HOW TO PLANT A TREE TO SECURE BEST RESULTS 239 



IVurserj Treatiiieiit. 



In taking trees from nurseries and preparing tliem for shipment, 

 there must necessarily be more or less exposure of the roots, but reliable 

 nurserymen take care that this exposure is the least possible. 



If properly handled, the trees are loosened in the ground With a 

 digger or spade, and the roots not removed from the ground till the 

 trees are to be bunched and loaded on wagons. The loads are covered 

 with canvas while going to the packing-sheds or heeling-in grounds. 

 In being boxed they are packed in with damp straw and peat, and if 

 shipped long distances the boxes are lined with waxed paper. Reliable 

 nurserymen, who well understand the delicate nature of tree roots, and 

 who guarantee to fill in gaps the second season, take good care to see 

 that trees are carefully handled and packed. It is usually at the other 

 «6nd of the line that the injurious treatment comes in. Perhaps the 

 farmer is not prepared to plant the trees, and they heat or dry in the 

 *oxes while he is digging the holes. 



Making a Tree (.'oinfortable. 



In planting a tree to make it grow — and there should be no other 

 aim — the tree should be made just as comfortable in its new environment 

 as possible. If the land is wet it should be drained, for trees will never 

 thrive with wet feet. The best results are obtained by preparing the 

 land previous year for the setting of the trees. Clover or cowpeas 

 plowed under in the fall will make humus the following year and keep 

 the soil moist about the roots. Trees will often do well in poor soils 

 and unfavorable conditions if good soil is placed about their roots, so 

 that they get a good start the first year or so. After they bnce 

 become established they can do considerable towards taking care of 

 themselves. 



Pruniug for Transplautiiig. 



The hole dug for a tree should be large enough so that the roots 

 may be spread out naturally in all directions. Yet it is not necessary 

 to dig very wide holes if the trees are heavy-rooted, for the roots 

 of a tree always need trimming back at transplanting time. Cut back all 

 roots larger than a lead-pencil, leaving a clean-cut surface. Remove 

 all broken or lascerated roots and those that have become dried and 

 dead. The cut surface should always show fresh, living wood. When 

 these surfaces come in contact with moist soil the cambium grows out 

 over the end and forms a callus, from which new roots start very 

 readily. 



In trimming the roots it is best to make a sloping cut, with the cut 

 surfaces facing downward. When such a tree is set, the cut surfaces 

 will always come in contact with the soil, and the callus forms readily. 

 It is thought by some that the cut surfaces facing downward cause the 

 tree to become deeper rooted than when cut otherwise. This may have. 



