324 TRANSPLANTING AND PLANTING. 



turned up at the ends, and are strengthened by flat-iron bars underneath, 

 carried round near the edges. These iron bars are welded into handles at 

 each end, and the handles are kept above the ground by the ends of the irons 

 being turned up. The ground is opened at a distance from the stem, regu- 

 lated by the size and nature of the plant intended to be removed, and the 

 fibres are carefully tied up, as they are met with, to the stem of the plant. 

 By the use of the pick, d, the plant is completely undermined on three sides, 

 leaving the remaining side undisturbed till the iron, a, is put under the roots, 

 when that side is cut down, and the plant falls upon the iron ; and if not 

 sufficiently in the middle, it is easily slipped into the centre. If the plant 

 be large and heavy, an inclined plane is dug on the most convenient side of 

 the hole, and a rope being put into the iron handles, the plant is hauled out. 

 A short strong board is in some states of the ground used for this purpose, 

 instead of the inclined plane. The plant may then, if not too heavy, be car- 

 ried on a hand-barrow, which admits of the application of the strength of six 

 men, two between the handles, and the other four on the outside. Heavier 

 plants, which are to be carried any distance, are lifted on a truck with low 

 wheels, made strong for the purpose ; and if too heavy for this mode, as 

 many boards as are wanted are laid down in succession, and the plant is 

 hauled by the iron upon these boards to the place where it is to be planted. 

 The plant is invariably hauled into the new hole on the iron, which is not 

 removed till its proper position is ascertained ; this prevents the disturb- 

 ance of the ball of earth or roots. The plant is then lifted a little on one 

 side and the iron drawn out, earth is then filled into the level of the fibres, 

 which are untied and laid out straight, and the plant is earthed up. The 

 heaviest plants, Portugal and other laurels, eight feet and nine feet high, and 

 six feet or seven feet in diameter, which cannot be lifted by any strength 

 that can be applied without injury to the ball of earth and roots, are thus 

 moved with great ease and expedition, with large balls of earth, and without 

 any disturbance of the roots; and, consequently, the plants invariably pro- 

 ceed in their growth, often without experiencing the slightest check." 

 (Gard. Mag. vol. ii. p. 134.) 



722. Packing Evergreens. In removing evergreens, even of small size, 

 and whether of the pine and fir tribe, or shrubs, the same care is requisite 

 not to expose their roots to the air, and to plant them as soon as possible after 

 they have been taken up. For this reason all evergreens, except the com- 

 moner kinds, such as the Scotch and one or two other pines, the commoner 

 spruce and silver firs, the common and Portugal laurel, the box, the juniper, 

 &c., should be kept by the nurseryman in pots ; and we would strongly re- 

 commend purchasers of evergreens to bear this in mind. When evergreen 

 shrubs are to be sent to a distance, they ought to be packed in such a way as 

 to prevent the roots from becoming dry, by surrounding their balls or pots 

 with moist sphagnum, and leaving their tops loose, and never tied together, 

 as is done in packing deciduous shrubs. Mr. McNab recommends them to be 

 " packed in hampers, with strong rods or stakes forming a cone round the 

 top, and this cone covered with a mat." The branches should never be tied 

 close together, because in this state, if they are long in the journey, there is 

 a great risk of the leaves dropping off soon after they are unpacked ; and when 

 this is the case, with the best management, it will be long before the plants 

 recover. But we refer the reader to Mr. McNab's pamphlet, which ought to 

 be in the hands of every gardener. 



