HICKS NURSERIES, WESTBURY, L. I. \^^] 



TREE-MOVERS 



During the summer the tree needs water. Soil will appear wet at the surface, and yet down where the roots 

 are working it will be dry and dusty. Do not be afraid to dig down and know what the conditions are. Do it in 

 May and June, before the tree gets thirsty— not in September after the damage is done. 



There is a proper amount of moisture and air in the soil conducive to healthy growth. You have to get it 

 before you can get a profitable growth of corn or potatoes. Keep the soil in this condition around your trees 

 and the resulting growth will be beautiful. Not one person in five who has ornamental trees planted, observes this 

 simple requirement. . . i , t . , 



We cannot put into exact rules the care for large trees. The requirements mentioned above can be carried out 

 by drainage (which is not always necessary), watering, mulching, manuring, cultivating or stirring the surface once 

 in three weeks to make the dust mulch, and pruning. The moving of a _ large tree is a severe surgical shock. The 

 convalescence is your part. It is amusing to hear persons say, "Oh, Hicks moved the tree, and we do not do any- 

 thing to it," and note that the vegetable garden and the shrubbery are receiving proper attention. 



Pruning or reducing the top is very important, especially on deciduous trees. We formerly thinned out the 

 trees by cutting out one-half to three-quarters of the twigs. This left the tree so thin that it had to commence 

 at the center and grow new sprouts on the larger limbs to thicken up. It would take two or three years by this pro- 

 cess to thicken up again, especially as the men are prone to trim too much on the inside where it is easy to cHmb 

 about. We now cut back the tree from i to 4 feet all around, and then thin out the balance. This results in dense 

 growth all over the outside of the tree, and the tree more quickly recovers its normal density. When we bring large 

 trees into our nurseries, we do not let the one pruning at the time of planting be the only one, but pruning is looked 

 after for three or four years until it is in the desired shape and density. 



Often the extreme top grows vigorously, but the lower side branches grow slowly. These vigorous shoots may be 

 nipped in May and June, diverting the flow of sap to the lower Hmbs. This is the same principle used in making 

 hedges dense and wide at the bottom. 



If the tree is cut back to branches i)4 inches in diameter there will be several shoots sprouting out. They will give 

 the tree an unnatural appearance and should be reduced to one shoot. 



If the tree grows slowly for the first one or two years, as a result of lack of food and water, or otherwise, it may 

 be started into vigorous growth by cutting back i or 2 feet all around and giving it all it needs to eat and drink. 

 By the second year the tree can take more, and there is little danger of overfeeding or overwatering. 



Come to the nurseries, to look over our large trees; we will talk over these points, and you will get a clearer idea 

 from the trees how to get the most rapid development of your landscape. 



Pruning large evergreens that have been transplanted is not generally practiced. Evergreens can stand a more 

 severe drought or proportionately severer lessening of roots when transplanted, because their small, needle- 

 shaped leaves do not transpire as much as the broad, thin leaves of deciduous trees. German scientists have proved 

 that the evergreens require one-tenth to one-fifth as much moisture for a given weight of trees as the broad- 

 leaved trees. 



We do prune the Cedars, but that is more to get a dense, symmetrical growth than to help the recovery from trans- 

 planting. The important thing with evergreens is to dig down into the ball of earth, where the roots are active, 

 and take up a handful of soil and see if you can blow it as dust. It is often in this condition when the soil above 

 and outside the ball appears damp. ' You w^ill then acquire a sympathy with trees and give them what they 

 want before they suffer. They will many times repay the expense of any attention. 



A large part of our tree-moving with evergreens is with trees like this, from the nurseries, carrying two or three such trees with two teams. 

 This is tree-mover No. 11. The windlass and seat can be taken ofiE and a cradle put on for carrying deciduous trees 14 inches in diameter. 

 AH of the tree movers for moving deciduous trees can be arranged to be used for moving evergreens in this manner. Therefore you can have 

 one truck shipped to your place and move both classes of trees; the work on evergreens continuing in May, July, August, December, 

 January and February, when it is not suitable to work on deciduous trees. 



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