heat, but will serve to keep the 

 roots of the young plant in a compact body. A great deal is saved by 

 this means when you come to transplant to the grove, the roots having 

 grown in a compact body very little will be lost by root pruning. 

 And where the distance from the nursery to the grove is short, 

 and the transplanting is done when the ground is wet, the entire ball 

 of muck may be taken along with and adhering to the roots and the 

 tree hardly feel the shock of the removal. When the young plants 

 in the seed beds are a few inches high and have four or five leaves, 

 they may be transplanted to the nursery. In taking them up cut off 

 the ends of the tap-roots so that they will not be apt to double up in 

 setting them. The setting is better done in rainy weather. The 

 ground should be thoroughly wet in order to insure a good result. 



