CARING FOR TREES ON ARRIVAL 



189 



heeled in at once, preferably on the north side of a building, 

 or on a slope away from the sun to retard development of the 

 buds (Fig. 67) . Plow out a deep furrow or trench, separate 

 the trees, which come in bundles of ten, and place them in a 

 sloping position against the furrow side of the trench, plow 

 a furrow back over the roots, finishing with a shovel to insure 

 exclusion of air from the base of each tree. Another row of 

 trees may now be placed in the second furrow and so on. 



(Missouri Exp. Station) 



Fig. 67. One-year apple trees heeled in. If they are to be left for an 

 extended period, the bundles should be opened and the trees distributed 

 more evenly along the trench. 



The roots may be pruned before heeling the trees, avoiding 

 the necessity of taking time to do this at planting. Torn and 

 broken ends and long straggling roots may be clipped off. 

 Root fibers which are so abundant as to prevent thorough 

 packing of the soil about the roots may be thinned out. There 

 is evidence, however, that very little root pruning should be 

 done. That which seems necessary may be done very rapidly 

 with a pair of hand pruners. 



