314 PLANTING. 



ARTICLE 5. 

 NOTCH PLANTING. 



This method resembles very closely that just described, from 

 which it differs only in that in the latter it is a more or less round 

 hole that is made, whereas here it is a cut of some length. 



PKEPARATION OF THE GROUND. Just like holes, notches may, 

 according as the soil is naturally loose and free from injurious 

 weeds or is stiff or hard or traversed by the roots of strong weeds,, 

 be made either in totally unprepared soil or in soil that has been 

 worked up. As before, contiguous weeds and bushes may have to 

 be shaven away, even if the soil has not to be previously 

 cultivated. 



The length and depth of the notches will depend on the size of 

 the plants and the number put down in each. For small plants 

 put down singly a hoe with a long narrow blade (Fig. 87) would 

 be used with economy. In all other cases the notching spade 

 (Fig. 85) should be employed. 



At each point either only a single continuous notch may be made, 

 or two notches may be made in the form of a T or of a cross. The 

 single notch and the cross-bar of the T should be made slightly 

 obliquely, the latter inclined in the direction of the upright bar. 

 In the cross-cut notch, both cuts should be oblique. Oblique 

 notches are not only easier to make, but they facilitate the press- 

 sing down of the earth after the plants have been put in. 



PUTTING DOWN THE PLANTS. In the single notch more than one 

 plant may be put down, whereas in T or cross-cut notches, it is 

 usual to use only a single plant inserted at the intersection of the 

 two notches. The notches are closed with the pressure of the foot, 

 aided, if necessary, with the weight of the body. The plants should 

 be put in as soon as the notches have been made, otherwise, owing 

 to the drying up and hardening of the sides, it will be impossible 

 to close them in a complete manner. 



VALUE AND EMPLOYMENT OF THE METHOD. This method posses- 

 ses all the advantages of the preceding one, to which it is besides 

 superior in that it cuts through a certain length of the soil and the 

 roots that traverse it and thereby gives a better chance of develop- 

 ment to the roots of the plants put down. On this account it may 

 have a more extended application than that method. For instance, 

 in stiff soils, where the latter would invariably fail, the notch 

 method may sometimes succeed. In stony soils its employment 

 is obviously restricted to those places where the uarrow-bladed hoe 

 can be used. 



