State Agricultural Society. 435 



TREE PLANTING. 



BY J. S. HARBISON, OP SACRAMENTO. 



The wrong way is too often practiced. The holes are dug — some 

 barely large enough to admit the roots — and these even are often dou- 

 bled up and crowded in such a- manner that a portion of them decay 

 prematurely, and the tree is easily blown over. Others are dug and 

 the tree planted as a fence post should be — deep, with the earth well 

 packed around them. In this case, certain death to many varieties of 

 trees, such as the stone fruits, locust, etc., follows. Pear, Lombardy 

 poplar, and some other varieties, endure this style of planting and fre- 

 quently do well. Of late years some variation is made in the manner of 

 preparing the holes. For instance, they are dug about three feet in 

 diameter and as many deep. If in hard ground (alkaline it may be), 

 these holes are usually filled with material hauled from a distance, a 

 quantity of manure deposited in the bottom, and sediment is used to 

 finish the filling. If in sandy ground, it is thought best to have some 

 clay to mix with the sand. The clay is hauled— most likely it is black 

 adobe, or that which is as poorly adapted to the requirements of tree 

 life as the lean, washed sediment — the holes are filled, the trees plant- 

 ed — some deep, some shallow — it don't make much difference which, for 

 no very good results are ever seen to follow such unworthy practices. 



It is noticeable of late years that a much larger proportion of trees 

 planted along our streets, as well as of fruit trees in our gardens and 

 orchards, die or grow feebly than in former years; which is not charge- 

 able to any change in the manner of planting, but to the fact that the 

 ground has been tramped over, destroying its life-giving qualities, or 

 exhausted of its fertility from long cropping. While our land was new 

 and untrodden, trees planted in the most superficial manner mostly 

 grew and did well, and when spared the murderous trimmings that have 

 utterly ruined so many of the fine trees that formerly graced our streets, 

 are to-day equal in size and beauty to those grown in any city of the 

 land, and at the same time show us what must be done to restore the 

 pristine vigor of our soils before we can hope to attain success. 



Another cause has contributed not a little to the failure of tree plant- 

 ing of late 3'ears. The trees have mostly been brought from distant 

 nurseries, and for the want of proper care in packing, or the entire ab- 

 sence of any packing, more or less damaged before they are planted. 

 Formerly the demand was almost entirely supplied from our local nurse- 

 ries. The latter having, to a great extent, been destroyed by floods, 

 leaves most of the nurserymen without the means and the courage 

 necessary to start anew and compete successfully with distant commer- 

 cial nurseries, with whom it is difficult to compete even where no calam- 

 ities have befallen. 



