NEW ENGJLAND FARMER. 



PUBLISHED BY GEO. C. BARRETT, NO. 52, NORTH MARKET STREET, (at the Agricultdrai. WA.ij:HOTSE )— T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR 



BOSTON, WEDNESHAY EVENING, DECEMBER, 5, 18^2 



TRAJJSPIiAJSTEVG L.AR6K TREES, OBi StR HEWKY STECART'S NEW THEORY. 



The cut above is illustrative of the system recommended in " SteuarVs Planter^s Guide," for re- 

 moving trees of large size. Of this we have giveujsonie notices in our last paper. Tlie utility of the 

 art of removing large trees, witli little interruption to their growth, is too apparent to need elucidation. 

 Tlie object to be effected by the judicious planter,|as explained by the author of the work before us, 

 is " the preservation of all the paiis in as enlirc and perfect a state as possihh.'''' By reducing the art to 

 practice the author observes that " the mutilating system, now generally prevalent, will be rendered 

 unnecessary, and a method established which is absolutely superior in itself, and more agreeable to 

 observation and experience." 



In transplanting the tree, instead of lopping and defacing the top and side branches, the wliole are 

 left untouched, and their fine synnneti-y is ])reserved entire. 



In sjjeaking of the common errors, which injudicious planters commit, the author observes, tliat 

 the first is the non-adaptation of trees to their jiroper soil. " No man who knows any thing of wood, 

 will put down the sycamore, the lime, or tlie wild cheriy, for example, on a clayey soil ; neitlier will 

 he put the oak or elm on light sand or gravel, but, on the contrary, ou the deepest and loamiest land 

 he can find, and, in the case of the oak, even with a clay bottom : for, although that tree in that par- 

 ticular is the most accommodating of all plants, it is only on land of this sort that it will really thrive, 

 and grow to timber. But to the skilful planter the subsoil is often regarded as of more moment than 

 the mere texture of the surface, as the degrees of moisture, most suitable to woody plants form, per- 

 haps, the most i)rommeut feature in their characteristic differences. It is therefore of the utmost 

 importance to the planter to study those distinctions. In certain situations, where he might be anxious 

 for the grand effect of the oak or the chestnut, it will often be prudent for him to be content with the 

 the inferior forms of tlie lime, or the • beech The second error to which the author adverts i 



is the having recourse to close woods and planta- 

 tions, for the supply of trees proper for transplant- 

 ing, Allured by the fine forms of trees, wliich 

 liaveifrowiJ under such circumstances, the tallncss 

 of their stems, the beaiuy of their bark, and tlieir 

 general appearance of iieakh and strength, we 

 uatui-ally form the wish to transfer them to the 

 lawn, or open park: but we should reflect, that 

 how- much soever they may please the eye, there 

 are no properties so unfit as these for this degree 

 of exposure, as they are generated solely by wannth 

 and shelter. As well miglit we bring forth the 

 native of the burning plains of Asia or Africa, and 

 in the light attire of those tropical climates expect 

 him to endiu-e a British winter. 



The third error, according to our author, i,? tlie 

 scttuig out of plants of too diminutive a size into 

 the open field. Size, he affirms, offers to success- 

 ful removal no actual impediment farther than in- 

 creased exiicnditure. The same principles apply 

 to tlie largest trees, jnst as well as to the least. 

 But it is material to notice, that size implies greater 

 labor and contingencies, and, by consequence more 

 jiowerfni machinery ; and both rise in a ratio far 

 more accelerated than might at first be conceived 

 to correspond with the increased dimensions of the 

 trees. My own operations as to size having been 

 of a limited sort, (the subjects seldbni exceodmg 

 thirty-five or thirty-six feet high, and in the stem 

 from fifteen to eighteen mches in diameter,) I do 

 not presume to prescribe to what height others 

 sh^ul'l go, liecause it is altogether arbitrary. 



The following extract of a letter from Mr. Laing 

 Meason, a gcnricman who was a witness of the 

 operation of transplanthig trees of a large size at 

 Allantou House, the seat of Sir Hem-y Steuart, will 

 give an idea of the expense attendant on the pro- 

 cess of lemovuig large trees recommended. 



" I attended in March last, most carefully in the 

 park at Allanton, to the operation of lifting, and 

 placing in new situations two trees of aboutthirty 

 or forty years' growth : the following is the result. 

 Ten workmen began at six in the mornmg to re- 

 move the two trees, the one twenty-eight feet 

 high, the other thirty-two feet, by actual measure- 

 ment ; girth from thirty to thirty-six inches. The 

 one tree was removed nearly a mile, the other 

 about a hundred yards, and the whole operation 

 was completed before six o'clock m the evening. 

 The wages of the men amounted to 15s., so -that 

 each tree cost 7s. 6d. A pair of horses was used 

 in dragging the machhie on which the trees were 

 laid. Such was tlie» expense of the operation. 

 Now if a comparison be drawn betwi.xt this 'Ex- 

 pense, and that of planthig groups of j-oung jilants, 

 inclosing and keeping up the inclosures, for five- 

 and-tweuty or thirty years, losing the value of the 

 ground occupied by the groups or belts. Sir Henry 

 Steuart's system cannot be a tenth of the expense 

 of the common melliod. A few trees of the growth 

 of thirty or forty years, produce at once tliat effect, 

 botii for shelter and beauty that would occupy in 

 young jilanting an acre or two of gi-ound. On 

 the consideration of economy, therefore, Sir Henry's 

 system is most deserving of praise. But it is 

 wrong to consider the practice of transplanting 

 large trees as confined to mere ornament, in the 

 formation of parks and pleasure groimds." 



