72 ON PLANTING IN EXPOSED AND 



of "marsh land," probably from its having been in a wet and 

 marshy state before being drained and cultivated. Even now 

 in many places it is very wet during the winter months, or in 

 rainy w^eather, and from being level the water takes long to clear 

 off. The plantation is also of a heavy clay soil, and subsoil of 

 same stiff nature, and from the stiffness and tenacity of the soil, 

 and exposure of the situation, planting has never been performed 

 to any extent, even with the view of shelter. 



The plantation referred to is partly fenced by a hedge and 

 partly by an open ditch, and the remainder by a water-cut, into 

 which the tide has access. The trees consist of oak, ash, elm, 

 sycamore, beech, poplar, willow, alder, and Scots fir. A good 

 many larch had been planted, but are now almost all cut out, 

 and the few that have been left are quite dead. This result, in 

 the writer's opinion, is owing principally to the unsuitableness of 

 the soil, as the dead trees are standing in the interior of the 

 plantation, and have therefore had the shelter of the other trees. 

 From the appearance of the trees, and counting the concentric 

 circles as the years' growth, the trees were ascertained to be from 

 thirty to forty years planted, and none of them are of very large 

 size, considering that age to be correct (which we believe it is), 

 and the strong quality of the soil in which they are growing. 

 This may be accounted for by the smallness of the plantation, 

 the exposed situation on which they are growing, and the want 

 of timely and proper thinning. 



The north side, facing the sea, is margined with Huntingdon 

 willow, and a few common alders and poplars, none of which 

 have made much progress, the poplars being very much cut l^y 

 the wind, the willows having much the same appearance, while 

 the alders are not only of a sickly appearance, but have made a 

 very small growth, and are comparatively smaller than any trees 

 in the plantation. The poplars on this side are larger, and have 

 made more wood than any of the other trees. The west side, 

 which is much exposed, is principally composed of wych elm, 

 with a few ash, sycamore, and beech, and one or two oaks. The 

 oaks and beech are rather small, and also the wych elm, but the 

 latter ajDpear very healthy, and their foliage and young wood 

 appear to stand the exposure better than the former varieties. 

 The sycamores, although small, appear to be in a healthy state. 

 The south, or sheltered side, consists principally of poplar, asli,. 

 and elm. The former are of good size compared with any of the 

 other trees, and are much larger than the poplars on the other 

 side of the plantation, which is easily accounted for by tlieir 

 having the shelter of the other trees, and an extra depth of dry 

 soil, being planted close to the open ditch where the soil had 

 been thrown out. 



Taking the plantation as a whole, the oaks are few in number^ 



