The pits should in all cases be opened for some time before planting—indeed, in unfavourable soils and situations, it is a good practice to have such work performed in autumn and the plants inserted the following spring. By so doing, the earth that has been removed from the pits will lie fully exposed to the mellowing influences of frost and sunshine, so that when the time for replacing it comes round, it will be in the best possible condition for applying to the roots of the young trees. The pits in uncultivated lands should be made circular, about 18 in. in diameter and fully 12 in. deep, and the sides and bottom well loosened up with a pick. In loose or recently cultivated soil the pits may be much smaller. Take off the surface turf in halves, placing these on one side of the pit, and the soil on the other, for ease and convenience in planting. When the ground slopes quickly the soil removed from the pits should, so as to facilitate quick replacing, be deposited on the higher side. =Planting.=—This may be successfully carried out during all open weather from about the end of September to the beginning of April, but, generally speaking, autumn planting is to be recommended. There are several exceptions however: such as when we have to deal with peat bog, water-logged soil, exposed hillsides, or land by the sea-coast. Where the newly-inserted plants have to cope with prolonged storms, such as we get on hillsides or by the sea, or contend with very uncongenial soils, it is always a wise policy to defer planting until spring, or just when the trees are about to make a start to growth, as they, with their freshness and vigour undiminished by the change from the nursery border to the more trying surroundings just referred to, are more likely to take hold at once and succeed.