44 TREATISE ON 



The top of the tree likewise must be trimmed. If care has been taken to pinch off 

 shoots from the graft, it will be have a number of the right branches to guarantee that the 

 tree has the proper shape. For trees in the open & for bushes, two, three, or four of the 

 strongest & best located ones are saved and are pruned back to the third bud. For espalier, 

 counter-espalier, or fan-trained trees, one or two on each side of the tree parallel to the 

 espalier wall, or in a suitable direction, are saved for pruning back to three buds in mid- 

 February. The all-too-common practice of many gardeners, based on their ridiculous rule. 

 is to disfigure the top & the roots of a tree when planting it. They destroy just what they 

 desire on a tree, the fine top & good roots; they'll only reject it in the end because those 

 are what are missing. 



A planter sets the tree in the hole; with one hand he firmly supports it in the 

 position & at the depth where it ought to stay, & with the other he arranges the roots & 

 supplies them with loose soil tossed there by another gardener. He agitates the tree 

 vertically a little so that it settles uniformly & no empty space remains. When the roots 

 have been well supplied with earth & covered up, he tamps down the earth with his foot, 

 gently stepping on it all around the tree, assuming that the soil is not so moist that it gets 

 pressed together. The hole is filled completely, & the ground is tidied up to his 

 satisfaction. It's even better to tamp down the soil with water than by foot, i.e. using a 

 watering can with a pump, to sprinkle one or two pails of water on the roots that have 

 been supplied and covered with friable soil. The hole is not completely filled until the 

 following day or a few days thereafter, so that the weight of earth tossed on top of the wet 

 soil doesn't turn it to mortar. 



When the tree is set in the hole, several things deserve attention. If it's an espalier 

 tree, 1°. it must be planted six or seven inches from the wall, & the trunk inclined slightly 

 toward the wall. 2°. Avoid pointing the main roots in the direction of the wall; 



