INDIANA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 499 



It is for the scientist to tell why this is so— being a practical man, I only 

 tell the fact and do not attempt to explain it. When the tree has been 

 transplanted, if It stands the transplanting, not only better, but even as 

 well, it has two years the start, and you may be sure it will keep it. 



Here is a tree which I brought for a practical illustration. It was 

 planted last year, and I do not know its age exactly, and 1 suppose Mr. 

 Hobbs would not remember it. It was an Excelsior, I think, but that 

 does not matter— it was a thrifty tree. It was a large one sent us by 

 the nursery at a small price, because they can sell a tree that is large 

 as tliis very cheap, it being too large to hold over another year for mar- 

 ket; and we planted it. I trimmed these roots quite short— see there, and 

 there, so it would go in about a six or seA'en-inch hole, and here it is 

 trimmed back; here is a limb left with a little start to go on. The year 

 it was transplanted it lived, and last year it started to put out, and this, 

 you see, is what winter did. It has been doing well and growing along 

 this far this summer, and this is all the growing it did. We only expect 

 a tree to live the first year— do not expect any growth at all; and this 

 year see what it has done. Being a large tree did not hurt it in the least 

 in transplanting, and you do not find young trees growing more the 

 second year than this. When I went to set out that tree I did/not dig a 

 hole four feet across and three feet deep. It is not necessary. This 

 tree made a big growth without it, and if I had done that I do not think 

 the tree would have grown nearly so much. I want you to get this idea 

 —that the tree does not grow in loose soil, but in compact soil. Doubt- 

 less you have all seen, as I have, seedling apple trees come from a seed 

 in one year from a hard ground, and make a growth of three to five feet 

 in a year. When I dug this tree up the other day the ground was hard, 

 but it was growing. I dug it out with a narrow bladed hoe, and it was 

 thriving. The ground was loose above, where we* had loosened it up, and 

 the cowpeas were growing around if, Init there was hard soil below. 



AVhy do these men advise you to cultivate for four or five years, if 

 tiiey grow best in hard ground? Why, to drive the roots down. The 

 loose soil on top drives the roots down to seek the hard soil. Loose soil 

 on top and hard soil down beneath are all right. I am not arguing 

 against cultivating. 



Dig a small hole, don't take much time for that, just large enough 

 for the roots to go in nicely, but use considerable time in fitting and 

 I)acking the dirt tightly and solidly around the roots; because, as I told 

 you awhile ago, the tree does not grow in loose dirt, but in solid dirt. 

 Pack it firmly as you can get it, is the best way, and carefully fit it 

 around each root. Get poultry netting with a one-inch mesh to go around 

 the trees, and put one around every tree, and that keeps the groundhogs 

 as well as the ralibits off. With us the groundhogs are more destructive 

 to trees than the rabbits. The gi-oundhog eats only as far up the tree 

 as he can reach from the ground, and a shield two feet high will keep 



