by a few
days' exposure to drying air currents.

Stratification consists in layering the nuts in clean, sharp sand, light
loam or sawdust and placing them in a cold, moist place, as a well
drained and shaded north hillside, where their contact with the soil and
protection from the direct rays of the sun will insure complete dormancy
and at the same time prevent the development of fungous troubles. To
this end the common practice is to dig a somewhat shallow trench and
place in it, one layer deep, the "flats" in which the nuts are
stratified. The flat usually employed is a shallow, wooden box in which
the bottom is provided with ample, narrow drainage cracks and the top
covered with wire cloth that will keep out mice or larger rodents. Not
infrequently the bottom is a wire cloth one instead of wood. Dimensions
of the flats vary, somewhat, but a convenient size is 30" long, 15"-16"
wide, 3"-4" deep, sides ends and bottom being made of lumber strips
(creosoted for preservation purposes) 3\4" thick and 3"-4" wide.

In these flats the nuts are placed layer upon layer, with sand, loam or
sawdust between, something as follows: one inch of sand or other medium
on the bottom, then a single layer of nuts, another inch layer of sand,
etc., until the flat is full, when it is covered with the wire cloth,
placed in the trench, covered with a few inches to a foot of leaves,
moist hay, cornstalks or even soil, and left for the winter. At the time
the medium for layering the nuts is being prepared, it will be well, if
ants are present in the section where the nuts are to be stored, or
later placed in nursery bed, to mix a liberal percentage of unleached
wood ashes with the sand, sawdust or loam, say one part in five, more or
less.

Other flats are placed alongside or end to end in the trench until the
stock is all in, when the whole may be covered uniformly. The layer of
leaves or hay next to the wire cover of the flats assists in the work of
uncovering when the inspections are made for the purpose of ascertaining
the state of dormancy or germination.

One step more and the seed stage passes into the province of the
seedling. As soon as the stratified nuts begin to germinate they should
be removed from the flats and planted in the nursery or propagating bed.
The site for this purpose should be one that is well drained, open to
air and sunshine and possessing a clean, fine, mellow and rather light
loamy soil. The size of this plat wi