21 



Just what this distance ought to be is a much-discussed ques- 

 tion. In the writer's opinion it ought seldom to be less than 

 40 feet for the standard trees, which would make the fillers, 

 if these are used, 20 feet apart. Next a row of stakes is 

 set at right angles to the first row, usually about the middle 

 of the field, these being all the stakes that are set by the 

 sighting method, the balance being best set with what ara 

 called measuring boards. These are two boards of a length 

 equal to the distance between the trees. These boards have 

 notches at the ends, and are laid down the end of one against 

 a stake in one row and the end of the other against a stake 

 in the second row of stakes as shown in the accompanying 

 diagram, and the new stake is driven in the notch where the 

 two boards meet. All this may sound like a good deal of work, 

 but it would surprise any one who has not tried it to see how 

 quickly the stakes may be set. 



Locating the Trees. 



For locating the trees a planting board should be used. 

 This is a device which is by no means new but which deserves 

 much wider use than it gets. There are several types of 

 them, but the one shown in the accompanying diagram is 



-TL 



perhaps as good as any. The board should be 4 or 5 feet 

 long by 8 inches wide, with a notch at each end and one in 

 the middle. The middle notch is placed against the stake 

 set for the tree and a short piece of lath is then driven down 

 at each end in the notches, the planting board taken away, 

 and the hole dug for the tree where the center stake stood. 

 Then when it comes time to set the tree, whether it is that 

 afternoon, or the next day, or the next week, the planting 

 board is put in place again with the two small stakes in the 

 end notches and the tree is slipped into the middle notch 

 and planted out, and of course stands exactly where the 

 original stake stood. This is another operation which may 

 sound bungling but which in actual practice works out very 

 satisfactorily. 



