PLAXTIXn: QUALITY OF PLANTS. 171 



stem and branches entire, while in the case of the latter parts 

 of the plants may have been pruned away. 



S('cdUu[is or transplants. — The former are plants which are 

 transferred direct from the seed bed to the forest ; the latter 

 those which were previously pricked out, once or several 

 times, in the nursery. 



Plants n-ith balls, or lumps of earth in which the roots are 

 embedded, or plants a-'ithout balls. 



Plants may be classified, according to size, as small, middle 

 sized, and large plants, but the limits of each class differ 

 according to the kind of plant, as well as to locality an 1 

 custom. 



8. Qnalitu of Plants. 



The success of planting operations is governed by the 

 quality of the plants which are used, just as the success of 

 direct sowings depends on the quality of the seed. Hence, 

 only healthy, vigorous plants should be used, which are 

 likely to bear well the interruption of growth involved in 

 the transfer from one locality to another, under circumstances 

 admitting only of a limited amount of attention being paid to 

 each plant. 



The vigour, or growing power, of a plant is indicated by a 

 normal shape and a healthy appearance. The development 

 of each part must be in due* proportion to the rest ; the plant 

 should be neither tall nor thin, nor too short and stout; nor 

 should the stem be crooked, especially in the case of coni- 

 ferous plants ; the root system should be ample, with a fully 

 developed system of rootlets ; the crown should have a healthy 

 green appearance, and possess numerous well developed buds. 



These are the general characteristics of good healthy plants. 

 At the same time they are subject to some modifications as 

 regards species, age, and the locality which it is proposed to 

 plant up. More especially some caution is necessary in trans- 

 ferring plants from a rich to a poor soil ; from a cool northern 

 aspect to a hot southern one ; from a low to a high situation ; 

 from a sheltered to an open spot, etc. ; in other words, what 



