PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING. 
4G1 
it is pulled upright, and the men commence 
ramming earth under and against the faulty 
side, until the tree is enabled to keep an erect 
position independent of the ropes. The pro- 
cess of filling in the soil then remains, the 
men working by threes, one holding the roots," 
another throwing in fine soil, and the other 
ramming it down firmly under the ball on 
every side. A layer of good soil is then 
spread over the bottom of the hole, and the 
lower tier of roots laid out, and covered with 
fine earth, which is to be trodden firmly down. 
The next layer of roots is similarly treated, 
and so on, until the whole is filled up. The 
soil must be rendered close and firm, and 
especially about the larger roots, which are apt 
to spring up after treading on them, unless 
the soil is made very compact beneath and 
around them by means of the rammers. The 
manner of determining when the tree is up- 
right, is thus : — One man standing at some 
distance holds the tree with a rope, another 
places himself so that his position forms a 
triangle with the tree and that of the man 
Avith the rope ; these men, if they have a cor- 
rect eye, are, from their position, enabled to 
see when the tree is upright. If the roots 
of a tree are firmly fixed in the manner above 
detailed, it will seldom, if ever, suffer from 
the action of winds, but may generally be left 
as planted; should, however, any of them be 
found to give way, they must be supported. 
The surface of the ground should be left fine 
and even after the operation, which is best 
performed in the month of October, wdien the 
soil is in a moderately moistened state. 
Planting Smaller Trees and Shrubs. — The 
process in these cases, as compared with that 
just detailed, differs more in degree than 
principle ; it is, however, much more easily 
accomplished. The first consideration is the 
preparation of the soil. It is not enough that 
pits should be thrown out large enough to 
receive the mass of soil removed with the 
roots, technically called the " ball," while the 
adjacent soil is left in a consolidated state. 
The soil should be well broken up, for some 
distance at least beyond where the roots will 
extend to in every direction ; in planting 
masses of trees and shrubs, this will be most 
readily and effectually done by first trenching 
up the soil ; although, even to this, in some 
instances, forest planting may be an excep- 
tion ; but, in the case of isolated plants, the 
ground should be broken up around each tree 
for a yard or more beyond the extremities of 
the roots. The openings should next be pre- 
pared ; these should be large enough to admit 
of the roots being laid out straight in every 
direction, and just deep enough to allow the 
plants to be set a trifle higher than before ; 
the fine soil should be laid by itself, where it 
may be easy of access to place among the 
roots at planting time, and the bottom should 
be well broken up, and made slightly highest 
in the centre ; it is an. advantage to have 
these openings made some time before plant- 
ing, as the soil then gets well aerated. The 
plants should now be taken up. If they are 
choice and valuable plants, the plan is, to open 
a trench around them, leaving a circular mass 
around the roots about equal in diameter to the 
branches ; this mass is then undermined, and 
then a portion of the soil is removed from 
among the roots, taking care not to break or 
injure any of the latter; in this way, the size 
of the " ball" is reduced according to circum- 
stances. In transporting the plants, if the 
distance to which they have to be removed is 
considerable, a mat or two should be bound 
firmly around the " ball," to prevent its being 
loosened and broken ; for the breaking of this 
mass of soil would involve the breaking-off of 
many of the spongioles, which it is most im- 
portant to preserve. Previous to setting the 
plant in the opening prepared for it, the depth 
of the ball should be examined, so as that the 
plant may be set at once at the proper depth, 
all unnecessary removals being objectionable. 
It is then placed in the required position, and 
soil is thrown in and rammed against the 
lower part of the " ball," so that the plant will 
bear itself upright. The roots are then spread 
out in layers, and covered with fine soil, 
which is trodden or rammed firmly about 
them, the surface layers being left smooth 
and even, and also loose. With commoner 
and free-growing subjects the same routine 
has to be gone through, but the various ope- 
rations are less carefully performed. The 
fewer roots cut asunder, the better. Some of 
the larger and longer ones are often neces- 
sarily severed; and where this is the case, the 
end should be cut smooth with a sharp knife, 
and a sloping upward cut, so as to facilitate 
its healing. Every care should be taken not 
to break oif the smaller fibres from those parts 
which are retained. The plan of "watering 
in" is an excellent one in dry seasons, and in 
dry soils, but of much less importance and 
utility when the soil is either naturally or 
artificially moderately well moistened. It is 
done thus : — When about three parts of the 
soil has been returned over the roots, a quan- 
tity of water is poured in, enough to saturate 
the whole mass ; this is allowed to stand till 
the water has soaked away, leaving the soil 
wet and compact about the roots ; the remain- 
der of the soil is then filled in loosely, to 
prevent the evaporation of the moisture. 
Should it be necessary to repeat the watering 
subsequently, the surface soil is to be drawn 
aside, and again returned after the water — 
which should be applied with a liberal hand — 
