162 LEAF CANOPY AND PBUNING. [Jan- 



"be overtaken. It is not desired to dogmatise, nor to undervalue care- 

 ful and skilful pruning in moderately open coverts. Any one electing 

 to follow the latter system lias in England two things much in his 

 favour — the favourable humid climate and the higher prices of wood. 

 The one will supply sufficient moisture to the soil even in most 

 summers, and the high price of the scarce commodity may render it 

 easier to bear the expense of artificial pruning. There is, perhaps, 

 even a third circumstance in his favour — that the English soil is in 

 general richer, and may in some cases hold out longer under neglect. 

 It would hardly be profitable to discuss the question, whether either 

 natural or artificial pruning should be pursued to the entire exclusion 

 of the other. The question here selected for discussion in a moderate 

 manner is, rather, which of the two methods should for the most 

 part be aimed at ? On impartial examination the preponderance of 

 advantages will, it is thought, be found to belong to natural pruning 

 by means of close order and the shade of leaf-cauopy. It has, there- 

 fore, been sought to give prominence to the advantages of thorough 

 shade, so apt to be forgotten and neglected in our favourable climate. 

 There is, however, something more to be said on behalf of artificial 

 pruning. There are some circumstances in force at the present time 

 which render it less easy to maintain a thoroughly satisfactory canopy 

 among hardwoods, or to depend entirely on thorough shade in culti- 

 vating them. These are connected principally with the facts that 

 the most valuable kinds of hardwoods are somewhat defective in 

 their foliage, and that there are difficulties in the way of contriving 

 admixtures with them of denser foliage to correct this. The Oak and 

 the Ash, for instance, provide very light foliage, and, refusing to flourish 

 in very close order, they cannot of themselves without admixture 

 produce thorough and efficacious shade. The best specimens of Oak 

 and Ash have been raised often in admixtures where there was a great 

 preponderance either of the Beech or the Hornbeam. The present 

 difficulty in continuing these, from a cultural point of view, highl}'" 

 satisfactory combinations, with their good effects in promoting and 

 conserving the fertility of the ground, is that there is little demand 

 for Beech or Hornbeam timber. Oak timber must certainly be had 

 somehow, and before finding among broad-leaved or needled trees 

 efficient substitutes for the Beech, and in the absence of universally 

 approved admixtures, the forester has a strong inducement to make 

 further attempts at raising Oaks unmixed. For these coverts of un- 

 mixed Oak it is not unlikely that he will be forced to call in the aid 

 of artificial pruning, especially to improve the more promising trees. 

 Where the Oaks are closest, he may sometimes be able to confine 

 pruning operations for the most part to the removal of dry withered 

 branches ; but where they are more open, he will probably also 



