300 



ON TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 



there is yet but little frost in the ground. 

 In the first place, the hole should be made 

 ready,* and a pile of suitable soil laid by 

 the side of it and covered with straw, to 

 prevent its being frozen Avhen wanted. 



Then a trench is dug all round the tree, 

 in order to leave a ball of earth of from six 

 to eight feet in diameter. The trench 

 should be wide enough to allow the opera- 

 tor gradually to undermine the ball of 

 roots, so that at last the tree just stands, as 

 it were, upon one leg. In this condition 

 let the ball be exposed to a sharp frosty 

 night, that it may freeze quite firmly. 

 The next day you approach the subject 

 with a common low sled, or stone boat, 

 drawn by a pair or two of oxen; (or if the 

 tree measures only six inches, a pair of 

 horses will d^.) The tree with its ball is 

 now thrown to one side ; the sled is then 

 placed under the ball on the opposite side ; 

 then the tree is righted, the ball placed 

 upon the middle of the sled, and the whole 

 drawn out of the hole. A teamster of very 

 little practice will now see at a glance how 

 to balance his load upon the sled ; and once 

 on level ground, it is no difficult matter to 

 drag the whole for half a mile or more to its 

 final location. 



After the tree is placed in the hole pre- 

 viously prepared for it, the good soil must 

 be closely pressed around the ball, and the 

 trunk supported in its place, till after the 

 equinoctial rains, by stakes or braces.t 



There is no mode for the removal of 

 trees in which they will suffer so little as 

 this; partly because the roots are main- 

 tained more entire than in any other way, 

 and partly because the soil is not even 

 loosened or disturbed about a large portion 



* Especially should the soil, in the bottom of the hole, be 

 well trenched and manured. 



t We may here add. thai besides elms and maples, this 

 mode is equally successful with ei'ergreens of all kinds. We 

 have seen white pines and firs, of 20 feet h g-':i, moved so per- 

 fectly in this manner that they never showed the least mark 

 of the change of place. 



of the fibres. Hence, though a slight re* 

 duction of the top is advisable, even in thin 

 case, to balance the loss of some of the 

 long roots, it is not absolutely needful, and 

 in no case is the symmetry of the head de- 

 stroyed ; and the possessor of the newly 

 moved tree has the satisfaction of gazing 

 upon a goodly show of foliage and shade 

 as soon as June comes round again. 



Those of our readers who are groaning 

 for the want of trees, will see by these 

 remarks that their case is by no means 

 desperate ;, that, on the contrary, we think 

 it a very hopeful one ; and that, in short, 

 if they can afford to expend from two 

 to ten dollars per tree, and can get at the 

 right kind of subjects in their neighbor- 

 hood, they may r if they choose, transform 

 their premises from a bleak meadow to a 

 wood as thick as "■ Vallombrosa's shade,"" 

 before the spring opens. 



And now, one word more to those who,, 

 having trees, are impatient for luxuriant 

 growth ; who desire to see annual shoots 

 of six feet instead of twenty inches ; and 

 who do not so much care what it costs to 

 make a few trees in a favorite site ad- 

 vance rapidly, provided it is possible. Whafc 

 they wish to know is, can the thing be- 

 done ? 



We answer, yes. To make a hardy tree* 

 grow three times as fast in a summer as it 

 usually does, (we speak now, of course, of 

 trees in common soil,) it is only necessary 

 that it should have three times the depth 

 for the roots to grow in, and three times 

 the amount of food for its consumption! 

 while growing. 



And, first of all, for very rapid and luxu- 

 riant growth in our climate, the soil must 

 be deep — deep — deep. Three feet of trench- 



* AVe say a hardy tree, because every arboriculturist knows- 

 that to promote extra luxuriance, in a tree not perfectly hardy t 

 increases its tenderness, because the wood will not ripen well, 

 like short jointed growth ; but there is no fear of this teigh 

 elms, oaks, maples, or any perfectly hardy native trees. 



