69 



In that case, and unless some sand can conveniently be put round 

 the cutting, the hole should be well trampled down, up to about 

 two-thirds of the length of the cutting or rooted plant, and the 

 remaining third banked up with the more friable and well-pulverised 

 soil, which is left loose on the surface. 



A handful of bone-dust or some other phosphatic manure and 

 wood ashes, kainit, or better still either sulphate or muriate of 

 potash, worked with the earth round the plant will in many places 

 provide nutriment for the young rootlets, and insure the rapid 

 growth of the vine or fruit tree as the case may be. 



TREE PLANTING. 



The ground should be marked off, so that whichever way the 

 rows are looked at they all seem to be in perfectly straight lines ; 

 then the holes are dug. 



The holes for fruit trees should be wide enough to permit of 

 the spreading of the roots ; the wider the better. In heavy, 

 retentive soil they should not be deeper than the land has been 

 ploughed, as otherwise such holes would get full of stagnant water, 

 and would hold it like a basin ; many a fruit tree has been killed 

 through the roots thus decaying instead of growing in a healthy 

 condition. 



Before the holes are dug and in order to insure that the trees 

 will occupy the exact spot the stakes were in, a simple contrivance 

 known as the " tree -setter " is of great use. 



It consists of a light piece of board 1 inch thick, 4 inches 

 wide, and 4 to 5 feet long. Cut a V shape notch in the centre and 

 either bore a hole H inch in diameter at 3 inches from each end ; 

 or, instead of the holes, cut notches at each end of the board. 



To use the " tree- setter," the Y shaped notch is put against the 

 stake, which marks the spot the tree is to occupy. Through the hole 

 at each end, or in the notches, as the case may be, drive into the 

 ground pegs 1 to 1J inch in diameter and 12 to 15 inches long 

 that will easily pass through the holes. This having been done, 

 remove the central stake in the V notch, lift the board over the two 

 terminal pegs, which are left in the ground, and dig the hole. 

 When planting, replace the " tree- setter " over these two pegs, 

 and place the stem so that it will fit into the V ; it will then occupy 

 exactly the same spot the stake occupied when the ground 'was laid 

 out. 



N.B. The figures indicating 1 the number of trees to the acre given in the chapter ou 

 the laying out of the ground, are correct in so far as one single acre is concerned ; for a 

 larger number of adjoining acres, a small deduction should be made. 



