EXPERIMENTS WITH EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. 



161 



never been able to make, and have never 

 known the hemlock to live when transplanted 

 in autumn. Last year, we moved about forty, 

 four to six feet high, on a rainy day (the 

 most favorable weather, of course,) in June. 

 Only five of them are now alive. This last 

 spring, we transplanted fifty-two, on a rainy 

 day about the last of April. They are all 

 alive, and are now making their growth upon 

 the second flow of sap, so that they are about 

 certain not to disappoint our expectations. 



To those who may wish to supply their 

 grounds with this, the most beautiful of all 

 North American evergreens, we submit the 

 above as our experience. 



Wherever small trees of the hemlock grow 

 in a field or in an open wood, or by the side 

 of a ^v^ood, where they are used to the light 

 of the sun, and where the ground under them 

 is sandy and free from stones, so that they 

 can be taken up with the earth adhering to 

 their roots, if transplanted on a damp, cloudy, 

 or rainy day, there is no difficulty about 

 moving the trees of six feet or less in height. 

 When once removed to the nursery, they may 

 be easily re-set at any time. 



Shortening-in. — We have found ever- 

 green and deciduous trees to be alike benefit- 

 ted by shortening-in after transplanting. One 

 mode of operating we prefer with evergreens, 

 is to cut them in a conical form, omitting to 

 cut ofi" the leading shoot, respecting which 

 we have a word also to add. 



Restoring the Leader. — " It hath been 

 said of old," that the leading shoot of an 

 evergreen, once destroyed, cannot again be 

 restored. We do not find it so. Our ex- 

 periments with the Hemlock, American Fir, 

 Norway Spruce Fir, and Arbor Vitse, have 

 shown very satisfactorily the reverse of 

 this old assertion. Wherever the leader is 

 destroyed, we select the nearest thrifty side' 

 shoot, or two of them, if we wish the tree to 

 have a double head ; we tie these to a stake. 



or otherwise fasten them in a vertical posi- 

 tion, and they soon become as good leading 

 shoots as the original was. The experiment 

 rarely fails with trees less than ten or twelve 

 feet in height ; and for aught that we know, 

 it would succeed with much larger trees. 

 The leader of any deciduous tree may be re- 

 stored in the same way, as is well known. 



Shortening-in to Improve the Growth. 

 — We have had most gratifying success with 

 this operation, when applied to the American 

 Fir, Norway Fir, Arbor Vitae, Hemlock, 

 Scotch and American Larches. The foliao-e 

 or spray of these trees, may in this way be 

 thickened to almost any extent. The Ameri- 

 can Larch thus treated, becomes a most beau- 

 tiful tree; and the Norway Fir and Arbor 

 Vitoe of a hedge row may, by this means, be 

 converted into a perfect green wall, through 

 which even the light cannot penetrate. The 

 preferable season to shorten-in is perhaps just 

 before the trees begin to grow in the spring, 

 although it succeeds well at the time of their 

 summer rest, in June, 



Disbarring Deciduous Trees. — We 

 have often heard that an apple tree might 

 have its entire trunk disbarked in t\\Q month 

 of June — that is, during its sunnner rest — 

 without injury. We have had testimony from 

 those who have seen it done. Last year we 

 had a Napoleon pear, having a blackish, 

 shrivelled, unhealthy bark upon its trunk. 

 We disbarked the entire trunk three-fourths 

 of the circumference. The tree was small, or 

 about two inches through at the ground. It 

 has now a fine healthy rmigh bark, (a great 

 improvement over the smooth bark, because 

 now the crisis from smooth to rough bark is 

 passed safely over,) and the tree is in excellent 

 condition. We tried a similar experiment 

 this year, with the like success. Another 

 season, we mean to apply this mode of cure 

 with a bolder hand ; and, provided we live, 

 some of our leprous-barked subjects of the 



