THE FOREST NURSERY 



315 



The workman, standing with one foot on the board and the other 

 on the bed, opens up a trench with the spade along one side of the 

 board. This trench should be vertical on the side next the board 

 and from 4 to 10 inches deep, depending upon the length of the 

 roots of the plants (Fig. 81). As soon as the plants are in the 

 trench and the soil firmed about the roots the board is moved 

 forward the spacing distance of the rows, and the operation con- 

 tinued until the bed is planted. The spade is the only tool used 

 in the formation of the trenches in 

 lining out seedlings in most forest 

 nurseries in the United States. 



48. Trenching with the Hand 

 Trencher. The hand trencher can 

 often be used to advantage in making 

 small V-shaped trenches in loose, 

 sandy soil for transplanting 1- and 

 2-year conifers. The author has 

 found this implement impractical for 

 use on compact soils as it cannot be 

 readily forced into the soil to suffi- 

 cient depth (Fig. 82). Heyer 1 

 recommends a hand trencher made 

 of wood for the rapid making of 

 trenches in which small plants are set. 

 Mast 2 recommends the following as a 

 very efficient trencher. Two plates of 

 steel 7 inches wide and 26 inches long 



are welded together along one edge and drawn out to a thin cutting 

 blade. The opposite edges of the plates are separated about an 

 inch, allowing space into which thin pieces of f-inch pipe slightly 

 flattened are inserted and riveted. One piece is inserted in the 

 center and the other two at 1^ inches from the ends of the plates. 

 All are brought together in a cross or 4-way pipe connection 8 

 inches above the plates. Into the upper opening of the cross a 

 piece of pipe 20 inches long is fitted, at the upper end of which is 

 attached a T-handle. This trencher weighs from 18 to 24 pounds. 



1 Heyer, Carl: Der Waldbau oder die Forstproduktenzucht. 1. Bd. S. 

 289. Leipzig, 1906. 



2 Mast, W. H.: New tools for transplanting conifers. (Forestry Quarterly, 

 vol. X, p. 4. 1912.) 



FIG. 82. The hand trencher. 



