MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 197 
face watering after the tree is planted, because the diffusion 
of water through the soil is very slow and irregular and it 
frequently never reaches the root system. Ordinarily, with 
deciduous trees, pruning of the tops is necessary to produce 
a balance with the roots, which may be cut and bruised in 
the process of digging. With evergreens, however, very little 
pete is practised, but a symmetrical form is produced 
y shortening the end branches, cutting out all but one 
leader, and removing any branches that are not needed. 
While the cone-bearing trees are becoming established they 
require an abundance of water, and if this is not available 
a mulch of some material, like straw or grass, will help keep 
the moisture at the roots. The mulch must not be more 
than 2-3 inches deep, however, since, if too heavy, it will 
cause the roots to grow near the surface where they might 
be injured during winter or extremely dry weather. The 
treatment consists further of keeping up a healthy growth by 
judicious cultivation around the trees and the application of 
a fertilizer, either in the form of a mulch of manure, which 
is spaded in in the spring, or a commercial fertilizer, such as 
bone meal, acid phosphate, etc. After the conifers reach 25 
years of age or more they begin to lose their symmetrical 
form, and the lower branches die out. It is then necessary 
to cut these limbs off close to the trunk so as to permit per- 
fect callusing of the wounds, this work being best accom- 
plished during the dormant period. 
The treatment of coniferous evergreens, when used for 
hedges, requires special attention. A trench 2 feet deep and 
3 feet wide should be dug the full length of the line where 
the hedge is to be, and the bottom filled with loose soil and 
puddled. The plants should be spaced 3-4 feet apart, and 
the soil made ders around the roots and overlaid with a 
mulch of sawdust or coal ashes. The trees or shrubs must 
be cut back about one-third, so as to make all the plants the 
same size and induce branching from the base, which is so 
essential in a good hedge. With proper pruning a compact 
hedge may be secured at the end of 4 years, and much 
of the subsequent success depends upon the shaping induced 
during the few years. Pruning should be done once 
a year before the new growth appears. If done during the 
fall or winter, the cutting away of the growth which serves 
as a protection for the buds will probably result in injury 
and killing back of branches. When trimming, the cutting 
should be close to the wood of the previous year, leaving a 
small portion for the production of new growth. This por- 
tion need not be very long, for the longer it is the greater 
will be the resulting growth and the harder will it be to 
