105 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



exercised in lifting them in the nursery. There should be no 

 breaking or barking of the rootlets; and the roots should not 

 be exposed to the atmosphere one minute longer than is actually 

 necessary. 1 In tying or bundling them use willow wands in pref- 

 erence to twine, as the wands are less apt to damage the bark. 



In conveying them to the scene of operations, make sure that 

 none of the roots are exposed to the air. Immediately they 

 arrive, heel them into the earth. If the bundles be large, loosen 

 the wands and spread the plants in the heel to prevent heating. 



Mode of Planting. — Scots pine, spruce, and larch should be 

 planted by notching, and hardwoods by pitting. 



In notching, each man with a half-worn spade cuts the surface 

 like a cross, or in the shape of the letter L or T, and turns up 

 the ground by pressing the handle of the spade downwards, 

 when the plants are inserted into the cut, and afterwards firmly 

 pressed with the heel of the workman's boot. Care should be 

 taken that each cut is made deep enough to admit of the plants 

 being inserted without doubling or cramping the roots. Before 

 firming the soil with the foot, the plant should be gently raised 

 upwards to get the roots into a natural position. It is also 

 important, especially when notching larch, that the planter should 

 not injure the bark of the plants with his heel when firming the 

 soil, because such wounds often lead to fungous diseases. 



Never allow the young trees to be planted deeper than they 

 originally stood in the nursery. Inattention to this simple rule 

 often proves disastrous. 



In a district where boys can easily be hired, it is best for 

 each man to be followed by a boy who carries the plants in a 

 strong apron and inserts one into each notch as it is opened 

 by the spadesman. In this way a man and a boy on ordinary 

 ground should plant from 1400 to 1600 plants a day. 



Where boys cannot be got for inserting the plants, a man with 

 a light spade in one hand and plants in the other can plant as 

 well, though not as quickly, as a man and a boy. On ordinary 

 ground a man can generally plant about 1000 plants a day. 



' The importance of protecting the tender rootlets against the drying 

 action of the air has not hitherto been sufficiently recognised. The root- 

 hairs and suction-rootlets, through which the plants imbibe moisture and 

 food from the soil, very soon dry if exposed to the air ; and if any large 

 proportion of these be withered, it is impossible for the plant to establish 

 itself and grow well until the damaged root-hairs and suction-roots have 

 been replaced by new ones. — Hon. Ed. 



