SEASONABLE HINTS ABOUT TREES. 



Of the great number of trees, both fruit and ornamental, 

 that are annually planted, a very large proportion rarely live 

 and thrive beyond the second or third year. What the pro- 

 portion is, we are unable to state ; but to listen to the com- 

 plaints of purchasers, one would be led to believe it was the 

 larger part. That a great many trees fail to grow, is well 

 known to all who have given any attention to the subject ; 

 and in many instances, probably the most, there are abundant 

 reasons why they should. The fault may be with the trees 

 themselves — they may never have been a merchantable arti- 

 cle — they may have been injured in digging — they may have 

 been out of the ground too long — and they may have been 

 unfairly dealt with in many ways before being planted in the 

 ground — which would be a sufficient reason why the best of 

 after treatment would fail in saving them, and that the loss 

 in the end should be very large. 



But even when there can be no reasonable objection raised 

 to the quality of the trees — where they have been carefully 

 dug, safely transported, and properly planted — still, complaints 

 are too frequent, of the loss of a large number. The first 

 dry summer burns them up, or the first cold winter cuts them 

 down I between the two elements of heat and cold, the trees 

 fail to grow ; the planter is disappointed ; his zeal dampened ; 

 the cause is unknown, and all his ill luck is laid at the door 

 of some energetic and honest nurseryman — for honest ones we 

 believe there are — when the trouble lies with the planter himself. 

 But if we look a little into the matter, we find that it is ob- 

 vious enough it should be so. The work has been done, in 

 a majority of cases, by individuals who have no correct in- 

 formation in regard to what they are about. The mass of 

 persons who plant trees have never, perhaps, bestowed a 

 thought upon the subject till the moment of commencing 

 operations ; they neither have theory or practice to guide 



VOL. XXI. NO. XII. 69 



