HOW TO PLANT A TREE TO SECURE BEST RESULTS 241 



the earth should be tamped down solid. The bigger the feet and the 

 heavier the man, the better for the tree. There is little danger of 

 tramping it too much, but trees often die for lack of tramping. After 

 the roots are all covered and packed in tightly, the hole may be filled 

 with the remainder of the earth. The surface should be left loose; tramp- 

 ing it would pack the soil so that it would lose moisture and dry out the 

 trees. A mulch of manure about each tree is a good thing to conserve 

 moisture. 



Priming the Top. 



Since the root surface has been reduced in transplanting the tree, 

 it is necessary to cut back the top in similar proportion to maintain a 

 balance between top and root. If this is not done when the tree comes 

 into leaf the foliage will give off moisture faster than the reduced roots 

 can supply it, and so the tree is dried out and killed. With peach-trees 

 all the side branches are usually removed and the leader headed back. 

 In most other trees all side branches are removed but three or four, 

 and half the last year's growth on these cut back. In this way the 

 equilibrium of top and root is restored, and if the ground is cultivated 

 failure should not be expected. 



Transplanting Evergreens. 



Evergreens are notably difficult to transplant successfully. This is 

 due to the fact that, being evergreen, they are constantly giving off 

 more or less moisture and do not come to as complete a dormant con- 

 dition as deciduous trees. For this reason, especial care is necessary 

 in transplanting to see that the root-hairs are exposed as little as pos- 

 sible. Simply shaking the earth from the roots of evergreen trees 

 seems to injure them. To get the best results with evergreens they are 

 best taken up when the earth is wet about them, as in early spring; 

 or they may be irrigated to make the mud adhere to them. In setting 

 they should be very carefully tramped, so that there are no holes about 

 the roots. If these precautions are followed, as good results can be 

 obtained in transplanting evergreens as in setting other trees. 



Planting Trees From Forests. 



Many people complain of having poor results in transplanting trees 

 from woods or natural forests. Let us look at the reason: Young 

 trees grown in the forest, under the protecting shade of their mother 

 trees, have almost ideal conditions of growth. The forest canopy above 

 protects them from wind and from the intense rays of the sun, while 

 all the necessities of moisture and plant food. To remove a tree from 

 such conditions to an open field is to give it a great shock, if it is not 

 very carefully handled and tended. The soil to which such a tree is 

 removed should by artificial means be made to resemble as closely as 

 possible the virgin fertility of the forest soil. As more roots are re- 

 moved from a forest seedling in transplanting than from a nursery- 



