ous growtli, depends entirely upon the amount 

 of care and labor the planter is willing to be- 

 stow Oil the soil for hia trees. We have seen 

 several instances where, side by side, one man 

 planted his trees in large spaces of deeply 

 moved and rich soil, and another in small holes 

 in the coumion mode, which uniformly showed 

 the trees of the iii-st, larger after live years, than 

 those of the last, after twelve. 



No fruit tree should be planted in a hole of 

 less size than three feet square, and eighteen 

 inches to two feet deep. To this size and 

 depth the soil should be removed and well pul- 

 verized, and it should if necessary be properly 

 enriched by the application of manure, which 

 must be thoroughly mixed with the whole mass 

 of prepared soil by repeated tm-uings with the 

 .epade. This preparation will answer, but the 

 most skillful cultivators among us make their 

 spaces four or iive feet in diameter, or three 

 times the size of the roots, and it is incredible 

 how much the luxuriance and \agor of growth, 

 even in a poor soil, is promoted by this. No 

 :ifter mending of the soil, or top dressings ap- 

 plied to the surface, can, in a climate of dry 

 summers like ours, equal the effects of this early 

 • and deep loosening and enriching the soil. Its 

 etiects on the growth arid health of the tree are 

 peiTnauent, and the little expense and care 

 nece.ssaryin this preparation is a source of early 

 and constant pleasure to the planter. This pre- 

 paration may be made just before the tree is 

 planted, but, in heavy soils, it is mifch better to 

 do it several mouths previously ; and no shallow 

 plowing of the soil can obviate the necessity 

 and advantages of the practice, \vhere healthy, 

 vigorous orchards or fruit gardens are desired. 



The whole art of transplanting, after this, 

 consists in placing the roots as they ^vere before, 

 or in the most favorable position for growth. 

 Begin by filling the hole with the prepared soil, 

 \^-itlun as many inches of the top as will allo\v 

 tlie tree to stand exactly as deep as it previously 

 stood. With the spade, shape this soil for the 

 roots in the form of a little hillock on ^vhich to 

 place the roots — and not, as is commonly done, 

 in the form of a' hollow ; the roots will then ex- 

 tend in their natural position, not being forced 

 to turn up at the ends. Next examine the roots, 

 and cut off all wounded parts, paring the wound 

 smooth. Hold the tree upright on its litde 

 mound- in the hole of prepared soil ; extend the 

 roots and cover them cai-efully with the remain- 

 ing pulverized soil. As much of the success of 

 transplanting depends on bringing the soil in 

 contact 'rt'ith every fibre, so as to leave no hol- 

 lows to cause the decay of the roots, not onlj- 

 must this be secured by jiatiently filling-ia all 

 cavities among the roots, but when the trees are 

 not quite small, it is customary to pour in a pail 

 of water when the roots are nearly all covered 

 with soil. This caiTies the liquid mould to every 

 hidden part. After the water has settled away, 

 fill up the hole, pressing the earth gently about 

 the tree with the foot, but avoiding the common 

 practice of shaking it uj) and down by the stem. 

 In windy situations it will be necessan,- to place 

 a stake by the side of each tree to hold it up- 

 riijht. until it shall have taken firm root in the 

 soil, but it is not needful in ordiuan^ ca.scs. 



Avoid deep plaiitinsr. More than half the 

 losses in orchard planting in America arises 

 from this cause, and the equally common one of 

 crowding the earth too tightly about the roots. 

 No tree should be planted deeper than it for- 

 merly grew, as its roots ai'e stifled from the 

 (481) 



want of air, or star\'ed by the poverty of the 

 soil at the depth where they are placed. It is 

 much the belter and more natural process in fact 

 to plant the tree so that it shall, when tlie whole 

 is complete, appear just as deep as before, but 

 standing on a little mound two or three inches 

 higher than the level of the ground about. This, 

 w^hen the mound settles, will leave it nearly on 

 the level with the previous surface. 



Mulching is an excellent practice with trans- 

 planted trees, and more especially for those 

 which are removed late m the spring. Mulch- 

 ing is nothing more than covering the groimd 

 about the stems with coarse stra\v, or litter from 

 the bani-yard, which bj' preventing the evapo- 

 ration keeps the soil from becoming dry, and 

 maintains it in that moist and equable condition 

 of temperature most favorable to the growth of 

 j'oung roots. Very many trees, in a dn>" season, 

 fail at midsummer, after having made a fine 

 start, from a parched and variable condition of 

 the earth about the roots. Watering, frequently 

 fails to save such trees, but mulching when they 

 are planted will entirely obviate the necessity of 

 watering in dry seasons, and promote growth 

 un<ler any circumstances. Indeed, watering 

 upon the surface, as commonly performed, is a 

 most injurious practice, as the roots stimulated 

 at one period of the day by water, are only 

 rendered more susceptible to the action of the 

 hot sun at another, and the surface of the ground 

 becomes so hard, by repeated watering, that the 

 beneficial access of the air is almost cut off. If 

 trees are ^vell watered in the holes, while trans- 

 planting is going on, they will rarelj' need it 

 again, and we may saj' never, if they are well 

 mulched directly after planting. 



The best manure to be used in preparing the 

 soil for transplanting trees is a compost fonned 

 of two-thirds muck or black peat earth, reduced 

 by femienting it several months in a heap with 

 one third fresh bam-yard manure. Almost 

 every farm will supply this, and it is more per- 

 manent in its effects, and less drying in its na- 

 ture, than tlie common manure of the stable. 

 An admirable manm-e, recently applied \\\\h 

 great success, is charcoal — the smaU broken bits 

 and refuse of the chai'coal pits — mixed inti- 

 mately with the .soil. Air-slaked lime is an ex- 

 cellent manure for fi-nit trees in soils that we 

 not naturally CJilcareous. Two or three hands- 

 ful may be mixed with the soil when preparing 

 each space for planting, and a top dres-siug may 

 be applied with advantage occasionally after- 

 wards, to increase their productiveness. But, 

 wherever large orchards or fruit gardens are to 

 be planted, the muck compost heap should be 

 made ready beforehand, as it is the cheapest, 

 most valuable, and durable of all manures for 

 fruit trees. 



Pruning the heads of transplanted trees, at 

 the sea.son of removal, we think generally an 

 injurious practice. It is certainly needless and 

 hurtful in the case of small trees, or those of 

 such a size as will allow the roots to be taken 

 up nearly entire ; for, as the action of the 

 branches and the roots is precisely reciprocal, 

 and as new roots are rapidly formed just in pro- 

 portion to tlie healthy action of tlie loaves, it 

 follows that by needlessly cutting off branches 

 we les.sen tlie vital action of the whole tree. 

 At the same time, where trees are transplanted 

 of so large a size that some of the roots are lost 

 in removing them, it is neccssarj- to cut back or 

 shorten a few of the branches — as many as will 

 restore the balance of the S3stem — otherwse the 



