Transplanting Trees.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1860, 7 June 1884, Page 6

Transplanting Trees.

A writeii in Farm and Fireside, m his directions respecting the treatment of trees before their removal states as follows : " A tree in full leaf^may be compared to a powerful pnmp, the roots absorbing' water rom the soil, which is carried upward through the stem and exhaled from the leaves in the form of vapor. This exhalation from the leaves is really thejprimary operation, however, being eiroply a process of evaporation. If, now,Jfthe principal portions of the roots be out away, and especially the fine rootlets which are farthest from the stem and through whose extremities nearly all the water is absorbed, jthe leaves, if allowed/to giow, will exhaust the water from the stem and roots more rapidly than it can be supplied by the remnant of the latter, and the consequence will be the destruction of the tree. Hence, in transplanting trees the leaf bearing twigs should be cut away in proportion to the loss of roots, and it should be remembered that the root EOrfaco is generally equal to that of the twigs ; consequently the safest rule is to remove nearly all the branches, trimming to bare poles. It is hard to do this, but the aftergrowth of the tree will be rapid enough to compensate for the apparent loss. In moving large trees it is an excellent plan to dig down and cut off a largo portion of the roots a year before transplanting, removing a portion of the top at the same time. This will cause the formation of new rootlets near the stem, which may be preberved in tho final transplanting."