FORESTRY. 185 



Contrast the cedar and the maple ; contrast the branching 

 of the elm and of the beech ; contrast the leaves of the maple, 

 of the oak, and of the ash ; contrast the bark of the hickory 

 and of the birch ; contrast the seeds of the pine and of the 

 basswood. 



THE FOREST TREE NURSERY. Every farm should, and 

 every school might, have a small nursery, a plot fenced off so 

 that cattle and pigs cannot get into it, and which should be as 

 well tended as a flower garden. Here are the instructions of a 

 forester, Sir Henri Joly, of Quebec : "With a little attention, 

 it is easy to tell when the seeds are ripe. Thus, toward the 

 end of June and early in July the seeds of the elm and those 

 of the plane are ripe; if you sow them at once, they will shoot 

 up nearly a foot that same summer. The seeds of the maple, 

 ash, oak, wild cherry, and walnut mature in the autumn ; it is 

 better to sow them immediately than to keep them in the house 

 all winter. Sow, let us say, maple seeds half an inch deep, 

 and others, in proportion to their size, two or three inches for 

 nuts. Sow thickly, and after the first year you can thin them 

 by transplanting some. After four or five years you can plant 

 your young trees where they are to remain. You should 

 select cloudy or rainy weather in the spring. 



"In many cases you can even spare yourself the trouble of 

 sowing. When the ground is favorable in July or August, 

 along the ditches, the woods, the fences, in the moss, in damp 

 places, in the neighborhood of (he elms and the planes, you 

 will find hundreds of little shoots which have sprung from the 

 seeds fallen from the trees; plant them in your nursery. 



"The seed of the pine is very difficult to gather. Early in 

 the spring, in the pastures near the pines, you can pull up, 

 when the soil is damp, as many little trees as you will wish to 

 plant; for this kind it will be better to take the precaution to 

 shelter them from the sun until they have taken root." 

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