SOWING AND PLANTING IN THE FOREST 69 



weeds, and where small seedling plants are being used, it is 

 sometimes possible to plant with a peg of iron or wood. The 

 peg is driven into the soil and a plant is inserted into the hole 

 with its roots straight downwards. The hole is closed in the 

 same way as when using Schlich's vertical spade. The method 

 is cheap and fairly satisfactory. 



Mound-planting. When the ground is very wet or stiff, the 

 young trees often get a better start when planted on small 

 mounds instead of in pits. A few spadesful of earth are 

 formed into a mound, the plant is inserted in the centre, and 

 the soil is well pressed round it ; the mound is then covered 

 with turf or stones to protect the soil from sun or heavy rain. 

 The method is only occasionally used, but is worth consider- 

 ing under certain circumstances. 



Whatever the method of planting, it may be necessary to 

 prune the plants, but this should be reduced to the minimum. 

 An extra long or damaged root may be cut off, and if there 

 are two leading shoots one may be removed. Each plant 

 should be looked at separately and the necessary pruning 

 clone. Sometimes a handful of plants is taken and the roots 

 are all cut off to a certain length ; this practice should never 

 be adopted, as excessive pruning often leads to disease which 

 gets in through the wounds. 



After the plantation has been formed it should be carefully 

 looked after until the plants are well-established. The first 

 care is to tread the young trees in firmly whenever they have 

 been loosened by wind, as neglect of this precaution may 

 cause great loss, and the rubbing of the stem against the soil 

 may cause a wound in the bark which may afterwards lead to 

 disease. This is specially necessary with autumn planting. 



The year after planting, all failures should be filled up, and 

 this should again be seen to in the second year. During the 

 first three or four years weeds which are outgrowing the young 

 plants must be cut back early in summer ; when once the 

 plants are above the weeds these latter do no harm, and they 



