270 THE ELOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



tlie results of these proceedings ■with great interest, and I confess 

 to have gleaned some valuable information from them. T should 

 observe that the kinds of shrubs were principally Portugal Laurels, 

 Laurebtines, Arbutus, variegated Hollies, Sweet Bays, and Aucubas. 

 Those moved in August suffered considerably in the loss of their 

 leaves, especially the Laurestines, and assumed generally a yellow, 

 sickly hue. Others transplanted during the first ten days of Sep- 

 tember succeeded little better ; during the latter part of the same 

 month, and in October and November, hardly indicated any effects 

 of the operation. The weather, from the commencement of the 

 work up to the beginning of November, was, upon the whole, dry. 

 After this, heavy rains set in and continued till the middle of 

 January. The plants removed during that time did not start so 

 freely into growth in the following spring as those transplanted in 

 October and the early part of November. The soil, it may be 

 observed, was a stiff loam, and, from being newly trenched, was 

 rendered by the digging and treading, consequent on the planting, 

 anything but favourable for the roots. To this cause may un- 

 doubtedly be attributed the comparative ill success of the plants 

 removed then. Towards the close of January frost set in, and plant- 

 in c was suspended for a month ; but during part of February and 

 the whole of March and April, the work was carried on, and, as the 

 succeeding summer showed, with varying success. Those removed 

 in March, however, on the whole suffered most, many of them, espe- 

 cially some large Portugal Laurels, died back to within a foot or 

 two of the ground ; others lost the greater part of their branches. 

 These, on being cut back, made vigorous growth in the following 

 year. Of all the plants removed I do not think more than half-a- 

 dozen died outright. Some of the shrubs transplanted in April 

 deserve a special notice. Of these, aeveral were large Portugal 

 Laurels, requiring the united assistance of eight or ten men to lift. 

 As they were placed in very important positions, every care was 

 taken to insure success by careful removal, and each was well 

 watered when planted. The only indication of their having changed 

 places was the casting of a few of the older leaves. Notwithstand- 

 ing the few failures, and the otherwise varying success, the result 

 of°the work, on the whole, may be considered as satisfactory. Two 

 points in particular contributed to this success. The ground to be 

 planted, from being trenched previously, had become thoroughly 

 settled, and the plants themselves, having to be carried but short 

 distances, received no material injury from being kept out of the 



ground. 



"Whenever planting is to be extensively undertaken, much of the 

 success will depend on timely preliminaries being carried out. It 

 is too much the practice to procrastinate in this, and to defer the 

 preparation of the soil till it is time to plant the trees. Supposing 

 the soil to require both draining and trenching, and in all new 

 grounds these operations may be calculated on, by all means let 

 them be finished in the summer preceding the planting season. _ If 

 the soil is very stiff and unfavourable, a year's cultivation previous 

 to planting would be of immense advantage ; but under any cir- 



