46 PLANTING. 



duced of artificially aiding them in obtaining sufficient 

 nourishment in their new situation ; and as the food 

 of trees, as of all other plants, is only absorbed in a 

 soluble state, this must be done by plentiful watering. 

 Moist leaves, with a sprinkling of sand amongst them, 

 are probably the best ingredients as food to apply to a 

 newly transplanted tree. 



In preparing the pits for receiving the trees, they 

 should be made one-third larger than the ball of the 

 roots which is to fill them. The subsoil also should 

 be loosened for a considerable depth ; and when water 

 occurs in the bottom, a stone or tile drain should be 

 introduced to carry it off. September and October are 

 the best months of the year for transplanting gener- 

 ally, but April and May have certain advantages also. 



The expediency of reversing the position of trees in 

 their new situation, such as placing the seaward side 

 landward, and landward seaward, is a questionable 

 practice. The benefits arising from it are more than 

 counteracted by the injurious results. The art of 

 transplanting is now much better understood, and its 

 mysteries cleared up, than in bygone days, yet much 

 has to be learned in order to obtain definite results 

 and true success. 



In the act of transplanting where watering is re- 

 quired, it is better to pulverise the earth and fill the 

 pit with it while dry and loose, and afterwards fully 

 saturate it with water, than by beating or tramping 

 the earth in a wet state. In substituting new and 

 fresh earth for that taken out of the trench, in order 

 to introduce that which is most adhesive for removal, 

 it should be largely composed of turf-mould, taken 

 from a clayey soil, and well mixed with leaves or other 

 fibrous substances which adhere to the roots. 



