mxich "vrater, as the young plants damp off very easily. With the use of shallo^v boxes the watering cau hardly Ije 

 avoided. Placing the boxes in moist ground ■will reduce the need of watering. 



Covering the ground, or shading, to prevent evaporation is better than watering. This covering or mulching is done 

 right after sowing, and consists of a thin layer of sphagnum moss or cut straw; the shading is done by lath screens or 

 otherwise. If moss or straw is used it is necessary to carefully watch when the seedlings appear and remove the cover 

 at once, to avoid spindling growth of the young plants, and replace it by a side cover of brush stuck alongside the 

 drills. This cover also furnishes protection against too much cooling off during the night. 



But better and more convenient than all these means of protection are the lath screenSj a contrivance which facili- 

 tates the protection of the seed-bed and the seedlings afterwards so much that nobody should attempt to grow seedlinofs 

 without them. These consist of a frame of two parallel sticks, or better, pieces of board 5 to 6 inches high and laths 1^ 

 inches apart nailed across. These frames or screens are best made the width of the seed-bed, say 3 feet and any length 

 that is needed, not over 4 feet for convenient handling. They can be placed directly on the seed-bed, or better, on short 

 poles driven into the grouad or on legs, one at each corner, raising the frames 6 to 8 inches above the bed. 



nte dcnujer of losing the seedlings is greatest after they have appeared above groundand for three to four iveeks aftericards. It 

 is then that greatest attention is needed in regulating moisture supplies. 



The lath screen does excellent service in regulating the moisture of the soil and the transpiration of the plant, by 

 protecting them from the direct rays of the sun. heat and wind, and keeping the air below the screen cooler and moister. 

 The use of these screens is more or less important in the earlier stages of the life of all seedlings, and with conifers and 

 a few specially tender kinds they are best used the entire first seasoir. They are then gradually raised on poles to 2 or 2i 

 feet above ground, and at last entirely removed, when the wood is matured. 



During rainy or cloudy days and nights the screens are best removed or raised and occasional airing during the 

 hotter parts of the day is needed, especially with conifers. Most deciduous trees soon grow beyond the need of this 

 protection, but yet are benefited by having some side i^rotection, such as a wind-break or wall at some distance' or a hedo-e 

 will furnish. 



Watering of seedlings may soinetimes become necessary in dry weather. 



Ciiltivatiou. — The soil must be kept free from weeds and loose, to absorb moisture and prevent evaporation. 

 Hilling it up along the seedling row is advantageous in keeping them moist, and a mulching between the rows of moss 

 litter, or even stones, helps to keep down weeds and protects the soil against drying. The pulling of weeds is done in 

 wet weather or after watering and repeated as often as necessary: the last weeding should be done in September. The 

 loosening of the ground not deex^er than 1 or 2 inches is best done in dry weather when the soil will crumble, and should 

 not be continued after August, to avoid winter killing of a late, unmatured growth. 



The first loosening of beds sowu in the fall is best done in spring as soon as all danger of frost is passed. The sprino- 

 beds are cultivated when the soil under the influence of continued rain followed by heat has packed together: under 

 otherwise favorable conditions cultivation does not become necessary again more than once or twice during the season. 



Protection against frost may become necessary either ifl the fall or oftener in the spring, even of the second year. The 

 damage done is due to a rapid change of temi^erature, and, especially, the rapid thawing of frozen parts under the 

 influence of the sun after a cold night, also by the dry cold winds of winter. 



To guard against the late frosts of spring sow late in spring; cover fall sowings after the first strong winter frost 

 with mulch to prevent an early start in spring, or place lath screens over the seed-bed, whenever the sky is clear and 

 frost expected. If this has been neglected with plants they may still be saved by watering before sunrise, which retards 

 the thawing: or at least shading against the early morning sun. 



The different kinds are liable to frost in a different degree. Oak, beech, fir, chestnut, locust, ash and spruce are more 

 sensitive to late spring frosts than maple, elm, linden ; others, like most pines, alder, birch, do not suffer at all or rarely. 

 The time of budding has also some influence with regard to liability to frost: the trees which bud early naturally beino- 

 more exposed to the danger than those which like oak, ash, and locust bird late. 



Thiuiiiiig. — Lastly, if the seedlings stand too close, as may happen even with the best care in distributing the 

 seed, and almost always if the seedlings are to remain two years in the seed-bed, it is desirable to thin out the rows, by 

 pulling out from the middle of the drill the weakest plants. This is done either the first summer or in the spring of the 

 next year. 



Seetlling' Nursery. — As a rule, and especially a rule for such climates as that of our western plains and i^rairies, 

 most seedlings shoind not be transplanted into permanent sites until two or three years old. They should first be trans- 

 planted into plani, beds and by proper care fitted for the hardships which they meet in the permanent site. In fact, as 

 has been stated at the outset, that planting is preferable and more economical in the end, than sowing in the permanent 

 site, so it may be stated that using "schooled" or transplanted plants from the nursery is safer and therefore more 

 economical in the end, than planting directly from the seed-bed. The care of plants in the nursery will form the subject 

 of a separate paper. 



