3(i 3IASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



other distances, in August, with excelleut results. lu the early 

 part of September, 1X.S!», I received a lot of wild seedlinos picked 

 up in the latter part of the previous August, from the high alti- 

 tudes of the Rock}^ Mountains. From such wild stock, with 

 growth more or less stunted, we expect, as a matter of course, that 

 there w^ll be much greater loss than from nursery-grown trees. 

 Last August I inspected this stock, after it had been planted a 

 jear, and the following results were shown : 



Out of 2,800 Pi< ea pungevs received, 2,330 were alive. 



Out of 3,220 Picea concolor received, 2,389 were alive. 



Out of 500 Pseudotsxtga Donghisii received, 355 were alive. 



I must also in candor mention another lot of 1,000 P. pungens 

 of larger size, averaging about a foot and a half, received from 

 another collector, and a good deal stunted, of which there has 

 been a loss of a little over one-half. I do not, however, consider 

 this last lot a fair example. It appears then that the loss on the 

 first lot of P. pungens was about sixteen per cent and on the 

 ■concolor and Douglas Fir, about twentj'-five per cent. It has 

 been my experience that these last mentioned tAvo firs do not 

 transplant as surely as the Spruce. It is my opinion that Picea 

 ■alba taken from the pastures of Maine in May Avould not give 

 better results than were shown by P. pungens which travelled 

 twenty-five hundred miles in August. 



An extensive experience covering a period of over twenty years 

 leads me then to this general opinion that in cases where conifers 

 «an have quick transit it is safer to remove in August than iu 

 3Iay. Especially is this true with large sized trees, like Spruces 

 from eight to ten feet high, where distance does not forbid taking 

 them iu wagons. In all cases the growth of the first season after 

 transplanting will show a marked contrast in favor of the August 

 planted tree. If this opinion is sustained by the experience of 

 others it will prove to be a most important advantage iu extending 

 the time of planting to more than double its usual narrow limits, 

 and to a season when there is more leisure than in the hurry of 

 spring time. Tliis subject appears to me to be of such importance 

 that I am willing to bear the brunt of sharp adverse criticism until 

 the truth can be demonstrated. 



Cui.Ti HE. — I will close with a few lirief suggestions in reference 

 to culture. It is wise to consider the habitat of each specimen 

 iind endeavor to supply similar conditions of soil and exposure, so 



