40 PEACH CULTUBB. 



CHAPTER V. 



PLANTING THE SEED. 



The nursery ground having been prepared as described 

 in the preceding chapter, the seed-bed is now overhauled. 

 If the seed was buried in sawdust on the surface of the 

 ground, or layered, all that is now necessary, is to shovel 

 up the seed and dust into coarse wire sieves, and sift out 

 the latter. By this pi-ocess a complete separation will 

 take place, and the seed will remain in the sieves quite 

 clean and nice. If it was spaded in, the whole mass of 

 the bed will have to be spaded up, and if it is loose and 

 dry, it can be sifted, as in the former case ; but if wet or 

 lumpy, it may be necessary to pick out the seed by hand. 



The seed is now carefully examined. The kernels have 

 swollen so much as to have burst many of the shells, and 

 loosened others. In some cases the shells have already 

 fallen oif, or will do so in handling. All these are ready 

 to plant. Some culiivators will take off all the shells 

 and place the kernels in the baskets to be carried to 

 the nursery ; but this is not necessary, as they are no ob- 

 struction to the growth of the germ. It has one advant- 

 age, however ; it enables the cultivator to see exactly 

 whether or not the seed is perfect. It also enables him 

 to discover whether or not the shell has been sufficiently 

 affected by the frosts of winter to prepare the seed for 

 planting without further preparation. On examining a 

 seed-bed, some of the seed will be found to be little af- 

 fected by the previous freezing. These should be separated 

 from the others, and cracked open with a hammer. This 

 is done by taking the seed between the thumb and fore- 

 finger of the left hand, placing it edgewise on a solid 

 block, and giving it a sharp, but moderate stroke with a 

 light hammer. This will separate the two valves, and 



