PLANTING AND CARE OF TREES 31 



PART I. 



PLANTING AND CARE OF TREES. 



CHAPTEE I 

 STEUCTUEE, LIFE AND GEOWTH OF A TEEE. 



Before discussing the planting and care of trees, it is well to con- 

 sider briefly the structure, life and growth of the individual tree 

 itself. For a fuller treatment of the subject the reader may be re- 

 ferred to the current text books on botany and forestry. 



A tree is a living thing and as such has the same great problems 

 to meet that face all living organisms — plants as well as animals. 

 It must have food in order to live and grow and it must provide for 

 a continuation of its kind. Animals are able to move about in 

 search for their food which they obtain ready made from other 

 animals or from plants. The tree, however, like other green 

 plants is deprived not only of the power of locomotion but also of 

 the power of using food made by other organisms. It has, there- 

 fore, to manufacture its own food. This it does by combining 

 food constituents from the soil with that from the air and is 

 therefore a manufacturer as well as a consumer of its own products. 

 In Chapter I, we shall consider the different organs of the tree in 

 relation to the manufacture of plant food, to growth and to pro- 

 duction. 



The Parts of a Tree — There are three main parts to a tree 

 — roots, leaves and stem. The roots obtain water with dissolved 

 mineral water from the soil and anchor the tree in place. 

 The leaves have a double function. They gather carbonic acid 

 gas from the air and they combine this gaseous food constituent 

 from the air with the food constituents from the soil in the manu- 

 facture of plant food. The stem connects the roots with the leaves 

 and raises the latter to a position favorable for carrying on their 

 work. The three main parts of a tree may now be considered 

 more in detail. The diagram in figure 15 may serve to make the 

 explanations clearer. 



