CHeaPrER WEL 
THE NURSERY. 
California nursery stock is unrivaled in growth, health, and 
vigor. This is the verdict of all visiting horticulturists, and has 
been formally declared by the victories of California tree grow- 
ers at the New Orleans World’s Fair, in 1885, where the highest 
premiums were awarded to Californians in nearly all classes in 
which they exhibited; and at the Columbian Exposition of 1893. 
The quality of the trees which can be purchased at our 
nurseries, and the very low rates at which they have been sold 
during the last few years, make it little worth while for the 
orchard planter to try to grow his own trees. In fact, the invest- 
ment called for to secure a good assortment of well-grown trees 
will be one of the best which the orchard planter can make. The 
professional grower, if he is honest and enterprising, can give 
the purchaser the advantage of his experience and skill in the 
choice of stocks suited to his soil, varieties of fruit adapted to his 
situation, and be of assistance to him in other ways connected 
with his enterprise; and such helps to an inexperienced planter 
or to a newcomer are very valuable. There may be, however, 
some reader who is distant from established nurseries, or pos- 
sessed of limited means, who may like to use his spare time 
in growing his own trees, and to such suggestions are offered. 
There will, however, be very much which can only be learned by 
actual experience. 
In the. selection of location for a commercial nursery there 
are matters involved which it is not proposed to discuss. At- 
tention will be paid rather to matters connected with what may 
be called a farm nursery. The first point will be the selection 
of a small piece of ground which offers proper soil, exposure, 
and, in some parts of the State, facilities for irrigation. 
Proper Soil for Nursery.—The soil should be a mellow loam, 
easy of cultivation and not disposed to crust and crack. In all 
respects what one would choose as a rich, kind garden soil will 
answer well for the nursery. The soil should be moist, but thor- 
oughly drained, either naturally or artificially, for time and labor 
will be largely wasted on a water-logged soil. In this respect a 
soil which might yield fair crops of some shallow-rooting vege- 
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