6io THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1882. 
TBANSPLANTING FRUIT TREES. 
(Field, 29th October 1881.) 
In a general way, the transplanting of fruit trees is 
left much too late for them to succeed properly, as, un- 
like evergreens, which may be moved almost at any 
season, deciduous trees only do really well when taken 
in hand early in the autumn, or directly the leaves fall, 
as then, the earth being warm, they emit roots at once, 
and the buds continue to be well fed, instead of starved, 
as they are if the trees are disturbed after the turn of 
the year. This being the case, those who contemplate 
replanting should order their trees at once ; and, that 
they may not be out of the ground longer than is absol- 
utely necessary,^ when they arrive, provision should be 
made for their reception by digging holes and being 
prepared with soil suitable for them to grow in, as, 
however good that of a garden may be, there is nothing 
like having a little fresh soil to place over and about 
the roots, to give them a fair start, on which so much 
of their future welfare depends. To use a lot of manure, 
as some do, is a great mistake, as, instead of being of 
service, it is a positive injury when brought in immedi- 
ate contact with the roots, which it causes to canker. 
Used as a mulching, however, the case is different, as 
then it acts favourably by keeping the frost out and the 
ground uniform in temperature ; and when rain falls the 
juices are washed down by degrees, and gradually enrich 
the soil over which the manure is spread. 
The best kind of soil for young fruit trees is fresh- 
cut turf from an old pasture that grows good grass and 
has been closely fed ; and for peaches, nectarines, apri- 
cots, and plums such as may often be got from waste 
places by the roadside answers well, on account of 
having more grit in it ; but for pears and apples the 
less sandy it is the better, as they like it rather in- 
clined to be heavy than light, and, if stiff soil cannot 
be got, a little fine crumbly clay may be added. This 
will give the necessary weight and texture to the whole 
body of turfy loam if properly mixed with it, and when 
so used is a great aid to the trees during dry summer, 
as clay buried in that way among lighter soil is very 
retentive of moisture : and I have seen roots, when trees 
have been taken up, clinging to it with the greatest 
tenacity, thus showing how well it agreed with them. 
In getting the turfy loam, it should singly be chopped 
up roughly, and, if the clay is added, turned over to 
mix; but I would warn all against using leaf mould, 
which is most dangerous, as it always has a tendency 
to breed fungus, a parasite which is most destructive to 
the roots of all plants, and is often the cause of disease 
and death by getting on and into the bark, where it 
stops up the pores and poisons the sap. The soil being 
all prepared, the next thing is to turn attention to the 
trees, which should be closely examined, and have any 
injured roots trimmed by cutting away the points with 
a sharp knife, as they heal over a smooth wound much 
more readily and quickly than they do over a rough, 
jogged one. 
Shortening the Branches. — It is the practice with 
some to prune back the branches, but it is a very rough 
and barbarous one, as it mutilates the plant so operated 
on, and throws it back at least a year, as after a sea- 
son's growth the head will be little if any bigger than 
when purchased ; and the object in planting a tree is, 
or ought to be, to get it up to a fruit -bearing size as 
quickly as possible. It often happens that shoots are 
misplaced and require thinning out ; but that is a very 
different thing from hacking them back, as some do, 
thinking to make them break lower. If a tree is pro- 
perly planted and cared for in the way touched on, all 
buds will start freo enough. The plan of procedure in 
planting should be to partly fill the holes made for each 
tree with a burrow-load or so .of the chopped loam, 
keeping the same highest in the middle where the tree 
goew, that the points of the roots may slope gently 
down ; and before covering them with the same kind 
of 6oil as that placed under, it is important that they 
be spread well and regularly out, so that they do not 
cross or interfere with each other. In filling in, the 
soil should be made firm by gentle treading : and when 
this is done, the next thing is to mulch around the 
stems with manure, covering a surface of two feet or 
more. As the wind interferes much with trees rooting 
if allowed to sway about, the stems should be supported 
by stakes and ties, or, in the case of those against 
walls, by the aid of nails and shreds loosely applied, 
so as to allow the plant liberty to go down a little as 
the soil settles, instead of being hung up and strained. 
J. D. 
MR. MORRIS ON CINCHONA CULTURE IN 
JAMAICA. 
hints and suggestions for raising cinchona plants 
from seed and establishing cinchona plantations.* 
I. — Raising Seedlings in Boxes. 
Boxes.— For raising small quantities ' of plants — say 
from 30 to 80,000 — it is desirable to sow the seed in 
small shallow boxes under cover, where they can be con- 
veniently attended to. 
The boxes may be of any size as regards length and 
breadth, but should not be more than about 3 or 4 inches 
deep. Ordinary brandy or wine cases reduced to the 
above depth answer well. 
To promote drainage, holes about § inch in diameter 
should be made in the bottom of the boxes at distances 
of about 6 inches apart. The inside of the boxes should 
be treated with white wash, or thoroughly dusted with quick 
lime to prevent mouldiness of the soil and subsequent 
injury to the young seedlings. Over the holes in the 
bottom of the boxes place pieces of broken pots or brick, 
and cover the surface to the depth of one inch with 
rubble or broken stones. 
Soil. — The soil for the boxes should consist of one- 
third of leaf mould, or that kind of soil of a black 
peaty character which is often to be found under large 
trees in the forest : one-third of good ordinary garden 
soil and one-third of sharp sand or fine river gravel. 
These should be mixed thoroughly together and passed 
through a quarter inch sieve. 
The boxes may then be filled within one quarter inch 
of the top, with the sifted soil placed over the broken 
stones, &c, and slightly pressed so as to present an even 
unbroken surface. 
Soioing the Seed. — After slightly watering the soil in 
the boxes the cinchona seed, which is very light and 
small, should be sprinkled rather thickly over the surface, 
so as to cover nearly every part with a rich brown tint. 
When this has been done, take a small quantity of the 
fine sifted soil, mentioned above, and sprinkle it over the 
seeds, barely covering them. 
Watering and Shading. — The boxes should then be 
placed in the shade, sheltered from sun, wind and rain, 
and kept regularly watered, daily, with the finest poss- 
* With the view of promoting the general culture of 
cinchona in the island, seeds of the valuable G. Officin- 
alis, producing the Crown Bark of Commerce, and 
suitable for cultivation at elevations above 4,000 feet, 
will be supplied, free of postage, at the rate of 5/ per 
ounce. 
Seeds of the Red Bark, C. Succirubra, suitable for 
cultivation at elevations between 2,500 and 4,000 feet, 
will shortly be available and supplied, by post, at the 
rate of 3/ per ounce. 
An ounce of cinchona seed is sufficient to produce 
20,000 seedlings, which, if carefully raised, will plant 
up five acres of land. 
Applications for seed, accompanied by a remittance 
in postage stamps, or order on the Parochial Treasury, 
Kingston, should be addressed to the Director of Public 
Gardens and Plantations, Gordon Town. 
