286 On the Planting of Forest- Trees. 



make any vigorous progress, and both reason and experience point 

 out the causes of this condition of the plants, and the means by 

 which it might be prevented. In soils of this kind, which are 

 always very retentive of moisture, previous trenching and open 

 draining are indispensable, and as they are generally destitute of 

 calcareous matter, liming would be highly beneficial. In situa- 

 tions where manure can be obtained, a crop of potatoes may be 

 taken previously to planting the trees, and another between the 

 rows afterwards. The cultivation of these crops would be highly 

 beneficial to the plants, and the greater part, if not the whole, of 

 the expenses would be repaid. With such management the 

 plants would thrive vigorously from the first, and their future 

 progress would manifest that trees are not less grateful for the 

 pains bestowed on their culture than other plants. In situations 

 and under circumstances which render trenching and manuring 

 either impracticable or unnecessary, open draining can never be 

 dispensed with if the soil be wet or springy. I have seen plan- 

 tations entirely fail on a sandy soil covered with peat resulting 

 from the decay of heath-plants, which was of so peculiar a nature 

 as to be more retentive than clay ; while on adjoining land of the 

 same kind, by adopting a proper mode of surface-draining, a 

 plantation of which I had the management made greater progress 

 than on the ordinary dry land in the neighbourhood. The peat, 

 which in the former case destroyed the plants by its retentiveness 

 of moisture, was in the latter rendered conducive to their rapid 

 growth. 



It is scarcely needful to mention that, before the commencement 

 of planting, the ground should be thoroughly and substantially 

 fenced against sheep and cattle, and that effectual means be taken 

 to guard the young trees against the depredations of hares and 

 rabbits. In all extensive undertakings drives should ])e laid out 

 and levelled, by which a facility will be afforded for future in- 

 spection and management. 



Thinning, Pruning, and Management of Woods and 

 Plantations. 



Next in importance to judicious planting is the subsequent 

 management of trees, without which the most skilful previous 

 operations will be rendered almost nugatory. The deplorable 

 condition of by far the greatest part of woods and plantations pre- 

 sents an excellent negative example, and would lead to the con- 

 clusion that those who profess to manage them are not only igno- 

 rant of the first rudiments of the physiology of plants, but are 

 equally destitute of the least power of observation and reflection. 

 I have seen plantations which, for thirty years from the time of 

 planting, had not been thinned at all, though the trees were only 



