THE ORANGE; 



high. This was a little larger than my 

 bed of one hundred and sixty boxes re- 

 (juired, but I provided for extra '* elbow 

 room." The framework of the house was 

 of two by three redwood stuff, posts six. 

 feet apart, and a row of posts standing 

 longitudinally through the middle fplant- 

 ed in the central alley) to sustain the roof. 

 All of the lath work for sides and roof was 

 built in detached panels, the roof panels 

 being merely laid on a framework provid- 

 ed for that purpose, and the side panels 

 tacked on so that they could all be re- 

 moved at will. In the winter when my 

 young trees needed all the sunshine they 

 could get, these panels were taken off the 

 soiith and east sides and the top. Thus I 

 got a good exposure without moving the 

 boxes. Around the sides of the house for 

 the height of two feet there was a base of 

 three inch strips with open spaces of an 

 inch between. These were deisgned to re- 

 main permanently as a guard against dep- 

 redating animals. The movable side panels 

 were fitted above this base. The general 

 appearance of the house is represented in 

 the foregoing cut. 



Objects and Advantages. — The main 

 object of this lath structure built over 

 the propagating boxes was to supply 

 a semi-shade for the young plants, 

 as they could not endure the full glare of 

 the summer sun. The particular advant- 

 ages which I claim for my propagating 

 house over a muslin covering are its free 

 admission of light and air, its easy access- 

 ibility and the excellent protection which 

 it offers from animals. When cloth is 

 used for a shade there is much trouble in 

 removing the covering when one wishes 

 to get at the plants. Then, too, the boxes 

 <annot be grouped so compactly, but need 

 to be strung out in long tiers. But the old 

 way of propagating does not contemplate 

 boxes at all, the seeds being sown broad- 

 cast in a bed and afterwards transplanted. 

 The advantages which I gain from the 

 boxes are these : 



1. The seeds being distributed regularly 

 and not too close together, each plant has 

 abundance of room from the outset. 



2. No transplanting is necessary until 

 the trees are a year old, when they can be 

 l)la<5ed in the nursery rows at once. 



3. In transplanting, the boxes may be 



hauled to the nursery and the trees left 

 undisturbed until each, in turn, is set into 

 the ground. 



4. By the use of the Widney transplant- 

 er, or some similar device, a ball of earth 

 may be taken up wdth each tree, thus 

 avoiding an exposure of the roots to sun 

 and air and greatly augmenting the 

 chances of life and thrift in the young 

 tree. 



Expense.— The items of expense of my 

 seed and planting (native seeds) and prop- 

 agating house were as follows : 

 One hundred and sixty boxes at nine cents . . $14 40 



Making same, two days at $2.50 5 00 



Hauling and preparing soil , 3 00 



Planting seeds 10 00 



Propagating house 35 00 



Total $67 4a 



The items for propagating house and 

 boxes need not be considered an irreme- 

 diable expense, as the boxes will serve 

 for another season's propagation, if de- 

 sired, and the house will do for many sea- 

 sons, or it may be readily converted to 

 other uses. The panels being all detached 

 are immediately serviceable for a fence or 

 chicken coop. 



Convenient to Water. — My propa- 

 gating house was located close to a hy- 

 drant, and by attaching a hose and using 

 a rose nozzle I could irrigate the en- 

 tire bed in twenty minutes. I took care 

 at first not to allow the surface of the soil 

 to become dry. It was necessary to irri- 

 gate every alternate day. 



Mulching.— The retention of moisture 

 was greatly promoted by a mulching of 

 wheat chaff, which I spread over the 

 boxes immediately after planting the 

 seeds. I took care that my chaff was 

 thoroughly freed from wheat before put- 

 ting it on, as there was no room in the 

 boxes to raise grain. 



Danger iN too Much Moisture.— 

 The boxes must not be kept too wet. I 

 lost some young plants from what nur- 

 sey-men call "damping off,"— the roots 

 rotting and the stems and leaves turning 

 yellow and withering. As stated, I 

 sprinkled my bed every alternate day to 

 begin with. This plan was followed well 

 through the summer, when the irrigations 

 were reduced to two a week, then one a 

 week, and finally, when the winter rains 



