UNIVERSITY OF B.C. LIBRARY 3 9424 00126 2093 U.B.C. LIBRARY SiCKAGt ITEU Pi,€CESSlNC-CNE -Ma^x lulM'fi ^youec/ihn'y^n J^ore^ T r^«« mtf^e*^^ ^ dS^fV^^idA'U'O^f^n/'f/ ARBORICULTURE. Edinburgh : Printed by Thomas Constable, FOR EDMOXSTON AND DOUGLAS. LONDON HAMILTON, APAMS, AND CO. CAMBRIDGE MACMILLAN AND CO. GLASGOW JAMES MACLEIIOSE. c ' ARBORICULTUKE OR A PRACTICAL TREATISE OX RAISING- AND MANAGING FOREST TREES THE PROFITABLE EXTENSION OF THE WOODS AND FORESTS OF GREAT BRITAIN BY JOHN GRIGOR THE NURSERIES, FORRES, N.B. AUTHOR OF THE HIGHLAIiD AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S PRIZE ESSAYS ' ON RAISINO FOREST PLANTS,' ' ON FOREST PLANTING, AND ON TREES ADAPTED TO VARIOUS SOILS AND SITUATIONS,' ' ON RAISING AND MANAGING HEDGES,' ' ON FOREST PRUNING,' ' ON THE NATIVE PINE FORESTS OF SCOTLAND,' 'ON PLANTING WITHIN THE INFLUENCE OF THE SEA,' 'ON THE DEODAR,' ' ON THE VARIETIES OF THE LARCH CHLTIVATED IN GREAT BRITAIN,' ' ON THE LARCH PLANTATIONS OF SCOTLAND,' AND ON VARIOUS OTHER SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH ARBORICULTURE. EDINBURGH EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS 1868. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from University of Britisii Columbia Library http://www.archive.org/details/arboricultureorpOOgrig DEDICATED BY PERMISSION 2^0 tfjE l^tufjlanti anti Agricultural Societg of ScotlantJ, WHOSE OPERATIONS HAVE GREATLY EXTENDED AND IMPROVED THE WOODS AND FORESTS THROUGHOUT THE KINGDOM. JOHN GRIGOR. PREFACE. In wilting the preface to a book it is usual for its author to state what gave rise to the work, or to indicate its supposed superiority to the works in circulation on the same or on similar subjects. In the present case, it may suffice to state that, during the last forty years, while the author successfully established and conducted the Forres Nurseries, he has written numerous papers on arboricul- tural subjects, for w^hich the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland has awarded prizes. The articles on the timber trees adapted to the climate of Great Britain published in that excellent work The Agricultural Gydofcedia (by Morton), were also furnished by the author, as well as papers from time to time on the same subject to the leading periodicals of the day ; and as far back as 1838, Loudon, in his preface to the greatest work that has yet appeared on the subject, " Arboretum ET Fruticetum Britannicum," acknowledges his obliga- tions to the author for important communications respect- ing that useful tree, " the Scotch Pine in Scotland." These publications have, for a long period, given rise to numerous applications by friends and customers of the author for copies of his writings on Arboriculture, which, from their publication in detached portions at various viii PREFACE. times, could not easily be supplied. To meet this desidera- tum, it was at one time intended to collect tlie papers as they stood in the various publications, and embody them ; this, however, was found unsuitable, as it would have occasioned numerous repetitions, and swelled the volume to too great a size ; besides, the experience of upwards of a quarter of a century had, to some extent, changed the author's views on subjects of importance. Many of the articles therefore have been re-written to adapt them to the present time, and some others have been added to make the work complete on the various subjects, from the harvesting of the seed to the felling of the full-grown timber. During the present century, not only have changes taken place, to some extent, in the opinions of writers on the best mode of cultivation and subsequent management of our timber trees, but in several instances the trees them- selves, with respect to some of the most common and useful species in cultivation, are changed, and are found to be less hardy and ill adapted to the climate of North Britain. This is more especially the case wdtli the Scotch Pine and the Larch, and it arises from the importation, for many years past, of la^rge supplies of foreign seed grown in warm districts on the Continent, which produce plants so tender that in this country they form a very precarious crop. It is a remarkable fact, that the same care is not mani- fested in the formation of timber plantations in general, which may last for a century, that is usually shown in the laying down of any of the common crops in agriculture. In the latter, though the crop is only to last for a season, the purity and the productiveness of the variety are care- fully attended to ; while in timber cultivation, Scotch Pine PREFACE. IX and the Larch for instance, are looked on as possessed of no varieties or difference in hardiness. So often does the formation of extensive plantations fall into incompetent hands, that it may be stated, that in the specifications for two of the largest plantations that the author ever knew to be formed by contract, and belonging to different nobleyien, the American Spruce, a dwarf tree which only attains to about one-third of the size of the common or Norway species, was the only spruce mentioned, and the proportion required involved the planting of it in each plantation to the extent of several hundred thousands. It seldom falls to the lot of any one to raise plants and form them into plantations, and to be able to report on these plantations after they have become valuable ; but tlie author of the following pages having begun business early in life, and formed several large plantations nearly forty years ago, can refer to them, standing in great vigour, an ornament to the scenery of the Highlands, mollifying the blast, and after paying every expense, yielding a revenue equal to that of the finest arable land in the country, where the ground previously to these formations was not worth a shilling an acre. At a time when timber throughout the country is every- where enhanced in price ; when woods and forests are fast disappearing, chiefly by the construction and maintenance of railways, and by the facility they afford for its transit from place to place, it is believed that this work wdl be appreciated. The favoured and distinguished approval already vouchsafed from time to time on the appearance of some detached portions of it, encourages the hope that it will be esteemed both by landowners and practical men, as pointing out the best mode of raising and extending the X PREFACE. profitable cultivation of the timber trees that are tried and known to be adapted to our climate, and of averting those casualties which at various stages of their growth are apt to assail them. With respect to numerous trees of recent introduction from various quarters of the world, many of them are no doubt interesting and ornamental, and it is hoped many will prove valuable to the country ; but until their hardi- ness and vigour have been ascertained, and until they become far more plentiful and cheap than they now are, they cannot be recommended for profitable timber. The Ncrseries, Forres, October 1S68. CONTENTS. PAGE Calendar of Opei-ations, ........ 1 11. The Rise and Progress of British Plantations, . . . . 19 III. Acclimatation, ......... 24 IV. On Nursery Ground, Manures, etc., 36 V. On Draining Ground — On Fences, and Eoads for Plantations, . 41 VI. Table showing the number of Plants required to plant an Acre, from one foot to thirty feet asunder — On selecting Nursery Plants, ........ 47 Vll. Modes of Forest Planting — Notch Planting in Moorland, with the small spade or haud-iron — Detailed results of this mode of planting after thirty-five years — Notch Planting with the common spade, and general remarks on Moor- land Plantations, ....... 53 XU CONTENTS. VIII. PAGE Pit Planting, and Planting on Prepared Ground, chiefly witli Broad-leaved Trees, ....... 65 IX. On Planting in a Grassy Vegetation — On Planting where Timber has recently been removed, . . . . . 71 X. On Plantations on Bog or Peat Soil — On Ground overspread with Furze, or Whin, or other Rough Herbage— On ' Planting exposed or barren Ground at a great Altitude, 77 XI. On Thinning Plantations, . . . . . . . 81 XII. On Sea-side Planting in the county of Norfolk — On the Sands of Culbin and Kincorth in Morayshire — Cost of Forma- tion, and the Value of some of these wood.s after Twenty- four Years — Mode of growing Plantations on the Coast of France — Plantations ou the West Coast of Scotland — Preparation of Ground — Time of Planting, etc., . . 93 XIII. Hedgerow Timber, . . . . . . .117 XIV. Coppice, .......... 123 XV. On Harvesting Bark, 129 XVI. On Pruning Forest Trees, and Grafting in Plantations for Embellishment, 134 XVII. On Kaising and Managing Hedges, ...... 143 XVIIL The Pine Tree — Scotch Pine, and its Varieties, and other hardy Pines, ......... 156 CONTENTS. Xm XIX. PAGE The Spruce Fir, 187 XX. The Silver Fir, 196 XXI. The Larch — Its Introduction into Scotland — Extensive Planta- tions of the Tree on the Athole Estates — The Mode of Propagating the Tree— Remarkable Examples of its Growth — The Diseases to which it is subject, and the best means of averting them, ..... 206 XXII. The Cedar, 234 XXIII. The Cypress, 245 XXIV. The Juniper, . 249 XXV. The Wellingtonia, 252 XXVI. The Araucaria, 259 XXVII. The Oak, 262 XXVIII. The Beech, , 280 XXIX. The Chestnut, . • 288 XXX. The Hazel, 293 XXXI. The Hornbeam, 297 xiv CONTENTS. XXXII. PAGE The Alder, 300 XXXIII. The Birch, 305 XXXIV. The Willow, 310 XXXV. The Poplar, • 316 XXXVI. The Elm, 332 XXXVII. The Walnut, 339 XXXVIII. The Maple — Sycamore, 344 XXXIX. The Lime Tree, 350 XL. The Ash, 356 XLL The Plane Tree, 362 XLIL The Horse-Chestuut, . .367 XLIIL The Common Pear Tree — The .Crab Apple — The Mountain Ash and Service Tree, ....... 370 XLIV. The Cherry — The Common and Portugal Laurel, . . . 377 XLV. The Thorn, 383 CONTENTS. XV XLVI. • PAGE The Elder Tree, 389 XLVII. The Laburnum, 393 XLVIII. The Locust Tree, 396 XLIX. The Holly, 400 L. The Yew Tree, 404 LL The Usual Prices of Nursery Plants. ..... 409 Index, 413 CALEKDAE OF OPEEATIONS. A Calendar of Operations will, it is hoped, be a useful guide in recording the work that is usually performed in nursery and forest management throughout the year ; but as much depends on the state of the weather, and on the climate of the district in which the work is going on, the precise dates cannot in all cases be adhered to. The opening up of one season may, during spring, be early, and accompanied with drought ; the next may be the very reverse ; and that not unfrequently makes the difference of a month in the period for the safe transplantation of forest plants. With respect to all plants which come early into leaf — such as hawthorn, larch, etc., — if the nursery ground possesses a climate warmer than that where the plants are to be inserted, when the planting cannot be performed sufficiently early, the plants should be removed to the later district before the buds are expanded, and should be carefully secured in the ground against drought till they are planted out. Both in the nursery and in the forest, the busiest period by far in the twelve months occurs in spring, during open weather in March and April. It should therefore be the aim of the manager to leave no description of work to be performed at that period, which can well be done at a time when the work is less pressing. Though much may be accomplished by practical informa- tion of the time and the circumstances most suitable for the operations with respect to forest trees, yet directions in writing generally fall far short of the assistance and success derived from the exercise of common sense and experience. 3^ A 2 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — JANUARY. JANUAEY. Continue to fell and cut up timber. Thin j^lantations, prune hedges, clear out all ditches and conduits which may not have undergone a clearance since the fall of the leaf In frosty weather at this season, drive to the depot all accumula- tions of decayed leaves for forming vegetable mould, the heaps of which should be completed by this time. Open weather at this season is suitable for planting all sorts of forest trees, particularly in dry situations. As the plots in the nursery become clear of plants, dig the ground over roughly, or dig it up into ridges, so that it may be exposed to the influence of frost. In removing from the nursery one-year transplanted larches or pines, which generally stand in lines nine to twelve inches apart, if a portion of them is required to be kept for another year, remove only every second or alternate line ; and if the plants in the remaining lines stand closer than about three inches apart, they should be loosened with a spade or fork, and thinned to about that distance, thus leaving the lines about eighteen to twenty-four inches apart, and the plants about three inches asunder — the proper distance for their becoming two-year transplanted plants. When thus thinned out, dig the ground between the lines. Similar treat- ment and thinning out should be practised on all one-year transplanted plants where they have not sufficient space for growing, and are intended to become two years transplanted. If the weather is open and dry, the sowing of all seeds which were kept in pits during summer should now be com- pleted ; such as hawthorn, holly, mountain-ash, yew-tree, etc. If acorns or chestnuts are not yet sown, this work should be completed as soon as possible. Insert cuttings of deciduous plants that are propagated by that means, such as poplars, willows, elders, etc. Scotch and other pine cones are commonly ripe at this season; severe frost changes them from a deep green to a grey colour, giving them a hard surface, which indicates their matu- CALENDAR OF OPEEATIONS— JANUARY. 3 rity, after which the seeds are extracted with a very moderate degree of heat compared to what is necessary for such as have been gathered before undergoing the influence of severe frost ; all sorts of pine, fir, and larch cones may now be collected and the seeds extracted. If gathered in dry weather they may be stored in a dry place to any depth, but larch cones sufl'er if stored in a wet state. The extracting of the seeds from cones can be accomplished during weather un- suitable for most out-door operations. The modes of pro- cedure are detailed under the names of the trees — Scotch pines, larch, etc. If the texture of the soil in any part of the nursery ground requires to be improved, frosty weather "will be found suitable for carting and applying hea'vy loam to such parts as are of a loose and sandy description, and light sandy or peat soil, etc., to such parts as are tenacious and ajit to harden in dry weather. Nursery ground that has been frequently cropped with various plants, is greatly renovated by a coating of fresh clean soil ; that from a field after a potato or turnip crop is very suitable, and where it is applied early in winter it has the best effect. As hawthorn springs earlier than almost any other nursery plant, its transplantation both into hedges and nursery lines should be completed now, or before the buds expand. Trench ground, and forward all operations preparatory for the hurry of spring. Turn over manure-heaps, compost and leaf heaps, that they may become pulverized. FEBRUAEY. The operations recommended during last month are suitable for a like state of weather during this month. If the weather is suitable, continue to transplant all sorts of forest trees into the forest, and also into nursery lines ; plant hedges, etc. Complete plantations on dry ground. 4 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS— FEBRUARY. Oaks, when two years transplanted in nursery lines, are generally removed to the forest; and although they would improve very much in appearance during the third year in nursery lines, yet at this period they run so much to tap- roots, that on being afterwards transplanted they are apt to suffer from the operation, become stunted, and frequently require to be cut down. It will therefore be found of great benefit to the plants, when they are of a sufficient size for forest jilanting, to loose and lift them from the nursery lines, and prune off with a strong knife all straggling root fibres, without shaking the earth from the roots, replac- ing them immediately into the same ground, to remain for another season before inserting them in the forest. This operation of disturbing oaks in the nursery is speedily per- formed by casting out an opening a stamp deep alongside the outside line, so that after lifting and pruning the roots, the plants are immediately inserted into the adjacent opening and a stamp of earth turned over on their roots, thus form- ing an opening for the next line, and so on, untU the whole lot of plants is replaced. It is advisable during this opera- tion to throw out all plants that are much under the ordinary size, as such would continue inferior, and are of no value. In thus removing the plants it is not necessary, as in the ordi- nary mode of transplanting, to tramp or firm the plants Avith the foot, as they are removed with a considerable quantity of earth adhering to their fibres. It is found that the increase of small fibres becomes more abundant in loose than in firm ground. It is of no consequence for the plants to occupy a broader line, or not to stand up with such exactness as for- merly. Plants thus disturbed will not grow much during the ensuing summer ; but on removing such into the forest in the foUoAving year, their roots will be found compact and bushy, and will require no pruning. Their success compared with that of plants Avhicli have not undergone this ojieratioa will be very apparent. The foregoing method of preparing oaks for going out is well adapted for two-years transplanted beech, whether they CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS— FEBRUARY. 5 are intended for hedges or forest trees ; and as all sorts of plants are apt to suffer most from removal after having grown vigorously, the operation will be found very useful on every kind of plant that is apt to produce bare roots destitute of that fibrous bushiness so necessary to successful transplanta- tion. It is also necessary in all cases where plants stand so close in lines as to be destitute of the space required for the growth of another season ; and in such circumstances ample space should be afforded beyond that which the plants formerly occupied. It is also useful in cases where the forest ground is not ready to receive the plants, as it retards their exuberance, improves their roots, and keeps them in a fit state for being transplanted a year or two afterwards. Open weather in any of the winter months is suitable for this work, which should now be completed. If the weather is open and the ground sufficiently dry, the end of this month is a good time for sowing beech, ash, syca- more, elm, etc., as thus they are generally less liable to be injured by late spring frosts than if sown at an earlier period. With equal quantities of clay and of horse-droppings, thoroughly mixed with water, prepare for grafting. Thus prepared, the mixture suits the purpose far better than if only made up at the time of grafting, which is generally in the end of March. MAECH. The thinning of plantations should be completed by this time, for after the buds begin to expand, trees are much more sensitive of cold, and the sudden admission of cool air has an injurious effect. This is often apparent, particularly on larches when thinned late in spring, compared with those that have undergone that operation at an earher period of the season. The formation of plantations of all deciduous trees should be completed in this month, or as soon as possible, and all vacancies or failures in former plantations filled up. 6 CALENDAR OF OPEEATIONS— MARCH. There are some sorts of ground, such as bare moorland, jmrtaking of moss to too great an extent, in which it is difficult to plant so successfully in any other month, on ac- count of the soil retaining a great deal of moisture, and swelling during severe frosts, thereby raising and ejecting the plants, notwithstanding the most careful drainage. All plantations on soils of this kind are most successfully made during the opening of the season. In the nursery, during favourable weather, this is one of the busiest months in the year, when everything fit for the forest should be cleared out, and the plots filled up by transplanting seedlings, or by digging over the ground in preparation for seed-beds. All plots that are exhausted should receive a dressing of well-rotted manure or vegetable mould. In such parts as have become wild, or stand in need of renewal, plant potatoes or turn it over preparatory to a turnip crop. At this season nothing is more necessary to be guarded against, both in the formation of forests and in the nurserj', than the exposure of the roots of plants to sunshine, or to the drying influence of the weather. In lifting nursery plants in bright weather, it is of great advantage to form them speedily into bundles, and puddle the roots with earth and water made to the consistency of thin paint, and to expose them as little as possible until they are again planted. Elm seeds which have been kept dry since their ripening, if not yet sown, should be soAvn early this month. Birch also, and all other crops, except those of the pine tribe, should be put into the ground before the end of this month. Graft the different kinds of forest and ornamental trees propagated by that method, such as beech, elm, oak, labur- num, etc. Dig between nursery lines ; this will encourage the growth of fibrous roots, and will be found the best method of keep- ing down weeds. CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — APRIL. APRIL. All plantations of hardwood trees should have been com- l^leted before, or in the early part of this month ; but it is still suitable for transplanting all sorts of the pine tribe, par- ticularly by the notching mode. Larches are also successfully transplanted this month in a late season, or in late districts, provided the plants have been removed carefully, and pro- tected before their buds have been expanded ; and it some- times happens that such plants escape injury from late frosts better than those inserted at an earlier period, particularly in plantations having a southern slope. Complete the grafting of forest trees ; look over and re- pair the clay where any defects appear in those grafted last month, when the clay has dried and become sufficiently firm. Earth up the lines of dwarf grafts, leaving the scion only above ground. Li the nursery the transplanting should be finished as soon as possible ; and in South Britain the so^\'^ng of all sorts of coniferse seeds should commence about the middle of this month. In the North of England, and in Scotland, the most approved time is about the last week of this month, or early in the next, when the weather is in a settled state ; for in some soils excess of rain immediately after the sowing, and before the soil gets dry, is fatal to the crop of larch, Scotch fir, etc. Immediately after so"«'ing, all sorts of coniferous crops are liable to be picked by birds ; the beds should therefore be securely netted over or overlaid with even drawn straw, fern, or the spray of silver or spruce fir. As protection from birds by the latter methods forms a shade on the surface, the cover of earth on the seed should be made very slight. When none of the foregoing methods of protection is adopted it is neces- sary to set a watch on the crop. The destruction by birds is always greatest early in the morning and late in the after- noon. 8 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — APRIL. "Weed all seed-beds of last year, and dig the alleys ; dig between the lines of transplanted i:)lants, raking and smooth- ing do-mi the ground ten days or a fortnight thereafter, which ■vvill effect the destruction of seedling weeds. The surface of the beds of oak, chestnut, beech, etc., which were not finished off at the time of sowing, should now be raked smooth, which will have the effect of removing clods, destroying the weeds, and adapting the soil for the springing of the crop. Prune laiirels and all sorts of evergreen shrubs. The casualties which forest trees suffer by frost are gene- , rally much greater during this and the two subsequent months, than at any other season of the year, and they are most apt to happen after warm weather in March and April ; it is there- fore ad\isable to protect the beds of one-year-old seedling larch, silver-fir, also those of hawthorn, which were sown early in spring, and towards the end of this month the recently sown l)eech, sycamore, ash, chestnut, etc. I have found that the easiest way of protecting these is to col- lect the spray or small twigs of broom, spruce, silver-fir, Portugal or common laurel, and to stick the twigs into the beds in an upright position, which forms a shade and shelter for the young plants. The cuttings of beech hedges are also suitable when scattered on the surface of the beds, as such admit the influence of the atmosphere, and do not retain much moisture. It is found that although the twigs do not form a complete cover, yet if they form a shade from the warm sunshine succeeding a night of frost, the plants are generally safe. In the absence of this precaution I have found that in many situations, larch and silver-fir of one and two years old are on an average headed down or deprived of their leaders once every three or four years, which reduces them more than fifty per cent, in value. Although nothing makes a more complete or handy protection than the spray of the silver-fir, yet it should not be adopted where the slightest fear exists of the trees being infected with disease. Fork out perennial rooted weeds where they appear through- out the nursery ground. CALEXDAR OF OPERATIONS — MAY, MAY. See that the fences around plantations are in a secured state j and that no herbage or undergrowth interferes with the progress of the plants. Clean hedges, clear out open drains, and turn over decayed leaves and compost heaps. Drain land for the plantations of next season, and erect sufficient fences. In planting land which has formerly produced timber, the soil requires to be much exposed to the influence of the weather; capacious pits should therefore be formed at this season ; and all old roots cleared out which appear at the edges of the pits. Form similar pits throughout all woods where the standing trees are not close enough to develop the resources of the soil. Prepare for barking oak. Towards the end of this month in some situations the sap will circulate sufficiently to render coppice and standard oaks fit for that operation; the earlier in the season the timber is removed, and the stools dressed, the more vigorous will be the suc- ceeding groAvth. In the nursery, complete, if possible, the sowing of all sorts of pine and fir seeds during the first or second week of this month (see directions for last month). During dry weather employ the hoes and rakes vigorously in the killing of weeds. Weed seed-beds. Crop vacant lots with turnips or other green crops, using byre or stable manure well decomposed ; this is least apt to create disease in the ground. JUNE. Continue the forest work recommended for last month ; urge forward the barking operations with all possible speed, taking every precaution to prevent the infusion of bark by wet weather. The seeds of the wych or Scotch elm are usually perfected and fit for sowing durina; the first or second weeks of this 10 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — JUNE. month ; collect them fresh from the tree and sow them into beds; there is always a larger or smaller proportion of the seeds empty. The thickness in the bed should be regulated by the quality of the seeds, which is always easily ascertained by pressing them between the finger and thumb, which will indicate whether they are full or empty. They should, how- ever, be spread thick on the ground, so as to insure a crop, as the seeds are not valuable ; and the plants when too close are easily thinned out at the first weeding. If the weather is dry, the seed-beds should be watered and kept moist for a week, when the seeds will begin to germinate. If required, a further supply of seeds should be collected towards the end of the month ; these should be thoroughly dried by the in- fluence of the weather, so as to prevent fermentation, when they may be packed up and kept from mice, and sown in February or March. If sown now, after being dried, they A^dll not vegetate till spring. The great work in the nursery at this season is the cleaning of the ground, and keeping down weeds, so as to prevent them from shedding their seeds. By the end of this month, if all appearance of frost is gone, the twigs protecting the seedling beds may be removed. Vacant lots of exhausted ground should be well manured, and cropped with turnips. JULY. Continue to drain and 'fence land for plantations. AYhere ground is to be planted which formerly yielded timber, dig out the pits of a large size, soften the ground along their edges, and expose the whole to the fertilizing influences of the atmosphere. Perform the same operation where forest trees are to be planted into pits in all soils containing iron, or having a substratum of moorband or ferruginous crust ; so that these soils may be rectified before the season of planting. This precaution should be taken with all soils which do not appear perfectly sweet and congenial. In all such land where plants are to be inserted by the notch system, this is a good CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — JULY. 1 1 season for going over the surface and disturbing the soil in each sjiot where a plant is to be inserted, by the operation of a tramp-pick, or common shoulder-pick ; this will bring into play the purifying and fertilizing influences so necessary for the successful growth of plants, and if the operation is well performed, the spots broken up -svill appear quite distinct throughout the ensuing jilanting season. Look over young plantations, and clear away whins or rank vegetation of any kind that is likely to injure the progress of the plants ; where tall ferns are apt to prevail over plants recently inserted, it is found that breaking down, or joint- ing the ferns, at this season, placing their tops flat on the surface, is more eff"ectual than cutting, as in the latter case they generally spring again, and in the former they seldom do so, but lie flat on the surface of the ground during the season. All barking operations should now be finished for the season. Prune forest trees, look over those which have been a few years planted, and those more advanced, and with the prun- ing-knife shorten all competing shoots in order that the leader may be clearly in the ascendant ; and shorten also, or remove all other growths throughout the tree that are likely to run away with the sap, and that bear too great a proportion to the main stem. Prune hedges of all sorts of vigorous growth ; the switcher is the most sj^eedy and efficient implement. Pruning at this season is particularly useful to hedges which are apt to be- come too bare at the bottom ; in such cases the top of the hedge, consisting of its upper half, should be pruned once or twice during summer to induce a growth lower down, which latter part needs only be pruned once a year, but should be carefully kept clear of weeds and vegetation of every kind. In the nursery, the great business of this month is to keep down weeds ; a little neglect in this respect generally entails a great amount of labour, as weeds so readily mature and shed 1 2 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — -JULY. tlieir seeds at this season, and unless they are very small and young, this is sure to happen when the ground is hoed and the weeds not immediately removed. Look over, untie, and secure grafts, rubbing off all under- growths. Turn over pits of hawthorn, mountain-ash, holly, and other tree seeds, to decompose them regularly, and keep them in a wholesome state. The end of this month is in general the best season for budding ornamental trees (for the operation of budding, see Lindley's Theory and Practice of Horticulture, p. .303). The bandages which secure buds should be slackened and retied about ten days or a fortnight after the operation, as they are apt, if the stocks are very vigorous, to become too tight, and about the same period thereafter it is generally safe to remove them altogether. Turn over compost heaps ; and heaps of weeds which have matured their seeds should be turned over and built up in a compact form so as to induce fermentation, that their seeds may be completely destroyed. AUGUST. Continue the operations of draining and fencing land for plantations. As formerly recommended for all inhosj^itable soils, or where former plantations existed, cast out the pits of a good size, to expose the ground to the influences of the weather. Break up Aritli the pick the spots in ground where notch-planting is intended. Prune forest trees ; although large branches should never in ordinary practice be removed in well-managed plantations, yet, in case of necessity, this is the best season for doing so, as the wound more speedily heals at this than at any other time. See that no wild vegeta- tion interferes with the growth of young plantations. Con- tinue the pruning and cleaning of hedges. Towards the end of this month transplant evergreens of all sorts, preferring wet or cloudy weather. In the nursery, be careful that all weeds are subdued and kept from seeding, CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — AUGUST. 13 which is particularly ruinous to ground which may next sea- son be laid down in seed-beds. The end of this month is the proper time for inserting cuttings of laurel, box privet, yew, and all sorts of evergreens propagated by that means. Towards the end of this month the temperature of the earth and of the air is generally nearly the same, and then plants root more readily than under any other condition. Shai^p sandy soil, partially shaded or having a northern exposure, is most suitable. The end of this, and the next month are best adapted for transplanting evergreens. Immediately after the insertion of the plant at this season, the heat of the ground excites its roots so that they at once produce numerous young fibres or spongioles, wliich process of nature insures its safety, and fixes it in the ground before the approach of winter. Complete the budding of ornamental trees as formerly recommended. SEPTE]\IBER. Continue the operations preparatory to forest planting as formerly recommended ; prune forest trees, thin plantations, thin out the supernumerary shoots of young copse-wood, leav- ing the most promising. This is the time most ad\isable for ornamental or evergreen planting ; where specimen plants are to be removed, remove them Avithout delay, giving a copious watering if the weather is dry. Plant hedges and screen fences and underwood of holly, yew, privet, laurel, etc., and all sorts of evergreens, preferring moist and cloudy weather. In the nursery the cleaning of the ground should be urged forward, so long as the weather is dry and suitable for that purpose ; dig between the rows of CA'ergreens and other trans- planted plants, finish the transplanting into nursery rows of seedling holly, evergreen oak, and other evergreens. In nursery management it is found a good method to remove at this season all sorts of everoxeens that are fit for 14 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — SEPTEMBER. going out. This is most speedily accomplished by casting out a stamp or trench along one side of the lot, after which one man precedes with a spade and loosens the plants thoroughly, another follows lifting them up with one hand, and with the other pruning or switching off all very extended or straggling roots of unnecessary length, and placing them into the pre- pared trench or opening in a slanting direction, with as much earth as adheres to the roots ; the digging up of the earth and the covering of the one hue prepares an opening for the next, and so on until the whole is finished. The growth of the season being nearly over at this time, the plants receive no harm by being placed in a slanting position ; and in removing them it is not necessary to fix them in the ground by treading them with the feet ; and as the tops of the plants of one row extend over the roots of the former line, their position keeps the ground warm if they should remain throughout the ensuing winter, and if the situation should be exposed, the foliage of the plants will retain its greenness, and from their position will be exempt from injury by snow or severe frost. Evergreens which are thus disturbed in September, when the temperature of the ground is greater than that of the atmosphere, immediately tlirow out fresh spongioles, and acquire a bushiness in root, which retains the soil and adapts them for being successfully transplanted thereafter during any month of winter or spring. This treatment is particularly advisable in sale nurseries, as such plants are lifted with great facility at a time when the work of a public nursery is sometimes difficult to overtake, and such as are not disposed of require to be again replanted in rows before or early in summer ; but the fresh appearance of the plants, and the valuable state of their fibrous roots, ren- der them well worth the labour bestowed on them. If the cuttings of evergreens were not all inserted last month, this work should be now completed as formerly recommended. Birch seeds usually ripen at this time, and should be col- lected ; as they are generally mixed up with leaves and some- CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS— SEPTEMBER. 1 5 what moist, care should be taken that they are not confined in sacks, as they are apt to ferment, which destroys their vitahty. Spread them in an airy loft until dry, when the leaves should be sifted out, and the seeds kept until the time of sowing in March or April. Collect sycamore seeds, which are ripe about this time, and the other varieties of maple, which in an early season are matured in this month ; these, when dry, may be kept in a heap within doors until the end of March ; if sown earlier, they are apt to come up too soon, and perish with spring frost. Cherry-stones should be collected and sown immediately in dry ground ; they do not vegetate in the first spring, but the most successful crops are generally those that are early com- mitted to the ground. OCTOBER. The draining and fencing of ground, and the making of pits for plantations, should be continued. Where the sur- face of the ground is bare, and readily admits frost, these operations should be completed first while the weather is still open, as those parts possessed of surface vegetation can be worked during frost. As already stated, it is of advantage in some cases to pit and expose the soil to the influences of the weather for some time before the plants are inserted. In other cases, where the soil is congenial, the planting may follow with perfect safety immediately after the pit making. Trench ground for spring planting. By the beginning, the middle, or the end of this month, according to the season, all sorts of forest plants are ripe and fit for planting. The present is the proper time for planting dry ground of every description, whatever the mode of plant- ing may be. Plantations in such places should therefore be proceeded with as speedily as possible, both by notch and pit planting. Such grounds, however, as are composed to a con- siderable extent of organic matter — for instance, mossy or 16 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — OCTOBER. boggy parts, which retain moisture, — should be left for spring planting, as on account of this description of ground swelling during frost the plants are apt to be ejected, particularly those that are inserted by notch-planting. Fell timber; thin out plantations; grub out furze on plantation ground. Many of our most important hardwood trees ripen their seeds at this time. Underneath the oak, and particularly after frost with a breeze of wind, the ground will be covered with acorns ; these should be collected and spread out on a barn floor, so as to prevent fermentation ; or if the nursery ground is ready, they may be sown immediately. Prefer the largest ; these are most readily got by using a wire riddle of a size suitable for allow- ing the small to pass tlirough. Beech-mast is also shed about this time, when it should be collected and passed through a bam fanners, or exposed to a steady breeze of wind in an open situation to effect a separa- tion between the sound and the empty seed. A^Tien sown immediately, it comes up, if the weather is fine, in the end of March, or early in April, when the crop is endangered by frost ; it is therefore better to spread the seeds on the floor of a loft, turning them occasionally till they are dry, when they may be kept in a heap, and sown in the end of February or in March. The crop will then appear at a time when it will generally be exempt from injury. The seeds of maple of sorts, if not formerly gathered, should now be collected ; also chestnuts, walnuts, and all other sorts as they become ripe. As the ground becomes empty in the nursery it should be dug deep and turned over roughly, or cast into ridges, to admit the influence of frost. Previously to this being done, such parts as are exhausted should receive a coating of well-decom- posed manure, jDarticularly after crops of ash, elm, beech, spruce, or hawthorn, which generally leave the ground in a very poor state. Of all sorts of deciduous plants none require to be attended to in early transplanting more than hawthoin or quick. CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — NOVEMBER. 17 Transplanting this plant into hedges and nursery lines this month or next affords the plant an early start in spring-time. Turn over dung-hills and compost-heaps to induce decom- position. NOVEMBER. The operations in the forest which should be carried for- ward at this time are very diversified. Fell timber, thin out plantations, grub up furze and all sorts of wild vegetation on land for plantations, and to relieve those recently formed. Repair drains and fences. Forward plantations of all sorts, and all the operations recommended for last month as may be found suited to the state of the Aveather. Collect and cart leaves to the depot. Frosty weather will be found suitable to cart to the nursery grounds such accumu- lations of vegetable mould as have been prepared in pits or recesses in the forest, and these pits or recesses should noAV be filled up with fresh leaves as speedily as possible. Plant hedges of thorn, beech, etc. Frosty weather will be found most suitable for carting manure, compost, timber, and all heavy materials, over soft ground. Ridge up all plots of ground in the nursery as soon as they become vacant, forwarding the nursery operations recommended for last month as the weather becomes suitable. Remove layers from stools, and plant them into nursery lines. Dig around and dress the spools, giving them a coating of vegetable mould mixed with fine sand and well rotted manure, and lay down the young shoots, the produce of last summer. Collect tree seeds. DECEMBER. Continue to form pits and trench ground for plantations, and forward planting, and the operations recorded for last month which may be found adapted to the state of the weather. 18 CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS — DECEMBER. The berries of hawthorn, mountain ash, holly, and common ash, should be collected by this time. They should either be mixed up with sandy soil and pitted where they may be turned over every two or three months ; or, as these do not vegetate the first year, they may be now sown into rich prepared nursery ground ; and on the surface of the same ground an annual crop may be raised during the first summer of a light nature, as onion, radish, cauliflower, or cabbage plants. These being carefully removed, the tree crop will appear in the second, and to some extent, with respect to hollies, in the third summer. Turn over roughly or ridge up nursery ground, that it may become pulverized and enriched by the influence of frost. Prune and dress hedges, forking out and removing every perennial weed in the ground on each side, within a yard of the fence. 11. THE RISE AND PROGEESS OF BRITISH PLANTATIONS. In this country the name Plantation is chiefly applied to grounds planted with forest plants for the purpose of produc- ing useful timber ; and it also distinguishes artificial woods or forests from those that are of spontaneous growth. The uses of plantations are very various. Not only is timber abso- lutely necessary in every description of architecture and rural occupation, but trees in a living state improve the climate, in yielding shelter to lands exposed to rough winds, and shade to those under a burning sunshine. Of the native trees of Britain, there are only about twelve genera and thirty species which attain the size of timber trees, or trees of above thirty feet in height, and only three of these are evergreens — namely, the Scotch fir, the holly, and the yew, if we suppose the last to be a native. It was during the sixteenth century that plantations began to be extensively formed for timber and embellishment ; but long before that period many of the timber trees had been introduced, and, in the absence of any distinct account, it is generally believed that they were brought to Britain by the Romans, or by the monks of the middle ages, with many of our cultivated fruits and vegetables. Of our earliest intro- duced trees we have the chestnut, the lime, the English elm, and the beech, with the apple, the pear, the peach, etc. In England previously to the reign of Henry VIII., the timber required for the purposes of construction and fuel was sup- plied by the native forests of the kingdom. The first accounts 20 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF we have of the introduction of many of the timber trees are given by botanists and apothecaries in London, who gathered together every description of foreign herbage, and formed the most extensive collections of medicinal plants extant at that time. In Turner's Herbal, published at different times about the middle of the sixteenth century, he notices the introduction of the common spruce fir, the stone pine, the evergreen cypress, the sweet bay, and the walnut. Towards the end of that century, Gerrard, who had a physic-garden in Holborn, London, published the first edition of his Catalogue, which gives an account of the introduction of the pineaster, the 'laburnum, and a considerable number of smaller trees and shrubs. The evergreen oak and the arbor-vitse were also introduced during that century. In the seventeenth century, it appears that Dr. Compton, who was Bishop of London from 1675 to 1713, introduced a considerable number of exotic trees, and advanced this branch of rural improvement more than any other indiAddual of his time, having imported many of our best trees, chiefly from America. Botanic gardens began to be established through- out England about the middle of this century, which greatly facilitated the introduction of hardy trees. In Scotland, the Botanic Garden of Edinburgh was formed in 1680, and in 1683 the cedar of Lebanon was introduced into it ; and in the same year it was planted by Bishop Compton at Fulham, and also in the Chelsea Botanic Garden. According to the Hortus Keivensis, the most important foreign trees introduced in this century, besides the cedar, were the silver fir, the larch, the horse-chestnut, the acacia (locust-tree), the scarlet maple, the Norway maple, the American plane, the scarlet oak, the weeping willow, balsam poplar, balm of Gilead, fir, the cork-tree, and the black and the white American spruce firs, besides a great many smaller trees and shrubs. During the early part of this century, the British arboretum appears to have been greatly indebted to Parkinson, a physician in London, who possessed a large collection of plants, and was appointed apothecary to James i. Parkinson BRITISH PLANTATIONS. 21 is the first to record, in 1629, the introduction of that valu- able tree, the larch, and at the same time the horse-chestnut, but the introducers are not known. The number of species of foreign plants introduced into Britain during the eighteenth century was very great, amount- ing to nearly 500, but three-fourths of these were shrubs. More than half the number Avere natives of North America. The timber trees consisted chiefly of oaks, pines, poplars, maples, and thorns, — species or varieties of trees formerly in- troduced. Botanic gardens by this time were established in different countries throughout the world, and the interchange of plants became general. Nurseries for every plant in de- mand were established, and the taste for planting foreign trees rapidly spread among the landowners of England. This taste was greatly influenced by the Princess-Dowager of Wales, who established the arboretum at Kew, and from the celebrity of the plantations formed by the Duke of Argyll at Whitton. Large plantations were formed at Croome, Syon, Claremont, and at Goodwood. At the last-mentioned jjlace the Duke of Richmond planted 1000 cedars of Lebanon, five years old, in 1761, which form part of the second generation of the tree grown in England, having been produced from one of the first trees known in the country. Among the other English plantations of valuable timber trees may be men- tioned that made at Pains' Hill, "Woburn, Strathfieldsaye, and Purser's Cross. Syon had long had an established fame for trees before this period, having been greatly enriched by Henry Earl of Northumberland in the beginning of the seventeenth century; and in 1750, an accession to the arbore- tum was made of every kind of tree to be found in the kingdom. Notwithstanding our numerous importations of foreign trees during the eighteenth century, it is remarkable that that of the larch to Scotland from England, where it had existed for a century, and yielded seeds for generations, should be the greatest acquisition, and distinguish the period beyond any other circumstance connected Avith British arboriculture. In 22 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF Scotland, early in the eighteenth century, a spirit of plant- ing on a large scale, for profit, began to awaken. Among the chief promoters of this description of planting was Thomas Earl of Haddington, who formed large plantations, and wrote a treatise on the subject. It is recorded that the Countess of Haddington, at the same time, became so enthusiastic in im- provements by plantation, that she sold her jewels to enable her to plant Binning Wood, which comprehended 1000 acres, and was formed in 1705. The plantations of Archibald Duke of Argyll were also at the period very extensive in Scotland ,as well as in England. By these extensive improvements the taste for plantations is said to have been imbibed by the Duke of Athole, the Earl of Panmure, Sir James Naysmith, Sir Archibald Grant, and others; and by the example of these landowners, planting became very general tliroughout Scot- land. The great success of the larch forests of the Duke of Athole occasioned that tree to be planted to some extent on almost every property in Scotland. The introduction of new timber trees during the present century has been extensive, and in some instances very valu- able, particularly in the Coniferse. Some of the best of these have been introduced by Douglas, a native of Scotland, who went to North-west America as a botanical collector, and introduced from the banks of the Columbia the Abies (spruce fir) Douglasii, the Picea (silver fir) nobilis, and many other firs and pines of great beauty, though perhaps less valuable. From other sources there have been introduced the Welling- tonia gigantea, Cupressus Nv.ikaeiisis (known as the Thuiopsis horealis), and the C. Lawsoniana, all of which are hardy, of rapid growth, and of American origin. Of Indian importa- tions, the Cedrus deodara is the most celebrated. A silver fir introduced from the mountains of the Crimea, Picea Nord- manniana, is said to be hardier than the common species. From the great size that these trees generally attain in their native countries, it is reasonable to expect that many of the recent introductions will become valuable additions to the British forests, particularly after a few generations of the BRITISH PLANTATIONS. 23 various species have been grown from seed and thereby accH- matized. During the present century, the influence of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland has greatly facilitated the spread of plantations throughout the country, by awarding various premiums for the introduction of new timber trees, for the cultivation of the native Highland Scotch pine, and for the formation of extensive plantations throughout Scot- land. From the published reports of this Society, it appears that the late Earl of Seafield was by far the most extensive planter in Scotland during the first half of the present century, he having, at the date of the last report on the estates, planted 30,000,000 of plants, in a space exceeding 8000 acres. This extent of plantation, perhaps, has not been approached by any British landowner since the formation of the extensive plantations by the Duke of Athole during last century. But extensive as these plantations are, they are not greater than those formed recently, and now in course of formation, by the present Earl of Seafield, in proportion to the time that his Lordship has been in possession. Since the Honourable T. Bruce became commissioner on these estates, plantations have been formed, chiefly in Strathspey, in a congenial soil, and to an extent rarely equalled in this country. The other extensive planters in the north of Scotland dur- ing the early part of the present century have been the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of Sutherland, the Earl of Fife, Lord Lovat, Sir William G. Gumming of Altyre, Bart. ; and more recently may be added Sir George Macpherson Grant of Bal- lindalloch, Bart., Mr. Mathison of Ardross, and Mr. Fletcher of Rosehaugh, etc., all of whom have planted large forests on their properties. Such is a glance at the progress of the formation of planta- tions up to the present time. III. ACCLIMATATION. This is a subject on Avhich both practical and scientific men of the past and the present time have entertained opposite opinions. This may arise from different kinds of plants having been experimented on by different individuals. Al- though all plants require a certain peculiar range of tempera- ture, moisture, light, and atmospheric pressure, which in some kinds cannot be greatly interfered with without proving fatal to their existence, yet the limits are very different in different tribes of plants ; they are widest, as might be expected, in those whose native habitat embraces a wide geographical range. It has for long been supposed that the sensibihty of plants may be diminished by habit, by gradation of climate, and by succession of generation. This theory will be found quite correct, generally, respecting ligneous plants, but it does not hold true with regard to agricultural crops, such as the cereals, which do not exist during the winter. Unfortunately, almost all the recorded experiments, that I am aware of, have been in relation to annual ci'ops, or crojDS which are naturally of short duration, or greenhouse plants, the hardiness or tender nature of wliich was not previously weU known. Among the greatest authorities for acclimatation we have Sir Joseph Banks and Dr, Macculloch. In advocating the hyi^othesis Sir Joseph relied upon the following case : — " In the year 1791, some seeds of the Canada rice-plant, Zizania aquatka, were procured from Canada, and sown in a pond at Spring Grove, near Hounslow. They grew and produced strong plants, which ripened their seeds. Those seeds vege- tated in the succeeding spring, but the plants which they pro- ACCLIMATATION. 2 5 duced were weak, slender, not half so tall as those of the first generation, and grew in the shallowest water only. The seeds of these plants produced others the next year, sensibly stronger than their parents of the second year. In this manner the plants proceeded, springing up every year from the seeds of the preceding one, every year becoming visibly stronger and larger, and rising from the deeper parts of the pond, tni the last year, 1801, when several of the plants were six feet in height, and the whole pond was in every part covered with them as thick as wheat grows in a well-managed field." Eespecting this experiment Dr. Lindley, who was no believer in the doctrine of acclimatation, says, " It is to be remarked that in the very first year this Canada rice grew as vigorously as afterwards ; that its first progeny was feeble, that it only recovered its vigour after it had been reproduced often enough to establish itself in the deeper parts of the pond, and that at last, after many generations, it was only as vigor- ous as at first. The case was not one of naturalization, but of deterioration succeeded by restoration, not improvement. Many reasons might be assigned for the temporary deteriora- tion ; but that the plant was not naturalized is sufficiently proved by its having disappeared long since." And he adds : " Dr. Macculloch, who ably advocated the doctrine of acclima- tation, rested his case upon two grounds ; the one, that many sickly greenhouse plants acquired great vigour in Guernsey when turned into the open air, and that seedling gTiavas were productive there, although their parent was sterile ; and the other, that hardy varieties of the vine, the pear, and other fruits, are well known to all cultivators. But this reasoning was unsound; Dr. Macculloch did not show that the greenhouse plants in question had become more hardy than they were be- fore ; it only happened that they became more healthy ; and in regard to the so-called hardy fruits thus alluded to, there is nothing to show that their constitutions are at all hardier than those of their parents ; what is called hardiness in these species consisting in an alteration in their time of flowering or fruiting. 26 ACCLIMATATION. " The constitution of such plants does not appear to be more capable of resisting an unfavourable climate than that of their forefathers. It is perfectly true that many so-called greenhouse plants are now known to be hardy ; but such species have not increased their power of resisting our climate; they never were tender;" and it is added, " If no good evidence can be produced of plants having become acclimated by re- peated sowings of their seed, the facts on the other side are numerous and conclusive. The Peru\4an annual called Man^l of Peru, or Mirahilis, the common Indian cress or Tropoeolum, the scarlet running kidney bean, the tomato, the mignonette, an African plant, the Palma Christi, or Jitcinns, all natives of hot climates, have been annually raised from seeds ripened in this country, some of them for two hundred generations ; yet have in no appreciable degree acquired hardiness, but the earliest frost destroys them now as formerly. ** Potatoes, long as they have been cultivated from seeds, are in no degree more hardy than those which are now brought to us from Peru and Mexico ; indeed, some garden potatoes, imported in 1846 from Lima, and planted in Novem- ber, stood the severity of the succeeding winter, when the thermometer fell to 3° Fahr., rather better than the English varieties which had been obtained from repeated seed-sowing during a century." It is well known to market-gardeners that the earliest varieties of the potato grown in the best climate of South Britain when imported into the North become degenerate, and later in the open ground, and this most readily when grown at a high altitude. The same is observable respecting pota- toes grown in hot-beds ; the first crops they produce are earlier than if the parent roots had been growTi in the open ground, and a climatic change is effected, although it does not enable the potato to resist frost. A similar change of lateness takes place in the growth of the early varieties of garden pease. The first generation of the early frame pea from seeds grown in Essex, when raised in the north of Scotland wiU jield a variety that cannot be ACCLIMATATION. 2 7 distinguished from the charlton, a later kind, or second early, and repeated generations add to the length of the straw. In the case of early cabbage, imported from the South to the North, and grown for seed, the early quality disappears to some extent in the first generation, and the cabbage becomes larger in size, so that to raise the early York variety, from seed, it is necessary to plant the early May or dwarf. Late- ness is accompanied with hardiness in this plant. In the case of turnip imported to the North they are apt to lose their early ripening qualities, and to grow larger, and later into the end of the season. This is a valuable quality in the brassica tribe. It has the singular and valuable pro- perty of giving hardiness to the esculent, enabling it to with- stand the severity of winter better than those of earlier matu- rity, which are more subject to frost. Thus the Aberdeen yellow bullock turnip takes the first place in the list of the British agriculturist, — Aberdeen being the depot for the seeds saved in the cool and elevated districts throughout the north of Scotland. Now though we look in vain for any acclimatizing influence imparted to resist frost in annual crops, yet, in these biennials, the cabbage and turnip, we think we can perceive distinctly enough, in a generation or two, the power of the plants to adapt themselves to the climate they occupy. The bringing forward of our remarks on these plants may appear a digression from the object of this work, but they have been referred to for the purpose of showing that little can be expected to be done in acclimatizing a plant that is an annual, and has no existence during the months of winter, and that biennials are the shortest-lived plants that can be expected to be inured to a low tempera- ture. It is pretty well understood that the purple laburnum {C. Adami) is a hybrid between the common Scotch laburnum and the dwarf, shrubby, purple cytisus (C. 2)iirpureus). The original was produced in France. It is propagated by being worked on the stock of any laburnum ; as being a mule, it (the purple laburnum) does not produce seed; but the tree 28 ACCLIMATATION. often throws out blossoms of the two parent species, along with the hybrid, so that the three sorts are found all in flower on the tree at the same time. About twenty years ago I planted on the margin of a stream that runs past my house a plant of the purple laburnum. It occupies a cool soil, only about three feet above the rise of water ; for the first ten years it grew luxuriantly, and gene- rally flowered very well, but it did not ripen its wood well, and being tender, it required to be frequently divested of dead wood, particularly after a severe winter. After being about ten years planted, it broke out here and there through the tree with tufts of the purple dwarf cytisus; these tufts or bushes gene- rally died down to the branches from which they emerged, and were pruned off along with the other dead wood throughout the tree. After this process of discharging, or throwing off the ten- der element for a few years, twigs began to appear of the com- mon laburnum, which yielded blossoms of unusual size ; the racemes produced seed which grew verj^ vigorous plants of the common laburnum, although the three sorts continued for a few years very visible on the same tree, all from the one scion or graft of purple laburnum, yet the cold summers succeeding 1860 caused the hardy common tree variety to shoot ahead, and it has now completely extinguished the tender grafted kind, and rij^ens its shoots in the coldest season, and continues to grow vigorously. What renders this tree so interesting is the facility with which it adapts itself to the character of the. seasons. It was only in the warm months of 1865 that the tufts of the cytisus purpureus again became perceptible, the tree having during the pre^dous four or five cold seasons almost wholly returned to the hardy com- mon Alpine or Scotch laburnum. There is no tribe of plants with which I am acquainted that is so susceptible of climatic influence as the Coniferse. In the celebrated native pine forests in the highlands of Morayshire any variety among the trees can hardly be distinguished. But I have taken seeds from these, and after raising them, have planted them on the warm sands only a little above the level ACCLIMATATION. 29 of the sea, where a variety of foliage and habit became per- ceptible ; when these had yielded cones, and another genera- tion of plants had been reared near the sea level, I have found many of them so far removed from the ordinary type, that some individual plants could scarcely be recognised as be- longing to the species. This tree is found to accommodate itself to circumstances, producing long or short yearly growths in proportion to the ripening influence of the climate which it inhabits. A few generations of the tree existing in a high temperature would no doubt render its progeny nearly as tender as our greenhouse plants. It is many years since I have experienced the worthlessness of the plants of Pinus sylvestris, or Scotch fir grown from imported seeds, on account of their being too tender to withstand the severity of winter in the north of Scotland, even in a nursery with some shelter. Nevertheless the quantity of native Scotch fir seed sown in Britain of late years, while a scarcity of seed in this country prevailed, has likely been less than a tenth part of that im- ported from the Continent, and sown throughout the country. Hamburg is the principal depot for Continental seed of this tree, and the chief forests are Hagenow and Hagueneau. These forests of similar name are far apart, and although the difierence in their altitude must be very considerable, the seeds of both produce plants too tender for Scottish moorland. Even those English nurserymen, whose grounds are considerably elevated, find that the Pinus sylvestris from Continental seed does not produce plants sufficiently hardy to endure the severity of an ordinary winter. Compared with plants produced from Scotch seed, even from a good climate, the difference is great. It is perceptible in the one-year-old seedlings, but much more so after the second year's growth, when the plants from foreign seed become quite brown, with a faded or scorched appearance from the eff"ects of the winter, and so damaged by the month of March that they are often unsaleable ; while the plants pro- duced from the seeds grown in the native Highlands of Scot- land, under the same treatment, and standing alongside, have a fresh green appearance ; and such is the contrast, that if 30 ACCLIMATATION. placed on elevated ground a plot of the one can be known from the other at the distance of a mile. In some warm situations in England, however, the plants from Continental seed are found to succeed, and with ample shelter they grow rapidly ; while as timber trees in Scotland they are utterly worthless in exposed situations. The larch is another tree of great importance whose ante- cedents stand much in need of investigation. We often see it stricken down when young and in the vigour of growth, in the absence of any visible disease, assuming all the appear- ance of an exotic of too tender a constitution to endure the climate of this country. This sometimes occurs in the vicinity of plantations of the same species, which luxuriate in the same description of soil. The difference is occasioned by acclimata- tion. No doubt the tree is to be found in some parts of its native Alpine regions inured for generations to all the ex- posure and cold that the species is capable of enduring, and we might reasonably expect that the seeds of such trees would produce plants quite suitable for the climate of this country. On the Continent, however, the larch has now been cultivated for generations as useful timber — in France, Germany, Prussia, etc. etc., in a climate adapted to the vine ; so that seeds grown in such districts and imported have of late failed to such an extent as to cause the species, in some parts of our country, to be altogether abandoned as a timber tree. The former genera- tion of trees having been acclimatized or inured to great heat, their offspring are unfit for at once enduring the extreme change of Scottish moorland. Hence the sad spectacle to be met with in many extensive plantations, of hundreds of acres of larch of no value, where the cost of plants and planting, in some cases, is required to clear the ground of trees in which life is only apparent. Many years have elapsed since I first observed the advan- tage of acclimatization on the larch. In late seasons the tenderness of plants grown from imported seed is readily observed at every age, in nursery treatment ; not only with respect to the white larch of the Tyrol, which is the tenderest ACCLIMATATIOX. 31 variety, but in plants of the red, or mixed variety, from dif- ferent parts of the Continent. The demand, however, for TjTolese and Continental larch plants, and the frequent failure of the larch seed-crop in Scotland, has often given rise to large import- ations, especially during the cold wet seasons succeeding 1859. In this part of the country — Morayshire — we have had the most ripening autumn (I now write, loth November 1865), and the driest ever experienced. In these circumstances it is interesting to compare the appearance of seedling larch from imported seed, with those produced from home-gro^-n seed. Of my one-year-olds all are from home seed ; but of two-years- old seedlings I have a few thousands from imported seed, standing in the same lot with plants raised from home-grown larch seed. Both were sown in the same hour ; the soil and the treatment were in every respect similar. Both sorts have now for a season ceased to grow, and are of the full size for their age, and are very equal, but the colour of the foliage is at present very dissimilar. Those from Continental seed appear quite green and succulent, ha\ing the terminal bud hid among the leaves on the top of the shoot, whUe the foliage of those grown from Scotch seed has a rich yellow and rijiened appearance up to the top, disclosing the terminal bud full and plump, and prepared to \Adthstand any degree of frost that may occur throughout the winter, or that might have occurred for weeks past. The difference between the two sorts is very marked, and from the colour of the foliage can be at once distinguished as far off as the plants are ■vdsible. This circum- stance is by no means new to me. I have always found it so, but in a season so dry and ripening I would have expected that the contrast between the two sorts would have been greatly diminished. I have occasionally, after severe frost in October and Novem- ber, seen plants grown from imported seed that had been trans- planted in lines for two years, standing with their tops droop- ing, with unripened foliage adhering to the plants for many months, while plants from Scotch seed in the same lot, and of the same age and treatment, stood scathless. 32 ACCLTMATATIOX. The influence of soil and climate on many species of Coni- ferse alters their character, even in one generation, and some- times produces as important a difference as that which exists between one species and another. I have sometimes observed a very marked difference in the hardiness of seedling arau- carias, which I believe they inherit from the situation or climate in which the seed was produced. I do not think that the influence of a hot climate is so readily impressed on our hardy deciduous trees as it is on the various species of coniferse, yet I have observed it to some ex- tent, on plants groAvn from Continental seeds, of two of our 'hardiest deciduous native trees, the alder and birch, which are decidedly more tender than those from home-grown seed. I observe a paper presented to the Botanical Congress, on the raising of peaches, nectarines, and other fruits, from seed, by Mr. Thomas Rivers, SawbridgcAvorth. He states that by repeated generations from seed they are produced " of a more hardy nature than the old sort," and that he has more than one proof of the fact. He adds, " I may be accused of enthusiasm, but I look to the future for new races of fruits with qualities far superior to the old, and the tree of so hardy a nature as to resist some of the unfavourable tendencies of our climate. I have formed this opinion on the solid basis of observation during a lifetime devoted to the cultivation of fruit-trees in all stages of their growth." It is also worthy of notice that his late Majesty Leopold, King of the Belgians, ent>ertained a sound opinion of the im- portance of acclimatation, and practically acted thereon.^ In 1 " Leopold of Belgium, ■v\l]ose loss we lament in this country almost as much as do his ovra subjects, had a character of slirewdness, which the subjoined extract from a pamphkt of our friend, Professor E. Morren, of Liege, will go towards justifying. Speaking of the pro.^ress of horticulture and botany, the good old King remarked on the benefits conferred on the world at large from the alliance of the two branches of science, and ex- pressed his opinion that we need not pay so much attention to the discovery of plants likely to be useful as food for man, as to those capable of being em- ployed as forage plants. The human race, spread throughout the world, must be in possession of nearly all the plants profitable as sources of food for man, but with reference to those indirectly useful there is more scope. Moreover, A CCLTM ATATION. 3 3 the formation of his most extensive larch plantations in Bel- gium, he specially ordered the plants from Forres nurseries, the produce of the north of Scotland, as detailed under the article Larch. The influence of acclimatation is very perceptible on the Portugal laurel. In favourable seasons this tree ripens its berries in the north of Scotland, and plants grown from these are far more hardy than those produced from the seeds of a warmer climate. The severity of winter and spring 1867 gave very clear evidence of this being the case. I have trees of the Portugal laurel ranging from four to upwards of twenty feet high, raised from seed which ripened in Morayshire. Some of these trees occupy unfavourable situations, the soil being too moist, and only a little above the rise of water. Notwithstand- ing the wet weather of autumn 1866, so unsuitable for ripen- ing the wood, the young shoots are not only safe, but the severity of the weather did not even discolour the foliage, although the thermometer stood about zero ; while other trees of Portugal laurel raised from imported seed, like many of the exotic evergreens, are cut down to some extent, or ren- dered very unsightly. I had lately a consultation with the owner of one of tlie largest and longest established nurseries in the west of Scot- land, respecting the tender nature of the larch of late years, both in the nursery and in the forest. He said that so far as the nursery was concerned he was well aware of the fact, from dear-bought experience ; that for several years his crops, grown altogether from imported seed, had been so severely damaged by frost, that on an average of years only about a fourth part of the seedlings had escaped with their tops. contiuued the sagacious monai'ch, it is not necessary to ransack the whole "world : China and Japan are the most important countries for us in this par- ticular, lu them is to be found a very ancient civilisation and skilful cul- ture, carried on in a climate like our own. It is more advantageous to seek what we want under such circumstances than to begin anew with wild nature. We shall find in those countries plants adapted for cultivation and for our requirements, offering less resistance to our proceedings than those that we procure direct from their native wilds. Centuries are required to acclima- tize plants." — Gardener's Chronicle, 1865, p. 1178. C 34 ACCLIMATATION. In future lie was fully resolved to sow none but Scotch-grown seed, which produced plants far hardier than those from foreign seed, and in the event of a failure of Scotch seed, he would be obliged to purchase young seedling plants raised in a better climate than that which his grounds pos- sessed. Most people acquainted with the commonest operations in gardening, have experienced the great difference in cauli- flower plants subjected to the influence of cold during winter, compared to those protected in a higher temperature. Even our hardiest weeds that spring up under glass, in a higher temperature, suffer greatly when exposed to the severity of the weather in the open ground. This influence, which is so perceptible in the succulent plants of a season, is, with respect to trees, assuredly transmissible by seed to their future generations ; and it is reasonable to suppose that that hardi- ness, or tenderness, AviU be more or less fixed, according to the length of time, or the number of former generations during which the tree had been subjected to such tempera- ture. Great are the advantages of international commerce in many commodities ; yet it is to be feared that the importation of the seeds of plants that are required to stand in exposed situa- tions is not destined to benefit either our forests or our fields. Whatever may be the fate of annuals or the crops of a season, that law in nature which I have experienced to stamp its in- fluence so deeply on tKe trees of the forest, may be expected to be impressed at least on the perennial and biennial plants of the field.-^ Of course it cannot be expected that plants under the most skilful precautions will be exempt from frost or the casualties of seasons. The hardiest indigenous plants sometimes suff"er, but generally their recovery is speedily effected by seasonable weather. 1 "The unfortunate circumstance which attends clover is its being ex- tremely apt to fail in districts where it has been long a common article of cultivation. The land, to use the farmers' term, ' becomes sick of it.' After harvest he has a fine plant, but by March or April half or perhaps more of it is destd."— Farmer's Calendar, p. 155. ACCLIMATATION. 3 5 To prepare plants of any description for the formation of plantations in bleak and exposed situations, it is necessary that they should be raised in an open and airy situation, and that, by standing well apart, they may be stout in proportion to their height, and by frequent transplantation be well fur- nished with an ample supply of young roots. IV. ON NURSERY GROUND, MANURES, etc. Exposure. — Nursery ground should be moderately exposed and elevated, with a free circulation of the atmosphere, that it may be exempt as far as possible from the severity of frost, which in spring and in summer is often found to prevail in low, damp, and hollow situations. The aspect or direction of the slope of the surface is not of very much importance. Yet it is desirable to have various exposures when such can be easily obtained ; but level land of good quality is found to suit all purposes. Although a northern aspect in some situations is apt to retain frost till late in spring, which is sometimes inconvenient for the inser- tion, or removal of plants at that season, yet it is generally the best for raising evergreens from cuttings, and the safest for the growth of all plants like the larch and silver fir, which are apt to spring early, and which suffer from late frost, in the opening up of the season. (Directions, however, shall be given under the names of the respective trees, by which such casualties may be averted, or greatly mitigated on ground of any aspect.) Soil. — The best soil for the ordinary purposes of a nursery for forest trees is a sandy loam two feet deep, friable and easily worked, free from stones, with a dry subsoil or thorough drainage ; all sorts of moorland, ferruginous, or retentive sub- soils, have an injurious influence, by retarding the ripening of the summer's growth of plants. It is, however, an advantage to have a variety of soil in a nursery ; a heavier or stronger soil than that described, though not suitable for seedlings, is well adapted for larger plants. A sandy peat soil, and all soft open soils that do not get bound up with alternate mois- ture and drought, yield the most fibrous roots, and from such, ON NUESERY GROUND, MANURES, ETC. 37 seedling plants are transplanted more successfully than from ground of a stiff clayey tendency. Drains. — If drainage is necessary, the drains should be sunk at least four feet deep, and kept at some distance from the line of hedges. When this cannot be avoided, as in crossing under- neath a hedge for instance, to prevent the roots of the hedge from choking up the drain, the tile or built eye of the drain should be encased with broken stones, extending at least a foot on each side, and Above the conduit. Nursery Fences. — Unless the ground is naturally very well sheltered, hedges make the best nursery fence. If the shelter is ample, wire fence is to be recommended, and in all cases where hares and rabbits abound, wire netting is the most convenient security, unless where there is on the spot a supply of timber adapted for close upright paling. In the formation of hedges the hawthorn generally makes the most satisfactory outside fence. If much shelter is needed beech is preferable to any others ; and for the interior divisions of a nursery, yew-tree and holly are found most suitable. These two evergreens are of compact growth, very ornamental, and not subject to disease, and though of rather slow growth, yet, when properly nursed for hedges, they can be transplanted three or four feet high, when they at once form a shelter and screen. Evergreen privet is also suitable for the same purpose. Excess of shelter is injurious to the hardiness of the stock, and should be avoided. The shelter of woods often renders nursery ground too confined, and their vicinity is frequently infested with disease and the prevalence of insects injurious to young plants. In ground of any considerable extent a cart-road should give access to the interior, for the convenience of carting manure, and the easy removal of plants. The ground is most conveniently cropped when the walks are laid out at right angles. The best mode of adapting new ground for nursery plants is to have it well trenched, eighteen inches or two feet deep, the surface carefully placed in the bottom, in autumn, and laid down the first season with a well-manured green crop — turnips 38 ON NURSERY GROUND, MANURES, ETC. or potatoes. This renders the ground clean and soft, to a sufficient depth for any crop. In manuring for nursery crops "without a previous green crop, the manure should be well decomposed, and whether the crop intended be plants or seeds, it suits best for the manure to be dug roughly into the ground in autumn or early in "win- ter ; or to have the ground ridged up is preferable, as this admits more readily the pulverizing influence of frost, which acts favourably on ground for any crop. The evil effects of fresh manure often appear very con- spicuously if applied to a crop of any species of coniferae. Hardwood plants are not so easily injured in this way ; but it is not unusual to see nursery plots of pines and larches sadly damaged by manure too fresh and full of urine being applied. The mistake sometimes occurs of laying do"wn the manure in heaps on the ground for some time before it is spread and dug in. Where this is the case, the spots in the seedling Scotch pines and larches, where the manure-heaps stood, are generally marked by the absence of plants, as distinctly as in agricul- tural crops, where the vegetation is generally the strongest. Even when manure is well decomposed and comparatively drj'', if it is allowed to remain in heaps on the ground, and get washed into it by rain or snow, the effect is injurious. If, therefore, manure is carted out in frost, it should be placed in some spot adjacent till it can be dug doAvn, or on ground where it may not injure the ensuing crop. Farm-yard manure is -preferable to toAvn manure. If town manure is employed, it is the better for being mixed up "with a proportion of rank farm-yard manure sufficient to produce fermentation in a heap, which destroys the seeds of weeds before it is used for any crop. Wood or peat ashes in a dung- hill form an excellent manure ; coal ashes, to a great extent, are bad for seedling crops ; and manure composed of sawdust is still worse, as it tends to engender fungi, which are the prevailing enemies of the pine tribe. A very good manure is formed by collecting the weeds of the nursery. After they are dissolved in a heap, give one bushel of lime-shell hot from the kiln to every four or five ON NURSERY GROUND, MANURES, ETC. 39 bushels of rotted weeds ; these should be formed into a heap of alternate layers of lime and weeds ; in a few days, when the heap has swelled out, it should be carefully turned over and intimately mixed while it is in a hot state, so that all the seeds of weeds may be completely destroyed. This mixture may be applied at the time of transplanting in the nursery, or at the time of digging for seed-beds. In the latter case it forms a good top-dressing, by applying it thinly on the sur- face of the ground immediately after the ground is dug, and before it is raked for seed-beds ; about ten tons of mixture per acre will be sufficient, and at that rate it may safely be repeated every three or four years. If a much greater quan- tity is applied, the intervals in its application should be longer, unless the ground is rather strong and stiff. Leaf mould is a valuable manure for seedling crops, if it is well dissolved, and has been exposed to the atmosphere by repeated turning. It is sometimes to be obtained in pits and hollows, in hardwood plantations, into which the leaves drift in rough weather; and it may be carted out, nearly made, from time to time, as it accumulates. It should be turned over twice or thrice, with an interval of two or three months, before being applied, that it may be thorouglily dissolved ; it is best adapted for seed-beds, and the mode of application is that recommended for the lime mix- ture, as a top manuring laid on between the digging and raking of the ground. It forms a fine mixture of soil for seeds, and is not apt to cake or harden on the surface after heavy rain, which hardening is much against the growth of small seeds. Peruvian guano cannot be recommended as a nursery manure. In some soils and seasons it excites a rapid but rather feeble growth ; and in late seasons plants stimulated by it are apt to fail in maturing their young wood, and are consequently more liable to the influence of frost. Plants appear to require nourishment of a more steady, bulky, and permanent nature, though not so stimulating, in order to pro- duce well ripened wood, full and sound, with their terminal buds well developed. Pines and firs grown on very poor 40 ON NURSERY GROUND, MANURES, ETC. nursery ground, particularly during the second year of their life, assume a yellow colour in their leaves; and although nothing the worse, yet the appearance is often objected to. In this case a dressing of guano, followed by rain in August, or its application in a liquid state, will change the foliage to a darker green in the course of a few weeks. It is desirable that nursery ground should be large enough to admit of the plots being restored to good condition every fourth or fifth year by a well-fertilized green crop of turnips, or potatoes, etc. All sorts of two or three year lined plants exhaust the ground considerably ; among hardwood, ash, elm, and sycamore are the most exhaustive, oak the least so ; and among the fir tribe, the Norway spruce reduces the condition of the ground more than any of the other species. Some of the most valuable crops of seedling Scotch pine and larch that I have ever seen, were produced on plots of land very much exhausted by nursery crops, but renewed or enriched a few months before being sown, by receiving a good coating of fresh mould from a field in the vicinity, which dur- ing the previous summer had yielded a crop of turnips, which had been well manured, and kept clean and free from seeding weeds during their growth ; this soil was carted and spread on the nursery plots, about two inches deep, and rouglily dug over during the months of January and February. A mixture of various soils is very invigorating for all tree crops; and it is found profitable to give an extra quantity of manure to the field in exchange for soil* well adapted for crops so important, particularly where the carriage is not very distant. In the private nurseries throughout the country, seedling plants are seldom raised, as it is generally found more profit- able to purchase young plants one or two years old. These we have been in the practice of raising for many years to numerous customers both in Scotland and England, who order them a year before they are required, whereby we avoid to some extent the risk of growing an overstock, and are thus enabled to sell them generally about 20 per cent, under the usual rate. ON DEAINING GKOUKD FOE PLANTATIONS. In Scottish moorland more plants perhaps have been lost by being inserted into ground too wet than by any other cause, and it is seldom that any considerable extent of ground is found adapted for plantation, without some parts requiring to be drained. Open ditches are generally best adapted for this purpose ; every other kind is apt to be closed up by the growth of the fibrous roots of the trees. In hilly ground it sometimes happens that an open ditch cannot easily be formed, owing to the depth required in some parts to allow the water to escape, and the great width required at the surface to admit a sufficient slope on the sides. Such places are generally smaU in extent, and the best method is to build an eye of stone, or to introduce a tile on a scale sufficient to form a discharge, surrounding the conduit, in either case, with an accumulation of loose stones, or rough harped gravel, which tends to inter- cept the roots, and prevent a stoppage. Although land may not appear very wet, yet if the surface or the subsoil be im- pervious, and particularly if the surface is inclined to a great space, catch-water drains should be excavated, and the mate- rials placed on the lower side, that the flow of water into the drain may not be impeded. Inclined moorland, or peat, which retains moisture, may, in many cases, be relieved of surface-water in the same way, by the operation of the plough. I have seen this sometimes very expeditiously and eff"ectually performed by a trench plough, particularly where oxen can be employed that are accustomed to the reclaiming of waste land. In laying out the course of drains in hilly moorland, it is 42 ON DEAINIXG GROUND FOR PLANTATIONS. often necessary to exercise caution, and not bring too much into any common discharge, along a great declivity, before reaching a well-swarded channel or stream, as an accumu- lation of water to one point of exit, particularly in ground not adhesive, has the effect during floods of cutting ravines, overlaying lower and more fertile grounds with debris, and shutting up and diverting the course of streams, and the Hke. To prevent such inroads it is sometimes necessary to cause- way, in a concave form, the course of a drain along a steep declivity. Stones for such a purpose are generally found abundantlj^ on the ground, and even when carted loosely into ' the bottom of a ditch they have the effect of preventing the water from deepening the trench, although they are not built; but, if the descent is rapid, building is generally required. Where stones are scarce, well-swarded turf, closely built, by being set on edge, is found to suit the purpose, where the discharge of water is not constant; in such the herbage grows, and becomes quite fixed, and sufiicient for the discharge of a flood, if only of a few days at a time. For such places a shodding of stone and turf alternately make the strongest fence of any against the inroads of water. The stones, if flat, should be set on edge, if boulders, on end ; and although the stones are generally round, yet by introducing a fresh turf set on edge between each course of stones, the turf grows, and the roots, belonging commonly to a mixture of grasses, fill up all crevices underneath, and the wild native vegetation spreads above, and thus encases tjie stones securely. I have seen this description of work resist the inroads of streams in flood, where more costly mason-work was of less use. The more gentle the cavity in the bottom, or the slope on the sides, the greater the strength of the work. In forest planting, deep-rooted plants require a soil more elevated above the rise of Avater than the pines and other surface-rooted trees. Young plantations recently formed are more apt to suffer in the absence of drainage than plantations that are more advanced ; because, when trees (jDarticularly the pine tribe) become so far advanced as to form a cover on ON FENCES FOR PLANTATIONS. 43 the ground, they have a tendency to dry it ; they intercept the slighter showers of rain and the humidity of the atmo- sphere, and expose a large surface to evaporation. On a large scale, however, forests have a tendency to increase the humidity of the atmosphere and strengthen the springs of water in their vicinity. In soil surcharged with water, where it cannot he properly drained, the mode of ridging it is some- times resorted to, and successfully adopted, for the purj^ose of forming a cover of plantation, which improves the appearance of the place, and under coppice is frequently attended with profit. Ridging is performed by excavating every alternate space of five or six feet in breadth ; the space which forms the ridge is thus raised in proportion to the depth of the excavation. The work should be performed in summer ; and the operation of planting in this description of ground should be in spring. Fences. — It is hardly necessary that anything should be said on the necessity of fences around plantations, or of the best mode of forming them. The materials to be employed in their formation will of course depend on the resources of the district where they are required. In some situations the expense of fencing a plantation is equal to the cost of plants and the operation of planting ; on a small extent it is some- times much more. Perhaps the least expensive mode gene- rally applicable for waste land, and to protect from the inroads of cattle and sheep, is to form a turf-dike on the brink of a ditch. The sward from the surface is built to form the out- side of the dike, and the earth from the ditch forms what is called a hacking, being a bank or slope of earth falling from the top of the dike to the surface of the enclosed ground. This of itself is generally a sufl&cient fence against cattle ; but a formation of this sort, to prevent the inroads of sheep, is usually surmounted with a single line of wire, fixed with wooden supports, and placed a foot above the top of the turf. In districts where thinnings of young plantations abound, these are used, instead of wire, to form the top bar. The expense of construction must no doubt depend on the adapta- 44 ON FENCES FOR PLANTATIONS. tion of the soil for a formation of this description. A usual price, apart from the upper fixture or rail, is from 4d. to 5d. per lineal yard of dike five feet high, measuring from the bottom of the ditch to the coping-turf. The cheapest dike of turf I have known to be erected, suitable as a fence or pro- tection against cattle, was formed five feet high, at the cost of 3d. per lineal yard. A common method is to form the fence with earth, and to face up the outside with stones, where such material is conveniently obtained. I have lately built by contract in moorland about two miles of dikes, of two sorts, where stones are found conveniently, partly from newly improved land, and partly from cairns, which abound along many mountainous districts in the north of Scotland. These cairns form heath-covered mounds through- out the moors, and require little or no labour to excavate. A dry stone dike, five feet high, was built with a scarcement of three inches on each side near the surface of the ground ; above that it started at the thickness of two feet, and rising to four and a half feet in height, where it tapered to sixteen inches ; here it was surmounted by a projecting cope, making its entire height five feet. The cost of building was 1 Od. per lineal yard, carting stones, 3d., making the price of the dike Is. Id. per lineal yard. This was the fence adopted where the ground was level, or had only a gentle slope. Where the ground was steep, the fence was formed of a different construction ; there the surface of the moor was excavated to the averagve depth of twelve inches, and to the breadth of five or six feet. The surface turf was built up to the height of about four feet, the earth excavated from beneath the surface turf was cast over in the progress of building to form the baching. This turf wall was then faced up with stone from the bottom of the excavation to the height of four and a half feet, and a stone coping made the faced-up side of the dike stand five feet high, with a scarce- ment at bottom of a few inches, and with a slope or batter of four or five inches. The surface of the embankment on the opposite side was formed "with a slope of not less than two ON ROADS IN PLANTATIONS. 45 to one. WTiere this fence was formed at a right angle to the natural slope of the ground, catch-water drains were formed, which furnished additional material for the slope or back of the dike, where required. These drains form a safeguard for the dike during floods. The cost of this fence, including the catch- water drain, amounted to Is. 2d. per lineal yard ; but of course the cost of all such fences depends on the supply of materials and of workmen in their vicinity. It sometimes happens during winter that dikes of every description become drifted with snow, over which sheep find an easy access into plantations ; for this reason wire fences, as they are less apt to accumulate snow, have become common for the protection of plantations throughout the Highlands of Scotland. Eoads in Plantations. — It is usual, before planting land to any great extent, to line out the roads which may afterwards be required ; this is most easily accomplished while the ground is bare, and the inclination of the surface can be brought under the eye. It is seldom necessary at this stage to do anything further than mark off the roads, remove ob- structions, and form side drains, where the soil is wet, to admit a carriage drive throughout the ground. These are commonly formed from fourteen to eighteen feet wide, and it is seldom that the use of such roads justifies any great outlay in their formation, until they are required for the removal of timber, which seldom occurs, to a great extent, before eighteen or twenty years after the formation of the plantation. The carriage of timber, on account of its vibrating motion, is more severe on roads than that of almost any other com- modity ; this accompanied with the circumstance, that roads in woods have a tendency, in all sorts of soil, to retain moisture from want of air, and from their seldom having been formed with any substantial body of materials to support heavy loads, accounts for the bad state in Avhich they soon appear after having been subjected to any considerable traffic. Few opera- tions are attended with greater outlay than the formation of good roads, and when such are only occasionally required in the removal of timber from the forest, the cost forbids their 46 ON ROADS IN PLANTATIONS. formation. I shall therefore only indicate what I have found the easiest mode of forming a temporary road sufficient under such circumstances. In some soils the surface vegetation forms a tough sward adapted for sustaining temporary traffic, particularly when it is not confined to the same tracks, but shifted by being spread over the surface of the roadway. In the absence of a firm or gravelly soil, which continues some time passable, advantage should be taken of frosty weather when the traffic is heavy. I have found that the best method of making a road with a soft surface passable, is to overspread it with a close thatching of the branches of trees, each branch six, eight, or ten feet long ; larch, spruce, silver fir, beech, birch, elm, etc., all lie flat, and can be built into a compact cladding across the surface. Scotch fir is of use for this purpose, but inferior to many other sorts. Having placed the branches in this position, the sub- soil from ditches on each side of the road should then be cast up on the cladding of brushwood, giving the road a convexity of a few inches in the centre, and of a depth sufficient to cover over above the branches about two or three inches. If the subsoil is good gravel, this will make a strong and lasting road ; or if gravel is to be had in the close vicinity, it is gene- rally worth while to cart it ; but whatever be the nature of the subsoil, the branches prevent the loaded carts from sink- ing to a great extent, and form a very passable road for the purpose, and at the smallest outlay, as the materials are always at hand. In plantations formed for the growth of hop-poles, prop- wood, or the like, that are to be cleared oif at an early period, — say ten, twelve, twenty, or twenty-five years, — roads may be made narrower, or they may not unfrequently be omitted altogether ; but where extensive plantations are intended for heavy timber, roads are indispensable, and their advantages are well worth the space they occupy, as they impart a healthy influence by the admission of air, and open up the interior of the plantation, and allow the state of it to be ascertained. VI. ON SELECTINa NUESERY PLANTS. Table showing the Number of Plants required to plant AN Imperial Acre from One Foot to Thirty Feet, plant FROM PLANT. Imperial Acre. Imperial Acre. Distance. No. Distance. No. 1 43,560 12 302 H 19,360 124 270 2 10,890 13 257 H 6,970 13J 239 3 4,840 14 222 34 3,556 14* 207 4 2,722 15 193 H 2,151 15J 181 5 1,742 16 170 54 1,440 16| 164 6 1,210 17 150 64 1,031 17^ 142 7 889 18 134 74 774 18| 127 8 680 19^ 120 8i 603 19J 114 9 537 20 108 9i 482 22 90 10 435 24 75 104 395 26 64 11 360 28 55 114 329 30 48 On Selecting Nursery Plants. — It is but reasonable to sup- pose that with the "^dew of laying down a crop destined to stand for generations — it may be for upwards of a century, — every precaution would be taken to secure its vigour and 48 ON SELECTING NURSERY PLANTS. success, by selecting plants of the most approved varieties of the species ; in many instances, however, this is not done. Indifference, in this respect, with the trade, or with plant mer- chants, who pass the commodity from hand to hand in course of a few weeks, is not so surprising ; but with those who are to own the plants in their final destination, the selection is surely worthy of the exercise of thoughtfulness and care. Seldom, however, is this care taken; seldom is the same vigilance exer- cised here, which the agriculturist displays in laying down a crop destined to last only a few months. In arboriculture the result stands far away in the future, whereas with the farmer 'it is close at hand — the character and quality of his crops are readily ascertained, and the difference between good and bad is realized in a few months in a tangible form. In the formation of plantations, great or small, the work is generally proceeded with as if every tree or plant of its name were equally good, without regard to variety, pedigree, or climatic influence. All Scotch pines, for instance, are often treated as one sort, and larch and spruce in the same manner, yet in each of these there exists a diversity greater than that found in wheat, barley, or any other grain. Although the varieties and qualities of the trees will be found pretty fuUy detailed under their respective names, yet as those named are important leading kinds, as a guide to the selection of the most suitable plants, I may here make a few remarks on each of these trees. The Scotch pine is a tree very susceptible of chmatic influ- ence ; when removed from its native mountains to a warm country, and grown from seed, it changes its appearance to some extent, shoAving many seedling varieties. Every suc- ceeding generation produces softer timber ; and away from its native habitat the tree thus degenerates and becomes tender. Since 1860, many tons of Scotch pine seeds have been im- ported from the Continent into Britain, as already noticed, and many millions of plants have been thus produced, far too tender for the exposed moorland of this country. In the best protected nursery giound they often perish in a ON SELECTING NUESERY PLANTS. 49 severe -winter. These plants abound in British nurseries. The seeds are obtained at a cheap rate, labour throughout the Continent, the principal expense attending them, being far cheaper than in this country. Plants from Continental seeds succeed only in well-sheltered ground at a low altitude. On elevated and exposed moorland they are worthless. Unless frequently transplanted in the nursery, they are barer in the roots than the native plant, and consequently more apt to die in being transplanted ; and where they have taken root and lived for a few years, I have seen them in moors standing about knee height in the first of summer, brown, of a scorched appearance, and twiggy, being topped by frost, and worse than nothing in the ground. Pinus sylvestris montana is another variety of Scotch pine which is imported from the Continent, and grown in this country under that name. The plants of this tree have a close resemblance to those of the native pine while a plant, which is apt to lead to a serious mistake, as the Montana of the Continent, which is introduced and _ propagated to a very great extent, is a dwarf — worthless as a timber tree, as at most it only becomes a spreading bush. With respect to this plant the confusion is the more perplexing, as Don, in his writings on the native varieties found in Scotland, has given the name Montana to a valuable variety of the Scotch pine, Avhich differs widely from that which has of late years to an unusual extent found its way to the nurseries. The Montana of commerce, though imported from the Conti- nent, is a very hardy plant, owing to its seeds being gathered from the tree in its native habitat, which is always at a great elevation. Unlike the loftier sorts of Pinus sylvestris, it is unsuited for profitable cultivation in the warm plains of foreign countries.' The plants should be avoided for all plantations in the course of being formed for the sake of timber. Yet I have known this dwarf inserted with great care, extensively, ten to twelve feet apart, with the view of ultimately suppressing all the other plants associated with it in the forest. — (For further particulars see Pine-Tree.) D 50 ON SELECTING NURSERY PLANTS. The selection of larch plants is a matter of great import- ance ; hardiness is the great desideratum, and the produce of Scotch seed should have a decided preference to those grown from foreign seeds, of which so many tons are yearly im- ported, that during the last few years the seeds of this tree saved and sown in Britain did not form a tithe of the quantity imported from Hamburg and other Continental ports, — seeds which are readily obtained in the planted woods in the valleys and warm slopes of Germany, Prussia, and through- out the Netherlands. Plants raised from these seeds are very subject to frost ; this is very apparent in the nursery treat- ment, compared to plants from home-grown seed. The leaves of both sorts sometimes unfortunately perish on very severe occasions of summer frost, but seldom to the same extent. The blighted leaves of early summer places the plant in the most susceptible condition for the attack of the coccus laricis or larch aphis, which lives on the juice. In the absence of the leaves in winter the insect may be detected by the plants appearing here and there dwarfed, and darkened in the colour of their bark, as if subjected to the influence of smoke ; such plants ought to be avoided. — (See Larch.) In selecting Spruce Fir for forest planting, it is necessary to know that the Norway species is the only sort fit for becoming a large tree and yielding valuable timber, except the Douglasii, which is easily known. But the Norway species and the White American bear a close resemblance to one another; and as the seeds of the latter are often im- ported from America, and grown by the hundred thousand, care should be taken to avoid it. The Norway and the White American, grown together under the same circum- stances, are quite distinct. The Norway is darker in the foliage, more vigorous and robust in growth, particularly in the leading shoot. The White American is paler in the foliage and bark, shorter and more slender in its growth, its foliage is closer on the branches, and the leading shoot is seldom very vigorous ; it is a dwarf tree, and its timber is of little value. Where the Norway species is grown on poor ON SELECTING NURSERY PLANTS. 51 hard soil, the plants have very much the appearance of the White American species. — (For further details on this subject, see the article on the various species of Spruce Fir.) I have now said enough to show the mistakes that are most likely to arise in selecting plants of a few of the most common kinds of the Coniferse. Respecting many of the other kinds of this tribe, we depend almost entirely on foreign countries for the supply of seed ; and although there is no doubt that a great difference exists in the hardiness of the produce of the seeds of the various kinds grown in their native heights, compared with those from seeds produced in the lower and warmer districts, yet these circumstances, not- withstanding their importance, cannot be easily controlled, and afford no choice in selecting newly introduced kinds in a nursery. It is of great importance to obtain plants gro^vn from a good stock, or from the most approved trees of their species. For several years I cultivated the variety of oak known as Q. rohur jyedunculata. This tree yields the best description of oak timber. It also attains to as great a size as any other variety of the British oak ; although when in the nursery the sessile variety generally gives the stronger plants, as of the two its acorns are the larger. I could not, however, obtain a better price for the sort selected than for those grown pro- miscuously ; and as there are intermediate sorts between the two, the difference is not very important, and the kinds are now seldom grown apart. In selecting oak plants from the seed-bed, there is commonly a considerable difference in their size, unless the very small acorns have been sifted out and not sown. In transplanting young oaks from the seed-bed, those very inferior in size should be rejected, as, although they are trans- planted, they generally continue comparatively dwarfish, even with the best treatment, in good soil. In making choice of hardwood plants of any sort, good roots are as conducive to their success as good tops, and much more so with oaks, beeches, and birches, and with all sorts 52 ON SELECTING NURSERY PLANTS. that are apt to get bare and destitute of fibres. When these sorts have acquired the proper size for transplanting into the forest, -they are much improved, particularly the oak, by being removed or disturbed in the nursery lines a year previous to their being finally planted. This removal, if it should only be from the site of one nursery line to the next, insures a mass of fibrous roots, requiring no pruning on being planted out, which gives the plant a great advantage over those not so treated. And although, in consequence of being thus dis- turbed, they are not so full in the display of young wood, yet they are far more valuable than plants that have not been recently remdved, though the latter appear the more vigorous. A^Tien an excess of vigour appears in hardwood plants, they seldom take readily to the ground on being removed, parti- cularly if they have been nursed in a sheltered situation. Plants of every description, and especially those of the pine tribe that are to become the inhabitants of bleak exposures, should, in the nursery, have the benefit of open and airy ground, to admit of the play of the wind on all sides ; and such as have been transplanted the preceding year will have the best roots and the hardiest tops, and are best adapted to survive under adverse circumstances. VII. MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. In no work in general practice is there a greater diversity of methods than in that of forming plantations. This arises, to some extent, from the difference in the soil, and in the herbage which overspreads it, in different parts of the country. On the soil and exposure should depend the kinds of plants, and on the herbage the size or description of plants that should be employed ; and by far the most im- portant step in arboriculture is to adapt the plant to the soil and climate congenial to its gro^vth. Like every other opera- tion that does not yield a speedy return, the profit of a plan- tation must always depend very much on its original cost. It is not unusual to see plantations formed at an outlay of £2, £3, or £4 per acre (for plants and planting), while another equally valuable is formed on ground of the same description, and with plants of the same kind, at less than half the cost. This sometimes arises from the size of the plants employed, and also from the mode of inserting them. Sometimes the most costly mode wiU altogether fail, while the least so is a complete success ; but I have also observed the reverse of all this — where the modes of planting reckoned least expensive failed again and again, and the costly method had to be adopted, which, under the circumstances, should at first have been resorted to. The success of plantations, there- fore, greatly depends on the skill and experience of the fores- ter. I shall now detail as minutely as I can the different modes of inserting the plants, and the sizes of the plants, which I have found most successful under various circum- stances. The mode of operation, the time or season of per 54 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. forming it, the kind and the size of plants, etc., are all dependent on circumstances, such as the surface soil, the subsoil, the state of the native vegetation, the climate, and exposure of the district, etc. There are three methods of planting generally practised throughout the country, namely, notch or slit planting ; pit planting ; and planting on trenched or prepared ground. Notch 'planting in moorland. — The implements by which this operation is performed vary much in different parts of the country. Two sorts, however, are sufficient for notch- planting under every circumstance, namely the small planting spade or hand-iron, and the common garden spade. The latter is improved for the purpose by being well worn down. The hand-iron here figured has a blade about seven inches long; its entire length is eighteen inches, and its weight is about two and a half pounds. The person using it should have a small bag, for carrying plants, tied round his waist. This spade should be struck into the gi-ound with one hand in a slanting direction, which will make it penetrate more easily than when it is kept perpendicularly ; the plant is in- serted by the other hand, and is placed on the farther side of the hand-iron ; and, by turning the turf a littlp to one side with the hand-iron, an opening is made for the roots. When the plant is put in, the ground forced up should receive a stamp with the foot, to make it firm. INIoor or peat ground is naturally apt to con- tract and shiink during the heat of summer, and when plants are inserted by making a larger opening, the incision in some soils opens, and exposes the roots at a time when they are most apt to suffer. Persons planting with the hand-iron advance regularly, each keeping the exact distance from his neighbour that is required between the plants. An overseer follows after every ten or twelve planters, to see that none perform the work carelessly or slightly, in order to keep pace MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. 55 with those who are most expert at the work. In a dry, sandy, or gravelly moorland, with a cover of open heath, not exceeding five or six inches in height, this mode of planting is not only the most speedy, but also the most successful and economical. It is not practised with plants of a great size ; but it is adapted for Scotch pines and spruce two-year seed- lings, or for such one-year transplanted, and for larches, either one or two. year seedlings, or for one-year seedlings, one year transplanted, and for other plants not exceeding the size of these, at the ages stated. In England, the use of the small planting spade or hand-iron is almost alto- gether unknown; and there the system of notch or slit-plant- ing has been termed a coarse operation, because the plant is inserted among the herbage without the soil being prepared or pulverized ; but the cause of its being spoken of thus disparagingly arises from ignorance of the advantages con- nected with the system. It is necessary here to explain that the herbage with which the plants are associated by this mode of planting is that of the heath, which, when of a moderate size, is far more favourable to the young plants than if they were inserted on a bare prepared surface. A cover of heath affords great protection, while its open stems do not retain moisture to rot the plants, nor do its roots injure them like those of a grassy vegetation. Moorland of the usual description, situated at a considerable altitude, when much disturbed and pulverized, is generally less adapted to the growth of young plants than soil less expensively prepared. This arises not only from the prepared soil and pulverized spots being deprived of a shelter of heath, but also from the circumstance of these places, thus prepared, absorbing an excess of moisture, which causes the ground to swell during frost, and subside in open weather, whereby the plants are ejected. For this reason, the planter of experience, in the progress of notch planting, will diverge from the regular dis- tance if the spot happens to be bare, with a broken surface, to take advantage of the nearest point possessed of a heathy sward, into which he will insert the plant. In the native- 56 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. grown forests, it is not in the bare pulverized spots that the young plants are found ; in such they are ejected, and die ; but, associated with the brown heath, they spring up and prevad without any artificial aid ; and it is into this descrip- tion of soil, which nature has adapted for the seed-bed of pines, that plants are usually inserted by notching. The first over-stock of plants that I had in the nurseries at Forres occurred in the year 1830. During that year I planted, by contract, about two millions of plants, which were all inserted into moorland by the hand-iron. The largest oi these plantations was made on the estate of Ballindalloch ; it measured about 400 Scotch acres, and contained 1,400,000 native Scotch pine and larch plants. They were notched into the. ground at the average distance of about four feet asunder. The plants were distributed in kind and size to suit the quality of the ground and the state of the herbage ; and on an average each Scotch acre contained, as under, at the following prices, for plants, carriage, and planting : — 500 one-year transplanted larches, 1500 two-year seedling do., 500 one-year transplanted Scotch firs, 1000 two-year seedling do. Carriage of plants to the moor, . Expense of planting 3500, Total exj^ense per Scotch acre. This plantation was well fenced, partly with stone, and partly with turf dikes, and as no drains had been formed, I had liberty in planting to avoid all spots too wet for the gro^vth of timber; these, however, were of no great extent. The soil has generally a good slope or declivity, and ranges from 200 to 550 feet above the river Spey, Avhich runs near to it. The ground is probably from 350 to 750 feet above the sea level, and about 25 miles distant therefrom. This plan- tation was beguii during the last week in February, and the weather being altogether favourable it was completed in . £0 1 9 0 3 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 4 e, £0 10 0 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. 57 thirty-four days. Its formation was reported in the Prize Essays and Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland for 1832, and being the first plantation, and consequently the oldest formed by me, I inspected it lately, with the view of ascertaining its progress and value as timber in thirty-five years. I was accompanied by two practical men, the one a forester in the constant practice of selling timber, and the other a timber merchant ; both well acquainted with the purposes for which such timber is applicable, and with the present state of the timber market. I found the plantation generally in a very vigorous state, and containing many remarkable specimens of rapid growth. Near the base of the plantation, and where judicious thinning had been practised, the best of the larches stood from fifty to upwards of sixty feet high, and from four to five feet in girth at the ground, and from three feet six inches to four feet two inches at the height of six feet. These contained from twenty to twenty-five cubic feet of timber, and were worth not less than 20s. each tree. Some of the best parts in the wood were worth £80 per acre ; and altogether the value of the timber covering 400 Scotch acres, equal to about 500 imperial acres, at a low estimate amounted to £31,600. The native Highland pine presented some very fine speci- mens of thirty-five years' growth, containing from fourteen to sixteen cubic feet of timber. Every year after this age a plantation, when carefully thinned, makes a great accession to the bulk and value of the timber. As there has been a succession of several proprietors, factors, and foresters on the estate since the date of the forma- tion of the plantation, I am unable to give any correct detail of the thinnings obtained from it up to the present time, further than that the free revenue must have been quite suffi- cient to have paid the cost of its formation, with interest, and a rent for the ground many times greater than that obtained for the best description of hill pasture. It had formerly beeu only common heath or moorland. During the next twenty or thirty years the repeated thin- 58 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. nings of this plantation cannot fail to yield many thousands of pounds, with every prospect of the standing timber at the ' end of either of these periods being worth more than double its present estimated value. At the time of the formation of this plantation the ordinary transit for timber to market in the quarter was by floating in rafts on the river Spey and shipping at Speymouth. Moun- tain streams everywhere abound, and afford convenient power for the manufacture of timber by saw-mills. Other means of transit have lately been established. In this remote district the Strathspey railway runs close to 'the south side of the plantation, and cries aloud for traffic, which no doubt enhances the value of timber in the district. The other plantations which I formed in the autumn or winter of 1830 are equally successful. They stand on ground of a lower altitude ; but as it was very bare and exposed, and as a considerable portion of the heath had been burned off two or three years before being planted, and as the soil consists generally of a sandy peat on a dry subsoil of sand and gravel, the smallest description of plants was employed, and the cir- cumstances rendered close planting indispensable. The fol- lowing was generally the number of plants inserted at about three feet asunder : — 2000 one-year seedling larch, 1000 two-year do. ^ do., 3000 two-year native Scotch firs. Expense of planting 6000, Total expense per Scotch acre, . The above was the contracted price per acre ; all plants for replanting, if such should be required, were to be supplied ; but the expense of work in filling up was to be defrayed by the proprietor. The ground being well adapted for the plants, no failure was perceptible, except along a small space of grassy vegetation which required additional drainage, and £0 2 6 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 £0 10 6 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. 59 for which a feAV thousand plants were furnished. A few years after the formation of these plantations, the one-year seedling larch plants which had been employed could not be distinguished from those inserted at the age of two years. Although one-year-old seedling larches only range from four to seven inches in height, yet when they are transplanted into favourable moorland, they often double their height during the first year of their transplanted growth. No seedling takes more readily to the ground or overcomes the check of transplantation with greater facility. Before finishing my remarks on notch planting Avith the small spade, or hand-iron, it is necessary to state that this mode is the most suitable only for moorland where the sur- face is bare, and the heath not much above the height of the plants. If the herbage is grassy, or composed of other vegeta- tion than heath, stronger plants are necessary than those adapted for being inserted by this implement ; or if the sur- face soil is composed of moss, or pure peat earth, of a greater depth than the small spade can easily strike through, it should not be employed. Pure peat is commonly found the prevail- ing surface soil of moorland at a high altitude, and being destitute of a sufficient mixture of sand, the plants do not grow freely until they reach the subsoil. For this reason, the quality of the surface soil, as well as that of the vegeta- tion, should be taken into account in deciding on the mode of planting, and on the plants to be employed. On rocky ground, where it is difficult to obtain a cover of wood, the hand-iron is often found most suitable ; it enters the crevices and makes way for the insertion of young plants, where larger tools would not penetrate. In such places the seeds of pines are sometimes sown, but one-year seedling plants notched are generally most successful. This implement is also to be preferred in the formation of plantations on bare sandy links. — (See Sea-side Planting.) Notch planting hy the common spade. — As already noticed, a well-worn common garden spade is far better adapted for the work than any other ; being lighter, more wieldy, and being 60 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. worn to a circular form in the mouth, it cuts the herbage and penetrates easily into the ground. If spades of this descrip- tion are not at hand, new ones of a small size should be formed into the same figure and sharpened for the work. This spade is suitable in all rough ground where the heath is rank and forms a close cover ; or where heath is mixed with the mosses or other herbage, where the hand-iron is found too light for the operation. This mode of notching plants Avith the common spade is generally known as the "cross I cut," the shape of the incision being made thus — 1— The surface soil being raised, the plant is inserted into the corner and the turf pressed down with the foot. The work is most speedily performed if a boy accompanies the spades- man, carrying the plants and inserting them. Notch planting with the common spade is sometimes practised by making only a single notch or incision, into which the plant is often inserted by the person who makes it ; in this case the planter carries the plants in a bag or apron tied round his waist. The plants must be large in proportion to the herbage they have to contend with. Transplanted plants should always be used. Two-year-old seedlings which have been one year transplanted of larch, and Scotch pine, or two-year trans- planted spruce, are all fit for being notched with the common spade where herbage of the sort referred to overspreads a soft soil ; but the preparation necessary for each spot where a plant is to be inserted depends on the nature of the ground and on the \-igour of the herbage, as will be afterwards explained. Moorland Plantations, cost, etc. — In forming plantations on this description of ground, in elevated situations, Scotch pine, larch, and spruce are the kinds most profitably gro^vn. If the exposure is rough and bare, 5000 plants are sometimes judiciously employed per imperial acre, although that number places the plants rather less than three feet apart. If, on the other hand, the ground is such as is reckoned sure for the plants to take root in, and the altitude low, or, if at a high MODES OF FOEEST PLANTING. 61 altitude, the surrounding hills afford a good shelter, 3000 plants are sufficient ; but unless the shelter is ample, the out- sides should be made closer than the interior of the woods. The proportions of the kinds depend on the quality of the soil, but that most common is two-thirds of Scotch pine and one-third of larch. With these regularly mixed the planta- tion may be thinned out, so that ultimately it may consist either of a mixture, or of any one of these kinds, as may, from the appearance of the trees when somewhat advanced, be considered most profitable. Where the larch thrives, it is the most profitable of any tree ; but it is subject to many casualties, and forms too precarious a crop to consist purely of the genus, except on the surest ground, — on the slopes of ravines, along the alluvial banks of rivers, and in all situa- tions where the soil, though somewhat moist, is open and free from stagnant water. The same description of soil is also adapted for the spruce fir, but the spruce fir is not suitable for so high an altitude as the larch. Spruce grows well on a level surface, and being less subject to disease, the tree may be formed into masses by itself on favourable soil, where it may be allowed to stand at a closeness which would be ruin- ous to larch. Although the spruce is often planted on dry soil as shelter to hardwood, etc., yet it never becomes valuable timber in ground where its roots are undermined by drought. Respecting the Scotch pine, there is no situation, however dry, where it wiU not sustain itself, provided it has taken root. It accommodates itself to a greater variety of soil than any other tree, and is therefore employed in forming a mix- ture in all plantations on rough exposures, and where there is a doubt of other sorts growing, in consequence of the soil being of inferior quality. The cost of forming plantations varies according to the quality of the plants required for the soil, and their price at the time. Plantations of the cheapest description are formed by notching on good moorland, with a herbage of heath ; a common proportion and price per acre are as follows : — 62 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. 3000 two-year seedling native Scotch pine, at 2s. per 1000, £0 6 0 1500 two-year seedling Larch, at 4s. per 1000, Planting with the hand-iron, 0 6 0 4 0 0 £0 16 0 In sheltered situations, where close planting is not neces- sary, the expense is 4s. or 5s. less per acre; 3000 plants being commonly used. If the soil is a grassy heath, with a close vegetation, stouter plants are generally more suitable ; such are also more suit- able where the surface vegetation is heath, but where the soil is a pure moss to the depth of a few inches, or where the heath cover is rank or deep, in any of these circumstances the plants and cost per acre generally stand thus : — 2000 two-year seedlings, one year transplanted, native Scotch pine, at 4s. 6d. per 1000, . £0 9 0 1000 two-year seedliiigs, one year trans- planted, Larch, .... Planting with the hand-iron, 0 6 0 4 0 0 £0 19 0 It is customary in the Highlands to burn off very strong heath two or three years before the ground is planted ; because, when the surface soil is favourable, a short heath ad- mits of seedlings being used, instead of transplanted plants, which is generally a saving of 50 per cent, on plants and planting ; but where the surface soil is a pure peat, or mossy, the transplanted plants are the surest, and ultimately the cheapest. The advantage of transplanted plants on a mossy surface is, that being stronger and possessed of more rigidity of fibre, they are not so apt to rot by the constant moisture retained by this description of soil ; and when inserted they come in contact with and more speedily reach the sandy sub- soil, so necessary to their vigorous growth. It is only in well-sheltered ground that burning is to be MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. 63 recommended, and under any circumstance it is unfavourable for plants to be inserted immediately after burning. The play of the wind on a bare surface disturbs the plants, and the absence of all other vegetation exposes them to the de- predations of vermin and casualties which do not assail them when surrounded by young vegetation. Throughout the north of Scotland two-year-old seedling Scotch pines and larches are planted at once into moorland, to nearly as great an extent as transplanted plants ; and the expense of forming plantations of this sort is generally con- siderably under £1 sterling per acre, including the cost of draining, fencing, etc. Where the cost is above that amount, it is commonly incurred in consequence of the plantation being of a small extent ; the expense of enclosing in that case often exceeds that of plants and planting. Of the last 1000 acres of moorland which I planted, in four or five different lots, about a fifth part consisted of one-year transplanted plants. The average cost of this extent did not exceed 15 s. per acre for plants and planting, with all neces- sary upmaking. About one-third of the whole was larch, and the others were native Highland pine, with a small proportion of Norway spruce ; and the average number per acre was 3500, which placed the plants about three and a half feet asunder. The closest planting was formed on the outsides, on hiU-tops, and on bleak exposures, also along moist grassy patches, overspread with rank herbage ; the progress of firs on such being always marked by a slowness of growth, until they form a cover and suppress the surface vegetation, when their effect tends to dry the ground, and convert its energies purely to the growth of wood. In very exposed and bare ground, the description of plant most apt to succeed is Scotch pine, one year old, and one year transplanted — a plant only two years old, but trans- planted into nursery lines at the age of one. This descrip- tion of plant is most tenacious of life, and seldom fails ; yet it is not in ordinary demand ; it is sold commonly about 3s. to 4s. per 1000. 64 MODES OF FOREST PLANTING. The largest description of plants that are inserted by notch planting, and fit for rough ground, with rank herbage, where the soil is soft and adapted for being notched with the common garden spade, generally costs, per acre, including planting, as follows : — 2000 two-year transplanted native Scotch pine, £0 16 0 1000 two-year seedling, one year transplanted, larch, ...... Notch planting with the common spade, 0 7 0 0 7 0 £1 10 0 The expense of notch planting varies much, and depends on the quality of the ground, and the roughness or smoothness of the herbage. In soft smooth heath soil, a person practised to the hand-iron will insert from 3000 to 4000 plants in a day of ten hours ; and the expense of labour only, in notch- ing plants with this implement, seldom exceeds 3s. or 4s. per imperial acre. Planting with the common spade, either by th single notch or cross-cut system, is generally double the price of planting by the hand-iron. In other cases, where the herbage has to be cleared off, or where the ground is dis- turbed by a pick, or the spots dug over by the spade before the plant is inserted, the expense is still greater, in proportion to the state of the soil, the labour bestowed, and the rate of wages obtained by workmen in the locality. It is usual to look ovQr plantations of this description after the second or third year of their growth, and to make up all marked deficiencies. It is not necessary to fill up every spot where a dead plant is found ; but all such places as are not possessed of a sufficient number to furnish the ground, so that they will readily form a cover on the surface, should be replanted. VIII. ON PIT PLANTING AND PLANTING ON PEEPAEED GEOUND. Pit planting. — This is the mode generally resorted to in planting the various kinds of two-year transplanted hardwood trees, where the soil is generally deeper, richer, and better sheltered than that usually planted with pines. The more capacious the pits are formed, the roots of the plants can be the better spread, and have the greater extent of loose soil, — circumstances necessary for their early growth. Pits are usually made eighteen inches wide and fifteen inches deep ; and that size is usually contracted for at Is. to Is. 6d. per 100, according to the nature of the ground, etc. In hard soil it is usual to disturb the bottom of the pit with a pick beyond the above depth. When plants beyond the age of two-year transplanted are employed, the pits must be made large in proportion to the size of the plants. Pits should be made a few months before the plants are inserted ; and, in forming them, after the bottom is made quite soft, the surface sward should be filled in first, chopped, and covered up to the depth of five or six inches with the soil, which will be considerably decomposed by the time the plants are to be planted. In case, however, the surface sward is very thick and matted, and the ground dry, and more especially in the case of larch planting, the best method is to lay aside the surface turf, and, at the time of planting, to divide it into two halves ; one half, with the surface side under, should then be placed on each side of the plant, after it is planted. It is usual to plant ground moderately dry and sheltered in the beginning of winter ; and when the soil is of an opposite E 66 ON PIT PLANTING description, early in spring, during open weather : these are the seasons most approved of. The operation of pit planting is generally performed by a man and a boy ; the man takes out a spadeful or two from the half-filled pits formed in summer, and the boy inserts the plant, with the roots well spread ; the earth, which should be pulverized, is then spread on the fibres, while the boy moves or shakes the plant as the pit is being filled ; so that the roots are fully spread, and each individual fibre is surrounded with the soil ; after which, the earth should be pressed down with the foot all around the plant, which should stand perpendicularly, and about an inch deeper in the ground than it had formerly stood in the nur- sery, which point is readily known by the ground mark be- tween the root and the stem. It is of great use, particularly in dry soil, to observe, in finishing the upfilling, to leave a regular concavity around the plant, suitable for retaining moisture, which is valuable in establishing newly inserted plants in pits, and is the more necessary on the slopes on hill- sides, where the outer or under edge of the pit should be carefully formed sufficiently high to intercept the rain, for the benefit of the plant. Prepared ground. — There is no method of preparing ground which adds more to the vigour of a young plantation of hard- wood trees than that of trenching, and when the subsoil is of inferior quality, it does least mischief to the trees by being placed to some extent on the surface. In all plantations for ornament or for shelter, or wherever large plants are to be inserted, and rapidity of growth is desired, there is nothing that will effect the purpose so soon as deep trenching; digging or ploughing is of much less benefit to trees, as their roots penetrate to a considerable depth ; it is therefore in the looseness of the ground underneath that the great advantage lies. It is only the expense of trenching for plantations that prevents it being more generally adopted ; for every planta- tion (except that of an open heath or moorland, where in many cases it would be unsuitable for young plants) is bene- fited by the operation in a very marked degree. The expense AND PLANTING ON PREPARED GROUND. 67 of trenching is frequently compensated for by taking a crop of potatoes, carrots, or other roots, during the first season of the plantation ; and even when this method is not resorted to, trenching in many cases is less costly than it at first ap- pears. In all prepared ground where ornament and rapidity of growth are required, it is necessary to keep the surface clear and free of Aveeds during the first two or three years after planting, until the trees form a cover sufiicient to pre- vent surface vegetation ; and the labour in doing so is always much less on trenched ground than on that which has only been dug or ploughed. Another advantage arising from ground that has been well trenched is, that in it trees of a greater size will more readily take root and become estab- lished than in ground prepared in any other way. But when plants are of the ordinary size, their growth in six years in trenched ground is generally equal to that of ten years in any other description of ground. Dry, sandy soil is frequently over- spread with a closely matted herbage, chiefly composed of the Fescue and other wild grasses, which, without being trenched, render any mode of planting very uncertain. The closeness of the surface sward intercepts the influence of showers, and the depth of its fibrous roots is a great hindrance to the growth of young trees. Furze not unfrequently forms a close cover on good soil, well adapted for the growth of timber. The preparation of such places is most speedily accomplished by trenching the ground. By any other method the furze is apt soon to reappear and interfere with the growth of the trees. By trenching, the ground is softened and rendered so clean that subsequent clearings are seldom required, as the trees generally advance rapidly, and soon subdue all native vegetation. In planting ground from which timber has re- cently been removed, and in all hard and inhospitable soils, trenching is to be recommended. It should be performed in autumn, and the planting is generally most successful after the severity of the winter is over. Plantations consisting chiefly of the broad-leaved trees are gene- rally formed by pit planting, and the plants used are commonly 68 ON PIT PLANTING those that are two years transplanted. In this, as in all other modes of forest-planting, much depends on the quality of the plants. If they have stood longer in the lines than two years without being removed, and grown well, their roots will be large and bare, and destitute of that fibrous bushiness so essential to the success of a newly transplanted tree. Three or four years' transplanted trees appear much stouter and more vigorous than those which remained only two years in nursery lines ; but the former are apt to die, and rarely grow freely for a year or two after being transplanted. Plants for pits should always be of the best description, and picked in the nursery lines ; a considerable number being often produced more feeble than others, such should be rejected, as every pitted plant is expected to be more permanent than many of the plants closely inserted by notch planting. We have else- where stated the advantages resulting from hardwood plants being moved or transplanted in the nursery the season before being finally planted out, which will generally make them twice transplanted. This insures fibrous roots ; consequently they rarely fail, but readily take to the ground, and contrast favourably with plants bare in their roots from having been too long in the lines Avithout being moved. In forming plantations for profit there are several circum- stances that require to be kept in view. Almost every de- scription of soil will grow several kinds of trees to a considerable size ; it is therefore important to know the de- scription of timber that, will most readily find a market in the locality, in order that that sort may be cultivated, whether for hoops, crates, staves, agricultural or other purposes. In dis- tricts far from a large town, and from water, or other cheap conveyance, some kinds of timber are of comparatively little value. It is therefore necessary to study the cultivation of the kinds that will best afford a long carriage. In situations of this sort it is always necessary to manufacture the timber into stave-wood, or deal, or such articles as contain the greatest value in proportion to their weight. For instance, wooden bobbins are required in great numbers at all the large AND PLANTING ON PREPARED GROUND. 69 manufacturing towns ; in their manufacture there is perhaps a greater waste of timber than in that of any other article in ordinary demand ; they are readily manufactured by machi- nery from any closely grained hardwood, and only weigh about one fourth or one fifth part of the timber from which they are formed ; consequently, timber adapted for such purposes is valuable, even though very remotely situated. In a piece of ground of great extent its quality is often found to vary. A loose deep earth will grow trees of any description ; a dry, poor, gravelly, or chalky formation, vnM suit best for the beech, the birch, and the pines. A clayey soil, or a deep clayey gravel, is generally best adapted for the oak, and the most profitable tree to intersperse with it is the larch. The oak feeds chiefly on the subsoil, and the larch on the surface ; the latter, being of upright growth, is not apt to injure its associate. It is usual, in the formation of planta- tions intended to be chiefly of oak, to begin by planting pines and trees for shelter, and to insert the oak plants after the nurses are a few years advanced ; this is a good protection for the safety of the oak plants ; but it is only necessary on bare and exposed ground, as the larch and pines advance more rapidly than the oak, and furnish shelter in a very short time, when the whole are inserted at once. Beech is more profitably grown alone than with a mixture. It is apt to become branchy and broad-headed ; its timber is only valuable when it yields clean tall trunks, and these are most easily produced when the species stands by itself ; interspersed, it is apt to prevail over more valuable sorts, and to become of a branchy and worth- less figure. The ash and Scotch elm are trees which yield valuable timber, particularly for the purposes of agriculture ; they grow well together, and are almost equally hardy ; they require a good, deep, loose soil, and the ash prefers that which has a tendency to moisture. In low situated alluvial soil, with moisture, the silver fir acquires a great size ; where the soil is very suitable, it is often very profitably grown. When young, it should be interspersed with faster-growing trees, such as larch, willows, etc., as nurses, closely planted ; the silver fir 70 ON PIT PLANTING. requires shade and confinement for eight or ten years ; alone, the trees admit of being grown very closely to one an- other ; as a mixture, they are very ornamental in the forest, and tend to break the monotonous appearance of deciduous trees. In planting rich swampy ground too moist for trees in general, the large growing species of poplar and of the willow, alder, and ash, should be employed, and for ever- greens, Norway spruce, Scotch and silver firs. I have else- where named the trees best adapted for exposure at a great altitude, and for a description of the various kinds of soils ' adapted to their growth, their quality of timber, etc., and the reader is referred to the articles on the various genera under their respective names. The distance at which broad-leaved trees are planted varies very much in different districts, and should depend on the exposure of the ground and the value of young timber in the neighbourhood. 1500 plants per imperial acre is usual, with nearly an equal number of larches, firs, etc., to be first thinned out — placing the plants about four feet apart. Sometimes only about 500 are pit planted, being placed nearly ten feet apart, and the intermediate space should be filled up with sorts less valuable than the kinds that are intended ultimately to occupy the sod. The kinds that are interspersed are generally of the fastest growth when young, when they serve as nurses to promote the growth of the more valuable sorts, and prevent their getting into a bushy form ; and though pruning is not so necessary in close plantations as in narrow belts and in hedge- rows, yet many plants are found to require it ; and such as are pruned early and judiciously will be improved in quality, and increased in their useful dimensions and ultimate value. TK. ON PLANTING IN A GEASSY VEGETATION. Land overspread with a grassy sward, whatever be the quality of the soil, is more hostile to the growth of young plants than that overspread with a cover of heath. This arises from the roots of a grassy vegetation depriving the plants of nourishment, and pressing more unfavourably on them than when associated with heath. In such places notched plants have a very poor chance of success, unless the ground is previously prepared ; therefore, in the absence of trenching or pitting, each spot should be prepared for the plant by having a turf, or surface sward, about a foot square removed. If the soil is hard, it should be opened up by digging over a spadeful on each spot laid bare, or it may be loosened by a tramp pick. This preparation of the ground should take place in the autumn. If the surface herbage is not very close and matted, the ground may be at once pre- pared by digging over a spadeful where each plant is required, burying the surface ; but if the sward is bulki/, or the soil dry and sandy, such as will not readily decompose the surface vegetation, a turf should be pared off and laid aside, divided and placed on the top, with the grassy side downwards, after the plants are inserted. When ground is of good quality and not hard, the removal of the grassy surface is sufficient pre- paration. If the soil is dry, the planting may be performed early in winter; if strong or moist, the prepared ground should be exposed to the frosts of winter, and planted in spring, by notching with the common spade. A similar preparation is required where the surface soil is composed of pure peat too deep for the plants to reach the 72 ON PLANTING GROUND subsoil. In such, the Scotch pine and Norway spruce are most suitable ; the subsoil in such places is often at the depth of six or eight inches, and composed of a sandy gravel or clay, a mixture of which, by being brought up to come in contact with the roots of the plants is of much advantage, particularly for larch ; and if the spots are prepared in autumn, and the plants inserted in spring, their success is commonly certain. The only method of bringing up a proper mixture of soil in some parts is by the operation of the common spade. In some ground, however, the pure peaty surface is much shal- lower, and a stroke or two with a mattock or tramp pick will penetrate into the subsoO, and form a mixture of soil more speedily. Where the cost of preparing the ground is so great, the plants should always be of the best description, picked from those that are transplanted, and of a size suffi- cient to cope with the herbage. The following is the usual number of plants for an imperial acre, and their prices : — 1500 native Scotch pine, two years trans- planted, at 10s., £0 15 0 1000 larch picked two-year seedling, one year transplanted, . . . . .080 500 Norway spruce, two-year seedling, two years transplanted, at 12s., . . . 060 £19 0 The price of the labour per acre is often equal to that of the plants ; all depending on the nature of the herbage, soil, and rate of wages in the district. On planting ground where timber has recently been felled. — The formation of healthy plantations on ground that has lately been cleared of a close crop of timber is perhaps the most difficult of any in ordinary practice, particularly if the timber recently removed has been of the pine tribe. In course of time the land improves for plants as the roots and WHERE TIMBER HAS BEEN FELLED. 73 exuviae of the old wood decay. I have frequently observed where timber had stood very close, that eight to twelve years sometimes elapse before the soil becomes fit for the growth of young plants by notching, without any more costly prepara- tion. Where the trees of the former plantation, however, stood thin, which is often the case before the whole are removed, spots are found here and there which admit of the growth of young plants at once ; and it would have been a great improvement on any other method had such places in ordi- nary good soil, not too dry, been planted with silver fir before the complete removal of the timber. This tree has every recommendation as a succeeding crop to larch and Scotch pine, and shade and shelter are of advantage to it in early life. The surface soil of old fir woods is generally overspread with a considerable depth of half decomposed vegetable sub- stance uncongenial to tlie growth of plants. Burning is some- times resorted to as a means of clearing the spongy surface, and as a preventive against the ravages of the wood-beetle and other insects which infest such places. But burning is not always successful ; and although it often makes a more favourable surface for young plants if it is left for a few years till a new vegetation arises, yet it is often impracticable from the nature of the ground, and from its already con- taining some plants which it may be desirable to retain. Trenching over the ground and removing the old roots is the surest method, but the expense of the operation generally prevents that from being practised on a large scale. Ground that has produced a crop of timber is always hard and close under the vegetable remains, and excludes the influences of the atmosphere to such a degree that, unless it is well dis- turbed, it remains long uncongenial to the profitable growth of young plants. The birch and the willow most readily spring up on the surface remains, as their seeds are adapted for being drifted to great distances. The mountain ash also not unfrequently appears, the seeds having been carried to the 74 ON PLANTING GROUND old plantation by birds, and taken root from their droppings ; and the plant being tenacious of life, exists through long con- finement, and appears on the removal of the old trees. All these, however, are generally unprofitable; although they often form a cover on the surface, they grow much less vigorously than if the soil had been disturbed and softened. The mode of procedure, therefore, in such ground, is to pre- pare the spots for the plants a considerable time, say six or twelve months, before planting; and four, five, or six feet asunder are the usual distances, according to the exposure or 'shelter for the plants. The surface accumulation of bark, leaves, and foggage should be cleared off, not to be used, and the solid soil disturbed with a pick-axe to at least the width of fourteen inches, choosing the spots as free from roots as possible ; cut and clear out all such met vrithin the bounds to be prepared, while a second person following with a tramp pick should disturb the bottom to the depth of at least twelve inches. If the old trees have stood close, it is usual for the spots, after having been cleared of the surface, and all old roots picked out, to be rather under the ordinary level of the ground, therefore a third person should foUow and dig a stamp or two of pure soil, as free from the remains of the old wood as possible, and place such on each spot where the plants are to stand. This gives the plants a great advantage in soil ; it raises them rather above the level of the surface, and forms a position in which pines are found to be exempt from the attacks of the wood-beetles and of field- mice. The hole also left open, which furnishes the soil, in the vicinity of the plant, has an ameliorating influence, by admitting air to the ground, and thus preparing it for the spread of the young roots. This process has all the effect of pit planting, and is less expensive, and generally as successful for firs and larches. When oak, elm, or other hardwood plants are to be inserted after old wood, trenching or pit planting should be practised, and the made pits should be exposed to the weather for several months. "WTiere there is rank jungle, or such vege- WHERE TIMBER HAS BEEN FELLED. 75 tation as would confine or suppress the strongest descrip- tion of one-year transplanted plants of pines, larches, etc., stronger plants must be employed, and pit planting should be adopted ; and in the inserting of larch plants, in all cases where trees have formerly stood, it is to be recommended that no root-pruning should be practised. The plants should be full of fibrous roots, and carefully removed from the nursery grounds ; and in all cases this is most easdy accomplished by employing plants that have stood one year only, after having been pre\'iously transplanted. The pits should be formed large in proportion to the size of the plants, and their roots should be well spread. I have observed plantations of larch that had been inserted quite young into such situations more exempt from the disease known as heart-rot, or pumping, than plantations formed with older and stronger plants. The cut or mutilated root fibre of a larch, or any other plant-root, will imbibe any watery substance whatever that it comes in contact with ; whereas a sound root has its fibres terminated by healthy spongioles, having the power of selecting, at least to a great extent, those elements congenial to the vigorous development of the tree. Every precaution, therefore, should be taken in replanting land liable to produce fungi, particularly where the larch, deodar, and such other plants as have an affinity for, and are readily destroyed by mycelia, are employed. Ground that has yielded a heavy crop of timber is con- sidered by many planters unfit for yielding another of the same species. Its density and cover of matted roots is much against the growth of any kind until the roots are decomposed, or the soil broken up and prepared ; after which, Scotch pine is found to grow after the same as well, and often much better, than most other trees. The soil that is congenial to the growth of a tree continues so, provided the influences of the atmosphere are not excluded. In the case of other species naturally springing after pine forests, that arises in consequence of a new formation from the exuviae which the pines deposit. 76 ON PLANTING WHERE TIMBER HAS BEEN FELLED. The oak, after yielding a heavy crop of timber, springs up from well-dressed stools far stronger than in the best planta- tions newly formed on virgin soil. After a crop of any sort of pine timber is cleared off few aspects are more bare and unsightly. This suggests the pro- priety of interspersing such with a few oak plants, although at the distance of thirty feet apart, for which forty-eight plants only are required per acre ; and although these are scarcely discernible during the vigour of the pines, yet, being tenacious of life, they keep the ground, become deep rooted, and are ready to spring up on the removal of the crop of timber. In such cases, or in the case of fire destroying a plantation, the oak acts a conspicuous part, in speedily renew- ing the appearance, and ultimately becoming valuable. In aU cases where the soil is ordinarily moist and good, few plants are of more profit for timber at present than the grey poplar, P. canescens, the Italian poplar, P. monilifera, and the best varieties of tree willow. The timber of all these is of rapid growth, and much sought after in the forma- tion of railway carriages, brakes, etc. The time of inserting plants in the prepared spots by a notch with the common spade, or by common pit planting in such ground, will depend on the nature of the soil ; if dry, the planting should be performed so as that they may have the advantage of the winter moisture ; if the ground is pos- sessed of ordinary moisture, early spring should be preferred. X. PLANTATIONS ON BOG OE PEAT SOIL. There exists a very great difference in the quality of bog or peat soU. Some sorts are much more congenial to the growth of trees than others. The prevailing cause of the sterility is generally the excess of moisture which it contains, and the quality of the soil is often greatly influenced by the nature of the springs of water with which it is submerged. In bog or moss there is also a great difference, dependent on its com- position. That which is pure, free of sand, and possessed of little inorganic matter, is least adapted for the growth of wood, and it not unfrequently occurs that the barren soil is accompanied with a bare and bleak exposure. Here we have a combination of hostile elements, above and below ground, which it requires plants the most tenacious of life to with- stand. Before forming a plantation on moss land it should be com- pletely drained. This operation is often required to be made a year or two before the plants are inserted. Open ditches are the best and cheapest for the purpose, and, if possible, they should be made down into the hard subsoil. The closer they are made to one another they will be the more effectual. I have drained moss with open ditches ten yards asunder, and on an average eight or nine feet deep, when in less than two years the soil coUapsed fully three feet, and became well adapted for plantation. Where moss is much shallower, and the ditches can be easily formed into the subsoil, that material brought up forms a valuable mixture for the growth of plants in general after it has been exposed to the influence of the weather. After bog land has been drained, when it is very 78 ON PLANTING FURZY GROUND. destitute of inorganic substance, its quality is often improved by being burned, provided there is depth of soil to spare above the rise of water. After being burned it should rest a few months at least before being planted. Pines of every species grow better in mossy soil than most other trees. The native Scotch pine should be preferred ; the Austrian and Corsican are also suitable, but the latter is least so in the absence of shelter, and notwithstanding the partia- lity of the pinaster to pure sand, it also grows well in boggy soil, and is found valuable for shelter in a rough exposure. Piniis montana, a native of a high elevation on the Alps and other mountains, is also suitable for shelter along the outskirts of plantations in rough exposures, where it forms a compact bush, very tenacious of life. In soil of this description the other evergreen trees to be recommended are the Norway spruce, Douglas's spruce, and silver fir ; in such the last named often becomes valuable timber, though after planting it re- quires shade and shelter from other sorts for a few years till it takes root, when it often grows much faster than other trees, and admits of standing very close. Although but little is yet known respecting the growth of the Wellingtonia in this country, yet it is ascertained to grow freely when young in mossy ground, and with an excess of moisture that would injure many trees. Among deciduous trees, all the willows grow in mossy ground, and are often turned to good account by being culti- vated and cut yearly for basket-making, and at a more advanced period for crate-wood, hurdles, etc. The best timber-tree kinds are Salix caprea, S. alba, and S. Russdliana. Among poplars, P. canescens and P. monilifera are most suitable. The common birch and alder generally succeed. Where the moss is very pure the ash only attains to a small size, but in this soil it is often valuable when cut, and cultivated as coppice wood. Ground overspread with furze or whin, or with other rough herbage. — Where whins prevail, the usual mode of procedure is either to contract for having the ground trenched or the ON PLANTING EXPOSED OR BARREN GROUND. 79 whins rooted, or grubbed up four or six inches under the sur- face, consumed, or cleared off the ground ; the cost of these operations varies much, according to the cover and quality of the ground. Where the cover is close, it generally ranges from 30s. to 50s. per acre for grubbing, etc. Trenching is generally much more expensive, but the ground is at once prepared and deeply softened for the insertion of the plants, and the whins are generally longer in overtaking and interfering with their growth ; in all such cases the plant- ing, whether by pit-planting after grubbing, or notching after trenching, should be with plants of the largest size that are likely to grow freely, and they should be inserted closely, in order to form a cover, and subdue the native vegetation, which is sure in such places to rise with vigour from seed, if not from roots in the ground. The larch and the Scotch pine are generally the first to form a close cover in such places ; and where these sorts are not intended to form the ultimate crop, their services are generally useful in subduing the vegetation — particularly the larch, — although it should be cut out at an eai'ly period to make way for other sorts. Two years' trans- planted larches from two years' seedlings are usually about thirty-six inches high, and I have never seen larches of a greater age (that is, four years old) and larger size grow better when inserted into plantations ; nor Scotch pine be- yond that age (four years) when used in the north of Scot- land. On planting exposed and barren ground at a great altitude. — Failures very often occur in establishing plantations in such situations. The difficulty is commonly felt in getting a com- mencement, or a shelter established to form a screen to future accessions. In all such places, where shelter is required for residences, garden, or agricultural grounds, the soil should be well drained and trenched, so that every advantage may be afforded to the successful growth of the trees ; indeed, in some cases, in order to get the trees to make an early and vigorous start, screen fences should be employed, composed of the thinnings of Scotch fir plantations, turf dykes, or the like. 80 ON PLANTING EXPOSED OR BARREN GROUND. The following kinds are the first to make an appearance and a rapid growth in the prevailing winds of a high altitude : — Hoary Poplar, Goat Willow, Wild Cherry, Trembling Poplar, Mountain Ash, Sycamore, Service Tree, Weeping Birch, Alder, among which should be interspersed the native Scotch pine, with its varieties Montana, Mugho, Pinus cembra, and Aus- triaca. I have known several residences in the Highlands where it was difficult to establish shelter. At all of them one or other of the trees named was esteemed as the hardiest ; but perhaps at none of them were all the sorts experimented on or tried. For instance, I lately visited a summer residence or lodge, situated at an altitude of 1200 feet. Here the mountain ash grew wild in great vigour ; the largest trees in the neighbour- hood consisted of this species, and their round heads standing thirty feet in height were composed of a thicket of branches giving no indication of the prevailing wind. Their berries in autumn are very ornamental, and attract singing-birds, and here this tree was pronounced to be the "sheet-anchor," or chief reliance for the protection of aU other vegetable produc- tions. In the planting of bare moorland at a great altitude, I have found no plant superior to the native Highland Scotch pine. Its success depends greatly on the quality of plants employed. In no case of rough exposures should plants be used that have stood more than one year in the nursery lines after being transplanted. Where the heath is quite short, one-year seed- ling plants transplanted into nursery lines for one year is the most reliable sort. If the heath is too rank for such, these plants should be transplanted a second time into nursery lines ; and in all cases for such exposures, the plants in the nursery lines should have the advantage of plenty of room in well-exposed nursery ground. The same treatment should be bestowed on larch and all the other pines intended for such exposures. XL ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. There is no department in arboriculture more misunder- stood or neglected than that of thinning plantations, par- ticularly those of the Scotch pine and larch, throughout many parts of Scotland. No doubt the native forests are left, for the most part, to thin themselves by their own efforts; by the provisions of nature, the timber is preserved in health, and exempt from suffocation or injurious confinement ; but this is never the case with respect to plantations. The native and planted forests stand under very different circumstances. These will be readily understood by my extracting the fol- lowing article, which I sent to Mr. Loudon at the time he was writing the Arboretum Britannkum. In vol. iv. p. 2181, Mr. Loudon says: — "After perusing Mr. Grigor's report on the native pine forests of Scotland, of which an abstract is given in p. 2165, we wrote to him for information on the subjects of thinning and pruning, as actually practised in these forests, and also in artificial planta- tions ; and as to the effects of the neglect of either or both of these operations. To our application Mr. Grigor kindly and promptly sent us the following answer : — " ' The old trees of the native Scotch pine forests have trunks quite clean and free from old stumps, so that the side- branches must have rotted off when the trees were young and of a small size. Some of the pines, grown on exposed situa- tions, have strong side-branches, but not very near the ground ; such branches are commonly found above large clean trunks of from fifteen feet to thirty feet in length. When the timber of these forests is cut up, loose knots are rarely E 82 ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. met with ; indeed, knots of any importance are seldom seen, except where such were attached to live branches at the time the trees were felled. The wood of the old trees appears so clean and equal when sawn up, that in many, only very slight marks of lateral branches are visible. The young trees of from twenty-five to forty years' growth present regular tiers of decayed branches near the ground, which fall away in course of time. "'The proprietors of the native forests sometimes prune and thin the woods, but not often ; they thin when the trees are much crowded, and of nearly an equal size, especially when situated near a road or river, where timber is of most value ; but this is not attended to in the more remote parts of the forests. I have only seen the trees pruned when they stand quite thin, or from having lost their leading shoots, by sheep pasturing the ground, or other casualty, have become bushy. In this case I have seen a considerable extent gone over in January and February, and pruned to the height of from two feet to four feet with the axe ; the whole height of the trees being from five feet to ten feet. In the Highland natural forests the young plants do not often rise of equal strength and size. There is commonly a portion of them (a sufficient crop) stout enough to overtop the smaller ones ; and the latter are of much benefit in preventing the side-branches of the former from advancing to a large size. The side-branches of the true Highland pine naturally take a wide or horizontal direction, whereby tkey are more subject to decay by the closeness of the trees than if they inclined to a more perpen- dicular figure, as do our low-country pines. In planted woods, the pine-trees are commonly of the same size and age ; and then it is absolutely necessary to thin them as their tops rise equal, and form a surface parallel to that of the ground on which they stand ; therefore, without relief by thinning, the whole are to a certain extent injured ; whereas in natural forests the difference of sizes and ages is great, and the: strongest prevail unhurt. I am acquainted with many artifi- cial plantations of pines ; and the common method is, to thin ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. 83 the trees gradually as they get too close or too high for their girth. Planted pines are not commonly pruned, that being considered the worst mode of treatment. Many proprietors of late have given over thinning ; but the woods are much hurt by being too much confined : a good tree can scarcely be seen, except near the outside, or where a road opens up and admits air. I am clearly of opinion that we shall not have good pine plantations until they are produced from the seeds of the native Highland forests, which are more healthy and permanent than the kind commonly cultivated.'" 9th September 1837, Loudon adds, "The Earl of Aberdeen; Macpherson Grant of Ballindalloch ; Mr. George Saunders, gardener and forester to the Duke of Richmond at Gordon Castle ; Mr. Eoy, nurseryman, Aberdeen ; and other proprie- tors and gardeners of the north, have sent us answers to all our queries on the subject of thinning and pruning, which correspond with those given above by Mr. Grigor." The natural provisions to prevent pines from rising close to one another, and of equal strength in the indigenous state, are very marked and interesting. The seeds on being shed are provided with wings adapted to carry and spread them throughout a wide district. They are never shed but in a warm and dry day, and as soon as the seed receives the slightest moisture it separates from the wing and travels no farther. Of such as fall into the soil a small proportion im- mediately vegetate ; those that do not reach the soil, but are retained on the surface vegetation, may be picked up by birds, or are washed into the ground by the influence of the weather, and vegetate during some succeeding spring, for, under certain circumstances, the seeds of Scotch fir retain their vitality for several years even after they are separated from the cone. This is ascertained from seedlings appearing of various ages, years after being sown on moorland where no plants or seeds had previously existed. The diversity of situation also pro- duces a great difference in the strength and size of the plants ; but even in the best prepared nursery-bed, where the seeds are all sown at the same time, and vegetate together, the 84 ON THINNING PLAJ^TATIONS. plants are always unequal in size and strength. This arises from the unequal strength of the seed ; not only in different cones, but in the same cone, some are far more strong and robust than others, and are produced in the centre — those at both the base and the apex are comparatively feeble. All these provisions of nature appear to be framed to prevent trees of the same size and strength from pressing on each other, as in the ruinous struggle too often witnessed in planted woods. The pine and the larch, if once deprived of their lateral branches, have not the power of ever replacing them ; hence the safeguards established by nature differ from those relating to trees in general, which have the power to furnish ample top and side branches to increase their diameter after losing their just proportions. It is therefore an absurd theory which advocates the practice of not thinning pine plantations on the plea that the native forests are not thinned, and yet arrive at maturity, yielding the finest timber. The destruc- tion of the tree by overcrowding had come under the notice of Gilpin in Forest Scenery, by Lauder, vol. i. p. 173. That writer makes the following interesting remarks : — " All trees indeed, crowded together, naturally rise in perpendicular stems ; but the fir has this peculiar disadvantage, that its lateral branches, once injured, never shoot again. A grove of crowded saplings, elms, beeches, or almost of any deciduous trees, when thinned, will throw out new lateral branches, and in time recover a state, of beauty ; but if the education of the fir has been neglected, he is lost for ever." Few descriptions of timber are more profitable or more readily sold than that adapted for railway sleepers, particu- larly larch timber ; but without sufficient thinning it cannot be readily provided. I have just returned from inspecting a plantation for which I furnished a superintendent and plants thirty-two years ago. I recollected a portion of the ground being apparently well adapted for larch, and, at my suggestion, a space of about twenty acres, composed of a hazelly loam, with a subsoil of ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. 85 gravelly clay, having been planted almost entirely with this tree. This part of the ground had a slope to the channel of a mountain stream, and it had a cover of heath from six to eight inches. The plants employed were — 2000 larch, one-year seedling, one year trans- planted, £0 10 0 700 native Highland pine, two-year seedling, one year transplanted, , . . . 0 2 6 Planting with the hand-iron, . . . 0 3 0 Plants and planting per acre, . £0 15 6 The other parts of the ground were also planted four feet apart, with two-thirds of native Highland pine and one-third of larch ; and each kind was varied in such a manner that the sort reckoned most suitable prevailed here and there throughout about 180 acres, which comprehended the whole plantation ; a narrow track was left in planting as a road, but being only nine or ten feet wide, it had been filled up with the lateral branches of the trees, and being of no use, was abandoned. I found the wood far too close, and although thinning to some extent had been practised throughout the whole, scarcely a well-proportioned tree was to be found ex- cept at the outsides, or where a thinning — in consequence of the failure of a few plants by some accident — admitted air. I expected to be able to record some remarkable specimens of larch, but I was disappointed to find it an almost impenetrable thicket of tall trees, displaying a grey mass of dead twiggy branches near the surface of the ground, surmounted by a green and waving foliage some thirty or forty feet overhead. There each acre contains from 1000 to 1200 trees, and the average value of each is about Is. or Is. 3d. If the twenty acres were sold in one lot, it would readily fetch £50 per imperial acre. This plantation of larch has the appearance of having been only once thinned, and that about eight or ten years ago. I cannot say what revenue the thinnings yielded ; but had 86 ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. the wood been thinned early and judiciously, and other 500 or 600 trees been removed per acre, they no doubt would have brought £ 1 0 per acre free, even if the thinning had been begun early, when the wood was only fit for sheep-flakes, and of little value. By this means only about 500 trees per acre would have now remained, which would no doubt have been worth on an average 4s. or 5s. each; thus the plantation could not have failed to be worth double its present value. This, however, does not represent half the loss of the mismanage- ment. The 500 trees would have been in vigour and ready for another thinning — only in the morning of their life, pos- sessed of that justness of proportion indispensable to profit- able growth, or the speedy formation of cubical contents. In a soil so congenial, trees manifesting such vigour after the age of thirty-two years require again early and repeated thinnings, and the revenue per acre up to the age of sixty might be expected to be not less than £150, lea\ing in each acre, at that age, about 150 trees, worth on an average £2 each, or £300 per acre. After this period the mode of procedure should of course depend on the capability of the soil as shown by the vigour of the trees. If they still continued to increase vigorously in size, they should have ample space for the de- velopment of their- foliage, which would likely give occasion for another thinning. About this time, a judicious mode of procedure would be to insert into all the greater vacancies, in weU-prepared pits, j)lants for a succession, such as silver fir, oak, deodar, Douglas fir, WeUingtonia, or such as stand in need of shade and shelter in the first stage of their growth. But I must now return to the plantation of thirty-two years old as it really stands, and to the twenty acres of larch in particular ; for although in many parts of the wood the trees stand too close, and are likely to get too tall for their girth, they have in general been pretty well thinned, particularly near the outsides. Where the soil is poor and exposed, the trees are in consequence less vigorous, ruin has not so speedily overtaken them, and by immediate thinning their health may yet be preserved. Not so, however, Avith the ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. 87 twenty acres of larches ; although a thinning is now going on, it is doubtful if the trees left wUl make much more progress. The chances are, these wUl fall by the first hurricane of wind ; if they escape that, their roots are sure to be strained and injured, if not broken, by the trees being top heavy. Dead roots connected with mutilated live ones give rise to Mycelia, which are imbibed into the trunks, and occasion the well- known disease called " dry-rot," " pumping," etc. The Scotch firs which were interspersed have been chiefly removed, and such as remain, although too tall for their girth, are not in so hopeless a state, and in course of time, if not uprooted by winds, may regain their vigour. Gradual thinning is to be recommended generally ; and although in the present case it cannot be practised with much assurance of success, yet repeated thinnings over a space of a few years is better than doing it all at once. The only question is, whether it would not be better to clear the trees off at once by rooting them out, taking advantage of their stems to facilitate that work before cutting them. Had the ground been in a conspicuous situation, I should have had no hesitation in recommending that course ; for however common, few scenes more unsightly are to be met with in woodlands than the display of unshapely trees struggling for an existence, and diseased through mis- management. In the absence of proper thinning, it is far more profitable where ground is good, with moderate shelter, to plant only half the usual number per acre, more especially if the tree is the larch. Another plantation is worthy of notice, and instructive on account of the treatment it has received during the last six or eight years. It was formed by me in the spring of 1841, and is now tAventy-five years old. It extends to 119 imperial acres, of which about 100 acres consisted of a dry bare moor- land, with a surface of stunted grassy heath and a gravelly subsoil. The other part was more or less overspread with furze, which required to be grubbed out and planted with stout transplanted pliints. On the whole, two-thirds of the plants employed were native Highland pine, partly two years' 88 ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. seedlings, and partly one and two years transplanted ; the other third was of larch of various ages, and all were inserted at the distance of four feet apart, and planted by contract at 20s. per acre ; no upmaking was required for years, until the furze became strong, caught fire, and occasioned a small blank. This plantation became quite vigorous, especially just after it formed a cover and subdued the natural vegetation on the surface, thus converting the whole energies of the soil to its development. At the age of fifteen or sixteen years, thinning was very much required, as the trees had become crowded. It was at the age of eighteen and twenty, however, before the first thinnings were made by the forester on the property, and then it was not the more feeble and worthless that were removed ; the primary objects appeared to be the obtaining of Avood for a special purpose and the raising of money — not the relief and future well-being of the plantation. It has been thinned again and again for timber for paling, prop- wood, and for sale. The value of the timber removed is unknown, as much of it was cut down for country purposes and was not valued. I have not unfrequently witnessed with regret the same sort of procedure in woods more matured and consequently more profitable ; the great profit of the future being sometimes sacrificed for a small sum to meet the present necessity. In the present case, however, no such necessity existed ; the wood belongs to a wealthy corporation ; yet just as the trees assumed a timber size of small value, though suitable for the present purpose, they were struck down as a gardener thins his asparagus bed in spring. The trees which should have been first :^emoved, now for the most part fill the ground, unshapely and stunted, and the future of the plantation is dwarfed for ever. I have before seen the effects of such treatment both on Scotch fir and larch. A proprietor who inherited an estate which he had seldom or never previously seen, was averse to the planting of Scotch pine, because woods composed of the tree sixty or seventy years of age scarcely produced a tree fit for railway sleepers, and not suspecting the early treatment of the trees, he con- ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. 89 sidered the soil unsuitable for them. Another proprietor who purchased an estate twenty years ago, which contained a considerable extent of young larch plantation, then about thirty years of age, where all the best trees had been thinned out previously to the sale of the property, had difficulty in accounting for the contrast at present between the dwarf stunted old trees and the vigour of those of his own planting in soil apparently similar. The effects of early mismanage- ment are manifested as legibly in the vegetable as in the animal creation, more especially in the Coniferae, which have not the power of re-establishing their lateral branches to redeem their proportional girth. It is necessary to plant pines and larches close in exposed situations, and also in some cases to suppress a surface vegeta- tion ; early thinning, therefore, is sometimes necessary to afford a suflficient space for the trees before the thinnings have reached a size in ordinary demand ; but the thinnings that are of no use in one locality are frequently valuable in another. Early thinnings are generally useful for small rustic fences, and the trees with branches (brushwood) are suitable for fences and shelter to young hedges, sea-side plantations, for embankments, to prevent the encroachment of rivers and rapid streams. In the Highlands this description of brush- wood is employed by the agriculturists in forming sheds for storing turnips during winter. It is when the trees are apt to get too tall and feeble in proportion to their girth that thinning must begin, and plantations arrive at this point at ages which vary very much, owing to the soil, the situation, the closeness of the planting, and the species. No tree is more easily injured by confine- ment than the larch. In some districts, however, this tree is planted closely, and grown in masses, for the purpose of hop- poles and prop-wood ; in such cases, however, the ground is cleared of the whole crop while the plantation is yet young, seldom exceeding twenty-five years of age. In plantations intended to yield heavy timber, the smallest trees should be first weeded out, giving suflScient room to 90 ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. those of greater vigour and promise, as it requires a great extent of foliage to mature healthy and sound timber. There is no given space which trees of any particular age should occupy. The skilful forester regulates the thinning so that the trees may possess the figure for the purposes intended, and the prosperity and profit of plantations depend greatly on his skill and management. In hardwood plantations, the oak, the ash, and the Scotch elm are among the most valuable of our timber trees. The oak is in general of slower growth than the others from the plant, and requires rather more space to allow it to grow to maturity in its best form ; but the difference is compensated by the value of its bark ; and although it requires shelter when young, it luxuriates in soils less fertile than that required by most other sorts. In good soils, the oak, the ash, the elm, and the sycamore may be grown profitably, either by themselves or mixed. In thinning a young plantation of hardwood, it is frequently found that a Scotch pine, or any other tree inserted for shelter, presses too closely on a more valuable plant, and yet that the shelter cannot be altogether dispensed with ; in such cases the branches of the pine which press too closely on the more valuable plant should be removed in the first instance, and the tree itself at a subse- quent thinning. The distances at which hardwood trees should stand apart in a plantation, at any particular age, depend on their luxuriance, and on the exposed nature of the ground ; in narrow beltings they admit of being much closer than in the depth of the forest. Considerable loss is frequently sustained by producing through confinement tall trunks without a proportionate diameter ; and unless the soil is very congenial, and the trees of great vigour, they are often slow to become stout or shapely when ample space has at last been aff'orded to them. In plantations formed with plants at a distance of four feet, the thinning should commence when the plants attain to the height of from twelve to fifteen feet, by removing the more worthless kinds, which press too closely on the others, and ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. 91 fully half the number of plants inserted per acre should be removed by the time that the most valuable portion is twenty feet high. When they attain the height of thirty feet, they should stand on an average fully seven feet asunder, or about 800 per acre. At the height of forty feet, which is generally that number of years' growth, the trunks are formed to a •considerable height; and at this stage of their progress it becomes necessary to furnish considerable space for the deve- lopment of the leaves of the trees which are to occupy the ground, in order that their trunks may possess a girth corre- sponding to their height ; therefore, generally speaking, they should stand from eleven to twelve feet asunder, or at the rate of from 300 to 350 trees per acre. An acre of ash, of elm, or of sycamore, at the age of forty years, in favourable soil, is generally found to contain from 2000 to 3000 cubical feet of timber, and at the age of sixty about double that extent of measurable timber. This is exclusive of the thinnings, which are gradually removed up to this period ; which, even while plantations are young, form in many localities a source of great profit. The oak is found to be of rather slower growth from plants than the kinds last named, but its growth from stools of former trees is ec^ual to these kinds. When oak and other trees, which spring from the root, are felled, it is of advantage to the succeeding growth to dress the surface of the stools into a convex form with an adze, so that they may not retain water. It is also necessary, in some parts, to remove a turf around the base of the old trunk, to admit the influence of the weather and pro- mote the young growths, the strongest of which, after having advanced a few feet in length, should be selected, and the others cut oflF. At all stages of a plantation, space should be gradually al- lowed, according to the growth of the trees, which, with some sorts, in favourable situations, extends till the plantation is eighty years of age. But before this period, the trees, in plantations of hardwood, generally became irregular in size, and in their distances asunder, and the forest assumes the 92 ON THINNING PLANTATIONS. appearance of a native wood. This is commonly occasioned by filling up, and often to some extent by the growth of stools which produce saplings. Unlike the larch and pine woods, the broad-leaved plantations are generally permanent ; young saplings everywhere exist, ready to take the form of timber- trees, on receiving sufficient space by the removal of the largest trees in their vicinity, and a thorough clearance is seldom made. The profits derivable from the timber of hard- wood trees are generally very great, but exceedingly variable; being dependent on the soil, on local consumpt, on proximity to a cheap conveyance, and greatly on the management. XII. ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. The influence of the sea spray prevents the profitable growth of plants over many extensive tracts of land adjoining the sea. But while this is the case, there is also a great space of waste land in maritime situations utterly barren, which by skilful treatment could be rendered profitable by the growth of forest trees. Nature, more especially unassisted nature, does little to tempt man to plant by the sea-side ; it is a union of the wild and the tame, which, though permitting it, she will not foster. Hence we never see trees spontaneously arise in such places. Art must therefore go to the fullest length of her resources, often in the preparation of the soU, and more frequently in forming a shelter — always in preparing the plants for adverse circumstances. Without these preliminary steps the ground had better remain as it is, for a plant that cannot readily establish itself when inserted in the soil, cannot be expected to withstand the buffeting of the far-fetched and keen-edged winds of the ocean. The formation of sea-side plantations is often more expen- sive than of those formed under ordinary circumstances. This arises mainly from its being necessary to erect screen fences, to a greater or less extent, and to trench the ground in almost every case, except where it is formed of sand-drift. In all maritime situations the difficulty is most formidable where the ground is near to the sea-level, with a gradual ascent, exposed to the prevailing wind, with what sailors term a " long fetch," or great extent of rough sea. However close the position of land may be to the sea, if it is elevated a few hundred feet above high-water mark, the difficulty is more readily over- 94 ON SEA-STDE "PLANTING. come, as the salt spray exhausts itself at a lower altitude. In such cases, where the ground forms a declivity, or falls from the coast side, or where the outside shelter is established, plantations enjoy an immunity, not only from saline influences, but from the severity of the frosts of winter. The high tem- perature of such places during the winter months acts favour- ably on plantations in general, and particularly on many of our best ornamental trees and shrubs. Plantations have recently been successfully formed both in England and in Scotland in the vicinity of the sea, in soil apparently of the poorest description, which until of late was reckoned wholly 'unfit for vegetation. These plantations, however, are not only giving promise of becoming profitable as timber, but are already spreading a shelter, and consequent fertihty, over the adjoining lands. Some of the most thriving sea-side planta- tions in England were formed at Trimingham and Runton, the property of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart., and stand on the northern extremity of the county of Norfolk, on the cliffs ad- joining that part of the coast known as the " Yarmouth Roads." They were chiefly formed in 1840 and the three succeeding years ; the ground ranges from 200 to 500 feet above the sea; generally speaking, the surface is poor, and the subsoil a hard ferruginous gravel. In a report on these plantations, for which the Higliland and Agricultural Society awarded the late Mr. Grigor of Norwich their gold medal, the success of these plantations is chiefly attributed, first, to the careful preparations of the ground, by trenching eighteen inches in depth ; second, to the fences, composed of furze and brush- wood, and similar materials, having been erected as screens six feet high ; third, to the plants being of the best descrip- tion, two and three years old, transplanted into nursery lines the year before they were inserted into the plantation, and consequently possessed of bushy or fibrous roots, and closely planted 2J^ to 3 feet apart ; and fourth, to cleaning, by hoeing the land for the first tAvo years after planting, during which period root crops were produced among the young plants. These plantations embrace a space of 114 acres. The trench- ON SEA SIDE PLANTING. 95 ing per acre cost £6, and the fencing, plants, and planting upwards of £4, making the cost upwards of £10 per acre, exclusive of hoeing, which amounted to less than a fourth part of the value of the carrots, parsnips, and other crops. In these plantations the black sallow or goat-willow (Salix caprea), the alder, the birch, the ash, the sycamore, the Scotch elm {Ulmus montana), and the pinasters, two varieties (Pinus pinaster and F. p. minor), are recommended. I have found all these very well adapted for sea-side planting, but the success of the ash and the elm is more dependent on the quality of the soil than that of the other sorts. Respecting the sallow or goat-willow, it is stated that it was the wish of the proprietor, the late Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, that the most of the trees planted on his estates in this quarter should give place to the English oak, so that the sallow was grown here merely for the sake of creating shelter, in which capacity it is certainly without a rival amongst de- ciduous trees. But though here used only as a nurse to the oak, it is fortunate that this willow has claims upon the atten- tion of the planter as an independent object. Its claims, however, appear to be entirely hid from planters ; for writers on trees, I find, refer to it continually under the character of an undergrowth, affording " excellent hurdles, and good handles for hatchets," and as used in the manufacture of gun- powder, etc. Now, the fact is, that though it is almost without exception kept down as an undergrowth, and used for fences and hurdles, it is capable of becoming a great tree, most singularly and beautifully clad in spring-time with hand- some silken blossoms. On Mr. Moy's farm, East Runton, about three-quarters of a mile from the sea, is a specimen with a trunk which, at four feet from the ground, is nine and a half feet in circumference^ — thus proving that the tree not only grows to a large size, but that it does so in the neighbourhood of the sea. Of underwood shrubs, the snowberry {Sympkoricarpos race- mosus) and the evergreen barberry (B. aquifolium) are strongly recommended. The plantations of Trimingham and Runton 96 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. display a profusion of these shrubs growing most vigorously ; and I can have no hesitation in stating that they are well adapted for growing along Avith other trees near to the sea- side. Their merits may be summed up in a few words. They are both eminently beautiful — the former when clad with its pure white berries from September to December, and the latter throughout the entire year. This plant (the Berheris) is furnished with pinnate, shining, hoUy-like leaves, and bears beautiful racemes of yellow flowers, which are succeeded by grape-coloured or bluish-purple berries in great profusion. Though so unlike to each other in appearance, there is a remarkable af&nity subsisting between those shrubs, which points them out as the fittest of companions ; they fear not the sea-breeze, a fact which might have been anticipated from their being both natives of the north-west coast of America, from New Albion to Nootka Sound. Both plants when in blossom are much sought after by bees, and the berries of both are greedily eaten by game. The delightful uses to which such plants may be applied will suggest themselves to every one, and it is only necessary to remark that they are best suited for being planted close to walks, which should be introduced in all maritime plantations, for the sake of the view over the ocean. Time of Planting. — In maritime places the young trees should be invariably planted in the spring, just immediately before the time when the plants begin to grow. The next best time is the last week in October. But though those trees planted early in autumn furnish themselves with small roots or tender spongioles previous to winter, these are not suflScient to support the trees in such situations during the most trying months ; so that it is infinitely better to let them have the benefit of a full season's growth before the effects of winter are felt by them in their new situations. The last week in March or the first week in April is a suitable time to plant in such places. Planting in winter months has been tried repeatedly in the neighbourhood, but with no success. Choice of Plants. — Experience proves, that for the particular ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 97 situation under consideration, such plants as are two or three years old are better than any other, and such as have been transplanted in the nursery the year previous are to be pre- ferred to those which have remained for two seasons. Shelter. — However Avell the land may be prepared and the season chosen for planting the young trees, shelter is indis- pensable, both as an outwork, or round the outside, as well as an immediate agent in ameliorating the climate around each tree. The best external fence between the young plantations and the sea is furze bundles, or brushwood cut in summer- time, with the leaves on the branches ; or failing these, a turf wall, very broad at bottom and tapering to the top. The best sheltering nurses amongst deciduous trees are the sallow, alder, osier, and birch, and amongst evergreens the Scotch pine ; but as these nurses would be gladly accepted in many instances as permanent occupants, I would earnestly recom- mend them as particularly fitted for such situations. Oaks, and the finer kinds of pines, should be surrounded with the nurses, and particularly protected by them on the side next the sea ; but in ordinary cases it is sufficient to plant them mixed ^vith the nurses, so that the young trees may in a general way protect each other. Cleaning. — The hoeing of the land for at least two years is all-important, and if a crop of carrots is taken from the ground the first year, as has been practised here, they will help to keep down the weeds, and pay the expenses for plants, cleaning, fencing, etc. Plantations formed chiefly on sand-drift along the sea-side on the estate of Culbin. — Within the last twenty-eight years a considerable extent of plantation has also been formed on the sands of Culbin. These sands occupy several thousand acres of the north-west comer of the county of Moray, N.B., and are composed of small hills of sand, ranging from 20 to 140 feet high, the surface of which is ever changing by the influ- ence of the wind. Along this district in rough dry weather the atmosphere is thickened with sand- drift, and from the prevailing westerly winds its course is generally eastward ; but G 98 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. the ordinary driftings are intercepted by the river Findhom, and the sand is carried out to sea and forms a bar, where the in-shore tidal current, running to the westward, carries it in that direction, again to be thrown on shore and blown east- ward ; thus to some extent it forms an endless circuit. Along the southern extremities of these sand-hills, at the dis- tance of several miles from the sea, are beaches of rolled boulders from twelve to twenty feet above the tide-mark. Similar beaches exist in many parts along the south side of the Moray Firth, and these, with the accumulation of sand, are supposed to be due to the effects of the extraordinary inundations of the German Ocean in the thirteenth century recorded by Buchanan and Fordoun. But although large mountains of sand are said to have been formed at this time along the sea- shore, called the hills of Ma\'iston, yet it must have been long after this period before they spread out on the cultivated land to anything like their present extent. In the beginning of the fifteenth century the estate of Culbin was in the possession of the KLnnaird family, and their descendants continued to prosper on it for many generations. After the middle of the seventeenth century the estate is known to have consisted of sixteen very regular and compact farms, so famous for their fertility that the district had acquired the distinguished appellation of " the Granary of Moray." The rental of the estate at that time was as follows : — JSIoney rent, £2720 Scots (more than equal to sterling money now), 640 bolls of wheat, ^40 bolls of bear, 640 bolls of oats, and 640 bolls of oatmeal. Such a rental now would be worth about £7000 sterling per annum. Besides, the family had valuable fishings in the Findhorn, which then ran westAvard through the estate, but its course, having been drifted up, was turned into its present channel during the general calamity. Towards the close of the seventeenth century the then proprietor applied to Parliament to be exempted from the payment of cess, because his estate, which twenty years before was one of the most considerable in !Moray, "with an area of about 5000 acres, was nearly aU covered with sand, ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 99 and the mansion-house and orchard destroyed. Since that period the property passed by purchase through several famiHes. The next rental, taken in 1733, after the estate was almost entirely blown up with sand, shows the yearly value in money and victual to be only £494, 4s. 4d. Scots. But small as that amount comparatively is, it has also been extin- guished, and for many years the district with its broad and fertile fields, formerly designated " the Granary of Moray," has become altogether an arid waste of shifting sand, bearing only the wavy ripple of the wind. Singularly enough, these possessions have disappeared as completely as their occu- pants, and their names are heard of only when the search of the antiquary discovers them among the musty papers of a bygone age, or deciphers them on the mossy tombstones of the old churchyard, while he seeks for their locality in vain. The south-east portion of this desert comprehends almost the entire property of Binsness, which measures 558 acres, and has of late diminished in value almost yearly, by the in- road of sand-drift. It stood in the cess-books of the county in 1667 at £390, 17s. 2d. Scots of yearly rent. It possesses no plantations whatever. Its arable fields have been aban- doned to desolation, and the whole extent was sold in 1865 for the small sum of £660. Kincorth Plantations. — E,. Grant, Esq., of Kincorth, was the first to reclaim part of the sands in this quarter by plan- tation, and all the sandy space on his property is now completely covered with thriving wood. In a report to the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, published in 1847, he says : — " In the most advanced part of the plantation, wliich is now eight years old, the plants average a height of at least six feet, so that a man walking among them can scarcely be seen ; and the author may truly report, that the average growth of one year on the Scots firs was a foot, and on the larches nearly eighteen inches ; while all the younger parts of the plantation promise well to attain the same size at the 100 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. same age. Whether or not trees may ever become valuable as timber, on such an arid soil, is a problem which can only be solved in future years (for he is not aware of there being any such existing under similar circumstances in this country) ; but he is sanguine that they will attain a size to be very use- ful for palings and other country purposes. But it was not in the expectation of profit that he was induced to plant, but entirely in the hope of obtaining shelter and ornament, and of giving an improved appearance to a very dreary prospect. In this object the author has every reason to believe, from pre- sent appearances, that in due time he shall succeed ; and it would gratify him much, if, stimulated by the knowledge of his success, any other proprietor of similar dreary and sandy tracts, which are so frequent along the coasts of Scotland, should be induced to plant them." These plantations, now (1865) from twenty to twenty-eight years of age, range from twenty-five to forty-five feet in height, and are very vigorous. They yield valuable thinnings, and although they stand on pure sand-drift, give promise of pro- ducing heavy timber at a period not far distant. Observing that these plantations were treated in the most skilful manner, I applied to Mr. Grant for information re- garding their pecuniary return, and he has kindly favoured me with the following statement : — "Forres House, 25th Felyruary 1865. — In answer to your letter of inquiry respecting my plantation adjoining the sand- hills of Kincorth, I write to say that, although I have not kept any precise notes of the entire management, you may rely on the accuracy of the following details. The extent of the plantation is about seventy acres, but having been planted during successive years, some parts of it are more advanced, and have been oftener thinned than others. I have con- stantly adhered to the rule of not cutting any trees in it ex- cept in thinning with the object of improving the plantation. The greater part of it was thinned twice without yielding any pecuniary return, and at an expense of from £15 to £20, each time, say in all of £35. From these thinnings, however, ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 101 I had garden and some field upright fences made, which lasted substantially for four years. During the last six years I have had all the ordinary flake-palings I required for the farm made from trees in the older part of the wood,— I should say at the least to the value of £10 or £12 annullly. In addition to this, I find from my book that within the same period (six years) I have received for props £235, 9s. 6d., and have expended for thinning, etc. etc., £69, 16s. 4d." Although the cost of the formation of this plantation cannot be exactly ascertained, yet it is quite clear, from the cost of other plantations adjoining (which will be immediately shown), that the returns already realized are sufficient to pay all out- lay, and interest at a high rate, up to the present time ; even supposing the outlay in its formation to have been three or four times the usual rate, which some smaU spots, that were covered with grassy surface, together with the fences, may have occasioned. The present money value of the oldest part of this planta- tion is not less than £30 an acre ; and although other parts are as yet of less value, on the whole, during the next twenty or thirty years, the thinnings will pay the current rate of in- terest on that amount, with every prospect of the timber in the plantation increasing very much in value per acre during the period. This is a moderate estimate of the value of the plantation, yet it is clear that it will in future yield a re- venue equal at least to that of ordinary arable land ; and beyond this the proprietor has fully realized the primary object of its formation, namely, ornament, shelter, and a sure pro- tection against sand-drift. The success of the Kincorth plantations while they were only a few years old induced the proprietor of Moy, who owns several thousand acres of the adjoining sands of c'ulbin, to form plantations thereon. ^ Plantations on Culhin belonging to Moy estate.— In the begin- nmg of winter 1840 I planted on these sands 199 imperial acres with Scotch fir and larch, at the following cost per acre : — 102 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. . 1 800 one-year transplanted native Highland pine, . . £0 3 8 1000 two-year seedling, do., 0 13 800 two-year do., larch, 0 2 0 Carriage from Forres nurseries, 0 0 3 Planting, . . . . 0 3 2 199 acres, at £0 10 4 £102 16 4 Building fences and planting about 25 acres by the proprietor, . . 97 14 9 In January and February 1842, 1 added to the above plantation seventy-four acres, but al- lowed only 3200 plants per acre, thus : — 2200 two-year seedling and trans- planted native Highland pine, £0 3 3 1000 two-year-old larches, . 0 2 6 Carriage from Forres nurseries, 0 0 2 Plantins: 0 2 10 74 acres, at £0 8 9 32 7 6 Making in all 298 acres, amounting to . £232 18 7 It will be observed that the expense of these plantations is unusually small. This arises from several circumstances. The ground being soft, with little or no surface herbage, ren- dered it suitable for small plants which were planted by the hand iron, by people, in the vicinity much practised in the work, and who could plant an acre each daily on such ground without difficulty. The plantations were also made at a time when the price of nursery plants was under the usual rate. The expense of fencing these plantations was also very small : only a part of the south and western boundary required pro- tection, and that is enclosed by a turf wall five feet high. The east end is fenced by the Kincorth plantations ; the north is bounded by a vast extent of pure undulated sands, with a sur- face destitute of vegetation, and bearing only the wavy ripple of the wind, except where a clump of bent grass here and ox SEA -SIDE PLANTING. 103 there arises. No cattle or sheep frequent this quarter, and a fence is unnecessary. The north sides of these planta- tions stand nearest to the sea, and are formed on knolls of pure sand-drift. These knolls are situated from one to two miles from the south edge of the Moray Firth, at a part where the sea is from twenty to twenty-five miles in breadth. Their altitude varies from twelve to thirty feet above the tide- mark. The plants on both plantations advanced vigorously, and, with the exception of a few small spots here and there covered Avith sand, or where it was drifted away soon after the plants were inserted, no vacancies existed. On lifting and examining some of the plants of both sorts, from the pure sand, it was found that they had furnished themselves with tap-roots, which strike right underneath the plants to a great depth ; but the greater portion of the roots run horizontally at a depth of about four inches under the surface of the sand, and extended over an almost incredible space. Many of the plants six years planted were possessed of roots upwards of twenty feet in length, which ramified into numerous lateral fibres. Where the surface had remained undisturbed, there was a remarkable uniformity in the depth of the fibres, both in flat and in steep situations. Nature adapts the plants for emergencies, and no instance was observable of their having perished from drought, or having been removed by wind after having grown a few years ; some of them stood where sand to the depth of more than a foot had been drifted from under- neath them, and continued to thrive with a great portion of their roots laid bare. In other cases the Scotch firs grew when drifted up with sand, and had only the growth of a year or two above the surface. In this position the shoots of Scotch fir do not strike root, but where the larch became sunk in drift its shoots readily rooted at a depth of four inches under the surface. Many stools were to be found resembling handfuls of larch plants inserted into one spot, showing that the goil or sand was well adapted for the growth of cuttinsrs. 104 ox SEA-SIDE PLANTING. Plants of every kind of coniferse grown from seed deserve a preference to those propagated by any other method ; but the readiness with which the lateral branches of the larch take root, when sunk in sand of this quality, suggests a very speedy and effectual method of increasing some of the more valuable coniferse, the seeds of which cannot be obtained. When the cover of trees begins to prevent the movement of the sand, the vegetation first observed on the surface was Hypochceris radicata, Polytrichum commune, Agrostis vulgaris, Agrostis alba, Ammophila arundinacea, and Calluna vulgaris. The first-mentioned plant strikes its root to a great depth, grows freely, seeds abundantly, is a perennial, and likely to be valuable in fixing sand. As to the relative fitness of the two kinds of trees for the situation at first, there was some diffi- culty in deciding which was the more suitable. The native fir affords the best shelter ; it stands in great health, and has much the advantage in appearance ; its deep green contrasts beautifully with the whiteness of the sand, which gives the foliage of the native plant something of the lustre of a Hima- layan. The larch, from the shedding of its leaves, Avhich soon decay, forms a dark stratum of vegetable matter on the surface of the sand, which consolidates it and promotes vege- tation, particularly the growth of the grasses, much sooner than the exuvite of the Scotch fir ; but both have their advantages, and, in order to furnish a choice of kinds in the operation of thinning, a mixture is to be recommended, although there is now no doubt that the Scotch fir is the more reliable tree, and wall ultimately, in most cases, yield the most valuable crop of timber. Within the boundary of these plantations are several beaches of rolled boulders of primitive and transition rocks. Although the surface of these is stationary, and the soil in- termixed amongst the stones, they are almost destitute of any vegetation except moss ; on these beaches the larches do not grow, and the firs assume a yellowish green, and are much more dwarfish than those in the pure sand. This probably arises from the stones admitting the drought of summer to a greater extent than the pure sand does. ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 105 Along the south side of the ground, under these plantations, where the surface is a sandy peat, the cover is a short grassy heath ; on such parts the plants grew freely, and are generally taller than on the pure sand. In other parts along the out- skirts of these sandy regions, although not comprehended in the plantations here referred to, there is a considerable extent of flat land under a close, rank, grassy sward ; the ground is a pure sand, with a slight mixture of decomposed vegetable matter on the surface. This description of ground is, of all others, the most difficult to get successfully planted ; for, when plants are notched into such, they uniformly die of drought during the first summer. The matted herbage intercepts the ordinary showers, and keeps the ground destitute of moisture at the depth of a few inches. When a surface turf is pared oif before the plant is inserted it has a better chance, and when the ground is pitted or trenched it is still more for its advantage. The preparation of the ground should be made several months before the planting, and the planting should be done in early autumn, or in moist weather in March or April. In places of this description, the risk of sand-drift on a trenched surface, where it is not convenient to thatch it with brushwood, sometimes prevents the destruction, by trenching, of any surface vegetation which may already exist. The annual growth of both kinds of tree in these woods in the purest sand was upwards of fourteen inches long, and contrasts favourably with that of plants in apparently better soil, more solid, but overspread with a matted surface of the natural grasses ; thus illustrating the advantage of planting on a loose open soil, with a clean surface, whether poor or rich. When such plantations reach from ten to twelve feet in height they are fit to yield a large supply of thinnings, which are well adapted for reclaiming the sands and limiting the en- croachment of sand-drift. These thinnings or brushwood are valuable for the purpose of being spread over the newly planted sands in the roughest exposures ; overlapping or spreading the brushwood in an imbricated position, causes it lOG OX SEA-SIDE PLANTING. to stick to the surface, and thus it affords shade and shelter to the young plants in situations where they would otherwise perish. The plantations on the Culbin sands belonging to the Laird of Moy are now twenty-two and twenty-four years old, and form a very compact wood of nearly 300 acres, affording great shelter in their vicinity, and forming a striking contrast to the barren hills in their neighbourhood. The trees con- tinue to advance most vigorously. The tallest larches are about forty feet high, and the best Scotch firs about twenty- eight feet high ; generally the wood stands from twenty to jthirty feet high. Eoads have been opened up through the plantations, and thinning has been practised, first to a small extent in 1855 and 1856, which yielded little or no return; but from a statement furnished by the factor in charge of the property, prop-wood yielding a return of £482, 8s. 6d. was sold in 1864, and a further sale of £400 was expected before the necessary thinning was effected. I have not ascertained the cost of the operations of thinning, road-making, etc., but it is clear that the return already received for the prop-wood thinnings is more than sufficient to pay the original formation of the forest, with interest and all expenses up to the present time. From its present healthy state, 1865, the forest cannot be valued at less than £22 per acre, or altogether, £6556. Frequent thinnings will be required from time to time, at intervals of only a few years, as it is easy to see that the vigour of the trees has a tendency to draw them up too tall in proportion to their girth. Allowing trees to become drawn up through want of thinning is the ruin of many of the woods of our country, and should always be guarded against, particularly since it unfits the timber for railway sleepers, so constantly in demand, and so profitable. Of late years a few hundred acres have been planted in addition to those already described, but these have failed to some extent, from the ravages of rabbits, which overrun the place. The market for pit-props has of late become somewhat depressed in this country, in consequence of their abundance ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 107 and cheapness on the Continent, particularly near Bordeaux, where they are produced on sandy regions similar to that I have attempted to describe, and to which I shall now refer. Mode of growing plantations on sands along the French coast. — The greatest triumph of arboricultural skill in reclaiming sand-drift was recorded by a Commission appointed by the French Government to report on the pinaster forests formed by M. Bremontier, of the Administration of Forests. In 1789 M. Bremontier commenced his operations at the Gulf of Gascony, where the downs offered nothing to the eye but a monotonous repetition of white wavy mountains, destitute of vegetation, and agitated by the wind. In 1811 the Commis- sion reported that 12,500 acres of downs had been covered with thriving plantations by means of sowing the seeds. The process is as remarkable for its simplicity as for its success. It consisted in sowing two pounds of the seeds of the pinaster, mixed with four to five pounds of broom-seed per acre, and immediately covering "svith branches of pine or other trees, with the leaves on, commencing at the side next the sea, or that from which the wind generally prevailed, and sowing in narrow zones in a direction at right angles to that of the course of the wind ; the first sown zone being protected by a line of hurdles, this zone protecting the second, the second the third, and so on. After sowing, the ground was immedi- ately thatched with branches, overlapped, to protect the seed, with a hurdle fence erected to intercept the progress of the sand. In a word, wherever the seeds were sown the surface of the sand was thatched. A thatching of rushes, reeds, or sea-weed was also used, and was quite as effectual as the branches. In six weeks or two months the broom-seeds are said to have produced plants six inches high, which attained three or four times that height during the first season. The pinaster plants do not rise above tliree or four inches the first season, and it is generally seven or eight years before they overtop the broom, which often in these downs attains to the height of twelve or fifteen feet. At the age of ten or twelve years the pines have in a great measure suffocated the broom ; 108 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. they are then thinned, the branches cut off being used for the purpose of thatching downs not yet recovered, and the trunks and roots cut into pieces and burned to make tar and char- coal. These plantations, and others in the sands of Bordeaux, and between that city and Bayonne, constitute the principal riches of the inhabitants, whose chief means of gaining a live- lihood arises from the preparation of resin and tar from these pinaster forests. The pinaster consists of numerous varieties, all of which grow remarkably well in sand, or in dry, poor soil, and endure the influence of the sea better than most trees. In wet or fertile soil it is less hardy than in sand ; in the former its shoots become more succulent, less matured, and are thus unable to resist the severity of the winter in Scotland away from the influence of the sea. Plantations on the West Coast of Scotland. — Throughout the islands of the Hebrides the Gulf Stream has a very perceptible influence in ameliorating the climate in Avdnter, and adapting it to half hardy trees and shrubs in all cases near the sea, particularly where plants are exempt from disturbance by the prevailing Avinds, accompanied by salt spray. In such places our hardy trees prosper in a manner similar to those in inland situations, dependent chiefly on the quality of the soil on which they stand. In less favourable situations, where the sea is broad, and where a prevailing Avind blows over it, the most suitable maritime trees only can endure the exposure, and the sorts to be employed should be judged of from the quality of the soil they arp intended to occupy. If it is a dry, barren sand, or gravelly soil, the pines should be employed — P. maritima; sylvestris, austriaca, laricio or corsicana, and for underwood among pines we have montana, jmmilio, or mugho. Among deciduous trees few kinds succeed in soil of this de- scription. The best adapted are the birch, the goat-willow {Salix caprea), and the grey poplar, P. alba caiuscens, which is the hardiest of all the white poplars. Where the soil is of good quality, either a good, sound, sandy loam, or a sandy peat, which is frequently the case along the west coast of Scotland, all the pines, and also the. ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 109 deciduous trees above named, are quite suitable, together with the sycamore, and other hardy maples, the Scotch elm, Scotch laburnum, evergreen oak of all sorts, the moun- tain ash, and the common ash. The last-mentioned tree is found to be very dependent on the quality of the ground. It becomes vigorous in places where the soil is rich, loamy, or partly mossy, and moderately moist. The tree is very hardy, and stands the wind very well. It forms its growth during a few of our warmest months, and is not readily injured dur- ing any other period of the year. But being bare for a long period, the ash does not furnish a good shelter where such is most required. Many years ago I inspected a large plantation made in one of the islands in the Hebrides, and found it a great failure. It was formed on a scale of great magnitude, and was com- posed of a considerable variety of plants. The ground ranged apparently from 40 to 100 feet above the sea, and extended from the sea for several miles inland, and was exposed to all quarters, excef)t here and there, where a stream had formed a channel, and afforded sheltered slopes along its bed. Seldom is a more trying situation for a plantation to be met with, as the surface generally affords an extensive and unin- terrupted sweep to the wind ; nevertheless, there was a greater obstacle than the exposure to contend with in the successful growth of timber. The soil was peat moss of the purest quality, of immense depth, often eight, ten, or even twenty feet, — and so j^ure that sand could not readily be found in its composition. Numerous ditches had been formed to drain the ground, and deep as they were, they seldom reached the subsoil, and if they had, their influence would have been of little avail to the plantation, on account of the purity of the vegetable substance which formed the soil, and the humidity of the atmosphere continually acting on its spongy surface. The vegetation on the ground formed a rough grassy heath ; and scarcely any part of the soil was so dry that water would not be found to drop by squeezing a portion of it with the hands, even in moderately dry weather. 110 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. When I inspected this plantation, it had been formed from five to eight years. Life lingered in a plant here and there, but none gave any promise of becoming useful wood, except a few narrow beltings which covered the slopes along the sides of streams. Here the plants stood under very different and more favourable circumstances ; the sandy subsoil had been penetrated and disturbed by the action of water, and pul- verized and ameliorated by the influence of the weather. The plantation was thus entrenched some thirty or forty feet under the ordinary level of the ground ; the plants had their roots in a congenial soil, and with their tops comparatively undisturbed, they grew vigorously, and formed a very marked contrast to those on the level surface. Of all the plants inserted in this plantation under the adverse circumstances already detailed, only two or three sorts maintained an appearance of health. The tallest of these was the P. pinaster maritima, distinguished for growing in pure sand ; yet here, in soil of the opposite description, in which sand forms little or no proportion, it had attained the height of from six to seven feet in that number of years, even in the most exposed situations. The other plants were varieties of the dwarf pines jmmilio and mugJw, which do not become more than dwarf spreading bushes anywhere ; they appeared in perfect health. These plants are indigenous to the mountains of Central Europe. They are found on the Alps beyond the limits of trees, and are seldom met with higher than 7500 feet, pr lower than 4000 feet of elevation, where they prefer a swampy soil. These plants are only of use as a change of surface vegetation or shelter for game. In this plantation the Scotch fir appeared unusually tender, but whether it was raised from the seeds of native forests or from seeds imported from the Continent, I was unable to ascertain; but its appearance looked like the tender plant of imported seed. Instances were to be seen of a few older trees near to this plantation, where in the same bare exposure they had advanced to the height of fifteen to twenty feet in a short stocky form, although standing alone. The kinds were Scotch ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 1 1 1 felm, ash, birch, and alder. These, however, all stood on ordinary good sound soil. An excess of moss or bog in the soil, although dry, has the effect of producing a softness in growing trees, which renders them less able to resist any unfavourable influence, such as frost, or continued agitation by wind in a bare exposure ; and young plants, as well as timber, produced in such soil, are always short of the ordinary specific gravity. No effort was made in this extensive plantation to form any description of screen-fence or shelter. Reliance appeared to be placed on the extent of tlie surface planted, which under more favourable circumstances would have gone far to pro- duce valuable timber. Tlie configuration of ground along the sea-side which is most difficult to plant successfully is that which is exposed to a rough sea, and is only situated a little above high-water mark, with a regular slope towards the sea. With an undulated surface, a portion of the plantation has always some protec- tion ; but on land nearly level, or having only a gentle slope, the biting influence of the spray precludes the growth of trees to a considerable distance inland. Where the ground is sufficiently elevated, even on the brink of the sea, and on the roughest coast, the effects of the spray are but little felt, as its influence is exhausted at a lower altitude. This is illus- trated by the thriving plantations on the coast of Norfolk, by those on the " Sutors," which guard the entrance to Cromarty harbour, where heavy timber has been produced, and on many other high cliffs which border the German Ocean. The preparation of the soil for plantations has, under any circumstances, a great influence on their future prosperity. This requires to be particularly attended to where plants are exposed in bleak and inhospitable situations. Where the soil is not thoroughly loose to a considerable depth, it should be made so by trenching. At a short distance from the sea light sandy ground is often found overspread with a close matted surface, composed chiefly of the coarser sorts of native grasses ; this surface herbage, with its numerous roots, which 112 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. abound everywhere in the soil, has a very marked eflFect in impeding the growth of every kind of tree, — the native vege- tation deprives the plants of nourishment ; and of all soils producing herbage along the sea-side, this description of land is perhaps the most difficult to cover with healthy plantation. In this case the injury to newly inserted plants by the her- bage is equal to that arising from a dense and retentive subsoil, and the remedy in both cases is that of trenching the ground previously to the formation of the plantation. It is to be recommended that in either case the trenching should take place a few months before the inserting of the plants, to allow the herbage time to decompose, and that the retentive subsoil may become purified and pulverized by the influence of the atmosphere. Regarding the preparation of the ground I have only to add, that under the adverse position of many sea-side planta- tions, unless the soil is made thoroughly pervious to the roots of the plants, every other effort will fail in producing vigorous trees. Wet ground should be thoroughly drained, and in all cases where an addition of good fertile soil can be made and applied to the roots of the plants, success is thereby rendered most certain. The time of planting depends very much on the nature of the soil. I have transplanted pines successfully in every month from the beginning of August till the end of May. If the ground is dry sand the months of August and September are very suitable for Scotch and other pines, provided they are grown close at hand, and can be lifted and planted >vithout much exposure to the weather. If wet weather occurs in April the planting of pines in sand is then generally very successful, as they lose no time in fixing themselves in the ground, and then start with the calmest months of the year. This holds good v.dth all the kinds of plants recommended, but the fear of a want of moisture in many places renders it necessary to plant earlier, so as to take advantage of the sap of winter or early spring. Close planting is absolutely neces- sary; from two to three feet plant from plant is a usual ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 113 distance in severe exposure, the principal part being pines, which are generally obtained at a small price. Screen fences for protection are of the greatest value in plantations exposed to the sea-breeze. These fences may be composed of turf, brushwood, or any material most convenient that will afford shelter, and the higher they are built their influence will extend over the greater space. Where the thinnings of a young Scotch fir plantation are at hand nothing will be found more, effectual or more cheap in the erection. At the distance of every 20, 50, or 100 yards, according to the severity of the exposure and the figure of the surface, another screen fence should be raised, and so on till the more sheltered ground is reached where screens are unnecessary. Stone dykes are least efficient, and cannot readily be formed of a great height. They are sometimes, however, of great use in supporting the thinnings of young fir-trees laid against them, which raise a shelter to a considerable height ; the wind acting on such material loses its force, and spreads a mild and mollifying calm around the space, like the influence of a hedge. Besides the ordinary screen fences in severe situations, an open cover of brushwood, spread on the surface of the ground, is often found of great use in a newly formed planta- tion, even where the soil is not apt to drift. Although the outskirts of plantations, under the most skilful treatment, on an inhospitable exposure, are often sadly disfigured, yet at every pace as yoii advance to their interior the trees become taller and more shapely ; and on a level surface the tops of the trees form a gentle ascent until the shelter becomes perfect. TJie preparation of plants for sea-side planting is a very important matter. Not only is it necessary that the plants should be grown in an open and airy situation, but they should stand individually at such distances apart as to afford free scope for the play of the atmosphere all around thenf. And in all cases, particularly with respect to the sorts that are apt to produce bare roots, such as the various species of pines, they should be removed in the nursery the season before they are required for the plantation; by this means H 114 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. the plants will be well supplied with fibrous roots of one year's growth, which most readily take to the soil, establish- ing the plant on its removal. The pinaster is perhaps the most difficult to remove in safety of any species of the Com- ferse. This arises from its naturally long and bare roots. A two-years' seedling plant seldom takes root when removed ; and in forming plantations with plants, those that have been transplanted when one-year-old seedlings, and nursed in lines for a year — namely, plants of two years of age, or those that are three years old and have been twice trans- planted,— are the only plants that are worth inserting. But that peculiarity of organization which renders it difficult to remove the plant with safety adapts it the more for being successfully grown from seed in sand. Its long roots readily strike to a great depth, and become wide-spread, and are thereby the more serviceable in supporting the seedling plant against drought and the casualties of a shifting surface. The kinds of plants must be regulated by the quality of soil. In a pure, dry, drifting sand, the native Scotch pine, pinaster, P. austriaca, P. Undo, are the most suitable. If the situation is not very much under the influence of the sea spray, the larch may be inserted as a mixture among the pines, provided the sand is not pure, but mixed with vegetable or other substances. The silver fir is seldom used as a sea- side tree on account of its requiring, even in the best situa- tions, a few years before the plant takes to the ground and grows freely ; beside.s, in early life it requires more than usual shade and shelter. After it becomes established in suitable soil, which is a moist or mossy loam, and attains the height of five or eight feet, few trees will keep pace with it. Gilpin, who diff"ers from other writers respecting the appearance of this tree, says— "There is a sort of harsh, stiff", unbending formality in the stem and branches, and in the whole economy Of the tree, which makes it disagreeable." He then continues — " I may add that the silver fir is perhaps the hardiest of its tribe. It will outface the south-west wind ; it will bear without shrinking even the sea air; so that one advantage ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. II5 •at least attends a plantation of silver firs : you may have it where you can have no other, and a plantation of silver firs may be better than no plantation at ^\\r--{F(yrest Scenery vol. 1. p. 90.) I know many fine specimens of the silver fir not yerj' far from the sea, but in its immediate vicinity I have never observed its powers of endurance to be superior to those f the pmes; and for the reasons stated it is seldom planted in bare and exposed situations. The pines suitable for maritime plantations, and more par- ticularly for dry and sandy links, I have already noticed In a heavier description of soil a variety of trees as well as the pines have also been named. Among willows, the goat- wil ow or sallow (^W/o; caprea), the white Huntingdon wUIow {Sahx alba), the Bedford wiUow (&& Russelliana), grow in a saline atmosphere better than most other plants. The variety of hardy willows is very great; they are tenacious of life, and will grow to some extent in soU of any description, dry or moist Several species are frequently cultivated on the sea- side by fishermen, who manure them richly, and raise luxuri- ant crops oimtJ^, which are cut down everv autumn for the manufacture of fish-creels, etc. The black elder {Samlyucus mgra). nd the scarlet elder (S. racemosa) rank among the best trees for screen fences, and for forming a thicket in nursin. up more valuable sorts. Of the maples, the common sycamor^ and the Norway maple are good maritime trees. The com- mon alder and the beech should also be employed, and in good soil the ash and Scotch elm. None of L poplars except the grey (P. amescens) can be recommended When the soil IS of ordinary quality, evergreen oak (Quercus ilex) and ts numerous varieties endure the influence of the sea better than most trees. From the tree being naturally veiy bare rooted, It IS apt to fail on being transplanted, unless it^ care- fully prepared in the nursery, by being yearly removed for a few years previously to enable it to acquire bushy root-fibres so numerous that the earth adheres to them in transplanting' Such plants inserted in soil well softened or disturbed, soon take to the ground, and form a desirable ornament near the 116 ON SEA-SIDE PLANTING. sea-side, retaining their green and glossy appearance througliout the severest winter. In such places the temperature is always comparatively high. In the islands of the Hebrides many half hardy plants endure the winter in the open ground. In the island of Lewis the Auralia japonica ripens its yearly growth, and there I have seen the common fuchsia standing from six to eight feet high, with a trunk, the growth of many years, covered with a rough bark, and more than a foot in cir- cumference. Among the shrubs most suitable for the sea-side are the snowberry (Symphoricarpus racemosus), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), the tamarisk {Myricaria Gallica) and Germanica and the evergreen barberry {Berheris aquifolia). In dry soil during winter the Laurustine is seldom met with anywhere in greater beauty than within the influence of the sea. And as an ornamental and efficient dwarf screen-fence for garden protection few plants can be turned to better account than the common whin or furze {Ulex europceus). The kinds of trees and plants detailed, the preparation of the ground by trenching, the selection of the plants, their protection by screen fences, and surface cleaning where herb- age is apt to cover the ground and impoverish them, are the best means by which sea-side plantations may be estab- lished. In such situations, particularly in loose sand, planta- tions of the coniferse often become of great value in a short period, especially in undulated land, where any shelter is afforded by the surface rising to some extent between the plantations and the sea. Those of Scotch pine are often ripe for being thinned for prop-wood at the age of twenty and twenty -five years. Timber of this sort is in constant demand {see the article on Pine-Tree), and although there are frequent discouragements in establishing plantations in the vicinity of the sea, yet it should always be borne in mind that as timber of this description forms the return cargoes of coal vessels along our shores, its value, compared to that of many planta- tions, is greatly enhanced by the absence of a long carriage from the interior of the country. XIII. HEDGE- EOW TIMBER Trees are cultivated in hedge-rows for the sake of their timber, for shelter to the adjoining fields, and for embellish- ment ; and in many situations all these valuable objects are obtained in the same locality. It is true, that where timber generally arises to the greatest size and value, the situation which produces it is that which stands least in need of shelter; but where trees fail to become specimens of excellent growth, on account of the climate and exposure, the value of the tim- ber is often compensated for by the shelter which the trees impart to the fields in their vicinity. The quantity of timber grown in rows along roadsides, around the extremities of estates, and in the division of fields, throughout England, is supposed to be greater than that pro- duced in close woods and forests. Many of her sheltered plains are overcrowded, and present the appearance of one continuous forest. In Scotland the case is very different ; and in numerous instances, for want of the shelter and em- bellishment of timber, the country assumes an aspect bare and uninteresting. With respect to agriculture, both extremes are to be avoided. An excess of shelter exhausts the sod, enfeebles the crops, and renders their safety uncertain during the humidity of autumn. On the other hand, bareness in exposed situations is attended with many disadvantages. In unfavourable weather, pasture and crops of every kind are retarded, particularly in the opening of the season ; and fields are found ill adapted for the more tender kinds of animals which are now to be found everywhere throughout the country. The injury also sustained by winds, both to the stems of the 118 H EDGE -ROW TIMBER. growing plant during summer, and in the shedding of grain in autumn, is often very considerable. We know districts of light friable soil, where scarcely a season passes without in- jury being sustained by the turnip crop in consequence of exposure or want of shelter ; and it not unfrequently happens that gales occurring in the end of June or beginning of July, not only disturb and injure the young plants, but drift them away. The casualty is generally most severe when rough weather ensues immediately after the young plants are singled out. (In such places, the old method of sowing on a flat sur- face is that most likely to be exempt from injury.) There are however many situations where the cultivation of hedge-row timber cannot be recommended. Many bleak and weather-beaten tracts of cultivated land throughout the country first require plantations formed, of considerable breadth, on all exposed points, in order that single trees may grow freely, and afford the shelter of hedge-rows. It is only under the wing or protection of such woods or beltings, that in many districts single lines of trees can be successfully cul- tivated. However congenial the soil may be to the species, unless the severity of the blast is temperate, and the cutting winds mollified, hedge-row trees will fail to attain a size valu- able as timber, or useful in continuing the shelter from field to field, so as in any degree to equalize the climate through- out the year, or to combine utility with beauty — the purposes for which such plantations are generally formed. The failure of hedsre-row trees throu£;hout Scotland is of more frequent occurrence than that of any other description of plantation. This often arises from the trees employed having been allowed to grow to a large size without having their roots adapted for removal by frequent transplanting ; some- times from their not being sufficiently protected from cattle ; often from the exposure of the ground, and the unfitness of the plants for the situation ; and not unfrequently from a combination of these circumstances. In all windy situations, plants should be employed stout in proportion to their height, and with lateral branches down to HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. 119 the surface of tlie ground. The figure of trees varies con- siderably, according to their kinds, their age, and according to the physical circumstances in which they are placed ; such as soil, situation, climate, and above all, to their proximity to other trees. Their natural form and outline under different circumstances can only be known when they stand alone. The sturdy oak alone in poor soil and cold elevated situa- tions becomes a bush ; in the rich and sheltered valley planta- tion it rises a lofty tree with a tall trunk. In the growth of useful hedge-row timber the English elm is the tree most generally cultivated in England. When a plant, it naturally forms a bushy root ; and if properly nursed it admits of removal at a size beyond that of most trees. Its figure is erect, and the spread of its branches does not extend very far. It forms a useful pollard, admits of being frequently lopped, and yields much useful timber in a short time. The suckers which it produces around its roots certainly form one of the greatest disadvantages to its being used along Cultivated fields ; but that circumstance, yielding a supply of young plants, along with the advantages of the tree, no doubt accounts for its being cultivated so generally throughout England. Next to the elm, various sorts of oak are to be recom- mended as valuable hedge-row trees, although generally they do not stand so erect as the English elm ; yet they are less destructive to the crops in their vicinity ; their roots generally strike deeper than most trees, and consequently are less de- pendent on the surface-soil for their support ; and being late in expanding their leaves, they do not overshadow the crops in their vicinity early in the season. All the common varie- ties of oak are adapted for hedge-rows. The Turkey oak grows the fastest, and is of an upright figure, until very old, but it is less valuable as a timber tree than most other oaks. The ash is, in some districts, of very frequent occurrence as a hedge-row tree ; but it is ruinous to grain crops within the range of its roots, and it can only be recommended along road- sides, meadow and pasture lands, and the like, in the absence 120 HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. of tillage. As a timber tree, particularly for agricultural pur- poses, it has no superior. The larch, although seldom introduced into the hedge-rows of highly cultivated districts possessed of a superior climate, is nevertheless a very suitable tree ; it forms an agreeable variety, and breaks the monotonous appearance of some dis- tricts. It is profitable, being of rapid growth, and valuable as timber, and is less subject to disease in an isolated position than in masses. No tree is less injurious to green crops ; its leaves enrich the soil, and when shed are commonly deposited on the surface around its roots. In rough situations, however, it is apt to be bent by prevailing winds, and to become un- sightly. For avenues, where a depth of embowering shade and seclusion are required, the lime-tree, with its large umbrageous head, yielding sweetly-scented blossoms, has no superior. The horse-chestnut also is generally a favourite in such places. The Spanish chestnut, sycamore, Scotch elm, beech, and planes, are aU of that large and spreading habit of growth which recommend them for such purposes. For situations too rough and exposed for trees in general, the sycamore, service tree, mountain ash, beech, Scotch elm, and hoary poplar (Populus canescens), are most likely to succeed. The three kinds first named are remarkable for their unyielding character in cold or windy situations, and even at great elevations they grow erect and produce well- balanced heads. Of evergreen trees, the varieties of holly and oak are the best adapted for hedgerows. Of these, the tallest growing are Turner's evergreen oak and the Fulham oak, a sub- evergreen. Among flowering plants for ornament, the varieties of thorn, laburnum, and scarlet horse-chestnut are pre-eminent. A ready method of establishing lines of the numerous species of the first-named genus is, by selecting strong stems of the common hawthorn or quick, in a vigorous growing hedge. Such will readily train to a considerable height, when they HEDGE-EOW TIMBER. 121 may be grafted with the varieties and species of the tree. Those most handsome and attractive in flower are the scarlet and double-red ; and several other interesting kinds are jloticed in our article on The Thorn. In planting hedge-row trees their roots should not be sunk under the surface beyond their natural depth ; the upper fibres should be so situated as to be influenced by every shower. For the first few years after the tree has been inserted, its vigour of growth is much accelerated by the surface of the ground being loosened and kept clear of herbage around a space comprehending the range of its roots. The mode of pruning trees under any circumstances is of great importance, but never more so than when they are placed in hedge-rows. In the forest, their proximity to one another generally, to a great extent, supersedes the necessity of much pruning ; but when situated individually, no part of their management is more important than that this operation should be performed skilfully. It should be attended to early, so that there be no necessity for the removal of large branches. The method of pruning trees for useful purposes appears to be ill understood, or, if understood, it is seldom adopted. The common method is to clear the trunk of lateral branches to a considerable height, and allow the higher ones to take their course. This has a tendency to produce a large head, widely spread and ramified, and, where this figure of growth is desired, we know of no other method which wiU so speedily accomplish the purpose, because it has the efi'ect of establishing a host of branches equal in magnitude to the leader. This retards the height and adds to the breadth of the tree. Where bulk of useful timber is aimed at, the mode of treatment should be very difi'erent. It is then necessary to direct attention chiefly to the top or leading shoot, and to the branches in its vicinity, with the view of continuing the length of the trunk, and preventing it from dividing into forks or clefts. This is accomplished by preserving one lead- ing shoot, and in shortening the competing ones, or such as bear a considerable proportion to the leader, to about half 122 HEDGE-ROW TIMBER. their length ; and the same method is recommended in deal- ing with all luxuriant side-branches throughout the tree, the progress of such branches being impeded, in a greater or less degree, in proportion to the distance from the extremities at which they are cut. By this treatment the principal flow of sap will be directed into the proper channel, which will greatly increase the height of the trunk ; and the remaining portions of the side branches may be removed close from the trunk in after years, when they will occasion no blemish in the timber, they being still of small diameter. September is the best month for pruning, in general, as then the wounds 'are immediately healed by the descending sap. The timber of detached trees is generally hard and good, and if cleanly grown by being early and judiciously pruned, it commonly sells at as high a price per cubical foot of measurable timber as clean timber grown in a forest. But if it is coarse, with large knots, or mutilated by the removal of large branches, the value is often depreciated forty per cent. In some dis- tricts the value of hedge-row timber is often reduced one-half by the mischievous practice of nailing paling to trees to save the trouble of inserting stakes. It almost invariably happens that the nails become imbedded in the timber, and frequently no external mark gives evidence of the circumstance, and it is only discovered when the carpenter's tool comes in contact with the iron in cutting up the timber. Owners of timber, and those who have charge of estates, should guard against this evil wherever it is practised. XIV. COPPICE. Coppice, or Copse Wood, consists of trees naturally grown or planted, which spring freely from the root, and are cropped or cut down periodically before they attain the usual size of timber trees. There are situations in which the coppice has a finer appearance, and as an embelli.shment is more in accordance with the accompanying scene than full-grown timber trees, such as on small islands, along the margin of lakes and rivers, in narrow belts, in broken and detached corners of land, and not unfrequently it may aiford a vista in the forest, where taller trees would exclude the variety and richness of the scene. But if it is principally with the view of realizing a profitable return that a plantation of coppice is to be raised and husbanded, very few situations admit of this being practised with great success. The change that has taken place during the last twenty or thirty years in the value of coppice-wood and bark, compared with that of ordinary plantations, is very great. The intro- duction of foreign bark and other substances adapted for tan- ning leather has reduced the British bark to about half its former value ; the best oak bark now seldom exceeds £7 per ton, notwithstanding the rise of all sorts of wages, which enhances the cost of harvesting the commodity, while, during the period referred to, the timber of ordinary plantations has greatly advanced in value. There are some soils on which coppice grows freely for ten, twenty, or perhaps thirty years, until it attains to nearly that number of feet in height, when its progress becomes almost imperceptible. This may sometimes arise from the effects of 124 COPPICE. a bad climate, but more frequently from an inhospitable sub- soil ; and when such soil cannot be improved by drainage, it is most profitable to devote it to the growth of coppice. Whenever trees of any kind arrive at such a period of their growth that their yearly increase does not amount in value to the interest of the money which, at the time, they would pro- duce, if revenue is purely the object, they, of course, should be cut down. This is more particularly the case with coppice, since it not only springs again, but in some situations yields a far greater value and bulk of timber for particular purposes, when cropped two or three times in fifty years, than the trees would produce if allowed to stand during that period. The oak is a common coppice tree, and valuable chiefly on account of its bark. It is frequently found in woods, sometimes indigenous, and sometimes planted, where its growth becomes stunted even in youth, where there are no vigorous shoots on the extremities of the branches, but, instead of this, a curled and feeble termination of the spray. Dead twigs wiU occa- sionally be seen towards the top, and, above all, the bark will cease to expand, and no longer exhibit those light red and yellow perpendicular streaks in its crevices, which are sure evidence of its expansion, and of the consequent growth of the wood underneath. Stunted oak of this description is often found to grow freely for some time after being cut down, and in some soils such coppice is much improved by the insertion of larches as standards. For the sake of its bark the birch cannot be now profitably employed as a coppice-tree. Of the kinds of birch the com- mon tree is found superior to the weeping variety, as it springs more vigorously, and is more tenacious of life when cut down. But as all the birches are apt to shed their sap profusely on being cut down, none of them are reckoned very permanent. Besides the oak and birch, the chestnut, the ash, the hazel, and willow are commonly cultivated as coppice-wood, and sometimes the elm, the maple, and the alder. All those spring from stools. COPPICE. 125 The oak and birch are raised chiefly on account of their bark, and are lopped at various periods, according to soil and climate, from sixteen to twenty-five, or even thirty years. The season of the year for felling trees which yield bark is confined to the end of spring and first of summer, being that at which the bark is harvested. The root-ends, or largest pieces of oak coppice-wood, are usually employed in the manufacture of wheel-spokes, and the other parts generally sell for the purposes of smoking fish, making charcoal and •firewood, at from 10s. to 15s. a ton. The value of oak coppice is very variable ; but at the age of twenty-fiA^e years it coinmonly yields from £20 to £30 per acre, after paying all expenses. Birch is less valuable. The other kinds of coppice-wood are commonly used for poles, hoops, hurdles, handles to implements, charcoal, firewood, etc. As these timbers are bulky in proportion to their value, they do not afford to be carried to a great distance before being manufactured. The revenue of coppice- wood is much enhanced by a local demand in the vicinity of the ground where it is produced ; and, next to that, it is rendered valuable by a cheap and easy mode of transmitting the timber to market. Chestnut is chiefly esteemed for hop poles, posts, etc. ; and is durable in all purposes where the wood comes in contact with the ground. Its value for these purposes, however, in many quarters, has been diminished by the thinnings of larch plantations having recently become so plentiful ; which timber not only exceeds the chestnut, but almost every other kind, in durability. Ash coppice is generally preferred for handles to implements, hurdles, and for all purposes where strength and elasticity are required. It is esteemed for hoops, in the formation and manufacture of all dairy utensils ; and is cut at various periods, according to the purposes for which there is a demand. The hazel is adapted to dry soil, and is more frequently cultivated as underwood than as coppice-wood. Although it does not attain a large size, yet it yields an early and profit- 126 COPPICE. able return, particularly in the vicinity of potteries, and other manufactories, where it is frequently lopped every second or third year, and used in the manufacture of crates. For barrel- hoops, it is equal to oak ; for that purpose it is cropped every five or six years. The plant grows everywhere throughout the country naturally, and yields seed abundantly. For par- ticulars respecting the genus, see Hazel. The willows consist of a great variety of sorts. For the manufacture of baskets it should be cut down yearly ; a good crop in some districts yields a clear revenue of £20 per acre. Almost all the species of willow may be grown for the pur- ' pose of basket-making ; but the Salix viminalis, or common osier, the S. rubra, S. Forbiana, and S. stipularis, are greatly preferable to many other sorts. For hoops, poles, crate-work, hurdles, scythe and rake handles, the willow is generally cut every five, six, or seven years. The sorts most suitable for these purposes are S. caprea, or goat sallow, and its allied kinds. No other species of willow will produce such vigorous shoots in bad soil ; and in soil of goad quality, after being cut over, shoots of one year will fre- quently rise to the height of ten feet. The two best species, for the larger purposes of willow timber, are S. alba, and S. Russelliana. All the species of willow are grown from cuttings. Those adapted for basket-making become enfeebled when cut down yearly, and generally require to be renewed every nine or ten years. The third year they attain their greatest strengtli, and they commonly show symptoms of exhaustion after yielding six or seven crops — a decay which does not occur in the ordinary coppice willow when cropped at inter- vals of several years. Although all the kinds of willow will grow in ground much more moist and swampy than is suitable for any other tree except alder, yet their growth is accelerated and their quality much improved by the ground being drained and thoroughly relieved of stagnant water to within a few feet of the surface. Coppice-wood is sometimes interspersed with standard timber trees, which convert it into underwood, and are apt to COPPICE. 127 diminish the quantity and deteriorate the quality, except in exposed situations, where a partial shelter may be required. A few standards of oak in favourable situations are sometimes left with advantage, as it comes into leaf at a late period, and consequently does not form a deep shadow, during the open- ing of the season. Although the larch is not a coppice tree, because it does not spring from the root, yet it is less objec- tionable than many kinds as a standard in coppice, as it rises in an upright figure, soon becomes valuable, and other trees generally thrive well in its vicinity — particularly the oak, whose roots penetrate to a great depth, while those of the larch spread over the surface ; and thus the two sorts at once bring the whole strength of the soil into operation. We have already stated that the sorts which yield valuable bark are felled at the season most suitable for the manufacture of that article, but the other sorts of coppice wood should be removed any time between the middle of autumn and the middle of spring. In cutting the timber it is necessary to bear in mind that the stools are intended to shoot forth an- other crop, and therefore require to be cut clean and smooth, so that water may not lodge, and so low or close to the ground, that the shoots which form the subsequent crop may proceed close to the roots, and not at some distance over them, in which case they would be liable to be blown off. A bill or hook is best adapted for cutting small timber. In removing stout oak coppice, it is the practice to saw over all the stems which stand above four inches in diameter, and to cut the smaller ones with a hook or axe, which, in a prac- tised hand, cutting upwards, leaves the stool unblemished. Where a large oak trunk has been removed, the top of the stool, if it be intended to spring again, should be dressed up into a convex form, sufficient to discharge water. An adze is the most suitable implement for this purpose, care being taken that no part of the bark on the stool be injured. As large stools are often more stiff to yield young growths than stools of a smaller size, it is frequently necessary to remove the surface herbage aU around such, to enable them to spring freely. 128 COPPICE. The second year after the removal of the timber, the stools should be carefully gone over, and all supernumerary shoots should be cleared off. The number to be left must be re- gulated, in the judgment of the individual, according to the space which the stool occupies, and the purpose for which the timber is intended. In oak copse it is a common practice to leave a few more than those intended to remain until the general clearance of the timber, and these, the smallest and most crowded, are thinned out, and barked, when about eight or ten years old ; with this exception, the whole of the copse- wood should be cleared off at one time, as any other method is ' injurious to the remaining crop. In forming a copse wood of oak, chestnut, and willow, the larger growing kinds should be planted at a distance of five or six feet apart, with larch or fir interspersed as nurses. It is usual to insert oak in fir plantations, after the firs have been a few years planted, and attained the height of a few feet. As larches are of quicker growth, stout plants form a shelter when planted along with the kinds intended for copse. Hazel, and such trees as are only required to attain a small size, should be planted at four or five feet apart ; and willows, for basket work, at two feet. Trenching, though generally expensive at the outset, is ultimately found to be profitable. The inroads of cattle and sheep are not more destructive to any description of property than to copse-wood. The rubbing, the bite, and even the greasy touch of these animals, have a wonderful influence in ;-etarding the growth of young plants. In the absence of more permanent enclosures, the coppice- wood affords materials for a cheap and effectual fence. Where it is cultivated to a considerable extent it is of much advan- tage to have it in perpetual rotation, so that a portion may be cleared and manufactured yearly. By this means a yearly revenue is derivable from the ground, and the labourers of a district are kept in the practice of thinning, cutting, barking, etc., which will cause these operations to advance more speedily, and in a manner superior to that usually performed by hands unaccustomed to the work. XV. ox HARVESTING BARK. The oak furnishes the bark which is most esteemed by the tanner m the manufacture of leather, and the birch that which IS most in repute by the fishermen in the preservation of sail-cloth and cordage. The barks of the larch, chestnut, vnHow, and some other kinds, are also valued on account of their tanning qualities. The operation of barking or peeling and the mode of preserving bark, is the same in all the kinds and the value of the commodity greatly depends on the state of the weather and the care bestowed during the time of its being harvested. • The season begins as early as the sap of the tree circulates so freely as to admit the bark to rise from the timber, which vanes considerably in different trees, and is also regulated by he nature of the soH and situation, and by the earliness or lateness of the season. That first removed is found to be the vaZr "wl 'T"" P"""P^^' ^"^ ^--