t 32 ] 



Beeches are the worft neighbours oaks can have, 

 they grow fo nnuch fafter, and extend their roots fo 

 far as to weaken> if not ftarve them. When the 

 former overhangs the latter, that afTu redly dwindles, 

 becomes dead topped, and worthlefs* 



Fik. 



Though I do not think the Scotch Fir in thk 

 country can ever equal the Yellow Deal from the 

 Baltick, yet it may be worth propagating, as of 

 ufeful purpofe in ordinary btiildings. The dryer 

 the ground ori which this timber grows,- the (lower 

 is its progrefs, but the clpfer are its pores, and the 

 more fuperior its quality.* When planted in rich 

 land, thefe trees will fhoot three or four feet in a 

 feafon, and equal, if not furpafs the abele in growtfi. 

 My plantations, though chiefly confined to chalky 

 banks, in a north-weft expofure, evince, that when 

 once rooted, few obftacles will prevent a profitable 

 progrefs. From obferving the miftakes of others 

 in endeavouring to ornament their naked downs too 

 fuddenly, I learnt the necefTity of planting firs, when 

 a foot high only, and by opening the ground fome 

 time before, inverting the turf at the bottom of the 

 holes, and throwing the mould upon it in hillocks, 



* I fliould imagine, that the firs planted by Mr. Allen, near 

 Claverton Down, will prove very fine timber hereafter. 



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