22 THE HOME ACRE. 



be saved. It should ever be remembered that 

 prompt, rapid growth of the transplanted tree 

 depends on two things, plenty of small fibrous 

 roots, and a fertile soil to receive them. It usually 

 happens that the purchaser employs a local citi- 

 zen to aid in putting his ground in order. In 

 every rural neighborhood there are smart men, 

 " smart " is the proper adjective ; for they are 

 neither sagacious nor trustworthy, and there is 

 ever a dismal hiatus between their promises and 

 performance. Such men lie in wait for new- 

 comers, to take advantage of their inexperience 

 and necessary absence. They will assure their 

 confiding employers that they are beyond learning 

 anything new in the planting of trees, which is 

 true, in a sinister sense. They will leave roots 

 exposed to sun and wind, in brief, pay no more 

 attention to them than a baby-farmer would bestow 

 on an infant's appetite ; and then, when convenient, 

 thrust them into a hole scarcely large enough for 

 a post. They expect to receive their money long 

 before the dishonest character of their work can 

 be discovered. The number of trees which this 

 class of men have dwarfed or killed outright would 

 make a forest. The result of a well-meaning yet 

 ignorant man's work might be equally unsatis- 

 factory. Therefore the purchaser of the acre 

 should know how a tree should be planted, and 



