TREE PLANTING.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 74, 21 July 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

TREE PLANTING.

(From the Gcelong Advertiser, June 26.) The following is the paper read by Mr. Hodgson on Tree Planting, at the meeting of the Horticultural Improvement Society on Wednesday last : — In planting trees, &c, as in many other operations of horticulture, I think many professional gardeners follow too closely practice without considering the altered condition of climate and soil under which they have to carry out their operations. Being of this opinion, 1 purpose noticing a few of the causes of the want of success in forming plantations. The choice of a site for a plantation will of course vary with the kind of plantation to be formed ; but in all cases in choosing a site, more attention should be paid to the subsoil than to the surface. Having fixed upon the size of your plantation (of whatever kind it may be,)

the first thing to be done is to prepare , the soil by trenching— the deeper the better — and give it a summer fallow, / or plant it with potatoes or some other /. crop, so that the soil may be jvell pul- - i verised before commencing ;io planter I ■'■." consider the deep working of the soil ■ an essential point* even.:^hi ire ;thie: roots ' never reach to the 'bottom i of the trenched ground. Where ;the soil -is ; shallow worked, the .thunderstorms of f summer penetratebut a few inches arid 1 are soon again^aporafcetf;; jpn the other | hand, deeply trenched soil acts as a kind f of reservoir of moisture by whicjh ireest are supported during seasons of jse?eTe| drought. My attention was particularly n called to this subject some time agoj byy noticing a crop of beans that were~sown| upon a piece of newly^d^^^roiand;in| the vicinity of MelbourneT fviFrom oW part of that ground alarge gum-tree hadf. been grubbed, thereby trenching the ground in that spot two or three feejtf deep; a row or two of beans crosse^/ the place from which the tree had beett^ taken. After a hot w ( ind^daj^l noticed | that all the beans were ciito^^xcej^^ those which grew upon that particular spot, and they looked nearly as fresn as ever. One, of the most common mistakes made in planting is ovef crowding. In England, no matter lioy closely trees are planted, the abundW moisture and small evaporation preve/ loss of sustenance to any. All haj) enough and to spare, and even shouf their roots cross each; other and wet ones die, it is not so much from wa of that portion of nourishment than conveyed through the root as fr<j the absence of reciprocation in the net of the tree, which is prevented mi developing itself in the same proportii as the roots from want of room. But tl system of close planting is not at, adapted to most parts of this Colon from the small rain-fall and gr< amount of evaporation as compared w England ; the only exceptions bei the mountain ranges of the coloi^ That this is correct Nature itsV teaches, let you travel in whatey direction you may over the plains! Australia, you will find the trees dott here and there, forming a kind of pal' like scenery, while the dividing rari< and the coast ranges of the colony^ where there is a greater fall of rain al a cooler climate — are covered wr dense forests. The ill effects of cIQ planting may be seen in every shru bery of seven or eight year* standing the colony. Trees, it is said, do notl( here ; and why ? Many of our Engty trees make a larger growth in one seas than in two or three in England, a yet we are told they won't do he; The fact that as they have made su growth they must require a com ponding area of soil, in which the ro may ramify and provide fresh nourh ment, seems to be totally forgottel and the fact that our climate bei drier, and the evaporation greater,; larger area of soil is required for eai seems to be quite- lost sight of. Tt a knowledge of these two facts essential to success in planting tre y vines, or estivation of any kind. J, have been informed, whether correct or not I cannot say, that during hot wind day a large vine leaf w evaporate as much as an ounce water. If this is the case, it is l wonder that the leaves turn yellow ai shrivel when planted closely aa thl generally are on the European plan. writer in a Melbourne paper, speakii of the Botanical Gardens, says " Valf able trees that might have aspired 7 become monarchs of the forest are li| gering a miserable existence throug having to compete for a living witbJ number of rank growing natives. Son will remember that a grove of pij trees was promised some years ago, « the plants intended to formithavii been, with exquisite judgment, plant? in a ready made wattle grove, we! unable to make headway against suv greedy neighbors." The principle ( non-competition is the great point to ) observed in forming plantations. The are other items of practice that I h\ intended to notice, such as root-pruj ing, mulching, &c., but I am afraid making too long a paper. I woii merely say that I object decidedlyi those practices. I should recomme that young trees be planted in all cas so young that they may be taken \ with most of their roots entire &t planted tap root and all. I should sj never prune the roots, but let thf ramble where they like in quest ! moisture. Mr Powney, in hi 3 essay! the pear, says, " Where the subsoil^ clay, I should recommend artific bottoms of a barrow or two of tubbli I must beg to differ entirely with I Powney on this subject. If we obsei any of tbe native trees, we shall n that they have tap roots penetrati, * deep into the soil, and the lateral rd, straggling many a yard in quest/ food. This is probably one of the tt, sons why native trees will stand durj' seasons of the severest drought, wB European trees whose roots consisr a lot of fibres like a map are cut I Mulching I object to, because it dry the roots toward the surface (wj they should be encouraged to penetl deeply), and after the mulching is\ moved these surface roots perish, ta doing the trees more harm than goo\ There is another item of practice tha should be mentioned, that is, the stir \ ; ring of the surface soil. It is uselesr) to expect trees to flourish here under^ordinary circumstances of climate and season, if grass and weeds are permitted to grow while the trees are young. During several years it will be best to keep the surface open, and prevent the growth of other vegetation, by the occasional use of tbe hoe or scan* fier. I must conclude this paper bjW hoping that however crude the r e-v| marks, they may lead to some useful f| discussion. lit