TRANSPLANTING 33 



contact with them should be fine and worked well in amongst the fibres. 

 When once the roots are well covered the soil may be trodden or rammed 

 firmly about them, but the planter should bear in mind that the moister 

 and heavier the soil the less of this consolidating process will be needed. 

 Where the soil is light and free, or even moderately so, a thorough 

 watering has the mechanical effect of settling the soil about the roots 

 thoroughly. 



Transplanting with Soil attached to the Roots. Whilst the 

 removal of trees and shrubs with a mass of earth about the roots is the 

 most troublesome and costly method, it is the safest, and should always 

 be adopted for large or particularly valuable examples. So far as the 

 physiology of the plant is concerned, the operation presents no problems, 

 for the aim is to transfer the plant with its root-environment practically 

 undisturbed. Such difficulties as arise are chiefly mechanical. With the 

 necessary appliances and mechanical skill, trees hundreds of years old can 

 be transferred to new quarters. But in the ordinary routine of garden 

 work one has rarely to deal with masses of soil weighing more than one 

 ton. Below that there is every gradation down to seedlings with an 

 ounce or two of soil attached. Whatever the size may be the chief object 

 is the same, viz., to transfer intact the "ball" of earth with the roots that 

 permeate it. With small plants the task is easy. The " ball " may be 

 kept together with the hands ; often it may be carried from one place to 

 another on a spade or fork, or on a wheelbarrow or truck. But the 

 larger the ball and the less matted the roots, the more careful has 

 the planter to be. Still, the main object is always the same, and that is, 

 to keep the "ball" from breaking. With rhododendrons and such-like 

 plants with dense masses of fibrous roots, it is often self-supporting, but 

 usually artificial support is necessary. This is best afforded by shaping 

 the ball to a cylindrical form and binding it together with two cords, one 

 near the top, the other near the bottom. The "ball" should first be 

 wrapped round in stout canvas or matting, and a few thin boards should 

 be inserted between it and the cords, so as to prevent the latter cutting 

 into the soil. It is very important that the cords should be made as 

 tight as possible. This is done by making a noose at one end, and, 

 after threading the other end through the noose, pulling each cord as 

 tight as it can be made. An instrument called the tourniquet is some- 

 times used for tightening the cords. 



After the soil has been supported by some such means as these, the 

 ball has to be partially undermined, first on one side and then on the 

 other, and a pair of stout lifting-boards inserted. The plant is then 

 ready to be lifted out of the hole and carried away to its new position, 

 When the weight is greater than can be managed by a few nen, 

 mechanical appliances have to be used. Transplanting machines of 



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