ON TRANSPLANTING TREES. 379 



head, one at each corner of the hole ; to these four corner posts 

 nail strong boards of common fir planking, one inch thick and 

 six broad, or of paling rail, leaving narrow openings between the 

 joints ; in this underground frame- work the tree will expand and 

 spread its roots, and when the time arrives for transplanting, a 

 trench is dug round the wooden casing ; the four corner posts or 

 stobs are sawn over at the bottom ; a flat shovel or spade is used 

 to skim under the root-ball, for the purpose of cutting the down- 

 ward rootlets ; a rope is passed from either side under the casing, 

 and fastened to the tree stem above, so as to keep the whole 

 firm ; and in this way, and with little expense and trouble, the 

 plant may be transferred to its new position. This mode of 

 transplanting has this advantage, that the delay and cost of pre- 

 vious preparation is avoided, time and labour are saved during 

 the operation itself, and a certainty of success is, in ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, ensured. It may be prosecuted in ornamental 

 grounds, where, at the time of laying out, it is quite obvious that 

 in a few years many of the specimens planted will require to be 

 removed or sacrificed, to leave room for the others. 



We may notice, in passing, the ingenious but old-fashioned 

 mode of freezing the earth around the roots for the purpose of 

 obtaining a good retentive root-ball, but we do not recommend, 

 it. It necessitates the partial exposure of the rootlets to the 

 weather at its most inclement season, till sufficiently hard frost 

 sets in, and the season for the removal is limited, to a period of 

 severe frost ; and although, from the process of freezing the mass 

 of earth round, the roots, these organs may sustain no injury, still 

 the whole method is obviously clumsy, and the foregoing objec- 

 tions are sufficiently strong to condemn the process at the present 

 day. 



Many practical results are within our knowledge to justify 

 the seasons and circumstances for transplantation advocated in 

 this paper. We may observe, as instancing between the com- 

 parative advantages of Autumn and Spring, or early Summer 

 planting, the following example, amongst many others, in favour 

 of the latter season for evergreens. 



At C , soil rich loam of considerable depth, on a rather 



damp clayey subsoil ; elevation abovesea level 90 feet; in the month 

 of November 1856, a thick belting of evergreens, chiefly Por- 

 tugal laurels, bays, hollies, yews, &c, was formed. The plants 

 were about 2| feet to 3| feet high, and were carefully " pitted" 

 in the usual way. A moderately severe winter ensued, and the 

 losses by next April were from 40 to 50 per cent. This arose 

 not so much from the severity of the frost, as from the influence 

 of the chilling east winds of Spring in February, March, and 

 April, succeeding a considerable period of wet weather, acting 

 upon the plants before they had become established in their new 



