16 AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 



to cut back the top to a bare pole, especially if care has been exercised 

 to secure good roots. 



Nursery grown trees are generally free from the objectionable features 

 common to wild trees and have a much better chance to survive and 

 grow rapidl-y after planting. If 'one has not the time' to grow stock 

 from seed at home and is unable to secure satisfactory stock from the 

 woods it may be purchased from reliable nursery dealers. The chance 

 of failure is lessened if planting stock is ordered from nearby dealers 

 as long shipping distances are avoided. A few nursery dealers in Texas 

 advertise stock in lots of one thousand at very reasonable prices, but 

 most nurserymen are not as yet prepared to furnish trees for woodlot 

 and windbreak planting at sufficiently low prices to interest prospective 

 planters. As interest in planting increases, however, and there is a 

 larger demand for the better quality of trees grown in nurseries it is 

 certain that dealers will not onty grow the stock to meet this demand, 

 but that prices will be low enough to enable the planter to buy trees 

 in lots of one thousand rather than by the dozen or single trees. Fur- 

 ther information regarding the location of commercial nurseries and 

 their prices for stock will be furnished upon request. 



GROWING NURSERY STOCK AT HOME. 



Cultivated stock, since it is grown under the most favorable condi- 

 tions, is hardier than wild stock, free from disease, insect injuries and 

 wounds, and the crown and root system have been forced into more 

 compact form. All these characteristics insure thrifty growth even 

 with unfavorable soil and moisture conditions. The prospective planter 

 who desires to grow planting stock at home can do so on a small scale 

 without difficulty and at much less expense than the stock can be pur- 

 chased from commercial nurseries. Seed for planting may be purchased 

 from reputable seed dealers or collected locally in the fall, which is 

 the time when the seed of most tree species ripens. Seed which is 

 wormy, mouldy or light in weight should always be rejected. In stor- 

 ing seed, over winter it is well to remember that seeds which remain on 

 the trees until spring should be sacked and kept in a cool, dry place. On 

 the other hand, seed which lays on the ground over winter is best stored 

 between layers of earth in a cool, moist condition or else planted at 

 once. If seed is to be purchased from dealers it should be ordered 

 early, thus enabling the dealer to plan ahead on filling the order or to 

 notify the planter if he cannot supply the seed. Seed collected in one 

 region for planting in another with widely different climatic conditions 

 may give poor results. 



THE NURSERY. 



Nursery soil should be loose, fresh and free from weeds. The best 

 site for a small home nursery is a well drained and cultivated portion 

 of the garden. Nuts and other larsre seeds may be planted in long 

 rows in the fall or early spring. With this exception it is better to 

 plant the seed in the early spring in beds about four by twelve feet. 



