56 Landscape Gardening 



Unfermented manures in large quantities, or fertilizers 

 containing the salts of potash or soda, should never be placed 

 in contact with the roots, but, if used at all, should be spread 

 on and worked into the surface-soil. 



The space to be prepared for the roots of each tree should 

 be considerably larger than the spread of the roots, varying 

 the size according to the soil; the poorer the soil the larger 

 should be the space that is broken up. Where large holes 

 are needed in hard rocky soil, dynamite may be used with 

 success in making them. 



Digging Trees for Transplanting 



More trees die from injury received in digging than from 

 any other cause, and the greatest care must be exercised in 

 this work, as so much of the success in transplanting depends 

 upon how well the work is done. Without a good root 

 system, no matter how favorable the other conditions 

 are, there can be but little growth. 



In digging the trees the first thing to be done is to remove 

 the surface-soil down to the roots and then to cut a trench 

 around the tree at a distance of from i to 4 feet, according 

 to its size. With young trees, or those that have been 

 transplanted once or more, cutting down with a sharp 

 spade in a circle around the trunk will be all that is neces- 

 sary, when, with the aid of a strong spade on each side and a 

 strong man to pull, the tree may be loosened from the soil 

 with a good supply of roots. If the trees be large, the soil 

 must be removed from the trench to the depth of the low- 

 est roots, which will be from one to two feet, and the 

 roots be then loosened under the ball and freed from the 

 soil, until the ball can be lifted from the hole or raised upon 

 planks to be mounted on a stone-boat or low truck for moving 

 it to the place of transplanting. 



