PLANTING. 



21 



8 



PLANTING. 



the soil should he good and moist, 

 and the climate also moist, the tree 

 will, in time, become vigorous, and pro- 

 duce shoots, Where the climate is 

 moist, and the soil good, and also 

 moist, any tree may he transplanted 

 without pruning the branches ; be- 

 cause the fibres it will produce in 

 such a soil and climate will be suffi- 

 cient to supply the moisture trans- 

 pired by the leaves. But where the 

 climate is dry and the soil also dry, 

 no large tree can be safely transplanted 

 with all its branches; because the 

 transpiration by the leaves will be 

 much greater than the moisture which 

 can possibly be absorbed by the roots. 

 Hence, in the dry climate of the Con- 

 tinent, all trees with stems above an 

 inch or two in diameter have their 

 branches entirely cut off, always ex- 

 cepting the Beech and Hornbeam, the 

 Yew, and all the Pine and Fir, and 

 Cypress tribes. Even in this country, 

 in Evelyn's time, this was the prac- 

 tice ; and the late Sir Joseph Banks, 

 when he planted groups of trees with 

 stems five inches or six inches in 

 diameter on a portion of Hounslow 

 Heath, which was allotted to his resi- 

 dence there, planted only stumps ten 

 feet or twelve feet high, which stumps 

 are now finely-headed trees, conspi- 

 cuous from the road in passing Spring 

 Grove. Much has of late been 

 written on the subject of transplant- 

 ing large trees by Sir Henry Steuart 

 and others ; and the practice has been 

 recommended of leaving on the whole 

 of the head. Experience, however, 

 has proved that this can only be done 

 with advantage under certain circum- 

 stances. 



Planting in pots, when the plants 

 are of the very smallest size, may be 

 effected by a small dibber, as in plant- 

 ing in the common soil ; but it is more 

 frequently done on the principle of 

 planting in pits ; that is, the pot being 

 properly drained by a few potsherds 



being placed over the hole in the 

 bottom of the pot, and an inch or 

 two of soil placed over them accord- 

 ing to the size of the pot, the young 

 seedling or newly-struck cutting is 

 held with one hand, and soil sprinkled 

 over the roots by a trowel with the 

 other. When the pot is filled, the 

 soil is consolidated by lifting the pot 

 with both hands a few inches high, 

 and setting down once or twice with 

 a slight jar; afterwards supplying 

 water so as to moisten the whole of 

 the soil in the pot. The thumb, or a 

 potting-stick, should previously be 

 passed round the inner edge of the 

 pot so as to firm the soil round the 

 rim ; otherwise the water is liable to 

 run down round the edge of the pot, with- 

 out moistening the soil in the middle. 

 Immediately after planting, the pot 

 should be set in a position where it 

 can be shaded during sunshine ; but 

 on no account should tender plants be 

 shaded during cloudy weather, or 

 covered with an opaque covering 

 during night, unless for the purpose 

 of protecting them from cold. Of 

 course the after treatment of every 

 plant in a pot must depend on its 

 nature ; all that it is necessary at 

 present to treat of is the manner of 

 planting. 



Transplanting plants which have 

 already been grown in pots is either 

 effected by removing the ball or mass 

 of earth containing the roots entire, 

 or by gently breaking the ball in 

 pieces and stretching the roots out on 

 every side. When the ball is not 

 broken, the operation is called shift- 

 ing. Plants are often reared in pots 

 on account of their tender nature 

 when young, or for the convenience 

 of transporting them to a distance, 

 though they are intended ultimately 

 to be planted in the open ground. In 

 almost all cases of this kind, the ball 

 should be broken, and the pit having 

 been prepared with the greatest care, 



