10 



PLANTING. 



than the top growth from rank herbage : hence they 

 should be kept perfectly clear of everything that can 

 interfere with their development. What is often more 

 difficult to contend with is the matted thick turf that 

 sometimes covers the ground. This matted surface is 

 often 3 inches or more thick, and before the roots 

 pass through it and reach the active soil the plant is 

 necessarily put in too deep for its prosperity. Under 

 such circumstances it is essential that the surface turf 

 be pared off and laid aside before planting. 



To pare the whole surface off an acre of ground 

 costs about thirty shillings ; and even this sum is 

 worth spending when only small groups are to be 

 planted for speedy growth and immediate effect. In 

 extensive hill-planting, however, this wholesale paring 

 is impracticable ; and the- next best thing to do is to 

 pare off the surface turf with a sharp spade, turn it 

 aside, and insert the plant in the central part of the 

 bare space thus made, usually about 8 inches square. 

 The turfing may either be done by the 

 planter with his spade as he proceeds, 

 or by a separate person going before 

 with what is termed a breast-spade, 

 and the planters succeeding him. 



In addition to burning the herbage 

 and cutting it for some years after- 

 wards, together with paring off the 

 matted turf that the roots may pro- 

 perly reach their natural soil, another 

 and by no means unimportant opera- 

 tion may with advantage be employed 

 — namely, breaking or loosening the 

 ground with the forester's footpick (fig. 1). In using 

 the footpick the operator goes backwards along the 



Fig. 1. 



