Plantations and Home Nurseries Competition, 1914. 181 



Radnorshire 8, a total of 58 entries, 51 of which Avere for 

 plantations and estates and 7 for nurseries. 



Taking the classes in the order of the schedule, the planta- 

 tions are tirst dealt with. 



Class I. Hardwoods as Final Crop. — Plantations not 

 less than 1 acres in extent, of not less than 10 years' growth, 

 and which have been weeded or lightly thinned only. Restric- 

 ted to estates having more than 300 acres of woodlands. 



In this class there was only one entry, and it was more or 

 less a purely ornamental park group. The trees were chiefly 

 beech planted 15 to 20 ft. apart, and the size of the plants used 

 was 6 to 8 ft. It was considered that this, strictly speaking, 

 was not a plantation within the meaning of the competition, 

 and therefore no award was made. 



Class II. Hardwoods as Final Crop. — Not less than 

 4 acres, and for plantations up to completion of second thinning. 



There was only one entry in this class, and again no award 

 was made. The plantation had been formed with an indis- 

 criminate mixture of oak, sweet chestnut, birch, larch, spruce, 

 Scots and other pines, with a few Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and 

 other species. In the first instance, too few hardwoods had 

 been planted to form a successful final crop, and the large 

 number of other species employed, makes the mixture quite 

 unworkable. Thinning had taken place far too soon, evidently 

 before canopy was established, with the object, no doubt, of 

 saving some of the hardwoods which were in danger of 

 extinction by trees of more rapid growth. There is now only 

 about half a crop on the ground, the surface is practically 

 covered with grass and other weeds, and the trees left must 

 become branchy and coarse owing to the premature removal of 

 so many stems and consequent too free admission of light. It 

 is worthy of note that on higher land adjoining there is an old 

 wood with a large proportion of splendid mature beech, while 

 not a single beech w^as seen in the young section. 



Class III. For Conifer Plantations. — Not less than 

 4 acres in extent, confined to estates with not less than 300 

 acres of woodlands. 



There was a very large entry in this class, no fewer than 18 

 plantations competing, but there was no difficulty in decidiug 

 the awards. The silver medal was gained by the Earl of Powis 

 for a 14-year-old wood known as " Cwmbychan "' on his Powis 

 Castle Estate, Montgomeryshire. This plantation extends to 30 

 acres and occupies a fairly steep slope at an elevation of 700 ft. 

 to 800 ft., with a northern exposui-e on a soil of medium loam. 

 The average rainfall in the district is 46 ins. The trees, mainly 

 larch with Scots pine more or less in groups, were planted by 

 the pitting method at 3 ft. 6 in. apart, and the age of the plants 



