PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING: Page 54

year previous to the time that they are transplanted, in order to makethem more vigorous and better able to withstand the shock of trans-planting, or such a mixed fertilizer may be fed to the tree in small quan-tities, five to ten pounds to an average-sized tree (six to eight inchesin diameter) within the first year after the tree has been transplanted.Under no conditions should a newly transplanted tree be left on aneatly mowed lawn area without artificial methods being resorted tofor feeding it. The old saying, as quoted from Mr. Hicks, is that"Neatness is starvation." Nature provides a continual gathering ofleaves and grass which rots and makes fertilizer for the tree. When thegrass is kept closely clipped and the clippings taken away, and whenthe leaves are raked each fall, then this neatness deprives the tree of allof its possible source of food supply. Transplanting Nursery-grown Trees. Nursery trees are treeswhich have been grown under nursery conditions for at least two orthree years. The most desirable method of handling such trees is toball-and-burlap them, to lessen the danger of injury from trans-planting. This applies to small trees with well-developed rootsystems, and especially to those which have been so root pruned thatthe root spread is in a smaller, more compact area than that of theusual nursery tree. Holes for nursery trees should be excavated atleast one foot larger than the ball preserved with the tree. In otherwords, the roots of the tree should never be pruned to fit the hole inwhich the tree is to be planted and the roots should never be crowded.It is quite essential to place small guy wires, not less than three innumber, to each small nursery tree from two to five inches in diameter.This is especially necessary when trees are in exposed locations orstand alone as specimens. When large plantations are set out and the trees will be subjectedto broad sweeps of wind, it is more economical not to guy, but rather towatch the plantation, and from time to time straighten up such treesas are pushed out of their normal position by the wind. In an effort tobuild up plantations of native growth, such as oak, beech, hickory,basswood, and any other forest trees, it is better to plant these treesin concentric circles or a spiral arrangement so that during the firstthree or four years any one could cultivate among these trees withoutvery much difficulty. If the trees in such plantations are staggeredhere and there without any relationship to any avenues through which