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THE
FIlOFIT^.B]L.E FJL^JVTEM.
a Creattfe
TtlEORY AND PRACTICE
Of
PLANTING
FOREST TREES,
I N
Every Difcription of' Soil and Situation ;
More particularly on
Elevated Sites, Barren Heaths, ROCKY SOILS, ^c.
Including DLreftions for The PLANTING and MANAGEMENT of
permanent Screens;
WITH USEFUL HINTS ON
SHELTER AND ORNAMENT.
SECOND EDITION. ENLARGED.
JBY W. FONTEY5
ORNAMENTAL GARDENER, AUTHOR OF THE FOREST PRUKER, AND PLANTER AND FOREST PRUNER TO
THE LATE AND PRESENT DUKE OF BEDFORD.
HUE)DERSFIELD:
PRINTED for the AUTHOR, by T. SMART;
AXD SOLD BY J. HARDING, 36, ST. JAMES'S-STREET; J. WHITE, FLEET-STREET; & J.MAWMAN POULTRY, LONDON.
1808.
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2009 witii funding from
NCSU Libraries
littp://www.arcliive.org/details/profitableplanteOOpont
ADVERTISEMENT
TO THE FIRST EDITION.
Though the writer of the following pages has, for feveral years, had confiderahle pra6iice, as a contract planter, he means not to attach more importance to it than that of being enabled, by indnjtry and obfervation, to af certain princi- ples, which he zvas previonjly perfuaded ivere founded iii reafon and nature i nor does he pre- tend to any fuperior fliare of abilities; but, attached to the interejis of planting, (much more from choice than neceffity,) he has, from early life, idicn vieiving the works of others, not con- tented himfelf with feeing that they were fuccefs' ful or otherwife, but has reafoned and inquired, in order to difcover why they were fo; — and he now prefents a part of the refult, for the decifion {and, lie hopes, the benefit) of an impartial public.
The following are fcleftcd from many other
Teftimonies, in Favour of the firft Edition,
" \Vc recommend the Obfervations of Mr. Pontey to the No- tice of all Perfons, who may be in Situations where they can apply thcmi" Britijk Critic, July, 1801.
" The Direftions for the Management of Plantations dilplay great Judgement, and are apparently the Production of extenfive Experience; while the Arrangement of thefe ornamental Additions to a Houfe, in a pifturefque View, merit the Attention of the Builder." Critical Review, June, I800.
" Pontey, a profeflTional, and apparently a competent Judge, allerts that our own is equal, or rather of the fame Quality as Fo- reign Deal." Modem Land Stewa. ■', p. 345.
" The Author fcems a Patriot not foliations about his indivi- dual Profit, as a contrafl: Planter, but this Trcaiife will recommend him to all who meditate extenfive Plantations."
Agricultural Magazine, Auguji, 1800.
" A Pamphlet has lately been publifhcd, entitled, a Treatife on the Cultivation of the Larch and Scotch Fir Timber, &c. by Mr. Pontey, octavo, which places the advantages attending the culture of this ircc, (the Larch) in a flrong point of View. And which I recomincnd to i!it Pcrufal of thofc who wifli for further information on this fubjcdt." Lamberd Drfcription of the Genus Pinus, 1803.
ADVERTISEMENT
TO TFIE SECOND EDITION.
/jlS this fecond edition of a work, originally very fmall, has been long promifed, but much longer called for, it may be neceffary to Hate fome reafons for delay; — The very favourable reception of the y^;^ edition, naturally put the author upon endeavouring to make a fecond more worthy of fuch notice, by extending the defign to the planting and management of Fo- reft Trees in general In purfuance of which it occurred, that the latter fubjeft was much more imperfedly underllood than ihe former; and hence the propriety of a work devoted en- tirely to that obje6t. Under this impreffion, the whole of his leifure was, for a confiderable period, devoted to the compofilion of the " Forest Pruner," which was publifiied in December, 1805; ayd-co^irf edition of which has juft made its appearance. Since the above caufe of delay, many others have occurred, chiefly of a profeffional nature; for he could not confi- der the ivant of time^ a fufficient apology for
[ 6 J
fending that into the world, of which he might afterwards be afliamed.
It will beobferved, that thouQ:h the prefent is called ^fccond edilian, it may be confidered as nearly a new work-, the former beint^ chiefl}'- devoted to the cultivaiion of Larch, and Scotch Fir; and hence, though mod of the fentiments are retained, a re<]^ard to method, has rendered it neceffary to write moll of the work anew.
By adopting the method of treating the dif- ferent parts of the {\ihj\c€[.?, fcparatdij^ much of the confufion and repetition, common in books on planting, and gardening, are avoided, and the work, of courfe, muchjlwrfened; — a mat- ter calculated, at lea ft, to accommodate the read- er. One of the eafiell taflvs, that falls to the lot of an author, is that of enlarging on fubje61:s ge- neralhj known; but this very convenient circum- ftance the author has declined, from a full con- viction, that, on a fubject which affords fo little entertainment, the book which contains the moll; information, in the leajl compafi^, will be the. moft read, and, of courfe, be found moft gene- rally ufeful.
As the method of moving plants fomewhat large, or of planting fmgle trees, belongs exclu-
[ 7 ]
fively to llie bufinefs of ornamental gar deiibig :, f^^^^*^*^*^ and as the author has fome intention of making /^4^v^ that dehghtful fcience the fubje6t o{?i future ef-P^.^'^ fort, it is here omitted. If he Oiould be found^^ Z^* qualified to trace its principles to their true '^
fource, fo far as to furnifli rules for its practice^ he will have prodjiced what may be called a chart, equally calculated to direft the employer and the employed. The truth is, that fo long as pleafurable and difgulling fcenes remain dif- ferent, both in their nature and effects, fo long will the principles of this art vem?im Jlationary and capable of demonjtration. That others fliould hold a different doftrine, he does not wonder j change of tajle is a convenient apology for perpe- tual alterations and abfurdities. But if tafte is really founded in reafon and nature, it will, in a great meafure, be found permanent, and muft neceffarily command general aflent. It is, in fhort, a tafte fo founded, with a correfponding praftice, that the author means to explain and defend fhould he undertake fuch a work.
To perfons, who only write to ferve the little interejts oj felf the day of publication is naturally a day of anxiety; — the author, how- ever, has no fuc h fears ; for fmce the fame means which. Informer inftances, procured him public approbation, have been ufed in the prefent, he has no doubt of experiencing fimilar fupport
ADDRESS.
/'/y It is known, \^^'^ ^c unilcd e^orts of a ftzo ^\\\ frrqucntly d"
/ fcft what may be impofTible to an individual. Under this idea, the ^^^^^„proprieryot inviting the affidance oF perfons oH indujiry and ohftrva- y ^ / tion, has long f'ug^cflcd id'elf, as likely to be of eficntial fervice, y /^ ^" inveftigating the properties ot thofe fpecies of Britifh Timber, *^^'****.n'hich are not in general iife; fuch as the Firi, Poplars, and IVillous. Undoubtedly, the value of any article depends much upon a know- ledge of its proper application, or, in other words, of the ufes it is fit for; and certainly no one can aflert, with truth, that we have more than very limited and vague ideas of the proper ufes of fuch timber. We know, that mod oi them may be grown very rapidly, fome of them on foils of %cry trifling value, and others in a way fo as to detriment the hnds or herbage very little : We know, in fliort, how to cultivate the whole, with abundant fuccefs; flill we can ne- ver make the proper ufe of this knowled<ie, until better inflrufled \n ihe matter of life. Undoubtedly, different perfons are in poITcf- fion of faBs, that would greatly aflift, in elucidating the fubjeft, if we had the means of collefling them. And it may alfo be obfcrved, that fafh, fiom different quarters, muft produce more conviftion thau what is furnilhed by one, however refp^ ftable. I cannoi fup- poie any perfon, poflclfing fuch ufeful information, could wifli to withhold it ; and, thereiorc, beg leave to folicit fuch communications as may tend to (how, for what purpofes thefe fpecies of timber are proper, or the reverfc. Thefe commuiiications, or, at the leaft, their fubflatice, it is intended to print fepaiately, by way of appendix to this work, fo foon as a quantity is collected, that ihall be deemed of (iifficient importance, for that purpole. — They will appeai either with the writer's figiiature, or oihcrwifc, as may be moft agreeable to himfelf. On fuch a ftil.jeft it is aimoft unnecelfary to lay, that '« i\o anonymous communication caii be notictd. The communications >nay cither be adatcficd, by letisr, to the author, at Huddirsfield, ^^*'^ York/Jiire, oi leu at Mr. Harding's, Bookfcller, St. James's Street, louden.
THE
iProfttalile pantet^
/xMONG the different objefts of im- provement, which prefent themfelves to the attention of perfons of landed pro- perty, that of Planting will always hold a diftinguifhed rank : — probably, if it were inquired, on which of them a perfon, ^^^"^-^' fo fituated, could expend a portion of /^^* ^ his difpofable income to the greateft ad- "" / vantage, the decifion, in at leaft eight cafes in ten, would be in favour of Plant- ing.— Indeed, the matter comes recom- mended by fo many confiderations, that it is fomewhat difficult to conceive how
B
[ 10 ]
any one, in affluent circumflances, can excufe himfelf in the total negleft of it.
In addrefTing thefe, I may, for the pre- fent, omit the arguments ufually adduced upon fuch occafions, as motives for Plant- ing, (as part of them will be attended to in the fequel,) and content myfelf with men- tioning, how well this purfuit is calcula- ted to gratify one of the mofl predominant and ufeful paflions implanted in the hu- man breaft, namely, a love of poflhumous fame :
" For who, to dumb Forgetfulnefs a pre^, " This pleafing anxious being e'er refign'd, *• Left the warm precin£is of the cheerful day, " Nor cad one longing, ling' ring look behind!"'
Mofl certainly there are few who do not feel an innate defire, and even an anx- iety to be remembered, by pofterity with gratitude : — but, to be fo remembered as a public charafter, can fall to the lot of only a kw ; — nor, in many inftances, will
[ 11 ]
the memory of the virtue and ufefulnefs which adorn a private Ration, even a- mong the higher ranks of fociety, long furvive, except fome honourable and vifi- ble memorial be left behind ; — and what is there that can fo cheaply, fuddenly, and certainly efifeft the purpofe as Planting ? This, at lead, is obvious, — whoever plants to a confiderable extent, becomes a be- nefaftor to his own pofterity and the public ; and, therefore, while his work re- mains, the man will not be forgotten.
The park at Caflle-Howard furnifhes a very ftriking proof of the influence of the paflion alluded to. — On one fide of a lofty and noble pillar, ere6ted to the me- mory of the Duke of Marlborough's vic- tories, is the followmg :
'' Charles 3rd Earl of Carlifle, of the " family of the Howards, erefted a Caftle ^' where the old Caftle of Hinderfl^elf
[ 12 ]
" flood and called it Caftle Howard. — He " likewife made the Plantations in this " Park, and all the Outworks, Monu- '' ments, and other Plantations belonging
'' to the faid Seat. He began thefe
** Works in the Year 1702, and fet up ** this Infcription Anno Domini 1731.
•' If to Perfeflion thefe Plantations rife,
" U they agreeably my Heirs furprife,
" This faithful Pillar will their ^ge declare,
" As long as Time thefe Chara£lers fhall fpare.
" Here then, with kind Remembrance, read his Name,
" Who, yor Posterity, perform'd the fame."
It is impofllble to read the above, and contemplate the objefts around it, with- out rendering to the memory of that tru- ly great man abundantly more than he has claimed. — It is, indeed, worthy of no- tice, that after building what, in compli- ment to antiquity, he called a caflle, (but which may more properly be denomina- ted a palace,) with numerous appendages, in a ftyle of grandeur which has fcldom
[ 13 ]
been equalled, (never, perhaps, furpafled in this jfland,) he feems to have expefted raore credit from his exertions as a Plan- ter than a Builder ; — though no one can fuppofe the expence upon the former to have amounted to one twentieth part of that upon the latter.
Ther-e is, undoubtedly, a great deal more in this infcription than barely meets the eye ; — for does it not operate as a {landing reproach, to every fon and daugh- ter of affluence, who, regardlefs of pofle- rity, " like fome poor player, fret and ftrut ** their hour upon the flage, and then are ** feen no more;" — while, to thofe of an op- pofite defcription, it whifpers this falutary leflbn, " Go thou, and do likewife."
It is among the advantages which the modern has over ancient praftice, that what was once confidered as a great un- dertaking becomes now a mere trifle. —
[ u ]
"•"— . From the beft obfervations I have been
^ enabled to make, there feems no doubt but the expence which would have planted five acres fixty years back, would now plant twenty, provided the bufinefs be managed upon a frugal fyjftem ; — and, therefore, if we flate the matter as it af- fefts a perfon of landed property, we (hall find one great reafon why fo little of it was done.
If the rental of land have been dou- bled within the time mentioned, and an acre would then coft, in planting, four times as much as now, a gentleman muft then have devoted the rents of eight times as much land to plant an acre, as at prefent ; and, where the rent of land is tre- bled, the difference would be as twelve to one ; — of courfe, we fee fuch proportion holds out every facility to Planting, while the value of its produce is every where alloniftiingly increafed.
[ 15 ] It may here be objefted, that the in
f4J(iC
creafe in the value of land farniflies an ''-^^-^*^*^- argument againjl planting; which is rea-^'^ ' "^z*' dily admitted, fo far as lands of a middle' value are concerned, and where fhelter and ornament add nothing to value. — But are there not numerous fituations, on almofi: every eflate, which in themfelves pro- duce but little, and mock the darings of the cautious cultivator, — which only require to be planted with judgment, to become abundantly produftive in tim- ber?— And are not the fituations likewife numerous, where planting becomes ab- folutely neceffary on account of its fliel- ter? — Nor are inftances wanted where a bare, flat furface of country may be fo diverfified and ornamented, by patches of planting, as to add to the real or faleable value of the property, abun- dantly more than the expence, befides
the marketable value of the wood.
The neceflity for planting in the vicinity
[ 16 ]
of a family manfion will be noticed fepa- rately.
it'^^i^,. Having mentioned fome of the induce- z-^^, ments to plant, I may next advert to the ^^^^ advantages of fkilful management; — for certainly it may be laid down as a rule, which admits of few exceptions, that the moft fliilful is the cheapejl planter; for the following reafons :
* /icc^et Firft, Such a one will feldom err ma-
*^'' terially, in regard to the proper fpecies to
be planted on any given foil or fituation.
- • (i'- - Secondly, He cannot err in regard to the proper fize of plants.
^^/le^i Thirdly, He will devote fo much la- "\'^"**>^bour to the preparation of the foil, as the particular circumftances of the cafe render neceffary, and no more.
[ 17 j
/. J* in req-ard to the firft, every one muft ^^^ ^
iiave obferved what difappointment and ^ lofs is frequently occafioned by unflulful management in that refpe6l ; and no won- der, if perfons will proceed in the bufinefs without rule, (that is, by refolving to plant certain fpecies on particular fpots, without regarding whether the fituation be in all refpefts proper or not,) or by the advice of perfons pofleffed of neither experience nor obfervation in the bufi- nefs. — In fa6l, while men of no experi- ence confider this part of the profeflion as fufficiently eafy, thofe of a different defcription always confider it as lefs or more difficult, in proportion as the foils and fituations differ from fuch as they have been ufed to work upon. — If it were not a grating truth, I could produce numerous inftances, where large fums have been ■wafted in this way, while the proprietors were unconfcious that they were not pro-
[ 18 ]
ceeding by the moll prudent and fkilfiil methods.
Z- Secondly, — in regard to the fizes of
^^ ^-plants : — Here again the lofles of planters
._ "^^have been orreat indeed. Leave an un-
fldlful planter to himfelf, and he general- ly errs, in iifing plants which are too large ; and, confequently, enhances the rifk and expences, without at all forwarding the bufinefs ; while if he proceed by imitating ^ perfons of better flvill, and plants fmall
"'''^""^'^oncs, but neglefts to attend to fuch cir- cumflances as the probability of a rank licrbage, &c. he may, by that means, have
them fmothered. Indeed, it very fre-
-o^, quently happens, that plants which prove
. , , of a proper fize in one part of a field,
./ ^are much too large or too fmall for ano-
i'/I^i^^ther ; and, therefore, it is evident, con-
fiderable difcrimination is necefiary in this
refpe6t.
[ 19 J
Thirdly, as to the preparation of the IT, foil ;— moft certainly it requires a degree of ^%^^-x?1 fldll which few ever have, or ever can, at- "^{^^"^-^ tain ; — as it includes a knowledge and due ^/'^.^i£. confideration of very numerous circum- flances, fuch as, all the various qualities and depths of foils, with the different de- grees of humidity and expofure, — the pro- per fpecies and fizes of plants, &c. — all of which fhould, in a greater or lefs de- gree, influence the matter of preparation. Undoubtedly, there are cafes where ten pounds would be well expended in pre- paring an acr€ of ground for planting; but certainly the cafes are abundantly more common, where one eighth part of the money may well do the bufmefs. — The difficulty refts in diftinguifhing, not only the difference between thefe ex- tremes, but of their intermediate parts; and, therefore, on all thefe grounds, we may fafely conclude, the moft fkilful wil! generally prove the cheapeji planter.
[ 20 ]
- />' Confident with what has been ad van- ^ A-^-' ced, it is evident, that the moll; profitable ■^^ - planter is he who can manage fo as to caufe the land to be mod produftive, at the lead expence. Being well con- vinced that, in a great majority of cafes, ^j, ^ the liberal ufe of the Fir tribe is eflential to the purpofc, I fliall now proceed to examine the opinions and prejudices which have been every where prevalent concern- ing them, and have hitherto, very unfor- tunately for the country, prevented their being fo cultivated as to become generally ufeful, as large, fubdantial, and valuable timber.
^ The man of fcience, in common with
0^4^^^^* the carpenter, knows the ufe of an oak
,*v^» V Qr an adi, but, with refpeft to Englidir
'' — grown Firs, generally contents hinifelf
with the received idea, that they are of
little value-, and hence it is only of late
that they have been extendvely cultivateci
[ 21 ]
for profit;' — previous to which, though 4#^^<wj m«ch had been written, on the planting of •^**^- oak, afh, &c. for timber, we were com- monly taught to confider the planting of firs as principally for fhelter or ornament.
Since the time that the foreign fir tim- ber was firll introduced into this country, its ufefulnefs and confequent reputation have been conflantly increafing; and hence we import, annually, immenfe quantities, at an enormous ex pence : — the fafts are indifputable, though it does not admit of a doubt that the fpecies, fo highly valued, will grow extremely well here. A circum- {lance fufhcicnt to induce the reflefting rnind to inquire, whether it be not pofTible to avoid the greater part, if not the whole, of that expence, by extending and im- proving their Culture; and to feel afto- nifhed, that a fubjeft of fuch immenfe im- portance ftiould have hitherto met with fo little attention.
[ 22 J
f/Ci^^. '^'^^ motive for fucli inquiry will be greater, when we ferioufly rcflecl; on the prefent fcarcity, and confequent advance of price; and our ideas will probably turn to the day, not long elapfed, when Fir Timber w^as fold at little more than one third of what it now is. Indeed, fo long as we depend upon foreign markets for a fupply, it is impofhble to forefee what means may be ufed, and what circum- ftances 7?i<2)' arife, to increafe fuch fcarcity; confequently, impra6^icable to form any opinion of the price that may he exaBed, or the inco7iveniences and injuries which the want of fuch Timber may produce.
Whoever has attentively examined the fubjed; and has the interejt of the nation at heart, mufl certainly fee the necefTity of thoroughly inveftigating, whether there be any thing, in the air ox foil of our coun- try, to prevent the growing of good fir timber.
[ 23 ]
That we have few Englifh-grown firs ^Hf£l\ of fufficient fcanUings for the larger pur- pofes of building, will readily be admit- ted;— but whence proceeds the deficien- cy?— Prejudice fays, " we cannot grow *' them good;'' and ignorance and indo- lence have hitherto very generally af- fented to the affertion. But fhould it be found that fuch conclufions are con- trary to truth, and that the fcarcity in queftion is the confequence only of erro- neous notions, it will certainly be ufeful to expofe them, to trace their caufes and effefts, and to furnifh thofe obfervations which experience has fuggefled; for the- ories, however plaufible, are by no means the guide, a prudent man ought to follow, in the fcience of planting and growing timber; becaufe, while fatisfied with com- monly received opinions, though it is pro- bable we may be right, there is a chance of our being wrong ; and he is a very in- attentive obferver, who, a6iing as a plan-
i^t-i,^ ter of firs, does not difcover, that, if men ' had not ufually taken their ideas upon trufl, the bufinefs muft, long ago, have been reduced to fomewhat of certainty.
They would have found out, not only what firs grow bell in particular foils and fituations, but the fpecific forts which thrive in moft of them; and, moreover, would clearly have afcertained the pro- perties of the timber of all, or at leaft of fo many of them as would thrive on bleak and barren ones, and, therefore, likely to be moft profitable. But, unfortunate- ly, inftead of having got thus far on the road of knowledge, very few have yet made any progrefs; and, what is worfe, many fee not yet the neceffity of fuch a journey. — In fhort, they have no idea of reaping any advantage from it* ; why,
* The author has very great pleafure in obfervlng, that fuch inattention, which might be confidcred as
[ 2J ]
therefore, fliould they labour for that -p'-'^o^' which cannot profit? *^/^. -
Of the truth of thefe remarks we have ample proof; for the planters of the lafl age generally ufed Scotch Firs only, in a manner that leaves us at a lofs to difcover what end they had in view, unlefs it was the rehearfal of their own funerals; cer- tainly, if their object was ufe, flielter, or ornament, they in a great meafure miflook the means.
That the planters of the prefent age greatly furpafs thofe of the laft, is ac- knowledged; as they generally ufe fo much of variety on every foil, that, e- nough of the proper forts may ultimately
liighly difgraceful, is now, in fome meafure, done away; as planting of Firs, with the direft idea of profit, is praflifed to an extent hitherto unprecedented ; of courfe every fpecies of information, tending either to facili- tate or elucidate the bufmefs, mull be highly acceptable.
[ 26 J
C^T^'ht felefted for Timber: — dill fucli va- riety affords no proof of (kill, but the contrary; as is abundantly (hown by the methods moft frequently adopi:ed in thin- ning; the mojl valuable being ufually cut down, to make room for the 7noJl -worthlefs.
The reader will obferve, that, b)' the moft valuable^ I mean fuch as would be worth the moft money in a given time, (fuppofe thirty years;) and by the moft worthlefs, fuch as would produce the leaft in the fame period : — quantity and quali- ty being out of the qucftion, except as they affefl; the price.
I would premife further, that, con- fiftent with the prececding, I pay no re- gard to eftabliftied opinions ; for, Ihould I find even the oak and afti mixed with larch, Scotch and fpruce fir, and the former making but Uttle progrefs, while
[ 27 ]
the latter were flourifhing, I fhould not ^^^ hefitate to call them inferior; — nay, were both in a thriving ftate, yet, if it feemed next to certainty, that the former would not fetch ten pounds, when the latter would be worth t\renty, I fhould treat them only as obje6is of fecondary im- portance.
If the foregoing be the only true method of eflimating the value of trees planted for profit, it is evident that the modern planters, with every few excep- tions, have afted upon miftaken princi- ples, and mufl continue to do fo, till better acquainted with the qualities of larch, Scotch, and fpruce fir timber.
Undoubtedly, till a very late period, Englifh firs have been confidered as of little value, except for fhelter and orna- ment ; and hence the undiflinguifhing ha- \ ock to which they have been fubje6led :
[ ^s ]
'^"■^''^ indeed, it is not at all to be wondered at, when we confider that not a few writers, who have undertaken to direft the current of public opinion, reprefent them (in ad- dition to the above purpofes,) as beftof all calculated for the honourable and perma- nent fituation of Nurfes.
Seeing then the confequences to which fuch opinions dircftly lead, and being per- fe6lly convinced they are equally unfound- ed and detrimental, it may be ufeful to ad- vert, fhortly, to the leading caufes from -which they feem to have obtained curren- cy ; — and efpecially fo, as moft workmen are fo completely prejudiced as to be un- willing to give the article a fair trial.
To meet fuch ideas, however, we may confider that, for many years, the Scotch firs were the only fpecies commonly plant- ed ; and thcfe at very confiderable diflan- cts ; in confequcnce of which, they would
[ 29 ]
I'ctain their lower branches till they got ^>^^iC. very large ; and hence the timber, upon being cut up, is uniformly found fo full of Knots, as to be difqualified for moft purpofes to which foreign fir has been ufually applied, and therefore the article defervedly fell into difrepute.
When the above truly barbarous tafte fubfided, we find the' Scotch firs a- gain exhibited alone, either in mafies or fmall clumps; where each plant, having lefs fpace, would grow much lefs knot- ty than before; and hence a temptation to ufe fuch as were thinned out while young, for numerous purpofes. — But here unfortunately it feems to have been over- looked, that this fir, in a fheltered fitua* tion, grows very quickly for many years ; and never acquires much of denfity in an early ftage of growth. — moft cer- tainly neither of the defcriptions adduced were fit to be put in competition with
[ 30 ]
"' Foreign Deal ; and yet it may fafely be aflerted, that a large proportion of the latter defcription, with a very fmall one of the former, compofed at leail nine-tenths of the documents upon which pubhc opi- nion was formed, previous to the laft iix or feven years.
Good fometimes arifes out of evil, and fo it has happened here ; for the extrava- gant price of foreign fir has of late indu- ced many people to make trial of fome of the beft trees in their pollelfion, of different forts ; and the refult has been fo far favour- able as to occafion much of the extraordi- nary increafe in planting which has been noticed.
In the bufinefs of inveftigating the na- tural properties of Firs, (to which a con- fiderable degree of my attention has been devoted for feveral years,) it has afford. cd fingular fatisfadion to find them uni-
[ 31 ]
formly Tuperior to what previous pre] u-'";'^-^" '^ dices had taught me to expeft. In truth, after a careful examination of every fpe- cimen that has fallen in my way, up to the prefent period, (January, 1807,) I can fafely aflirm, that I have difcovered no natural defed, which will, ultimately, dif- qualify any of the fpecies, commonly cul- tivated, from being ufed, either generally or partially, as a fubftitute for the foreign.
It is true that, with refpeft to the Scotch and Silver Firs and the Weymouth Pine, the young quick-grown wood is fomewhat foft or fpongy; but does not fomething like this prevail in feveral parts of both the vegetable and animal creation, without at all impeaching the flrength or value of the matured fubjeds of either ? Certainly, in regard to the firs in queftion, every obfervation has fhown that the Timber improves with age, probably in
[ 32 ] * /*- ■ •r^»t U^^ilie fame proportion as the growth dc-
creafes after a certain period.
Obferve, it is not faid that even fuch young timber would not be durable if properly feafoned, and ufed where con- ftantly dry ; as I conceive thefe points are by no means afcertained : — but were ^ g_f fuch the cafe, we have others, namely, the Larch and Spruce Fir, which, if proper- ly managed, may fafely be depended up- on, as durable, in every period of their growth ; whether expofed or otherwife ; and, therefore, no queflion or doubt needs be entertained, as to their hberal ufe for every purpofe, where they can be procured large enough.
It has fortunately happened that, in the courfe of the laft five or fix years, the Larch has got into confiderable repute ; as wherever a quantity of it is to be fold, from the fize of a common rail upwards.
[ 33 ]
it never fails to command purchafers, at^^^*2ii& a good price. This may be confidered as one of the cafes where general opinion can fcarcely be fuppofed to err ; becaufe it has been correfted by experience.
Formerly, no diftin6lions ufed to be made; — English Fir, was the general name for the whole fpecies ; and the idea it conveyed was that collefted from the ufe of Scotch Firs only. Now, almofl every purchafer has fome idea of diftinc- tions ; which could only arife from fome evidence of difference in value : — In ftiort, almoft every one gives the Larch a deci- ded preference over them all, though, perhaps, few perfons have more than very confufed ideas of its fpecific properties.
We need not here adopt the flale me- thod of extolling the Larch upon the cre- dit of antient authors, who feem to have imitated each other, in detailing circum-
[ 34 ]
f"^^*^^ Ranees too furprifing for readers of com- mon underftandings to believe ; efpecially as fome of their ftatements have been found completely erroneous *; but we may /^ -.fay, that experience has warranted an o-
:a^c4^ pinion, that the Larch is equal to the Fo- reign, for all the general purpofes to which that article is ufually applied, and fuperior to it for many others, among which are the following :
Firfl:, It may be grown abundantly clearer of knots, provided fome little at- tention be paid to pruning it. Every one knows that the Knots in Foreign Timber affeft its value, exaftly in proportion as they prevail in number and fize ; as both
* Many old books tell us, that the Larch will Hot burn, which is falfe: for though it does not burn fo freely as other Firs, it burns quick enough to be rank- ed among the befl forts of wood fuel ; and hence, where fuch is ufed, the faggots are much efleemed, as being a good and durable article.
^ I 35 ]
r .
iiave a tendency to affe6l its ftrength and «s.a^tf^ appearance.
Secondly, It is much tougher ; — a cir- cumftance which, conne6led v/hh its du- rabihty, will fit it for numerous purpofes, in boards of the lead poITible thicknefs. — Three eighths of Larch muft, in almoft any cafe, be fuperior to half an inch of Foreign Deal.
Thirdly, Suppofing it once well fea- foned, it is afterwards much lefs liable to (lirink.
Fourthly, It may be fpeedily feafoned, at any time of the year, as it admits of a very confiderable degree of heat, with- out endangering its cracking.
Fifthly, It is much fuperior in co- v,A ^^ lour; as the application of raw linfeed ^ ^^^^^ oil only, turns it to a beautiful nut-brown. ^^' ^"
[ 36 ]
ar.' It likewife admits of being (lained to re- femble mahogany ; and takes a polifh e- qual to box, holly, or even fatin wood ; fo that it is proper for numerous articles of ufeful and ornamental furniture, to which the foreign deal is perfe6lly inapplicable.
Sixthly, It is again fuperior, as it is proper for pofts to put into the ground. In this cafe, however, it is to be noted, that only young trees, of a proper fize, fhould be ufed : and the part intended to ftand in the earth (hould have the whole of the bark left upon it,
Seventhly, It is clearly fuperior in the important point of durability, when eX' pofed to the weather.
Probably the (hortefl and cleared way
of proving the point is, by referring the
reader to the confideration of the rotten
Z/**^*- /Knots fo frequently found in Red Deal ;
\
[ 37 ]
aR article which is univerfally allowed to be fuperior to the White, when expofed in boards to the influence of the atmo- Tphere. Thefe knots are certainly the remains of branches, which rotted while they ftill hung upon the trees : — but no- thing like this is ever found in a Larch board, or on a tree ; though we are fure the latter has been fubjefted to expofure as well as the former. — To this fa6l (in its own nature more convincing than affer- tion from any quarter,) I will only add, that every obfervation I have made has tended to imprefs the fame idea as is ufu- ally entertained of the heart of oak. We know that it muft decay at fome period, though we have no certain method by which to guefs — when'^,
* Snch perfons as feel particularly intereftcd in underftanding the properties of Larch, may find the fubje£l difcufled, confiderably more at large, (with an account of fome experiments,) in The Forejl Pruner, p. 79.— 107.
[ 38 ]
The Spruce Fir being confidered as next in value to the Larch, naturally calls for the next attention. Perhaps we may lay it down as a maxim, in regard to trees generally, that the utmoft attention (hould be paid to afcertaining the properties of fuch as are found to grow freely in a great variety of foils and fituations ; becaufe thefe circumftances hold out an almofl ir- refiflible inducement for perfons to plant them freely ; and hence, though in gene- ral good is done, in fome cafes confidera- ble damage may enfue.
-z^""- The cafe of the Spruce Fir particular-
f ^y'^^'ly calls for fuch attention, as it grows ra-
.^ "^'^pidly on almofl: every defcription of foil,
from a very fl:iff loam, and fuch as poffefs
a confiderable degree of humidity, to a
^' y very dry fand ; provided the fituation be
■/.r-^^--,. not very much expofed. — It will readily
be admitted, that the tree is exceedingly
ornamental ; but, with regard to the pro-
[ 39 ]
perties of its timber, very little appears i/yCt^^. to be known with certainty.
As to myfelf, I readily confefs that, till a late period, I did not difcover in it any ftriking proofs of fuperiority ; and hence, upon former occafions, I paffed it over fomewhat flightly ; — now, however, the cafe is different, and, therefore, I take the earlieft opportunity of giving my rea- fons for fuch change in opinion.
In obferving the flate of this fir, in plantations where the trees formerly grew thickly, and never were pruned, it ap- w peared a very ftriking circumftance, that ^^"^ branches which had evidently been dead many years, (fome of them probably more than twenty,) were found,- uniformly, not only found but tough; — a convincing proof of DURABILITY. Still I bclievc this circumftance, which, properly im- proved, ought and -would have eftablifhed
[ 40 ]
its reputation and ufe, has operated di- reftly to the contrary ; becaufe wherever the trees (land fo thin as that their lower branches can grow to a confiderable hze, thefe continuing attached to the ftems for many years, (whether hving or dead,) mufl inevitably caufe them to grow ex- tremely knotty, and hence to be rejeded for general purpofes. Indeed, we can- not wonder if workmen ufe their utmoft influence in depreciating an article fo ex- tremely difficult to work, in comparifon with foreign timber, and which, in addi- to being tedious, not unfrequently dama- ges their tools ; all which would be com- pletely avoided by means of pruning.
It is now more than twelve months lince my attention was particularly at- tra6led to the fubjeft, as above ; during which time many obfervations have been made ; all of which tended, dire6lly or indire6lly to confirm my opinion of its
[ 41 ]
durability, whether ufed in expofures or ^y^^^^^^ otherwife ; with the exception of the cafe of trees ufed whole, as rails, &c. — as in drying they never fail to crack ; and hence the part is expofed to alternate drought and moiflure ; againft which not even the
heart of oak is completely proof. As
far as my obfervations have extended, the fame remark will apply in regard to rails made of Green Whole Wood, of every de- fcription.
The fpecimen of Spruce Fir which ac- ^/^^^' companies this treatife, is part of a beam, that had been in a building about twenty- four years ; which, on being taken out, proved as found (the bark included) as when firft made ufe of; — nor did its ap- pearance leave any reafon to fufpeft it to be lefs ftrong or durable, or at all inferior to any foreign beam whatever. Yet a point ftill more important remains to be noticed: — It wasnotoldWood. — Its
[ 42 ]
f^c-- diameter being eighteen inches, undef the bark, where its age was fifty years.
Here then let us paufe a moment, to conlider wliat ufe prudent planters ought to make of the important fa6l juft flated : in doing which, it will readily occur, that the matter is of too much confequence to be fully credited and a6led upon, without further inveftigation ; and, therefore, it is incumbent upon them to ufe every means within their power, to colIe61 fuch fa61s and documents as may tend to eftablifh or dif- credit it: — This is all I defire or want; for if men will only be earned in this fort of invefligation, no further arguments will be neceffary from me, to induce them ei- ther to plant, prune, or preferve the Spruce Fir.
But there is another point of view, in which the article is extremely valuable ; namely, as being (all circumflances confi-
[ « ]
deredj the beft plant we have for the gene- *yi^** ral purpoies of fhelter ; as it grows clofe, and, in proper fituations, very quickly. /^T1 Where it has free fpace, it retains its low- er branches alive to the ground, to the ut- niofl period of its exiflence ; fo that we can eafily avail ourfelves of its {belter to any moderate extent. This tree natural- ly forms itfelf into a narrow cone; its breadth, however, may be eafily increafed, by cutting off its head ; or readily re- duced, by pruning, without materially in- juring its foliage : — Indeed, its form is fo much fubje6l to management, that I have {^^n it (horn, fo as to form an excellent flieltering hedge.
Of the innumerable cafes in which this tree may be ufeful, as a (lielter, it is nei- ther poffible nor neceffary to fpeak here ; but I {hould confider myfelf inexcufable in omitting to notice one, in which it is qualified to be moft effentially fervicea-
( 44 ]
';f(r^cji ble; as it materially concerns a defcrip- tion of perfon.1 who are particularly enti- tled to attention and. refped, — I mean the planters of oaks.
Planting of Jirs among oaks, as well as other deciduous trees, in order to fhelter and draw, or perhaps, more properly, to force them up, has long been pradifed ; yet, I conceive, it has been little confider- ed how far the Spruce is fuperior to the Scotch Fir for general purpofes. The point, however, appears felf evident, from what has been advanced, with the addi- tional circumftance, that the former will retain its lower foliage, in lefs than half the fpace which the latter would require ; and, therefore, that part of its fhelter can- not be lading, except we are willing to facrifice much fpace, and content to grow it as faggot wood only ; — while, as to the other, the fpace required would be very moderate, the fhelter complete and dura-
[ 45 ]
/^
ble, and the wood, ultimately, of confi- -y^2«<^ derable value.
Where the air has fomewhat free fcope round an oak, it produces numerous fide branches ; fome of which fwell, fo as to rival the principal leader, — which a com- plete (helter is direftly calculated to pre- vent ; as a branch never either fwells or {hoots freely if it do not point into an open fpace. In the growing feafon, every tree becomes a traveller, in fearch of air and light • and, therefore, they never tow- er fo rapidly as when they have the moft of both above them.
But there is another confideration, which of itfelf ought completely to influ- ence the choice of trees planted for Nur- fes. The very name conveys the idea that they are to be difplaced, at no diftant pe- riod ; and, therefore, common fenfe feems to didatc that, in every poflible cafe, they
[ 46 ]
fhiould be of fuch forts as are moft of all ^-ic^,-/- valuable at an early ftage of growth ; pro- '^"^ /.^perties which are common to the Larch V...^^..^nd Spruce Fir; and, therefore, they ?^ *tj fhcruld be preferred in that department,
wherever the foil and fituation proves
fui table.
Certainly when an oak planter (confif- tently with the laft hint) makes ufe of fuch Nurfes, he goes far to obviate any pofTible rifk ; for fhould the oaks not grow to expe6lation, it is highly probable one or both of the others might anfwer, or even exceed it ; and thus a crop of ex- cellent timber would be fecured.
y
7cc^<^ ^^ J i^now only one objeftion that can be fairly urged againft the general and libe- ral ufe of Spruce Firs, as Nurfes and
^^.iy:i%iCM Principals, which is — their price. Hi- therto they have been ufually confidered as more ornamental than ufeful; and
[ 47 ]
hence, while the confumption has been %A^*^'^ fmallj the price in nurferies has been kept rather high. — — It may feem a paradox, but ftill it is a fa6l, that, as the demand for any fpecies of foreft trees increafes, the price decreafes, till it becomes very moderate :— nor is the trade any lofer by it ; as an increafed demand, frequently aided by an improved mode of culture, feldom fails to more than cover the dif- ference,
Confidering what has been advanced, yy*-^ "^ in regard to the properties of the Spruce Z^'^*''^/ Fir, it is prefumed, that little doubt can be ^^^ Z^^* entertained of the propriety of prefering /i^//fZ.^ it to the Scotch, on every foil and fitua- ^-^'^ -^^^ tion equally proper for both : a cafe very ^^ ^^ common, though by no means univerfal. ^^/t^ The leading exceptions, which I have ob- ferved, are a black fandy and moorifh foil, that naturally produces nothing but heath, and very bleak expofures. On the for-
^*v\
[ 48 ]
i/^7t^r£ .rtitr they feldom vegetate more than ju ft
to keep them aUve ; in the hitter they
grow better, but too llowly to render it
defirable to plant them. As the firft fort
.^^"^ / of exception is, in a confiderable degree,
•;., /^T^^^applicable to the Larch, and the latter to
-^ '^-'- '-trees in general, it has long been an ob-
je6l of much folicitude with myfelf, to
find means to reduce them within the leaft
poIRble limits ; the refult of which will be
feen when we come to treat diftinftly of
the Methods of Planting and obtaining
Shelter.
^Mc^X',. . But prefuming that, after all which has or can be done, in regard to the circum- flances jufl mentioned, numerous and ex- tenfive trafts will remain, upon which the Scotch Firs ought to predominate, I fhall next proceed to notice its properties.
Writers in general feem agreed, that this tree is of the fame fpecies as that from
[ 49 J
'e^O^ which we have the foreign Red Deal ;— ^ <v^-^ ■ "■'*' and, if fuch be the fad, httle ^ubt need "^^ be entertained of its latent good quahties ; notwithftanding the difgrace under which it labours ; — and as to the matter of affi- nity, I fee no reafon to doubt it ; the or- der in which the knots are placed, their habihty to rot, and the teftimony of indi- viduals who have vifited the countries from which we import that article, all feem to tend to eflablifh the point. Still the one is ufually found of a much finer grain, and much heavier and ftronger than the other ; — which is clearly imputable to its being grown in a colder atmofphere, and, confequently, much flower than ours. The real difference, however, is only in appearance, when two old fubjefts hap- pen to be contrafted ; as then the quef- tion of weight and ftrength depends more upon the part of the trees from which the fpecimens are taken, than the country from which they cooie.
[ ^0 ]
^^ dance of the article, upon almofl: every ^ ^^,^xlefcription of foils, which are nearly or -^^i^, altogether unproduftive ; and if it be clearly afcertained, that knottinefs and want of denfity are the only defefts of the article ; it muft likewife be true, that, dif- Govering the means of preventing them, becomes not only an individual but a na- tional concern. It may be eafy, in fome
cafes, for an, author to dete£l error, but it is indeed herculean labour to induce the bulk of mankind to adopt its oppofite.
It has already been intimated, that the knottinefs of fir timber, generally, would eafily be prevented by a good method of pruning ; — (for proof of which, the rea- der is referred to The Forejh Fruner\) — and, therefore, it remains only to be con- fidered, how far the want of denfity is curable by any means fliort of age ; for that is evidently its moil natural one.
[ 51 ]
Probably we may here gather a ufeful*^^'"^^-^ hint, from what is faid to be the praftice in Ruflia and Sweden, namely, the dif- barking of the flems of the firs, to the length of two or three feet, at lead a year before they are intended to be taken down ; which difbarking and falhng is ' ^' '^'^ |y_ done only in winter ; a pra6lice which ^^y^^ ^
^ could not have generally prevailed, oxx jT/^
A
t/^^t^^
^J^^ " If we could (how 'clearly in which way
/^^ any grounds fhort of admitted utility. ^^ ^ ,
;yj^^ >~ /fuch method operated, a very important' " ^ ^eUy ■ point would be gained ; but as that {"eems^'e^ «- ^;^^^ _ impoffible, I fhall difmifs it with juft ob- .^y^] ferving, that if it could be found that, a,^ under fuch operation, the laft efforts of ^ ^ ' lingering life would be fpent in expelling the watery matter, or in expending it to ^"^ fupport the foliage, and fubftituting rofin in its place, we fliould then have fufficient data on which to found a fyftera for the
[ '52 ]
i«*^^.^< improvement of every fpecies of young fir timber,
^..Z^r^ We certainly, fhall foon have a large y^^'-^^upiply u^f this defcription ; and, therefore, ''■''"-The fludy of its improvement and proper- ties becomes matter of more than common intereft. Experiments, to elucidate this important point, fhould be made, again and again, by perfons who have means and leifure, on free-growing trees of different ages. — From what I have obferved, of the fuperior quality of the wood of young ones^ which have been, for fome time, flinted in growth, (in confequence of fudden ex-. pofure, or being overhung by others,) I have great reafon to fufpeft, that cutting off nearly the whole of the branches, two years before the period of taking down, would go far to elfeft the needed improve- ment ; as, after the operation, they would grow very flowly. — Obferve, this being an extreme cafe, the branches fhould be taken
[ 53 ]
off not lefs than fix inches from the ftem, -^ '^^^"^ to prevent bleeding.
It may here be obferved, as a general remark, that though building timber is ufually cut from large fir wood, (fuch be- ing nearly as cheap as the fmall,j flill but little of it is ufed in large fcantlings ; and, therefore, it is evident, that by much the greater part of a modern building may be done with fmall ones ; and hence native produce might be liberally made ufe of in them, at a much earlier period than is ge- nerally imagined. Great flrength can be required only in a few cafes, eafily pro- vided for ; Durability becomes eflential in all : and, therefore, we may flate it as a queftion, well worthy of general difcuf- fion; — Under what circumftances may the durability of Britifh-grown Fir Timber be fafely depended upon ?
[ .54 1
' ^^>^'iA;, I need not dwell long on the facility with which the Scotch Fir accommodates itfelf to almofl every defcription of foil and fituation. — It may, indeed, be called " The Planter's Forlorn Hope;" as where it fails, the cafe is truly defperate. For inflance : — it is planted with fuccefs, on the moft barren commons, where no other tree or plant (the Heath excepted) will grow. On fcites which are elevated, and expofed to particular currents of wind, it often proves the only tree that can be got tip, except fo tar as others may rife under its fhelter. In the fea breeze too, it is frequentlv obferved that, while every plant cA^^^t^ around it bends from the blaft, as if feek^ '**.* *^ ing protedion, this holds its head ere6i, '^ and bids defiance to the noxious gale.
It is not faid, however, that, in any of thefe cafes, the trees grow uniformly as quick as under more favourable circum- ftances : flill it is truly wonderful to ob-
[ 55 ]
ferve the quicknefs of their progrefs, after ' ^'^^^/^
they have got fufficiently eftabhfhed in
the ground, and are large enough to fhel-
ter each other. — Why they do fo on a y^^^^
barren heathy foil, it is not eafy to con- '*^'^^'''~^
ceive ; all we know with certainty is, that
this tree will not only live but thrive, where
moft others would do neither.
In the cafe of expofures, where the foil is tolerable, the reafons for fuch thriv- ing are fomewhat obvious. The plant is not only extremely hardy, by nature, but its (hoot and leaf (fpine) are lliff ; and hence neither can be much fubje6l to damage from violent winds ; — ftill, in fuch cafes, it never grows rapidly till each plant, by contributing a part to the general flock of fhelter, refifts the winds and improves the atmofphere ; and hence their accelerated growth. It is admitted, that fuch fhel- ter could not be lafting ; but it would af- ford the means of rearing a durable one.
[ 56 ]
^^*^;^^ confifting of every thing proper for the ^' purpofe. And thus, by the ufe of this de- graded plant, we fee the eafy means of doing what would be otherwife impofli- ble, namely, rearing a Crop of Timber, of any defcription proper for the foil, in elevations which, naturally, would grow fuch trees no better than bufhes. The va- lue of fuch fhelters, as they affeft the fur- rounding lands, will be attended to under a feparate head.
Clear ideas of what will grow and thrive upon the fituations juft mentioned, are effentially neceflary to almoft every one who plants upon a large fcale ; and, therefore, an author, who can diftinguifli between truth and error, would ill dif- charge his duty if he did not, to the ut- moft of his power, enforce the one and
oppofe the other. In a modern book
on planting, now in many hands, we have the following, ** The native Pine (Scotch
[ ^7 ]
«' Fir) has long been planted as a nurfe, •-^^^^^ " but the praftice is now much relinquifh- ^ *a»<^ *•' ed. Nor is it founded in reafon ; fincex^^"' ^' *' there is no foil or fituation in which " the Larch and Mountain Afh will not *' far furpafs it in growth^ while young."
Obferve the latitude of the paffage, — " No foil or fituation;' &c. — Still I will venture to affirm, that whoever fhould ^yf^-/^^ plant any of the heathy parts of the chain '^^f^ of hills which feparates Yorkfliire from Lancafhire, Chefhire, and Derbyfhire, in the manner implied as above, would find, to his coft, that this '' PraBical Planter'" liad reckoned without his hofl ; as neither his nurfes nor his nurfings would grow, except fo far as the Larch might happen to penetrate into the under ftratum (a fort of reddifh fand, full of loofe ftones ;) where, if the fituation were not much expofed, it might make tolerable progrefs ; but cer- tainly not otherwife.
H
[ oi J
^ A^^« • What I have juft advanced flands upoit
very different grounds from either mere
theory, or flight, or recent pradice; for
/-^ I have been annually employed in plant-
^^,. ing upon the faid hills for, at lead, fixteen
years ; during which, no infl;ance has oc- curred of the Larch doing more upon the heathy foil than jufl; growing enough to keep alive, till it penetrated the under ftra^ tum. And though experiments have been repeatedly made, by planting the oak, afli, fycamore, and birch, (mofl: of which pro- -r^ ^^ duced a few leaves the firfl: feafon,) the ^ ^ tr^ plants have all died ; except a few (probably not more than one in a hundred) of the latter ; and their progrefs has been very
But, again : — It will fcarcely be doubt- ed, but a great proportion of the heathy foils in the country are fimilar, both in appearance and compofition, to the fore- going ; and, therefore, we may conclude.
[ 59 ]
ihat, fo long as like caufes produce the fame efFefts, they alone will not produce deciduous trees : — indeed, the heathy foils about Woburn ftrongly confirm the fa61 ; for there great quantities of fuch trees, of almoft every defcription, had been planted, (the Mountain Afh included,) previous to my engagement ; of which, none have grown except fo far as they have pene- trated into the under flratum, where the heathy foil happened to be thin ; and, a- mong them, the Larch has fucceeded beft. Many of thefe, however, have remained completely covered with mofs, and nearly ftationary, for many years; yet moft of them have, at length, recovered gradually ; which could only happen in confequence of their roots getting into the under flra- tum : — for fuch as were planted in pits, or broken ground, grew well from the firft.
But enough of heathy foils ; — let us fee if, haply, our author has been more
[ 60 ]
-7
t^^^^^/v correft in regard to expofcd and elevated 9^ >*^ fcites ; where, of courfe, the mojl perJeEi yj^"/i^ Jhelter is abfolutely necelTary.
Here we may afk any one accuflomed to obfervations on fuch fubjefts, if he ever remarked the Larch to be as httle affefted by the winds as the Scotch Fir, on fuch fituations ? — And again, Do not deciduous trees conftantly extend their branches horizontally, fo as readily to in- termix with each other? — but they can- not do fo with the Firs ; as there is little of either light or air in their interior ; and, therefore, when mixed with them, fuch can only {hoot freely upwards. Befides, the Larch, for feveral feet from its top downwards, has a very light fpiral head; of courfe, there its fhelter bears no com- parifon to the Scotch Fir, at any feafon.
The abfurdity of planting the Moun- tain Afh, as a fhelter, will be evident, by
[ 61 ]
.^.
^oniidering, that if it grow fail: it produ- *">^»t^^< ces but very few branches ; and if it grow "^ "'-.'^y flowly, fo as to produce more, it will be ^,^ ^^ too low to afford proteftion. At beft four of this plant would not fhelter near fo much as one Scotch Fir ; and, what is worfe, four of the former would coft more than eight of the latter ; and, after all this extra expence, we fliould neither have a tolerable fhelter, nor (if our author is to be credited,) a timber tree of value. He fays, in defcribing its properties, '^ As a '•' timber tree, however, it is of little ufe ; *•' being only valued by the wheel-wrights, • •' to which they prefer Birch and Beech."
Prefuming that the ufeful inferences from the foregoing cannot efcape the at- tentive reader, I fliall clofe my obferva- tions on the properties of the Scotch Fir with remarking, that heathy foils and ele- vated fituations compofe, jointly, at leaft jialf the land likely to be planted for pro-
[ 62 ]
(f^^^iC^
rf^^fit in this country; and, therefore, confi-
'^^!:;:7 deringthat, in addition to its other proper-
'^^'**^f;f7ties, it is the only plant which will thrive
^ J^^ the one, and the beft primary fhelter
.yf _i^on the other, it mufl: always be regarded
/7 / as one of mod cxtenfive ufeftdnefs*.
-lA.c^ ^^t^ # 'pjjg following is a ftriking, though by no means ^a^^vi^ ^ a folitary, inflance of prejudice, in regard to Scotch t-fjayft^p**- «Fir Timber.
A gentleman, who had a quantity of large tree? on fale, brought me a fample ; obferving, that " it " fetched only a very low price." As the timber feemed in every refpecl good, except being fomewhat knotty, in confequence of having been grown in the manner noticed at p. 28, it feemed evident to me, that nei- ther the fellers nor buyers had more than very inade- quate ideas of its value. In order to try this point,
in regard to the former, I had a converfation with the perfon employed to fell it, in company with the owner, on the properties of the Fir wood produced on that eftate : when he exprcffed his decided opinion, that *' the Scotch Fir wood was very indifferent in quality.'* However, on producing the above-mentioned fample, he (not knowing where it had been grown) declared it to poffefs •' all the natural properties of Capital Tim-
[ 63 ]
It would be thought fomewhat foreign to the prefent fubjeft to enlarge on the properties of the other firs, commonlv cultivated as plants which are more orna- mental than ufeful ; fuch as the Americam-'^'^^^e ^ Spruce, Silver Fir, Weymouth Pine,V^''^"^
Pineafter, &c. as all of them are dear, a ^ — — ' \ jt,iJ^ •
fome tender, and others apt to fail on be- ^ ing removed ; — ftill, as they are highly ornamental in proper fituations, and as every plant which is fo adds fomething to the real or marketable value of a place, they clearly belong to the fubjeft, and will continue to do fo, as long as tafte and nature (hall equally contribute to the
" ber ; and that he had great doubts if any foil in this
" country would produce its equal." This was the
more remarkable, as he was then in the daily habit of fuperintending the fawyers, who were cutting up trees of the fame age, and grown on the fame fpot of ground ; many of which, being fmaller in fcantling, were, of courfe, finer in grain, and more denfe than the fample produced.
. Z-v^ /^-^ /^Ic- /^ ^^;.y^^^ ^
[ 64 ]
'> /• 9
^_:^ formation of ornamental gardens. Of the
^t^i<f - properties of their timber, however, I have httle to remark, except that, in eve- ry cafe, its denfity feems to increafe with age ; and if, as we have abundant reafon to beheve, the durabihty of fir wood de- pends principally upon the refinous mat- ter found in it, there is no doubt but all of them mi^ht be ufed for numerous build- ing purpofes, after having attained a rea- fonable age.
-.£?/ In a book profeffmg to developc the
^*^^«>/y principles of profitable planting, there *ei^A^c. (-ggj^^ much propriety in particularly no- ^ /^'ticing fuch trees as are in themfelvcs high- ly valuable, but which, from different caufes, are either not generally known, or not in merited reputation. The fpecies now alluded to are — the Witch Elm, the Huntingdon Willow, the Upland Willow, the Black Italian Poplar, and the Hoary Leaved Poplar or Abele,
N
[ 65 ]
Firft, The Witch or Scotch Elm — This ^^'''^^ tree is well known in fome parts of the '^"' ' " country, where it grows fpontaneoufly ; though but little in others, where it does not; — as planters- have generally confider- ed it either as an inferior article, or as one likely to do mifchief in plantations, from its quick and draggling manner of growth : nor do they feem to have at all confider- ed, that if not the firft in point of hardi- hood, it certainly is one of the fecond ; -'y-f-^'/' and the fame may be faid in regard to the / variety of the foils in which it grows \^^^ freely.
The weftern part of the weft-riding of Yorkfhire is rather proverbial, for the coldnefs of its atmofphere, while much of its foil is retentive and thin, upon a clay bottom. On thefe, where the ap- pearance of moft other trees proclaims the want of proper accommodation, the lengthened {hoots and increaftng trunks
[ 66 ]
> -r/f./,, Qf |.]^is evidently evince the contrary.— Certainly on every fituation and foil, not peculiarly bleak or fleril, it is a quick grower ; while it would appear, that its
'"'^^x timber is quite as good, if not better, than the other fpecies of Elms ; and, there- fore, one would fuppofe it merited gene- ral attention.
'jk^ ; It has happened, however, that, in ad- '^^^^•'-dition to the awkward mode of growth already noticed, there is a very prevalent miflake concerning it, which requires to be obviated. — In the quarters where it is bed known, the carpenters efteem it highly, but generally call it, the English Elm; vrhile, in the nurferies, a very different article goes by that name ; and hence, where the former is intended, the latter is commonly procured at a much fupcrior price ; and no wonder, as they are either raifed from layers, (a very tedious pro- cefs,) or are grafted on the Witch Elm ;
/ 2* '*-
[ 67 ]
which method is certainly preferable, as ^'^'^ far as regards the purchafer ; for fuch not only grow abundantly fafter than the others, in equal foils, but never throw ^'';*^' *'^^ out fuckers ; as the Witch Elm produces' J^^]^^'" none.
The objeftion already dated, to plant- ,%,J','} ^ ing this tree in mixed plantations, de-yi/*^^/^ ferves attention, as there are few fitua- ^" '^ , lions where it would not overtop, and / confequently damage many other forts ; of courfe, as a principal, it had beft be planted alone. Yet fuch plantations would be much improved, by introducing a quantity of Spruce and Scotch Firs, with the Birch, by way of nurfes ; as all the four forts would do well together on a' fliff and fomewhat thin foil, where many others would not. — The flielter would ve- ry much correft the propenfity of the Elms to produce ftraggling branches, as well as promote their towering; befides
[ 68 ]
taking off the appearance of naked flems, and a fquare heavy furface; while the pruning necefFary would be very trifling indeed.
In recommending this plant for an in- different foil, it is not to be inferred that it is improper for almoft every defcrip- tion of good ones ; as perhaps few trees would fo well deferve fuch fituations, in the vicinity of places where it may be wanted for the purpofes of the boat buil- der, cartwright. Sec,
{^^^ 27i<? Huntingdon or Swallow-Tail Wil- " lozo. — This plant, though well known as a pollard, has been very little cultivated as a timber tree ; and hence furnifhes a flriking inflance of the fupinenefs of mankind, in regard to the properties of many forts of wood. Every one knows the willows are quick growers ; and yet it is confidered as a fort of herefy to fufpeQ that the wood
[ 69 ]
of any of them can be at all durable. — Mc.ri^ There is befide an obje6lion to this wil- *'l^^*^*^ low, inafmuch as it ufually divides itfelf into a number of large arms, before it ac- quires any tolerable length of flem : — this defeft, however, is to be imputed entirely to ignorance or inattention ; as few trees require fo little management to be made grow with a long, clean, and ftraight trunk.
As a pollard, this willow is, in many places, found confiderably profitable ; ftill I do not recolleft to have feen a rood of it growing as timber any where, though no doubt can be entertained of its obtain- ing purchafers ; as, with extenfive ufefuL nefs, it is alfo confiderably durable; a property which it appears may be much augmented, by fleeping fome months in water, as is frequently done with oak fap- lings ; an excellent pra6lice, and worthy of imitation every where.
[ 70 ]
^»^/C<y>J«- If the queftion were afked, in whicli /Ui t^o. ^^^ J thought a quantity of good, deep, and fomewhat moifl land, in a fituation not expofed, nor polTefhng any local advanta- ges, could be turned to the grcateft pro- fit? I fhould fay, — by planting it with fome or all of the following articles, name- vAc-^c ly, the Huntingdon Willow, the Abele, ^,r,VA^7^i"and the Black Italian Poplar; as all of "^'them fucceed belt in that fort of Soil, arc remarkably quick growers, and would (except in the firft inftance,) require only the fame fort of management.
it^iM^* V^' The advantage of a deep foil over fuch ^^^^-^ ' as are (hallow, fo far as regards the pro- du61:ion of timber, are confiderable, and well worth the planter's attention ; though it may fairly be quefiioned, if more than a foot in depth effentially benefits the ge- neral purpofes of agriculture: — For, firft, trees generally penetrate into or make ufe of the loJiole depth; and, therefore, thouglt
[ 71 ]
the foil nearefl the furface is commonly *- ^^^^r.*J found moO: fertile in timber produce, and^^ ^ it is admitted that the fame fort of fertility ^"^ which influences the growth of grain and grafs materially affefts the growth of trees, — yet it is obvious the latter will thrive in foils where the former would not; — and, therefore, the quantity or depth of foils is always an important confideration ; and more cfpecially fo where proper fpecies of trees are felefted to fuit them; as it is difficult to defcribe any that are fo com- pletely fteril as to be incapable of produ- cing one or more forts of ufeful timber.
Another confideration is, — on deep foils the trees cannot fail to vegetate fome- what regularly, through the whole of their proper growing feafon; being but little affefted by the droughts, which often very materially retard the growth of fuch as are planted on thin ones. — The reafons are obvious : — Roots that are near the fur-
'i^'-Ct « —
[ 72 ]
^''''^''''V'^'face, in a parched foil, cannot extend them- ^ - ^ ' '^ felves in fearch of the neceffary food of the plant, otherwife than very flowly ; and hence its increafe is retarded in propor- tion.— But how different is the cafe of fuch as have part of their roots lower than any confiderable degree of drought can pene- trate; as, at fuch feafons, the lower foil, being afted upon by the warmth and drought fo detrimental in the other cafe, are heji quahfied to afFift in the bufinefs of vegetation; and, therefore, the roots in them not only materially contribute to fupport the head of the plant, but to en- able the others to perform their proper fun6^ions. A healthy tree has a general circulation through every part of it; fo that if one has what may be called ne- celfaries, the others are never found in want. Befides all which, the furface of deep foils cannot be afFefted by ordinary droughts, to any confiderable depth; — as the heat and drought ailing upon them
[ 73 ]
occafion their imbibino: a confiderable «^ ^<*<>i*^>-' quantity of moifture from below. In (hort, ^ '*«^^ it is among the advantages attached to plant- "^'^ ' ing trees, that, in numerous inflances, they convert the useless into useful: They are, in fa6l, a fort of miners, who can find gold, where every other defcrip- tion of miners would feek for it in vain.
Two circumftances jointly hold out ^ ,/ peculiar inducements to plant thefe trees i^ ^^'r in fuch places, as they not only foon grow y^^^/,, /^ ftrong enough to be in no danger of da- -^^^^^ mage from cattle; but they grow fo ex- /.r^^l* A*. ceedingly tall, that the land may foon be ^^^ /^^, returned into pafturage, and become no <^<^?^- -^ lefs produ6live in grafs than before, while '^^■^^^^'^■^ there is an aftonifliing annual increafe in the produce of timber. — Moft people mufl have obferved, how freely the grafs grows under the willow pollards, which have Jhortjiems and fpreading heads, though not more than ten or twelve feet afunder ; and,
K
[ 7i ]
^*^^V*^tlierefore, no doubt need be entertained
jI^J in regard to the herbage, if the trees had
Hems of four or five times that length, and
vt^t. -^'^^..ftood fifteen or eighteen feet from each
i^ xf»^A^ Other. — Indeed, taking into account the
j^i^ manure, (or, at leaft, the rich vegetable
^^**/._:) matter, furnifhed by the decompofition of
fallen leaves,) it feems highly probable
ihat land, fo cropped, would produce
more paflurage than another part of the
fame field, employed for that purpofe
only.
|_ Here two methods, of preparing the
.^ ;3^ foil for fuch a purpofe, prefent themfelves :
^"^' - The firft is trenching the ground about
^ ^ / ciirhteen inches, or, what is called, two
^ fpits deep ; laying the fward reverfed in
the bottom of the trenches. — This method
would certainly very much accelerate the
growth of the trees, but then the ex pence
of it would be from feven to nine pounds
per acre ; and that is not the oi-Jy objec-
[ 75 ]
tlon ; for, as the ground would be turned '^^«/ ^/ up lower than the common fertile depth, it ^^''^^ ^ would be found only in few cafes in a ^ ^ conditipn to bring a crop of grain the ^ y^^-^ firft year, with the plants ; a matter well calculated to reduce the expence of plant- ing, &c.
For this reafon, I fhould recommend that land, previoufly in grafs and intended for fuch purpofes, Ihould be fown with oats the year preceding ; and, in order to the fwards being as much rotted as polTi- ble, the ploughing for that crop (liould be done early in winter. In the autumn following, on the ground being cleared 3nd fufficiently moift, it ftiould be plough- ed at leafl twice; as deep as the plough could polTibly reach, and harrowed after each operation ; fo that it would be fuffi- ciently broken to receive the plants, with a crop of oats, the following fpring. The latter, however, fhould, in the firfl place.
''<£t€€<Aj be fown and harrowed in ; after which,
^ • the planting (hould immediately follow;
r'-^3^^ as, in tkat cafe, it might be done on foils
/^A^jk.)fo prepared, without materially injuring
*. t^ ■ the grain ; for, with refpeft to the wil.
lows, a niche, made with the fpade, would
be fuflficient to let in the fet ; — and, as to
the Abeles and Poplars, tjiey fhould be of
only one year's growth t and, therefore,
might be planted, without moving much
of the foil.
The bed willow fets, for fuch purpo- fes, are made from flioots of two years- growth, of not lefs than about three quar- ters, nor more than one and a half inch diameter. The length may be from ten to twelve inches ; of which, not more than two are to be left out of the ground. — Thefe fets fhould have their tops a little Hoping, but the bottoms are better cut
fomewhat fquare. The diflance be-
tween each plant fhould be four feet. ^
[ 77 ]
The only further attention necefTary, / '^ during the fummer, would be to go over ^ y the willows, as foon as they had formed ^-^ ^. (hoots from three to fix inches long, and^.^^ to flip off all, except the ftrongeft, from****^** *^ each fet; after which, neither they nor the poplars would require further dref- fing, till both had grown two fummers, from being planted ; and then they would properly come under the general fyftem recommended for the management of of plantations in The Forejl Primer.
The fence for fuch a purpofe, being only a temporary matter, might be cheap- ly made by fmking a ditch about half a yard, and raifing a bank, about fifteen inches more. A hedge, or bearding, on the top of it, about a foot high, and placed rather projefting outwards, would complete the bufinefs. This (hould fland
[ 78 ]
**^ / /9 ^^^ ^^ eight years, and be then difplaced, '''f^fo as to leave the field level as before*. J
/ ^^ * Fully aware that the fucccfs of planting fpecula-
tions mtift be influenced by many varying circumflances, I feldom venture upon calculations; ftill, by reafoning from the rapid growth of the forts of trees under no- tice, upon every foil that is proper, we find a fort ok criterion by which to form an average eflimate of what may be the profit of them; before and after the firft feven years from planting. — It would feem a moderate eftimate to fuppofe that two crops of grain, from good land, previoufly old fward, would defray the rent and taxes for the two firft years, and, alfo, the expence of planting and fencing; but were it to prove a few Pounds fhort tliat would not materially affe6l the ulti- mate refult. Suppofe then the rent and taxes to be Three Pounds Ten Shillings annually, that, with com- pound intereft, would in fevan years amount to about Twenty-eight Pounds Ten Shillings. — To this we op- pofe the fuppofition that the plantation incrcafes in value, Five Pounds the firft year ; and to increafe more by Thirty Shillings the next, and fo on for fix years; at the end of feven the acre would be worth Sixty-feven Pounds Ten Shillings, a profit of about Thirty-nine
PoundsK ^ - ^' - ^ . •
> »-v
^ -^<^ - * .^ . ,^ . . % . vs\ Nv^i
. ^^^, — a.
The Upland orJM, ttoigged Willow. — • -^ Why this tree has obtained the appellation ^^■^■^<-^^ of Upland is by no means clear, but pro- bably it has beten fuppofed to grow better than the other Willows in fuch fituations ; which feems not to be the fa6i:, as the Huntingdon Willow grows very rapidly on
Obfervc, it is not faid the trees vv'ould then be worth fo much to fell, as that is by no means the proper mode ot valuing a thriving plantation ; the right method is to have a regard to what may be their probable fu- ture increafed value; and by that means to eftimate their prefent one; as, for inftance, a quick growing tree, now only worth Six-pence to fell, may eafily be worth Eighteen-pence in four years more ; and hence there could be no impropriety in valuing it now at Nine- pence, or one third more than its prefent faleable worth.
About the age ot feven years the thinning fhould *'^ ^^^ commence; and, therefore, an annual produce might /^*^*<»«^»* be had from that time forward; but as no data exifls, « ^'^--^ by which to eftimate its value, the fafer method is to calculate upon an increafing annual produce for at leaft ten years longer; during all which time, as well as afterwards, no doubt need be entertained of an annual
[ 80 ]
/^*«^ a dry foil, of moderate,depth. — However -w^^**^. as neither of them flourifli fo abundantly, there, as on moift ones, they are never Hke- ly to be cultivated extcnfively, except up- on the latter. Probably, in different parts of the country, the two fpecies may be known by names very different from the above, but dill it is evident they are every where efteemed in preference to the others, as we very rarely find a Willow Pollard of anv other fort. — In fummer they may ea-
produce of Twenty Pounds per acre, befides the value o[ the herbage, from the time of the fence being dif- placed.
Evelyn, fpeaking of the Abele, fays " the Dutch *' look upon a plantation of thefe trees as an ample •' portion for a daughter, and none of the leaft efFe£ls *' of their good hulbandry." — We know that this ex- cellent hint was addrelTed more than one hundred and forty years ago to thoufands who had the means of be- nefiting by it, and yet, how lamentable! — we are yet to learn where is the fingle acre tliat was planted in confcquence!! !.
[ *73 ]
illy be diftinguifhed at a very confiderablc diflance, as the Huntingdon appears of a light green, while thofe of the other^ though darker in faft, appear of a hoary or filver-like hue ; in confequence of be- ing covered with a fort of down. — In winter we diftinguifli them by the fhoots of the former being brown, and fome- what brittle, efpecially thofe from two to four years' growth; while thofe of the other are of a dark red, and very tough. Their manner of growth and (hape of the leaves are much the fame ; nor does there appear any material difference in the tim- ber or quality of their wood ; — ftill, in almoft every inftance, the Huntingdon appears to be the quickeft grower ; and, therefore, where it can be procured, moft worthy of attention*. — The plate of the
* It would have been particularly gratifying to have been able to produce fome decifive proof of the durabi- lity of thcfe forts of Willows; but as I can ftate nothing pofitive from my own knowledge, it muft mffice to
/ ' ""■'- ■
[ *74 3
/^^^ Willow in Hunter's Evelyn's Silva, gives //a^^*^^. ^ ^gj.y correft idea of this fpecies.
Undoubtedly thefe Willows are both calculated for extenfive ufefulnefs, as Tim- ber, but unfortunately, for want of a good method of training them as trees, in the firft inftance, and, in confequence of very limited and vague ideas of their proper- ties, they remain, as from time immemo- rial, claffed among the woods of loweft value.
The Black Italian Poplar. — As this fpecies is not mentioned in either Evelyn or Millar, it feems to have been introdu- ced into the country fmce the latter work. An opinion which, I think, is confirmed by the circumftance, that no old trees of
remark that every thing I have gathered from either the obfervations of myfelf or others, goes to eflablifli the faft; while not one c'rcumllance has appeared (pre- judice excepted) to difcredit it.
[ *75 ]
it are to be found any where ; and, though ^Ur-k.
it is now common in the northern part ^^^^ of England, we very rarely find it in the "^^ fouth; while the Lombardy rears its un- graceful form every where.
Unfortunately, moft perfons take their ideas of the Poplar tribe from the appear- ance of this plant only; — an impreffion fo far unfavourable, that, with many, the whole fpecies are in difgrace. — But though expedations (which were much too fan- guine,) have been, in a meafure, difap- pointed, in regard to the Lombardy Pop- lar, it by no means follows that fuch will be the cafe with the Black Italian: — in- deed, matter of faft proves, that, as the one finks, the other rifes in the fcale of efl:imation, fo far as they are known : — and hence, with myfelf, it is matter of doubt, whether the very extraordinary en- comiums which ufed to be lavifhed on the former, at its introdu6tion, were not, iu
*r ,
[ *76 ]
^iL^
faft, founded upon the merits of the lat-
It is quite as hkely that the Poplars of Italy, in general, (hould have been ob- ferved, as thofe of Lombardy in particu- lar ; and it is far from clear that both are not grown in every part of the country ; and, therefore, a very trifling miftake might lead to the confequence now allu- ded to. We know that the merits of
the one are abundantly fuperior to that of the other ; but why the latter fhould have been introduced by fo many encomiums^ and the other none, is difficult to conceive, except by fuppofmg, that, fomehow or other, they have exchanged both names and reputations.
The Black Italian is very different from the Lombardy in form, as it almoft uni- formly rifes with a light but regular conic head ; being fo hardy as generally to pre-
[ *77 ]
ferve the fame leader, from the ground to '^^^f^^^J-- an immenfe height; in confequence, its ftem is remarkably ftraight ; and hence, in plantations, very trifling attention will form it clean^ to any reafonably required height.
This tree is an aftonifhingly quick grower, on every fort of foil that may be called tolerable, though it certainly luxu- riates moft of all in deep fertile ones ; while its timber is applicable to purpofes fuER- ciently numerous ; among which is thai of making very good floors ; and. therefore, no doubt need be entertained of its al- ways commanding purchafers.
In that fort of planting which perhaps may be confidered as moft of all profitable, namely, that which adds to the comfort and confequence, and, of courfe, the value of a place, previoufly fcantily furnifhed with that important appendage — Wood,
[ *78 ]
.i^//v^^ this tree is excellent ; as, injudicious hands,
f :^X»^ it may be made to produce very confider-
• "^ able efFe6ls, while many others (highly
efleemed) would produce them in profpe6l
only. In fhort, for diftant fcenery,
where Woo d, not fpecies, is the immediate objed, this plant, hitherto in many places a ftranger, is clearly fuperior to all the family of the foreft*.
* As the Lombardy Poplar is well known from its peculiar ercft manner of growth, it affords the eafy means of defcribing the Black Italian by comparifon. — The leaves of both are very much alike in colour, fhape, and turn, the only difference being in the latter producing them fomewhat larger than the former, though not near fo large as the other Poplars, whofe leaves are at all fimilar. The branches of the latter grow much lefs ere6l, and, likewife, much thinner up- on the ftem. — The only other diftmftion neceflary is the bark, which on a flera or branch, of from two to four or five years' growth, is always found fmoother, and of a much darker colour than any of the poplars that are at all like it in other refpefts.
[ *79 ]
The Abele or Hoary Leaved Poplar,—- t.-^i-/- In bringing this article under notice I can- not help remarking on the utility of an -Author introducing famples, in preference to mere defer iptions of valuable woods, hitherto but little known and lefs under- ftood, as is the cafe with the prefent fub- jeft; certainly it was fomething like this that firft convinced me of its extraordinary worth ; as, though in common with other people, I have been in the habit of read- ing defcriptions of the Abele, it was not till a late vifit to my honoured patron Lord Sheffield, at Sheffield-Place, Suffex, that I had any clear ideas of its being any other than a white, and, alfo, a light
As, in my profeflional excurfions, fouthwards, I have been generally difappointed of meeting with the article at the nurferies, and have frequently had other forts fubftituted in its place, there can be no impro- priety in faying here, that, whoever finds a difBculty in procuring it, may be furnifhed with the true fort, of any ufetul fize, by addreffing a line to the author.
[ *80 J
^/^^^ wood, of extremely quick growth, and ra- ther inferior than fuperior to the general fample of poplars.
That Nobleman, who upon every pro- per occafion manifefts a decided parti- ality for national produce, has lately made fome Floors of this Wood, which, in appearance, are fuperior to any floor I have feen, whether of Deal or Oak; and, as to durability, I fee no reafon to doubt of that, if the denfity and weight of the article be confidered, in connec- tion with fuch teflimonies as books af- ford relative to the point.— Floors, how- ever, are only one of the many inferior purpofes for which it is applicable; as it is certainly proper for almoft every article of furniture ufually made of mahogany. For the lighter defcriptions of it, now fo fafliionable, it may be made a very good fubftitute, without any other addition to the natural colour of its heart than the means
[ 81 ]
cabinet makers generally refort to, in or- ,.^^e€^y
der to heighten the colour of fuch wood;
and with refpeft to the fap, and where
more of colour is required, the aqua-fortis
{lain will inflantaneoufly produce it, fo far
as that it would be difficult to diftinguifh
it from real Mahogany. — Indeed, it is e-
qual to the bed, in colour and fmoothnefs
of furface ; and much fuperior to the plain
or inferior forts in thofe refpe6ls, as well
as tranfparency and variety; and it has
the further advantage over Mahogany, and
mod other woods, that it takes but little
of either oil or rubbing, to produce upon
it the fort of ftiellow (hining furface, fo
much admired in furniture that has been
fome years fubje6led to proper attention*.
* It is evident, that notwithftanding all which has been faid by authors, (and certainly they have been by no means fparing of their encomiums on the timber ot the Abele,) fomething more is neceffary to induce ^ men to either plant it liberally, or take proper care of t^»«^ what they have growing. — It' the improved faraples,
L
[ 82 ]
Planting on Steeps.— As thefe are fitu- ations confefledly unpropitious to the cultivators of the foil, they naturally fall Under the cognizance of planters. — But, though mofl: of thefe can eafily fee the propriety of planting them, few are ap-
produced with this treatife, added to the circumftance of the plainer forts ot mahogany being now worth Sixteen Shillings the folid foot, produce no benefi- cial efFefts, I fliall fay that prejudice has indeed ufurp- cd the place of common fenfe.
Lord Sheffield, who kindly furnifhed mc with the wood for famples, has feveral extremely large and tall trees of this fpecics, moft of which have been planted rather for ornament than ufe, being in the avenues. — They are fomewhat brittle, and, therefore, liable to be broken by the winds on cxpofures; fome of his Lord- fllip's have fuRered in this way; ahei which they very much refcmble the trees fo much admired in the pic- tures of Salvator Rofa ; who moll probably took a hint
from their piflLirefque appt-aiance. Nor has Homer
done them lefs honour, as the following dclcription evidently alludes to this fpecies only, the appearance of all the other forts being very different:
[ S3 ]
prized how peculiarly they are adapted •^^^•*^^ to the purpofe; or that there are five rrefpefis in which they are clearly fuperi- or to kvels.
So falls a Poplar, that, in watery ground, Rais'd high its head, xoithfately branches crowri'd^ (Fell'd by feme artift with his (hining Ocel, To fhape the circle of the bending wheel,) Cut down it lies, tall,fmootk, and largely fpready With all its beauteous honours on its head.
Pope.
From this we gather, that the wood was then in ufe fof making wheels, (perhaps, water wheels; and, if fo, it furnilhes a proof uf its durdbihty in muifture: — but if not, it fhows the high opinion then entertained, ot the iUength and toughnefs ot its timber.)
There is a variety of this poplar, which the planter, who wiflies for quick growth, will do well to keep clear of. — Its leaves are rather lefs, with a furface fomewhat more fhining, and of a darker green. — The underfide of the leaves is whiter as the down is finer, and lies
much clofer than that on the others. This does not
grow near fo quick as the other, and ufually goes by ihe name of the Shining Leaved Poplar.
[ Si ]
' Firft. — They admit of a greater quanti- ty of trees being planted upon an acre, or otherwife they allow to every one an increafed quantity of furface. — To de- monftrate this faft, which has been long and frequently the fubje6l of difpute, we have only to obferve, that, in meafuring a fteep, the dimenfions of its hafe, and not the. furface, is or ought to be taken : of courfe, on fteeps fimilar to the annex- ed figure, the bafe and the furface differ
L 85 ]
as five to four; and, therefore, in foils of»^*'^^ equal depth, a faving of one in five is"^' *^' clearly gained, by planting upon fuch a deep. Where the afcent is lefs, the faving will be lefs in proportion.
Secondly.— Trees planted on fleeps have likewife an increafed quantity of air. To prove this, we have to confider that as, upon the average, each tree muft rife above its fellow, equal to the proportion of the afcent, fo each will have fo much the greater quantity of furface expofed to the influence of the atmofphere : — where a moderate portion of that is want- ing, we may have trees tall, but they will be proportionably weak; where too much is admitted, they will be ftiff, but Ihort; a fl:eep ferves, in fome degree, to moderate the two extremes; and, therefore, as well as on account of the increafed furface, it is evident, that more timber may be reared upon them than upon levels.
[ «6 ]
0 if*^u^ If the face of a fteep be concave or >-v^/. convex, or partially fo, the trees will be more iheltered than if it prefent a more even furface ; as, in either cafe, the current of the wind, infiead of fweeping in a llraight direftion among the ftems, or upon the fummit, will be broken in particular places ; and hence much of its force will be lolt.
Thirdly. — On fteeps, trees are more fheltered than on levels of equal eleva- tion,— In confidering this matter, two points of the compafs are out of the quef- tion ; as when the wind blows along the fteep, its effefts muft be much the fame as from blowing along levels. When it blows from behind, or down fuch fteep, there will be a calm among the trees, except fuch as are near the fummit. But, to counterbalance this acivantage, it may be fuppofed, that, when the wind blows up the fteep, its force will be confider*-
[ 87 ]
ably augmented, by what is added in (^i^-^^^ the afcent ; which certainly mud be the '^ ^^ cafe, fo long as the furface is fomewhat bare. — The matter, however, becomes materially different, fo foon as the trees get a few feet high ; as, from that time, the wind has to travel over a fort of hollow furface, and, in doing fo, great part of it finks in, and dies away among the branches.
Fourthly. — It appears that, by plant- ing on fteeps, more of the adjoining lands will be (heltered, than by planting the fame quantity of ground on a plain. — Here, for the fame reafon as in the lafl cafe, two points of the compafs muft be left out of the queftion. — As to the plain beneath, it will be completely fheltered to a confiderable diftance, provided the planting extend to the fummit of the hill ; as the trees w 11 have a tendency to throw the current of the wind confiderably above the level of the plain at its feet.
[ S8 ]
c<:ti^*^^^ The effcfts of the winds bio win q- up .♦r*^a^^. ^ {^ecp have been mentioned: — on this head it is to be noted, that the cfFe6l on the grounds beyond the deep will be obfer- vable at diflances, in proportion to the flrength of the blafl: ; certainly the moO: violent will operate at the greateft : — for as the windj in driving up a deep, gets augmented by the level current, it, by that means, becomes fo powerful as to drive the current, which otherwife would fweep along the fummit, to fome height above it; when the flrength of both being reduced, by refifting each other, they defcend to the ground together, at a diflance from the top of the hill; greater or lefs in proportion to the level of the furface; — where the ground falls, the flicker operates to an extent almoft beyond credibility.
On levels, the current of wind fweeps* immediately along the heads of the trees.
[ 89 ]
from one end of the plantation to the ^^i-^fij other; while very little of its force is loft"^' fe^<*. by finking in among the branches*. — Cer- tainly fuch lituations prefent nothing con-
* At Stanmer, near Brighton, the feat of Earl Chichefter, feveral of the tops of the hills, which are direftly oppofed to the fea breeze, have been planted; in thefe cafes, many of the verges of the plantations exhibit ^a clofe iront, quite from the ground; fome- thing fimilar to that of a clipped hedge, but, floping much the fame as the ground below them. The height of the front ranks of the trees differing, in proportion, as they approach to or recede from the brinks of the fteeps while almoft every branch and twig bends from theblaft. — This circumftance, added to that of the trees having been planted very thick, and each producing a flat head, ferves to condu6l the whole current of the wind to every part of the plantations within its reach; in con- fequence, no tree can tower there, (the Scotch fir ex- cepted,) otherwise than as they rife en majfe. — To re- medy the evil in fome degree I have advifed, to thin fuch fronts confiderably ; as, bv that means, much of the current will fink in, and be luiled among the front trees; which, in themfelves, can only be valuable as (helters to the others.
M
r 90 ]
(^.^^r^ fiderable, either to break, elevate, or difli-
pate it; and, therefore, it mufl fall to the ground, not only much nearer, but with much greater force than in the other cafe; and hence the efFeft of the flielter will be proportionably lefs.
In many fituations, advantages may be gained, by planting the higher parts of fleeps with the tallefl: and quickefl grow- ers ; as fuch means produce a fort of concave fummit, which abforbs more of the wind than an inclined plane; and likewife throws the remainder higher; of courfe, its defcent would be at a greater diftance, and the flielter increafed accord- ingly.
Fifthly. — As whatever is ornamental adds not only to the ideal but the mar- ketable, and, of courfe, the real value of an efl:ate, we may obferve, that planting on fteeps has an extraordinary claim to
[ 91 ]
attention, as producing one of the nobleft ' f^%^*^*y fpecies of fcenery, at an expence whichv'" *^^^^ compared with that of moft other im- provements, muft be confidered as tri- fling in the extreme. — I need not dwell on a feature which may be called equally bold and beautiful, A Hanging Wood ; as that is univerfally acknowledged ; — but mayjuft touch on fome matters not fo generally known : — for inftance, contrafl- ed with planting on a plane, that on a fleep gives the idea of abundantly more in quantity ; as, on a plane, moft of the ground feems to be loft, except from fome particular point where a bird's eye view can be had of the trees. — The whole fur- face of a fteep, on the contrary, may ge- nerally be feen from many points ; and, when covered with wood, always appears larger than its real dimenftons.
It fliould be obferved here, that, to give the greateft poftible idea of fize^
[ 92 ]
r^^^ the higher termination of fuch planting '^'"'^/'^-fhould, by extending beyond the fummit, be hid from the principal points of view, and more efpicially fo when it ferves to bound a lawn or park ground. When fuch is the cafe, and the plantation is of confi- derable length, it fhould have one or more large breaks through it ; as thefe, with the concealed termination of the planting, would give the idea o{ continuation to fuch ground, and the woods would appear to be large and xoit/iin them, inftead of proclaim- ing, as it were, their termination, and ex- hibiting, at the fame time, a ftripe of plant- ing perfeftly inconfiderable*.
* The delightful rcfidence of Blythe, near Bawtry, will foon prefent a (Inking praftical inftance, of the efFcCls which may be produced by the fort of planting juft mentioned. The park grounds, in front of the manfion, are chiefly flat; but, to the left, are termina- ted by rifing grounds, planted: — the two ends with Oak the centre with Firs: — the whole fhowing clear- ly that the Park ends there, — At the fame time, the
[ 93 ]
When the furface of a fleep to be (y^A^^ planted happens to be fomewhat regular,^' '^^^ or an incHned plane, and the higher part of fuch planthig will be feen from be- low, the objeft then is to improve and not conceal it: as in the latter cafe. — For
heavy appearance of the firs point out from the houfe, their own termination, as well as that of the oaks, which otherwife would not be difcovered, as they ex- tend fomewhat beyond the fummit of the hill. — It hap- pens, that the winds have torn up many of the firs, and the reft are by no means in a thriving ftate; I have, therefore, fuggefted the propriety of taking them down, and converting that fpace into grafs; which will prefent the idea of the park ground being continued between two confiderable oak woods; as the view will only be terminated either by the honzon, or trees, at not lefs than three miles diftance. I may obierve too, that at prefent, there is no approach to the place from which it can be feen otherwife than partially, and to great difadvantage; a deleft which the propofed means will completely remove; as from a road, fituated juft be- yond the higheft point of the intended break all the fine features of the place will, injiantantoujly burft upon the traveller!!
I 94 ]
C^k.^;^ this purpofe, fome of the tallcft and quick- ^ *^'A, g^ growing trees may be introduced into the highell fide of it, as mentioned under the lafl head;— as fuch means would, at once, increafe the apparent fize of the planting, and the height of the hill ; and, and at the fame time, prefent a fort of concave furface, which would be confi- dered as abundantly more bold and beau- tiful, than one either convex or an incli- ned plane.
Adopting of Species, bed of all fuited to the foils, is a matter well worthy of the planter's mofl deliberate confideration : certainly they who negleft it, have no well founded claim to the appellation of Profitable Planters. — Nothing can be more abfurd than the planting of extenfive tra6ls with many forts, confeffedly with an eye to profit, without due regard to f election; for though, in mofl foils, any of the common forts of foreil trees will grow.
[ 95 ]
yet, in almoft every inftance, fome one or "-^Jy^^ more will be found luxuriating abundant- '^ ly more than the others ; and, hence, it is the planter's buhnefs to ufe his utmoft fagacity to afcertain the fpecies, either be- fore he begins, or, at leaft, before he has made much progrefs in the bufinefs.
In doing this, I would ferioufly caution him againft trufling to Theory, provided more fatisfaftory means prove within his reach; a circumftance very feldom want- ing.— The method I have generally adopt- ed, when confulted upon fuch fubjeds, is to make an excurfion among the trees y;.„,^,'^. in the neighbourhood, and to examine <h^^v^^ the foil where any fort or forts are**t^^'^ found moft thriving, in order to determine how far it correfponds with that intended to be planted. — In fact, I never give a de- cided opinion till repeated obfervations have fatisfied myfelf as to the moll proper fpecies.
[ 9Q ]
♦ i'^^/^r^ It will readily be fuppofed, that, in do- '^^'^'^^'mg fo, an old planter cannot eafily divefl himfelf of what he has previoufly learned ; and hence (hould it prove, that the fpe- cies, /icppojed to be mofl proper, w^as not found growing in the neighbourhood, in- quiry (hould be made for the neareft place "\vhere it might be met with on a fimilar foil, or as nearly fo as circumftances would admit; by which means, it could rarely happen but the feledion would prove very good, if not the bed which the foil admitted of.
Perhaps the neceflity for fuch obferva- tlons will be evident, upon confidering, that every foil, exhibitmg the fame fort of appearance, does not poffefs exaftly the fame fort of properties. — For inftance, on ftiff foils the Larch has, of late years, failed very much; which, however, does not prove that fome of them are not well calcu- lated for the article; as, at Woburn, they
[ 97 ]
grow as well upon foils moderately ftifF, as ^ /*' upon the fand; which circumftance, I pre- fume, may be imputed to the former being confiderably calcareous, or what may be called a fpecies of Marl. — On chalk lands, vv?^/^/^^^^ we obferve the foils on the furfaces to dif-^^^- '" - fer materially ; fome are very ftiff, and ^ ^^ jAA others very light, and yet the Larch is />? J^^i-lr-. found to grow freely on both defcriptions ; ^ which may probably be imputed to the caufe juft noticed, namely, the calcareous matter found in them.
Again, the Oak is generally obferved to flourifh moft on a loamy or fomewhat ftiff foil, often where it is very much fo; but yet I do not recolleft to have feen it flourifh abundantly on ftiff calcareous foils any where; though it will be readily ad- mitted, that on fome of them it grows much better than on others.
N
[ 98 ]
yy^^ The foil about Sheffield-place, before mentioned, produces timber in general, quicker than any other which has fallen under my particular obfervation; and, what is moll; remarkable, the Oak and the Larch flourifti eqiiallyxx'^oxi it; though it would feem too light for the former, and . too ftiff for the latter*.
*■ In order to afcertain the conftituent parts of this foil, fo remarkable for the produftion of timber, Pro- feffer Davy fubmitted one hundred parts of the entire foil to analyfis, which produced the following refult:
Water 3
Silex 54
Alumine 28
Carbonate of Lime 3
Oxide of Iron 5
Decompofing Vegetable Matter . 4
Lofs 3
100
Again: — It appears, that the growth of feveral forts of trees is materially affec*
^**^^ *^*>^/ '^^ l^^'^^'i^^ ^f ^^ *^«^r:^
[ 99 ]
ted bv the des^ree of mineral taint found* ^^^™^ in the foil; — a circumltance which never ^ directly meets the eye. — Above Mines, ,_ /d"^^ , and in their neighbourhood, we feldom find /^^^/ *^-^^ the timber growing freely. The Larch.^^^/^ feems particularly averfe to fuch fituations, **^ while the Oak and Witch Elm appear lefs y ^^^^^ affefted by them than timber trees in ge- ^^f ,/^«^. neral. In (hort, it may be fafely af- ^v^T^/t-/^ ferted, that, though experience will gene- rally enable us to form a pretty accurate judgment of the fpecies mod proper for any given foil, yet obfervation added to it, will furnifh a much fafer guide; and, there- fore, no one is excufable in negle6ling it.
When the planter has fully availed ^^^^^^^ himfelf of the foregoing general obferva- ^^ tions, he may probably find an advantage ^^y^-.. i" in attending to the following defcrip- tions of the foils, upon which the more ufeful fpecies of Foreft Trees will grow and thrive.
[ 100 ]
. ,.»fe<s Firft, The Oak. — This generally feems to grow quickeft on a deep and fomewhat ftifF foil, but yet any perfon of obfervation » muft have feen that it grows well on every
fpecies that can be called good. On fand and very ftiff clays it will grow too, but very flowly; and, therefore, an attempt to raife it on fuch cannot be confidered as profitable planting
The AJIi,— -Grows mod freely on a
deep loamy foil, more particularly if it be in a confiderablc degree calcareous. — It likewife grows well on the more tenacious forts of Bog Earth, after they have been drained. Generally, we may remark, that its quicknefs of growth depends upon a to- lerable quantity of moifture,and not a fmall one of what may be called natural fertility, of which it is a prodigious confumer. — However the tougheft, and, of courfe, the befl A{h, in quality, is ufually found to be
[ 101 ]
produced on a foil light, but neither very ^ .^ moijl nor fertile.
The Elm. — Under another head (fee ^'^'^ p. 6^i) the properties of the Broad Leaved Witch or Scotch Elm have been noticed. The Narrow Leaved, or what is ufually called, in the Nurferies, The Englifli Elm*, is rarely found in plenty, except where the foil is dry, light, and moderately rich. — It is true, we often find it thriving tolerably, in plantations, avenues, &c. where the foil is ftiff, moift, and poor \ but, in fuch cafes, it will generally be found, upon examination, that it has been grafted, as is ufual, upon the Witch Elm; and hence on thefe, as on every other foil, its growth is confiderably accelerated.
* It is probably called Englijh Elm, from the cir- cumftances of its abounding in the hedges, in many parts oi the country ; but, fmce I have never known it to produce feed, and know that in fuch places it pro- pagates itfelt by fuckers, I think it improperly fo called.
^A^^i^tf Among both men and books, ii rt-
'^"'^^fl^nains matter of difpute, whether the tim-
^^ ' ...
, "" ber of the Englijh or Witch Elm is beft.
Undoubtedly eaeh may be preferable for particidar purpofes; and certainly they muft differ in quality, in fome degree, from the circumftances of age, foil, &c. Such a difpute, however, feems proof fufficient that both are very good; and therefore, choice, and the fituations may determine the fort to be planted, provided it be du- ly noted, that the latter grows moft freely on every foil, and that the former grows but very flowly on indifferent ones; except it has been grafted upon the latter*.
* I have lately procured a new fort, apparently a variety ot the Witch £.lm, which grows quite as ereft as the Englifti, and abundantly quicker than either that or the former. It the timber do not prove of inferior quality, it will be a valuable acquihtion, in both ufeful and ornamental planting; as, in a few years, it may be fold at the fame price as the grafted Englifh Elms.
[ 103 ]
The Beech.— 1:\\\^ tree may be faid to '^^/'XiA be peculiarly the inhabitant of dry foils, .SLJLl. including fand, gravel, and chalk ; on all of <^*^-^^>^ which it grows very freely. On {liflF ones too it will grow, but not near fo well ; and hence it deferves no place on them, other- wife than for fhelter, or to produce variety^
The Spanijh Chefnut. — This tree, like / ^r>^. the laft, is found to thrive bed in a dry foil ; and like it too, will make prodigious pro- grefs where it is far from rich. — On fandy ones, where the oak would make but flow progrefs, I have feen this grow ex- tremely quick ; and, therefore, in fuch cafes, the latter fliould be fubftituted in the place of the former. — Its wood and bark are known to polfefs the fame valuable proper- ties as the Oak, in an eminent degree ; while it is, in a meafure, exempt from what may be called its principal defeft, namely, the perilhable nature of its fap or younger wood — Hop-poles and flakes of this wood
/.y /,
are efteemed every where, for their great r^,,.^^. ^urabihty, which, of courfe, have but Uttle of heart in them. On wet or ftiff foils, in the northern part of the ifland, the (hoots of this plant feldom get fuEBciently ripen- ed ; and hence their extreme ends are often killed by the winter's frofts ; and, therefore, attempts to raife it on them, for timber, ufually prove fruitlefs*.
* I have really been aftonifhed to obferve the rapid progrefs of this plant on fandy foils; more particularly at Berry Hill, near Mansfield. If the proprietors of lands in that quarter, who are anxious to raife oaks upon them, would, inftead of planting thoufands of that article upon an acre at a great expence, content them- felves with planting two or three hundred fmall Chef- nuts among Larch, Firs, &c. and take care to prune them, either annually, or every fecond year, as they are apt to iorm double heads and large branches; and like- wife take care the other trees did not over-top them, I am perfuaded they would, at a very trifling expence, pro- vide a fupply of the heft fpecies of timber, to fucceed the firs, &c. Perhaps, on the fandy foils in that quarter, more planting is done and doing than on five times the
[ 10.5 ]
7lie Sycamore. — Perhaps few trees will *^'^^^-' grow and even thrive (the Scotch Fir ex- ^ye^^^ cepted,) on a greater variety of foils than the prefent fabjeft ; for it feems to rejeft none but Bogs, and the moft barFen heaths : ftill it evidently kixuriates moft of all on a deep and fertile loamy foil, where, of courfe, it is not ftinted in regard to moifture. I have obferved a large tree of it growing freely on the fide of a brook, where a con- ftant ftream waflied more than half of its bafe; its other roots being in a dry foil. This proves it thrives in a confiderable degree of wet ; ftill it may have too much ; for I have feen fine thriving trees, of twenty years' growth, killed by the water foaking from a ftream on a higher level, and keep- ing the foil, (naturally a dry one,) in which they grew, conftantly wet.
fame fpace in any other part of South Britain. — Should the above hint be generally adopted, pollerity will have rcafon to fay, It was well that ever the author traverfed Sherwood's barren Sands.
O
[ 106 ]
'";* Poplars and Willows. — Having alre^-dy
1-~ introduced the Black Italian Poplar, with
the above, and the two befl fpecies of Wil- lows for Timber, and fhown what are their V^'.^^-i'nofl favourite foils, it needs only to be added here, that, though they are all re- garded as aquatic plants, all of them which we confider as valuable for timber, will thrive better in a very moderate than a great degree of moifture; and they will al- fo grow freely on a dry foil of tolerable depth; — nor do they refufe either a ftifF foil or a fand, provided they are not very barren. — In truth, were we but half as well apprized of the various purpofes to which their timber might be properly ap« plied, as we are of the quicknefs of their growth, I am perfuaded they would then be confidered as fubje^ls worthy of gene- ral attention.
The Larch. — As the extraordinary va- lue of this article gets^ annually, better un»
derflood, there is fo much the greater need ^J^^^^
■^tit i>-7 ^tt
of clear ideas of the nature of the foil, upon which it will ultimately fucceed; for as, hi- therto, it has been planted indifcriminately on mod forts, and failed generally on fome, and partially on others, there is fome dan- ger of its cultivation being difcouraged.
Why this plant (liould be attacked by infe6ls, on lands deep, rich, and good, */ *^**^*^ where it had previoufly grown well, while Ai^^ it has continued to flourifli in fpite of bemg fo attacked, on foils every way inferior, feems extremely difficult to account for; the faft, hovrever, is obvious; and, there- fore, without indulging in objeftionable theories, we may certainly pronounce it an unfafe fpeculation, to plant the article libe- rally onjliffi humid, or deep richfoils> ex- cept they fliould likewife be confiderably calcareous.
^"^ ^-' Perhaps no part of South Britain has ^ayie u. fufFcrcd fo much, from the ravages of the infefl, as the South Weft part of York- fliire; as there the beft and richeft lands have fuffered very generally. On the moors, alfo, there are many inftances of confiderable damage. Of the latter, how- ever, it muft be obferved, that the cruft or furface, (a black moorifh or heath foil,) Xvhich is certainly unfavourable to the ar- ticle, differs as much in depth as from five to fifteen inches, and we frequently have both extremes in the diftance of three or four yards. The fccond ftratum is gene- rally fuch as the plant will thrive in; and it is, likewife, in moft places, of confidera- ble depth ; and hence it is that the trees, planted in it, ufually grow well from the firft; while fuch as are planted in the fur- face foil only, never make much progrefs, till their roots have penetrated through it; mean time, (of late years at leaft.) fuch
t ''' ^ ,^//.^
have been found almoft uniformly infefted - with infe6ls.
It (hould, alfo, be obferved, that though fuch under ftratum is all of the fame colour, (a reddifh fort of fand,) and generally full of loofe ftones, it diflFers materially in quality: — where the leall quantity of ftones appears, the foil has the leaft of grittinefs, and there the Larch fucceeds the beft; — where the ftones are moft plentiful, the foil proves proportion- ably (harp, and there the plant thrives fo much the worfe. Still, though the above may be conhdered as a general refult, cafes have occurred where the plants have failed partially, where they had previouf- ly grown well, and where their roots were (apparently at leaft) m the better fort of foil only ; a circumftance which feems al- moft to puzzle conjefture. But ftill, if two trees have grown nearly alike, and al- moft clofe to each other, for feveral years.
[ 110 J
^^i^*^' and the one gets afterwards much infefted *.^7^/^. with infefts, and the oiher very hitle, we may be fure there is a caufe for the differ- ence, and that it muft be with the roots. If the whole oi one fet continues to work their way through a deep and favourable foil, while a part of the others meets v/ith obftru6lions, from loofe ftones, with but little of earth among them, or folid rock, as muft often be the cafe in thefe moors, we fhall then have accounted for the caufe, — a deficiency of earth and moifture. One tree muft, in confequence, be much weaker than the other; and it is well known, in regard to fruit trees, that fuch are always moft fubjeft to be infefted by infe6is. Certainly nothing has yet ap- peared to ftiow, that a very large propor- tion of thefe extenfive heaths is not well calculated for the produ6iion of this very valuable tree, but paft events have fliown the neceflity for juft and careful difcrimi- nation.
I 111 5 /., ,
It is, indeed, highly confolatory to find, — : ~
by collecling fafts from many diilant parts of the country, that though, on ^ mofl: of the fandy and calcareous foils, the ,^*^ ^ infetl has been very numerous, yet, / .^ hitherto, its effeds have been but httle /? prejudicial; and, therefore, v/e may rea- fonably conclude, that they are peculiarly favourable to the plant; and hence, on them, its cultivation may he moflfafely ex- tended.— Indeed, when we confider of how little value many extenfive trails of both defcriptions are, for the general pur- pofes of agriculture, and how much the reverfe for the produftion of this article, as well as many other fpecies of timber, we can aflign no reafon why more of them are not planted, but that their value, in that refpe6l, has hitherto been but imper- fe6lly undexliood.
As to the infe6l, there is reafon to hope that we have feen the mod deflruc-
./.
[ "^ ]
tivc of Its efforts ; for, in the queater that has been mentioned as the fcene of its former triumphs, as well as every other which has come under my notice, its ra- vages feem to have been upon the de- creafe for the three laft feafons; and, during the prefent, it has done fo httle harm that, were it never again to become more numerous, it might be confidered as no longer formidable.
The Scotch Fir. — The aflonifhing man- ner in which this plant accommodates itfelf to every defcription of foil has been men- tioned, (fee p. 54;) in addition to which, it may be obferved, that the only cafes in ■which it will not thrive is a bog, too wet for any plant, (aquatic excepted,) and a clay, too fliff for any part of the vegetable creation to thrive in. In the latter cafe, the reafon of the failure is obvious; and, as to the former, it can only be imputed to the moifture ; as, in a drained bog, the
t 113 ]
plant luxuriates prodigiouily. It need «>C^. not here be laid, on what fpecies of foil this cyfc^/^/ tree will thrive beft, as it is rarely plant- c^^TT,^ ed with an eye to quick growth only ; nor do I think the matter clearly afcertained ; and, therefore, it may be enough to ob- ferve, that wherever any tree will grow freely, (the aquatics excepted,) the Scotch iir will do the fame. Its peculiarly value- able properties, fuch as growing on heath foils, and on expofures where no other tree will thrive, have been particularly at- tended to, p. 54 — 62*.
* It has often been obferved, in the nurferies, that ^^«y,^^ this plant exhaufls the foil lefs than any other; as, after ^ /Ia.*c^i a crop of it, the ground is always found in a condition *^^^'<. \.K) bear other articles. Whether this arifes from the circumftance of Imothering it only, or from the plant fubfifting on lefs quantity, or a different fpecies of nutriment, is not clear; but, perhaps, all ot them may, in fome degree, contribute to produce the effeft fpoken of. — We know, that it can fubfift, and even thrive, on a nutriment which would ftai"vc mofl other trees; and we know too, that its roots being but iittlc
P
- . [ 114 } .
^*^^^ The spruce Hr.— The proper foil for.
—^ — and the extraordinary value of this article, have been noticed at length, p 38 — 48, and, therefore, here it feems neceflary only to prefs upon planters the advantages of ufing the plant liberally, in order to promote the towering of fuch deciduous trees as are intended, ultimately, to form the bulk of plantations.
Here I may particularly remark, that both authors and planters are in the habit of erring egregioufly, in regard to
fibrous, are hence fo much the lefs calculated to ex- hauft the foil. The afn has already been noted as a prodigious exhaufter, but it only is fo in proportion to the extraordinary quantity of its fibres. Perhaps it may be found, that plantations, mixed with Scotch Firs, ufually produce a greater weight ot wood upon a given fpace, than where it is excluded; and, if fo, it can only be accounted lor by fuppofing, that fome or all of the caufes above mentioned contribute to produce fuch an effea.
[ 115 ]
the proportion of principals and nurfes; y*^-^
as they generally ufe as many, or more, of ~"/^
the former than the latter ; though it is very ""^^^^l . eafy to (how, that they ought to ufe three times as many of the latter as the former, (^c* ^ For inflance, when trees are planted at i^ ^^*i'- four feet apart, each occupies a furface of '^^'^''^ fixteen feet; of courfe four of them will ^'^^/^^^ occupy fixty four, or a fquare of eight '/"^'^ ' feet ; and, therefore, if we plant three nur- fes to one principal tree, all the former might be difplaced, gradually, and the lat- ter would ftiil (land only eight feet apart.
It has already been remarked, that nurfe plants fliould, in every poflible cafe, be fuch as are mod valuable at an early period of growth. It is repeated here be- caufe the idea is of much the fame impor- tance to the Profitable Planter, that a good foundation is to a builder ; — the point is indeed of the firft importance; and^ therefore, any prudent planter fliould
1,;/
/ >^ have it engraved, as it were, upon his me- mory;— the confequence of which would be, a Hberal ufe of the Larch and Spruce Fir, for the above purpofe, in every cafe where they would grow freely : — Still it is not intended they fhould exclude all others, more particularly the Birch, which, with moil of the properties of a good nurfe, fuch as numerous branches and quick ,growth, on any tolerable foil or fituation, is, likewife, highly ornamental. It is not, however, like the others, a wood of general application; and, therefore, much of its value depends upon local cir- cumftances; and hence, before planting much of it, it fhould be confidered for what purpofes it would be wanted in that quarter; and, likewife, the probable quan- tity ; as a very moderate one will overftock the market, with an article of timber not ufeful for general purpofes.
It muft be acknowledged, that the ,.^/^t errors of extenfive planters are neither 3/o >4^4* few nor fmall; — but yet I do not hefitate Hi'>-**xtA to affert, that all the reft are trifles, in com- u^^*^^ parifon of the miftakes in regard to proper "^ ^^*/^^ fpecies for this purpofe. — If we caft our eyes over the lift of the more common forts of deciduous trees, we fhall find that, with the exception of the Larch, the ufes of their poles, up to three or four inches diameter, are far from numerous ; and hence it is eafy to overftock any neighbourhood'"^^^ " ?*» with them, for they will feldom bear the '"''''' ^^^' expence of long carriage.
I could point out an eftate, fituated u->t€/fa,i^ where firing is very fcarce, that would ^'*- ^'^^ produce more poles and faggots, the com- *' ^'^^'"- ing winter, than the proprietor can dif- ^ pofe of for a dozen years to come ; nor would lowering the price very materially increafe the demand: — The confequence of which is eafy to forefee; the plantations
[ 113 ]
f /u*A,^«<jjvill be very much damaged for want of T*^ ^.^ timely thinning; mean time the propri- ^ /jTj/ etor's return, from them, but trifling. If the value of the larch and fpruce fir had been known previous to planting, and alfo that the foil is much more pro- per for them than any other article of nearly the fame valuer they would natu- rally have obtained a preference, and the plantations would now have been highly produdive, as the immediate neighbour- hood would have taken off a large quantity of both, at a good price; but, unfortu- nately, there we find almoft none of the former, and but few of the latter. — In (hort, the cftate exhibits feme hundreds of acres of thriving plantations, upon which no expence (fuppofed to be need- ful) has been fpared; and yet I fee no reafon to think, they are now of more than half the value they might have been made, at a much lefs expence, by attend- ing to a proper fele6lion.
[ 119 ]
I could point out many other exten-ZV,..^/?*,.,^ live plantations, which confift almofl ex- /^/»^ ^ clufively of Scotch firs, though the foil is f^^ti^ equally proper for the fpruce and larch. In thefe cafes we ufually find the market overftocked ; and, hence, either the price of produce is kept low, or the thinning is negletled, but more commonly both.
Perhaps we fhall be fomewhat near the truth, in obferving, that where Scotch firs are in tolerable plenty, a moderate fized tree of it will fetch about half, and a pole one third as much, per foot, as the ^ foreign fir timber; which difparity could not happen,- if there were not a doubt of durability in the one cafe, and a certainty of the want of it in the other ; neither of which would now be the cafe, in regard to the larch ; and as to the fpruce, the fpirit of invefligation now abroad infures its worth being duly appreciated very foon. — The prefent high price of foreign wood leads
f 120 ]
^^^'^*^ Ao two defirable confequences : — It not "rM^ '-only flimulates to plant, but to look into the properties of native produce. — In fome cafes, it creates a necelTity for doing that which may ultimately prove highly ufeful, in the way of experiment.
^•^Ut^t^ Perhaps it is a new idea, that a much
^^V^ greater weight of wood may be produced, ^ /JtI ^^ "^^y given quantity of land, by plant- ^^^^^ing in mixture, than by ufing any one ^ fpecies only ; and if fo, ornament and
'/xc^e^r utility may be faid to go hand in hand. y^y^^^r-y The fa6t, however, is of a nature not to be either eafily or fuddenly demonflrated by experiment; and, therefore, we mufl appeal to obfervation, in the firfl place. For myfelf, I have long been fatisfied that fuch was the cafe ; having never yet feen a quantity of any one fpecies growing to- gether, which left the idea of an abundant produce upon my mind; though the
reverfe has often been produced, in ^^^^^<t^^
cafe of mixtures.
The agriculturifl uniformly counts e-'^^^-^'^ upon producing the greateft quantity, by '^^^^'^^ repeatedly changing \h^ /pedes ; and the "^ inftances already produced are fufficient to fhow, that trees have what may be called a choice in their food, fo far that they do not thrive equally on the fame foil. We know, that fome trees penetrate deep, while others have moft of their roots at and near the furface; of courfe, by ufing both defcriptions, the foil is more com- pletely occupied. It may, likewife, be reafonably fuppofed, that the decompofi- tion of a mixture of leaves produces a mat- ter more favourable to the produftion of trees, than the produce of any one fpecies applied to itfelf. — On the whole it ap- pears, both reafon and experience will ful- ly warrant the conclufion, that the great-
[ 122 ]
ell pofTible quantity of Timber is to be obtained by planting mixtures*.
Preparation of the Soil for Plantijig.
If we were to take our ideas of this fub- je6l from what might be found in books, we (hould be led to think, that any thing fhort of a very expenfive preparation would be the hight of folly; or rather, that it amounted to a fpecies of infanity ; as it would be equally a wcfte of Land,
-'^ ^-^^^-^^ * It has frequently been remarked, that deciduous f^it*vJ^^<iri^''^rees thrive much better among firs than when planted ■ y^^ ^ -^ alone, and the difference has been ufually imputed en- ^ / - y,.-' tirely to the flielter afforded by the latter: undoubtedly . fuch fhelter is, in mod fituations, highly beneficial; but
V^ U fhould be noted, at the fame time, that all the refinous
tribe are different in nature, as well as appearance, trom deciduous trees; — the tormer (it appears) cannot fo far exhaufl the foil as to render it unfit for the produc tion ot the latter. If this idea be correft, it is evident ijiat, in order to raife plantations of any fort of deci- duous trees, quickly, we (hould plant much lefs in
[ 123 ]
Money, and Trees.— If, however, we look^'*^'*^*^ fomewhat attentively into the matter, wey ^s'^^* fliall find fuch as are moft loud in praife of preparation, are men who have learned little, or perhaps nothing from experi- ence;— for true it is that, exaftly in pro- portion as they have been taught in that fchool, will be their means of diftinguifti- ing between what fort of preparation is neceffary, prafticable, and poh^ic, and the reverfe.
Moft certainly the public have no rea- fon to thank writers, who talk about pre- paration, without making tlie neceffary
quantity of it than of firs. If five hundred and fifty of (Jcyj^^' — fuch fpecies were allowed to an acre, they would ftand „.-i,— — — about nine feet apart, which is quite near enough to produce a tree of any tolerable fize and figure. — We are fure, that the fame fpecies confumes exactly the fame fort of nutriment; and, therefore, every extra plant of it reduces what ought to fupport fuch as are intended to remain as tenants of the [pot.
[ 124 ]
^^j^^f^iftinftions; as it ferves to throw chflRcuI- V ties in the way of what is in itfelf equally
beneficial to fociety and individuals; by reprefenting it as abundantly more tedious and expenfive than it is in faft. — How- ever a httle confideration may (how any one, how little fuch are acquainted with the bufinefs; for, were it otherwife, they mufl reafon very differently; — from a knowledge, that at lead nine tenths of the lands, allotted to ufeful planting, are either too /leep, Jiony, bii/Iiy, or hca- thy, to admit of the fort of preparation alluded to ; — or otherwife too fandy to need it.
Undoubtedly, fands and heathy foils comprife jointly, more than two thirds of the land likely to be planted for any pur- pofe in the country ; and, as to the former, a little rcfle6lion will fhow, that an expen- five preparation is perfe6lly unnecefTary, as nature has, in a great meafure, fitted
t 125 ]
them for the purpofe it is intended to^^^^M^f ferve, namely, to provide a loofe foil, iny which the roots of the plants may meet with but little obftrutlion. — Sands are generally found light enough; and, there- fore, the difficulty chiefly refts in ihe/oul condition in which they are often found; but, even in fuch cafes, a fallow may and generally ought to be avoided; as moft^^^^^^ fands are, to a confiderable depth, as fa-^-^^i,^. vourable to the produftion of trees as the furface ; and, therefore, we have only to difcard the turf, &c. — and then to loofen the fand below, and ultimately to plant in a hole fome inches deep*.
* The advantages of this method feera evinced, by what has happened, in the laft feafons to the planters on the fands in the neighbourhood of Sherwood Foreft. There, 1 am told, many have loft more than half their plants, in confequence of the long continued and cxceflive drought. In the planting done there, under roy dire£lion, the above method was followed, in con- fequence of the land being extremely foul, upon
[ 126 J
)
'/ii^ui^^ Undoubtedly, a fallowed furface would
'*^^*^- occafion the trees to grow quicker in the firfl place, but there are feveral drawbacks upon that advantage; as firit, the lofs of plants would be much greater in the firft inftance, as they would have neither {bel- ter nor fliade, as in the other cafe; — fe- condly, the vegetable matter, previoufly upon the furface, would be loft to the trees; which, otherwife, would be found highly beneficial, after they get fo clofe as to fmother and rot it. — The greatcft draw- back, however, remains ; — the expence
which, the lofs has proved trifling, except, in one in- ftance, being part of a plantation ot about twenty year's growth, where the plants failed generally in the firft in- ftance, while they did well on three fides of it; as was the cafe with a quick hedge on the fourth: — there we loft about half the quantity planted, being larch and fpruce firs only. — As there fcems no way of account- ing tor the taiJures on this fpot, but by fuppofing fome latent defeft in the foil, 1 purpofc to try to remedy it by expofing a quantity, from each failing hole, to the influence of the atmofphere, during the coming winter.
I 1^^7 ]
/^/ of the fallow, which, in itfelf, would be J^A''';'
more than ought to finifh half the plant- v ^
ing ; and, therefore, though it may often
be pra6iicable, it can but feldom be
proper.
As to heathy foils, we find many of /^*^M^ them to differ but little from the lafl, fo far as the produftion of trees is concerned; becaufe a thin cruft of fuch foil, upon a fandy bottom, is extremely common ; which is fortunate to the planter ; as he needs but to difcard to the black furface Earth, and to plant, in the fand below, as directed for the laft cafe.
In regard to deep heathy foils, they ^ ^/. are only qualified for the produ6lion of ^i^'^^^ the Scotch Fir; and that article is well known to pofTefs the property of pene- trating into foils the mofl tenacious ; and, hence, it may be faid, to require but little afTiftance from either the plough or the
[ I^« J
^>**^^fpade; and yet, with a fort of liardihood vV«^ .almoft proverbial, it is one that fufFcrs me- terially from expofure ni the firll: inflance; a fa6l which many planters have experi- enced much to their coft. — It happens, that moft heathy foils are, likewife, expo- Jed\ and, therefore, a preparation, which would extirpate the heath, its natural fhelter, would endanger the fuccefs of a great proportion of the plants ; and there- fore, though very expenfive, it is far from a fafe method. — In fome cafes, where the heath is very long, it may occafion great difficulty in the holing, and, likewife, the fmothering of many of the plants. In this cafe, the bed method is to burn it down, at leaft one feafon (but better if two fea- fons) before planting; as, otherwife, the expofure would occafion the fort of lofs jufl mentioned.
Perhaps our knowledge of the internal ftrudure of plants is too limited, to en-
«/t.-5
[ 129 ]
able us to define clearly the ftate of Ian- ^*^Ar. guor or difeafe, into which they are '^f^'^t thrown by removal, or the feparating of that intimate connexion which fubfifted between their roots and the foil. Still, ex- perience teaches us, that certain caufes will produce certain effefts ; and it is from careful obfervations on thefe, jointly, that we come to a tolerable knowledge of c3^t^^/ what is neceflary to the fafe removal of ^;^/ J trees. We know, for inftance, that, oiivC:«*/^l elevated ground, much expofed to the /C<. weather, the frofts and winds of a very moderate winter will kill a tolerably large fir, though it (hould be removed with the whole of its roots, and planted with every poffible degree of care ; and, like- wife, flaked, fo that the wind could fcarcely move it at all.
As, in this cafe, the plant might be ob- ferved to be in a dead or dying ftate, be- fore the want of moifture could have con-
[ 130 ]
*^^*v^~^tnbuted to produce fuch efFeft, we can 'ft/^^, impute it to nothing but the cold ; becaufe 5<' ' y.' .had the fame tree been planted in a fhelter, *»v- and hmilarly treated, it would certainly have furvived its removal.
We know, alfo, that the more we re- duce the roots of plants in general, (par- ticularly firs,) fo much the more are they fubje6l to fufFer in removal.
A plant, which retains only its largefl: roots, requires a greater degree of heat and moifture, to fet its vegetative powers in motion, than one which likewife re- tains its fmall ones. We can feldom re- move a tree w^ithout the lofs of a part, (generally a large proportior^of the latter fi and hence we infer the neceffity of fnelter- ing firs, in the firfl inftance, as far as the circumfl:ances of the cafe will admit ; and, alfo, the propriety of managing, fo that they may require as little of it as pofiible.
[ 131 ]
We can, for iadance, remove a Scotch /^^^^^^j! fir, of one foot high, without lofmg many i^f-t^lf. of its fmall roots, while one of two feet <:^ — ,;, would, in that operation, lofe mod of them.—Ahiioft any fituation naturally pro- ^ duces what will, in a greater or lefs de- gree, fhelter the former, w^hile very fev7 will afford it to the latter. This fir is, at befl, a bad rooted plant, or one vrhich makes but few roots, and thefe long ones, in proportion to its height; therefore, by confidering all thefe circumftances, it is prefumed, the caufes of the heavy loffes that fo frequently follow the planting of large ones, on bleak fituations, may be na- turally accounted for.
Confident with the above ideas, inde- x^^*'/^ pendent of avoiding a heavy expence, I ^^ *^''' never advife the breaking up, and, of y ^n courfe, leaving bare, an expofed and hea- y^i£,. thy foil, but, inftead of it, make holes among the heath, (in the manner that will
uc^ fo l,e clire6led ;) conftantly making ufe of '''^'^*' plants fmall enough to be fheltered, and r ''•//yet not fo fmall as to be fmoihered by it ; of courfe, they are planted both in (bel- ter and fhade. — The former prevents their being flarved, in the way that has been mentioned, and alfo prevents wind-wav- ing, which would otherwife form a cavity round their Items, fo as to admit of drought, and occafion confiderable lofs. — The latter, by partially excluding both the fun and wind, prevents them from much exhaufting either the moillure of the foil or the juices of the plants ; and hence the bufmefs of vegetation muft be earlier fet in motion, and more regu- larly carried on, than where the cafe is otherwife.
Having now attempted, at leafl, to develope the principles which ought to influence the prafclice of planting fandy, light, and heathy foils, wherever economy
[ 133 ]
is a leading objeft, we may next advert to m/^^ "■• the cafe of ftiff ones, which are confefled- ^^J^. ly the mod difficult; becaufe, though it «^fe(^^ may be eafy to caufe the plants to groio on them, it is quite another thing to caufe them to thrive \ and, therefore, except where particular circumflances call for it, I am no advocate for planting fuch as are more than moderately tenacious, e- fpecially if they, likewife, ^rov& Jliallow, ^ "'^^ It is admitted, that a tolerably ftrong foil may be highly produ6live, in fome fpecies of timber ; more efpecially, if deep : — a thin, ftiff one, however, cannot be fo pro- du6live, as both its quantity and quality have a direft tendency to ftint the growth of the plants, in all feafons, but more particularly fo in dry ones.
When the planting of fuch foils be- comes necefiary, it is a fortunate circum- llance if they happen to prove in grafs, and capable of being ploughed ; as, in
^'-y'^ilidii cafe, the eafy means are afForded of
£_ .' bringing the roots of the plants and ih^
^^/.^ir rotted fvvard in contact ; — the latter of y/taJ^i.*^ which will not only produce nutriment for the former, but a more eafy means of extending themfelves, in every dn-etlion, in fearch of it. A foil naturally fliff be- comes abundantly more fo, by being long under tillage: by fallowing we can clear fuch of noxious weeds, but cannot prevent them from running together again in con- fequence of the next Ileeping fhower.
The befl method I know, of preparing fuch for planting, is to plough them, and take a crop of any fort of grain they will produce, the feafon before they are in- tended to be planted ; wherever a choice is prefented, that which will be mod fmo- ihering (liould be preferred, as having the greateft tendency to rot tlie fward. — In autumn, after the crop had been reaped, and the ground moift, but not wet, it
[ 135 ]
ftiould be well harrrowed, and that imme- ^^A*^^*^^ diately followed by holing with the fpade;^^-^^^ which work (hould be done by chopping ^^^r^*'^ the foil to the width of about a foot, but ^^*-^'^ not deeper than the furrov/, and then pla- cing it round the fides of the hole, rather flat, fo that the frofts may eahly penetrate it during the winter.
As the difficTilty of working fuch foils is obvious, fo there is a neceffity for at- tending to them juft at the critical feafon, fuch as we ufually experience, repeatedly, in autumn; it can be of little confequence whether it prove in September or O£lo- l)er, fo that the ground be in proper order.
And obferve, it is more fafe to plant fuch foils rather late in fpring, than early; as, in the latter cafe, the foil would fel- doni be found dry enough; and hence the plants would be crammed into a clod of clay; and would, likewife, be in
[ 136 j
'7^A»*<^danger of being thrown out of it, by fuch ^^^'^^'^frofls as might happen afterwards, without /yy/> -^ being at all benefited by fuch as had hap- pened before. On the contrary, by late planting, we fecure all the benefit of the winter's frofts, without the danger from them juft mentioned ; and, likewife, can plant v/hen the foil is fufficiently tender, but not fo wet as to flick together ; with little danger of fuccefs. Under this ma- nagement, it is meant to make ufe of part of the harrowed foil, on the furface, by drawing it round the trees, fo as to raife the former furface about two inches, to the breadth of about eighteen. The reafon for this is, to afford the opportunity of placing the trees fufficiently deep, with- out putting their roots lower than the track of the plough, and the direftion of the difcompofed turf; a matter highly important to the growth of the trees. Such foils certainly afford but few ad- vantages, and, therefore, there is fo much
[ 137 ]
ilic more reafon to avail ourfelves to the/^^^/v utmod of fuch as we find. Confident "^f"^ with what has been advanced, the befl tJ^^Ji^ plants for fuch foils will be the Scotch and ^i^i^^i^ fpruce firs, with the witch elm and the birch; the firs not more than nine the others about twelve inches high. — The variety may be increafed by other fpe- cies; but it is prefumed, in fuch cafes, the above will generally be found the quickeft growers.
In foils of the above defcription, w^hich are incapable of being ploughed, the re- verfing of the turf is indifpenfible ; becaufe the furface foil will be abundantly more light and fertile than lands of the fame fort, which have been often turned and mixed by the plough. Indeed without turning in the furjace, in order to put the beft foil in the diredion of the roots of the plants, I know of no method
108
A**Cof planting, in fuch a cafe, with any rea- ^^^^^^^fonable chance of fuccefs.
;^^^^^ The metliod will be to turn the tuif completely, with all the foil adhering to it, with the fpade, in as large portions as may be found convenient; as fuch me- thod w^ould not only be the mod expedi- tious, but under it, lefs of herbage would vegetate, than if turned in fmaller por- tions; it would, likewife, afford the means of planting in the centre of the flags, which of courfe, would be for fome time, tolerably, clear from weeds ; hence much of the danger of fmothcring the fmall plants would be avoided.
On fuch lands, we ufually find a very tough fward, which (hould be in a meafure reduced, either by a crop of grain, or being fallow through the following fum- mer. Certainly nothing would, ultimate- ly, be loft by the delay; for as, after it, the
[ 159 ]
^y -
ground would be found mellowed, and tlie*^^^**^
Jierbage rotten, fo the riflv from drought, v^—-- which othcrwife would be confiderable^^'^^r*^ would be nearly done away, and the plants ^^^ for two or three years, be found to grow much quicker than if planted a vear fooner.
As fuch turning the foil is to be con- fidered as tantamount to the ploughing di- re61ed in the laft cafe, the feafon for the operation, and method of making the holes, fhould be the fame; and the fame Vv'ill apply to the manner of planting, lizc, and fpecies of trees, &c. only as here there is no harrowed fur face ; therefore the foil to deepen that immediately round the trees, may be collefted from any other part of the furface, where it is found in the befl condition.
A foil fmiilar to the foregoing, previ- oufly under tillage, is among the cafes by no means favourable to the hopes of the
[ 140 J
'5'*<w*^* planter ; if, however, he has particular ^4^***^ reafon for planting them, he muft likewife '^/p^^ refort to particular means of preparation ; t^^«» the mofl effeftual of which would be found to be a fallow, fo far complete as to'irra- dicate not only the perennial, but the grea- ter part of the annual weeds ; for, other- \vife, they would inevitably fmother a great proportion of the very fmall plants, which alone are proper for fuch fitua- tions, except the additional cxpence, of hoing among them for tv/o fummers, was fubmitted to. It is not here fuppofed, that the moll complete fallow would en- tirely preclude the necelhty for hoing, or, at Icaft, cutting down part of the weeds, but it certainly might very materially re- duce the bufinefs. An autumn fallow is as peculiarly fitted for the irradication of an- nual, or weeds produced immediately from the feeds previoufly lodged in the foil, as a fummer one is for the deRruftion of fuch as are produced from roots. It is
[ 141 ]
among the difadvantages of fallows, made ^9^<><*^^ preparatory to the fowing of wheat, that '^^ ^ : the grain is ufually fown about the time -^ ^^ when the feeds of weeds are moft of all difpofed to vegetate, on the foils under notice; a very unfortunate circumftance, but not at all applicable to the cafe in hand ; as here the ftirring of the foil, which occafions the deftru6tion of fuch weeds, may be protrafted to a much later feafon. In mild autumns, we often find feeds to vegetate freely to the latter end of Decem- ber, it is not then too late to flir the foil, if it do not prove too wet.
The neceffity for forming fuch lands into fomewhat narrow ridges is evident, for otherwife the water would lodge m and upon them, in winter ; which would not only damage the plants, in the firfl inftance, but caufe the foil to bake fo hard, in fummer, that the trees would make but little progrefs in it. The foil from
[ 142 ]
"^^^^ihe furrows would like wife be beneficial, /^^^^^ by contributing to the general depth. If it ^ji'J^^ be objefted that fuch ridges would con- ■^ ^ fine the fpreading of the roots, it may be anfwered, that, before the plants could re- quire much fpace, a foil would be accumu- lated in the furrows, (except on confidera- bk declivities,) fufficient to cover the fmall fibres, fo that they would crofs them ; after which, the plants would derive fup- port from the adjoining ridges, in addition to their own.
/^/^
»*i9j. In lands fomewhat fleep, the ridges had befl be formed with a moderate fall aerofs the declivity, and thefe again croff- ed by ditches, at from forty to fixty yards diflance, to take off the water, and prevent it from wafhing ihe foil down the furrows.
The fpecies of plants for this purpofe fhould, of courfe, be the fame as in the foregoing inftances ; but the fize fhould be
[ 143 J
lefs, as fuch are beft qualified to accommo-' '^i^**^ date themfelves to thefe unfavourable foils/ ^'^ r^ The bell fizes, I conceive, to be Scotch
firs of two years old, fpruce three ditto, ^^•'>*^ birch two ditto, and witch elms the fame; «^^**^*^ all of which fliould have been one year tranfplanted, in order to improve their roots. Where variety is an objeft a few of other fpecies may be put in the mar- gins; fuch as the oak, fycamore, horn- beam, mountain afli, laburnum, &c. as all of them will grow, though not fo well as the foregoing ; the fizes fhould, of courfe, correfpond with the others.
Before I difmifs the fubjeft of thin ftiff foils, it may be well to imprefs upon ^ the mind of the reader the peculiar ufe- J^^^ fulnefs of the Scotch fir in fuch fituations; ^*^' as, by its fhade and flielter, it tends at once to meliorate the atmofphere, and the foil. The former is obvious; and, as to the lat- ter, no plant is fo well qualified to thrive
^^«#«*^^^y'
[ 14^ ]
poll ibem, and of courfe, fo fpeedily 16 ^^^^o imother anddecompofe the vegetable mat- '^^^^, ler they produce; indeedj from the time it '>^/i^^^-*4^ gets to fix or eight feel high, the rotting of its fpine furniflies not only a nutriment, but a conduftor for the roots of the other trees ; as Its foil, fiielter, and (hade all contribute to promote their fpreading; and, of courfe, their fuccefs in the fearch of that efTential articleybo^. A root, protefted by the (hade of a Scotch fir, will travel, as it were rapidly and in fafety, not upon but fo near the furface that, by the time it gets half an inch in diameter, it frequently burfls its fcanty covering, after which, we may perceive to a demonftration, that every part of the foil is completely employed in fupport of the trees.
^t^X^^
The management of a ftiff and fome- what deep foil, capable of being plough- ed, will differ in three refpefts, from the firft cafe; as firft, the furrow fhould be as
[ 145 ]
deep ploughed as could be laid tolerably 7^'<^ flat ; fecondly, the harrowing may be omit-v .^'^^'***^ ted, as the trees may be planted level •^^^•^ with the furface: thirdly, firs, of a foot, ^^^A^ and deciduous trees, of eighteen inches, may be ufed. Where fuch lands have been previoufly in tillage, a fallow will be neceffary, if the ground prove foul, but if not, it may be difpenfed with; as where plants of fizes as above are ufed, trifling attention will prevent them from being fmothered.
Where fuch foils are incapable of being ploughed, holing with the fpade fhould be reforted to in autumn. The fize of the holes about fourteen inches wide, and ten deep, if the foil will permit. When one hole is made, the fward from the next is to be taken off, and placed with the grafs fide downwards, in the firft. About one third of the remaining foil may then be thrown upon the fward to prefs
[ 146 ]
^-^^^H^iX. down, and promote its rotting; and ;'^"^t^ the other two laid clofe round the hole, ^ij^^^ not in large lumps, but broken a little, i^tc^ , fo as to benefit the more by the winter's
frofts. This cafe would require plants of
the fame fizes as the laft.
f^&jC The previous preparation, of once
Ia<^s>^ ploughing and a crop of grain, is certainly- applicable to every foil, that has been fome years in grafs, and is capable of being ploughed ; it being not only a good but a very c/im^ method; the difference in value between a crop of grain and one of grafs being generally in favour of the former, confiderably more than the expence of the ploughing, — Undoubtedly this method leaves the ground in a fituation peculiarly calculated to forward the fpreading of the roots, and to promote the general growth of the trees ; and, bcfides, the holing after fuch crop, would only coft about half as much as after grafs. The general differ-
[ Ii7 ]
cncc of management for a thin and a deep^^^^^'^ foil has been juft adverted to. ^J"^-
While recommending the ufe of thq, plough, the cafe of a thin chalk foil natural- ly prefents itfelf ; as thefe have been found ^%^J*i abundantly produdive in many valuable *''W^.. fpecies of timber ; mean time, the elevations in which they are very commonly found, Hand in the utmoft need of flielter ; while the lofTcs which have followed planting fuch of them as have been long under grafs, fliows clearly the difficulty of the bufmefs. Generally thefe loffes have hap- pened from the circumftances of drought and expofure ; and, therefore, means fhould be ufed to guard againfl both. To effe6l the former, in an eafy and cheap manner, I know of no means fo proper as the fort of ploughing and croppingjuft adverted to; — ftill it will fometimes happen, that the foil will not be produftive in grain; but, even in that cafe, the ploughing will apply ; if
[ 148 ]
'^A*JLxS\t. foil is too poor to make it defirable to >ff^**^^_fow grain, the lofs in letting it lie fallow F^- /? /for one feafon cannot be much ; it muft, i^, at leaft, be abundantly compenfated in the fuccefs of the plants.
As thin chalk foils are generally rather light, they do not require to be long ex- pofed to the frolls; and hence fo much the more time may be allowed for the fward to rot, before part of it be turned up by holing. It may lie reverfed from Oftober in one year to December in the next, or fourteen months, and flill leave time enough for the frofls to operate, fo far that the foil may eafily be feparated from the grafs roots.
The difficulty in planting fuch foils is threefold ; — for, if planted early, the frofls often throw the trees out of the ground. If planted late, the drought frequently kills them; and generally the expofure is
[ 149 ]
fuch that many of them fail by that means. There is, however, a method of protefting ^^f^t^^*^ the plants againft all thefe evils, which, ^ .^ in common cafes, cannot coft more than /.^^ 8s. or los. extra expence, per acre: it arifes out of, and forms a neceffary appen- dage to the method already pointed out; it is this : — After the trees have been plant- ed in the ufual manner, part of the furrows, moft diftant from the trees, is cut into lengths of about twelve inches each ; and one of them laid on each fide of every plant, not clofe, but fo as to form a cavity, juft wide enough for the lower branches not to be preflecl together by the foil : the diredion of the cavities muft crofs the principal current of the wind.
The way in which this fimple procefs effeds the fpecified purpofe, is alm(;ft too obvious to need explanation ; but, as it applies to a branch of the art which can- not be too much extended, 1 may obferve,
[ 1^0 ]
M^'«w«^'^hat the pieces of the furrows fo applied, ^^2*'»*#M.?. prevent either the fun or wind from dry- -7 :? yt/'^'[^g the foil, otherwife extremely thin, -xf They, likewife, prevent the frofls of fpring
from penetrating fo low as the roots of the plants ; which, by congealmg the moif- ture, raife the furface; and hence either loofens, or throws them out of the ground ; of courfe, by this method, planting may be done early, a matter highly important on thin hght foils : on thefe it is alfo very de- firable to plant as fliallow as poffible; by this means, the higher parts of the roots may be placed not only level with the fur- face of the ground, but fomething above it, by drawing together a Httle foil to cover them.
As this cafe admits of only very fmall plants, fo the flielter from wind-waving, afforded by the flags, would be confidera- ble ; for as the firs, which are mod of all fubje£l to fuffer by it, fliould not be more
[ 151 ]
than five to Teven inches high, the broad i^^^^v«4^4 or branched part of them would be fcreen- ^J^^^^ ed, fo far that the plants could be little ^i^^; e-Ai damaged by it. *<c^^.
As, in this cafe, there is no danger from weeds, very fmall plants only fhould be made ufe of; fay larch and Scotch firs of two years, fpruce ditto, three ditto, afh, beech, birch, fycamore, &c. two ditto, all of which {hould have been tranfplanted.
The quantity of each fpecies fhould be varied, in proportion to the expofure: where mod bleak, there a confiderable proportion of the Scotch firs, with a tole- rable quantity of the birch, {hould be ufed; where lead fo, the other articles will be more proper ; more particularly, the larch ; it being, all circumfl:ances confidered, by far the moft beneficial article that can be planted on fuch foils; and hence, in plant- ing of theiiiy the fhekering of it fliould al-
[ 1.5^2 j I 4^AtA^i^ vvays be matter of the firfl confideration :
^^*^ ■ and, for that purpofe, the Scotch fir and ^ c^^A birch will always deferve a preference.
The general ufefulnefs of both, forfuch purpofes, is well known; ftill it may be ufeful to remark here, in regard to the bnxh, that, on fuch foils, it ufually rifes faft- er, and hence overtops and crouds the other trees. When, as this happens fre- quently, in four or five years after plant- ing, it will be proper to cut it down clofe by the ground, early in fpring, which will occafion it to form feveral flioots jnllead of one flem ; each of which, produ- cing numerous branches, placed low, will form a very clofe flielter; — generally in the courfe of the firft fummer, they will rife to be as high as the trees they are in- tended to prote6l; fo that, early in the fecond, fuch plantations will appear to be rifing much more regularly, and better fheltered than before.
[ 133 ]
Perhaps no better proof can be advan- ^^^^^ ced, of the want of a good method of v£llll! planting thin chalksfoils, than the confide-*^'. ^^< rable loflTes in plants fo frequently found •^'^^« ^ upon them; and this fa6l again points out the ufe of fome diredions, in regard to re- placing fuch failing plants. As ploughing is, in this cafe, out of the queftion, fo the method that neareft approaches to it (hould be adopted; which is, to cut out the whole foil, (fward included,) where the trees are intended to ftand, in circles of about eigh- . teen inches diameter; and to turn thefe, with the grafs downwards, into the fame holes they were cut from, the time for rotting the fward, and the other circum- ftances of this cafe, fhould be the fame which has jufl been detailed, with this dif- ference, that, upon account of the (belter from herbage, &c. the plants may be larg- er, and they may ufually be conveniently prote6ted from drought and fpring frofts
[ 154 ]
^''*'' by making ufe of part of the grafs, to
A- — — cover the raw furface round them.
Vee,/!0^*>cd The method of preparing any foil that ^^f^^^^^i^ deep and hght, need not be long dwelt upon: — If the principles already advanced be duly attended to, it will not be difficult to difcover, in regard to them, what may be proper; and the reverfe for different fituations. Generally, it may be obferved, that the more of vegetable matter there is found upon the furface, and the greater will be the advantages to be obtained from turning it in; — and certainly no means is fo pradlicable, in large defigns, as the ufe of the plough, followed by a crop of grain. In good foils, producing rank herbage, there is always great danger of fmothering the trees, except they are planted fo large as to greatly enhance the expence, and be in other refpefts improper. By ufing means to rot the herbage, we change what would otherwife deftroy the plants, into a
[ 155 ]
nutriment highly beneficial to them ; in- S-^^^l*^^ deed, by fo doing, they are foon enabled '^*^»^' to rife above danger from fuch circum- flances. It is true, that, under this pro- cefs, we may flill expc6t fome quantity of weeds, but they would be fuch as would be rnuch eafier kept down, than a general crop of grafs, &c.
On lands light but poor, the quantity <^jQ^£'^t of vegetable matter upon the furface is >^i^ ^^ feldom great, nor is there much danger of the herbage fmothering the plants; and, therefore, the fimple method of holing, by turning the produce of the hole 77^^/^272^, into that lajl made, will frequently prove the mod: proper as well as convenient. Undoubtedly there are perfons who wifh to refort to the bejl methods only, without regarding the expence; particular fitua- tions warrant an extra expenditure. In the bulk of cafes, however, the faft is different ; and, therefore, we beft promote
.[ 156 ]
'^'"'•^^^le bufinefs by duly attending to cheapnefs tl^-of method.
As light foils do not require the opera- tion of frofts to reduce them, fo where there is no fward, or not many large or root weeds, it may be fufficient to only turn over (and break the foil where need- ful,) in the places where the trees are to fland.
y^^^ The method of preparing fmall patches ^i«J-e^i of ground for planting, by digging or ""^.trenching, is well known to every prac- titioner; and, therefore, is only introdu- ced here for the purpofe of obferving, that wherever fuch expence is thought neceffa- ry, the keeping the ground clean, for two or three years, or till the plants will, in a great meafure, fmorher the herbage, will generally prove the fame : for where quick growth is effential, cleanlinefs of appear- ance is ufually of confequence. Slight
[ 157 ]
crops of potatoes, with fhort tops ; or tur- "^A^^ nips, may be admitted into fuch planta- v ""^ ' tions with advantage, for two or three ^^^^.^^ years, as they create a neceflity for anv^-*'^^^" nually digging or ftirring the furface, and^^/ "**" tend very materially to accelerate the growth of the plants. It may be objefted, that fuch crops muft impoverifh the foil, and no doubt but fuch is the fa6l, fo far as common vegetables are concerned, but as to the produ61;ion of wood, it has already been (hown that its fupport depends, in a great meafure, on a different fpecies of nu- triment; and hence I could never obferve that fuch cropping damaged it materially.
The preparation of rocky foils proves «^^^ fometimes rather difficult, yet certainly *^**^^' - moft of them, which are of little value for the general purpofes of agriculture, are qualified to be highly produ6live in timber; and hence fuch little difficulties ffiould
^rj/-^ never be permitted to fland in the way of /^^Z^ ip\'dniing them.
(^^<^ */if^ .
It is of much Icfs confequencc than moft people imagine, whether trees are planted regularly, fo as to cover the whole of the furface, or irregularly, (clouded,) as will often be the cafe on rocky ground; for, in either cafe, the whole of the foil will be completely occupied to a confide- rable depth. Where we cannot plant re- gularly, upon account of the rocks, the trees fhould ftand fomething clofer than ordinary diltances round them; becaufe there all of them have an extra fupply of air, and moft of them fufficient of foil. At planting, however unfavourable ap- pearances may be, it is not poffible to know what particular plant or plants will not ultimately thrive, providmg foil enough can be found to caufe them to grow in the firft inftance.
[ 1.59 ]
The holes in fuch ground have gene- r rally been made by the alternate ufe of j^r~7^^ the fpade and mattock, a very tedious pro- *' ^^^^ cefs; in lieu of which, I have, for many years, made ufe of the latter only, the tool being peculiarly adapted to the pur- pofe, (fee the f rontif piece ;) — the fward being taken off as thin as poffible, with the broad end, and the foil loofened in the hole with the other, inftead of taking it out and laying it on the fides, in the cuftomary manner. In this operation, the larger fl ones are taken out, fo as to leave broken foil in the holes, fufhcient in quantity to plant trees, of the intended fize; generally a fmall one.
Where few flones are found, the foil left will ufually fill the hole; where there are more, it is frequently left hollow, as on light open foils; — it is of little confe- quence whether the trees be placed level with the furface or not, fo as they have
[ 1(J0 ]
£/^4^/^^l3Ut a iafficiency of foil to grow in. It
f^u.*^ j^^^^ ^j^Q l^g obferved, in regard to this
/^i^^ procefs, that no. regard is paid to bury-
»-v-^<. ^ ing the herbage, as it ufually proves of a
nature that would not fpeedily rot ; hence
after much trouble in regard to it, it
would be found to confiderably incom-
. mode the bufmefs of planting.
It may be obferved befides, that where light foils are fo fertile as to produce her- bage that will readily rot, that foil alone will be fufficiently fertile for trees to thrive in. In (hort, by keeping the mattock to- lerably thin, the herbage is taken off with very little foil adhering to it.
Frequently, in making thefe holes, the fcarcity of foil renders it neceffary to break down more of fome fide or fides of the hole than was firfl bared, in order to increafe the quantity of earth ; in this cafe, little regard is paid to the furface herbage
[ 161 ]
as the tool to be employed in planting ^^A*^^ will readily feparate it from the foil, after ^^^*^^ the latter has been expofed to the winter's frofts. If, in making a hole, a ftone be found too large to be readily taken out, it may be left in, and the hole made to one fide of it; regular diflance being, as before intimated, found to be of little confequence.
In preparing the fides of fteeps, the t t^kt* ^f herbage is found particularly ufeful in <^^/<. - forming a fort of buttrefs to fupport the foil ; as here it is of importance to plant trees on a level, in order to hold the water in its defcent. In this cafe, it is not fo neceflary to pare the herbage thin, as on levels ; for the greater part of it gets cover- ed fo as to rot, and foon becomes beneficial to the plants. Perhaps no fituations, in- acceflible by the plough, can be fo effec- tually and cheaply preparedfor planting as precipices ; feeing a quantity of foil is very readily moved, by working it down the hill
X
[ 1C2 ]
^^'^^^w^'wh the mattock, to form the levels for the trees, large enough for the roots to fpread in freely, and likewife to retain the moifture; hence the only difadvantage of {\jic\ijleeps, fo far as planting is concern- edj may be eafily obviated.
Z^ ^ On foils at once Ilony and heathy, (a ^'^^^^^^.cafe very common,) the mattock proves peculiarly ferviceable, in moving the one and cutting the other; matters extreme- ly difficult to be perforrned, with the fpade ; certainly, without the ufe of fome fuch tool, the expence of planting, upon many fituations, would be greatly enhanced. y, /^ It will be obferved, that, in preparing ^*^J^ heathy foils, the method is juft the fame as on rocky ones ; the heath being ftruck off as thin as poffible, and the foil ftirred and left in the hole.
In clofing the fubje6l of preparation, \ would obferve generally, that every foil.
[ 163 ]
intended to be planted, will be benefited by being broken up, fome months previous ^J'^^^ to planting: on ftifFones, the reafonof this 6^ operation is obvious, froft is neceflary to ^ /i£t^ reduce them. It is not fo eafy to fay why^^^^^L, < a light one, which has been long broken</C /C^ up, retains moifture better than one newly ^ <a-^ done, but the fa6l is well known; and, /^z^^^ therefore, though no advocate for early ^^.J*t planting, I am decidedly fo for auturnnal *' '^ '"• preparation, in every cafe where it is con- venient. _
The diftances proper for forefl trees to ^^/^ be planted, have been much the {\x\y]^di/-z^^ ; of difcufiion ; on this head I have had but^^^A-*^ one opinion, for many years. In general cafes, a di fiance of foiir feet is certainly clofe enough; as, at that fpace the trees may all remain till they become faleable; as timber, rails, fpars, &c. are jqf confider- able value every where ;^«€ wood only
in fome places. Where the produce, ne=
r 164 ]
^^^^t^ii^cefTary to be thinned out of a plantation, is f^M^ .of confiderable value, there is little danger ''^^^^'^of this bufinefs being neglefted. Where it is of little, the reverfe proves almofl con« ftantly the cafe; few men can fet about thinning a plantation, which is not likely to pay well for the trouble, without con- jQderable relu61ance.
^3.6-^0 Another (Irons: obieftion to thick plant- ^r/- j ing is the extra expence thereof; — at three ^
/^^ , leet apart, an acre requires 4040 plants; a~ /^ --^^^^at four only I'jii^ a difference of more yX/c
tz/o than two fifths ; or thus in the latter cafe, 2/\ Q . 9 three pounds will plant more land than ^^ ^
7
^io ^^ advanced in fupport of the former dif- ^»M ^ ^oZ tance than I have yet heard, I fhall conti- -^» I «
\^^y five m the former; the difference is indeed 23^ 6 Zj2fS ^^ ftriking, that, unlefs better arguments ^^
J2S7 nue to be an advocate for the latter. 7
a
fi //y^ It is adniittcd, that elevated expofures / * fhould be an exijeption to the rule, but j^ | ^
|
J(P |
3o |
|
^9 |
J2P 2/ |
[ 165 ]
even here I confider three feet diftances as y*"^^^^^ too httle, becaufe, by {landing fo clofe,'V^^^ the plants foon deftroy each other's branch-''^^"**^ es; hence, when we begin to thin, we find the removal of every tree makes an aperture which there is no means of re- pairing.
At three feet diftance, the plants will {land about one fourth clofer than at four; and, from repeated obfervations, it appears clear, that few foreft trees grown clofer, will be ftrong enough to ftand eretl in expofures. I, therefore, fee no reafon to recommend planting at lefs than the for- /7 ,mer dillance.^, ■ y^ ^ • y ^
~ In regard to the {izes of trees for plant- »^^<« ^ ing, the particular cafes have been men- •**-'• tione'S where very fmall ones would be proper: the be{l general rule is, to pro- portion the {ize of the plants to the good- nefs of the foil; the belt of the latter
"TZ' //^-
<t T
^
L 16(3 ]
<^£ ^ requiring the largefl: of the former. Still *^^***^on bleak expofures this rtile will not hold good, as there the plants fliould never be large, for otherwife the greater part would fail from the circumftance of wind- waving, and of thofe that fucceeded, few, if any, would make much progrefs for feveral years : firs of a foot, and deciduous trees of eighteen inches, are Jar^e enouoh for iuch places, if the ground prove but indifferent, and have no fhelter upon it; but if it be good, fo as to produce ftrong and tall herbage, plants of fomewhat larger fizes fliould be admitted, as thofe of the fmaller fize would be in danger of being fmothered.
However as, in planting large defigns, foils which are good and well fheltered but feldom occur, the mod ufefiil fi7e*^ of plants, for general purpofes, will be the lame jiifl noted: yj/r firs pf a foot^_and deridnniisj^rees of eighteen inches. When mentioning the fizes of trees, it fliould
[ 167 ]
always be underflood of tranfplanted ones ; *^o trf^ becaufe, in at leafl nine inftances in ten, h^«^. fuch are ftiffer and better rooted than feed- ^^^/^^^^ lings: ftiil it fometimes happens that, in -^^^^^ confequence of a thin crop, feedlings may ^^'^^ *^*" have every requifite good property, and fo far there is no objeftion to their ufe.
It may be obferved too, that none but^^^^^V*^ good rooted plants will fucceed on a bad -^jw ^ foil, while, on a good one fheltered, none ^^ but very bad rooted plants will fail ; a larg^e plant never has fo good a root, in proportion to its fize, as a fmall one; and hence w^e fee the propriety of ufmg fuch on good foils only. For inftance, w^e can- not ufe large plants on fliff foils with any reafonable hopes of fuccefs ; and the chance is ftill worfe if they prove likewife expofed ; as neither cafe affords the means of fpeedily furnifliing the plants with roots that will have a regular proportion to the fize of their heads; — hence the cir-
[ 168 ]
^^f^^^culation of the Tap is impeded, and ilie C/^^'h^ plants become dinted in growth ; under which circumftance, it not unfrequently happens, that the fmall quantity of fap furnifhed by the roots, inflead of afcend- ing to the tops, to furnifh leaves and (hoots, breaks out into fprigs, by the furface of
y the ground ; a clear proof of the impeded
'^***™ circulation iuft noticed. — Small plants, on
^'i/^>niiCc ^^ contrary, lofe but few of their roots
;^A-t^ in removal ; therefore, though planted in very moderate fized holes of pulverifed earth, foon find the means of making roots, in proportion to their heads. Be- fides, fuch are in fome degree, fheltered. In fliort, itJJiould never be forgotten, that as, in being removed, a plant of two feet lofes a greater proportion of its roots than a tree of one, and one of three feet a grea- ter proportion than one of two, and fo on, in proportion to its former ftrength and height, fo the larger the plants, fo much greater is the ftate of languor or
[ 1^9 ]
weaknefs into which they are thrown, by <y^^<v*^ that circumftance; and hence, in propor- -^-^j^*4 tion to that ftate of weaknefs, fhould be ^^'^^ our efforts to reftore them to their ufual health, by fuch means as choice of foils, preparation, (hel ter, &c. If we can, indeed, manage at the outfet, fo as to reftore to them what may be called a good conftitu- tion, they will generally, afterwards, be found able to contend, not only with the boiflerous elements, but an unfavourable foil.
In regard to the fizes of holes for trees, <^^^^ ^ it is to be obferved, that, on light foils, f^^^l; " completely broken up, the hole is large ^ _, enough that will hold the roots of the ar-^^^*^-*^ plant, when extended; on fliffer foils, a '- ^^'*-^''"'*~^ few inches more room is neceffary. In both cafes it is to be obferved, that fome benefit would arife from having the holes made early in winter ; ftill that benefit will be in proportion to the tenacity of the
^^/^t^^?>**^ -^^^^^..^^^^ ^i^ -^^2^ a^^
' » - ^'-^c^i^ ^/)\/ua *.//t^a^/ ^t^c^M^a, <» y^ i*<^;^ ^^a
^Z)^^ foil ; on ftifFones, for inflance, it will be of ^^t^t^. much advantage, on fands of very little. ^
^;^2i>»^.- ^J^ lands not broken up, it is obvious -7^«*».**oa large hole mufl be, in every cafe, an ad- vantage ; but much greater on fliff than light ones. A large plant requires abun- dantly more fpace, beyond its roots, than a fmall one, the difference may be as much as from two to eight inches. Depth alfo is of much confequence, where the gene- ral depth of foil admits of it. Still we have no bufmefs to penetrate lower than the flrata in which the trees will grow: On fliff ones, abundance of mifchief is often done by this means ; as it includes the double difadvantage of putting the roots of the trees, and the bed of the foil, into a hole capable of holding water, both of which lead to confequences fo obvioufly at variance with the fuccefs of the plants, that, I trilfl:, it need only be mentioned to be avoided. ^ ^^ ^
[ 171 ]
On the whole it is evident, that holes »^^^^^ retain moifture, in proportion to their ^*^^^^^' fize and depth; and, therefore, except under particular circumftances of difficul- ty, fmall ones are never to be recommend- ed. As to the form of holes, it is to be pzr^**^- noted, that they fhould always be round, and widell at the bottom.
It will be obferved that, in the general, ^-^^^^f^i^*- I am an advocate for early or autumn ^%T * preparation of the foil, with fpring plant- /J^^^^^^^LI ing; from a full conviftion that, provided ^^^^^.^ the former is duly attended to, but little »*^' -"^ of lofs would happen under the latter. It is true, that where the former is negleded the cafe proves exa6tly the reverfe, and moft generally from the circumftance of drought, in confequence of the foil not being duly mellowed by the winter's frofts.
Sometimes, however, loffes happen from the plants being dried, by being long
[ 172 ]
"^^^X ®"* ^^ ^^^ ground ; a matter always to be ;r avoided as much as poiFible. That, how-
'^^^*y^ ever, cannot be done completely when they are procured at a diflance ; and, there-
, y ,*ore, when fuch arrive and appear rather / ^^^ dried, the beft method is to puddle their /g^u' ^*oots, previous to planting: iftheyfeem rr^.^r^xM^hsT^^'^y much dried, it would ftill be better to lay them in the ground, for eight or ten days, giving them a good foaking of water every fecond or third day, in order to re- flore their vegetative powers : for it well deferves notice, that a degree of moifture in foil, fufficient to fupport a plant re- cently, or immediately, taken from the nurfery, would, in the cafe of dried ones, prove fo far infufficient, that mod of them would die in it. — The puddling here re- commended may alfo be of great fervice in all cafes of late planting, where fmall plants are ufed: my method is (after puddling,) to tie them in bundles, of two or three hundreds each; and thus fend them, by a
[ 173 ]
cart load at once, to where wanted ; where ^<*^<^' fuch bundles being fet upright, clofe to each other, and a httle flraw carefully ap- plied to the outfides of them, may remain without damage in a (heltered fituation, any reafonable time neceffary to plant them. Where loofe foil happens to be convenient, that (hould be fubftituted in the place of draw.
A puddle for trees is made by mixing water with any foil, rather tenacious, fo intimately as to form a complete puddle, fo thick, that, when the plants are dipped into it, enough may remain upon the roots to cover them.
The procefs of puddling is certainly fimple, and its ex pence too trifling to de- ferve notice : its effeds, however, m retain- ing, if not attraftmg moifture, are fuch that, by means of it, late planting is render- ed abundantly more fafe than it otherwife
C^^c , /iCe ^^^^^"^^ ^f y^t^*-^^ /»^*-^ ^fc<:^t«. ^^ **^ y*^
^^r/^//-;?^^^ ^/i^X-*/ — __ __ ^ ^:
y.^Ae../l/,. [ 174 ]
ttJ^u^A v/ould be. It is an old invention, and hence ^ it is truly allonifhing that it is not more frequently praftifed. If we could but per- fuade people to adopt it generally, in fpring planting, I believe the prejudice in favour of autumn praftice would foon be done away. It is truly allonifhing how generally and ftrongly that prejudice pre- vails; I, therefore, beg leave to obferve here, that it is advifable only in few cafes, while fpring planting may properly ap- ply to all. In fliort, the nature of the bu- finefs is fuch, that a great proportion of it can only be well and fafely done at that feafon — ^^^^^ *-^ ^<.S^*— 7 ^^P-^^^
^^yl^y^ "I'he common niethod of planting is fo /far known to every Gardener, that little need be faid upon it here. It may, how- ever, be neceffary to explain what may be called a good one. — The root of the plant is to be drefled, by (hortening the ftrag- gling, and taking off the broken roots : —
't,.^ /i C,^^/ /sS^Ol^ T^i>^P^ X*^<, /^ ^' '^^•^^^*^^ ^^
\:r
itr^
The hole is then to be made ready, by\ ^^^ either taking out earth, or putting it -^^frA^*"**^' and breaking it where necefTary ; the plant is then to be placed in it, with two or three inches of the flem beneath the level of the furface ; the befl or fined of the foil is then to be put to the roots, and diftributed amongft them, by (baking the plant; in which operation, it fhould be drawn up fo as to ftand very little, if at all, deeper than it did in the nurfery ; the reft of the foil is then to be put in, and the plant fixed firm and fet ftraight with the foot; after which leveling the furface completes the bufinefs.
Two things, in regard to the above praftice, I have frequently obferved to be mifmanaged, viz. the cuftom of planting too deep, and a bad mode of faftening the plants. When I obferve a quantity of plants thriving ill, where the appearance of the foil is favourable, I generally fuf- pe£l the former, and have frequently found
d^t^
^r^a.^;^./^^^. '^j'o^^.
[ 176 }
^^^^feveral inches of ftem withm the furface tM^^o{ the ground, and the roots of the plants beneath the bed part of the foil; a matter no otherwife completely curable than by replanting. The other circumftance arifes chiefly from gardeners being little habitu- ated to any but garden praftice, and hence on fomething like garden foils they per- form pretty well ; on fands, however, they generally leave the plants too loofe, and on ftiff foils ufually fix them too faft ; — the truth is, we can fcarcely tread the former too much and the latter too little, fo that the plants, if fmall, will refift the wind; and as to large ones, they fliould be ftaked in preference to hard treading.
^ ^ Having, for nearly twenty years, adopt- ed, what I may be permitted to call. An improved method of Forejl Planting; by means of tools invented for the purpofe, (fee the plate;) it will be neceffary here to explain, in fome degree, their forms
[ 177 ]
and ufes : — The firft is a mattock, made c/^</^-^
particularly light, with one end about ^^^7^^=^
four inches broad and thirteen long, from
the centre; the other a pike, its length ^ — -
about feventeen inches. The ufe of this ^''*^
tool on heathy, tough, flony foils and
fleeps, has been already defcribed, (fee
P. 159—1620- /^^--^ e^^'-^*/-^ /C
The other tools are called planters, the forms of which may befl be feen by the plate. No. 2, is a fort of hack or hoe, of the length of eight inches from the eye; the face or edge four and a half broad, and the handle twelve long; the heel or part behind the eye is made ftronger than the other parts of it, in order to a6l as 2t, maul, in breaking fuch clods as may be necelTary.
No. 3 and 4, have been introduced of late years, as improvements upon the foregoing; being better adapted to foils
KTc
l».72^iy -•<e^^«s'-iC*y-^ -^ * - ^' *>^*^ ^a. . /S'a,
[ 178 ]
j^/^C?^ full of roots, ftones, &c. they are, like- A^^-^^Vwrife, eafier to work, as they penetrate to an equal depth, with a ftroke lefs vio- % jf lent than the former: they are alfo lefs fubjeft to be clogged up, by a wet or te- nacious foil. The length of the prongs of both (hould be about eight inches, and the diftances between them, in No. 3, one and a half: in No. 4-, two inches : this fhould be made fomewhat flronger than the former; it being intended chiefly for very ftony lands, or where the foil wants breaking, in order to feparate it from the herbage, &c.
No. 5, is a feftion, to (how the form and ftrength of the prongs applicable to No. 3; one of the fides being to be in- wards, or towards the planter.
It will be obferved, that thefe tools are chiefly applicable to plants of any fize up to about two feet, or fuch as are generally
,_^^4:
[ J79 ]
ufed for great defigns, where they are ufed*^^^^^'^**^' as a fubftitute for the fpade, in the follow- ing manner. The planter, being provided with a bafket holding the plants required, (the holes being fuppofed prepared, and the earth left in them,) he takes a tree in one hand, and the tool in the other^ which he ftrikes into the hole, and then pulls the earth towards him, fo as to make a hole large enough to hold all its roots : he then puts in the plant with the other and pufhes the earth to its roots with the back of the planter; after which, he fixes the plant, and levels the foil at the fame inftant, with his foot; fo that the operation is performed by one perfon with a degree of neatnefs and expedition which no one can attain to, who ufes the fpade. It is known to all planters, that but few la- bourers ever learn to plant well and ex- peditioufly, in the common method, with- out an afliftant : — This method, however, requires neither help nor dexterity; as
r 180 ]
uUfi^, any labourer of common fagacity, or boy -/i^.riwy^p fifteen, or even a woman, may learn to perform it well in lefs than half an hour. The facility with which thefe tools will break clods, clear the holes of ftones, or ieparate the foil from herbage, the roots of heath &c. (the former being previouf- ly mellowed by the Troft,) may be eafily imagined.
In the foregoing pages, many obferva- tions have been made on the different fpe- cies of trees, befl calculated for the pur- pofe of fheltering or nurfmg each other, fo far as the general profperity and value of plantations are concerned. We proceed next to treat of fhelter, not only as it re- lates to the above objeds, but. as it may be made fubfervient to the improvement of property generally, as well as the im- mediate vicinity of a family manfion. Here, however, I find two circumflances completely different in their nature, fo
[ ISl ]
intimately conncfted, that it feems the mofi: .^':-*^<'>'* convenient method to fpeak of them to-*?^^*^ gether.
Every one, who has any diftinft ideas 6^*z<>*^«-^ of the nature of trees, will readily agree .^a^^u^ that they are capable of producing what all the intelligent part of mankind allow to be of the utmoll value, viz. ornament and (heiter ; — they are indeed fo infepara- ble, from their nature, that it is almoft im- poflible to plant a large number without, ultimately, producing a confiderable de- gree of both : — The fa6l is, that a thriv- ing plantation, however mifplaced, be- comes, with the bulk of mankind, an ob- jetl of regard, approaching almofl to veneration ; perhaps the idea of utility, in- feparably connefted with fuch obje6ls, goes far in (lamping the impreflion.
If fuch then be the effefts of trees, as operating upon the human mind, without
[ 182 ]
**^***^ regard to arrangement or propriety of ' fituation, we are not to wonder at the afto- nifhing effe6ls they are capable of produ- cing, when every mafs, group, clump, or individual tree, has its proper place and ftation, and when their fpecies, and even forms, are made fubfervient to thefe pur- poles : for then it is, and not before, that we fee what a great profefTional man would have properly called their natural *' capabilities." — The modeft manfion and the fplendid palace are equally indebt- ed to their aid ; for when the architeft, the mafon, fculptor, painter, and the numerous profeffional train, ufually em- ployed in decorating manfions of afflu- ence, have exerted their utmoft efforts, the whole, without trees, may be compared to a beacon upon a hill ; an objeft to be looked at, but not enjoyed, except by perfons who do not fliare in the common feelings of mankind.
[ 18S ] To fay, in how many ways trees con- ^**^*
tribute to benefit a country refidence, , would lead me far beyond my prefent ob-^ /«^*^- je6l; I fhall, therefore, only juft briefly notice a few of them; as, firft, they add greatly to the ideal fize and confequence of the manfion itfelf ; fuppofe, for inftance, a houfe to ftand fo as to be feen in com- mon with other buildings, diftant hills, the fky, or any obje6l larger than itfelf, its height and dimenfions will be apparently reduced by being fo contrafled. On the contrary, fhould trees be introduced be- tween the building and fuch obje6ls, fo that the eye is in a meafure confined to the contemplation of the former only, it immediately appears increafed in beauty, fize, and comfort.
Secondly, the fhade and (helter afford- ^^/1a a^ ed by trees may, if rightly managed, be -^^^^2^. made to give, what may be called, a new atmofphere : They will, as far as necelfary.
[ 18^ j
AiiJct^ equally exclude the impetuous blaft and ^^^- the fcorching ray ; and thus it is tliat they contribute to health, by inviting to the en- joyment of an invigorating excurfion,. in every feafon, not unufually intemperate.
^tc^^x. Thirdly, trees may be generally made the means oS. Jhutting in fuch objefts as appear defirable, and o{ JJiutting out the reverfe. For inftance, if the view from the manfion commands fome beautiful grounds, trees properly arranged will ge- nerally lead the eye fo far to thefe objefts, as to give them a force or expreffion before unobferved; — and the fame obfervation will apply to water: a fmall piece, by art- ful management, in concealing the termi- nations with trees, may often be made to appear as a continued river.
Fourthly, by means of trees, the ap- parent fize of a lawn may generally be confiderably increafed: not certainly by
[ 18.5 ■]
planting a continued belt round it, as is te^uk^^^ very commonly praftifed, but by bold projeclions and breaks, fo managed that the ground may appear to continue through the latter. Frequently, by the fkilful ufe of fuch means, lands not the property of the fame proprietor may be made to appear part of the demenfe.
Such then being a part (certainly but a fmall one) of the ways in which trees may be made to benefit a country refidence, it clearly behoves the proprietors of them to confider how fuch objefts maybe obtain- ed with certainty, for they are not the fruits of chance, but means ; and fuch means muft be proportioned to the end. It is not the ftudy of painting, the art of drawing, or a facility of writing large treatifes, that will qualify a man for the creation of the fort of rural fcenery juft adverted to; nor can the profeffional gardener, whofe life has been principally devoted to far different
AA
[ 186 ]
5^L»»«^.*-^bje6ls, be fuppofed at all equal to the «<i^*^vtalk; it is only to be expefted from the man of genius, tafte, obfervation, and ex- perience ; one, in fhort, who has a head to plot and a hand to execute, not only the great and effential, but even the mod mi- nute parts of the bufmefs.
The works of an ornamental gardener, who refts in theory only, may aptly enough be compared to bafe coin, it may look well and even pafs for a time ; by and by, how- ever, it wears worfe, the copper is feen through the filver, and that again affumes the place of the gold; the proprietor la- ments his lofs, and fo may, with good reafon, the owner of an ill planted flirub- bery, while the defigner adopts the poets piteous lamentation. *' Vegetation fpoils "every thing;" which, by the way, only proves that he could abufe what he did not properly underftand. The truth is, that, as fuch defigners do not know the
[ 187 ]
proper fituatlons for the different fpecies ^^'/«*. of plants, that bufinefs is left to accident, ^^/^-^ and hence moft of them prove mifplaced; *^A^^^ of coLirfe, the planting gets gradually into diforder, in much the fame proportion as it would have improved, had it been pro- perly executed.
To inftance one of the many refpedls, in which the works of fuch defigners get annually worfe, I may notice the cafe of fcreens. In the immediate vicinity of a houfe, fuch things are peculiarly defirable; and yet very generally mifmanaged. In the courfe of a few years, we ufually find what (hould continue a clofe one, poffeff- ing the properties of (hade, flielter, and retirement, degenerate into an open grove; and hence, both its chara6i:er and ufe are in a great meafure loft. Nor can this be wondered at, if men continue to plant and treat both in the fame manner only.
//
[ 188 1
'^'^*^' - ^ A little obfervation may ferve to con- vince us, that every fcrccn muft degene- rate, in the way jufl; noticed, if part of the plants compofing it have not the proper- ties of growing bufliy, of retaining their branches very low, of producing clofer heads on being pruned, of fhooting afrefh from the ground on being cut down, and of growing under other trees. Nor can any fcreen long retain thefe properties, except they are carefully promoted and encouraged, by frequent attention. Of courfe, a fcreen (hould confift of three defcriptions of plants : viz. trees proper for principals, for underwood, and for the fronts.
//
V/'.. ^2. ^5 all ^]^£ grounds, to be planted in '**'^^— the immediate neighbourhood of the man- '^J fion, (hould be prepared by trenching, or
^*/ '''digging at lead:, fo the principal trees for y/^ them fbould be fomewhat large; if they differ as much in height as from three to
I 189 ]
eight feet fo much the better, as thefe with the underwood, which (l^ould differ in height from three feet to one, would collectively foon exhibit a clofenefs of bottom and a lightnefs of fummit; circura- (tances without which fuch fcreens can never be more than in a hmited degree either useful, be autiful, thriving,
or LASTING.
It fliould be remarked, that, in planta- tions of this defcription, trees which form very clofe heads (hould be fparingly ufed as prmcipals: the fir tribe for inftance, fhould chiefly be ufed near the verges lead feen, and more efpecially where the fcreens ar€ narrow; as there they (hould be rather dark; for otherwife we lofe much of" apparent breadth. But it is to be noted, thai though fuch verges (hould be darkened, this method would have an ex- tremely bad effetl, were the clofe heads of fuch trees to rife fo high as to exhibit a
[ m ]
.. clofe fummit to the diflant beholder; as that would reduce the apparent breadth at any feafon, by bringing forward the dis- tant outline; the effeft, however, would be much the worft in winter. Still per- fons need not be afraid of ufing a moderate quantity of firs, as principals, in fuch places; becaufe, where they are allowed tolerable fpace, they feldom i:ife fo quick as the bulk of deciduous trees; and fhould too many appear, fome of them may be taken down in preference to other fpecies, when thinning becomes neceffary; fo that the effe6l alluded to might be completely avoided.
Prefuming that an equal quantity of principals and underwood make an excel- lent proportion of plants for a fcreen, the method of planting them will be found very eafy ; as the fize will fufhciently mark the diftinftions. If the whole ground is holed, fo as to plant at three feet diftances.
[ 191 ]
and luilf of tliefe are planted with each defcription, the plants would ultimately ftand at regular diftances. It is not intend- ed here to di6late what proportion of each individual fpecies fhould be rnSae ufe of, or how mixed, but certainly a regular mixture of either principals, underwood, or front trees, would be one of the worfl that could be adopted.
The lift for underwood may comprife all or part of the following ; Firft, — beech, hornbeam, lime, oak, and common thorns, of about two feet high; as thefe will bear to have their heads reduced occafionally, and will fpring afrefh from the ground upon being cut down.
Second, — Birch, horfe chefnuts, moun- tain a{h, and laburnums of two feet: — thefe (hoot freely on being cut down, but become unfightly on having their heads reduced.
[ m ] '
^i^t.*^ T.hird, — Spruce and filver firs of one footij^thefe will grow under other trees w^re tlie cover is not very clofe, and \^^^^s*^n^ji^w form broad bufhes, by
^^ frequently mortening their leading (hoots.
Fourth, — Common hollies, laurels, box, and privets, of a foot high : — the general properties of thefe are well known ; all of them grow very well under trees, more particularly the three former.
In planting of fcreens it will be necef- fary to leave two ranks of holes, in the principal fronts, open ; in the firfl: place, in order to be filled with front plants on- ly.— For w^hich purpofe, the foregoing hfl: of underwood will all be proper, with the addition of areatheaphrafl:i, ornamen- tal thorns, golden willows. Sec. — as thefe, colieftively, could not fail to form that clofenefs and variety of front, which is al- ways defirable, but very rarely feen.
[ 19S ]
Pofifibly fome perfons may fuppofc, v^^i^^ that fuch methods would be particularly cxpenfive: — the fa6l, however, ^ig. other- wife ; for it is to be recolle^^ *hH num- ber of plants would be the fame as is com- monly ufed; three feet being the ufual diftance for fuch purpofes : mean time, only half the plants need be large, or of the common fizes.
If the plants for any given defign, planted in the ufual method, be fuppofed to cod twenty pounds, we may, by that rule, eftimate the expence of the impro- ved one, as under :
£. s. d. Half of the plants being of the"^
Wo o o
ufual fize and value . One eighth of them double do. . . . 5 Three eighths of them being of "i
...J ^
»5
half the common value
BB
[ m ]
v^^/u-^. Here we fee that, after making ample allowance for fuch plants as are of more than common value, a perfeft ornamen- tal and lading fcreen, poflefling every de- firable property, may be planted for lefs than what is ufually devoted to one which proves completely the reverfe; and the circumftance is the more provoking, as mifmanagement of this fort is rarely difco- vered till it is almoft impoffible to retrieve it: prevention is faid to be better than cure; in this cafe, it certainly is abundant- ly lefs difficult. The former requires no- thing but what is eafy, it is only fubllitut- ing a good method in the place of a bad one. The cure can only be effeded by much time, confiderable labour, fome fnill, and not a little expence : ftill the worft of it remains to be told; it requires a facrifice of trees, too confiderable for moft perfons to fubmit to, without the utmofl reludance.
f 195 ]
When we confider, how much the ar- t-^^<^,v*v rangement of the grounds and trees about J^! /i^*^^^ a place contribute to its embelhfhment ^-f-^t^^ and comfort, and, of confequence, its in- trinlic worth; one cannot help wondering that a fcience which embraces fuch impor- tant obje6ls, fhould be flill fo much enve- loped in myftery. A bad defign is often quite as expenfive as a good one ; and hence gentlemen could have no induce- ment to adopt the former in preference to the latter, if they had any criterion or rule, by which to judge of the merits of the one, and the defefts of the other.
That this art may be traced to certain and fixed principles, there can be no doubt. If the fame means never fail to excite pleafurable fenfations in the mind of intelligence, it appears that fuch prin- ciples reft upon a bafis much deeper founded than the fafhion of the moment, ,
[ 196 ]
c*>^i^ The truth feems to be, that, for near a tA,«^7t?century, tafte in ornamental gardening has '^*^*r*y, been conftantly verging towards nature and fimplicity. The beft fcenes in uncul- tivated nature are clearly our beft models when working upon a large fcale : and, even upon a fmall one, we have no bufi- nefs to completely overlook them. Thefe fcenes may be fimple; as where the grati- fication arifes from the contemplation of one fort of obje6t only, as the ground, water, trees, or profped : or they may be compound, or fuch as arife from the com- bination of two or more of them; — ge- nerally artificial fcenery proves of the lat- ter defcription.
As it will not be difputed, but that the fcenery alluded to is calculated to capti- vate alike the untutored and the cultivated mind, it follows, I think, of courfe, that we have here, what may be called, the bajis of a ta/le Joundcd on nature. It
[ 197 ]
will not, however, be fufficient to difco-^ <**-^' ver, that fuch fcenery pleafes in the grofs; ^^p^, as in that ftate it can rarely be the fubjcft'^ of clofe imitation; and, therefore, it will be neceflary to diflinguifh corredly, how far each diftinft caufe contributes to the ge- neral effe6l.
It cannot be difputed, but that an in- timate knowledge of the means, by which the beft effefts are produced in natural fcenery, is neceflary to combine them in what is purely artificial. In fa6t, where the moft of art is exerted, there nature will ultimately appear mofl of all pre- dominant.
I do not here mean thofe combined exertions of art and labour, which fre- quently go the length of altering, what may be called, the genius of thejpot, at a prodigious expence ; but that art which can as it were feize upon exiflmg circum-
[ 198 ]
^^- fiances, and, by flight additions, or cur- ""•^^tailments, made at a fmall expence, con- ^**^Y'^ vert them into what will, at once, har- monize with, and improve, the natural features of the place. Certainly a pro- penfity to more of alteration than is ab- folutely neceflary, is no proof of either tafle or (kill, but the reverfe. A tafte for expence is one that ought to be fmcere- ly deprecated ; whether it exifts in the proprietor or the defigner ; as it ferves to deter perfons, of moderate fortunes, from engaging in improvements that may be abfolutely neceflary.
Still the greateft of all difcouragements to improvements is, the ignorance of the bulk of thofe who undertake to condu6l them. — Undoubtedly, there are many ex- ceptions to this remark : we fee the men in their works ; but, by that rule, which all muft allow to be an unerring one, we may fafely pronounce it to. be applicable
[ 199 ]
to a great majority of the profeflion. — /t^*^^ ^ The truth is, they grope their way in the?^'^^''^*^ dark ; and hence, if they mifs it, it is what '"**^^^*^ might reafonably be expefted : all we can look for from them as original, is a fome- thing, which nature and propriety mud equally difown; or a clumfy imitation of fome PLACE they have feen. — Perhaps, as matters are circumftanced, it may be ren- dering an effential fervice to gentlemen, to furnifh them with a. rule, by which they may, in fome degree, meafure the " capa- bilites" of fuch perfons as may be introdu- ced to them in the above capacity. — The method might be fomething like the fol- lowing :
After ample time has been allowed for obfervation, the perfon (hould be requefted to explain the reafons for every diflin£l projeded alteration, and how far each was to contribute to the general efFeft. He fhould, likewife, be defired to ftate the
:uu
>«^»**^incans to be made ufe of in prcJucii!^ 7'*^*'' efFe61s fpeedily, by planting, and how they
K./ might be made lading wherever dehrablc ;
as there is nothing in the above but what every praftitioner either has, or, at leail, ought to have, clear ideas of.
I am confident, that there is not a man in the profeflion, who deferves employ- ment, that would not go through the or- deal with eafe to himfelf, and in a manner that would convince every one, that he had, at leaft, ftudied caufe and efFeft, fo far as applicable to his profeflion. He would eafily be able to make the diftinc- tion, between what might be called the great and what the inferior natural features of the place; and alfo (how, in fome con- fiderable degree, how far each might and ought to be worked upon to advantage ; aild, in doing fo, he would conflantly keep in mind what was pradicable in itfelf, and confiftent with the general circumftances
[ 201 J
of ihe place. — But eafy as all this would/J be to the man of fcience, to the mere co-/-^'^^ pleil and clafhing adventurer it would, in- deed, be a tall;, in the performance of which, their deficiencies would be plainly manifeft. The difference between the re- ports of fuch perfons, and that before mentioned, would fufficiently mark their different attainments ; the former would dwell principally upon matters peculiarly applicable to the place, the other on what would be as applicable to any other: the former would tell us, how the work was to be done, and what fpecies of trees to be planted, and -where; the latter would content themfelves with talkmg about fuch matters generally.
Having faid thus much, on the ufes of trees, as applicable to the immediate neighbourhood of a manfion; and, like- wife, hinted at fome common circumftan- ces of mifmanagement, I may now advert
GC
/1.<V>»L«,^i
[ 202 ]
/«//t«. /lo their value, as (belters and ornaments ^^/*.'^,-generally ; more efpecially to lands at once -^^-^^/vbleak and bare, of which the country ex- t^^s -^^bits many very extenfive trails.
r^^ . Some people feem greatly alarmed,
lead the bufinefs of planting fliould be fo far extended as to intrench upon agricul- ture ; the danger however, I conceive, lies entirely on the other fide; for, though an old planter, I have never known much land devoted to planting that was of con- fiderable value for corn or grafs, except fo far as taking a part to improve the reft, by Ihelter; a fpecies of planting which, very unfortunately for the country in general, and its agricultural interefts in particular, has been but little praftifed; perhaps fcarcely thought of till within the lad forty years; and which, to the prefent moment, is not pra6lifed to one hundred part the extent it ought to be.
[ 203 ]
If any one, inclined to doubt of the *'^>^*'^"»j truth of the above ftrong afTertion, has an opportunity of vihting Stanmcr, near Brighton, in SufTex, the feat of Earl Chicefter; or Sledmere, in the eaft-riding-.-^T^P^zi of Yorkfhire, the feat of Sir M. M. Sikes, I am perfuaded he will find reafon to think with me, that inflead of detrimenting, planting may be made to materially pro- mote the interefts of agriculture. Every fituation that is elevated and bare is, in confequence, lefs or more barren; the Woulds and Downs, which certainly in- clude no inconfiderable proportion of the culturable lands of the country, come very generally under this defcription, It is ad- mitted, that they are produftive in their prefent flate; but certainly that produce would be abundantly increafed, were they properly fheltered by planting.
At the two places juft mentioned, the bufinefs of (belter has been worked upon
[ 204 ]
<%-;r^.<- by planting to an extent, and with a de- /.j. gree of" judgment, of which I have feen no parallel eifev/here: — indeed, with me, it is a queftion, whether the immediate defcen- dants, or ihe country in general, are mofl obliged to thefe truly noble minded per- fons, the late Eari Chichefter and Sir Chiiftopher Sikes, who projetled and ex- ecuted thefe equally fplendid and invalu- able improvements? The former will, I underftand, in confequence, have a pillar ereftcd to his memory by his noble fuccef- for. I have not heard that any thing of the fort is intended in regard to the latter; but fo much is certain, he has well defervcd fuch a tribute of refpeft.
Of the value of thefe plantations, as flielters, as ornaments, and as producing timber, I do not pretend to fpeak; further than that it muff be prodigioufly great; nor is it poflible to eftimate their worth, in the way of example ; he muft indeed be
[ 205 ]
a cold-blooded mortal, who can contcm- i^w^«^^ plate fuch united utillity and magnificence, 7^^?^' without feeling '*how low, how little " ^^^^t-^ are moll of the earthly purfuits, which fo ^e^^f- generally engrofs men of rank, in compa- rifon of the elevated, I had almofl faid, the fublime fcience of planting.
The manner of planting general fcreens may be much the fame as in the neigh- bourhood of the manfion, only rejefting the dearer fpecies of plants. As here re- gard muft be had as well to the future as the prefent, a moderate quantity of the following articles fhould be introduced as principals, wherever the foil proves fuita- ble, viz. oak, beech, fycamore, and the Englifh elm, the laft being grafted. The afh ftiould never be admitted into any o- ther than broad fcreens, it being a bad (belter, and a worfe neighbour.
[ 206 ]
^lejrt.^tTi ^s enough has been advanced, to ex- /&r^ plain what is ncccfTary to the formation of ,, £^^. the mofl perfect fcreens, I need liere only refer the reader back to the fu!)je6l, re- commending him, at the fame time, to at- tend particularly to what has been advan- ced, in the former part of the work, on the properties of the larch, fpruce, and Scotch firs ; as, by the proper ufe of thefe, moft fituations may not only be complete- ly (heltered, but the fcreens rendered high- ly produftive in timber produce.
It may be of importance to obfervc here, that fcreens, planted for the purpofe of fhekering lands of inferior value, (liould by no means be narrow ones ; for though it may be poflible to preferve them com- plete (helters, it can only be done by fucli continued attention as can fcarcely be ex- pefted in large concerns : nor is it poflible that either the principal trees or under- wood (hould thrive fo well as in broad
[ 207 ]
Ones. But the beft reafon For breadth re. ^^^^^^^^ mains to be noticed : — Such lands may ge- ^^^'^'^ ' nerally be as profitably employed this way ^ "^"^ as in any other, frequently more fo : be- fides the fencing of the two fides of a fcreen, whether it be twenty or a hundred yards broad, will be precifely the fame. Of courfe, narrow breadths muft be the worft kind of policy.
The value of broad ones, as covers for game, is too obvious to need comment. — With moft gentlemen, the proteftion of game is a matter of much importance. — Broad belts, partially cut down, from time to time, fo as to produce a conftant fupply of underwood, are peculiarly calculated to encourage the breed. In fhort, the fame means that will (belter the land, will alfo flielter the trees and game: and, with all thefe pecuniary advantages, they are be- yond comparifon the moft ornamental. A narrow belt, on the fummit of a hill, com-
[ 503 ]
^^*'* /i^okd of treca v/iili naked flems only, lias 'U^UZ^ none of the properties of a flielter, but the c.ifCi^ reverfe: it is indeed but httlc ornamental, and lefs ufeful. — The proper fituation for fuch fcreens will be, in fome degree, obvi- ous. Generally they will be moft effeftive on the fummits of hills. In moft places, it is known from what quarter the wind blows moft violently ; generally from the weft : — the rule, however, admits of ma- ny exceptions ; and, therefore, this point ftiould be clearly afcertained, in the firft inftance; when the dirc6lion of the plant- ing will follow of courfe.
Confiftent with what has been advan- ced on planting fteeps, it will be found defirable, that the line of the fcreen to windward, ftiould be as near the fummit of the fteep as may be found convenient ; as, by that means, much of the current of the wind will be thrown rather over, than in among the trees ; and hence they will
"Z^^^*t,i
[ 209 ]
thrive better than if the line was lower in ^^ the afcent. ^^M\je^
When, as fometimes happens, the cur- rent of the wind takes the diredion of a val- ley, it is peculiarly prejudicial. In fuch a cafe, the line of the fcreen mud be acrofs the valley, from the fummit of one hill to that of the other : and, if fuch valley con- tinues to afcend for a confiderable length, a fecond fcreen may be neccflary. It is not laid that fuch things rank high as or- naments ; but they may frequently prove extremely ufeful.
Where it is neceffary for a road to crofs the fcreen, it fhould either be turned about half a point from the direftion of the current, or be made to bend fo far that the wind, driving in a (Iraight direc- tion, will lofe its force among the trees. It is almoft unneceflary to add, that fuch roads (hould be no wider than what is ab-
D D
[ 210 ]
'^^, z:^ folutely neceflary ; for, otherwife, they ^c^"^^ would not only hurt the general efFeft, but alfo occafion a degree of cxpofure. In narrow ones, by a little attention, the trees may be made to arch over at any given height ; fo that a matter of conve- nience may be made produ6live of variety.
In clofing this fubjeft, I may obferve, that not only elevated fituations require (helter, but any bare one may be greatly benefited by it. Any one, who has clear ideas of agricultural affairs, mufl know that it is highly valuable ; but none who have not experienced it, can juflly efli- mate its extent. The beft proof, that I can advance, of its worth, is the opinion of the noble poflcfTor of Stanmer, before mentioned. This attentive obferver has himfelf affured me, that, in confequence of the fhelters, he confiders many of his fields of three times the value they other- \vife would be: while others, not fo fa-
[ 211 ]
vourably fituated, appear evidently to be -^"^z**^' benefited in proportion to the fhelter.*^%' *^' Neither is there much danger of miftake in this refpeft ; as the eftate is large, and affords numerous fituations Jiill expqfed, the natural circumflances of which cor- refpond exa^lly with fuch as are fhel- tered; and, therefore, the rent each would let for, clearly afcertains the value of the (helters.
I have been the more particular on^ '^-^ this head, becaufe it appears this part of /'"^V '^
the fubjeft is more imperfeftly underftood'V^'^'"^
than mod others. Indeed, from a pretty extenfive knowledge of what is doing in the country, in the bufinefs of planting, there feems to be abundantly more need of direBions than incitements : and the better a perfon underftands the fubje6l generally, and that of fcreens in particu- lar, fo much clearer will be his views of the general utility of the purfuit.
[ 212 ]
.^t.'Y " It is certainly a matter highly confola, '^-y tory, to find fo confiderable a number of /'**^/ opulent perfons, in different parts of the united kingdom, exerting themfelves to provide a fupply of timber for our in- creafing wants ; and more particularly fo, to find the prejudices, in regard to fir tim- ber of home produce, very much upon the decline. If it is true, that we can grow fuch timber, proper for every pur- pofe to which the foreign has ufually been applied, it is furely matter of national dif- grace not to know it; at leaft, the cir- cumftances of the prefent moment impe- rioufly demand, that the queflion fhould be determined,jy^^ or nay. — In the prefent publication, as well as in the " Forest *' Pruner," it has been a leading objeft with the author, to affifl; the reader in forming juft ideas on this fubjeft ; and perhaps the famples, prefented with this treatife, may, in fome degree, tend to the fame good purpofe. Indeed I fufpeft.
[ 213 ]
that if many of thofe who are mofl aftive a^^-**^ in depreciating Britifh produce, were called upon to examine thefe famples, without knowing them to be fuch ; they would find themfelves in the fituation of the woodman, mentioned in page 62. But thus it muft always happen, fo long as men are content to take their opinions upon truft.
The praQice of confiding in common- ly received opinions, without examining either their truth or tendency, is what the author has never adopted ; becaufe he is fully aware, it tends to the exclufion of every idea of improvement; he believes it is to a conduft direclly the reverfe, that he is indebted for whatever fuccefs has at- tended him, either as a profefiional man or as an author; and hence, upon the prefent occafion, he has ftriftly perfevered in it. He can, at leaft, fay with confi- dence, that he has done his duty, in ufing
[ 214 ]
his beft endeavours to elucidate the prin- ciples, improve the praQice, reduce the expence, and increafe the value of gene- ral planting.
I have juft been favoured with the QUERIES of the Commiffioners of Woods and Forefts, (dated the 21ft of Dec, inft.) " relative to the Cul- '^ tivation. Management, 8(c. of Navy Timber,'' inclofed in the following Note.
Sheffield-Place, Dec.9.A, 1807.
Lord Sheffield is requejled, by Lord Glenbervie, to forward the inclofed to the perfons beji acquainted ivith the management and grozvth of timber trees, and therefore fends it to Mr. Pontey.
As his Lordfhip has adopted the Author's Syftem, of managing his Oak T\mhc\\ probably the fineji in the Ki?igdo?n, the above Note will
[ 215 ]
be fufficient to exhibit his opinion of the Forest Pruners and, therefore, the Author has only to exprefs his hncere fatisfaftion, that Government now fees the neceflity of fome meafures to encourage the Growth and Im- provement of Oak Timber. It is, indeed, the more pleafing, becaufe the neceffity for fuch meafures has not only been pointed out by him- felf, but, enforced by arguments, that he pre- fumes to be unanfwerable, in the above work,
{publiflied in 1805,) p. 262—270.- The
book is of itfelf a fatisfaftory ANSWER to many of the Queries alluded to.
FOFJLAKS.
Mr. Liddell, Agent to Sir Thomas Pilkington, of Chjvett, near Wakefield, has juft favoured me with the following particulars, which I confider of much importance; as, while they demonflratc the quicknefs of growth, they alb prove the peculiar p-opriety of uGng means, to afcertain the ujeful application of fuch articles.
A Black Italian Poplar, planted in Mr. Liddell's Garden, at New-Miller-Dam, near Wakefield, in the fpring of 1799, and then only fix feet high, is now thirty-eight; the Trunk being twenty, and
[ 210 ]
the Top eighteen feet. The average Girt of the former being, twenty-four Inches. This tree loft about feven feet, from its top,
ill the fumnier of 1802.
Another Poplar, of the fame fpecies, planted in the fame Garden, in March, 1801, had about ten feet cut off its head, after two years' growth, at eight feet and a quarter high, to prevent its damaging fome fhrubs ; after which, it produced three branches, which now form as many diftinft heads, at the above height ; the lead of which is twenty feet long. The Girt of the Trunk is twen- ty-four inches. The fUuation of this Garden is rather elevated,
the foil LIGHT and dry.
Another Poplar (of the common white fpecies, or what is call- ed in fome places, the White Willow,) growing on the banks of the river Calder, near Wakefield Mills, planted fourteen years ago, being then about the fize of a common walking cane, is now of the following dimeiifions.
The Height fifty-feven feet.
Average Circumference, to eight feet high, fixty-four inches.
Ditto ditto from eight to twenty ditto, forty-eight ditto.
From the trunk, at eight feet high, it has fcnt out an arm or branch, which is twenty-four inches in circumlerence and about thirty-five feet long; the whole containing not lefs than thirty
CUBIC FEET OF TIMBER.
Though all the above may be confidered as aftonilhing inflan- ces of quick growth, the kill gives the cleareft refult; as having come to an age and fize in which trees, of this defcription, may be
faid to feed in trunk, rather than expend their llrength in top. A
fcalc of progrcfTive incrcafc would certainly (late the produce of the
laft year at not lefs than fix or feven feet of timber. The hiftory
of this tree is as fingular as its increafe is ajlonijiing: — It was found floating in the river !
INDEX.
ABELE, the Properties of, *79.
Floors of, at Sheffield-Place, *80.
a good Subflitute for Mahogany, *80.
Autumn, the beft general Seafon for making
Holes, 162. Authors, erroneous Opinions of, 28. confider Firs as only fit to nurfe other
Trees, 28. Author, erroneous Opinion of one, 56. himfelf, formerly prejudiced againft
Firs, 31. offers to furniih Plants of the Black
Italian Poplar, *79. — ^^ote. Afh, the proper Soils for, 100. Afh, the Mountain, a bad Nurfe, 60. Beech, the proper Soils for, 103. Birch, method of treatment as Nurfes, 153. Breaks, in Plantations, effeas of, 80—185. Chefnut, the Spanifh, the proper Soils for, 103.
grows well on poor Sands, lO^.^-Note
EE
[ 218 ]
Chalk Soils, method of filling up Plantations^,
on, 153. Drought, method of preventing the effects of,
Defigners, wiiat tlieir proper Qualifications, 186.
Expofure, its Confecjuences to Plants, 128.
Elm, the Witch, or Scotch, its properties, 66.
the proper Soils for, 101.
Elm, a new and fuppofed valuable variety, 102.
■ Englifli, the proper Soils for, 101.
the beft raifed by Grafting, 66.
Firs, of Britifh Produce, vague Opinions con- cerning them, 20.
now planted for profit to a large extent,
24.— iVo/e.
Reafons why we have few large ones, 23.
general Obfervations on, 30 — 32.
Reafons for afcertaining their ufes, 53.
American Spruce, Silver, Weymouth
Pine, and Pinealler, ^^.
" Spruce, general Obfervations on, 38 — 48.
Proofs of its durability, 41.
the beft general Shelter, 43, 116.
the Plants of it dear, and why, 46.
Scotch, why its Timber often proves of
inferior Value, 49.
[ 219 3
Firs, Scotch, the fame fpecies as Red Deal, 49.
■ its general properties, 48 — 66.
Soils proper for, 112.
— - remarkable for not exhaufting the Soil,
113. — N'ote.
as a Shelter on Expofures, 55.
Fir Timber, the Ruflian and Swedifh method
of preparing for falling, 51. Heathy Soils, how far improper for deciduous
Trees in general, 56.
general Obfervations on, 127.
method of making Holes on, 162.
Heath, Reafons for planting among k, 131. Holes, the proper fizes of for Trees, 169. Lands, ufelefe for other purpofes, proper for
planting, 15. Larch, never fails to command purchafers, 32.
its general properties, 33 — 37-
inferior to the Scotch Fir as a fhelter, 60.
thrives on calcarious Soils, whether light
or ftiff, 96.
its properties as a Nurfe, 116.
the proper Soils for, 106.
Obfervations on its Infe^l, 107.
Mattock, for making Holes, defcription of, 177. its ufes, 159—162.
[ ^^20 ]
'A-
Mineral Taint prejudicial to Trees, 99-
Nurfe Plants, important Obfervations on, 5^. iiS^
— — • general errors in regard to, 114-120
Oak, the proper Soils for, 100.
an excellent Soil for, analized, 98.
Government's Queries, in regard to, 214.
Ornamental Gardeners, theoretical, their works
like bafe Coin, 186. .^ , . -- Poplars, the proper Soils for, 106.
• inftances of their quick growth, 216.
Black Italian, its properties, *74.
in what refpeft fuperior to other
Trees, *78. Puddling, the method of, 1 73. 2/^ ^^Prejudice, a curious inftance of, 62. — Note. Planting, in rnixture, its advantages, 120.
thick, ObjealonsTorT63~~ ^^'
— deep, bad confequences of, 170-175.
thebeft general Seafon for, 174.
new and expeditious method of, 179.
■ the common method of, 174. /
Planters, the Tools, defcription of, 177-
ufesof, 179.
Plants, large ones, why objeftional, 167. Soils, deep ones, advantage? of, 70.
^ J 7 ^^^-^ -T Jr, 1 /
[ 2'il ]
Steeps, the advantages of planting them, ^^.
— - — method of Ilormg them, 161.
Sands, Reafons for and agauift breaking them
up for planting, 124. fertile in AVood-Prodiice to a great
depth, 125. Soils, preparatioiji of, for planting, general Ob-
Sandy, 125. ^
Heathy, 127—132.
^ thin and ftiff, 132—144.
deep and ftiff, 144.
chalky and thin, 147-
light and deep, 154 ■
light and poor, 156.
fmall Patches, generally, 156.
Sea Breeze, curiousEtTe£ls of, 89. — Not^. Sycamore, Sods proper for, 105. /
Screens, generally mifmanaged, 187-
improved method of planting, 188.
their cheapnefs demonftrates, 193.
. for fheltering Expofures^/^P^? . i.d^.
Trees, a(Jpj)ting. proper fpecies, 94 — 117. cautions in regard to, 95
[ 222 ]
Trees, deciduous, thrive beft among Evergreens, n9,.~Note, ^
' diftances proper i(^ 163, A-Sn.y^ ^^JT.
fize of, what a good one for general put*
pofes, lQ5.
bad rooted, require a good Soil, 165.
large ones ditto, 167-
tranfplanted, why the beft, 167-
' free growers, the neceflity for afcertain-
ing their properties, 38. — naturally produce both Shelter and
Ornament, 181.
extraordinary EfTefts of, 182 — 18.5.
for principals, what a proper Proportion,
115 Tools for planting, defcription of, 177.
ufes of, 178.
Willow, Huntingdon, its properties, 68.
Upland or Red Twigged, 73.
improved by fteeping in Water, 69.
proper Soils for, 106.
Wood young, moft fpecies of inferior value, 1 17. of the Larch, and Spruce Fir
highly valuable, 118. Wood, reafon for prefenting faniples, 212.
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE Author gives Directions and Dejigns in every Department of Ornamental Gardening i andy likeivife, Injiruciions for the Management of Timber Trees generally, as well as the ObjeBs of the prefent Treatife, in every Part of Great- Britain.
As his prefent Engagements occafon his vifit- ing the Neighbourhood of London twice, annual- ly. Gentlemen in that Quarter, and the Vicinity of the Road, may avail themfelves of his Affifi- ance, without being charged with the Expence of the Journey.
Letters addrejed to Huddersfeld, or to No. 36. St. James's Street, London, will be duly attended to.
Of the Publifhers of this Volume may be had,
Written by the fame Author^
A neiv Edition y with Additions y OF
THE FOREST PRUNER;
Or, Timber Owner s AJfiJlant:
A Trcatife on the Training and ^lanasje-
mentofBRlTISH TIMBER TREES; whether intended for USE, ORNAMENT, or SHELTER: including an Explanation of the Caufes of their GENERAL DLSEASES and DEFECTS, with the means of PREVENTION, and REMEDIES, where praBicable: Alfo, an Examination of
The Properties of EngliJJi Fir Timber;
With Remarks on the Old and Outlines of a New Syftem for the MANAGEMENT of OAK WOODS.
Witk Eight Explanatory Plates.
The Author thinks himfelf honoured in being enabled to publifli the annexed Documents.
Society oj Arts, i3c Adeltki. Sir, London, 0(1. zoth,i^ob.
The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufatlures, and Commerce, have direfted mc to return you their thanks, for the prefent of your valuable and ufeful publication, called the Forest Prunsr. I have read it with great pleafure, and think it will beproduflive of very con fiderable advantages to all perfons, who follow yourinftruftions. Your treatife is carefully depolited in the Society's Library, and has met with much attention. I am, Sir,
Your obedient fervant,
Charles Taylor, Sec, Mr. William Pontey,
Huddersfield, York/hire.
ExtraB from the Preface to the 2^th Vol. of the Tranfflions of the Stciety of Arts, &c page 8, publiflied in Feb. 1807.
•• The mifchief and damage arifmg to plantations in general, from a bad fviU-m of pruning, or negleft, induced the late public-fpirited Duke of '5t-dford to dircft a feries of experiments to be made, at his expence, by W Pontey, of Huddersfield, on his extenfive plantations in the neighbourhood of Woburn. Mr. Pontey has (hewn great induftry and judgment in his fcleftion of fpecimens, and in the clear detail relative to pruning Forefl Trees, which he has communicated in a publication, en- titled the Torcft Piuner, prefented by him to the Society."
" This i'yUem has been purfucd by Mr. Salmon, agent to the prefent Duke of Bedford, under his Grace's anfpices, and confirmed by his certificate, as noticed in the prefent volume. Wc are happy to add it is continumg with fpirit under his Grace's particular proteftion and at- tention."
T. Smart, Printer, Huddersfield.
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