492 forestry Quarterly. 



twisted. Such plants, it is felt, have little chance to succeed, or, 

 if they do, the twisted or injured roots would be very apt to die 

 and thus to carry decay into the stem of the plant and so bring 

 about its ultimate death. Where the injury to the roots is only 

 a minor one, the injured part is often trimmed off, excessively 

 long tap roots are also occasionally cut back, but, in general, root 

 trimming is not favored since it is apt to weaken the plant and 

 unfit it for its struggle with the new environment. 



In order to avoid undue exposure of the stock, the actual 

 planting operation is usually well systematized. The workmen 

 are divided into three squads, one to dig the holes, another to 

 plant and the third to bring the material to the planters. 



Various methods of planting are used in Austria — e. g. the 

 plant is set in single holes, in furrows or on mounds. In all 

 these, the shape of the planting hole is, by the foremost foresters 

 given the greatest attention; for it is obviously contrary to na- 

 ture to force the normally spreading root system into a small, nar- 

 row, pot-shaped hole. Oberforstrat Reuss and other leading Aus- 

 trian silviculturists urge the necessity of imbedding the plants in 

 a sufficiently large, shallow, dish-shaped hole which allows the 

 roots to be spread out naturally before covering them with earth, 

 and enables the plant promptly to resume its interrupted growth. 



The act of planting as practiced by Oberforstrat Reuss is 

 simplicity itself. After choosing the site for the hole, any ex- 

 isting cover of weeds, grass, etc., is cleared away with a mattock 

 and pulled back toward the left so that there is sufficient space 

 for the dirt to be piled immediately next to the planting hole. 

 This exposes the mineral soil which is now loosened by repeated 

 blows of the mattock until all is finely pulverized. It is then 

 pulled out and piled next to the hole, as far as possible on the 

 right site thereof, taking care lest the earth become mixed with 

 any loose bits of weeds, grass, etc., previously removed. The 

 planter then selects from out the basket where it is protected by 

 damp moss,* constantly renewed by the men of the "third squad," 

 a suitable plant and takes it in his left hand. According to the 

 structure of the root system he molds the loose earth at the bot- 

 tom of the plant hole to correspond. Flat rooted species such 

 as spruce, usually demand a flat topped hillock in the bottom of 



*Puddling of the plants is not done, usually, for reasons cited above 

 under transplanting. 



