6 Forestry Quarterly. 



of the trench. An advantage of this board over one which must 

 be laid on the surface of the ground comes from the fact that the 

 planter is able to partially overcome mistakes made in threading 

 trees too high or too low in the notches by simply lowering the 

 board into the trench until the crowns of the trees are at the prop- 

 er height. 



The Tamper. — For closing the trench a tamper made of i^ inch 

 board 12 inches long and 5 inches wide with hand-hold cut in one 

 side is used. By giving the proper amount of pressure on the 

 ground with the tamper at an angle and about 3 inches away from 

 the trench the whole side of the trench is broken in against the 

 roots of the trees. After the soil is firmly tamped on the side 

 nearest the operator the slat is loosened, moved away, the board 

 turned over toward the operator and the soil firmly tamped at 

 the back. The board holds the trees out of the way while this is 

 being done and when the tamping is completed, is lifted, and the 

 trees allowed to straighten up. 



Laying Out Transplanting Beds. — When transplanting is done 

 by this method, 4 to 7 parallel beds should be layed out and all 

 carried forward together. With a squad of 5 or 6 men this allows 

 one man to be kept busy with the trencher. As soon as the first 

 trench is made in bed No. i, the trencher man passes to the second, 

 then to the third and so on, the planters following him. By the 

 time he has made the trench in the last bed the planters are away 

 from the first and he returns to it to make the second trench, con- 

 tinuing as before. The trenches are made 6 inches apart. While 

 a trench is being made the 6-inch block of soil between the trench- 

 er and the last row planted is often entirely moved so that in 

 case the planters have not completely closed the soil against the 

 roots the trencher forces it over. 



When the beds are laid out, a string stretched across the block 

 insures all beds being started on the same line. A board marker 

 with cross lines 6 inches apart is laid in each path between the 

 beds, with the first line in each case beneath the string. These 

 lines guide the trencher without further use of the string. A 

 chalk line or small wire, preferably the latter, stretched at the left 

 side of each bed serves as a guide for the planting board so that 

 the edges of the bed may be kept even. If it is desired to place 

 transplants in long rows for convenient cultivation with wheel 



