356 Landscape Gardening 



Preparation of the Land 



If the land is new, i.e., if it has been in turf for some 

 time or if under neglect, and the preparation can be begun 

 in the fall, deep ploughing should be done by following the 

 common plough with the trench- or subsoil-plough, whereby 

 the soil may be loosened from 15 to 20 inches deep. This 

 will make a light soil more retentive of moisture and a 

 heavy soil more porous and furnish a deep and well- 

 pulverized bed for the roots to penetrate. 



Digging the Holes for Planting 



In digging the holes for the reception of the trees, where 

 the land has been deeply worked as above, only a space 

 large enough to hold the roots fully spread out need be 

 excavated, throwing out the subsoil, however, and replac- 

 ing it with good surface-soil. On the lawn or in grass land 

 holes considerably larger than the spread of the roots should 

 be made and the subsoil be dug up deeply or partly thrown 

 out if poor, and be replaced with good soil. The turf 

 removed in digging, if any, may be placed in the bottom 

 of the holes with good results. Holes are now made deep 

 and with soil well loosened by the use of dynamite, ^ to \ of 

 a stick will loosen the soil but not scatter it about. These 

 require cleaning out before the tree is set, but the soil is well 

 loosened and trees will grow more rapidly than in holes that 

 are dug with a spade. 



Preparation of the Trees for Planting 



No matter how carefully trees may be dug from the 

 nursery, a large per cent of the fibrous roots will be destroyed 

 and many of the larger roots be broken, and if the tree 

 is planted without the removal of some of its branches when 



