278 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



December, 1911 



But by balling and freezing the roots 

 are left intact. Of course, it is nec- 

 essary to cut a few but they are such 

 a small percentage that it merely acts as 

 a root pruning and is beneficial to the 

 tree in most cases. 



The best time to do this is in the depth 

 of winter — say, right after the holidays. 

 For the large maple trees shown in the pic- 

 ture, I took a 6-foot ball (the caliper or 

 trunk measure was about 12 inches), and 

 moved eight of them, did not prune at all, 

 and they are growing splendidly. 



Another advantage of balling a tree 

 is that we often have occasion to move a 

 tree that is in a shrubbery border or close 

 by other shrubs, in which case it is almost 

 impossible to get them out by the entire 

 root system, but they can be moved quit 

 easily by balling. 



When you have cut down the ball to 

 the size you desire, cut under the tree as 

 much as possible, but be very careful not 

 to break the ball. The best way is to 

 dig down the sides and the following day, 

 if it freezes at all that night, cut undei- 





Once on the stone boat a great weight is easily 

 drawn over frozen ground 



neath. The freezing of the sides keeps 

 the ball from breaking when you cut under 

 it. Do not attempt to move the tree 

 until it is thoroughly frozen ; it will become 

 as hard as a stone. If mild weather should 

 follow the freezing spell, cover the ball 

 with litter of some kind to keep it from 

 thawing. If it rains place boards over 

 the ball to keep off the rain. With the 

 glass down to 20 degrees, two nights of 

 freezing will be enough to prepare the ball 

 for moving. 



Have the hole all prepared to receive 

 the tree. Make the hole the same depth 

 as the height of the ball but a great deal 

 wider. After the hole is dug out refill it 

 about two thirds with the poor soil that 

 was taken from the bottom of the hole and 

 we are ready to move. 



To raise the tree from its old place fasten 

 a rope near the top and pull the top gent.y 

 over first in one direction then the other, 

 gradually filling in the hole with son, 

 under the ball as it is tilted over. In about 

 four hitches you can have the tree level 

 with the grade. Now pull it over back- 



Really now. is it not worth while to plant some evergreen trees near your house for winter effect, let alone comfort? 



