MAKING MONEY OUT OF FORESTRY 73 



chosen with an eye to their salability and finally upon 

 the type of soil to be planted. 



Hardwoods, especially tap-rooted species, require 

 deep, fertile, well drained soil for good growth. Conifers 

 draw less upon the fertility and moisture contents of 

 the soil than do broadleaf trees. Among conifers, how- 

 ever, there is a marked difference, as red and jack pine 

 can grow on dry sandy soils where spruce and hemlock 

 would soon perish. 



When the frost is out of the ground is usually the 

 best time for planting although if the ground is not 

 subject to heaving in the spring, fall planting may be 

 practiced. The seedlings and transplants are dug from 

 the beds with a fork, tied in bundles and packed in large 

 hampers with wet moss around their roots and in this 

 condition are shipped to the area to be planted. 



On arrival the bundles are loosened, the roots dipped 

 in a puddle of thin mud and then the bundles are laid 

 on the side of a sloping trench with earth firmly packed 

 about their roots. This process is called "heeling in" 

 and is intended to keep the delicate root hairs from 

 drying out. 



The planting crew consists of two men as a unit, one 

 carrying a mattock with which he slices off the sod 

 and digs the hole, the second man carrying a pail with 

 several inches of thin mud in the bottom to keep the 

 little tree roots constantly moist. Back and forth across 

 the field they go, the row of mattock men keeping them- 

 selves in a straight line by sighting on a rock or stump 

 some distance ahead. Behind them come the bucket 

 men putting the tree in the hole and firming the soil 

 around the roots first with their fists and later with 

 their feet. The two most important points to remember 

 are that the roots must not be allowed to dry out and 



