240 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



more carelessness than at any other in the handling of 

 plants unless it is between unpacking and replanting. 

 There is a difference in plants as to the amount of such 

 abuse they will stand and still survive and yet even those 

 that will stand the most are injured by carelessness even 

 when they are not killed. Among the trees that will not 

 stand such abuse are the oaks and yet one city that 

 plants many of these trees and is extremely careful in 

 this matter succeeds in getting more than 98 percent of 

 the oaks they plant on the street, to grow, and they are in 

 the way of using large trees, which as a rule are more 

 difficult to move than small- 

 er ones. Their success is 

 undoubtedly due to this 

 great care. They dig a 

 tree and at once "heel it 

 in" that is cover the roots 

 with soil in a temporary lo- 

 cation. When ready to 

 plant they pack the trees in 

 the wagon with the roots 

 thoroughly covered with 

 wet moss. When they get 

 to the place where the tree 

 is to be set it is not taken 

 from the wagon until the 

 hole is ready and the men 

 who are to plant it are stand- 

 ing beside it with their shov- 

 els ready for business. The 

 tree is then set and the wa- 

 gon moves on to the next 

 hole, but the next tree is not 

 taken from its covering of 

 moss in the wagon until the 

 planters at this hole are 

 ready to actually put the 

 trees in its final position. 

 This method is in great con- 

 trast to that shown in the 

 picture, where a load of trees 

 is being hauled without even 

 a covering of canvas to pro- 

 tect it from the sun and wind 

 to say nothing of the lack 

 of moss about the roots. 



is more difficult but probably the only thing to do after 

 noting their bad condition on the receipt to the railroad 

 company is to handle them as little and as gently as pos- 

 sible in getting them to a proper place to thaw. 



Although proper care may be taken at the nursery 

 both in immediate covering of the roots after digging 

 and in careful packing with plenty of moss or other 

 packing material yet on arrival at destination the plants 

 may be quickly ruined by bad treatment. They should 

 be immediately unpacked. If the places are ready for 

 planting this may be done as the plants are taken from 



the box provided each one 

 may be set as soon as it is 

 taken from the packing ma- 

 terial. As a rule a certain 

 amount of sorting and se- 

 lection has to be done be- 

 fore planting can begin, and 

 also it is easier to check up 

 all the material if it all is 

 taken from the box at one 

 time. Usually the best way 

 is to unpack the plants and 

 heel them in as they are un- 

 packed. By "heeling in" is 

 meant covering the roots 

 with soil so that they are 

 thoroughly protected from 

 drying until ready to plant 

 permanently. In this oper- 

 ation the roots of several 

 plants may lie overlapping 

 one another so long as all 

 are brought sufficiently close 

 to the soil to prevent any 

 chance of their drying out. 

 With smaller plants a trench 

 is often dug and then the 

 tops are laid nearly flat on 

 the . ground with the roots 

 in the trench and then dirt is 

 thrown over the roots. When 

 done on a large scale the 

 dirt used for covering the 

 roots in the first trench is 



TREES WELL HEELED IN 



Trees should always have their roots covered to prevent undue taken from the second trench 



In addition to the injury ^''7}f.t^r^ planting. The covering of roots temporarily is ^.^^ ^^e tops of the plants in 

 " - called Jieeling in. Large deciduous trees and evergreens are ' , ,. 



of the roots already men- most readily "heeled in" standing as in this picture. Smaller the second trench lie over the 



tioned. they are sometimes deciduous plants are laid at an angle of .30 degrees or less with f^^^^ trench. With large 



, . . the ground ; the earth for covering one lot of roots is taken from . . 



hurt by bemg frozen m the trench for the next. plants the simplest way is 



transit. When received often to stand them up and 



frozen the plants should be placed if possible in a cellar throw the dirt in around them much as though they were 



where the temperature is only slightly above freezing 

 and there be permitted to thaw as gradually as possible. 

 While frozen they should be handled as little as possible. 

 If in boxes or bales these should be handled carefully and 

 the plants should not be unpacked until they are thawed. 

 If they have been shipped in bulk in a car the situation 



being planted. 



For successful planting it is usually well to prepare 

 the ground in advance. If the soil is shallow it will 

 be necessary to remove the top soil and save it to one 

 side then remove the sub-soil preferably to a depth of at 

 least 18 inches and for large plants two feet, then se- 



