50 TREATISE ON 



the trees are not planted until long after they arrive, a trench must be dug eighteen to 

 twenty-four inches wide by about a foot deep. Set the trees in it separately, one next to 

 the other. Fill it and cover the roots with earth, as though they were being planted 

 permanently. They'll be secure that way, & planting can be put off until March. 



Nota. If the trees have to be planted shortly after they arrive, it's preferable to 

 leave them outside & to cover them with litter to protect them against heat & frost, rather 

 than to put them inside a building. Tree roots must be put in water only when they can be 

 planted right after they've soaked for the required time. If severe frost interferes with 

 keeping in the ground those trees that can't be planted until long after they arrive, they 

 can be put in compost of old manure. 



In spite of the care taken in the choice, supervision, & planting of trees, some 

 often will die during the first few years from mishaps, from unknown causes, from some 

 unnoticed defect, and the greatest number from drought. I know of no remedies for 

 unknown ills, but precautions can be taken against drought. 1°. It's very useful to fasten a 

 batten or a lath of slate to the trunks of standard or half-standard trees, whether in the 

 open or espaliered, to protect them against the effects of the sun, or to wrap them in long 

 straw from the base of the tree up to the beginning of the branches. In warm, sandy, or 

 dry ground, & in heavy and clayey soil that's subject to cracking & splitting, it's 

 necessary during the quite common dry spells of spring & summer to pour two or three 

 pailfuls of water at the foot of each tree every eight or ten days. Hoe the wet soil a few 

 hours later & cover it with straw litter or with ferns. 



