St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-07-11
HOME NURSERIES.
The Advantages Of = Well Stocked MUIR
eery.

The numerous advantages of a well
stocked home nursery, especially where
planting is extensively carried on are so
well known and are appreciated by
every proprietor of large estates, that
comment on this subject seems almost
unnecessary; however. a few remarks
on the subject may not be out of place.
do not propose to dilate on the details
of nursery management, my object be-
ing more to dwell on the advantages of
a home nursery for the rearing of plants
for special purposes, such as the plant
ing of barren. exposed districts. as well
as the convenience of having at hand a
stock of plants suitable for all emergen-
cies, and whose hardness can to great
extent be relied upon.
Where ornamental planting. game
coverts. or hedging is performed on an
extensive scale. the convenience of
home nursery can not be overvalued.
the plants being always at hand and of
the size and in the quantity required,
thus Obviating the necessity of sending
to a distance for these when wanted.
The advantages in these eases are
too well known to require COM
mcnt. and plants. more especially those
of large size. sent from distance can
not, after packing and transmission by
ROAD and rail, be expected to succeed
equal to those raised and planted on the
same day. The extra soil or bail with
which large plants can be removed for
a short distance is also much in their
favor, but which is next to impossible
where packing and transit have to be
reSorted to. 1t is well known that too
sudden a change from rich. well-shel
tered nursery borders to bare exposed
hillsides often proves fatal to young
plants; and when we consider that few
public nurseries are at a greater cleva-
ton than three hundred feet, the neces
sity of proprietors rearing their own
stock whose plantations are perhaps
upwards of one thousand feet above sea
level will the more readily be seen.
There are certainly difficulties TO con-
tend with in planting high-lying ground.
more especially if the soil is poor and
the situation exposed. and in these cases
the advantages of using hardy plants
that have frequently been transplantet
in well-chosen home nursery are only
too perceptible, especially when cor
trasted with others that have been
grown under more favorable circum-
stances and in a sheltered position.
Some plants seem better adapted than
others for this removal, but in the ma
jority of cases the shock sustained by
transferring from low-lying ground to
that of great elevation is only TOO APP
parent. and from which the plants
seldom recover. A good deal of COM
ment has taken place as TO the necessi-
ty of rearing trees from seed sown on
the site of the future plantation: and
although the suggestion has many
points in its favor, still, artificial plant
ing is better adapted to the wants of
our country and not at all likely to be
superseded by artificial reproduction,
which is more fitted for countries differ
emily situated from our own. The nur-
sery treatment of plants is, therefore,
sure TO remain a prominent feature of
British forestry. and as such the soil and
situation, as well as most successful
treatment of these, SO as to produce
plants suitable for the positions they are
intended to occupy. will require due
consideration. and very much according
to the situation of the estate and ground
to be planted.
In choosing the site of home nursery
a good deal will depend on the general
elevation and exposure Of the estate.
The situation should be neither too
much exposed nor yet sheltered, but
partaking to a certain extent of both,
and with southern or western exposure;
for although too sudden change from
sheltered to exposed ground often
proves fatal to young trees. this should
not altogether form a criterion for rear
ing such in situations unfavorable to
the development of strong, healthy
plants. The soil should be good friable
loan on an open, porous subSOil: but
the quality of ground required for differ
ent seedlings is so diversified that it is
next to impossible to suit all within the
small bounds required for home nur-
sury. As water is Indispensable where
seedlings are raised. as well as for nu-
merous other purposes in the nursery,
it is well to have provision made for a
continuous supply, either by stream
running through the nursery ground or
in close contigu;ty to it. From six to
ten acres will be found sufficient
nursery ground for most estates. but it
is advisable to add little more than is
really required. so that the breaks may
not all be under forest trees at the same
time, but undergo. when found ncces-
sary, course of green crops, which
will not only enrich, but clean the
ground and leave it in good condition for
replanting with Seeding forest plants,
hearing in mind that farlnyard manure
should always be applied first to the
green crop, and never directly to the
plants themselves. Land intended for
nursery ground should be thoroughly
trenched to the full depth of the soil.
and. where necessary, heavily MANFRED
or enriched BY the addition of lime,
vegetable soil. or loan, as the case may
require. In laying out the ground into
breaks it will be found convenient to
have these either square or rectangular
in shape, and, if possible, parallel to
each other. The breaks may be divided
by different kinds of hedges, which.
when well kept. give not only a neat
md tidy appearance to the nursery.
but are highly beneficial in the way of
shelter. The site chosen for the seed
beds should be naturally sheltered, or,
failing this. such artificial shelter as is