224 ELEMENTS OF SYLVICULTURE. 



in the soil destroy the edge, and prevent it from 

 penetrating; too stiff a soil clogs the blade, and 

 renders it necessary to dip it each time in water ; 

 when the soil is very light, the young plants are 

 pushed forward along with their roots, against 

 which the spade strikes without cutting them. 



When it is required to extract the seedlings "before 

 putting them out, every precaution possible ought to 

 be taken to . keep the roots intact. In the case of 

 tall plants, they must be taken out one by one: 

 To that end, by means of a spade, a circle should be 

 traced round each plant, large enough to avoid the 

 lateral roots. They should then be dug away, care 

 being taken not to damage the fibrous roots ; when 

 a sufficiently deep hole has been made, the tap-root 

 must be cut through obliquely. If the seedlings are 

 small and have been raised in parallel trenches or 

 furrows, the best plan is to make a small trench of 

 sufficient width alongside the outer edge of the first 

 one of all, and then to tilt over the seedlings into it 

 with a spade pushed into the ground on the other 

 side. This being done, the soil adhering to the roots 

 is gently shaken off with the hand. Lastly, in the 

 case of one-year-old conifers, the seed-bed may be 

 cut up into sods like turf ; the young plants are 

 separated only at the moment of planting. 



The seedlings ought to be used as soon as possible 

 after their extraction ; but this cannot always be 

 done, for nurseries are sometimes at a considerable 

 distance from the spots to be planted up. In that 

 case, immediately after their arrival, they should be 

 unbound and put into a trench without being packed 



