Growing Seedlings. 69 
spring, and a thorough harrowing, will leave the ground in good 
condition to receive the pits or root grafts as the case may be. 
In this plowing for nursery there should be deep work done and 
subsoiling, as will be more fully set forth under the head of 
preparing land for orchard, to which the reader is referred. 
Growth of Seedlings for the Nursery.—The two chief ways 
of producing fruit trees are, first, from seedlings grown on the 
spot; second, from buds and rvot grafts upon stock imported 
from the East or from abroad. First, as to the growth of seed- 
lings :—- 
It is usual to take seeds from sources where they can be 
collected with the least trouble. Apple seeds are washed out 
from the pomace of the cider press; apples and pears from the 
coring and peelings of canneries and drying establishments; pits 
of the stone fruits are derived from the same source. Supplies 
can usually be purchased from such establishments at a mod- 
erate cost. The trouble is that from such supplies one is apt to 
get seeds and pits from all varieties, possessing different degrees 
of health and vigor. There is just as much to be gained from 
selecting the seed from which to grow good strong stocks for 
fruit trees as there is in selecting good garden or field seed. 
One can generally get good peach pits, for it is easy to have the 
order filled when the cannery is running on strong-growing 
yellow varieties, for these are believed to be most vigorous, and 
yet some claim much preference for pits from vigorous seedling 
trees, and make extra efforts to secure them. Wherever it is 
possible, and if one is only to produce a small lot of trees it is 
practicable, to select from the fruit the seeds for planting. Not 
only is there great difference in the strength of different varieties, 
but individual trees vary greatly. lf one is taking seed from an 
old orchard to start his nursery with, he can take pains to get 
his seed from his strongest trees, and thus secure also that which 
is probably best adapted to his locality. 
Apple and Pear Scedlings—For a small lot of apple and pear 
trees the seed can be best sown in boxes. Select plump pips 
and keep in moist sand. Keep from the time they are taken 
from the fruit until sowing. Fill the boxes, which should be 
three or four inches deep, with good garden mold, cover the 
seed about half an inch, and then cover the soil lightly with 
chaff or fine straw to prevent the surface from drying out. Be 
‘sure that the boxes have cracks or holes in the bottom for drain- 
age, and the whole is kept moist but not wet. When the seed- 
lings have grown to the height of three inches, they can be set 
out in the nursery rows as one would set out cabbage plants. 
Cherry Scedlings—There are different ways of handling pits 
of stone fruits to prepare them for setting out in open ground, 
