128 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug. 2 , 1897 . 
THE REVOLUTION IN TREE PLANTING. 
(From the ^^Mildura Cultivator,’’ United States.) 
About eight years ago it was announced by Mr. II. M. 
Stringfellow, a Texas orchadist of large experience, 
that the theory and practice of tree planting, as handed 
down from time immemorial, were wrong, and that in- 
stead of a tree being the better for having numerous 
roots when reset, the very opposite was true. Mr. 
Stringfellow then gave a full history of how he hap- 
pened to hit upon this truth as well as a detailed ac- 
count of various experiments upon a great many kinds 
of fruit and shade trees that seemed to demonstrate 
the truth of his statement. The statement did not at 
that time meet with much support, so absurd did the 
idea of cuttiirg off all the roots of a tree seem to even 
the most prominent horticulturists. Mr. Stringfellow, 
however, “ stuck to his guns,” and in a recent issue of 
the Texas Farm and Ranclie he again dealt wiih the 
subject, and at the same time he gave the experience of 
other horticulturists in support of his contention. The 
article is reproduced below for the consideration of our 
readers : — , ,, 
“ Though I have written to quite a number all over 
the country, the invariable answer ha,s been, ‘while such 
treatment may succeed with you, it would be out of 
the question here.’ The fact is we inherit our opinions 
and ideas, just as well as the peculiarities of our bodies 
and so true is this that the contrary of their beliefs is 
positively unthinkable to many men. An instance of 
this came to me in a letter from one of our most pro- 
gressive nurserymen. He writes ; ‘ I have been prac- 
ticing close root pruning with perfect success for some 
years, and yet my father, who is 70 years old, and sees 
the good results every year, won’t admit them, but per- 
sists in saving that “ if the roots were not necessary 
they wouldn’t be put there.’ ” So firmly indeed has 
this long root fallacy become embedded in the human 
mind by ages of practice, that even a man of Charles 
Downing’s eminence in horticulture declares in his 
great work that the ‘ ideal transplanting ’ would be to 
take up a tree with its roots entire. That this would 
be absolutely the very worst form, anyone can easily 
demostrate for himself. Let him take, for inscance, 
two peach or other tree seeds, and plant a few inches apart 
in say, a ten inch pot of good rich soil. At the end of 
next year let him take them out and carefully shake off 
all the soil from their roots and plant side by side in 
the open ground. Let him spread out in a large hole 
all the roots of one tree according to the inherited regu- 
lation method, and cut back all roots on the other to 
about one inch, and the top to one foot — just enough to 
allow of its being stuck down about six inche ', like a 
cutting. Treat alike, and in two years the root-pruned 
tree will be many times larger than the other. And 
here I wish to say, very particularly, that the great 
superiority of close root pruning is not always so ap- 
parent the first year, the tree giving more attention to 
striking deep roots than to making top. Even for 
several years, we all know, trees as ordinarily set do 
well, but this is due to the fact that a large amount of 
root is removed even then. 
“ But a comparison with these will prove that when 
the strain of fruit bearing comes, the close pruned tree 
—with its roots deep and strong, out of reach of the 
plough winter’s cold and summer’s heat and drought — 
will stand up for many years, giving good crops long 
after the other, with its lateral and surface system, has 
broken down and died. How else are we to account for 
the early decadence of our latter day orchards '? The 
planter in his haste for fruit demands big trees with 
plenty of roots and top, to support which, and to make 
them" live, the nurserymen often transplants several 
times. This gives a mass of fibrous roots, which will 
undoubtedly— if the .season is good— make the trees 
live but practically dwarfs them and destroys their 
future usefulness. While Samson lost his strength 
through having his hair cut off, a tree is for ever- 
weakened by leaving its ‘hair’ roots on when set, for 
it seems then compelled to re establish itself by emit- 
ting new fibrous roots entirely from these. This re- 
sults in a permanent lateral and surface system. Sink 
a spade around such a tree a year— or even two— after- 
planting, and a slight pull will lift it from the ground ; 
a short root-pruned tree will resist any effort. The 
whole theory of the latter method is simply copying 
Nature. She starts her tree from seed, with neither 
tops nor roots, aud universal experience has shown 
that these and trees grown from cutting.s (which are 
practically seedj if never- moved, are the strongest, 
healthiest, longest lived and most productive. 
■- Tne adva.itages I claim for this method — over the 
all-important one of giving better trees — are : First, 
“ .VN ENORMOUS SAVtNG 
to the nurseryman in digging his stock which now must 
be taken up with roots a foot or more long. Second, 
an equally great saving in packing. Insteed of 
great bales of tops, roots, moos, bagging and 
rope, and labour of putting up the same, or large 
boxes containing thousands of pounds of the same 
useless dead weight, a thousarrd root and top pruned 
trees could be packed in a medium-sized, tight, 
box, with a layer of wet moss in the bottom to 
maintain a moist a'mosphere, and shipped with 
perfect safety around the world. 
“ THE SAVING TO THE BUYER 
will be even greater. As an instance, several years 
ago I ordorsd 5,000 grape vines from California, 
and wrote specific directions for root and top prun- 
ing as well as packing, and offered to pay for the 
extra pruning, the box to be sent by express. The 
nurseryman setting me doyvn for a crank or fool 
packed the vines — top, roots and all — in three im- 
mense bales weighing 1,300 lb., for which he got a 
special rate, and yet they cost me £14 charges. I 
pruned and packed them in a single bale weighing 
127 lb., and shipped them 250 miles, after which 
they were set by being simply stuck down into well 
pulverised ground and tramped, the whole operation 
taking but two days. Every vine grew, and next 
summer — the third year — 1 expect to ship grapes by 
the car load. It would be hard to estimate how 
many thousands of pounds are annually paid by 
planters to railroad companies in charges on worse 
than useless tops, roots and packing. 
“ HUNDREDS OF POUNDS WILL BE SAVED IN THE PLANTING. 
Instead of large holes and spreading out of roots, 
and working in the soil by hand, as now practiced, 
the planter will prepare bis ground, stretch a 
strong line with tags tied at the right intervals, 
make a small hole with a dibble a couple of inches 
in diameter, stick the trees down the proper distance 
and when the row is done, turn back and tramp 
thoroughly. The tramping is very important, I will 
now repeat. 
“directions for ROOT PRUNING. 
Hold the tree top down, and cut all roots back to 
about an inch, more or less, sloping -the cuts so 
that when the tree is set the cut surface is down- 
wards. Experience has shown that these roots are 
generally emitted pei-pendicularly to the plane or 
surface of the cut. This final pruning should be 
done shortly before planting, so as to present a 
fresh surface for the callous to form. If trees are 
to be kept some time, or shipped by a nurseryman, 
about two inches of root should be left the planter 
to cut back as directed when the tree is set. About 
a foot of top should be left. More or less makes 
no difference. If the tree is well staked, three feet 
may be left without diminishing the growth much. I 
have had six foot tress, well staked, to grow finely, but 
to avoid staking and to secure a new straight body 
it is best to cut back short. 
“ Let all shoots grow until a foot or so long, when 
the straightest and best should be left and all 
others rubbed off. 
“ I could give the experience and endorsement of 
quite a number of orchardists who have practiced 
this method w-ith uniform success, but space will 
not allow me to mention but one. He stands on the 
topmost round of the horticultural ladder, and as 
far as I know is the only man whose mind is so 
unbiassed by the prejudice of preconceived opinions, 
and his perceptions so intuitively correct, that as soon 
as the method and reasons for it were presented, 
he saw its truth. Without waiting for the slow 
