MOUND PLANTING. 219 



blade of the spade towards the far end of the first notch, the 

 spade withdrawn and the soil pressed down with the feet, so 

 as to cause the notches to close completely. The operation 

 requires two persons, a man and a boy. 



The merits of ordinary notching are very much the same 

 as planting with a peg. As regards the British method of 

 notching it must be noted that the root system obtains an 

 altogether unnatural position, it being completely pressed to 

 one side (compare Fig. 53, h, on page 204). It has already 

 been pointed out in that place, that often many years pass 

 before this drawback is overcome. The system as practised 

 in Britain can yield satisfactory results only under a favour- 

 able climate and in the case of certain species. It is chiefly 

 employed in planting Scotch pine and larch plants two to 

 four years old. 



3. Mound Planting. 



Apart from wet and swampy localities, planting is sometimes 

 done on mounds, instead of in pits. 



The mounds are formed either by scraping together the 

 ordinary soil, or by depositing a 

 basketful of specially prepared soil 

 at regular intervals. The plant is 

 inserted into an opening produced 

 in the centre of the mound, and 

 then the soil pressed round the 

 roots until the mound has been ^in- 73. 



re-formed. Finally the mound is, 



whenever practicable, covered with turf, to protect it against 

 rapid drying. For this purpose two pieces of turf are placed, 

 one on the shady side [a), and the other on the sunny side (h), 

 so that the latter overlaps the former (Fig. 73). In the absence 

 of tarf, stones may be placed on the mound. 



The method is only suited to plants with a shallow root 

 system, if the mounds are to be of moderate size. It has 

 yielded good results on soil, such as gravel or hard clay. 



