FOREST PLANTING IN THE LAKE STATES 31 
enough to hold the roots. The bundles in which the trees are packed 
are cut, and the trees are spread in a layer not over 2 inches thick 
along the sloping wall of the trench. They are then covered with 
earth up to the tops and kept shaded. Watering should be heavy 
and frequent. Trees can be removed from the trench as they are 
needed for planting. 
PLANNING THE PL-ANTING OPERATION 
The planting operation should be planned in advance, taking into 
consideration the area to be planted, the number of trees which will 
be planted per man per clay, and the number of men required to do 
the job in the time available in one or more planting seasons. The 
camp or camps, if needed, should be carefully located as near the 
planting site as may be, and at the same time accessible to a road or 
trail by which equipment and stock may be brought in. Ordinarily 
there should not be more than 10 or 15 men in a crew under a single 
foreman, or if a larger crew is employed it should be divided into 
units of this size; each under a boss. Thorough instruction and con- 
stant supervision of the planters by the foreman is essential for 
successful planting. 
Local men, farmers, and settlers in the vicinity usually make the 
best planters. They are likely to be available in successive years, 
and their accumulated experience will make their help increasingly 
valuable. They take more interest in the work at the time and more 
interest in the plantations after they are established. 
In furrow planting each man carries his own trees, makes the slits, 
and sets the trees. In other methods, one man makes the slits or 
holes and a second one, following him, carries and plants the trees. 
Each planter carries his trees in a pail, basket, bag, or box. Light 
wooden boxes 10 to 12 inches wide, 20 to 24 inches long, and 5 to 7 
inches deep, with a stiff strap for a handle, have been used to good 
advantage in the Lake States. The roots are surrounded by wet 
moss, or wet burlap if moss is not obtainable, and this should be 
kept moist by watering. Only enough trees for about an hour's 
planting should be carried at one time. 
In large operations and especially when planting a brushy site, 
it is desirable to provide for series of flags or poles which can be set 
at the ends of the planting rows so that the rows may be kept reason- 
ably straight and no part of the area missed. If furrows are made, 
poles or flags are not needed. The furrows can be plowed at any con- 
venient season, but preferably well in advance of planting. Large- 
scale planting, covering a series of years, requires the services of a 
trained man to make the plans, prepare a map, organize the crews, 
and supervise the work. More detailed discussion of such operations 
will be found in Reforestation on the National Forests (67), 
CAUSES OF LOSS OR FAILURE AND THEIR CONTROL 
Many different causes of damage or failure of plantations must be 
considered in forming planting plans, for these can often be pre- 
vented or reduced by taking the right preventive measures in time. 
Such dangers include fire, animals (both domestic and wild), insects, 
fungous diseases, and adverse effects of weather, such as drought, 
