PLANTING THE TREES 57 



bed for the roots. In digging, the top soil 

 from the hole should be placed at one side and 

 the bottom soil at the other side of the hole. 

 After the tree is in place and has been "lined 

 up" with other trees or stakes, the planter 

 should first shovel in the top soil thus getting 

 the richer material next to the roots to provide 

 them with material to give the young tree a 

 quick start. After the roots have been care- 

 fully covered the soil must be tamped down 

 firmly. Get into the hole with both feet and 

 tramp the earth down as vigorously as possi- 

 ble. If the roots are much branched you may 

 even need to work it up under the arch of the 

 roots with your hands, but in any event get it 

 in firm contact with all root surfaces. The 

 last soil which goes in should not be tamped but 

 should be left in a loose layer over the surface. 

 After planting, the tree should stand so firmly 

 in the earth that it can not easily be pulled out 

 with one's hands. Last year in a planting of 

 five hundred trees one tree died and this, on ex- 

 amination, proved to be so loosely set in the 

 earth that I pulled it out with two fingers. 



There has been a great deal of interest in the 

 subject of planting trees with dynamite. There 

 is no doubt that dynamite has its place in the 

 preparation of the soil for planting, but to ad- 

 vise its use under any and all conditions will 

 lead to certain loss. The only place where any 



