HOW TO PLANT. 105 



because a portion of them and that the most 

 important portion has been cut off by the 

 spade in the act of taking the tree from its for- 

 mer place of growth. The excavation should 

 be ample, and the ground around so soft and 

 permeable that as new roots are made they 

 may be able to push out in every direction. 

 The roots, as they are at the time of planting, 

 should not be thrust in at hap-hazard, but 

 should be spread well asunder, and the earth 

 should be carefully pressed into the interstices 

 and firmed around the small fibers, remember- 

 ing that the feeding mouths of the tree are 

 upon them rather than upon the bulky roots, 

 which are more buttresses for keeping the 

 tree in place than feeding organs. 



To secure this proper planting, the planter 

 should select a time for his work when the 

 ground is neither too dry and hard, nor too 

 wet and pasty the one state being about as 

 bad as the other but a time when the earth 

 will work readily under the spade and the 

 hand. After covering the roots properly, as 

 we have described, he should fill the space left 

 above them, an inch or two in depth, with 



