TRANSPLANTING. 



506 



TRANSPLANTING. 



equally well to the apricot, which is also 

 budded on a plum stock. It requires a 

 warm and sheltered situation, and in this 

 country must be grown against a wall 

 whose aspect may be towards any point of 

 the compass between south and east or 

 south and west. 



Transplanting. 



Aspect. In transplanting any tree or 

 shrub, especially evergreens, be careful to 

 preserve the same aspect ; that is, keep 

 the same sides to the north, south, east, 

 and west, as before. This will greatly 

 facilitate the speedy establishment of the 

 plant in its new situation. 



Best Time. Transplanting is an im- 

 portant operation, and in a general way 

 November is the best month for it, but 

 the work may be done in December with 

 equal safety, and even in January, although 

 it is better to have it done before December 

 has passed away. The removal of small 

 trees and shrubs is a comparatively easy 

 matter and simple in itself : it is in the 

 case of large trees and shrubs that the 

 work becomes more difficult and labori- 

 ous. 



Large Trees and Shrubs. To gain 

 time, it is frequently desirable to trans- 

 plant large trees and shrubs. The effect 

 of ten or twenty years' growth is gained on 

 any given spot at once. This is of im- 

 mense importance in the lifetime of a man, 

 and the practice of transplanting large 

 trees is therefore popular and highly to be 

 commended ; neither is there much risk of 

 failure, with proper caution and skill, and 

 it is not so expensive as many imagine. 

 Even very large trees and shrubs may be 

 safely moved with no other machinery 

 rhan a few strong planks nailed on a low 

 truck or sledge. 



Mode. 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 2 to 5 feet, 

 according to the age and size of the tree, 

 character of the soil, depth of roots, &c., 

 leaving a space of from 2 to 3 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 size is of less consequence than the 

 preservation of the roots. 



Placing on Truck. As the removal of 

 the earth proceeds, 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 I to 3 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 neces- 

 sary 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. Some- 

 times 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 



