362 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



In the best weather I put the men to plant on the high-lying and 

 exposed parts of the ground, and in cold weather they remove to the 

 more sheltered places. 



In frosty weather, and at other times when they cannot plant, they are 

 employed in making drains, roads, fences, and pits ; so in this way they 

 are never idle, unless, indeed, in very stormy weather. 



There are two methods of planting practised in this country one is 

 by making pits or holes, and the other is by notching or slitting. Pits 

 should be made for all Scots pine, larch, and spruce that are above three 

 years old, and for all hardwood trees of any age ; and also some soils 

 should be pitted even if small plants are to be used this is where the 

 soil is of a hard nature, and where the subsoil is hard. Some of the moor- 

 lands in this country have a hard seam between the soil and subsoil, 

 commonly called moor-band pan. It is necessary to have this broken up, 

 or the plants will not thrive well. I advocate the pitting system in 

 general where there is sufficient soil to admit of it being done. It is 

 almost impossible to pit on hilly ground where the soil is thin and lying 

 near the rock. In such situations the notching system must be adopted. 



Pits for the hardwood trees should be made about fifteen inches on 

 the side of the square, and about the same depth, first taking off the thin 

 turf or sod from the top and laying it to one side, then removing all the 

 soil to the required depth, and laying it to the opposite side. When 

 planting the trees, they should be held in the middle of the jjit by a 

 woman or boy, and the earth put in before any firming of it takes place. 

 It is customary with may planters to put in a little soil and then firm 

 it, then add some more soil, and so on till the pit is full ; but this is 

 injurious to the plants, as the roots are packed too close, and are thus 

 injured. I always adopt the plan of firming only when the pit is full 

 of soil, then the plant is securely fixed in its place by pressing the soil 

 about the neck of the plant with the foot. 



Pits for the hardwood trees, as I have described, have cost us from 

 8s. to 15s. per thousand, according to the nature of the soil and situa- 

 tion, and we always endeavour to have them done by contract. If the 

 land is very stony, and a pick has to be used in making the pits, they 

 will cost more. 



Hardwoods are often put into the pits by placing the stem of the plant 

 against the side of the pit. In exposed situations this is a good plan, as 

 the plant can be made firmer in this position than when placed in the 

 centre. 



In planting one-year seedling two-years-transplanted larch, we have 

 usually made pits in soils which would admit of this being done about 

 nine inches square and one foot deep. These pits have cost us from 



