PLANTATION, PLANTING. 



stakes, or held to one side by an as- 

 sistant, while the planter proceeds in 

 liberating others. If there be, as is 

 frequently the case, a tap root ex- 

 tending to a much greater depth than 

 the other roots, and if the latter have 

 been carefully preserved during the 

 operation, the tap root may be dis- 

 pensed with, for it could only be 

 raised in a mutilated state, owing 

 to the great solidity of the earth at 

 such a depth. 



" Although it is verj' desirable to 

 preserve the greatest possible quan- 

 tity of sound roots, yet all that are 

 bruised or lacerated should be clean- 

 ly amputated up to the sound parts. 

 Cross roots are apt to gall the others 

 when they become large, and there- 

 fore the sooner they are removed the 

 better. When the plants are young 

 and in the course of being occasion- 

 ally removed in a nursing stale, all 

 irregularities in the roots should be 

 corrected, which can then be done 

 with comparatively little injury, as 

 the roots of young plants bear a great- 

 er proportion to the top than seems 

 to be the case at a more advanced 

 period of growth, and the loss of any 

 of them is consequently felt less. In 

 the early stage of rearing trees, while 

 the proportion of roots predominates, 

 it may be found advisable, in various 

 cases, to shorten, not only the tap 

 root, as above mentioned, but also, 

 judiciously, some of the other strong 

 roots, in order that subdivisions of a 

 more fibrous nature may be produced, 

 and a number of rootlets substituted 

 for large root branches. Even in the 

 case of large trees this principle has 

 been acted upon for centuries, and 

 latterly it has been strongly advoca- 

 ted and put in practice for the pur- 

 pose of producing immediate effect in 

 park or landscape scenery. A trench 

 is cut out round the tree, and the 

 roots shortened wherever they hap- 

 pen to traverse this trench, so as to 

 leave it quite clear. This being done, 

 the trench is filled up, either with its 

 own excavated soil, or, in very par- 

 ticular cases, with fresh soil. The 

 tree has still a sufficient number of 

 undisturbed roots to keep it alive ; 

 C c c 2 



and, in fact, it ought not to be mere- 

 ly kept alive, but as many roots should 

 be left as will ensure its continuing 

 in a healthy, though not a vigorous 

 state of growth. In the course of a 

 year or two after this operation has 

 been performed, a number of young 

 roots will have been protruded from 

 the various amputations into the 

 loosened soil of the trench ; and, part- 

 ly from the possibility of preserving 

 these roots, and partly from the top 

 becoming habituated to a more limit- 

 ed su|)ply of food, the tree feels com- 

 paratively little the change conse- 

 quent on transplantation. 



" Roots may be produced of a prop- 

 er description lor planting by the 

 adoption of such means as the above, 

 and, if care be taken, they will suf- 

 fer little from the operation of re- 

 moval. Still, they may be seriously 

 injured from exposure to air, and 

 more especially to drying winds, 

 frost, and even to wet. To be cov- 

 ered in the soil is the natural condi- 

 tion of the roots of most vegetable 

 productions, and, therefore, endeav- 

 ours should be made to place them 

 in such a condition with the least 

 possible delay ; or, at all events, if 

 circumstances render delay unavoid- 

 able, such means should be adopted 

 as will preserve them in a state of 

 moisture similar to that which they 

 have in the soil. It is, however, ne- 

 cessary to observe, that when the 

 tops are closely packed up and evap- 

 oration from them prevented, the 

 roots should be kept rather dry than 

 otherwise, for, under such circum- 

 stances, damp is found to be much 

 more frequently destructive than a 

 httle dryness. 



•• Though the preparator>' steps to 

 planting, as regards roots and their 

 preservation, may be properly taken, 

 yet, if the operation be not perform- 

 ed at the proper season, success will 

 not be complete. It is true that in- 

 stances may be adduced of planting 

 being done at the very opposite sea- 

 son to that which is here recommend- 

 ed as the best ; but such cases are 

 only examples of what may be done 

 by extraordinary care in adopting ar- 



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