ON PLANTING WASTE LAND FOR PROFIT. 185 



wire-netting used should neither be less than 3 feet high nor 

 wider than i^ inch in mesh. 



Drainage. — The land being safely enclosed, the next step to be 

 taken in order to prepare the soil for receiving the young plants 

 is to drain it. Many failures in young plantations have been due 

 to want of proper drainage. Any experienced forester can easily 

 tell, by the natural appearance of the land and by the plants 

 growing on it, what parts require to be drained. 



All plantation drains should be open. The main-drains should 

 be 2^ feet deep, 30 inches wide at top, and 10 inches wide at 

 bottom, with the tributaries from 18 to 20 inches deep. 



If the ground proposed to be planted be very wet, or if much of 

 it is composed of " moorband " or pan, then it should be drained 

 at least one year before planting. In this way all stagnant 

 water is removed, and the soil is made pervious to air and rain, 

 both of which assist in breaking up the pan and checking its 

 formation. On peaty or clay soil, the drains should be set closer 

 and dug deeper than in light or drier soil. 



The cost of making such drains depends largely on the nature 

 of the soil, as well as on local labour ; but on the average, main- 

 drains should be made for about 3s. 2d. per chain, and the 

 tributaries for about is. 5d. per chain. 



Roads. — In all large plantations a certain number of roads 

 should be laid out. Everyone having the management of large 

 woodlands knows the importance of good roads. Whatever tends 

 to lessen haulage and facilitate the harvesting of the future crop 

 should receive careful consideration. Not only do such roads 

 reduce the cost of removing thinnings, etc., but they are also of 

 great service to sportsmen. It has been argued by some that it 

 is not economical to make the roads until they are required for 

 the removal of thinnings. With those we cannot agree, because 

 main roads can be made much more cheaply, and also much 

 firmer, by simply marking off and opening the side-drains 

 previous to planting. 



If the roadways were planted, all the stools of the trees would 

 require to be rooted up before carting began. This is no small 

 labour, and would cost as much as the trees on the roadway 

 would be worth at the time of the first thinning. The soil, too, 

 would be so loose and open from the roots of the trees that grew 

 in it, that it would take a long time before the surface would be 

 firm enough to stand any ordinary traffic. Another great 



