72 



THE APPLE 



Planting board. The planting board, a device made to assist in 

 planting apple trees, is not so well known as it should be. Its con- 

 struction is simple — a board | inch thick, 5 or 6 feet long, and 

 6 inches wide, with a V-shaped notch about 3 inches deep sawed 

 into each end, and the same kind of a notch exactly midway be- 

 tween the end notches. A board of this kind is shown in Fig. 31, 

 and its use illustrated in Fig. 32. In addition to this board, two 

 stakes between 1 2 and 1 8 inches long, called guide stakes, will be 



Fig. 32. Method of using the planting board 

 The tree will be located exactly at the middle stake 



necessary. There are many modifications of this type, but the 

 principle is practically the same in all. The purpose of the plant- 

 ing board is to locate the tree after the digging of the hole, which 

 naturally necessitates the removal of the stake. To accomplish this 

 the board is placed on the ground with the central notch adjusted 

 to the stake that indicates the proposed position of a tree. The 

 guide stakes are then driven into the ground at the ends of the 

 board, fitting snugly into the end notches. The board is removed 

 while the hole is being dug, and replaced when the operation has 



