154 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



planting, or whose previous employment has been 

 such, that a little practice will give them the requi- 

 site dexterity. But it is, in most instances, far dif- 

 ferent with the proprietor of the land. He, in gene- 

 ral, can obtain no workmen but such as are com- 

 pletely untaught, and for whom an instructor or 

 overseer must be procured probably with great diffi- 

 culty, and at very high wages. What is worse, un- 

 less the ground to be planted be very extensive, the 

 workmen will not have acquired facility in the exe- 

 cution of the work when the job is completed, so 

 that the whole of it will be performed with a slow- 

 ness which will greatly enhance the cost. Hence, 

 proprietors may, in general, contract with nursery- 

 men for planting on this system, at less than 

 two-thirds of the expense at which they could per- 

 form it themselves. This at least is the case in se- 

 veral of the northern counties. 



But when the trees are of those kinds that require 

 the pitting, instead of the notching system, no ad- 

 vantage at all will be derived from treating with 

 nurserymen on the above-mentioned plan. Any 

 man that can handle a spade and mattock is quali- 

 fied to make pits, and abundance of such men are 

 every where to be found. The putting in of the 

 plants is an operation which must be carefully per- 



