PROPAGATION. 123 



contains the needful elements for the growth of trees, and 

 at the same time has a composition that will freely permit 

 the passage of water through it, and be easily worked by 

 the cultivator. Heavy soils, abounding in clay, are strong ; 

 but they are more retentive of water, they require more 

 labor to keep them in a friable condition, and they are 

 sometimes objectionable on account of the character of the 

 roots produced in them. These are less abundantly fur- 

 nished with fibres, as a general rule, when the tree has 

 been grown in a stiff clay, than when it has been produced 

 in a lighter and more porous soil. Mucky soils are too 

 light, and should not be used for permanent nurseries, 

 though valuable for seedlings, cuttings, and newly trans- 

 planted forest evergreens for a short period ; unless the 

 muck be underlaid by clay, and that it is near enough to 

 the surface to be reached in the preparation of the soil, 

 and to become mixed with its staple in cultivating it. 

 Trees, for the orchard, should never be grown upon a 

 mucky or peaty soil. 



The different character of the roots formed by trees grow- 

 ing in particular soils, should not be overlooked by the prop- 

 agator, since much of his reputation as a nurseryman, and 

 the success attendant upon the labors of his customers, 

 will depend upon the healthy development of these impor- 

 tant organs, which have been called the mouths of plants. 

 As elsewhere observed, peaty and mucky soils do not pro- 

 duce roots of a character well adapted to transplanting 

 into upland soil. Very stiff clays furnish trees with long 

 straggling roots that have feeble and scattered fibres; 

 such roots do not present themselves in a good condition, 

 nor are they easily separated from the soil, the tenacity 



