The Heathland nursery.

Abstract

During recent years a new kind of nursery for the production of forest planting stock has been developed in Great Britain. It is known as the "Heathland Nursery." It has obtained this name because the soils which are most suitable are characterized by the presence of a heathland vegetation. Heathland nurseries have two great advantages. over nurseries of the traditional type. The first is that, given the right treatment, they can produce seedlings of conifers which are large enough to lift and handle at the end of the first year as against the two, and sometimes three, years which are usually required in normal nursery practice. This means a substantial saving. The second is that the heathland nursery, if properly sited and managed, remains remarkably free from weeds for a considerable time, thus saving the costs of weeding, which are often substantial. It must be admitted, however, that the development of modern methods of weed control with oils and spirit is making this advantage less weighty than it used to be...