On the Planting of Foi^est- Trees. 287 



four feet apart ; and it is extremely rare to find a plantation of 

 either firs or deciduous trees in which any regular and consistent 

 system of thinning has been pursued ; so rare, indeed, that I am 

 sure I speak within compass when I state that not one in twenty 

 exhibits proofs of judicious management in this particular. The 

 same remark will apply to self-planted woods and forests, the 

 owners of which, it would seem, with a few honourable exceptions, 

 content themselves with such timber as unassisted nature provides 

 for them, without any care and solicitude on their parts. This 

 neglect is the more remarkable, as the appearance of a few well- 

 grown trees of each kind, which by accident have stood at such a 

 distance as to have attained their full and proper dimensions, and 

 which may be seen almost everywhere, would suggest the proper 

 course to be adopted. The least reflection on the actual con- 

 dition of such trees would connect the ideas of a large full head 

 and a thick stem, and lead to the conclusion that the branches 

 and their leaves must in some way or other minister to the growth 

 and increase of the trunk : the next conclusion would be, that they 

 are quite indispensable to its increase ; and pursuing the inquiry 

 still further, we must arrive at the important fact that trees derive 

 almost the whole of their substance from the air in which their 

 leaves are expanded ; and, lastly, that an ample access of light 

 and air are necessary to the healthy discharge of their functions. 

 All this has long since been fully proved by men who, without 

 any other motive than the love of science, have given their minds 

 to investigate the interesting phenomena of vegetable life. How 

 little either science or observation have yet influenced the opera- 

 tions of the forester, the present condition of most of our woods 

 and plantations sufficiently testifies. Before proceeding further on 

 this subject, the reader is referred to the description given at the 

 commencement of this Paper of the several organs of trees, and 

 the parts they perform in the progress of vegetation ; which, 

 though brief and imperfect, it is hoped will be found sufficient 

 for the purpose intended; namely, to enable him to form clear 

 ideas of the extent to which the judicious interference of man, 

 during the growth of trees, may be conducive to the production 

 of the greatest quantity of valuable timber, and also of the ill 

 effects of injudicious treatment or neglect in defeating that object. 

 A clear understanding of this subject is not only necessary from 

 the present state of timbered districts before alluded to, but also 

 because some persons who have undertaken to direct public opi- 

 nion in the management of timber-trees entertain the most con- 

 flicting opinions — for while one author recommends the cutting 

 away or thinning out a large portion of the head of a tree, in order 

 to promote the production of timber, another treats the subject 

 both of thinning and pruning as scarcely needed, if not injurious. 



