208 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



boards, and placing the center notch on the stake pulled 

 the stake out and set it in one of the end notches and added 

 another stake in the other end notch. He then removed 

 the board and dug the hole. 



In digging the hole the tree was examined to note the 

 size and shape of root and hole dug sufficiently large to 

 allow spreading all the roots out their full length and no 

 more. The man who directed the tree setting carried the 

 second notched board and after the hole was completed 

 he placed the board on the two stakes, and dropping his 

 tree into the hole brought the body to the middle notch, 

 thus holding it exactly where the original stake had been 

 set, 



In setting a tree a helper using a hoe pulverized the 

 dirt that was still fresh and moist, hauling it to the roots 

 as fast as a man could place it in with his hands and by 

 the aid of a trowel. Great care was taken to work the 

 soil in about roots. When sufficient dirt was in to cover 

 the roots a quart of water was turned in. By vibrating 

 the tree slightly the water soon percolated through the 

 moist soil, dissolving the particles and settling them closely 

 around the roots. The holes were then filled within two 

 inches of the top, and then tramped firmly. Then about 

 three inches of loose dirt was scattered over this packed 

 soil, and the tree left. 



This plan was so successful that in the spring of 1901 

 we were obliged to reset only seventeen trees, less than 

 two per cent, the trees all having made a very fair growth 

 the first year. The expense of caring for these trees in 

 1900 outside of the trimming, but including all other work 

 and cultivation, amounted to $22.00, or about $2.25 an 

 acre. 



