e cloth should be about 6 inches in
height so that there will actually be 18 inches of head room for the
plants to grow in before touching the screen.

[Illustration: _This 60 x 30 foot corrugated galvanized iron fence 3-1/2
feet tall and sunk 6 inches into ground protects valuable hybrids
against invasion by rodents. Photo by C. Weschcke._]

There are several important points to remember in starting a seed bed.
It must be in a well-drained site, so that the seeds will not be under
water or water-logged for any length of time. It should be in an open
place where sunlight is plentiful, unless evergreens are being grown.
Evergreens must be in half-shade the first season to avoid a condition
known as "damping off." The top six inches of soil in the bed should be
the best garden soil obtainable, the growth resulting from using good,
clean soil, free from weed seeds, being worth the trouble of preparing
it. By having the bed in two parts, with a cover that may be taken off,
proper weeding can be done when necessary. The cover should always be
replaced afterward, though, as rodents will sometimes attack the young
shoots and the remainder of the seed kernel.

In the spring of the second season of growth, the young plants may be
dug up and lined out in nursery rows. After two or three years more,
they may be planted in permanent locations.

Chapter 13

TREE PLANTING METHODS

Since nut trees usually have deep, well-developed root systems of the
taproot type, they are more difficult to transplant than such trees as
plum, apple, elm or maple which have many small fibrous roots. Taproots
have a long, main trunk like a parsnip, from which lateral roots branch.
These roots are heavy and may extend deep into the ground even in trees
only two or three years old. In moving such a tree, the lower part of
the central taproot must, of course, be cut off, but as many of the side
roots as possible are retained. Because such roots have no fibrous or
hair-root system, their handling during transplantation necessarily
differs from that of the ordinary shade or fruit tree.

If trees having a taproot system, such as the English walnut, black
walnut, butternut, hickory or pecan, are received with bare roots, they
should be treated in the following way: Immediately after the trees have
been unpacked, their roots should be submerged in a barrel of water for
several hours. After their thirst has been quenched, the roots should be
dipp