HOUSE AND GARDEN 
hard to transplant, even by their growers. The only way possible 
to overcome their aversion to being handled is to begin when they 
are very young, thus giving the tap root no opportunity to reach 
the depth it is seeking. 
But a great many trees that do not have this great tap root still 
spread themselves about below ground in such a fashion that they 
stubbornly resist transplanting and suffer from it greatly, especial¬ 
ly if growing in poor soil or where the moisture is deep down 
from the surface. If more than seven or eight feet high, such 
trees are more likely to 
die than to live when 
transplanted, save where 
the work is done by an 
expert. Tree moving ma¬ 
chinery exists that will re¬ 
move forest specimens of 
course; but the moving 
of these is a doubtful un¬ 
dertaking, even with the 
most skilled labor, and 
one which I never advise. 
After all the time of wait¬ 
ing for a tree to reach an 
appreciable size is not 
very great. And it is 
surely much better to 
have a well established 
and thrifty tree, at the 
end say, of six years, 
large enough to be a dis¬ 
tinct ornament and to 
give definite shade with a 
promise of yearly in¬ 
crease, than to have a 
sickly forest specimen 
which will never recover 
its vigor, will gradually 
dwindle and ultimately 
must be taken away, leav¬ 
ing the original vacancy. 
Limit yourself to trees 
six or seven feet in height 
or under for transplant¬ 
ing natural growth, and 
to specimens not more 
than twelve feet high for 
nursery grown stock. If 
you can wait a season 
with the former, or even 
until next fall, plough or 
spade deeply around them 
now about a foot within 
the line of the diameter 
of their tops, and culti¬ 
vate the space within this 
ring all summer even 
watering it if the soil or the season is dry, to encourage the 
growth of surface roots rather than the deeper ones. 
But if you cannot wait, if the transplanting must be done im¬ 
mediately, make up your mind to implant as carefully and pa¬ 
tiently and thoroughly as you will replant, and unless you choose 
wrong varieties there will be no trouble. At the end of this arti¬ 
cle you will find out how to avoid these. 
It is always safe to assume that the spread of the roots of even 
a root-pruned tree, is the same as the spread of its branches. On 
this line, therefore, marking what we may for convenience call 
the circumference of the roots, we begin the work of taking up 
any woody plant, whether tree or shrub. With a pick-axe work 
with back toward the tree trunk, digging up and loosening the 
earth from this line in towards the tree. When a layer is 
loosened, shovel it out; then loosen another in the same way and 
remove it, working more and more carefully as you get down to, 
or among the roots. In using spade or shovel, set the blade al¬ 
ways with its edge towards the tree, not its fiat face or surface. 
This avoids cutting the roots to any great degree, for the blade 
goes down between them instead of chopping them across trans¬ 
versely. 
When a depth has been 
reached that really begins 
to loosen the specimen— 
it is not necessary to- take 
away all the earth that is 
above the roots but only 
to go on picking it loose, 
deeper and d e e p e r—a 
helper may take hold of 
the tree, and gently work 
it back and forth while 
the digging with the pick 
goes on. By and by the 
plant will readily tilt 
away over upon its side, 
thus allowing the one 
who is digging to work 
under the middle of it 
and gradually free the 
deepest central roots. And 
at last, with a gentle, 
even, long pull it will 
come free—but be sure 
that it is a gentle pull, and 
an even one. Never drag 
a shrub or tree forcibly 
from the ground, either 
through impatience or a 
mistaken degree of force. 
Go easily —very easily ! It 
is much better to be over 
careful than a little less 
careful than you should 
be. 
It sounds very simple 
to sav restore a tree to the 
ground exactly as it came 
out of it; but in order 
really to do this, it is 
necessary to give atten¬ 
tion to several things — 
and to all of these at once. 
Of course plants must be 
set into the ground to the 
depth at w h i c h they 
grew; then roots must 
have not only the same spread, but they must follow the same- 
general direction down from the center towards the circumfer¬ 
ence ; and the weight of the tree or shrub must be supported so 
that it does not drag at the roots as it settles. And finally the lit- 
tlest roots—roots so small that they are like nothing so much as 
hairs — should all be restored to perfect contact with the soil! 
That is, the earth should enclose them on every side, casing them 
in completely. 
Of course it is not possible to accomplish literally any such 
task as in this description of ideal transplanting. But actually it 
(Continued on page 430) 
Not everyone realizes the benefits of garden beautification found in trees. At 
this season of the year much can be done by transplanting to gain the attraction 
that trees afford 
