SELECTING A NURSERY SITE 



65 



More valuable, however, than the various artificial 

 devices for protecting plants is the natural covering of 

 snow which protects all of them in direct ratio to its depth. 



As was said in a previous chapter, it is hard to suggest 

 the size of the nursery plot. This must be determined 

 largely by the plants which you grow, as shrubs and 

 evergreens take up much more room per plant. It is said 

 that one acre of fruit trees will number from 5,000 to 

 8,000. There is no doubt but that many beginners in 

 the nursery business often make the mistake of attempting 

 to handle too large a tract at the start. 



If the land which you are to use for nursery purposes 

 has not been under continuous cultivation, it will be best 

 to postpone any extensive planting until Spring, as the 

 ground will need some preparation. It is just as true of 

 nursery stock as of indoor plants that they will not grow 

 as they should without well-fertilized and well-worked 

 soil. The best way of making these preparations is to 

 apply a good coat of barnyard manure late in the Fall, 

 plowing it under to a depth of eight or nine inches. If 

 the subsoil is inclined to be hard, it would be well to use 

 a subsoil plow first. After this plowing the ground should 

 be thoroughly harrowed and then, after lying all Winter, 

 it will be ready for early Spring planting. 



LAYING OUT THE NURSERY 



When all these preliminary matters have had attention 

 you are ready to make plans for the actual laying out of 

 the nursery. If your plot is much over an acre it will 

 be well to use the **block system.'' Nursery blocks may 

 be of any size, but as before suggested, rows of one to 

 three hundred feet in length are more convenient to work 

 than longer or shorter ones. A block could consist of 

 any number of such rows as might be convenient. The 



