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ARBORICULTURE 



climate and maintain the appearance of healthy growth 

 on the soil where planted, must be hardy, and must be 

 free from serious insect and fungus attacks. 



The location of trees is a detail of the design of the 

 place. This is intimated in the preceding paragraphs 

 and more fully discussed under Landscape Gardening, 

 but a few cautions may be in order. Do not so surround 

 the house with trees that they exclude all the sunshine. 

 Except in the extreme South, use deciduous trees next 

 the house so as to have full benefit of the winter sun. 

 Plant the evergreens at a little distance. For specimen 

 trees of the larger kinds, plant 50 to 100 feet apart, 

 depending on the kind. For thickets and quick masses 

 of foliage, the same kinds may be planted 15 feet apart. 

 Theoretically, planting more trees than are ultimately 

 necessary and then thinning is excellent. Practically, 

 it is dangerous as there is not one chance in ten that it 

 will be done in time. Plant irregularly both as to dis- 

 tance and direction unless the design is strictly formal, 

 in which case plant with mathematical precision. 



When and how to plant. 



There is great difference of opinion as to the best 

 time to plant. In climates with the temperatures of 

 Boston, Rochester, Chicago and farther north, spring 

 planting is probably best for most plants. Fall planting 

 is increasingly more satisfactory as one goes south. On 

 the western plains where strong, dry winter winds pre- 

 vail and the soil is either so dry or freezes so hard that 

 a newly planted tree cannot replenish the moisture 

 taken out by the winds, spring planting is most suc- 

 cessful. The character of soil may also have its influ- 

 ence. Magnolias and tulip trees should always be 

 planted in spring. Coniferous evergreens should be 



313. A commanding white oak on a bank margin. 



planted either when growth has started in spring or, 

 when vigorous, in late summer or early fall. Other 

 evergreens should be planted when entering the period 

 of most active growth so as to be able to form roots 

 quickly to support the foliage that is always present. 

 The period of generous moisture in air and soil is most 

 favorable for the planting of evergreens. In adverse 

 seasons, these conditions may be in a measure pro- 

 duced by liberal watering of the soil and frequent 

 spraying of the tops. Deciduous trees should be planted 



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 pecial 



d, the 



ARBORICULTURE 



when dormant, in order that roots may become w 

 formed before there is foliage to support. 



Large holes should be prepared for planting, at lu 

 2 feet larger in diameter than the spread of the roots 

 the lifted tree, and 2 feet deep. If the soil is good, no 

 further special preparation is necessary beyond a liberal 

 mixture of well-rotted manure or raw bone-meal with the 

 soil to be replaced in the hole, and supplying new top- 

 soil to replace any subsoil excavated in digging the hole. 

 In poor ground, a hole at least 6 feet across and 2 feet 

 deep should be dug for a tree up to 8 feet high, and for 

 larger trees proportionately larger holes to give them 

 good ground for beginning growth. It is becoming 

 common to dynamite holes for trees. Just how far this 

 is desirable is yet problematical. In tough subsoi 

 it appears to be eminently successful. It seems reasoi 

 able to suppose that in most subsoils such a looscni 

 would be permanently beneficial. Careful observers 

 have noticed that trees usually thrive better on filled 

 ground than on nearby soil where the land has been 

 undisturbed, even though the fill appears poor in com- 

 parison. This does not have reference to city ash and 

 garbage dumps. The ashes are too inert to support 

 tree growth, the dump is frequently poisonous. In lar^e, 

 plantings, the watering of deciduous trees and the staking 

 of trees under 10 feet is usually omitted in the moist 

 regions in which strong winds do not prevail, the re- 

 placing of any losses being considered more economical 

 than this additional expense. Larger trees need s] 

 attention. 



The size of trees to choose varies with the kind, 

 purpose, and the need for quick results. Trees may be 

 successfully transplanted from one- or two-year-old 

 seedlings to those 12 or 16 inches through and 40 feet 

 high, success depending largely on the skill of the 

 planter. Usually trees 6 to 12 feet high are best for 

 deciduous trees, 3 to 6 for coniferous. Some species 

 succeed better with small sizes, as tulip tree, magnolias 

 and hollies. Nursery-grown trees that have been fre- 

 quently transplanted are best, as they transplant with 

 less loss because they have an abundance of fibrous 

 roots. Collected stock of some kinds is satisfactory for 

 mass-planting but the loss will run from 50 to 90 per 

 cent, depending on kind and condition. Trees that are 

 very small are not desirable to use, as they grow no better 

 than larger nursery-grown trees and the cost of culti- 

 vation is more when planted permanently than when 

 in the nursery row. Trees above the sizes mentioned 

 are expensive to handle and the loss is likely to be greater. 

 When immediate results are important, these are worth 

 using with a mixture of smaller trees to take thi 

 place in case they should be short-lived. 



Pruning and tree-doctoring. 



At planting, all broken limbs should be removed 

 well as any crossing through the head or below it. 

 the top is still crowded, some limbs may be removed 1 

 cutting them off at the nearest fork. Heading-in or 

 shortening the limbs is undesirable with most species. 

 The magnolias and tulip tree are exceptions to this; 

 they need severe shortening-in when transplanted. 

 All roots should have the broken ends cut off with a 

 smooth, clean cut, as this freshly cut surface seems to 

 facilitate the formation of new rootlets or at least to 

 prevent decay. If a newly planted tree is very slow 

 in starting, it is sometimes induced to grow by a 

 severe pruning. 



Desirable varieties of shade trees seldom need any 

 heading back. An annual inspection with slight prun- 

 ing to shape the tree and remove surplus branches is 

 all that will be required. A tree should be grown inti 

 shape, not pruned into shape, and should be allowed 1 

 develop its own characteristics. 



Evergreen trees, with the exception of the evergreen 

 oaks and Magnolia grandiflora, should be trained so 

 that their foliage rises directly from the turf. As it 



