THE SPITZENBERG PLANTING TOOLS. 



The problem of reforesting timberless areas in the United 

 States is one which will confront American foresters for many- 

 years to come, however conservative the lumbering in the future 

 may be. To restock the areas at present bare and unproductive 

 would require many decades and many millions of dollars, and 

 yet there are many thousands of acres of land in the United States 

 which can be planted and which, beyond peradventure, would 

 prove a paying investment, even for private owners. Neverthe- 

 less the National Government and the various States can better 

 afford at the present time to engage in planting on a larger scale 

 than can individuals. 



Conditions in the United States differ so widely from those in 

 European countries that we may perhaps as yet not be able to 

 profitably practice such intensive methods as the European for- 

 ester is warranted in using. However, we can gain much of 

 value from knowledge of the methods employed by him and of 

 the instruments and tools he uses in his forest work, especially 

 those connected with the process of planting. The highest stage 

 of development in the number and uses of planting tools has been 

 reached quite naturally in Germany, and at Eberswalde a set of 

 tools on more or less new principles has been worked out by 

 an underforester, Spitzenberg. Although not yet generally 

 adopted, these Spitzenberg tools promise to be of great value in 

 planting, nursery, and other cultural work. Descriptions of these 

 and others in use in Europe may be of interest to the readers of 

 the Quarterly. The following descriptions and accompanying 

 illustrations cover specimens of these tools which are to be found 

 at the Yale Forest School. 



The essential feature of the Spitzenberg tools is that they are 

 to loosen and stir the soil without turning it up. 



The Wiihlspaten, or Revolving Spade. This tool (figure 

 IX, plate A) is used in nursery rows and beds to loosen the soil 

 about the roots of the young seedlings, thus stimulating the 

 growth by enabling the roots to penetrate more easily into 

 the soil. It is used on pure humus soils, in soils previously 

 worked over, and also on bare soils. The tool is had in two sizes. 

 One with two spade-points is lighter and is used for rougher 

 work in mountain soils, and in Germany is used by women as 



