60 
TRANSPLANTING. [chap. iii. 
held as high as a man can raise it; the wa¬ 
tering-pot used being large, and with a wide 
spout, the rose of which must be taken off. 
More earth is then shovelled in, and water 
applied again. This mode of planting has 
the great advantage of rendering the tree 
firm, without staking or treading the earth 
down round it, as is usually done. Other 
gardeners spread the roots out carefully 
at the bottom of the hole or pit made 
to receive them, and then fill in the earth. 
In all cases, the ground is either made firm 
with water, or trodden down or beaten flat 
with the spade after planting, so as to fix the 
roots firmly in the soil, for the same reasons 
as nearly a similar plan is adopted in sowing 
seeds. Newly transplanted trees are fre¬ 
quently staked, but this is not essential if the 
roots are made firm, and indeed the tree is 
generally found to do best when the head is 
left at liberty to be gently agitated by the 
wind. 
It is a great point, in all cases of trans¬ 
planting, to preserve the epidermis or cellu¬ 
lar integument of the fibrous roots and spon- 
gioles in a flexible state; and for this reason. 
