48 1 
PLANTING OF TREES. 
A tree planted anyhow does not grow as satisfactorily as one 
properly planted, and the usual coolie method of just making a hole 
and putting the plant in, giving it a little water and leaving it to live 
or die as it chooses, generally has poor results. One of the com- 
monest blunders here is caused by not filling up the hole properly. 
A hole is dug, the soil more or less mixed with leaf mould and cow- 
dung, filled to the top or nearly so and the plant put in. The result 
is that the loose soil sinks to several inches below the surface ..f the 
surrounding ground, and the plant appears in a small pit. Into this 
rain water pours and the plant’s roots are sodden and the unhappy 
thing dies or at least has a hard struggle for life. The soil should be 
raised to at least six inches above the surrounding ground so that the 
plant is at first on a mound which sinks as the earth settles, so as to 
bring the plant in a few days into its proper position. I have often 
seen rubber trees planted in pits in the regular coolie method much 
to their detriment. Another thing is of importance and that is to press 
the earth tight round the tree after planting it. Some time ago, in 
Bulletin 8., 1 909, p. 239, we published an account of tree planting 
from experiments made by Mr, Pickering, of the Woburn Experimen- 
tal Fruit Farm. Similar experiments have been carried out in the 
West Indies with oranges, mangoes, limes, and rubber, castilloa, and 
an account has been published in the West Indian Bulletin 
vol. xi p. 50, with photographs of trees planted (a) in the ordinary 
way carefully; (b) carefully planted and rammed with a heavy 
rammer till the whole was thoroughly puddled and the ground shook 
like a jelly ; (c) carelessly planted, roots heavily pruned and rammed ; 
fd) carelessly planted, roots heavily pruned and not rammed; (e) 
carelessly planted and rammed. The results seemed to show that 
the trees carefully planted and not rammed were the best, and next 
came those under treatment, (b). Carelessly-planted trees in no case 
seem to do well. 
Probably the amount of ramming desirable depends on the kind 
of soil in which the plant is growing. It is a fact that a number of our 
fruit trees, such as Rambutans, are killed by putting a few feet of soii 
over the roots. Thus, in cases where low-lying ground bearing an or- 
chard is filled in for say two feet with the ordinary clay soil, a large per- 
centage of the trees will quickly die. This may be due to the heavier 
weights on the roots, or their being more compressed, and it is 
possible that this heavy ramming may have the same effect. The 
experiments would be well worth trying with rubber trees here. They 
show at least that careful-planting pays.— Ed. 
