TREE PLANTING NEEDED IN TEXAS. 25 



merit in which the factors affecting growth are usually unfavorable, par- 

 ticularly during the early life of the trees. Shade trees should, there- 

 fore, be watered frequently^ Street trees, in particular, suffer from 

 lack of moisture because the surrounding surface is usually paved and 

 the water falling on such a surface may not reach the soil at all. Even 

 should an opening be left around the base of the tree constant trampling 

 will so compact the soil as to render it impervious to moisture. 



It is important to remember that a tree needs water not directly 

 around the base but farther out where the feeding roots are located. 

 Lawn trees should be watered at a distance from the base equal to the 

 spread of the crown as most of the feeding roots are located under the 

 "drip" of the branches. Since a street tree cannot be watered so far 

 cut from the trunk, one should loosen the soil around the base, make 

 a circular trench or a number of small pits in this loose soil as far out 

 as possible and slowly pour as much water into the depressions as the 

 soil will take up. At all times the top soil should be loose to act as a 

 mulch. Sometimes single tile pipes are set on end in the ground, or 

 sub-irrigation systems are installed when the trees are planted, to facili- 

 tate watering. Mere water is necessary directly after the planting and 

 during the several seasons immediately following while the young trees 

 are becoming established. In general, a young tree requires twenty 

 to twenty-five gallons at each watering; older trees require more. Fewer 

 waterings are necessary if the soil around the base of the tree is kept 

 free from grass and weeds and carefully cultivated. 



In the windbreak or woodlot plantation it is not practicable to water 

 individual trees. For this reason the plantation should be well cul- 

 tivated directly after the planting and at frequent subsequent intervals. 

 Cultivation makes the soil porous and capable of quickly absorbing 

 moisture and checking evaporation. Hard, baked soils not only dry 

 out quickly but often injure small trees by cutting the bark when the 

 trunks move against the surrounding collar of soil. Cultivation should 

 not be continued too late in the fall as there is danger of forcing new 

 Growth which an earlv frost will kill back. 



As a tree grows older the roots and branches tend to maintain an 

 equal balance. It often happens, however, that the root systems of 

 shade trees are diminished by reason of excavations or the crowns be- 

 come too large for the space that the trees may occupy and pruning 

 becomes nece^sarv. Severe pruning should be done in the winter or 

 late fall when the trees are dormant. The crowns can be kept sym- 

 metrical and there is less danger of pruning too heavily if the cutting 

 starts at the top and proceeds downward. Do not remove all the side 

 branches at one time as this not only weakens the tree by depriving it 

 of too much of the leaf surface, but there i? the added danger of 

 girdling the tree, particularly a small one. The side branches should 

 be cut directly above strong, healthy buds. In removing limbs make 

 all cuts parallel with and as close to the main stem as possible. The 

 exposed surfaces of the wood should be covered with an antiseptic, water- 

 proof dressing to prevent the entrance of insects and fungi. An appli- 

 cation of creosote, followed by a coat of coal-tar, is an excellent dress- 



