CONDUCT OF PLANTING OPERATIONS 125 



But where several men are working together, the most 

 competent man should be responsible for keeping the line. 

 Thus, if there be six men digging, this competent man will 

 take every sixth row, and the line of this row should be 

 marked or indicated by sticks. The position of these sticks 

 is ascertained by carefully measuring the distance from the 

 last row which this man dug. Then the other men take their 

 line from this man as best they can. 



Each man should have a stick of his own, cut to the 

 correct length of the distance from hole to hole, with which 

 he should measure the distance from hole to hole along his 

 line. 



When actually planting in pits, if a mixture is being 

 planted, the head woodman should place the correct species 

 in the holes, just in advance of the planters, so as to avoid 

 confusion. 



When notching is being carried out, and a mixture is 

 being planted, it is very difficult to keep the lines and avoid 

 confusion with the mixture. But there should be sufficient 

 men, so that one man plants all his rows, for the day, in a 

 similar manner. 



When planting operations are taking place, great care is 

 necessary that the roots of the trees are not left exposed to 

 sun, frost, or dry winds, before they are planted. If there be 

 a home nursery near, the plants required for each day may 

 be brought daily to the centre of the day's operations. They 

 should be laid with their roots in a trench, and a little soil 

 and damp straw or moss thrown over them. 



If the nursery be some way off, two or three days' supply 

 may be brought, but they should be properly " sheued " into 

 trenches, and their roots covered up with soil. 



They should not lie too thickly in the trenches, other- 

 wise air will get down in between them and dry the 

 roots. 



In such cases, the plants required for each day's planting 

 are carried every day to the centre of the day's operations, 

 and protected with soil and wet moss, etc. Only sufficient 

 plants should be given out at a time for about an hour's 



