THE PEACH. 467 



layers on the surface of the ground, and exposed for two or 

 three weeks to the action of the frost, being protected from 

 drying by a covering of soil, leaf-mould, or muck. About the 

 time the frost disappears from the ground, they are taken up 

 and cracked by hand, placing the stone on the end of a wooden 

 block, and striking a gentle blow on the side edge with a 

 hammer. If well frozen, cracking may be unnecessary. They 

 are then planted one or two inches deep (a light thin soil need- 

 ing more depth than a heavy and moist one), and if they have 

 been previously uninjured nearly every one will grow. Care 

 is needed that the seeds do not become dried nor mouldy be- 

 fore planting. 



When it is intended for them to come up evenly, as they 

 are to remain in the nursery row, the most certain way to 

 avoid vacancies or failures is to sprout them before planting. 

 This is effected by mixing the kernels with sand and leaf- 

 mould, and spreading them in a thin bed in the sun. When 

 sprouted, a line or cord, permanently marked at equal dis- 

 tances of eight inches with a touch of paint, is stretched on 

 the ground, and a sprouted kernel carefully inserted at every 

 mark of the line, by means of a transplanting trowel. This 

 insures great regularity in the rows. Accidental vacancies 

 may be rilled from a seed-bed when the plants are not more 

 than two inches high. To prevent drying, the sprouted seeds 

 should be kept covered with a flake of wet moss or a wet 

 cloth, until deposited in the ground; and if the weather be 

 dry, watering the ground may be requisite. 



By planting the stones without cracking, a very small por- 

 tion will grow and no regularity can be attained in the rows, 

 unless the following mode is adopted, which, if the stones can 

 be had fresh from the fruit before drying many days, and in 

 large quantities, is perhaps the cheapest or attended with 

 least labor. Mix the fresh stones with moist sand, spread 

 them in a stratum about six inches thick over the ground, and 

 cover them with a few inches of old straw or coarse manure 

 to prevent drying. Remove this covering in winter, to ex- 

 pose them freely to freezing and thawing. In spring, a large 

 portion will be found sprouting; carefully select these and 

 plant them immediately in drills made with the hoe, covering 

 them by drawing on earth with the hand. One man will thus 



