PLANTING FOEEST TKEES. 95 



ship-building, etc. But in general the forester should 

 always have the knife ready to clip the inferior limb as 

 soon as forks appear. Sometimes the superior limb has 

 to be trimmed off, if by the growing of the inferior a 

 more desirable standard tree is formed. In such cases no 

 certain rule can be given, except not to allow the tops of 

 the trees to go into forklike shapes. 



PLANTING WITH THE BALL. 



When coniferous trees previously transplanted into 

 the nuresry rows have reached an age of from four to six 

 years, they are ready for final transplating and have to 

 be taken up with the ball — ^that is, without disturbing 

 the roots or removing the earth from them. In this 

 condition they should be put in holes large enough to 

 give ample room for the ball. The taking up is done by 

 the spade, a little ditch being dug along the first row of 

 the plants, and the plants cut out in square blocks. The 

 plants with the balls are carried on barrows or carts 

 and deposited near the plant holes. Before setting in, 

 the planter must examine carefully the depth and width 

 of the hole, as the roots must have the same position and 

 the same level relative to the earth's surface in their 

 new place as they had in their old one. Therefore, if the 

 holes are found to be too deep, some earth is thrown in ; 

 if too shallow, they are dug deeper. The tree is then set 

 perpendicularly in the center of the hole, and the space 

 around the ball filled in with loose soil, and gently 

 pressed down with the feet. 



It is true, close planting does well for quickly covering 

 the ground. But as this is an expensive operation, owing 

 to the number of young trees to be planted, and the sub- 

 sequent labor of thinning them out, it is usually better 

 to maintain a greater distance. The rows are then laid 

 out five feet apart, and the trees in each row three feet 

 from each other. 



