PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING- EVEBGREENS. 177 



the sides of the triangle, and laying fast hold on the 

 ball or principal roots of the tree. The operation is 

 then finished by filling up and beating in the earth to 

 the level of the surface. Trees so planted will resist 

 almost any amount of wind, and be free from the un- 

 sightly appliances of stakes, props, ropes, and heaps 

 of stones, often placed round them to maintain their 

 upright position. 



Planting and Transplanting op Eveegeeens. — 

 The distribution of evergreen trees and shrubs is among 

 the most interesting operations in the formation and 

 improvement of pleasure-grounds; in the first, they 

 give at once a clothed appearance to what was bare 

 ground ; and in the second, by their change of posi- 

 tion they effect an almost entire alteration in the scen- 

 ery of the place. Success, however, requires not only 

 careful execution, but also due attention to the proper 

 seasons for the performance of the work. 



In all cases, it is advisable that the ground should 

 be well drained and trenched; and where poor, it 

 should be enriched with fresh soil or manure, or both, 

 especially when the shrubs are young and small. 

 Light sandy soils are greatly improved by moderate 

 additions of clayey loam or peat earth. In transplant- 

 ing shrubs of considerable size, we prefer putting the 

 enriched soil or manure close round the ball, and in 

 contact with the young fibers. In such cases, too, it 

 is useful to prepare the plants, by cutting a trench 

 round them, a year or two previously, as recommended 

 in relation to forest trees. 



In lifting evergreen shrubs for transplantation, as 

 many roots as possible should be preserved. When 

 they are large, or " a little above the size usually 



