OF FRUIT TREES. o7 



the hole, chopt with the spade, and covered with some 

 of the finest of the mould. If the hole be so deep, 

 that with this advantage the bottom will not be raised 

 high enough for the plant, some of the worst of the 

 mould should be returned before the sod be thrown 

 down. The bottom of the hole being raised to a prop- 

 er height and adjusted, the lowest tier of roots is to 

 be spread out upon it; drawing them out horizontally 

 and spreading them in different directions, drawing- 

 out with the hand the rootlets and fibres which seve- 

 rally belong to them, spreading them out as a feather, 

 pressing them evenly into the soil, and covering them 

 by hand with some of the finest of the mould; the 

 other tiers of roots are then to be spread out and bed- 

 ded in the same manner. Great care is to be taken, 

 to work the mould well in, by hand, that no hollow- 

 ness be left ; to prevent which, the mould is to be 

 trodden hard with the foot. The remainder of the 

 mould should be raised into a hillock, round the stem, 

 for the tripple use of affording coolness, moisture, and 

 stability to the plant. A little dish should be made 

 on the top of the hillock, and from the rim of this the 

 slope should be gentle to the circumference of the hole, 

 where the broken ground should sink some few inches 

 below the level of the orchard. All this detail may 

 be deemed unnecessary ; by those, I mean, who have 

 been accustomed to bury the roots of plants in the 

 grave-digger's manner ; but I can recommend every 

 part of it to those who wish to insure success, from my 

 own practice. Plants which have been transplanted 

 in the manner here recommended, whose heads have 

 been judiciously lessened, and which have been plant- 

 ed in the manner here described, seldom require any 

 other stay than their own roots. If, however, the 

 stems be tall, and the roots few and short, they should 

 be supported in the usual manner, with stakes, or rath- 

 er, in the following manner, which is at once simple, 

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