198 PERMANENT 



less injured or weakened by their removal, and the presence of 

 woody tissue is therefore absolutely necessary both to give them 

 greater resisting powers and to conduct water from the roots to 

 the leaves rapidly enough to keep pace with the inevitable loss by 

 transpiration. 



As the chief object of transplanting is to keep the roots of the 

 seedlings, however large these many be, within manageable limits, 

 it is evident that if the interval between the first transplanting 

 and the time when the seedlings are te be put out is so long that 

 the roots have time to spread out too far in every direction, a 

 second transplanting must take place. And indeed, if the interval 

 is long enough, a third and even a fourth transplanting may 

 become necessary. But, as a rule, it is seldom that a third trans- 

 planting is required ; and the necessity of a fourth and a fortiori a 

 fifth transplanting is altogether exceptional. 



The interval between two transplantings will depend 

 (i) On the rapidity of growth of the plants above ground, 

 (ii) On the natural tendency to spread of their roots, and 

 (iii) On the difficulty with which the roots injured in the pre- 

 vious transplanting recover. 



The last transplanting will take place just one year before the 

 seedlings are to be put out. In the case of very large seedlings 

 the plan described on page 306 will save a last transplanting. 



B. Season for transplanting. 



It may be laid down as a general rule that unless special circum- 

 stances order otherwise, the best time for transplanting is soon 

 after the re-awakening of vegetative activity, for the plants are then 

 most capable of recovering from any injury they may have suf- 

 fered and they have almost the entire growing season before them 

 to establish themselves thoroughly in their new place. For those 

 species which start into activity at the beginning of the summer 

 rains, as, for instance, teak, Terminalia tomentosa, Sfc., there can. 

 be no question as to the most favourable time for transplanting 

 them being soon after the first showers have fallen. This of course 

 presupposes that the seedlings are ready to transplant then. 



But it may happen that the seedlings in question are still too 

 small to be removed from the seed-bed. In that case, if the cold 

 weather in the locality is always mild, transplanting maybe effect- 

 ed as soon as the seedlings are ready, and the seedlings will 

 continue establishing themselves all through the cold weather. 

 Striking new roots, and never suffering from excessive transpira- 

 tion, they will be strong enough to live through the ensuing hot 



