TRANSPLANTING. 95 



this late time more care must be taken in doing the work than 

 when it is done earlier. Evergreens can sometimes be moved 

 successfully in August, or even in the autumn, if they are to be 

 carried only a short distance and the conditions. of the weather 

 and land are favorable; but this is not a time for general plant- 

 ing, and it is seldom advisable to do it at this season. 



The Very General Error is Current that June is the best 

 time to plant out evergreens. They may be transplanted at this 

 season successfully if the conditions are just right in every par- 

 ticular, but they are much more liable to failure than when the 

 work is done earlier in the season. At whatever time of the 

 year evergreens are to be moved, the work* should be done in 

 such a manner as to protect the roots from having even the 

 appearance of being dry, for if dried ever so little the probabili- 

 ties of their living are much lessened. The kind of treatment 

 that would be considered all right for apple trees might be fatal 

 to evergreens, as they are much more susceptible to injury from 

 drying. 



In addition to the above precautions to be taken when mov- 

 ing evergreens, it is desirable to shorten back the limbs about 

 one-third, to compensate for the loss of roots. Of course this 

 shortening should not be done in such a way as to disfigure the 

 tree, but, when the roots are in any way severely mutilated, the 

 whole top makes more of a draft on them for moisture than the 

 roots can supply. This pruning is not so necessary in the case 

 of young seedling evergreens or nursery-grown trees that have 

 been recently transplanted, for when they are moved their root 

 systems are not seriously injured. 



Very Small Evergreens and Other Small Plants are 

 often set in trenches made with a spade, as shown in figure 16. 

 For this method the soil must be loose, and yet sufficiently com- 

 pact so that it can be cut with a spade and not crumble before 

 the plants can be set out. The beds are made about six feet 

 wide, and a board of this length and six inches wide should be 

 used. The soil is thrown out with a spade (A) to the depth of 

 about six inches, but no wider than necessary to just take in the 

 roots. The plants are then placed in position by hand, and a 

 little soil pushed against them to hold them in place. (B) The 

 trench is then half filled and the soil firmly compacted by -the feet. 

 The remainder of the soil is then put in and leveled off, the 



