66 LAYING OUT THE NURSERY. 



resting in the forks and also laterally, the whole being 

 then covered with grass, reeds or other material. Some 

 months before the plants are required this shade should 

 be judiciously thinned, and ultimately removed altogether, 

 in order to harden the plants gradually by exposure to 

 the sun and air. The plants, too, at this period, should 

 be allowed to grow nearly to the required size, stinted of 

 water and brought to a stand-still, in order that the heads 

 of the plants and the extremities of them may solidify, 

 for if the plants be transferred to the plantation with 

 newly-formed and tender shoots they run great risk of 

 being nipped off by the scorching rays of the sun, which 

 frequently makes its appearance when least expected in 

 rainy or cloudy weather. And when the nursery is 

 at all exposed to dry, east winds the rows and divisions 

 between the row of beds should be thickly planted with 

 rose and fruit trees, as these not only add to the appear- 

 ance of the nursery, but are also extremely valuable as 

 shelters. 



The next branch of planting that demands special 

 attention is that of transferring or transplanting the 

 young shrubs or plants at the best possible distance from 

 one another. Distances should be altered in accordance 

 with the poorness or richness of the soil ; the richer 

 and stronger the land, the greater distance should they be 

 planted apart; and the poorer the soil and more exposed 

 the location, the closer and more thickly they should be 

 grown. If roads are made across the slopes and about 

 midv^ay up them, it may be laid down as a general rule 

 that the plants above the roads should be planted far closer 

 than those in the richer soil below. Thus, if six feet by 

 six feet be found a convenient distance in the best land, 

 four and a half feet by five and a half feet will be found 

 the best distance in the poorer and more exposed positions. 



