March.] THE NURSERY. 271 
The Diosfiyroa virgintana, persimmon, or American date plum, 
is best cultivated from seed sown in autumn, soon after ripe, or in 
March; if kept up till spring, some of them will not vegetate till the 
second year after sowing. 
Chesnuts, Walnuts, Hickories and Oaks. 
About the middle of this month, plant the nuts of the European 
and American eatable chesnuts, also of the horse chesnut, and like- 
wise of the different varieties of walnuts and hickories, which you 
■wish to propagate. All the above kinds should be sown in drills, first 
throwing the nuts into a tub of water, and rejecting such of them as 
swim, covering them with light rich mould about two inches deep. 
The drills may be three feet asunder, and the nuts planted about six 
or eight inches from one another in the rows. 
The different varieties of oak succeed best, when sown imme- 
diately after being ripe; but in that case they have to encounter 
the depredations of mice, squirrels, &c. to avoid which, they may be 
kept in earth or sand till this time; but as most of them will be 
sprouted, you are to take them carefully up, without breaking the 
radicles, and plant them in drills two feet asunder, covering the 
acorns not more than three quarters, or at most an inch deep, with 
light loose mould. 
The whole of the above kinds may remain in these seed drills for 
two years, keeping them at all times very free from weeds; and as 
they are generally, but more particularly the walnut kinds, subject 
to push down long tap-rooots, and not to form many lateral ones, it 
will be proper, nay it will be necessary, in order to insure success 
in transplanting, when they have had one or two years' growth, to 
open, in the spring, a small trench close to each row, and then, 
with a very sharp, spade, to cut the descending roots about six or 
eight inches under ground, casting back the earth when done. This 
will cause them to throw out a nurpber of laterals, and the spring 
following you can transplant them with safety into nursery rows, at 
greater distances, to remain till wanted to plant out, where finally in? 
tended. 
Robinia, or Locust Tree. 
The Robinia Pseudo-Acacia, or common locust-tree, is said to be 
superior to any other kind of wood, for ship tunnels, mill cogs, and 
fence posts, as well as for various other purposes. Its culture is 
very easy, as it may be propagated in great abundance, by collecting 
the seeds in autumn when ripe, preserving them dry till March, 
then sowing them in a bed of good sandy loam, which is their fa- 
vourite soil, and covering them half an inch deep. They will come 
up in the course of the following month numerously, for no seeds 
grow more freely, notwithstanding what some unexperienced per- 
sons assert to the contrary. They require no preparation what- 
ever; sow them as above directed, and a good crop is certain. 
When a year old, transplant them out of the seed-bed into nursery 
