fo. 5. 



Transplanting Large Trees.- — Deep Ploughing, 



149 



id we feel very confident that if we 

 id left nature to herself, the udder would 

 ive been spoiled. — Tennessee Agricultu- 

 ist. 



Transplanting Large Trees. 



It is a very general, though erroneous 

 sinion, that large trees cannot be trans- 

 lanted with safety; and this popular mis- 

 ike is more singular from the fSict, that in 

 ngland the transplantation of the largest 

 ees has been a matter of daily occurrence 

 ir more than thirty years. 



Ignorance of their business, is the true 

 jcret why so many nurserymen and gar- 

 sners fail in transplanting trees. It must 

 rike even those of our readers who never 

 lought of the subject before, that, in trans- 

 lanting a tree, some regard ought to be had 

 » the habits, soil, and situation of the tree 

 > be transplanted ; and that, if this is ne- 

 lected, it becomes altogether a matter of 

 lance whether the tree lives or dies. A 

 ee twenty or thirty feet high, which has 

 Iways been in a thick wood, is thin, tall, 

 id fragile — quite a different plant, indeed, 

 om the thick, sturdy tree of the same age 

 id species Vv'hich has grown up alone in a 

 eld ; and it would be as absurd to expect 

 le to flourish if transplanted to the forest, 

 5 it would be to look for a long life in the 

 ;her if removed to the orchard. Again, 

 fferent soils produce different habits; and 

 le maple that has grown up in a loam, will 

 irdly grow if transplanted in the sand. An 

 ik, accustomed to the sunny side of a hill, 

 ill not long survive its removal to a bleak 

 larshy exposure. Yet how often are these 

 ,cts disregarded in transplanting even young 

 ees. How then can large trees be ex- 

 3cted to flourish after transplantation, when 

 ich outrages on their habits are perpetrated 

 f those who ignorantly undertake to remove 

 lem. 



It is as easy, however, to transplant trees 

 lirty feet high, and secure their permanent 

 ealth in their new position, if proper atten- 

 on is paid to the habits of the tree, as it 

 1 to remove water from one cistern to an- 

 ther, or keep alive exotics by the simple 

 xpedient of preserving them in a warm 

 )om in winter. As early as 1823, Sir 

 [enry Stewart, of Allanson, Scotland, de- 

 lonstrated the practicability of transplant- 

 ig trees of the largest size; and succeeded 

 1 covering a large estate with elms, syca- 

 lores, horse-chesnut, &c., in clumps and 

 lone. His plan was very simple, and will 

 ear detailing : 



After he had selected a tree which, from 

 le soil in which it had grown and its gene- 



ral habits, he deemed suitable for trans- 

 plantation to the spot he wished, he pro- 

 ceeded to bare the roots from the earth, 

 paying the utmost attention not to injure 

 the smallest fibre in the process. A mass 

 of soil, however, was left to form a ball 

 close to the stem, and two or three feet of 

 the original sward was carefully allowed to 

 adhere to it. In this state the tree was 

 lifted from its position, and borne to the 

 place where it was to be planted. This 

 was effected by a machine, made of a long 

 pole, fixed between two high wheels, the 

 pole moving on a pivot, so that it could be 

 raised vertically in order to fasten to it the 

 tree while standing. The latter yet stood 

 in the ground. The hole in which the tree 

 was placed was generally prepared a twelve- 

 month before ; and into this the tree was as 

 carefully set as possible. The roots were 

 then placed as near as could be in the same 

 position as formerly; the lower tier was first 

 arranged, the earth sifted around them and 

 worked in with the hand; the next tier fol- 

 lowed ; and the process repeated until the 

 tree was firmly fixed in its new position. 

 By this means the largest trees were trans- 

 planted with safety, and at a comparatively 

 trifling expense. About three dollars is the 

 cost of transplanting trees in this manner 

 in Scotland. — North American. 



Deep Ploughing. 



At the last monthly meeting of the High- 

 land Agricultural Society, Sir. Girwood, 

 Featherhall, Corstorphine, read a report of 

 experiments in deep ploughing, by Mr. Wil- 

 son, Eastfield, Penicuik. Mr. Wilson re- 

 marks, that among the various improvements 

 which have followed the introduction of tho- 

 rough draining, subsoil ploughing is one of 

 the most important. Besides being a valu- 

 able auxiliary to draining, by breaking the 

 tenacious, till and facilitating the escape of 

 water, it enables the farmer gradually to 

 increase the depth of vegetative mould by 

 the admixture of virgin earth from the sub- 

 soil. The farm on which Mr. Wilson's ex- 

 periments were made is nearly level, with 

 a northern exposure, and a soil varying from 

 gravelly earth to tenacious clay. It had for 

 many years been ploughed from five to six 

 inches deep, and at that depth a hard crust 

 or pan had formed itself, which in some 

 places was almost impervious to water, and 

 in a great degree neutralised the effects of 

 furrow-draining. The first field experi- 

 mented upon consisted of 13 acres, partly 

 heavy on a clay subsoil, partly light on a 

 gravelly subsoil. It was subsoiled across 

 the drains in October and November, 1844 ; 



