288 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
spade towards himself, and turns it in such a way as to raise the 
angle of turf formed by the cuts. An assistant then draws in 
the plant with the roots below the spade. The spade is then 
withdrawn, and the turf springs back and covers the roots. A 
smart stroke with the heel to fix the plant completes the opera- 
tion. In this way a man and a boy will insert from eight hundred 
to twelve hundred plants a day. This method of planting is suit- 
able for transplanted firs too large for being inserted with the 
hand-iron, but for which it is unnecessary to provide pits; and 
it is perhaps more generally in use for planting moorland than 
any other. 
The hand-planting iron is not in general use south of the county 
of Aberdeen. The implement resembles a common garden spade, 
but is so small as to be used quite easily with one hand. It 
measures from 17 to 18 inches in length, and weighs three 
pounds, The planter holds the iron in his right hand, and 
strikes it into the ground with a force sufficient to make a 
cut about 3 inches deep. Then pressing the iron down towards 
himself, he gives it a slight turn to the right. The plant is 
then put in at this opening, and the iron withdrawn. The 
planter then fixes the plant by giving the cut turf a smart 
stroke with the heel as he steps forward. In this way an 
experienced workman will insert from two to four thousand 
plants a day. The plants are carried in a bag slung across the 
shoulder, and hanging down at the back within easy reach of the 
left hand. Five hundred seedlings can thus be carried without 
inconvenience to the planter. 
This method of planting is certainly the cheapest in practice, 
and can often be used when other means are impracticable. It 
must be clearly understood, however, that it is only suitable for 
planting seedling conifers, where the heath does not exceed 
perhaps 8 inches in length, It can never be practised with hard- 
woods nor large transplanted conifers. If this is attempted, 
failure only can be the result. But as has been already stated, 
in bleak exposures and rocky situations, almost unmanageable in 
any other way, planting with the hand-iron is the cheapest and 
most efficient system in practice, and the cost will seldom exceed 
twenty shillings per acre. 
Planting operations should never be carried on when the 
ground is affected with frost in the slightest degree, and many 
failures in planting, often attributed to other causes, could very 
