OLD TREES FOR NEW SITES 
How Large Trees Can Be Transplanted and Their Age Made to Fill a Present Want 
M ANY an ideal location for a home is 
temporarily undesirable because of 
the lack of large trees. Without them the 
best results from the architect’s plans leave 
something to be desired, for the building 
lines appear harsh and unrelieved. Large 
trees not only add to the beauty of the 
landscape, but impart an air of stability and 
permanence and give character to their sur¬ 
roundings. 
A new house may surpass the old in the 
matter of modern improvements which 
lighten household duties, may be better de¬ 
signed and in every way more pretentious, 
and yet lack the charm and the home-like 
air that a lifetime’s growth of trees and 
shrubs has wrought about the old home¬ 
stead. A profusion of small trees and 
shrubs planted along drives and about the 
place give promise of supplying in time the 
want they are as yet inadequate to fill. Small 
wonder the owner looks with covetous eyes 
upon the well-formed trees in nearby pas¬ 
tures or along the roadside. He cannot re¬ 
press the desire to take a hand in rearrang¬ 
ing nature’s distribution of tree growth. 
Moving Trees a Practicable Under¬ 
taking 
If one is willing to pay the cost there is no 
need of waiting for young trees to grow up. 
The effects of half a century’s development 
may be secured in a single year. The trans¬ 
planting of large trees has been rendered 
practicable by combining an intimate knowl¬ 
edge of their requirements with engineering 
skill. The task is not light, but in the hands 
of experienced and properly equipped tree- 
movers it can be done readily and with as¬ 
surance of good results. When we consider 
the added attractiveness and comfort such 
trees give, thereby enhancing the sale value 
of the property, the money expended is 
usually a wise investment. 
An authority on this subject says in this 
connection: “Planting large trees is not an 
extravagance for the wealthy, a risky ex¬ 
periment which only they can afford. A 
house costing $6,000 has a porch costing 
$300. It is quite in keeping to shade the 
porch, connecting the house with its sur- 
SAMUEL J. RECORD 
roundings by planting a tree twenty years 
old, 25' high, 15' spread and 7" diameter, at 
$75. An investment in large trees will ac¬ 
complish more than grading. In fact, grad¬ 
ing can be done with trees and shrubs rather 
than soil. That is, skilful disposition of 
solid masses of foliage will obviate the 
necessity for some grading.” 
It is a common belief that the chance of 
failure in the transplanting of large trees 
is too great to warrant the necessary trouble 
and expense. Such is the case only when 
the work is done carelessly and by un¬ 
skilled hands. Anyone can move a small 
tree and get it to live without much care 
in the process, but once a tree has become 
firmly established, with its extensive and 
complicated root system ramifying for long 
With small trees the root sys¬ 
tem is carefully dissected and 
both roots and soil tied in a 
burlap container 
distances in every direction, the removal 
becomes a big but delicate surgical opera¬ 
tion. The secret of success in moving large 
trees is to take them up with a wide spread 
of roots, cutting back the crown to balance, 
and then planting in suitable soil that is 
kept neither too wet nor too dry. 
Where to Get Them 
Large trees may be obtained from two 
sources: First, the nurseries, some of 
which specialize in such stock up to 30' in 
height. Such trees are usually extra well- 
rooted and can be shipped for long dis¬ 
tances. Another source is to be found in 
the trees growing naturally in the fields and 
woods pastures. With good apparatus it is 
feasible to transplant large specimens for 
several miles. It is cheaper in the end and 
more satisfactory to go a long distance and 
obtain good trees suited to the desired pur¬ 
pose than utilize inferior specimens merely 
because they are conveniently located. 
In moving a large tree it is essential that 
the soil be of such a nature that the roots 
can be freed without excessive damage to 
them. On stony sites and rocky ridges this 
is usually out of the question. As a rule 
trees growing in wet places are more easily 
moved than those on dry situations, as they 
have a superficial and compact root system 
while the trees in dry places develop a long 
tap root and wide lateral in their search 
after moisture. Trees that grow naturally 
along river bottoms and in lowlands will 
often thrive on upland soil of good quality 
and not too dry. Trees to be moved should 
be sound and healthy and preferably of 
vigorous growth as indicated by the length 
of the top shoots of the previous season. 
Not all trees are moved with equal readi¬ 
ness. Of the deciduous kinds those lending 
themselves most easily to the operation are 
elm, maple, birch, catalpa, willow, cotton¬ 
wood, basswood or linden, horse-chestnut, 
pin oak, wild cherry and dogwood. Species 
offering greater difficulty are white oak, red 
oak, black oak, beech, hornbeam, walnut, 
hickory and red gum. All of the conifers 
or evergreens can be moved provided a large 
ball of earth is taken up with the roots. If 
