Getting the Rows Straight 



195 



at either end to the adjoining row, as soon as one row is 

 set alongside it. Persons sometimes tie strings on the line 

 at the given intervals, expecting to set a tree at every 

 knot, but with the stretching of the line, and other errors, 

 it is difficult to get the cross-rows straight in this way. 



On comparatively level fields, especially if the land is 

 in good tilth, the plantation may be laid out with a corn- 

 marker. If the planter keeps his back to the row of trees 

 and sights ahead to the marked line or furrow, he will get 

 his rows straighter than if he sights by the trees. Two men 



Fig. 45. Planting-board. 



are better than one when setting plants, for one usually 

 attends to the sighting while the other puts in the plants. 

 There are various devices for locating the position of 

 the orginal stake, after the hole has been dug. One of the 

 best consists simply of a thin board 3 or 4 inches wide and 

 6 or 7 feet long (Fig. 45), with a notch at its center, 

 and a stationary leg or pin at one end (a). The other end 

 (6) is provided with a hole to receive the top of another 

 stake or pin. The notch is set against the stake, the legs 

 at each end of the board being thrust into the ground at 

 the same time. The end (b) is now raised off the pin or leg, 

 and the board is swung around out of the range of the hole. 

 When the hole is dug, the end (c) is swung back and 

 dropped over the pin, and the tree is set in the notch. On 



