then a maple or some other tree and so on. Later the poplars may be cut
out and you have left the fine sturdy, long-lived trees. At the same
time the poplars have tided over that in-between period. We sometimes
weary of waiting for an oak to grow sizable.

The tree planting was left until May because of the state Arbor Day. The
maple and buttonball or plane-tree were dug up by the boys in the woods
the morning of Arbor Day. The trees were chosen from a rather open part
of the wood. It is better to choose trees from the open places than
from the denser woods. Trees thus selected are far more likely to grow
on being transplanted into a place similar to that from which they came.
The boys chose trees about five feet tall. The smaller the tree the
better. The following directions were the ones agreed upon:

(1) Dig a hole large enough and deep enough to accommodate the roots
without cramping. Allow so that the tree shall sit one inch lower than
it did before.

(2) Place the topsoil on one side of the hole; on the other the poorer
subsoil. If the topsoil is very poor, get some good, rich, black soil.

(3) Place good soil in the bottom of the hole.

(4) Put the tree on this layer, spreading the roots out carefully.

(5) Shovel rich soil over the roots. See that it goes in between the
roots. Don't be afraid to use your fingers for this work.

(6) The poorer soil goes in on top.