106 Transplanting Trees^ 
spaces under the roots. In order to make it more certain, one or 
two pails full of rain or brook water thrown on the roots, will 
cause the earth to adhere more firmly to them; and when com- 
pletely filled up, let the ground be well trodden down, and finish 
by making a hollow or basin around the tree to catch the rain and 
convey it to the roots, or to receive the watering which it will be 
necessary to give it, should the season prove dry. 
A tree properly planted will grow as much in five years as one 
carelessly and badly set, will in ten; and often the chance of liv- 
ing is dependant on this slight circumstance. A stake should be 
set firmly in the ground, and the tree secured to it w^ith matting 
or some soft substance, to prevent the winds from loosening the 
roots. 
To cause the trees to thrive, the ground where they are planted 
must be kept cultivated — young trees will not thrive if the grass 
is permitted to grow around them; and if it should be necessary 
to plant them in grass ground, care must be taken to keep the 
earth mellow and free from grass for three or four feet distant 
around them, and every autumn, some well rotted manure should 
be dug in around each tree, and every spring the bodies of the 
apple, pear, and cherry trees, and others that it is particularly de- 
sirable to promote the growth of, should be brushed over with 
common soft soap — this treatment will give a thriftiness to the 
tree surpassing the expectation of any one who has not witnessed 
its effects. Should the first season after transplanting prove dry, 
regular waterings will be necessary; and from a neglect of proper 
attention in this respect, many trees are lost during a drought. 
A few years since, we had in our yard a Siberian crab apple 
tree which did not grow very well. On examination, we discov- 
ered on the body, and some of the limbs, and particularly at the 
junction of the limbs with the body, a pearl-colored scaly sub- 
stance, somewhat resembling, in appearance, moss. They proved 
to be the eggs of a fly, which deposits its eggs on the bark, and 
then covers them over with the scale. An application of soft soap 
had the effect of destroying the eggs and cleansing the wood; the 
bark soon assumed a smooth and healthy appearance, and the tree 
grew vigorously and has borne fruit in abundance ever since. 
