25 



and the dirt piled in slowly and packed down well around them. Care 

 should be taken that no large stones or pieces of dry roots, bark, wood 

 or grass come in contact with the roots to cause air spaces, since these 

 cause the roots to dry out. The top layers may have some rocks and 

 coarser dirt, but the better the earth the better the tree growth. The 

 last dirt to be thrown in should not be packed, and over it some loose 

 hay should be spread to act as a mulch. 



SUBSEQUENT CARE 



All nursery- stock is pruned before it is received from the dealer, but 

 when unpruned deciduous trees are received they should be cut back in 

 order to balance the shock caused by the failure to get the whole root 

 system. Evergreens, especially conifers, such as pines, spruce and fir, 

 cannot be pruned, which accounts somewhat for their higher mortality 

 at planting time. The diagram on page 24 illustrates correct pruning 

 and planting. If the planted sapling is to develop into a desirable 

 ornamental tree it must be given considerable attention and care. It 

 is not advisable to water trees very frequently, but when they are watered 

 a thorough job should be dene. Frequently a mound of dirt around the 

 tree will be enough to make this possible. Three inches of water can be 

 easily turned in and will gradually soak down to the roots. Surface 

 irrigation tends to draw the roots to the surface, however, and makes 

 them susceptible to slight droughts, while sub-surface irrigation will 

 prevent this largely by attracting the roots to the water level. A good 

 thorough watering every ten days in dry weather should be sufficient 

 for even those trees which require considerable soil moisture. 



Even more important than irrigation is cultivation. Frequent culti- 

 vations during the growing season is a great benefit to a tree. Weeds 

 and grass sap the moisture and fertility from the soil and must be kept 

 down. A space at least four feet in diameter must be kept clean and 

 mulched. 



Only a few trees develop naturally into the desired form. Most trees 

 become twiggy, bushy, or stragglv. They need pruning or training in 

 order to direct the growth into those branches which will give the tree 

 a symmetrical appearance. Pruning is also essential for the removal 

 of dead, diseased, or injured limbs. 



Dead limbs may be removed at any time, but live limbs should be 

 cut during the winter if possible. They may be cut at other seasons, 

 "but during early spring, pruning will cause the tree to "bleed" and will 

 injure it somewhat, while late summer pruning may stimulate growth 

 and n.-ake the new shoots liable to frost injury. 



In pruning it is desirable to maintain the natural form of the tree, 

 merely removing limbs where they are too thick or raising the head by 

 rcrroving branches pn the under side of the lower limbs. 



The weight of large limbs will often cause them to split and rip the 

 l)ark when a straight cut through from the upper side is attempted. 

 The safest way to prune is to make three cuts as shown in figures on 

 page 28. The first or undercut prevents the limb from splitting past 

 where the final cut is to be made. In all events the cut must be made 

 as nearly fiush with the main or parent limb as can be. No stub should 

 he left isolated from the flow of sap to ultimately harbor rot and weaken 

 the tree. 



