58 NUT GROWING 



4. TRANSPLANTING 



The transplanting of nut trees requires more par- 

 ticular attention than does the transplantation of 

 soft wood fruit trees. In preparation for trans- 

 planting I personally prefer to cut back the top and 

 root pretty severely. The reason for that is that 

 the young tree when first starting into growth must 

 get its nourishment largely from the stored-up food 

 in the cambium layer of the bark. It begins to work 

 at first upon a diet of little more than plain water 

 from the soil. Later the feeding by way of roots 

 upon nutritious material in the soil must be con- 

 ducted through root hairs. These dainty silvery root 

 hairs are very quickly dried as a result of a few 

 minutes' exposure of the root to the sunlight or 

 wind. Roots of a transplanted tree will take up 

 water before new feeding roots have developed, but 

 actual progressive growth must await the develop- 

 bent of a brand-new set of tiny silvery root hairs. 

 The Stringfellow method consisted in cutting. back 

 top and root until nothing but a "turnip of a tree" 

 was left, and this was set in a hole made by a crow- 

 bar just large enough to insert the "turnip." I 

 tried out this cruel method and it was successful. 

 It is like planting a great seed half underground 

 and half out. I find myself with conflicting emo- 

 tions in the matter. The idea of trimming away a 

 beautiful root system and throwing it into the bon- 

 fire and then trimming back a fine thrifty growth 

 of grafted top down to one or two buds shocks my 



