226 AMEEICAX POMOLOGY, 



adopted the plan of inclining all their trees to the south- 

 west at the time of planting, expecting thus to overcome 

 the difficulty so commonly observed everywhere witli tall 

 trees^— their leaning to the northeast, and then becoming 

 scorched and injured by the frost and sun, and damaged 

 by the borers. 



The season for planting is a question of some impor- 

 tance, and must be settled by the attendant circumstances. 

 Fall planting has many advocates and many advantages, 

 but the fewest practice it. In the far north, with a long, 

 trying winter approaching, it can not be recommended ; 

 but, as the spring advances, there is a great press of work ; 

 everything is to be done at once, and all is hurry ; hence, 

 for the milder latitudes, with our charming autumnal 

 weather, comparative leisure, and the soil in good condi- 

 tion, everything invites us to plant in the autumn, and 

 with those south of latitude forty degrees, the planting 

 season will often continue until mid-winter. If we com- 

 mence this work before the fall of the leaves, care should be 

 taken to strip these appendages from the trees in the nur- 

 sery, before digging them. Instead of leaving the soil 

 about the tree at or a little above the general level, it 

 should be heaped up in a little mound, which will shed cff 

 the rains, support the stem, and, to some extent, protect 

 the roots from frost. ~This last suggestion is a matter of 

 much importance, for one of the great advantages of au- 

 tumnal planting, depends upon the fact that, except in the 

 most severe weather, the tree is not dormant — the hyber- 

 nation is not complete ; in mild weather there is some ac- 

 tion in the buds and branches, and considerable activity 

 exists in the roots ; new fibres are emitted, and, with the 



