FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS 



inserting young trees under 15 inches in 

 height. It is carried out by simply cutting 

 the sod or surface by two strokes of the spade, 

 and to a depth of about 5 inches, thus h- 

 or + . With the first stroke the spade is 

 inserted in the ground in an almost perpen- 

 dicular manner; it is then withdrawn and 

 inserted at right angles to the first notch and 

 close to it, and by pressing down the handle 

 of the spade the split is opened up and the 

 plant inserted from the blade of the spade 

 towards the end of the opening. The spade 

 is then carefully withdrawn, and the turf at 

 the point where the notch or slit was made 

 firmly trodden down, so that the opening is 

 securely closed. This latter is most important, 

 as if the air is admitted by way of the slit the 

 roots become dry and the plant dies in 

 consequence. Two persons, a man and a boy, 

 are required to carry out notch-planting ex- 

 peditiously, the man opening the slit and the 

 boy inserting the plant. As before said, 

 notch-planting is rarely practised, unless on 

 bare and hilly ground, where large tracts of 



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