Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1869-05-08
Tree Planting.

The time for tree planting is at hand,
and it is to be hoped that it will be
generally improved. Nothing add SO
much to the attractiveness of resi-
dence as an abundance of trees, whose
grateful shade can hardly fail to revive
many pleasant memories. An exchange
thus discourses concerning tree plant
ing:
Deciduous trees should be put in as
soon as any interval can be gained from
more driving matters evergreens VIII
answer any time in the month OF May:
Every man who has a few rods vi ground
will be apt to find that he has something
to do in this line. And here que stion
arises at the outset. The great majority
of those who have anything like
homestead are pretty sure to discover
that "some one has blrndered "-eith-
er themselves or their predecessors-in
this matter of setting out trees. Either
a tree has been put down and is growing
beautifully just where no tree at all IS
wanted, or there are too many crowded
together, or there is the wrong kind in
the right place-and what shall he done
about it? AS a general rule, the wrong
ought to be righted at once. 1t is bet
ter to uprOot the nOblest tree than to
haveit become nuisance by interference
with the convenience or health OF the
family. Besides, there is continual
pleasure in these little endeavors to get
things as they should be and to keep
mother nature within bounds.
The "principles and mechanism"-to
use n phrase Of the standard work on
tactics-of the planting ought to be well
understood by this time. They are
mai ally these: to keep the roots of the
tree as far IA possible from becoming
dried; to shorten in the limbs about in
proportion to the loss of roots, and If
anything little more so to set the
tree at about the same depth at which
it originally grew to see that the earth
is pressed closely against all the roots,
Ia pailful of water dashed under Is a
good help to the process y and to mulch
thickly during July and August OF the
first season after transplanting. With
regard to the selection of the kinds of
shade trees, reference must be had
chiefly to the situation. DO you want a
screen, or an over-arching shade, with
an uninterce pted view underneath, or
something ornamental to look Upon ?
There are trees adapted for each require
ment, and having, too, each its own de-
feats. The elm has the nOblest top, but
is apt to be thin and scraggy. The oak
is hard to transplant. The rock maple
is clean and has beautiful foliage, but is
of very slow growth, especially when
first transplanted. The silver maple,
on the other hand, is of rapid growth
but does not make dense shade nor
color its leaves deeply in autumn. The
horse chestnut comes out early in the
Spring and holds it's leaves late, but is
too dense for some situations and is rath-
err set in its habit of growth. The
mountain ash ought not to be planted
where its berries will fall upon walks as
they are a nuisance. Every one, then,
before he sets out tree, ought to con
slider what he wants for that particular
situation, and make his selections ac'
cordingly. If, in addition, he looks
ahead and thinks ofthe size of his trees
in dozen or twenty years, he will be
likely to hit right and do a piece of work
which the lapse of time will only rem
der more and more beautiful and be-
nificent.