Tree Growing 85 



sign that any tree is established, but less sure of conifers 

 than of hardwoods. 



The proper time of year for planting has been discussed 

 as long as trees have been transplanted. In theory it 

 should be possible to transplant at any time of the year, 

 and in fact it is possible. With sufficient care a tree can be 

 moved when in full leaf. In practice, however, it is advis- 

 able to do the moving when the risk is least and when, as a 

 consequence, the care required is least. That makes it 

 very inadvisable to move a tree during the season of growth . 

 At any time between the cessation of the life processes in 

 the fall and the renewal of life in the spring, trees may be 

 moved with comparative safety. It is a common practice 

 to dig trees in the fall, bury the roots in moist ground 

 (heel them in) during the winter, and plant them the 

 following spring. Species differ in their response to dif- 

 ferent treatment, and any peculiarities in this respect will 

 be mentioned in connection with each. A very safe but 

 difficult way to transplant a tree is to cut it out of the ground 

 in the winter with a quantity of frozen earth about the roots 

 and set it in its new location, taking care to stake it so 

 that it will not loosen with the wind when the earth thaws 

 in the spring. A few years ago I had a number of 

 large Scotch pines moved in this way. The trees were 

 from eight to ten feet high and not a single one was lost. 

 Figure 13 shows one of these trees. The position of the 

 third whorl of branches from the top shows the height of 

 the tree when moved and all above that its growth since 

 the moving. The tree was nine feet high when moved and 



