THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART X. 601 



tion so that the flow of sap to this section of the tree is not checked too 

 much and the desired end diverted further than it was at the begin- 

 ning and the tree more deformed than ever. The new leader must have 

 sufficient vigor to cope with at least about half the sap that its predeces- 

 sor had been drawing. In order to accomplish the largest possible amount 

 of labor in the shortest time, the man with proper judgment in this work 

 may find it necessary to shorten such side limbs on this main limb as 

 seem to offer a danger of taking up the leadership in the wrong direction. 



With the elm as the frontier pioneeer I believe we level the road of 

 success for many other pets that we wish to grow in order to have variety 

 and perhaps good autumn coloring. Touching on this I cannot help but 

 say a few words about it as seen in New England. 



The same town of Manchester in Vermont that can boast of th mag- 

 nificent elms above spoken of has a point of attraction for autumn leaf 

 coloring that is as perfect a picture as I have ever observed. I believe 

 about 1800 feet up on the side of Mount Equinox, which reaches its sum- 

 mit of 4000 feet just west of Manchester, there is the so-called Table 

 Rock, protruding proudly from the natural timber growth, affording a 

 grand view up and down the valley. In the fall of the year when the 

 soft and hard maples, the basswood, poplar, birch, oak, elm and many 

 other trees are clad in their highest autumn glory, from the Batenkill 

 river up to the higher ridges of the Green mountains backed with dark 

 green spruce it makes a picture which never fails to inspire the longing 

 for the possession of just such trees, and I wish I could impart such a 

 longing to every listener here and so be instrumental in beautifying 

 this state. 



In closing my remarks I wish to say that I consider the nursery 

 grown trees the best for transplanting because their roots are tnore 

 fitted for that purpose, and I apply this to the elm as well as all other trees. 

 However, natural trees may be readily fitted for transplanting so as to 

 even make their success a certainty, but it is only economical on large 

 trees, say from three inches to one foot in diameter. For example, if in 

 our judgment we find it necessary to take a ball of dirt about five feet in 

 diameter and 18 to 24 inches in depth, along with a certain tree in trans- 

 planting, we may any time between leaf dropping in the fall and start- 

 ing in the spring dig a trench around this tree about six inches smaller all 

 around and fill in again after all the detached roots have been cut smoothly 

 with a knife from the bottom up and the tops previously shortened as 

 above. These smoothly cut roots soon send out a mass of rootlets, cling- 

 ing tightly to the soil that we had packed into the trench again, and in 

 the coming transplanting season between fall and spring we again dig 

 around this tree, leaving the ball as in our first judgment, and plant it 

 only a few inches deeper in its new place. Such trees may safely be 

 moved during fall and winter when time is not always as valuable as in 

 the spring, while small trees should only be planted in the spring, which 

 is and will remain the best time for all planting. 



39 



