1890. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



lT,i 



along the center upright, should be used for 

 calculating the proper fall. 



Where trees must be planted in soil im- 

 practicable to be underdrained, instead of 

 setting them into tUe ordinary level, make 



Fig. 25. Preparing for Vine against the house. A 

 Sterile soil, B pocket of good loam. See No. 24. 



a mound of earth for planting them in, as 

 shown in Fig. 31. 



Distinguish between soil that is properly 

 moist and such as is water-logged. In the 

 former the earth particles are moist, with 

 the minute apertures between open to admit 

 the air needed for root growth; in the latter 

 the spaces between the soil particles are 

 loaded with water to the exclusion of air; 

 for it to so long remain is death to roots. 



26. Provide deep tillage for the roots. 



A deep soil gives more space to the roots 

 and opens up larger stores of plant food. 

 The deeper the culture the larger is the 

 amount of reserve moisture for the roots in 

 time of drouth. Therefore to secure a quick 

 and rapid growth prepare the soil deeply. 



By deep culture is meant for small plats 

 to trench the soil, that is, work it up two 

 depths of the spade, as in Fig. 32, instead of 

 one as in Fig. .34; for larger areas to follow 

 in the furrow of the common plow (Fig. 3.5) 

 with a subsoil plow, as in Fig. .33, the object 

 in either case being to break up the soil 

 thoroughly 1.5 or more inches deep, instead 

 of less than half that depth, after the more 

 ordinary one-depth process. 



Do not fall into the error of bringing the 

 subsoil, nearly always sterile, to the top, 

 and putting the top soil beneath. Leave 

 each stratum in its natural place. In turn- 

 ing over the lower stratum, however, it is 

 well to work some manure into it. In any 

 event fertilizers applied to the upper earth 

 will find their way down to the roots. 



Land that is once well trenched or sub- 

 soiled, will show the good effects of the 

 work on the trees or crops for many years 

 to come. In gardens where no trees are 

 cultivated, the operations often are repeated. 



27. Properly enrich the soil and cultivate 

 its surface. 



It should be well manured with barn yard 

 dung or clover plowed under, and be 

 thoroughly pulverized with the cultivator 

 and harrow, or for small areas with the rake 

 before planting. This will be found of great 

 benefit, both in producing an abundance of 

 fine, damp, soil for aiding good planting, 

 and in promoting the retention of moisture 



Fig. 34. Turning the soil one spade deep: com- 

 pare with Fiy. 32. See No. 28. 



Fig. 35. Common plowing; for depth compare 

 w.th Fig. 33. See No. X. 



in the soil throughout the season, not to 

 mention the gain in the fight with weeds. 



Caring for the Stock Before Planting. 



28. A tree or plant out of ground, is like a 

 .fi,sh out of water; it is in the dying stage. 



Take every precaution to protect the roots. 

 The advantage of short shipments is that 

 the time may be shorter from ground to 

 ground. But good packing and slight ex- 

 posure may make up for longer distance. 



The stock at hand, first unpack it, and 

 quickly get the roots into earth, thatis, heel- 

 in the trees or plants. Heeling-in is tem- 

 porary planting, for preserving the roots 

 and having the stock handy for setting out. 



Planting from the box can seldom be done 

 to advantage. 



29. How to heel in trees and plants. 



One way of heeling-in is illustrated in Fig. 

 36. First a trench is thrown out to one side, 

 and a row of trees is laid down with the 

 roots in the trench. Then a second trench 

 is opened against the first, the soil being 





Fig. 22. lUustrating threnching two spades deep. 

 Fig. 33. Us'ng the subsoil plow beneath the fur- 

 row made with a common plow. See No. 26. 



thrown over the roots of the trees in the 

 first. Observe four points: 



1. Always open the bundles and spread the 

 trees thinly. 



2. Sprinkle plenty of fine earth among the 

 roots. 



3. Cover them over well to at least six inches 

 above the crown. 



4. Firm the soil with the feet so that it will be 

 in dose contact with every root. 



The same principle is to be observed in 

 heeling-in small plants, as shown in Fig. 37. 



Heeling-in is sometimes done by throwing 

 out the trench on both sides, and then set- 

 ting the trees uprightly in the 

 trench, filling in ground as 

 above. A second trench, if 

 needed, is then opened somestx 

 or eight feet from the first, and 

 so on. 



Trees received in the fall for 

 spring planting should be 

 heeled in on some dry spot, 

 free from grass or weeds that 

 would harbor mice, and the 

 root, trunk and most of the 

 branches be covered with earth. 

 Leave the earth as finished 

 somewhat mound-shaped to 

 shed water. Then cover any 

 exposed tops with Evergreen 

 branches, and the trees will be 

 safe. 



Trees frozen or shrivelled in 

 transit should at once 



enormotis waste of money, time and hopes 

 falls upon the planters. It is an uncalled 

 for waste. By pursuing right methods the 



Fig. 36. Heeling in Trees. See No. 29. 



average loss in transplanting need not be 

 so much as one in ten. 



Attention has been directed to the pre- 

 paration of the soil and other vital matters 

 bearing on successful tree culture. The 

 purpose now is to speak of that which more 

 than anything else has to do with success or 

 failure in planting, namely, the pruning of 

 the planting stock, and the committing of 

 the roots to the soil in the new situation. 



31. Right prm^ing; securing a proper hal- 



antc Ijctvcen root and top. 



Those who plant for failure usually look 

 most to the top, to preserve it large and full 

 from the day of planting. To prune it is to 

 spoil it they argue, and their tree is sure to 

 be out of balance, more top than root. To 

 plant for success is to look most to the root. 

 Give us a good proportion of roots and we 

 make the top what we will. 



The right and the wrong idea, regarding 

 balance of parts is shown in Figs. 39 to 40- 

 The first figure is that of a vigorous young 

 nursery tree before digging, showing the 

 numerous strong roots reaching some feet 

 out. Careful examinations have shown that 

 the roots of a young tree fully equal or ex- 

 ceed in extent the branches of the top. 

 It is impossible to preserve all these roots in 

 digging, especially after the tree is a year 

 and upwards old (see Fig. 17). The usual 

 practice is to thrust the digger into the 

 earth about as the engraving shows, and 

 the larger part of the finer roots, too delicate 

 really to handle, stay back. 



Thus the tree's balance in root and top is 

 broken at the nursery; it reaches the planter 

 in the top heavy condition of Fig. 39. Plant 

 it thu.s, as so generally is done, and the root 



hg Fig. 38. Baiarn.-f of Fig.^. Unbalanced in 

 . , ^ , ,, . , parts before digging, diggingby loss of roots. 



buried, tops and all, m earth 



until restored. 



The Operation of Planting. 

 30. Do we set out things to live or to die? 



It is said that fully two-thirds of all trees 

 planted never reach the state of well-devel- 

 oped productive specimens. It this be true, 

 and we have no reason to doubt it, what an 



fi^. 40. Balance re- 

 stored by Pruning. 



Tfte Balance bctircen Root and Top. See Ko. 31. 



is not possibly equal to the task of supports 

 ingits entire top. The tree is out of balance. 

 Fig. 40 shows the same tree handled for 

 restoring the balance lost in digging, through 

 pruning away enough of the top to corres- 

 pond with the loss of the roots. This is the 

 course that all planters should follow. 



