In using fertilizers it is not advisable to apply them in any quantity so that they will come in direct contact with the roots of newly transplanted stock. It is always essential for plants to become established before they can make use of a fertilizer; otherwise injury may result. Until a tree makes a new terminal bud on the second growth its root system has not become established nor has it developed fibrous feeding rootlets sufficient to support the tree. A safe recommendation is that fertilizers should be so distributed in the soil surrounding the roots of transplanted stock that the food can become available as soon as the roots have started growth. In transplanting nursery trees and large trees a slow-acting fertilizer, such as bone meal, can be used in the soil around the roots, because the fertilizer will become available at the time when the tree has developed some of its new root growth.