HOW TO PLANT TREES 101 



moisture from fogs are prolonged late in the spring, late planting 

 is safer and surer than in the warmer, drier parts of the State. 



Another consideration, too, is the slope of the land to be planted. 

 Our hillside fruit growers in regions of heavy winter storms some- 

 times plant slopes, which, if plowed deep in the fall, are apt to wash 

 badly during the heavy winter rains. On such slopes it is better to 

 plow late in the winter, after the heavy storms are over, and plant 

 as soon as the soil becomes warm and mellow. 



Avoid planting during the prevalence of a dry wind, if possible. 

 If, however, it is necessary that planting be done during such 

 weather, the roots may be covered with wet sacks until each tree 

 can be planted and the earth well placed about the roots. 



THE OPERATION OF PLANTING 



Tree planting should be carefully and well done, but it need not 

 necessarily be slowly done. With a kind soil deeply worked and 

 just in the right condition for planting, trees may be put in well and 

 rapidly. Two men work together at a decided advantage. Using 

 the straight "tree-setter," which has already been described, one 

 takes each end, and as soon as the center notch encloses the tree 

 stake, the setter stakes are pushed into the soil, the "setter" is laid 

 aside, and the two men, taking up their shovels or spades, begin first 

 around the outside of the hole, throwing all the surface dirt on the 

 same side of the hole and leaving the tree stake to be thrown out 

 last, because its remaining serves to center the hole. The lower 

 soil is now thrown to the other side of the hole, and when depth 

 enough is reached, the soil at the bottom of the hole is loosened up 

 to a depth of a shovel thrust, without removing it from the hole. 

 A shovelful or two of the surface soil is thrown into the center 

 of the hole, being allowed to remain higher in the center, because 

 this generally furnishes a cushion about the natural shape of the 

 under surface of the root system of the tree. Now replace the tree- 

 setter upon its end pegs, let one man hold the tree with its stem in 

 the central notch in the setter, and while the other man shovels in 

 the surface earth rather slowly at first, the man who holds the tree 

 with one hand will spread out the roots, pulverize and pack the 

 earth around them, being sure that no cavities are left under any 

 of the roots, but that their surfaces everywhere come into contact 

 with the soil, and that they spread out as widely as possible. The 

 earth is being continuously put in by the shoveler, and when the 

 roots are covered the planter steps in the hole and carefully firms 

 the soil down upon the roots by tramping (especially at the cut ends 

 of the roots around the outer side of the hole), at the same time 

 judging of the perpendicularity of the tree with his eye. When this 

 is done, both men use their shovels and fill up the hole with the earth 

 taken from below, being sure to leave the last few inches at the sur- 

 face pulverized, but untramped, unless the soil be very light so that 

 tramping will not overpack it. Some one said long ago that one 

 should not plant a tree as he does a post, ramming down the earth 



