TRANSPLANTING. 93 



and to give the tree more room to grow. By shortening the 

 long roots the root system is made more compact and better 

 able to withstand subsequent removal. This may be done by 

 transplanting, or by cutting around the tree with a spade or tree 

 digger. It is especially desirable to do this to trees that are not 

 easily moved on account of their long branching roots, such as 

 the Birch, or to those that have tap roots, like the Oak and 

 Walnut. It is on account of their having had their roots short- 

 ened so they can all be moved with the tree that nursery-grown 

 trees are generally superior to others. 



In Transplanting it is Important to take up a sufficient 

 amount of roots to support the plant, and as a rule the more 

 roots the better the conditions for growth. Very long roots 



Figure 15. Extra good roots on a forest- 

 grown Elm, used as a street tree. 



should be shortened unless the tree is removed to a permanent 

 place, in which case all the good roots should be left on the tree. 

 All bruised or broken roots should be cut off in either case, and 

 the top of the tree shortened to correspond. In transplanting 

 trees they should be set one or two inches lower than they for- 

 merly stood, and the roots should be spread out in the holes 

 without crowding. It is customary to plant many kinds of small 

 trees in furrows made with a plow. 



Very I^arge Trees (those over six inches in diameter) are 

 sometimes successfully planted in winter, by taking them up 

 with a ball of earth. This is done by digging a trench around 

 the tree, late in the autumn, deep enough to cut most of the 



