422 SEEDING AND PLANTING 



similar tools, it has many advantages and is more generally 

 practiced. The more important of these advantages are as 

 follows : 



a. It permits the use of stock of all sizes. 



6. The stock can be more uniformly set with the roots at the 

 desired depth. 



c. It can be used on all classes of soil on dry, wet, steep, and 

 otherwise unfavorable sites. 



d. It permits the better distribution of the soil between the 

 numerous roots in refilling the planting hole. 



e. The planting hole can be made below the general surface 

 of the soil or raised on mounds above it in planting on overwet 

 and dry soils. 



/. The roots can be arranged more nearly in their natural 

 position before bringing in the filling soil. 



g. The work permits of closer supervision and consequently 

 is better executed on the part of inexperienced workmen. 



h. On sites where the soil is very poor, it permits the adding of 

 compost or enriched soil to the filling earth. 



13. HOLE PLANTING WITH THE GRUB-HOE AND MATTOCK. 

 Most forest planting in the United States is done with the ordinary 

 straight-handled grub-hoe (Fig. 127 a). It is the most useful 

 planting tool known. It can be used almost equally well under 

 a wide range of soil and cover conditions and with various kinds 

 and sizes of plant material. In the ordinary form of this tool 

 the handle, which is made of wood, is approximately 36 inches 

 long. The blade is from 8 to 12 inches long with a large eye at 

 the upper end, through which the handle passes. It curves in- 

 ward and gradually widens toward the cutting edge. This tool 

 can be obtained with various widths and lengths of blade and 

 weighing from 3 to 6 pounds. The ordinary stock grub-hoe with 

 a straight handle, 4-inch width of blade, and weighing 4 pounds 

 is the form most commonly used. A grub-hoe with a slightly 

 curved or bent handle and straight blade is an improvement over 

 the ordinary stock tool and is the form most largely used in 

 European practice. It permits the making of the planting hole 

 with sides more nearly vertical. By placing the blade of the 

 ordinary stock tool in the forge, it can be straightened so that it 

 is more nearly at right angles with the curved handle which 

 should replace the straight one. 



