40 FORESTATION, SAND HILLS NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. 



suffice because of the steady improvement of the soil through ferti- 

 lizing and because of the unstinted use of water. In Kansas, how- 

 ever, it is possible that none of less age or less perfect root develop- 

 ment than the 2-1 transplants can be used profitably. Even older 

 stock may prove cheapest in the end, but this matter has not had a 

 conclusive test. 



HARDWOODS. 



Practically all hardwoods used in both Nebraska and Kansas have 

 been grown in the nursery only one year. The soil of the Garden 

 City nursery produces such vigorous growth that even the 1-year 

 seedlings of the locusts have to be pruned on both the stems and roots 

 for convenient handling. It would be impracticable to use older 

 seedlings, and, because the roots sprout readily in the field, it is 

 wholly unnecessary to transplant hardwoods in the nursery for root 

 development. 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 



Four methods of planting have been tried successively in both the 

 Nebraska and Kansas sand hills. These are the "slit," "square- 

 hole," "cone," and "trencher" methods. 



THE SLIT METHOD. 



The slit method of planting was the first to be tried in this work; it 

 has been much used in forest planting because it is cheap. It seemed 

 especially desirable in the sand hills because the soil is loose and light 

 and free from stones. An ordinary spade, with 7 by 12 inch blade, is 

 used, and may be light or heavy as the worker prefers. The blade is 

 pushed straight down into the soil to its full depth, the handle is 

 moved back and forth to open up a wedge-shaped hole, and the blade 

 is then withdrawn. Taking a tree in the left hand, the planter whisks 

 its roots into the hole, and with the right hand and right foot again 

 inserts the spade parallel to the original insertion, and about an inch 

 from it to close the original opening and to secure the tree in an 

 upright position. While a new opening is made, it is readily closed 

 by several successively shorter strokes with the spade and finally by 

 pressing with the foot. 



The principal disadvantages of this method are: The inelastic 

 depth of the slit; lack of spreading of the roots, which may lie in a 

 cordlike or slightly flattened mass; and the danger, in rapid work, 

 that the tips of the roots do not reach the bottom of the slit. Careless 

 workmen actually have left the tips of the roots out of the ground 

 and the whole root mass in the shape of the letter U. This is not, of 

 course, an insuperable argument against the method, which has 

 strong merits. 



