1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



605 



TRANSPIi ANTING TREES IN THE 

 FALL. 



ARious opinions are still 

 held by different persons 

 ■©-^TT^Tif [^ as to the time of year in 



which it is best to transplant trees. 

 t|-»^ Some, having large experience too, 

 "^ insist that Autumn is the most fa- 

 vorable time, and others, possess- 

 ing equal skill, perhaps, hold to the 

 time-honored custom of transplanting in the 

 spring. 



The observance of a common practice may 

 indicate what the popular opinion is, but does 

 not prove that the practice is a correct one. 

 If a decided opinion is stated why one season 

 of the year is better than another for doing a 

 certain thing, then it would seem that some 

 sound and plain reason should be civen to sus- 

 tain that opinion. 



We have found it convenient to transplant 

 fruit afnd forest trees at various seasons of the 

 year. Quite often in April and May the work 

 has been necessary. In one instance, an ap- 

 ple tree was to be removed because in the way, 

 but it was in full leaf. In another the apple 

 tree was about 10 inches in circumference, had 

 a large, vigorous top, and was in leaf and 

 blossom. Both trees were removed, however, 

 and grew finely ; the one removed when in 

 blossom produced a fair crop of fruit the 

 third year from the time of removing it. 



When we came to the place where we now 

 reside, there were no trees upon it, either for 

 fruit or shade, with the exception of a dozen 

 or two of old apple trees, which were fit neither 

 for the one nor the other. The house stood 

 exposed to the fierce summer suns and winter 

 winds. To plant young trees to shade the 

 bouse was a process which we could scarcely 

 think of waiting for, and in order to secure 

 the blessing at an earlier day, we selected two 

 elms, one about 8 inches in diameter, the other 

 about 5, each having large and beautiful tops. 

 In November these were dug about and un- 

 derneath, with the greatest care. When a 

 leading root was found, it was followed, tak- 

 ing away the earth with small picks, improvis- 

 ed for the purpose. The roots laid bare were 

 immediately coiled up and covered with old 

 woollen clothing or horse blankets. In this 

 way every root was detached from the sur- 

 rounding soil, until the whole remained free 



and clear. The tree then stood in its origi- 

 nal condition, with a ball of earth about its 

 roots six feet in diameter, two feet thick, and 

 estimated to weigh, with the tree, about four 

 tons. The ball rested on pieces of timber, on 

 every side. 



In this condition the ball froze about as hard 

 as a rock, and was removed in January to the 

 hole prepared for it and set when the ther- 

 mometer stood at nine degrees below zero ! 



In digging about the tree provision had been 

 made for sliding a stout ox-sled under the 

 ball, by canting the tree over with pullies . 

 When this was done, six pairs of oxen found 

 it as much as they could well do to haul the 

 load one-fourth of a mile into place. The 

 team passed through the hole, pausing when 

 the tree was over its centre, which was forctd 

 from the sled by long and stout levers upon 

 a bed of rich garden soil which had been 

 stored in the barn cellar for the purpose. 

 This tree was set in January, 1848. It was 

 then about eight inches in diameter, and is now 

 about twenty-four inches, with a broad and 

 beautiful top. 



If we transplant apple trees, we expect 

 every tree to live, be the number large or 

 small ; and our expectations have rarely been 

 disappointed, though we have set about as 

 many in the fall as in the spring. The time of 

 transplanting has been a matter of convenience 

 rather than as selecting it as the best time for 

 the trees. 



Our decided opinion is, that all things con- 

 sidered, the fall is the best time to trausplant 

 deciduous trees, doing it immediately after the 

 leaves have fallen. Why ? 



1. For this important reason: trees are 

 fed — what they extract from the soil — by the 

 small spongioles, or fibres, that spring from the 

 larger roots. In removing a tree, it is next to 

 impossible not to injure many of these delicate 

 fibres ; and as these are injured, so is power 

 lost to continue growth. Therefore, the more 

 time the tree can have to sisbstitute new fibres 

 for those which have been destroyed, the more 

 certainty there will be that the tree will live. 



If it is set in the spring the period soon 

 arrives . when leaves and blossoms are put 

 forth, and the tree requires much moisture 

 which cannot be supplied, because its feeders 

 have been taken away, and there has not been 

 time to supply new ones. 



