BEST TIME AND DEPTH TO PLANT. 105 



weather is so sudden there that I would earnestly recommend 

 the fall for planting close root-pruned trees all over the Mid- 

 dle and Northern States. By spring new roots several inches 

 long will have been struck, and a much stronger growth 

 secured the first season. As will be seen from Prof. Brunk's 

 experiments in Maryland, his trees were all planted, both 

 fruit and evergreen, on the i6th of April, 1892. That was 

 entirely too late to get the best result the first season. More- 

 over, something must have been wrong with the trees or con- 

 ditions, when the althea failed to start and do well, for it 

 grows almost anywhere like a weed, from a cutting even. 

 As to the Norway spruce, hemlock and Lawson cypress, 

 I know nothing, having never seen them. But I do know 

 that the oranges both sour, sweet and trifoliate, will all grow 

 off with the greatest vigor from close top and root-pruned 

 trees, and thousands of orange trees are being thus treated in 

 Florida the present season. They may also be thus planted 

 all through June, July and August with perfect success, if an 

 additional inch and a few fibrous roots are left on. Last 

 summer I never lost a single one of fifteen hundred young 

 trifoliata, planted from seed in February and transplanted 

 into nursery rows in June, when about six inches high. By 

 fall some of them were three feet high, all having been root 

 and top-pruned when set, and firmly tramped. However, 

 with these and other evergreens each one can experiment for 

 himself, as soil may have something to do with results. 



HAVING now discussed fully the first cause viz., long 

 roots of the general decadence and unfruitfulness of latter- 

 day apple and pear orchards, and given a summary of my ex- 

 perience as to the best methods of treating and planting close 

 root-pruned trees, I will in the next chapter go on with the 

 investigation. 



