PLANTING. 



379 



chains are termed 'sling-chains, and are placed 

 on the beams of the carriage. When the tree is 

 raised at one end, the two sling-chains are 

 hooked into each other under the poles, then 

 the four smaller or corner chains are placed on 

 the beams the same as the sling-chains. The end 

 of the poles being raised, the corner chain is 

 then fastened round the ends of planks which 

 form the platform under the ball ; the poles at 

 the other end must now be raised, and the sling 

 and corner chain fastened as at the other end. 

 Two screw-jacks have been tried, one at each 

 end, which, at first sight, might appear to expe- 

 dite the operation, but this," Mr Barron thinks, 

 " is not the case, as it is necessary for the corner 

 chains to be fast at one end whilst being raised, in 

 order to keep the tree in an upright position. In 

 the majority of cases, (except where the tree is 

 very tall, or top-heavy, or the ground uneven 

 over which the carriage has to pass), it will be 

 found that the weight of the immense mass of 

 earth, when properly balanced in loading, and 

 the corner chains all properly fastened, will be 

 sufficient ballast for maintaining the tree in an 

 upright position, and that the guide-ropes are 

 seldom used except when the tree is loading or 

 unloading." The carriage with its load is drawn 

 over the spot where the tree is intended to be 

 placed, the hind and fore parts of the machine are 

 separated, the tree let down by the same means by 

 which it was elevated, and withdrawn from both 

 sides ; the operation of covering up the roots 

 after they have been regularly spread out is pro- 

 ceeded with, and the whole routine completed. 

 The platform and mode of introducing it under 

 the roots, as well as Mr Barron's mode of pre- 

 paring the ball and preserving the roots, will be 

 best understood by an extract from his recently 

 published " British Winter Garden," p. 31. "A 

 tree being about to be lifted, say from 40 to 50 

 feet high, the diameter of the branches being of 

 the same dimensions ; the groundwork opera- 

 tions would commence on the outside of a circle 

 of from 20 to 25 feet in diameter, more or less, 

 judging from the kind of tree how far the roots 

 would extend horizontally. The soil would be 

 then cleared from the roots, carefully preserving 

 every fibre as far as practicable, up to within a 

 given space of the stem, where the remaining 

 mass of earth and roots must be left undis- 



PREPARATION OK ROOTS FOR TRANSPLANTING. 



turbed, as shown in fig. 140, forming a parallelo- 

 gram, say 9 feet 6 inches by 8 feet. A chan- 

 nel is then excavated about 2 feet square, in 

 the direction of the line a b ; this being done, 

 two strong poles (of ash, oak, or Spanish chest- 

 nut) of equal thickness are then passed under 

 the centre of the tree, and on them a strong 

 3-inch ash or oak plank, 20 or 22 inches 

 wide, hooped at the ends to prevent it from 

 splitting. A strong chain is then laid under 

 the poles at each end, by which the mass is 

 raised by a screw-jack. The ball is slightly 

 hollowed out below all round, to admit of 

 bevelled-edged planks being placed under it, 

 the two end ones resting on the centre broad 

 plank, and the two side planks resting on the 

 ends of the two end ones. Some litter must 

 then be stuffed firmly in, between the planks 

 and the soil, with a spade, by which means every 

 part will stand to its bearing when raised up." 

 The cut will show the care Mr Barron be- 

 stows on the preservation of the roots ; and in 

 this he is right. His mode of lifting is also fa- 

 vourable to this, as there is no pressure upon 

 them, the whole mass being placed on a plat- 

 form under the ball, where there are few roots, 

 and even these in most cases of no great import- 

 ance. There are difficulties, however, to con- 

 tend with even in this excellent mode of taking 

 up large trees, the chief of which is getting the 

 platform placed under the ball, as well as in its 

 removal after the tree is set in its place ; and we 

 suspect that in such hands as Mr Barron's the 

 operation would be more completely accom- 

 plished without any ball whatever, as it is quite 

 evident that there is scarcely a useful food-col- 

 lecting fibre within the compass of the ball here 

 exhibited, and this the more so the older and 

 larger the tree is. In our opinion the ball here 

 preserved is of more importance in supporting, 

 or rather in preventing the main roots from 

 being broken entirely off, in consequence of 

 their great length, during the operation of re- 

 moval, than in containing within it a single root 

 capable of supplying the tree with food, and 

 that the tree must remain in a state of perfect 

 inactivity until the formation of fresh spongi- 

 olets at the points of the fibres preserved, or 

 depending for the time entirely on those which 

 may have escaped injury during the opera- 

 tion. For there is no 

 doubt that those that 

 have been preserved 

 will speedily become 

 most active in providing 

 a supply to the tree as 

 soon as they are again 

 imbedded in their na- 

 tural element. 



Mr Barron's smaller 

 ^ tree-lifting machine. — 

 The machine we have 

 described above, as will 

 readily be understood, 

 is for the removal of 

 trees of a very large size. 

 The one we are about to 

 notice is for transport- 

 ing trees and shrubs of 



