NURSERY AND PLANTING. 



71 



however, they should be sown thick to ensure a crop, and if the 

 plants come up too closely, they must be thinned before they 

 begin to injure one another. During the first winter after sow- 

 ing, young birch-plants are liable to be thrown out of the ground, 

 and in time of frosts care must be taken to prevent this as much 

 as possible, for which purpose nurserymen cover the beds 

 with a thin sprinkling of rotten tan, which lias undergone a 

 long period of decomposition, and some, with less propriety 

 cover them with fresh saw-dust. As the ground is generally 

 moist in which birch-seeds are sown, we would suggest that 

 the alleys, or foot-paths, between the beds be cleared suffi- 

 ciently to allow of all superabundant moisture passing freely 

 off, as the drier the beds are kept during winter, the less 

 liable will the plants be to be thrown out by frost. 



The strongest plants will, in the spring following the sow- 

 ing, be in a fit condition to prick out into nursery-beds, or 

 into lines ; in the former case they should stand at from three 

 to four inches apart, if very small ; but if larger, should be 

 allowed nearly double that room ; and if put out into lines, 

 they should be from twelve to fifteen inches distant, and from 

 four to eight inches in the line, according to their size and 

 strength. 



Their future routine of culture consists in keeping the 

 ground perfectly clear of weeds, and if not planted out per- 

 manently from these beds or lines, they should, the season 

 after their first planting, be taken up and planted in lines at 

 a greater distance from each other. Birch is seldom planted 

 with a view to attain large timber-trees, its natural size being 

 that of a tree of the third or fourth class of magnitude, 

 although solitary instances occur of its attaining a very con- 

 siderable size. 



As a copse-tree, the birch becomes valuable, and bears cut- 

 ting at stated periods profitably. It also obtains a place in 

 all ornamental plantations, in consequence of the fragrance of 

 its foliage and singular beauty of its outline ; and few trees 

 are more pleasing when grouped or planted singly in the park 

 or lawn. By the sides of ponds, lakes, or rivers, the birch 

 flourishes and gives a richness to the scene by the diversi- 

 fication of its growth, as well as its distinct character of head, 



