The Planting of Stanage Park. 



The experience of those who have actually planted and reared trees 

 cannot fail to be useful, and the following account given by Mr. Edward 

 Eogers, of Stanage Park, in the county of Eadnor, will no doubt be 

 found interesting. It is dated in 1835, but facts do not deteriorate 

 with age, and what was true then is equally true now. He says : — In 

 the year 1799 this park was so entirely denuded of timber, that in 

 the space of 417 acres I can recollect only 43 oak trees of large dimen- 

 sions ; birch, ash, and alder constituted the remainder of the wood. 

 jNIy father immediately commenced by enclosing about 150 acres, 

 which he dibbled with acorns, and gradually planted with trees of 

 various sorts. He proceeded to make other enclosures containing 

 39 acres, which he planted in the same way, and shortly after he 

 commenced planting a hill that overhangs and adjoins the park to 

 tlie extent of 168 acres more. The greater part of these plantations 

 were dug with holes, and the trees planted by hand, at the distance of 

 four to five feet apart, taking care to insert oak in such places, and at 

 such distances, that they might stand for timber. In only one place 

 have the plants been nicked into the turf, and that was on the highest 

 part of the hill, where small seedling plants were used, in the hope, 

 which has been fully justified, that they would become better rooted 

 and firmer to resist the wind when their height should expose them 

 to its power. In all these plantations, both in and out of the park 

 the growth of the oak timber has been most satisfactory, and I may 

 safely challenge any planter to show as large a number of thriving 

 oak plants upon an acre as may be seen here, wherever the larch and 

 Scotch fir have been cleared away. This clearing, which is constantly 

 going on, would proceed more rapidly were it not for the difficulty of 

 disposing of the fir poles. In some of the later plantations I have 

 endeavoured to obviate the evil of the mixture of the firs with the 

 oak, for there is always a difficulty in removing these nurses in proper 

 time. I have planted alternate rows of larch, Scotch fir, and oak — in 

 some instances two rows of Scotch fir to one of oak, and I remove an 

 entire row of the fir timber at once, and so continue till at last I get 

 rid of it altogether. The firs are in this way more easily got at and 

 removed, and with less danger to their neighbours, than wdien planted 

 on the usual mixed plan. If there should appear any objection to the 



