THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



The use of the cone-mill, as well as that of the bark-mill, 

 is railically bad, as many of the seeds are bruised and 

 rendered useless that have passed through them, and this also 

 ap})ears to have been the conclusion drawn by Sang, who had 

 a very extensive knowledge in these matters in the Kirkaldy 

 nurseries, which he so long and so scientifically managed and 

 possessed. Indeed," he says, *' among all the methods 

 which we have known adopted, to perform the painful and 

 laborious work of extracting the seeds of the larch, the plan 

 of splitting them singly is infinitely the best and safest for the 

 seeds, and ought to be adopted by every one who has occasion 

 to use only small quantities of seed." 



To facilitate the process of splitting cones, particularly 

 such as are large, like the cedar of Lebanon, cluster-pine, &c., 

 steeping them in water for a day or two previously to splitting 

 them, may be advantageously adopted. 



The beginning of April is a very proper time to commence 

 sowing larch-seeds, and from that period to the end of the 

 first week in May, but after that it may be considered too late 

 for the purpose. The ground for the larch seed-beds should 

 be well prepared previously to this time, that is, it should be 

 winter-fallowed, or dug two or three times during winter, but 

 always in dry weather. Nurserymen, of great experience, 

 recoMunend as the best preparatory crop for seedling-larches, 

 that of two-year seedling Scotch firs, or if that cannot be had, 

 land from which a crop of two-year seedling-larch has just 

 been taken up. If the soil be moderately good of itself, a 

 very slight dressing of rotten manure may be given, but this 

 should be neither rank, nor in too great a quantity. The 

 ground should be well broken in the process of digging, and 

 rendered as fine as possible on the surface by repeated rak- 

 ing ; and divided into beds, wliich is the best form for all the 

 fir-tribe seeds to be sown in. If the seeds be good, and have 

 been taken from the cones by the process of splitting them, 

 they should be sown about a quarter of an inch apart, seed from 

 seed ; but, if they have been extracted by the mill, they should 



