212 TREES AND TREE-PLANTING. 
ment and thrift of plants; and that all that is necessary 
for their production is to procure and sow the seed, and the 
earth will of itself, without further trouble, bring forth 
its increase. Practice and experience point to a further 
necessity, and convince us that this is not so; but that 
in the preparation of the soil, sowing of seed, after-cult- 
ure, and protective measures against the influence of cli- 
mate the tree-grower will find sufficient for his partici- 
pation to keep him from idleness and inconsiderate con- 
clusions. 
The time for sowing the seed of the different species 
of trees varies so considerably that no decided informa- 
tion on this subject can be given for the collective gen- 
era. Seeds of different species, or even varieties of the 
same species, differ in vitality so widely that, to deter- 
mine the time of the seasonable sowing of each sepa- 
rately, experience alone will teach; yet the vitality in 
seed of some species may be prolonged by due regard to 
the conditions of treatment, while that in others will sel- 
dom exist after the first season. Therefore, to accom- 
modate the vital spark in seed of all species, the most 
favorable time of sowing is immediately after the gath- 
ering in, precaution being, of course, taken in the mean- 
time for their preservation against influences of climate. 
The ground to be sown should be ploughed deep and 
thoroughly pulverized by a number of harrowings and 
rakings previous to sowing the seed, and, if not naturally 
rich, should be made so by an addition of some of the 
many manures in general use, such as old barn-yard, leaf- 
mould, rotted sods, bone-dust, or ashes. The seed soil 
being thus far prepared, shallow trenches of about one 
foot wide and at two to four feet intervals, according to 
the intended manner of cultivating, are to be run, and in 
these the seeds should be strewn at about two inches 
distance between each (to allow for the thrift of the 
young sprouts), and covered over evenly with soil to the 
depth of from one to two inches. All that is now re- 
