APPENDIX C 



HOW TO PLANT A TREE* 



I . Dig the hole wider and deeper than the tree re- 

 quires. If the tree just fits into the socket the tips of 

 the roots will meet a hard wall which they are too 

 delicate to penetrate, hold fast to, or feed in. 



\\. Be sure that the surface soil is hoarded at one side 

 when the hole is dug. This soil is mellow and full of 

 plant food. The under soil is harder and more barren. 

 Some rich garden soil can well be brought over and 

 used instead of the subsoil. 



III. Take up as large a root system as possible with 

 the tree you dig. The smaller the ball of earth, the 

 greater the loss of feeding roots and the danger of 

 starvation to the tree. 



IV. Trim all torn and broken roots with a sharp knife. 

 A ragged wound below or above the ground is slow and 

 uncertain in healing. A clean, slanting cut heals 

 soonest and surest. 



V. Set the tree on a bed of mellow soil with all its 

 roots spread naturally. 



VI. Let the level be the same as before. The tree's 



roots must be planted, but not buried too deep to 



breathe. A stick laid across the hole at the ground 



level will indicate where the tree "collar" should be. 



VII. Sift rich earth, free from clods, among the 



* Rogers, Julia E.: The Tree Book. By permission of Doubleday, 

 Page and Company. 



336 



