manure, not
more than three inches deep, is valuable if large seeds are planted but
it is detrimental to the development of small seeds and manure should
never be used for evergreens. Seeds of the nut pines, usually purchased
from seedsmen and received in a dry state, should be planted no deeper
than their own diameter in a light, sandy loam. A seed bed,
incidentally, is a very necessary protection against rodents in the case
of nut pine seed. I have used a mixture of bone meal on such seeds with
good results. Four quarts of bone meal carefully worked into the first
two or three inches of the surface soil of a 4 x 12 seed bed greatly
increases its fertility. Sifted hardwood ashes scattered over the bed
after the seed is in, will discourage cutworms and increase the potash
content of the soil.

Proper drying and storage are of no use if nuts are not planted where
they will have protection against rodents, improper drainage, and other
hazards. To keep them from being eaten by rodents, nut seeds should be
planted under wire screens inside a deep frame. The seed beds I have
made for use in my nursery are four feet wide and twelve feet long. By
using heavy galvanized hardware cloth 2 x 2 mesh, which means that it
has 1/2-inch square holes, is ideal for the top and sides of this frame.
By using this wire cloth 2 feet wide, 18 inches is sunk under the ground
surface, and only 6 inches protrudes above. This is to prevent burrowing
rodents from going underneath and extracting the seeds which you will
find they will do unless the screen protection goes down deep enough
into the ground to discourage them. A stout frame of rot-resisting wood,
such as cedar or fir should be placed on the inside of this countersunk
screen. This should also be 4 feet wide, 12 feet long so that a similar
frame, which is removable, can be placed over this. The edges of the
frame should match perfectly so that no rodents can reach the interior
of the seed bed without going down 1-1/2 feet under ground to burrow
under the countersunk screen. Several thousand evergreens or several
hundred walnut trees can be raised in a seed bed this size.

The soil is now removed from the inside of this enclosure or stationary
part of the bed to the depth of 6 inches so that the plants will have
head room to develop leaves and stems and still be protected under the
top or removable frame part. The top frame made of the same material and
covered also by the 2 x 2 hardwar