PLANTING THE TREES 55 



time satisfactory results can be obtained by 

 spreading the roots out on top of the ground 

 and shoveling enough earth over them to pro- 

 tect them thoroughly from drying out. This is 

 much easier than placing them in a trench and 

 is sound practice — provided the trees do not 

 remain too long. I would not advise you to try 

 to carry them over the winter in that position. 

 When planting-time arrives the trees are re- 

 moved from their temporary resting-place and 

 the roots and tops are pruned before planting. 

 Some growers do not trim the tops until after 

 the trees are planted, but it saves time to do 

 this part of the work in advance. Great care 

 should be used in pruning the roots as by do- 

 ing so a considerable freedom from root rot 

 can be insured. Root rot is a disease that en- 

 ters the apple roots only through dead roots, 

 and by avoiding any chance of planting such 

 roots, or roots that will die after planting, the 

 disease can largely be prevented. In order to 

 accomplish this it is necessary to remove most 

 of the very small fibrous roots, leaving only 

 the stronger ones. A sharp knife should be 

 used for this purpose and the fibrous roots cut 

 off smoothly, leaving no strings of root tissue 

 which are certain to die. The reason for tak- 

 ing off the small roots is that these frequently 

 are injured without showing it and also they 

 frequently occur in such abundance that they 



