PRACTICAD SUGGESTIONS UPON TREE-PLANTING. 57 



pnt tn a box. Then nail a few slats on the top, bnt be snre and have plenty of ventila- 

 tion, as there is great danger of their heating if the boxes are closed too tightlj-. As 

 fast as the boxes are tilled, place them in a cool, shady place till all are full ; then load 

 them on a wagon and lose no time in taking them to their destination, where, of course, 

 they should be planted without delay, in accordance with the directions given for seed- 

 lings. If your plants are taken from a situation much shaded, which is not advisable, 

 it will be well to give them a little shade during the first summer. When young ever- 

 greens are taken from the forests, it is seldom advisable to plant them at once iu their 

 permanent location. Usually they are poor, weak, straggling things, not at all orna- 

 mental. They should be taken from the wood to the nursery, where, after receiving 

 from two to four years' careful culture, as described for seedlings, they will become of 

 a rich dark green color, the foliage will become dense, and the form symmetrical. Then 

 they are prepared to come out and display their charms upon the lawn, or show their 

 usefulness and beauty in the grove or screen. 



Selection of varieties inpJanting evergreens in Iowa. 



The varieties of evergreens adapted to the climate of our State [Iowa] are not vcy 

 numerous, but most of them have more or less good qualities to recommend them. Of 

 course, before selecting his varieties, the planter will decide upon the object to be at- 

 tained by the planting. If his object be shelter, he will choose strong, rapid-growing 

 varieties, that are cheaply procured and easily transplanted. If he is growing a grove 

 for timber, wood, or fencing, he will, of course, keep iu view the particular object for 

 which they are intended, and select accordingly ; while for ornament alone, he would 

 make a very different selection. Perhaps a word or two descriptive of some of the 

 more valuable kinds wonld not be out of the way. 



First on the list for general usefulness, I place the Norway spruce. It is easily 

 transplanted, of rapid growth, fine form, and grows to a large size. It makes a very 

 ornamental hedge or screen, is a fine single tree on the law^n, or a shelter-belt impene- 

 trable to the wind. Scotch pine is easily irausplauted, grows rapidly while young, 

 and makes a strong, spreading tree, that always gives satisfaction to i^lanters. I know 

 of no evergreen that Avill make a shelter so quickly, and the young trees are very orna- 

 mental. Austrian or black pine is every way a much finer tree than the Scotch, 

 except that while young, it is a slower grower, and is more impatient of removal. A 

 large Austrian pine, clothed in its garb of rich dark green, standing up unscathed 

 against our fiercest and coldest wintry blasts, looks the very impersonation of sturdy 

 Tigor and health. White pine has many friends, and is the most valuable of all the 

 pines as a lumber tree. It is of rapid growth, has beautiful light green soft foliage, 

 but is rather difflcult to transplant. Red cedar is a tree of moderate growth, easily 

 transplanted, valuable for screens, and invaluable for posts, as the wood is very dura- 

 ble. White cedar, or Arbor vitai, is also useful for ornament and screens, but will not 

 be largely planted. The native spruces, when they can be procured cheaply, are of 

 much value, and may be extensively used in groves or otherwise. Balsam fir is proba- 

 bly the least valuable of all I have mentioned. While young, it is quite ornamental, 

 and is easily transplanted, but it soon becomes shabby, is comparatively short-lived, 

 and the wood is of very little value for any purpose whatever. 



TKANSPLANTIXG OF LARGE EVERGREEXS AND OTHER LARGE TREES, AS RECOMJIEXDED 

 BY MR. D. C. SCOFIELD, OF ELGIN, ILL.' 



Large nursery-grown, oft-transplanted trees, may be removed with as much certainty 

 of their living as small ones. The hardy evergreens, such as the Norway spruce, Scotch, 

 Weymouth (or white), and black Austrian pines, may be removed from the height of 

 twelve to eighteen feet as safely as from two to four feet. The method of removing 

 is the same as of small trees, and they have no more need of a large ball of earth to 

 secure their growth than a plant of twelve inches. True, they must be taken up with 

 great care to preserve the roots from breaking on being movecl, or from exposure to a 

 dry atmosphere, and when set, especial care must be taken to keep the roots in their 

 natural position, thoroughly packing the earth among all the roots with the fingers, 

 so as to exclude the air and retain moisture. This should be done by suspending the 

 tree in the hole, which should be made sufliciently largo not only to receive the roots 

 of the tree, but also the planter to readily get to his task. The earth must be in fine 

 tilth for planting corn, and must never be wet or muddy, and when thus planted the 

 earth around should be pressed thoroughly with the feet, and when well planted, a 

 quantity of coarse mulching of rotten straw, leaves, or, better, silent tan-bark, should 

 be put around the tree and cover the surface from two to four feet on all sides, and 

 from three to six inches in depth ; but do not pack too closely against the trunk of the 

 tree. Three strong stakes six feet high should be set four or five feet from the tree at 

 equal distances from each other. A collar or band should be fixed around th'e tree five . 



^Report oj loica /State RorticiiUiiral Society, ld57, p. 22. 



