6 
Isaac Hicks & Son, Westbury, N. Y— Moving Large Trees 
trees up to 30 feet high and 20 feet spread of top. Such trees can also be delivered by truck to northern 
New Jersey and Westchester county. A group of such trees will often give more shade or screen than a 
single larger tree, and do it at less expense. 
If you wish us to look up trees for moving into your place, we can do this and make a report with 
photographs of trees available. The distance from which trees can be moved in is much greater than 
people imagine. They often think the supply is limited to two or three miles, when better trees, at slightly 
greater expense, can be procured at ten or twenty miles. 
If you have a certain tree you wish moved, or wish to sell us, send the species, circumference at 3 feet, 
the spread of branches and approximate height; soil, if loamy, sandy, clayey or rocky; distance to be moved; 
obstructions, as wires, sidewalks and banks. We can then give a preliminary report and decide whether a 
personal visit is advisable. We have seen so many mistakes made in selection of trees to be moved that 
we must decline to omit this visit of inspection on the score of economy. 
We do the work by contract or by day's work, with or without guarantee, as may be arranged. It is 
often practical to employ some local labor and teams in preparing the hole, etc. The operation of moving 
a large tree is a surgical one, and consists of dissecting out the fine feeding roots and re-arranging enough 
of them to support the tree. The ways and means of doing this require skill and training and the ability 
and machinery to cope with various conditions which may arise. No one machine or method suffices. 
We have a large number of different sizes and types of machines and apparatus, and our men are trained 
in the methods which must be used to safely handle various species and sizes of trees and to overcome 
the difficulties of transporting and moving them. It is not practical to say just how large a tree can be 
moved; it depends on the obstructions on the road more than any other factor. We frequently move trees 
up to 24 inches in diameter, 60 feet high and 40 feet spread. 
The operation of moving a large deciduous tree consists, first, of dissecting out the fine feeding roots 
over a circle approximately as wide as the top. In the center there is left a ball of earth 5 to 10 feet in 
diameter. After a tree is loosened 
from the subsoil, it is attached by 
the trunk to the cradle of the tree- 
mover by two chains and turn- 
buckles, which grasp the trunk. 
The bark is protected by cushions 
and slats. The tree is laid over to 
a horizontal position by swinging 
the cradle by the screw and by 
rope and tackle. The roots on the 
side nearest the ground are bent 
back under the axle and tied up to 
the frame of the mover. A full 
circle of roots is thus preserved. 
The front axle does not swing round 
to break these lower roots because 
the wheels are on pivots ,like an 
automobile. To go on the road, 
the roots are parted to insert the 
seat and pole, and the tops and 
roots are bent down to go under 
electric wires. When the roots are 
to be out of the ground for a day or 
more, they are wrapped to lessen 
drying. 
The preparation for planting usually consists in preparing a hole as wide as the roots, say 25 to 33 feet 
and iK to 2 feet deep for a small area in the center about 8 feet across. The balance of the hole may be 8 
to 12 inches deep. 
In planting, it is best to pack the earth in and around the central roots and then spread out the side 
roots and plant them at different depths near the surface. The soil should not be too rich in organic matter, 
or it may turn sour and rot the roots. It is also necessary to see that the ground does not get water-soaked, 
for this would have thesame effect. Under-draining, in heavy soil, is advisable. Examining the soil about 
the roots to see its condition should be a guide for watering. Watering once a week, with one inch of water, 
is a safer rule than watering every day, for the latter has killed trees. The surface of the ground had best 
be kept mulched for the first two years by either a dust mulch, produced by hoeing 3 inches deep once in- 
two weeks, or by mulching with 4 inches of a strawy manure or leaves. Trees have been killed by too much 
manure, which sours the ground and excludes the air. 
The Moving of Large Evergreen Trees 
_ The methods we have developed for moving large evergreen trees differ from those explained for 
deciduous trees. The essential is a large ball of earth. The ball of earth is necessary because. evergreen 
trees are constantly evaporating, and also because the roots of evergreens, if bare of earth, become quickly 
dried out and, because of their resinous sap, do not again take up moisture and live. To hold this ball of 
6 u r u ,Tx haVe lnvented a uni que and economical apparatus for clamping the earth firmly and cutting off 
the ball from the subsoil. The roots outside of the ball of earth are bent around against the ball and pre- 
served. 
The question may be asked, why we move an evergreen tree with less spread of roots than a deciduous 
tree. The reason has been carefully determined by the German scientific foresters. A Pine, Cedar, or other 
coniferous evergreen, will use from one-fifth to one-tenth as much water per year as a broad-leaved tree, 
Ready for the Road. — The tree is loaded with shortest branches and roots 
on top, so it can go under electric wires, which are lifted by a T-pole. Four 
to eight horses or traction engine, broad tires, and planks over lawns, enable 
heavy trees to be moved. Rope and tackle or windlass are also used in diffi- 
cult places. 
