ESTABLISHING FORESTS BY PLANTING 387 



30. Bad Effects from Bending or Crowding the 

 Roots in Planting 



Heyer, Fiirst, Mayr, and most other European authors have, 

 in the author's opinion, overemphasized the necessity for placing 

 the roots so that they occupy as nearly as possible their original 

 position in the soil. Although trees, particularly when more than 

 1 year old, usually become more quickly established and make 

 more rapid juvenile growth when the root system is given its 

 original position, economic planting does not permit or require 

 over-refinement in this respect. 



Investigations made by the author near New Haven, Conn., 

 on 2-year seedlings of white pine show little difference in growth 

 in plants set on loose, sandy soil with the roots in a vertical plane, 

 crowded together in a narrow cylindrical hole, or spread out in 

 their normal position. 



Moller, 1 from a long series of experiments with Scotch pine on 

 sandy soil in Prussia, concludes that it does not matter appar- 

 ently whether the roots are bent to one side, tied together, or 

 crowded into the planting hole. He found that if the roots were 

 not permitted to dry out, the above manner of treatment was not likely 

 to kill the trees or even appreciably to check their growth. 



This does not imply that careless methods should be employed 

 in planting but that unnecessary refinements should be avoided. 

 That method which insures success at the least cost should be 

 selected. All that is needed is to bring the roots into the soil 

 in as natural a position as possible without excessive care which 

 entails additional expense. On loose, sandy soils the slit method 

 of planting which necessitates the crowding of the roots into a 

 single plane is often acceptable because of its low cost. On the 

 other hand, on heavy, compact soils it has time and again proved 

 a complete failure. As a rule, the larger the stock the greater 

 the necessity for spreading the roots so that they assume their 

 natural position. Small plants have but few roots and they are 

 short and flexible; hence, less attention in planting is necessary 

 in order that they be properly disposed in the soil. 



One of the most frequent defects in planting arises from crowd- 



1 Moller, Alfred: Versuch zur Bewertung von Kieferplanzmethoden. (Zeit- 

 schrift f. Forst- u. Jagdwesen, S. 629-632. 1910.) 



