NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 229 



ultimately required, it is necessary to make provi- 

 sion against the ravages of mice, which being very 

 fond of acorns, will devour many of them in the in- 

 terval between the time of sowing and that of coming 

 up. Besides, accidents may happen to the young 

 plants, which are easily broken when they newly ap- 

 pear above ground, and the hares will in all proba- 

 bility injure some of them the first and second win- 

 ters, by stripping off the bark from their tender 

 branches. As a safeguard against all these casual- 

 ties, it is proper to plant as many acorns in each 

 square or patch as can conveniently grow for the first 

 two years. The cost of the acorns is so trifling, that 

 the waste of them hereby incurred hardly deserves 

 notice. 



The most proper season for sowing them is the 

 last week of March, or beginning of April. They 

 may, indeed, be put into the ground in February ; 

 but, by this, nothing is to be gained, as, in this 

 country, there is little vegetation before April ; and 

 when seeds lie long in the ground before they ger- 

 minate, they are liable to rot or be otherwise injured. 

 The earlier, too, that acorns are sown, the more they 

 are exposed to the depredations of mice. 



The lime which I have directed to be put upon 

 the patches, is not to be considered as an absolutely 



