PLANTING FOREST TREES. 97 



hole should always be used to fill the bottom of the pit 

 to feed the roots and fibres, while the raw soil taken from 

 the bottom serves for leveling the surface. Planting is 

 finished by gently pressing down the earth around the 

 tree with the feet, and covering the recently disturbed 

 soil with sods or stones, leaving uncovered a space of a few 

 inches in diameter around the base of the tree. The sod- 

 ding will keep the dirt in the plant-hole fresh and moist. 



In cases where dryness or looseness of the soil renders 

 plant growth at the start uncertain, especially for plant- 

 ing the hardy kinds of Pines upon sterile lime-stone soils 

 and shifting sands, the report of the Department of Ag- 

 riculture for 1887 recommends the " puddling in," and 

 describes this method as follows: "A thin puddle is 

 "made of two parts water and one part loamy forest soil 

 "or mold. In planting, a conical hole is made to re- 

 "ceive the plant, and while holding the plant in the 

 " hole, the puddle is ponred into it with a cup. The 

 "puddle must be stifE enough to hold the plant at a pro- 

 " per height; yet not too thick, because in such cases 

 "it would not fill the bottom of the hole, but would ad- 

 " here to the sides, and thus the tips of tlie roots would 

 " have no covering, and would die off. To be sure, in 

 "hot weather the upper loamy layer dries out quickly 

 " and hardens ; but this layer, not being hygroscopic, 

 "prevents the drying out of the lower strata, which is 

 "the important point to secure in the quickly drying 

 "sand. The cost of this method of planting is about 

 "double that of ordinary planting in holes." 



Sometimes it is desirable to plant trees upon loose, 

 boggy ground, where plant-holes, if made in the usual 

 way, would always be full of water, thereby killing the 

 trees set in them. In such cases trees may be planted 

 entirely above the surface ground by spreading out the 

 roots, and throwing dry, good soil over them. The coni- 

 cal mound thus formed is then covered with inverted sods 



