Transplanting Trees 



First-class trees cost a little more than second-class, but are 

 cheaper in the end. 



Nursery trees are delivered for fall or spring planting. If 

 in fall, they should come early enough for the roots to become 

 established in the ground before winter. For spring planting 

 they should arrive early enough to be planted and have the ad- 

 vantages of early sunshine and shower in getting a good start 

 during this first year in their permanent places. 



Nurserymen ship trees in boxes or bundles, tied securely, 

 their roots wrapped in damp straw or other protective covering. 

 It is too expensive to ship much dirt. Trees often arrive before 

 it is fit weather to plant them. The care of them during this 

 interval is important. They should be "puddled" and "heeled 

 in." Before the boxes are unpacked, and the bundles loosened 

 by cutting their cords, a trench is dug with a sloping side away 

 from prevailing winds. A pot hole is dug and a thin batter of 

 mud prepared in it. Into this puddle the trees are dipped, a few 

 at a time, and stirred about until every root has a mud coating. 

 Now they are laid in the trench, their tops away from the wind, 

 and a cover of earth shovelled over the roots. In this trench they 

 are safe and comfortable until planting time comes. 



Below are some rules for tree planting. They apply to all 

 trees, and involve considerable more painstaking than some trees 

 demand. But it is doubtful whether the man who expects the 

 best results will dare to take less time and trouble than is here 

 advised. After all, it is almost as easy to plant a tree right as to 

 plant it wrong. If it is worth while to iirvest in a tree at all it is 

 worth while to plant it well, inasmuch as tree planting is a job 

 which if done well need not be done over for a century or two. 



HOW TO PLANT A TREE 



I. Dig the hole wider and deeper than the tree requires. The 

 root tips are the feeders, and they cover the periphery of the' 

 root system. They will reach out during the growing season, 

 forming a new set of feeding roots. They should find only 

 mellow, rich soil in all directions. If the tree just fits into the 

 socket, its roots will meet a hard wall which the delicate tips 

 cannot penetrate and hold fast to, nor feed in. The first year is 

 the critical one. 



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