. From the
latter part of March to the early part of May is generally the
planting period in the Eastern States.

Where one has to plant both coniferous and deciduous trees, it is
best to get the deciduous in first, and then the conifers.

How to plant: The location of the trees with relation to each other
should be carefully considered. On the lawn, they should be
separated far enough to allow for the full spread of the tree. On
streets, trees should be planted thirty to thirty-five feet apart
and in case of the elm, forty to fifty feet. In woodlands, it is
well to plant as close as six feet apart where small seedlings are
used and about twelve feet apart in the case of trees an inch or
more in diameter. An abundance of good soil (one to two cubic yards)
is essential with each tree where the specimens used are an inch or
two in diameter. A rich mellow loam, such as one finds on the
surface of a well-tilled farm, is the ideal soil. Manure should
never be placed in direct contact with the roots or stem of the
tree.

Protection of the roots from drying is the chief precaution to be
observed during the planting process, and for this reason a cloudy
day is preferable to a sunny day for planting. In case of
evergreens, the least exposure of the roots is liable to result
disastrously, even more so than in case of deciduous trees. This is
why evergreens are lifted from the nursery with a ball of soil
around the roots. All bruised roots should be cut off before the
tree is planted, and the crown of the tree of the deciduous species
should be slightly trimmed in order to equalize the loss of roots by
a corresponding decrease in leaf surface.

The tree should be set into the tree hole at the same depth that it
stood in the nursery. Its roots, where there is no ball of soil
around them, should be carefully spread out and good soil should be
worked in carefully with the fingers among the fine rootlets. Every
root fibre is thus brought into close contact with the soil. More
good soil should be added (in layers) and firmly packed about the
roots. The last layer should remain loose so that it may act as a
mulch or as an absorbent of moisture. The tree should then be
thoroughly watered.

[Illustration: FIG. 95.--Specifications for a Street Tree.]

After care: During the first season the tree