358 A PRACTICAL HAND BOOK 



by inserting evergreen boughs thickly among them ; these should 

 be somewhat taller than the plants themselves. Herbaceous 

 perennials may be given a light mulch with hay, straw, leaves 

 or coarse, strawy manure ; but they must not be covered until 

 after the ground is frozen at least two inches deep, and the 

 mulch must not be so thick and heavy as to hold excessive 

 moisture and rot the plants. 



After the ground has been prepared by digging 

 How to to a depth of eight to twelve inches, working in 

 Plant plenty of well-rotted stable manure, and grading 



carefully, individual holes should be dug for the 

 trees, shrubs or plants. These must be large enough to allow 

 the roots to be spread naturally, and deep enough to set the 

 plant somewhat deeper than before transplanting. Perennials 

 should be about an inch, shrubs two or three inches, and trees 

 three or four inches deeper. Good loam, free from lumps and 

 coarse manure, should be worked in among the roots, and care- 

 fully compacted. Individual trees, particularly such as are 

 planted on lawns and avenues, may be benefited by leaving 

 around them a circle of two or three feet, kept open by cultiva- 

 tion, until they become well established. Care must be taken, 

 however, that no basin be left to gather water and allow ice to 

 form about the trunk in winter. 



It is difficult to state a definite rule for the spac- 

 Distances ing of plants, as the distance varies according to the 

 Apart species and the effect desired. In general, it may 



be said that where a dense growth is desired, as in 

 borders and screens, shrubs which attain a height of from six to eight 

 feet should be set from three to three and a half feet apart; those 

 growing from two to four feet high should be set from two and a 

 half to three feet apart. Herbaceous perennials should be spaced 

 about as follows. Plants attaining a height of four to eight inches, 

 and not trailing, eight inches apart; those growing twelve to 

 eighteen inches high, one foot apart; coarse plants, growing two 

 feet high and over, one and a half to two feet apart. These dis- 

 tances, however, are dependent upon the bushiness or spread of 

 the plants; hollyhocks, for instance, which grow more than five 



