USE OF WATER IN TRANSPLANTING. 



271 



spreading head. Our cut, fig. 39, repre- 

 sents the form of the leaf about half the 

 natural size, and that of the acom, of full 

 size. 



The AsH-LEAVED Negundo is, perhaps, 

 the more familiar to our readers, of the two 

 under consideration, still it is by no means 

 a ^common tree in our pleasure grounds, 

 though we may safely say, that it deserves 

 a place in every plantation of even a dozen 

 of trees. 



Its peculiar merits may be presented to 

 the novice as follows : it is perfectly hardy, 

 since, though mainly a southern tree, it 

 grows wild even as far north as Canada ; 

 it is of exceedingly rapid growth, takes 

 root almost at once after being transplant- 

 ed, makes a thick head of foliage very 

 speedily ; and attains a height of forty or 

 fifty feet in good soil, in the short space of 

 twelve to eighteen years ; its foliage is of a 

 peculiar lively, light green, which gives it 

 a striking and marked appearance among 



other trees ; while its long racemes of pale 

 green seeds, which hang all summer on the 

 tree, and the peculiar pea-green bark of the 

 young wood, are all features of novelty and 

 interest to the arboriculturist. 



When we add to this, that it is one of 

 the first trees to put on its tender green dra- 

 pery in the spring, that it will grow in any 

 soil, and, that if planted out singly, there 

 are few trees that show such a fine broad 

 fluttering head of foliage, with a compara- 

 tively small trunk, we think it must be ad- 

 mitted that the Negundo well deserves to 

 be the familiar of those casting about for 

 species to adorn their ornamental grounds. 



The leaves of the Negundo are in ?Arees, 

 like those of the Ash, which gives it the 

 specific name it bears. Unlike many of the 

 rapid growing trees — the Abele, Ailanthus, 

 etc., — the Negundo rarely or never produ- 

 ces suckers to disfigure the lawn or walks, 

 where it is planted. 



ON THE USE OF WATER IN TRANSPLANTING TREES. 

 BY GEORGE BARTLETT, SMITHFIELD, R. I. 



This is a practice which is condemned by 

 many gardening writers ; but is their ob- 

 jection founded on careful experiment ; or 

 has the subject, like so many others, been 

 prejudged ? Experience and reflection have 

 given me a high opinion of the use of wa- 

 ter in transplanting trees, and I will give 

 you a brief description of my method, which 

 you may take for what it is worth. 



After preparing the border for the tree, I 

 take out sufficient earth to give the roots 

 room to lie in their natural position. This 

 earth is finely pulverised. One man now 

 holds the tree in a perpendicular position, 

 with its roots in the hole, while another 

 pours two pailsfuU of water into the hole, 



and a third slowly sifts the fine soil into 

 the water, being at the same time careful 

 to fill the outsides of the hole so as to keep 

 the water about the tree. 



This process leaves the roots exactly in 

 the position which they occupied before re- 

 moval, and it makes the earth settle about 

 them in the most perfect manner. If the 

 soil is fine, and if it is sifted into the wa- 

 ter slowly, it is deposited on every side, 

 and every part of the roots, filling all of the 

 holes and interstices, coming in contact 

 with the smallest fibre, and covering the 

 surface with perfect uniformity, like the 

 deposits of gold in galvanic gilding. 



Trees set in this manner, maintain their 



