Practical Directions 



2«I 



about in the ground by the action of winds, the roots will be 

 broken and strained, and a hole for the collection of water 

 be formed, which will in the course of time rot the roots. 

 Evergreens are particularly liable to suffer and even die from 

 this cause. They present a greater surface to the action of 

 the winter gales. And all plants that are disproportionately 

 heavy in the head are most likely to need staking. 



But any kind of staking is sure to be more or less unsightly, 

 and whatever means can be devised for dispensing with it will 

 be a decided boon. Something may certainly be done by 



Figs. 76 and 77. Setting a Tree to Stay. 



planting things of a rather lower growth around one that 

 is apt to be moved about by winds. These will soften the 

 force of the attacks and make the plant more proof against 

 them. For large trees, too, that are planted with balls of 

 earth, and have tolerably strong roots, a triangular or square 

 frame made of bars of wood laid across the ball of the plant, 

 and nailed to stout posts driven firmly into the ground at 

 the corners, will be safer than any upright stakes. (See figs. 

 76 and 77, the latter being the ground plan.) Strong ropes 

 fastened to the upper part of the stem of a newly planted 

 tree, and tied in several directions to other trees or fixed 

 objects (fig. 78), putting some hay or matting around the 



