36 SCIENCE AND FRUIT GROWING 



measure the effect of neglecting to spread the roots out in the 

 usual way ; but this excessive treatment in the opposite direction 

 had no effect whatever on the growth of the trees as measured by 

 their increase in weight after two years, though the length of 

 new wood formed by them during the first season was deficient. 



Thus, in every instance, those forms of root-injury which are 

 involved in the rough planting of trees, are either without effect, . 

 or have even a slightly beneficial effect, and would not result 

 in detriment to the tree unless carried to a much greater extent 

 than they are in such planting. That limited injury to a plant 

 should be inoperative, or ultimately beneficial, can scarcely be 

 a matter of surprise, seeing that nearly all cultural operations 

 consist of such injury, from the rough root-pruning of trees in 

 the nursery, to all the varied processes of pruning and disbudding 

 practised on trees in after life. 



Whilst root-injury to the tree in rough planting results in 

 no damage, it fails, however, to account for the great benefit 

 generally attendant on such planting, and leaves this benefit to 

 be accounted for solely by the ramming of the soil. How can 

 this be explained? 



Light was first thrown on the question by a series of experi- 

 ments in which improper planting of a different character was 

 investigated; namely, planting at an abnormally deep level. 

 But, before dealing with these results, it is necessary to point out 

 that the deep planting of fruit trees has never been advocated, 

 or even investigated at the Fruit Farm; the experiments in 

 question were made on fruit stocks only, and solely with the 

 object of examining the correctness of certain observations 

 which had been made by a well-known grower observations 

 which these experiments proved to be correct, though not 

 attributable to the cause assigned by him. 



Fig. 5 shows a set of paradise stocks before planting ; they 

 were planted at 6 inches below the surface of the ground, which is 

 represented by the horizontal line on the photograph. Another 

 photograph of the same stocks was taken when they were 

 lifted two years later, and is reproduced in the lower part of the 

 figure. Fig. 6 shows a similar set of stocks which were planted 

 24 inches below the surface : the difference between them and 

 less deeply planted sets is remarkable. In the shallow-planted 

 stocks the original roots have developed, but only to a moderate 

 extent, whereas in the deep-planted ones they have not developed 

 at all, and in some cases have evidently dwindled, and were dying ; 



