206 ME. FORSYTH ON GAME PBESERVES AND FENCES. 



ceivers of stolen property, thus maintaining some of the greatest 

 pests to civilised society. 



That the value of evergreens must very soon begin to be 

 appreciated, even in an agricultural point of view, there can be 

 no doubt ; for when I look at the miles of bare stone walls that 

 divide field from field, and find that the plough cannot come 

 within two or three feet of them, and that consequently that 

 portion which is by far the best in the field is allowed to waste 

 itself in growing weeds, I feel astonished ; more especially know- 

 ing, as every gardener knows, that such walls would shelter fruit- 

 trees and support them, and that an immense quantity of cider, 

 &c. &c. might be obtained from the south side of a wall, whilst 

 the north side would yield gorse for green food for dairy stock 

 and horses during winter. Nevertheless, while these thinofs are 

 neglected, we find scores of fruit-trees occupying an acre or two 

 of the finest land on the farm. 



But to return to the subject of game-cover. As far as the 

 plants that are necessary for game preserves are concerned, 

 I have succeeded in simplifying the process of propagation so 

 much, that the common day-labourer can increase them by 

 millions without the aid of glass or hotbed. It is a common 

 practice to put in cuttings of the common laurel, for example, in 

 winter, and they strike root the next summer, and in the sum- 

 mer of the second year produce lateral branches, and thus be- 

 come perfect plants in two years. Now, according to my pro- 

 cess, three months are sufficient for this purpose, and in that 

 short space of time plants of the greatest symmetry are obtained 

 with roots, stems, and lateral branches. Such is the difference 

 between taking the scion when vegetable life is at the flood, and 

 the old system of waiting till the whole system of the scion be- 

 comes indurated and vegetable life has ebbed to the lowest. The 

 buds that had not burst into leaf in April may now be converted 

 into a crop of well-rooted evergreens by October, which is just 

 about the time that we used to take off the cuttings, and had at 

 least a year to wait for their taking root after that. 



After transplanting evergreens at nearly all seasons, and after 

 collecting all the information on this point that I could come at, 

 I find from experience that there is a time during the period 

 of growth when dryness becomes actually beneficial to the plant 

 instead of proving injurious to it : this time, then, if it can be 

 accurately ascertained, is the turning point of the transplanting, 

 whether that transplanting be practised on a perfect plant or 

 only on a scion (for rooted plants not later than August or early 

 in September). But in order that there may be no misgivings 

 as to this theory, I will conclude this part of my paper with 

 the reasons that led me to adopt it, and the experiments that 



