58 THE ART AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



prevent the bark being frayed, and a man, facing the direction in 



which the tree has to be moved, and behind the tree, takes a strong 



hempen rope in its middle, passes it over the protected stem, and 



drawing each end towards him, crosses the ball diagonally, and 



carries each rope, with a half-hitch, over the stage of cross-planks, 



and delivers an end of the rope to men on either side, who are 



awaiting it on the further side of the tree. These men, 10 to 20 



in number, take the two ends of the rope and are ready to start. 



Planks are, meanwhile, laid from those under the tree to the required 



distance, care being taken that each succeeding plank-end is placed, 



for a distance of six inches, under the preceding one. These planks 



are then wetted and, if the way is uphill, smeared with clay. Two 



men hold guide-ropes to steady the tree, and the men on each rope 



drag it to the required spot without difficulty. If there are several 



trees to be removed, having a stem-diameter of 6 in., with a 



ball weighing about a ton, it is easier to move them on a made 



sledge, instead of the cross-planks ; but the general operation is 



the same. The ground under the new planting site must always 



be broken up, and on the arrival of the tree, after the matting 



has been removed, the fibrous roots should be spread out, the tree 



regulated as to its best side and to its perpendicularity ; and it 



should then be well packed with rammed soil, and the ground well 



filled in to the new surface. If many roots have been removed, 



the tree must be reduced proportionately. As a rule, it has been 



found wise to reduce the leaf area from one-fourth to one-third. 



Branches should be cut where there is another ready to serve as 



a leader in the place of the reduced limb. 



It would only be misleading to compile a list of plants suitable 

 for stocking any and every garden, as each district varies in respect 

 of its soil, subsoil, climatic influences, nearness to the sea, nearness 

 to a town, its sheltered or exposed situation, and its latitude. Such 



