158 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 170. 



should be properly arranged in the soil. According to good authorities 

 trees should never be planted more than two or three inches deeper than 

 they originally grew, and too deep planting often causes their death. 

 It is more convenient for two men to set out a tree than one, as one can 

 hold the tree in the proper position while the other is filling the soil in 

 around the roots. 



The top soil, if of good quaUty, may be used, but it is better to dis- 

 card the poorer subsoil and replace it with loam. Much depends, how- 

 ever, upon the nature of the subsoil and whether the species is adapted 

 to grow in it. In any planting the best soil should be placed at the bottom 

 of the hole or under the roots, and the sod when properly pulverized may 

 be used, care being taken not to interfere too much with the soil capil- 

 larity. The poorer soil which covers the roots may be enriched and its 

 texture improved by working in manure or other organic matter. Manure, 

 however, should be sparingly used and thoroughly incorporated with 

 the loam, care being taken not to bring it in too close contact with the 

 roots. Towns and cities which do much transplanting might make good . 

 use of composted street cleanings; and if land were available for a small 

 nursery, it could be used to good advantage by tree wardens and foresters. 



When a tree is being set out the soil about the roots should be well 

 tamped. Many people apply water to the roots at the time of trans- 

 planting, and if the season is an unusually dry one the watering may be 

 repeated occasionally. But persistent watering is injurious, and young 

 trees are sometimes killed in this way. If the soil around the roots is 

 well tamped when the trees are set out it is not essential that water should 

 be applied at all, and it may even be injurious by washing the soil from 

 the roots and leaving air spaces. One of the most essential features in 

 transplanting is to secure as nearly as possible normal conditions of the 

 soil about the roots. It may be mentioned here that watering large trees 

 near their trunks is not a wise practice, since the feeding roots are quite 

 a distance from the tree. One would suppose that an elementary knowl- 

 edge of tree growth would discourage such a course, although it is possible, 

 by constant watering and cultivation, to encourage the formation of roots 

 at the base of the tree. 



After the tree is set out a mulching of hay, straw or horse manure con- 

 taining considerable straw may be used to help conserve the moisture 

 in the soil and to keep down the grass and weeds which rob the soil of its 

 moisture and food. 



Transplanted trees require a certain amount of pruning to accommodate 

 the leaf and root systems to each other, and it is usually necessary to cut 

 back the branches to meet these requirements. (See Pruning.) 



There are differences of opinion in regard to methods of transplanting 

 trees, and undoubtedly more than one method may be used. Opinions 

 also differ in regard to the best time of year for transplanting, but it may 

 be said that most persons prefer the spring to the fall. We are of the 

 opinion that it is not ad^'isable to plant too small trees, preferring elms 



