The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-04-25
Twelve Hints for the Season.


hand, and few hints on the subject
will prove valuable to the inexperienced:
l. Never expose roots to the air one
moment longer than is absolutely
necessary. Il is incomparably better
to get trees or bushes we'll packed by a
nurseryman than to take them from
the nursery loose to carry them q mile
or two.
2. If the roots and branches have
been at all dried or shrivelled, lay the
whole tree or bush down in a trench
made in good soil, and cover it with
fine earth carefully shaken in SO as to
surround every fiber and branch. A day
or two of this bed will partially restore
condition unless too far gone.
8. Be sure you have good, rich deep
soil for your trees or bushes. You can
not take them up every year to manure
and crumble the soil again as with an
nual crops. Dig a good wide hole for
each, in proportion to size of tree, and
fill with fine, rich surface earth, or the
best you can get mixed with old COM
post, but no fresh manure. Make the
earth little higher than the level, as
it will sink somewhat. DOnOt dig deep
unless the ground is well drained, for
water may lodge in the hole thus made.
4. Plant so that the soil will come no
higher on the stem than it did before.
Spread the roots and shake fine earth
over them till they are covered; then
shake the tree or bush twice or thrice
gently up and down till the mold comes
in contact with every root; then press
down the earth gently. but no rough
stamping on it.
5. If you water at all, which, gener-
ally speaking, is not necessary, be sure
that you do not use cold water for any
tree, bush or plant. If you have water
that has stood in tub or pond under
a hot sun, good and well; if not, use
warm--not hot-water. 1t will help to
heat the ground and give the tree a
start. A great many transplanted
trees, flowers and vegetables get a
back-set by drenching with cold water
that takes them a month to get over,
if they get over it at all. Never mind
what ignoramuses say or do in this mat
ter of watering with cold water. Avoid
it.
6. Planting in the afternoon, or even
by moonlight, is much preferable to
planting in the morning or heat of the
day, especially if the plants, such, for
instance, as cabbages, are in leaf.
z. If you have two bundles of trees
from a nursery and plant one in early
spring before the buds have begun to
burst while the earth is yet cold, and
lay the other unopened in the cellar fo.:
month till the buds have burst, even
in the dark, you will find the second
planting will far outstrip the first.
Why? Because in the second case the
earth is warm and the cold drought of
seed-time is over. 1t is not too late
north of As degs. to plant apples or
pears near the end Of May if the trees
have been kept back in a root house;
but further south the planting should of
course be earlier. GOoseberries, rasp-
berries, strawberries and cherries,
which flower early, require to be planted
much sooner than apples or pears.
8. When planting, give your tree or
bush as good shape rs you can by
judicious pruning, but by no means
prune too close. -Raspberries and
'grape-vines are planted as canes, but it
is most injurious to reduce hardwood
trees to that condition. -4s,
9. Mulch all new planted trees and
bushes with long manure, straw or lit
ter, covering the earth with it to the
depth of two or three inches as far as
the roots extend, and let it lie loose and
rough for a year. It will protect the
roots from drought in summer and
frost in winter. @
10. The quickest way to kill new
transplanted tree is to. water it fire.
quently and copiously with cold water,
leaving the earth to be caked by the
water and baked by the sun. If you do
not mulch, stir the earth above the roots
frequently rather, than water. In ex-
treme cases of backwardness water &C.
casionally withatepid water, but always
stir the soil to prevent caking after be-
ing watered.
II. If you plant forest trees, do not
take them out of swamps or thick
woods. as they have no lunches or
fihroqs roots in these localities, Get