SOWING. 



65 



serymeil find by experience, that seedlings, especial- 

 ly of the fir tribes, succeed best after the ground is 

 seasoned, as they term it ; that is, after it has borne 

 seedlings of some kind or other before. It is quite 

 unnecessary, therefore, or rather it would be impro- 

 per, to introduce green crops into the nursery by 

 way of relieving the grounds 



SOWING. 



The sowing of firs is an operation which requires 

 considerable care and delicacy. The following is a 

 sketch of the method in which it is generally per- 

 formed : The winter ridges being levelled down^ the 

 ground is dug anew, and carefully broken and 

 smoothed with the rake. It is then divided into 

 beds of about four feet wide, with alleys between of 

 about eight inches. The latter are defined by 

 stretching the line, placing a foot on each side of it, 

 and then shuffling along, so as to make a continu- 

 ous path. A cofflng, as it is, in some places, tech- 

 nically termed, is then taken off. This operation, 

 which is necessary for the covering of the seeds, 

 consists in pushing off with the head of a rake, its 

 teeth being inverted, as much earth from the bed as 



E 



