PRUNmG BEFORE PLANTING. 101 



violating some of the delicate conditions of vegetable 

 life. 



In replanting trees on quince stocks so deep as to 

 cover a portion of the pear, it is best to prune off two 

 or three inches of the main root. The recent removal 

 of some hundred trees, which had been planted out 

 three or four years, gave me an opportunity of exam- 

 ining the effect of deej) planting. In almost every 

 instance where the quince-roots had been buried six 

 or eight inches deeper tlum the natural position, I 

 found the lower layer of roots inert, and in many cases 

 diseased, and it has now become my practice to remove 

 three or four inches of the lower portion of the main 

 root with a line saw. For trees upon the quince stock, 

 no fears need be entertained on account of the reduc- 

 tion of the roots, as tlie portion of the stock buried 

 will soon be covered with fibres and rootlets. 



After having been once root-pruned and planted 

 out, trees may be removed within three years from 

 their root-pruning, without greatly reducing their tops. 

 Ordinary nursery trees must be severely pruned in 

 their branches, in order to reduce the evaporating 

 surface of wood and leaves to a limit that will 

 require no more sap than the roots are able to furnish. 

 Suppose a tree capable of evaporating two gallons of 

 sap each day, through its leaves, is provided with 

 roots sufficient to furnish this amount. Now, if the 

 tree be removed, and nearly half the roots are muti- 

 lated and lost, while all the branches and leaves are 

 left entire, it is plainly to be seen that the latter will 

 continue to require a full supply of sap, while the 

 diminished roots will be incapable of supplying suffi- 



