138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the general humidity of the climate, make its growth pretty 
certain, All such plants should be planted by the pit system, 
for let the soil be as soft as it may, the best made notch possible 
does not give the roots room to spread properly. Indeed, hard- 
wood plants of almost any size should be pitted, for although 
they may be small, the hard unyielding nature of their roots 
renders them ill adapted for the notch; not only because of the 
danger of breaking the roots in firming the plant, but from being 
so hard they have also a tendency to act as a spring and keep the 
cut from being made perfectly solid. 
In making pits, a few points should be attended to: the turf 
should be pared off thinly and cut in half, ready for replacing ; 
the soil should then be taken out to a depth of several inches, 
and deep enough, in any case, for the reception of the plant. 
Where the subsoil is inclined to be hard, the bottom should be 
well stirred up and left lying loosely in the pit, taking care, how- 
ever, to draw it slightly to the centre, and thus give a downward 
droop for the roots, Where a hard “pan” exists below the upper 
soil, the pits should be dug in the autumn or early winter, so 
that the frost and atmosphere may have time to sweeten and 
pulverise the earth that is to come in close contact with the 
roots of the plant. This also greatly accelerates the work at the 
time of planting, and yet the system is not without its draw- 
backs, for, if drought sets in before the planting can be overtaken, 
and continues for a length of time after, not only the earth that 
has been excavated, but also that on the sides and bottom of the 
pit, loses moisture to a great extent, and the plant runs a great 
risk of fatal injury from drought. 
In planting, great care should be taken to spread out the roots 
well in the bottom of the pit, and when the greatest number 
of them have a tendency to grow to one side of the plant, that 
side should be set towards the prevailing winds, as it helps 
greatly to keep the tree from being blown over. 
A little of the best soil procurable should be placed round the 
roots, the pit then partly filled up and carefully trodden with the 
foot, after which the turf should be replaced and set firm to the 
neck of the plant, to prevent it working loose at the surface of 
the ground, straining the roots and letting in the drought. 
There are exceptions to every rule, and on even the lowest 
lying ground there are many places that can be profitably and 
well planted by the “notch” system with small plants, 
