60 



THE NURSERY, 



fall on one adapted for firs, as the nearest approxi- 

 mation we can make towards suiting all descrip- 

 tions. 



It is hardly possible to raise a full crop of seed- 

 ling spruce, birch or alder, in land of that degree of 

 dryness which is most proper for the Scotch fir and 

 the larch. If possible, therefore, the nursery should 

 contain a portion of moist land, meaning by this 

 term, not that degree of wetness which consists in 

 swampiness, or in the water appearing above the 

 surface even in winter, but what is generally under- 

 stood by the epithet damp. But, if no single piece 

 of ground, of the requisite extent, and possessing 

 this qualification, can be found, we have no other 

 alternative but either to content ourselves with the 

 more slender crops of the above mentioned species, 

 which may be raised without it, or have two sepa- 

 rate nurseries, the one calculated for plants which 

 prefer a moist soil, and the other for those of a dif- 

 ferent nature. This expedient, notwithstanding its 

 inconvenience, professional nurserymen sometimes 

 find it advantageous to adopt. 



A proper situation, or situations, being made 

 choice of, the next work will be to prepare the 

 ground for its intended purpose. The labour of this 

 operation will depend on the previous state of the 

 land. If it contain many perennial weeds, such as 



