November, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



321 



A Powerful Machine for Moving Rocks and Large Trees 



form by cross bars, by which the whole tree can be lifted from 

 its bed. The hoisting apparatus is then adjusted to the 

 trunk, and two men lift the tree out of the ground by screw 

 power, raising it to its position in the transporter. The men 

 have complete control of the machine at all times. After 

 the tree has been removed from its old abiding place, it is 

 laid back on the cushion of the skeleton wagon which is to 

 convey it to its new location, and it is thus transported through 

 the streets of the city. The angle is so chosen that the 

 branches pass under telegraph and telephone wires, and other 

 overhead obstructions. Incidentally it may be noted that the 

 tree rests so lightly upon the cushion that there is no strain 

 whatever on the trunk. Upon arriving at its destination, the 

 tree is slowly lowered into the hole which has been prepared 

 for it, and after the transporter has been removed the earth 

 is filled and tamped about the basket. When all is secure 

 the shovels are withdrawn, leaving the tree fully embedded, 

 without a loss of any of its 



original surrounding earth, r , 



and taking its fibers or hard 

 roots. It is possible eventu- 

 ally to plant the tree exactly 

 in the same position in 

 which it originally stood. 

 Two men can handle a tree 

 ranging from thirty to forty 

 feet in height without diffi- 

 culty. Maples, elms and 

 other shade species having 

 trunks ranging from five to 

 seven inches in diameter 

 have been transported by 

 this process, and although 

 the operation was per- 

 formed during the summer 

 they are apparently in as 

 good condition in their new 

 abodes as before they were 

 moved. 



The phenomenal changes 

 in the appearance of Pasa- 

 dena, California, are trace- 

 able in many instances to 

 the work of the tree mover, 

 illustrated in the accom- 

 panying photograph. It is 

 possible to purchase a 

 vacant lot, erect a house, 



and in a few days surround it with palms and other 

 trees, which give the place the appearance of hav- 

 ing been under cultivation many years. This is 

 due to the ease with which experts move the largest 

 trees in Pasadena. A would-be resident builds a 

 house, then purchases large trees from the outlying 

 country, and presto ! the place at once assumes the 

 appearance of long growth and mature age. The 

 owner of a Pasadena winter residence purchased 

 an attractive house of the mission style of archi- 

 tecture on Orange Grove Avenue, Pasadena. 

 There were no large trees on the place, so it was 

 decided to move two large palms which were avail- 

 able. The largest had been planted in 1880 — a 

 magnificent specimen of date palm (Phoenix dac- 

 tilifera) which stood about thirty feet high, with a 

 spread of nearly thirty-five feet. The plan was to 

 move the tree from St. John's Avenue to Orange 

 Grove Avenue, a distance of several blocks, and a 

 local florist not only took the contract, but guar- 

 anteed that the palm would show no effects of the 

 shock, lose none of its leaves — in a word, suffer in 

 no way except possibly a retarding of its growth for several 

 months. That the guarantee could be made was evident 

 from the fact that the florist had moved thirteen large palms 

 before this winter without injuring them. The work re- 

 quired about five days and the labor of five men and four 

 horses most of the time, and was successfully accomplished 

 at a price less than fifty dollars per tree. 



A square trench was first made about the tree to a depth 

 of about six feet, when it was found that the roots grew out 

 in a lateral direction. The object was to leave a large " ball " 

 about the palm, which in this case was a square block about 

 five feet on a side and six feet high. This accomplished, 

 and the sides cut perfectly even, the four sides of a heavy 

 box were fitted against it, and, by iron rods and screws, 

 clamped into shape, so that the root was in a compact square 

 shape and boxed, weighing about seven or eight tons. The 

 tree was now lifted by the aid of four jackscrews, the numer- 



Arrival of the Seven-Ton Date Palm, Showing Box and Method of Suspension 



