PiiUNING BEFORE PLANTING. 97 



of trees is received from the soil, through the agency 

 of the hair-like rootlets which spread through it 

 from the termini of the larger root. No matter how 

 many large roots may be attached to the lifted tree, 

 its removal will only be well performed when you 

 have secured a large quantity of fibrous roots. 



As the tree increases in size, the roots near the body 

 exhaust the soil of nutriment, and the absorbents, or 

 fibrous spongioles, become hardened by age, and 

 incapable of action. New fibres push out from the 

 termini of the rootlets into the newer and richer soil, 

 and the office of those in the exhausted ground is at 

 an end. Nature supports no useless members in her 

 economy, and those radicles which have performed 

 their office, and become incapable of affording further 

 aid, are cast off. 



Thus, year after year, as the roots extend and throw 

 off their fibres, the new spongioles supplied are found 

 farther and farther from the trunk, and more and more 

 labor must be expended in the digging, to obtain a 

 sufficient number of them to sustain the tree in its 

 new position. 



No one need expect a tree to flourish, or indeed do 

 more than barely survive transplanting, who is care- 

 less about the kind of roots with which his trees are 

 supplied. 



PRUNING AND EOOT-PRUNING BEFORE PL ANTING. 



Although the Pear tree will endure more severe 

 pruning, and yield more readily to modifications of 

 its form, than other fruit-trees, yet this facility of man- 

 agement may cause us to lose sight of the fact, that the 



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