THE ENGLISH OAK. 163 



to any who may examine it. The season was quite fiivorable 

 after June 7. 



We kept on with the transplanting of evergreens, — Norway 

 spruce, white and bhie spruce, hemlock, etc., until into July. 

 Most of these were taken from beds two to four years trans- 

 planted ; many thousands were moved. A close examination 

 will show scarcely any dead ones. 



As a rule, it would have been preferable to have done this 

 planting in May, but a ftivorable state of the soil and frequent 

 rains made it much more successful than it would have been 

 in the rather dry time we had in May. Quite a percentage 

 of trees set in that dry season were less successful. A 

 soaking rain directly after transplanting any trees insures 

 success, even if a long dry term follows, if the trees were in 

 good condition at phmting. 



Most of the European trees that I know of have a denser 

 foliajje than the American, and it holds on later in autumn. 

 I have found a difficulty in regard to the permanence of the 

 English oak. Perhaps they do not succeed so well in my soil 

 as in heavier, stronger soil. Not one in fifty will make a 

 good stem with regular top. The American red oak will 

 grow with the utmost facility. The Norway maple is a hardy 

 tree, and makes a very symmetrical, round head, but people are 

 disposed to choose the rock- maple more than all other shade- 

 trees combined, which almost invariably grows handsome, and 

 can be transplanted with safety, and grows more conical than 

 the Norway maple. The tops, or branches, of most of these 

 shade-trees can be trimmed to any extent. I can show you a 

 specimen of the canoe-birch, closely pruned, that is only a few 

 feet high. That tree will bear trimming just as well as a 

 buckthorn. For an evergreen, there is nothing more beauti- 

 ful than the hemlock. It will bear pruning closely, and may 

 be formed to any shape, and it is really one of the most 

 beautiful trees we have. The only trouble is, it is too com- 

 mon to be appreciated. They will bear pruning so close, 

 that you can make them appear like a mass of leaves, with 

 not a single branch to be seen. You can trim the spruces, 

 also, very close. Speaking of the beauty of American ever- 

 greens, it is curious what a variety of colors they assume, of 

 the same species. You will find some of the white spruce 



