80 FOEESTEY WOEK 



of an auger — viz., with a screwing motion. The soil is 

 thus churned up and made more suitable for the insertion 

 of the plants. These patches may be prepared at any 

 convenient time during the winter months or just previous 

 to planting (Fig. 10, p. 71). 



Preparing Mounds. 



A plan adopted largely on wet land in Belgium, but 

 seldom practised in this country, is mound-planting. 



The turf is taken off, a mound of soil made on the spot, 

 and the turf replaced grass downwards on the sides of 

 the mound, to hold it together. The plants, preferably 

 those lilted with balls of earth, are then inserted in the 

 top of the mound. This method prevents the plants 

 being killed by any excess of water before becoming 

 estabhshed, but it is expensive, and it is usually cheaper 

 in the end to drain the ground thoroughly. Planting on 

 upturned turf is sometimes done with success, but unless 

 the roots of the plants are long enough to reach the mineral 

 soil, this method should not be adopted. 



The turves are either cut in squares and turned over on 

 a different spot, or are those taken off when draining and 

 placed in position. The plants are notched through these 

 into the turf below by means of a grubbing iron or a 

 straight notching spade. 



Draining. 



Agricultural land is drained by the use of pipes or tiles 

 laid in ditches that are filled up again after the pipes are 

 laid. If this method of draining were adopted for forest 



