122 COME INTO THE GARDEN 



for there are many nurseries unfortunately 

 where lax methods prevail. Two such branches 

 with their double weight and consequent strain 

 weaken the tree as they grow to maturity and 

 invite a split at that point as the years ad- 

 vance. Remove the one which will least im- 

 pair the tree's symmetry — and in removing it, 

 cut away down level with the bark of the trunk, 

 and leave no stump whatsoever. 



Plants that have been packed and shipped al- 

 ways come out of their wrappings with roots 

 very much compressed, naturally. Work them 

 out carefully and into their natural positions in 

 so far as it is possible to do so, before under- 

 taking to plant them. Immersing them in water 

 will soften and so help to restore them, if they 

 persist in their constrained positions, providing 

 a broad enough vessel is available. A wash tub 

 will serve usually. Let them drain after such 

 a bath, however, until the rootlets shake freely 

 apart, otherwise it may do more harm than good 

 by interfering with the free sifting of earth in 

 and around each. 



This is always to be the aim in planting — to 

 surround every rootlet with earth, just as it was 

 surrounded when it crowded its way through the 

 soil where it first grew; to bring earth particles 

 into close contact with it on every side, that it 



