NURSERY PRACTICE. 115 



are to be moved, the work should be done in such a man- 

 ner as to protect the roots from having even the appearance 

 of being dry, for if dried ever so little the probabilities 

 of their living are much lessened. The kind of treat- 

 ment thai would be considered all right for Apple-trees 

 might be fatal to Evergreens, as they are much more 

 susceptible to injury from drying. 



In addition to the above precautions to be taken when 

 moving Evergreens, it is desirable to shorten back the 

 limbs about one-third, to compensate for the loss of roots. 

 Of course this shortening should not be done in such a 

 way as to disfigure the tree, but when the roots are in 

 any way severely mutilated, the whole top makes more 

 of a draft on them for moisture than the roots can supply. 

 This pruning is not so necessary in the case of young 

 seedling Evergreens or nursery-grown trees that have 

 been recently transplanted, for when they are moved 

 their root systems are not seriously injured. 



Very Small Evergreens and Other Small Plants are 

 often set in trenches made with a spade, as shown in Fig. 

 31. For this method the soil must be loose and yet 

 sufficiently compact so that it can be cut with a spade 

 and not crumble before the plants can be set out. The 

 beds are made about six feet wide, and a board of this 

 length and six inches wide should be used. The soil 

 is thrown out with a spade (/I) to the depth of about 

 six inches, but no wider than necessary to just take in the 

 roots. The plants are then placed in position by hand 

 and a little soil pushed against them to hold them in 

 place. (B) The trench is then half filled and the soil 

 firmly compacted by the feet. The remainder of the soil 

 is then put in and levelled off, the board is changed to 

 the other side of the row first planted, and the planting 

 is continued in the same way (C and D). Such close 

 planting as this is only desirable when it is intended to 



