Plantations and Home Nurseries Competitioii, 1912. 210 



offer so much prospect of final satisfaction as planting the 

 hardwoods in pare lines or in definite groups. 



In all the young hardwood plantations that were brought 

 to our notice we found tliat a considerable amount of pruning 

 had been done. That pruning is unnecessary is proved by the 

 fact that it is an operation practically unknown in the fine 

 hardwood forests of the continent, but there the initial 

 stocking is much more dense, and the system of nursing is 

 practically unknown. Under our present system, however, it 

 must be recognised that a certain amount of attention must be 

 given to the removal of strong side branches and double 

 leaders ; but as this work is necessarily costly, it would seem 

 to be desirable to restrict it to the strong individuals that are 

 destined to stand at least to the middle life of the wood. If 

 pruning is done the separation of the branches should be 

 effected close to the bole, and nothing of the nature of a stump 

 or snag should be left. The latter system of pruning was much 

 in vogue about the middle of last century, but has long since 

 been aljandoned as thoroughly irrational by all intelligent 

 foresters, and yet it is necessary to call attention to the matter, 

 because in our tour of inspection we found that the practice is 

 hj no means obsolete in Yorkshire. 



With regard to the time and manner of thinning, it may be 

 said that a great improvement has taken place during the last 

 few years. Formerly thinning began much too early, the result 

 being that the trees that were left were given room to produce 

 strong rough branches, with consequent knotty and inferior 

 timber in the bole. Now it is recognised that woods should be 

 kept sufficiently dense to secure the suppression of the lower 

 branches at a fairly early age, and as a rule we found that the 

 suliject of thinning was well understood and was being rationally 

 practised. Now and again, where game rather than timber was 

 the object in view, the woods had been over-thinned at an early 

 age ; and, on the other hand, we also found that the operation of 

 thinning was sometimes being unduly delayed, with the result 

 that there was excessive curtailment of the crowns. But 

 except for an occasional instance of error in the direction of one 

 or other of these extremes, we are glad to be able to say that 

 the thinning of woods is now conducted in an intelligent 

 manner. 



Conifers. — When on the subject of pruning we may mention 

 that we seldom found any pruning of live branches of conifers 

 had been done, and in woods of reasonable density such 

 pruning is al^solutely unnecessary. We did, however, find that 

 frequently the dead branches of larches had been knocked 

 off by the use of a ])ole ; audi as such artificial cleaning of the 

 stems allows air to circulate more freely, ^and must also i-esult 



