THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
127 
I he roots must be well spread and he able to easily pene¬ 
trate the soil for rapid development. Under the relative¬ 
ly adverse conditions encountered in this region it is ab¬ 
solutely essential that these points be observed—other¬ 
wise failure will be the result, even with the best of 
planting stock. Theoretically, planting by the “center 
hole” method should accomplish the results desired. 3 
But, it is difficult to secure correct planting by this 
method, especially with inexperienced labor. The trees 
are likely to be set either too deep or too shallow and ex¬ 
perience shows that either extreme is detrimental. The 
planters are also liable to get the roots crowded instead 
of spread. Moreover, the process is necessarily a slow 
one, especially where rocky sites are encountered. For, 
then the planter must often scrape up additional soil with 
which to till the hole, and is tempted to place leaves and 
litter in the hole instead—an act which generally proves 
disastrous to the plant. While proper and rapid setting of 
trees can be accomplished by the side -hole method, ex¬ 
perience shows this to yield relatively poor results, at 
least in the region here concerned. The reason is ascrib¬ 
ed to the fact that by this method the roots are spread 
against a hard layer of earth and penetration is therefore 
hindered. The result is that the roots develop strongly 
only in one direction, namely toward the filled in side of 
the bole. This is objectionable because free and ample 
development as well as availability of moisture is neces¬ 
sary from the start. The roots are also apt to continue 
developing in one direction, thereby subjecting the trees 
to windthrow in later years. 
In order to overcome the difficulties of securing correct 
planting by the center hole method and yet retain the es¬ 
sential features of it, a new method was devised. After 
I he mattock man has dug a good hole and thoroughly 
broken up the clods and removed all large stones, he re- 
fdls the hole and tamps the surface lightly with the back 
of the mattock blade, so as to form a slightly sloping 
trench. The planter then follows and makes a wide slit 
with a large garden trowel, in the center of the spot pre¬ 
viously prepared by the mattock man. lie then spreads 
the roots of the tree against the side of the slit and is 
easily able to gauge the correct depth to set, owing to the 
fact that the soil has been previously loosened the plant¬ 
ing operation can be performed very rapidly—much 
more so than where the regular center hole method is 
used. 
It is obvious that by this method the soil, remains 
equally loose in all directions so that the tree roots can 
develop likewise. Besides securing uniform depth of 
planting the method also affords a better chance for cor¬ 
rectly benching the soil than is possible with either the 
side hole or center hole methods alone. This benching 
is a very essential feature however where steep slopes 
are encountered and this is the case on the planting sites 
concerned. Figure 7 illustrates the correct form ot 
bench to make and the essential steps involved in plant¬ 
ing. 
Attention is called to the necessity of setting the tree 
3 The planting sites here involved are high mountain burns at 
present stocked with young aspen. The soil is generally rocky 
This condition together with the numerous aspen roots en¬ 
countered make it difficult to work. A heavy mattock is 
necessary in order to dig good holes and a two man crew is 
therefore used in planting. 
WURSERY TOOLS 
firmly and to be sure that no air spaces are lefl. For 
this reason the hole should lie gradually filled, starting 
by packing soil about the roots first (sketch e ). The 
operation is finished by firmly pressing the earth about 
the root collar with the thumbs (sketch d). This is done 
in order to prevent the formation of fissures which might 
otherwise get started through the action of rain water, 
and thus subject the tree to unfavorable conditions 
through exposure of the sensitive part of the stem. 
Finally, a thin layer of earth is spread loosely over I be 
whole planting spot to act as a mulch. 
The excellent results obtained in planting since this 
method was conceived shows that it is highly efficient. 
Compared with other methods it is also the cheapest ex¬ 
cepting the side-hole method which is however, not feasi¬ 
ble for application in this region. 
Compared with other localities where soil and climatic 
conditions are favorable, planting is here difficult and ex¬ 
pensive. Not only must the planting stock be thrifty but 
it must also be relatively large. It is especially import¬ 
ant that the roots of the trees should be long and fibrous 
so that moisture will be readily available during dry 
periods. For this reason transplants must be produced. 
Seedlings are generally too poorly developed to meet the 
requirements. At any rate, poor results have been ob¬ 
tained in planting them. 
Since large stock is necessary large holes must also be 
dug for planting. This, together with the difficulty of 
digging materially increases the cost of planting over 
