ESTABLISHING FORESTS BY PLANTING 



417 



soil firmly pressed about the roots. The chief objections are that 

 the roots are spread out in a single vertical plane and the grass or 

 other herbaceous vegetation is close about the inserted plant. It 

 should be used only in humid regions where the young trees are 

 able to compete with the surface vegetation. 



Several notching spades have been devised to overcome the 

 objection to the ordinary spade in making the opening for the 

 reception of the plant. All of these are alike in that the blade 

 is wedge-shaped, being much thicker at the top 

 than at the bottom. Consequently, after its 

 insertion in the soil, it is unnecessary to move 

 the handle backward and forward to an appre- 

 ciable extent in order to make the opening 

 sufficiently wide to insert the plant (Fig. 124). 



The spade is held in a vertical position and 

 thrust into the soil, opening up a V-shaped cleft. 

 The opening is closed about the inserted plant 

 with the feet. One man is required to oper- 

 ate the spade and another to insert the plants 

 and close in the soil about them. On loose, 

 sandy soil free from stones and roots, two men 

 working together will set from 2500 to 3000 

 plants in a single day. This tool has been used 

 chiefly in Europe in setting 2-year seedling pine 

 on sandy soil. It has been used in the United 

 States only for experimental purposes. 



Another type of notching spade has a straight 

 handle and a triangular blade from 4 to 8 inches 

 wide, 12 inches long, and terminating in a point. 

 The cutting edges are sharp and easily penetrate the soil. The 

 blade is made of pressed steel. This type of notching spade 

 is considered superior to the ordinary spade because of the ease 

 with which it can be thrust into the soil and the form of the 

 opening made. 1 It permits of rapid and efficient planting when 

 the stock is of suitable form and size and the soil favorable. 



The planting lance and a number of special tools are in use 

 for making the opening in the soil intermediate in form and size 

 between that made with the dibble and the notching spade. They 



1 Heyer, Carl: Der Waldbau oder die Forstproduktenzucht. 5. Aufl., 1. 

 Bd., S. 357. Leipzig, 1906. 



FIG. 124. The 

 notching spade. 



