THE FOREST NURSERY 331 



4. Mechanical Devices for Lifting Seedlings and Transplants. 



A number of mechanical devices have been developed in 

 Europe and the United States for lifting the stock from the seed- 

 bed and transplant bed. Laudenberger's mechanical tree lifter J 

 is representative of the form often used in Europe. It consists 

 of a heavy steel rake as long as the width of the bed supported 

 on a wooden frame which spans the bed and rests on the path 

 on either side. The long teeth are forced obliquely into the soil 

 beneath the seedlings or transplants and a portion of the bed with 

 the contained plants raised by means of the heavy handles which 

 work as levers from the supporting frame. This machine can 

 be used only on light, loose soil free from all obstructions. Two 

 men operate it while others follow, shake the soil from the roots 

 and gather the plants into baskets or boxes for transport to the 

 packing shed. This method of lifting seedlings and transplants 

 has not been introduced into the United States. Uiblagger reports, 

 however, that it reduces the cost of lifting coniferous stock from 

 seedbeds to approximately one-half that incurred in lifting with 

 the spade or fork. 



The Feigley tree digger (Fig. 92) is used in lifting large seedlings 

 and transplants at some of the nurseries on the National Forests. 

 This implement is operated by horse power much the same as a 

 plow. It is essentially a horizontal, sharp-edged wedge which is 

 run under the trees at any desired depth not exceeding 12 inches. 

 It lifts the entire body of soil with the contained trees and drops 

 it again, thereby loosening the roots so that the trees are rapidly 

 pulled without much loss of roots. It is run close to the plants, 

 loosening at one time a strip of soil about a foot wide the entire 

 length of the bed. After the loosened plants are removed, another 

 strip is similarly loosened. The implement is difficult to guide 

 and is likely to injure some of the plants by cutting off the roots 

 too near the surface. The soil is loosened to such an extent that 

 the plants must be quickly removed to prevent the roots from 

 becoming dry. 



A tree digger devised by S. D. Smith was first used at the 

 Halsey nursery in 1913. It has been used chiefly in lifting conif- 

 erous transplants from beds 6 feet wide. The device consists of 

 a heav> steel-bitted blade, 7 feet long and 12 inches wide, mounted 



1 Uiblagger, C. von: Die Laudenberger'sche Pflanzenhebmaschine. (Forstw. 

 Centralblatt, S. 109-114. 1908.) 



