High manuring in the nursery has been objected to by some orchard planters, who say that trees, which have been forced into a too luxuriant growth in their infancy, receive so severe a shock upon being transplanted to the open field, that they never recover. With the neglect which is so commonly accorded to young trees in the orchard, it is really wonderful how they ever survive at all, whether they had been stimulated in their culture or not. The large majority of purchasers at the nursery always select those trees which are most vigorous, notwithstanding the prejudice against stimulating the trees, and then with mutilated roots, they probably omit cutting back the limbs sufficiently, and when their neglected orchard fails, they complain of the forced trees. The change from the good cultivation of the nursery to the careless culture and even neglect of the farm, is certainly hard for the poor things to bear. Late growth, encouraged by high manuring, is injurious. There is a much more serious fault of the nursery than stimulating with manure and high cultivation, and that is the too common error of crowding the trees; but even this has its origin partly with the purchaser, who too often wishes to have his trees drawn up as high as possible; instead of demanding low heads he asks for high ones, and will sometimes offer a premium for trees that have grown in one season, the second from the root graft, eight or ten feet in a single shoot, so that he may at once calculate upon forming the head where he wants it, out of the reach of his horse; a calculation, however, which he will not realize.
The Preparation of the Soil for a nursery should be as deep and as thorough as possible, for some things it is best even to trench the ground; but generally, the thorough plowing, with a deep-tiller, or a trench-plow, will be sufficient, and if followed by the subsoil lifter, so much the better. One of the most intelligent horticulturists, and most successful nurserymen in the country, finds that he can produce a better result in depth and fineness of tilth, by using the Double Michigan plow, than he can with the spade. A piece of clover-sod thus plowed in the fall, and subsoiled at the same time, will be in fine order for nursery purposes, after a thorough cross-plowing and harrowing in the following spring. If the land has been under-drained, so much the better. There is little good land that would not be much improved for nursery purposes by tile draining.
If manure is to be applied, it may be spread upon the clover-sod before plowing, or it may be thrown upon the plowed ground at once or at any time during the winter, to be worked into the soil by the spring plowing; if composted, it may be spread just before the spring stirring.
Laying Out.—In laying out the nursery, some taste may be exercised by the planter; the sections and blocks should be distinct, and alleys should be located at convenient distances, so that all parts may be easily accessible with the wagon. The rows should be laid out straight, and they ought to be far enough apart—four feet might be a good average for nursery trees; cuttings and seedlings may, of course, be nearer. The trees should not be set too closely in the rows, one foot apart is plenty close enough for most kinds, and that is little enough room for the development of good lateral branches, or for those which have to remain three or four years before transplanting. For peaches, for dwarf pears, and indeed for any of the varieties that are to be taken from the nursery as maiden trees, a less space may be allowed—say eight inches apart. Apple stocks for budding, or for collar grafting, may be set ten inches apart, and they will have room to make very good plants, even should they remain until two years old.
Most nurserymen set out their apple grafts in the rows where they are to be grown to full size, and cultivate them from two to three years; while this saves the trouble of transplanting, the trees will not be as well assorted for size, nor will they have the benefit of the transplanting, (which will enhance their value much more than it costs, in the improved character of their roots), as have those that have been treated on the bedding plan, practiced by some nurserymen. This consists in setting the root grafts closely together, in a bed of very well prepared ground; they are covered at once with a good mulching of sawdust, which keeps the ground moist, and insures the growth of almost all the plants, while for the first season they occupy very little space, and are readily kept clean, as the mulching prevents the growth of weeds. In the fall, or in the following spring, they are taken up, assorted for size, and re-planted in the nursery-rows where they are to stand. This transplanting improves the character of their roots, which are more fibrous and shorter than in those trees which have stood three or four years without being disturbed. Purchasers, now-a-days, begin to look at the roots of their trees, as well as the tops; and it may become necessary for the nurserymen to gratify this fancy for low-headed, stocky trees, that have abundant fibres to insure their growth, and their early fruitfulness.
Culture of the nursery should be thorough; the soil should be frequently stirred, and kept mellow and loose, to insure cleanliness and thriftiness, and to make handsome trees. The mellow soil upon the surface, is, by some persons, considered equal to a good mulching, and indeed it answers the indications of one. Cultivation, to kill the weeds as fast as they appear, will admit both air and moisture; a share of both of these is retained by the mellow earth, which, thus treated, is indeed a very good mulch. The cultivation may be done with the small turning plow, with the double shovel, or with any of the many approved cultivators in use everywhere throughout the country. The surface should be kept as level and even as possible. In some soils the roller, made short enough to pass between the rows, is highly esteemed, and is considered a most valuable implement in the nursery. As a general rule, cultivation should not be continued too late in the season, but should be suspended about mid-summer, so as to prevent a late growth and to encourage the plants to finish their summer's work in time to ripen their wood thoroughly before the advent of winter. This is particularly necessary where the climate is severe, especially on new lands, where the trees are very vigorous. Upon the approach of winter, it is a good practice to plow a light furrow against the trees on each side; this protects the collar from cold, prevents heaving by the frost, and gives a good surface drainage to excess of water.
For deeply loosening the ground between the rows, the one-horse subsoil lifting plow is a very valuable instrument; this can be used in very narrow spaces. This plow prepares the ground admirably for the pronged hoe, and it may be used between rows of cuttings and seedlings.
The Pronged Hoe.—One of the most valuable implements in the nursery to clean out the weeds from between the trees, and also to work among cuttings, and other plants, that are set too closely for the use of the horse, is the pronged hoe; it makes the best shallow culture, prevents the soil from becoming hard, and it is the best destroyer of small weeds that can be used. The flat hoe is never sharp enough to cut all of the weeds effectually, it produces little tilth, and the result of its use is too often a disappointment, but half killing the weeds, in some places, and dragging them out by the roots in others, and often leaving the ground hard and in miserable condition.
Fig. 24.—THE PRONGED HOE.
Planting Cuttings.—Some of the small fruits, as currants, gooseberries, as well as the quince, are propagated, to a great extent, by cuttings. The ground for growing them, should be very well prepared by trenching or trench-plowing; the difference in the growth between cuttings set on well or on poorly prepared ground is astonishing, and the advantage in favor of trenched land is sufficient to pay for the extra expense bestowed upon the preparation. The soil should be rather sandy, decidedly loose and mellow, and rather moist than dry.
In setting the cuttings, the rows may be quite close, as horse labor is seldom employed among them; but they are tended by hand, or the ground is mulched. They may also be set quite thickly in the row, as they are to remain but a short time in the cutting bed, from which they are transplanted at one year old, though sometimes alternate rows may be left over another season. When the trench is opened for them, the cuttings are set, three or four inches apart, next the line, so that only the top bud shall reach the surface; a little mellow soil is thrown upon them, and they are tramped firmly at the base, when the remainder of the earth is thrown in and the next trench is opened for another row. If they be planted in the autumn, it is well to cover them with a mulch, and for this leaves from the forest are an excellent material. Some propagators insist very strongly upon the necessity for removing all the