'292 Plantations and Home Nurseries Competition, 1911. 



depth, and previously bore pines which, judging from those 

 left round the plantation, must have been of goodly dimen- 

 sions. The young trees were planted 3 ft. 9 in. apart each 

 way, the ground having been previously " pitted " at a cost 

 of Is. 3d. per hundred pits, while 2s. -Id. per day was paid 

 for labour in the insertion of the plants — equivalent to about 

 6s. per thousand. Scarcely anything required to be expended 

 on re-planting, because very few deaths occurred. A sum of 

 7s. per acre was spent for work of this kind and in keeping 

 the small plants clear of weeds, attention only being required 

 during the first season. Fencing was unnecessary, owing to 

 the absence of rabbits. 



As to dimensions, the Douglas firs, at the date when the 

 competition was held, had an average height of 16 ft., with a 

 girth of 7 in. at 5 ft. from the ground. Recently the trees 

 have been making annual growths of 3^ to 4 ft. in length, in a 

 few instances even a little more. The Japanese larch are 

 much stronger than the European species, and at the time of 

 inspection looked as if they would easily outstrip the common 

 variety, although there is little difference in their average 

 height at present. While the Japanese was quite free from 

 pests the European larch had suffered to some extent from 

 both aphis and canker. 



In the same class as the foregoing plantation is one of Mr. 

 E. G. Pretyman's on the Orwell estate. The Brookhill Park 

 plantation, as it is called, is almost wholly made up of European 

 larch and is now twenty years of age. It was the best planta- 

 tion of its age viewed by the Judges, but fewer particulars could 

 be given as regards cost and mode of formation, so that it was 

 awarded only second prize. Although it has turned out fairly 

 successful, it was dangerous to plant so much pure larch with 

 only a few oaks interspersed, which have since been dominated 

 by the conifers. The thinnings have been very light up to 

 the present, but well carried out, leaving the trees on an 

 average about 6 ft. apart. The result is that we have a close 

 crop of shapely and useful poles about 35 ft. in height with a 

 girth of 14^ in. at 5 ft. from the ground. 



The third prize was awarded to Colonel Petre for a 25 

 acre plantation composed of Scots pine. The land had 

 previously been occupied by the birch, but this was cleared 

 anil the area systematically afforested. The species was well 

 chosen as being the best adapted to the light sandy soil. The 

 type of plants used (one-year-old seedlings ' placed in a 

 temporary nursery for two years) was well advised, as was 

 proved by the low death rate, and the cost, both for plants and 

 planting, was remarkably small in spite of the fact that casual 

 labour, obtained locally, carried out the operations. 



