70 A MANUAL OF FORESTRY 



method and land which can be so treated is usually fitted for 

 agriculture. 



Partial seeding instead of broadcasting is sometimes tried. 

 Where plowing is possible furrows may be run across a tract at 

 intervals of from six to ten feet and seed sown broadcast in these 

 furrows. Another modification is the so-called "seed-spot 

 method." In the application of this system, spots favorable for 

 germination are prepared, every six or eight feet, by scraping 

 away the sod for a foot square and loosening the soil. Seeds are 

 then sown in each spot and are pressed in by the foot or buried 

 at different depths according to the nature of the seed. De- 

 pressions made in this way or from plowing a furrow give -the 

 seedlings the benefit of more moisture than is available on level 

 ground, and free them for a brief period from the encroachments 

 of grass and weeds. 



Several good methods of planting are recognized. In New 

 England the tool most used is the mattock or old-fashioned grub 

 hoe, as it is often called. With this the sod must first be scraped 

 away for a space about a foot square, that the seedling may not 

 be harmed by grass or weeds. With a strong stroke of the mat- 

 tock the blade is driven well into the soil. Then by raising 

 the handle and turning it slightly to the right the soil is broken 

 on one side, while under the blade a cleft is made into which 

 the rootlets of the plant may be placed before the blade is 

 removed. The mattock is then taken out and the earth made 

 firm with the foot. This is called the slit system of planting. 

 Sometimes with a light sod the preliminary scraping away may 

 be omitted, thus shortening the operation but decreasing the 

 efficiency. 



A more thorough way of planting and one surer of results is 

 to scrape away the sod, and then to remove the earth from the 

 center of the square. In this hole the tree is set by hand or 

 with the aid of a trowel. Fine dirt should be packed tightly 

 around the plant. This and the slit method are recommended 

 for ordinary work. In either case the emphasis must be placed 

 on the removal of the sod before the hole is made. 



