774 LEGAL. [Ai'KiL 



Some remarks by Mr. C. Y. Michie in Gardeners Chronicle of 

 27th February 1886 would seem to show that he is quite capable 

 of writing a manual on pruning, which would avoid what I take to 

 be serious errors in the work above named, and be of service to 

 young men learning forestry. 



He says, " Like many others, I pruned much at an early period of 

 my practice, and having had over a quarter of a century's experience 

 of it, I am now induced to do comparatively little." 



What my father called finger-pruning is very beneficial in young 

 plantations. Merely rubbing off the terminal bud of a rampant 

 slioot will often redress the balance. 



Later in plantation life it seems to me, best to remove branchy or 

 unpromising trees altogether as the cuttings are made, and some 

 promising forest trees which have room to throw out strong side 

 branches or double heads may be ladder-pruned with advantage. 



A friend of mine gave me a rule which I think judicious. Cut 

 off two-thirds of a branch which is to be removed at a later period, 

 one-third of a branch which is to be checked. 



I wrote some papers in your valuable journal some time ago on 

 the treatment of plantations without regular thinning. They 

 elicited no reply from any forester, yet I am sure there is 

 some sense in the practice which was adopted by a landowner who 

 planted largely in Cornwall, as an adaptation of the conditions 

 found in a natural forest to our artificial plantations. 



If ^Ir. Farquharson ever comes to Plymouth, I hope he will be 

 kind enough to write to me before he comes, and favour me 

 with a call. — Yours faithfully, 



H. PiOGERS. 



Hartley, Plyiiol'th, 2Cytli 2Iarch 1886. 



Legal. 



THEFT OF TREES AT BEDGASTLE. 



IN the Sheriff Criminal Court on February 22, two lads, Alexander 

 Mackintosh and James Macrae, Arpafeelie, were charged before 

 Sheriff Hill with having, during the month of January last, cut 

 eleven birch and two larch trees in Parkton plantation, on the 

 Ptedcastle estate, and appropriated them without sanction. The 

 accused admitted the offence. Sheriff Hill, in passing sentence, said 

 the two lads had pleaded guilty to a very serious cliarge, and it was 

 not usual to impose a fine in a conviction for theft. He would, 

 however, make an exception in the present case, and ordered tlie 

 accused to pay a fine of £1, with the alternative of ten days' 

 imprisonment. The fines were paid. 



