Slit Planting. 123 



implement being produced simply by centrifugal 

 pressure, the sides which ought to be broken and 

 free, are, on the contrary, thus rendered peculiarly 

 hard and impervious. 



The best method appears to be what is called in 

 Scotland, " slit " planting. This might be done by 

 an implement exactly similar to the diamond dib- 

 ber before described, only that it should be several 

 inches broader, and have a handle some three feet 

 in length, instead of seven inches. " The operator," 

 to quote once more from Mr. Loudon's work, 

 " makes three cuts crossing each other in the centre 

 at an angle of 60 degrees, the whole having the 

 form of a star ; he inserts the implement across one 

 of the rays a few inches from the centre, and on the 

 side next himself; then bending the handle towards 

 himself and almost to the ground, the earth open- 

 ing in fissures from the centre, in the direction of 

 the cuts which had been made, he, at the same 

 time, inserts his plant at the point where the spade 

 intersected the ray, pushing it forward to the centre, 

 and assisting the 'roots in rambling through the 

 fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing 

 the spade ;" 2 and it is then trampled down smooth. 



2 It must be borne in mind, however, that all these 

 quotations from Mr. Loudon's valuable work have special 

 reference to the formation of forest plantations in Europe ; 

 which is a very different matter from planting a compara- 



