242 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



PLACING THE TREE IN ITS HOLE FOR PLANTING 



A street tree is being placed ready for planting. This has just 

 been taken from its packing of wet straw and moss on the wagon, 

 and the man is measuring to get it at the proper distance from 

 the curb. The shoveler is waiting to put in the dirt. 



with soil and the plant be left to grow. If the soil is too 

 dry, or the plant has partially started into growth, water 

 should be applied immediately after the tramping and 

 after it has soaked away the balance of the soil could be 

 replaced without farther tramping. If the planting is 

 done in the fall it is well to mound the soil up a little 

 about the plant to be sure that settling does not permit 

 water to collect and cause trouble from ice during the 

 winter. The plants should be set about an inch lower 

 than they were growing in the nursery. It is usually 

 best to stake trees the first year to prevent wind from 

 loosening them in the soil before they become established. 

 The question of the best season for transplanting 

 often presents itself. In the eastern third of the country 

 the season at hand is usually the best for such work. 

 Most trees and shrubs will begin to form roots as soon as 

 planted and if set in the fall will make more of a growth 

 the following season than if planted in the spring. In, 

 the colder and drier regions farther west spring trans- 

 planting is probably better as owing to the extreme drying 

 of the strong winds, plants set in the fall will be dried 

 dead before spring because the roots not being estab- 

 lished in the soil are unable to supply the moisture taken 

 from the top by the wind. Even in this region transplant- 

 ing may be successfully done in the fall if the ground 

 after planting is thoroughly soaked and then mulched 

 and the tops are wrapped in burlap or other protective 

 material to prevent the drying of the top. On the Pa- 

 cific Slope and in the warmer parts of Arizona and New 

 Mexico there is not cold sufficient to interfere with 



transplanting but the determining factor is the water sup- 

 ply and the time of transplanting has to be detemiined 

 by the presence of sufficient moisture. 



In pruning at transplanting the general shape or out- 

 line of the plants should be maintained as nearly as 

 possible by removing whole limbs rather than cutting 

 back the ends of them. Of course if severe pruning must 

 be done then both methods have to be used. 



Where quick results from planting are desired, or 

 results with the least trouble, then nursery plants should 

 be used. On the other hand in remote districts where 

 there is no difficulty in getting permission to dig plants 

 from the wild there is an attraction in using native ma- 

 terial in beautifying the home or school surroundings. 

 In addition to the greater appreciation that is likely to 

 come from having selected and dug the plants there is 

 also the probability that the result will be more harmo- 

 nious and appropriate, because there is not likely to be any 

 discordant note among the wild things as there might 

 be where plants from many unknown corners of the 

 globe are brought together in a single planting. On the 

 other hand the delay is greater because with many plants, 

 especially if large specimens are attempted to be moved 



VERY NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS 



Driving substantial stakes to hold a tree box firmly so that it 

 will be a protection and support to the tree. 



