SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 4«9 



death to the tree. If you have procured the trees from a nursery, and they 

 come packed in boxes keep the roots covered with the damp moss in which 

 they are packed, or with wet straw or a wet blanket until everything is ready 

 to cover the roots with earth. It is also well to keep the tops covered to pre- 

 vent evaporation. If possible choose a damp, misty day for setting the trees. 

 Have the soil fine and mellow to put about the roots of the trees, and do not 

 make it too wet. 



Different authorities recommend different seasons for planting evergreens. 

 I have had the best success, and would heartily recommend to all others in this 

 climate, to set the trees early in spring, or as soon as the ground is in con- 

 dition to be worked thoroughly without puddling. That is when it is in just 

 the right condition to set any other tree. It will usually be in the right con- 

 dition here from the middle of April to the middle of May. 



If the tree has been properly prepared beforehand, it is almost certain to 

 live, provided you have done your part as I have recommended, and have made 

 the earth fine, and packed it thoroughly about the roots. A word in regard to 

 the preparation of the trees for setting. Many species are easily grown from 

 seed, such as the spruces and pines, and arbor vitse. All that is necessary is to 

 sow the seeds in autumn or early spring, and cover them lightly with leaf 

 mold, and in spring, shade the young seedlings with a lath screen, or a screen 

 made from the branches of trees. 



The direct rays of the sun will kill the young plants. When they are one 

 year old they are transplanted into nursery rows and cultivated as you would 

 cultivate a row of corn. They are transplanted again the following spring, or 

 the spring following that. This gives them an immense amount of fibrous 

 root?, and they are ready to set in their permanent home. A good plan for a 

 farmer to pursue is to buy these young seedlings when they are two years old 

 rather than to bother with the seed sowing. They have then been transplanted 

 once, have good roots and will be very likely to live. I procured fifty a few 

 years ago, and only lost one or two in the lot. They have made a splendid 

 growth. A part of them I set for a wind-break, and most of the remainder 

 I gave away to neighbors. They cost me five cents each besides the care for a 

 year or two in a row in my garden. These were Norway spruces, one of the 

 hardiest of all our evergreens, although a native of the old world. They are 

 more easily grown than any other of our evergreens, and for this reason are 

 found much more common than any other in our grounds. They grow very 

 rapidly, and attain a large size, growing to the height of eighty or one hundred 

 feet in fifty or sixty years. It is one of the evergreens I would recommend for 

 planting where we have room for it. If you have only a small city lot do 

 not plant a half dozen Norway spruces in it. This mistake is often made in 

 cities and villages. It is also frequently made in the country. I passsed a farm 

 house during the past winter where I counted thirty Norway spruces in the 

 front yard in a space that would in a few years be much oetter ornamented had 

 a half dozen evergreens of different varieties been used. It is best to set such 

 large and thrifty growing trees at least forty or fifty feet away from the house if 

 you wish them to develop" all this beauty of form and size. The Norway spruce 

 will bear any amount of pruning, however, and can be cut and tortured into any 

 form you wish, But the best taste will not permit the shearing of any tree 

 into a stiff pyramid or any other fantastic form. If you wish to keep it in a 

 reasonable size, cut back the most prominent branches and the leader once in 

 three or four years. The tree will then retain its natural form and grow dense 



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