Planling in Seed-beds and Nurseries. 39 



Soaking of Seeds before Planting. 



146. Hard-shelled seeds, such as the eommou and honey locust, 

 and the Kentucky coffee-tree, etc., will not grow until they have 

 been soaked for some time, and sometimes not till the second or even 

 third year after planting. Their germinating power is hastened by 

 scalding for a short time, and by allowing them to macerate in warm 

 water. The process may be repeated several times, the seeds that 

 show signs of sprouting being first picked out, at each time, before 

 exposing the rest to this treatment. They shoidd be j)lanted with- 

 out delay ; for, if allowed to dry after being once softened, their vi- 

 tality is soon lost. 



2. Seeds Planted in Seed-Beds and Nurseries. 



147. In selecting grounds for a nursery, we should avoid those 

 that are exceptionally rich, or that are too damp, because the young 

 plants thus started will, when placed in less fertile and dryer 

 grounds, either perish or lose their vigor, and be slow in recovering 

 strength. A hard and barren soil is still more unfavorable, for the 

 plants that start are feeble, and will not endure the hardship of 

 transplanting. The grounds should be of good fertility, moderately 

 compact, and well drained, sheltered from hot and from cold winds, 

 and not exposed to drouth. 



148. The soil should be prepared by deep cultivation, and be kept 

 free from weeds. Sometimes this may be done by the cultivation 

 of some hoed crop between the rows of young trees, when they arc 

 not liable to be shaded or injured by this practice. The presence of 

 an adjacent woodland will often afford protection, and a stream of 

 water near by will be found very convenient for watering the young 

 plants or for irrigation in a dry time. 



149. It is generally best to sow the seeds in beds, laid out in bands 

 about four feet wide, and of indefinite length, with paths between. 

 The seeds are sowed iu rows, from six inches to a foot apart, and 

 very close together in the rows. The covering should be light, and 

 only just sufficient to prevent the seeds from being washed out by 

 the rains. They may, with great advantage, be planted in and cov- 

 ered by a soil prepared from dead leaves and decomposed sod.^ 



Tor preparing this soil, the following directions are given by Loreniz 

 and Parade : " Select a shady place, not exposed to the south, but open to 



