PLANTING 71 



been completed. The tree is then set in such a position that its 

 stem or trunk passes through the central notch corresponding to 

 the location of the stake. 



Another device for locating trees, commonly employed in the 

 West, is a triangle made by nailing firmly together three strips, 

 each i inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 6 feet long, allowing a pro- 

 jection of 3 inches at the corners of the triangle thus formed. One 

 projecting corner of the triangle is placed firmly against the stake 

 which marks the position of the tree, and a stake is driven in each 

 of the other two corners. The triangle is removed, the hole dug, 

 and the tree brought into exact position. 



The planting boards are serviceable not only in putting the trees 

 in their exact positions but also in giving the planter a good idea 

 as to whether the trees are being set at the right depth. Without 

 their use, trees may be placed in the holes and the earth filled in 

 about them before it is discovered that the holes are too shallow 

 or too deep. 



Hand digging and planting. The work of planting by hand may 

 be most expeditiously accomplished with four men, or two men 

 and two smart boys, one operating the planting board, another 

 digging the holes, a third bringing the trees and holding them in 

 position, and the fourth shoveling in the soil. Boys may be used 

 to operate the planting board and to hold the trees. The man or 

 boy who operates the planting board, after adjusting the stakes 

 for the first hole, goes on to the second, adjusts a second pair of 

 guide stakes, returns with the board to the first hole, where the 

 other boy locates the tree ; he then pulls up the guide stakes and 

 takes them with the board to the third tree stake. It may some- 

 times be better to have two similar planting boards available, 

 one for each boy. While the first boy is back at the first tree, 

 the hole is being dug for the second tree, and by the time he 

 sets the guide stakes for the third tree, it will be time to locate 

 the second. 



The boy who holds the tree while it is being planted gives it a 

 shake with an up-and-down motion, to scatter the soil among the 

 roots. Often the fingers may be used to help spread the dirt 

 effectively among the finer roots. When half the soil has been 

 shoveled in, the boy firms it with his feet. This first soil placed 



