68 FOREST WORK FOR THE MONTH. [Nov. 



repair posts and rails, or wliatever kind of temporary protection may 

 have been used. 



The drains not examined last month should be looked to now, 

 and all obstructions cleared from the outlets. The drainage of 

 hop fields should now be performed, making the drains fully four 

 feet deep. Wlien the ground has been properly prepared, this is 

 the best season for planting young hops. 



Osiers may be cut as soon as their leaves drop, and tied in 

 bundles for the basket-maker. A. Patekson. 



HrNSTRETE, PeNSFORD, BRISTOL. 



SCOTLAND. 



rr^HE autumn months are no doubt the best months of the year for 

 _L forest-planting on dry soils. Apart, however, from the adapta- 

 bility of the season for the planting of such soils, the practice of 

 leaving a large area of planting unaccomplished till spring cannot be 

 recommended. All soils, except those which retain nmch moisture, 

 should therefore, if possible, be operated on at this season, and as 

 soon as the plants suitable for them ripen off. I would venture to 

 recommend a departure from the long-continued practice of mixed 

 planting of conifers. The soil and situation suitable for the healthy 

 and profitable growth, as well as the production of timber of fairly 

 good quality, of the one, is invariably unsuitable for that of the 

 other. Moreover, the proper after-treatment of the one also differs 

 from that of the other ; so that, in my opinion, to grow these trees 

 well and to the best advantage, they must be grown as separate and 

 not mixed crops. This, I think, is a matter which should receive 

 some attention ; and you, Mr. Editor, will confer a boon upon not a 

 few interested in forest management, should you endeavour to get 

 the subject threshed out in all its important bearings in the pages 

 of your journal, in whicli I hope Scotch foresters will now take 

 special interest. ... It is to be hoped that the draining of all wet 

 parts has already been accomplished ; if not, it should be at once 

 attended to, as more time is required to drain off the excess of 

 moisture before planting takes place. 



The general thinning of forest crops may now be prosecuted as 

 time permits, and during this month at least, so as not to interfere 

 with planting operations. Always give free space for the develop- 

 ment of the trees, but guard against over-thinning. Scotch firs in 

 their younger stages must be kept sufficiently close, so as to permit 

 of nature's pruning taking effect in their stems ; guarding, however. 



