Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1903-07-11
CULTURE OF TREES.
SUGGESTIONS FOR TRANSPLANTiNG
AND CARING FOR THEM.
The Organization of Clubs In Towns
and villages to Take Charge of the
work-Pruning. Planting nno Sup
porting Trees.


porting Trees.
The residents of every town or vii
lage would do well to organize club
for the promotion of tree culture. Aft
er such an organization has been ef-
fected and after the local conditions
have been carefully surveyed 1t should
be determined what trees should be
saved and what ones should be re-
moved. Then those worth saving
should be trimmed and guarded, while
new trees should be planted In the
places Of sickly. deformed or injured
ones All the residents should feel
that they have an interest In every
tree. Every one should be willing to
sacrifice individual interest for general
welfare. People would learn to say OF
trees thus planted and projected not
my trees" but "Our trees;~ a sense Of
common property, common interest,
a common guardianship, would prevail.
Transplanting is at best forcible
operation, and injury to the roots, al
though it may be small, is almost un-
avoidable, writes Lewis Collins, secre-
tary Of the Tree Planting and Fountain
society of Brooklyn, in the Municipal
Journal and Engineer. The roots are
the life Of the tree and need the most
attention. In taking up a tree for
transplanting the greatest care must
be exercised to secure as much Of the
root system intact as possible. Prun-
ing roots and branches Is almost al
ways necessary, but must be done with
great care, especially as to root prun-
ing. The cutting at the roots should
be as little as possible. only removing
with clean, sharp cut the bruised and
broken parts. Extra long taproots
may be cut away, but all the small
roots should be preserved. The cut
ting of the tap is done to bring crown
and root into proportion; the more loss
at the root system has been expert
enced the more need Of reducing the
crown system. Larger trees, there
fore. require mostly severer pruning,
especially on poor soil. Yet II there be
f1brous roots enough to sustain great
evaporation from the crown the less
cut the better.
With large trees severe pruning is
less dangerous than too little. A clean
cut as close as possible to the stem or
remaining branch will facilitate the
healing Of the wound. No stumps
should be left. This applies to decidu-
GUS trees and not to conifers. Shorten
Ing Of the end shoots to one-half or
two-thirds Of their length may be done
a little above bud which is to take
the lead. AS rule, the pruning for
symmetry should have been done a
year or SO before transplanting. but
may be done year after.
Planting is best done by two or three
persons. One, who manipulates the
tree, Is the planter and responsible for
the result; the others do the spading
under his direction. II the root system
Is developed sideways, but not central
ly, as Is often the case, hill should
be raised in the hole to fill out the va
cant space in the root system. The
earth Of the hill should be pressed
down to prevent settling. When the
hole Is In order, the planter holds the
tree in the proper place. The others
spread the roots into natural posi-
ton. then fill in the soil, using the good
soil flrst-small spadefuls deliberately
thrown over the roots in all directions
while the planter by a slight shaking
and pumping up and down Of the stem
aids the earth in settling around the
rootlets.
A close contact Of the soil with the
rootlets Is the secret of success In
planting. Only fine, mellow soil, not
too moist and free from stones, will
permit such close adjustment to the
rootlets, which should also be aided by
hand and fingers filling in every crew
ice. The planter while setting the tree
must exercise care to keep 1t in proper
position and vertical until the soil is
packed so as to keep 1t in place; then
the others rapidly fill the hole, the
planter treading down the soil firmly
after a sufficient quantity is filed in,
finishing off little above the general
level to allow for settling. Great care
should be taken to keep the tree plumb.
The practice of using water while
planting can hardly be said to be a
good one unless the water is very care
fully applied with a rose" after tho
soil is we'll filled in and packed around
the flbrous roots. Especially with a soil
which has tendency to clog there Is
great danger Of an uneven distribution
and settling, with consequent empty
spaces between the roots More trees
are probably killed by too much water
in transplanting than by too little. Wa
ter after transplanting land perhaps
before the last shovels of earth are
filled in), especially II the soil was dry,
is useful and should be applied during
the hot season, choosing the late after
noon or evening for applying 1t. Trees
planted very late In the season require
greater care and more water than those
set earlier.
Protection of trees may be divided
into two parts-supporting and guard
ing from injury. A tree when planted
should be supported In an erect posi-
ton until its roots have taken a firm
hold upon the ground and are able to
hold the tree in an erect position. This
will take several years, the time de-
pending upon circumstances. After
that the tree will be able to support
a guard. All young trees when trans
planted require support; only such as
are exposed to danger require a guard.
That proper support has not been SUD-