414 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



The tool weighs about 10 pounds and is approximately 38 inches 

 in length. It is made of iron and steel throughout. The shaft 

 and crossbar handle are constructed of inch tubing. Three strong 

 bayonet-shaped knives are securely bolted to the lower part of the 

 shaft and pass through a foot-rest at the lower end of the shaft 

 and extend about 13 inches beyond. The knives are so arranged 

 that they converge to a point with a triangular space between 

 them. This space is about 1 inch in diameter with the exception 

 of just beneath the foot-rest where it is about 3 inches wide. 



In operating the tool the movement of a small lever (c) at- 

 tached to the foot-rest raises one of the blades (a). The plant is 

 inserted in the groove between the other blades and the first blade 

 lowered to its former position. The roots lie in the triangular 

 space with the crown in the wider space (6) beneath the foot-rest. 

 The tool is now thrust vertically into the ground with the foot 

 upon the foot-rest (d) until the flare in the blades is level with the 

 surface. The opening made is triangular in shape, about 1 inch 

 in diameter, and 10 inches deep. The tool is now turned to the 

 right, and at the same time pressure is gradually applied to the 

 lever (e) at the top of the handle. The pressure forces the blades 

 apart. As the sharp edges of the blades are turned outward, the 

 turning movement forces the soil inward about the roots. 



A single workman can plant 2-year coniferous seedlings with 

 this tool at the rate of from 75 to 100 per hour. The greatest 

 objection to its use appears to be the uncertainty in the firming 

 of the soil about the roots. On overwet soils, particularly clay, 

 the soil sticks to the blades and the tool will not work at all. 



11. PLANTING WITH TOOLS WHICH MAKE THE OPENING IN THE 

 SOIL IN THE FORM OF A NOTCH OR SLIT. The chief distinction 

 between the methods of planting in notches or slits and those 

 previously described is in the shape of the opening. 



Several planting tools known under the name of planting ax 

 and planting hatchet are in use in Europe (Fig. 122). These 

 tools are the smallest and simplest of those used in opening a slit 

 or notch in the soil in which the plant is set. With a swing 

 of the arm the hatchet or ax is forced into the soil, and on its 

 removal the plant is inserted in the notch. The opening is 

 closed by forcing the earth at either side into it by 2 or 3 well- 

 directed blows with the thick end of the tool. Sometimes the 

 foot is used to compress the soil more completely about the roots 



