Fall and Spring Planting. 3 



or in winter, or not at all ; whether strawberries fruit better with or 

 without disturbing the runners during summer ; whether deep culture 

 is better than shallow, &c. — questions that are constantly being dis- 

 cussed, without any apj^arcnt progress towards reaching definite or 

 conclusive results. It is well known that the obsei^vation and experi- 

 ence of centuries have collected sufiicient facts to establish principles 

 of action with reference to any and all of these questions ; it is true 

 that there are very many points in vegetable physiology that are still 

 subjects of argument and inquiry ; but these need not preclude the 

 recognition of those that are plainly and familiarly established. 



We might illustrate these remarks by reference to the principles 

 governing the transplanting of trees. 



It must have been a frequent observation that deciduous trees planted 

 in spring oftentimes push into growth, leaves are formed, and all the 

 indications of favorable results are apparent, when a few bright days, 

 with dry atmosphere, will rapidly and completely destroy them. On 

 the other hand, it is equally a familiar observation, that trees removed 

 immediately after completion of growth will form an extensive system 

 of root fibres in a few weeks, without any indication of growth by 

 buds, or extension of branch. These are simply observed facts ; and 

 the principles involved in producing them are easily traced, and of 

 ready application. 



These results are mainly due to the relative heat of the atmosphere 

 and the soil. In propagating plants by slips or cuttings, the most 

 essential point of success depends upon placing the shoot in heated 

 soil, at the same time that the surrounding atmosphere is kept at a com- 

 paratively low temperature ; these conditions tend to excite growth 

 of roots, without exciting the growth of leaves. A newly-removed 

 tree is very much in the condition of a cutting ; the more the roots 

 have been mutilated during the operation of removal, the nearer does 

 it approach to the condition of a rootless cutting ; consequently the 

 more closely the tree is placed under those conditions known to be 

 most favorable for increasing root growth, the more likely is the tree 

 to flourish. Of course it is not practicable, by artificial means, to 

 warm the soil of an intended orchard site, similar to what may be 



