1881.] FOBEST WOBK FOB THE MONTH. 371 



before the plants begin to open their buds ; afterwards planting is 

 seldom successful, and never truly satisfactory. Boggy lands that 

 may have been judiciously left unplanted until now, should be 

 planted up as speedily as possible to ensure success. 



Thinning. — Plantation thinning should be completed by this time. 

 With the advancing spring trees become much more sensitive to the 

 sudden effects of the increased circulation of cool air amongst them ; 

 their susceptibility to injury from this cause is often markedly 

 apparent amongst young Oaks, by the production of epicormic 

 branches, where the thinning has been delayed for the purpose of 

 stripping the bark. These epicormic branches should be annually 

 dressed off, until they cease to grow at all. If allowed to develop 

 themselves unrestrained, they often lead to premature maturity, and 

 materially deteriorate the quality of the timber of the matured tree. 



NURSEKY. — This is a time of diligent activity in the nursery, in 

 clearing out the plants for the forest, and refilling up the plots by 

 transplanting seedlings, or preparing the ground for other crops. 

 Exhausted ground should receive a good dressing from the compost 

 heap or of well-rotted dung. Plant into nursery rows stocks for graftino- 

 ornamental trees of various desirable species and varieties. Eoot-prune 

 large trees intended for transplanting in the autumn. Sow seeds of 

 the Alder, Birch, Elm, Laburnum, Sycamore, and other deciduous 

 trees, and graft the several kinds of ornamental trees propagated by 

 this method. Digging between the nursery lines will encourage the 

 growth of fibrous roots, and save some after labour in keeping the 

 ground clean. 



A. Pateeson. 

 Hunstretc, Pensford, Bristol. 



SCOTLAND. 



Since communications were sent you for your last issue, we have 

 with the exception of about a week, experienced open but generally 

 rough weather. A series of gales varying in force has passed over 

 the country. For a week previous to the 27th of January the wind 

 blew stormy and gusty, and in exposed places numbers of trees were 

 blown down. On that date, however, or rather on the night previous, 

 a storm of wind, accompanied by a blinding snow-drift, set in and 

 continued with almost unabated fury for nearly twenty-four hours 

 It has been characterised as being in some localities of unexampled 

 severity. As almost a natural consequence of this extraordinary 

 depression, damage to an unparalleled extent is reported from various 

 districts of the country. Here, and in the northern counties generally. 



