30 BULLETIN 475, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 
fers to mortal injury through the drying out of their roots. A short 
period of exposure may bring this about, such as when they are dug 
from the transplant beds, while they are being counted or heeled in, 
while en route to the planting site, or during the operation of plant- 
ing. Drying out may occur at any one of these times; and yet if 
the roots are afterwards moistened there will be no evidence of the 
injury,, because coniferous tops will remain fresh, green, and bright 
for some time after the death of the roots, and will reach the hands 
of a planter apparently in a perfectly vigorous condition. When 
field planted, however, they will lose their color and shed their leaves 
in a month or so. 
When the crated trees arrive at their destination on the railroad 
they should be removed at once to the planting site. Wagon trans- 
portation is the most effectual over roads and pack animals over 
trails. When it is necessary to use pack animals the practice of 
unpacking the trees from the crates and repacking them in the ordi- 
nary alforjas or panniers carried on pack saddles should not be fol- 
lowed. This involves an extra handling of the stock, which means 
both expense and possible harm from exposure. It is a practice 
which should be discouraged. It can easily be obviated by packing 
trees at the nursery in boxes of a size which can be readily carried 
by a pack horse ; that is, boxes which, when filled with trees, will not 
weigh more than 75 or 100 pounds each. While en route the crates 
should be covered to protect them from the sun and wind. 
On arrival at the planting site, the trees should be heeled in (PL 
VIII, fig. 2) . This is a simple but effective means of keeping the roots 
moist. In a cool, moist, shady situation a trench is dug about the 
depth of the spade, from 10 to 12 inches, with one of its sides slant- 
ing at an angle of about 45 degrees. Against this side a layer of 
trees is placed with their tops projecting above the surface of the 
ground and their roots extending down this slanting side to the bot- 
tom of the trench. From 4 to 6 inches of moist earth should then 
be thrown against the roots, worked in around the stems, and then 
firmed by foot pressure. If needed, another trench can be dug in 
front of this and the process repeated. If it is necessary for the 
stock to remain heeled in for a considerable j)eriod, the soil about the 
roots should be kept moist by watering. Ordinarily, the trees can 
be heeled in in bundles as they come from the nursery, but it is 
preferable at all times to spread them out in a thin layer not over 1 
.or 2 inches in thiclmess. As they are needed they can be dug up and 
used in the planting operations. When plants are to be heeled in 
during the fall to await spring planting, experience has shown that 
they should never be heeled in in bundles, but should by all means be 
spread out in a thin layer. Moreover, where the snow accumulates 
to a considerable depth, stock heeled in over winter should be so 
