MONTHLY CALENDAR. 698 



safely and expeditiously removed : in fact, these machines forcibly remove 

 earth and roots, and all, with the minimum risk of failure ; but I have 

 moved my large trees and shrubs, 30 feet high and 20 in diameter of 

 top, with no other machinery than a few strong planks nailed on a 

 harrow sledge. In this mode of transplanting, a trench is dug round the 

 plant at a distance from the bole of two-thirds the diameter of the top, and 

 to a depth of two to five feet, according to the age and size of the tree, 

 character of the soil, depth of roots, &c., leaving a space of from two to three 

 feet at the back of the tree untouched. At the same time, the front, or part 

 where the tree is intended to come out, should be approached at an easy 

 angle of inclination, extending from two to three feet beyond the circumference 

 of the trench already begun. The earth is rapidly removed from the trench ; 

 the roots carefully preserved as you proceed. The size of the ball in the centre 

 must be determined by the nature of the soil and size of the plant. Its mere 

 size is of less consequence than the preservation of the roots as the removal 

 of the earth proceeds. 



2179. A fork must be used to separate the roots from the soil, and they 

 should be carefully bent back and covered over until the work is finished. 

 After excavating from one to three feet beyond the line of the bole of the 

 tree or shrub, according to its size, introduce into the vacant space a sledge 

 or low truck ; cut through the solid part at the back line, and the tree will 

 rest on the machine. This should be furnished with four rings at the corners, 

 through which ropes or cords should be fastened and firmly fixed to the bole 

 of the tree. Of course some soft substance, such as hay or moss, will be 

 introduced between the bole and the cords, to prevent them chafing the bark. 

 The tree is then ready for removal ; the necessary horse or manual power 

 can be applied ; the plant will slide gently up the inclined plane, and may be 

 conveyed any distance desired with facility. Sometimes it may be impossible 

 to fix the cord through the back rings until the tree is out of the hole. In 

 that, and indeed in any case, cords had better be attached to the top, and 

 carefully held by men, lest a too strong vibration of the top should upset 

 the machine, or topple the tree over. Arrived at its destination, the hole, if 

 the tree is large, will be found to have an inclined plane on each side to 

 enable the horses to walk through. When the ball arrives towards the centre 

 of the hole, the horses stop. If the tree is not too heavy, the truck or sledge 

 is prised up by manual strength, and the plant gradually slid off. If very 

 heavy, a strong chain is passed under the ball, attached to a couple of strong 

 crowbars ; the horses are applied to the other end of the truck, and the tree 

 drops off into its place. The roots are carefully undone, and spread through- 

 out the whole mass of soil as the process of filling up goes on ; three strong posts 

 are driven in to form a triangle, and rails securely fixed to them across the 

 ball to keep it immovable, the top reduced thei*e and then in mathematical 

 proportion to the mutilation the roots may have suffered ; the whole thoroughly 

 drenched and puddled in with water, and covered over with four inches of 

 litter to ward off cold and drought, and the operation is complete. If this 



