HOW AND WHAT TO PLANT 121 



7. HOW AND WHAT TO PLANT 



The tool most commonly used for planting is the grub hoe or 

 mattock. The sod may be removed and a hole of a convenient size 

 for the plants may be made. This method is known as hole planting. 



Slit planting is done by making a slit with a mattock or spade in 

 which the roots are placed and the slit is pressed together. 



It is of importance, in both methods, that the roots be well dis- 

 tributed in the soil and that the plant be placed neither too deep nor 



A. B. C. 



FIG. 62. Planting-bar or dibble method of planting forest trees as used in the 

 South. A. Making the hole. B. Inserting the seedling and closing bottom of hole 

 with second stroke of planting-bar. C. Closing top of hole with heel. Near 



Bogalusa, Louisiana. 



too high in the soil, but at a height which compares with its natural 

 position in the nursery bed. The soil must always be firmed com- 

 pactly about the roots, generally by the pressure of the planter's foot. 



The planter may use the mattock and plant the tree himself, or 

 one man may make the hole with the planting tool and another man 

 may carry the plants and do the planting. Two men generally work 

 in one crew. 



From 300 to 800 trees may be a day's work of 8 hours for one 

 man, depending upon sizes of plants, and the character of the planting 

 site. Thus a two-man crew may plant from 600 to 1600 trees per day. 



On sandy soils, when planting is easy and weed competition is 

 usually of little significance, small plants, often one or two years old 

 may be successfully used. The planting tool commonly used under 



