NOTES ON SOME DIFFERENT METHODS OF PLANTINC;. 59 



8. Notes on some Different Methods of Planting. 



By Wei.lv.ood JMaxweli,, Kirkennan. 

 {With T7V0 Plates.) 



My attention was directed three years ago to the report of the 

 Woburn Experimental Fruit Farm on the methods of planting 

 fruit trees, and particularly to the fact that it did not injure the 

 tree but rather seemed to improve its growth, if as much as one- 

 quarter to one-third of the root were cut off. For some years it 

 has been our custom, when transplanting seedlings into the 

 nursery lines, to cut back the roots by about one-third, to prevent 

 the roots being bent when they are lined out, and no bad results 

 followed. In view of this, and of the report of the Woburn 

 experiments, it occurred to me that if one-third of the root were 

 removed when the trees were being planted out in the wood, it 

 might to a certain extent minimise the root bending which is 

 universal in notch planting, as the root being so much shorter 

 it would be possible to put it in more nearly vertically. In the 

 spring of 1909, I experimented with a few plants of Japanese 

 larch and beech, and found that both grew excellently, although 

 nearly one-half of the root had been removed in some cases. 



In March 1909, I directed my forester to plant two rows of 

 I -year i-year European larch, twelve in each row, in the follow- 

 ing ways : — 



r. Planted with ordinary spade in L notch, leaving the roots as 

 lifted from the nursery. 



2. Planted as in No. i but with one-third of roots cut off. 



3. Planted with Schlich's straight-planting spade, leaving roots 



as lifted from nursery. 



4. Planted as in No. 3 but with one-third of roots cut off. 



5. Planted with a German semi-circular spade, 4-inch diam., 



leaving the roots as lifted from nursery. 



6. Planted as in No. 5 but with one-third of roots cut off". 

 The ground chosen for the experiment was in an old copse 



wood from which the oak, ash, etc., had been removed earlier in 

 the winter. The soil is a light loam, if anything rather deeper 

 at No. 6 than at No. i. The plants were all planted by the 

 same man, who, being a believer in notch planting, no doubt 

 put the notched ones in with rather more care than usual. The 

 plants have all lived, although one in No. 4 has made no 



