THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. te 
-or hoeing, till just after the trees have shed their seed, when 
the preparation of the seed-bed and the covering of the seed may 
be performed by one and the same operation. Where no artificial 
preparation is necessary, but where it is desirable to cover the seeds, 
it is well to delay making the seed-felling till late in winter, when 
the disturbance to which the surface of the ground is subjected, by 
the felling and dragging of the timber and branches, usually suffices 
to bury the seeds to the required depth. 
If the ground has been sufficiently supplied with seed which has 
germinated satisfactorily, the future use of the old generation of 
trees is chiefly confined to protecting the young plants against 
extremes of temperature. If, however, owing to some cause or 
other, the stocking of the ground is defective, the old trees must be 
still further utilised for the production of seed. For this purpose a 
sufficient number must be retained till a second seed year has come 
round, their distribution over the area being regulated by the 
appearance of the young wood. 
If the blanks or patches which are insufficiently stocked be of 
inconsiderable size, they may often be filled up by transplanting 
young trees from parts of the wood where the stocking is so dense 
that they can be easily spared. These young trees should be lifted 
with balls of earth adhering to their roots, and as they need not be 
carried far, the operation is not an expensive one, and the results 
are excellent. If this practice be adopted—and leaving advance 
growth out of the question—the young wood is absolutely even- 
aged, for all the trees have been produced from seed shed during 
one year; whereas if two or more seed years have been utilised, 
differences of as much as ten to fifteen years in the age of the young 
trees are unavoidable. In later life such slight differences become 
unrecognisable, so that, to all intents and purposes, such a wood 
may be regarded as even-aged, though, strictly speaking, it is really 
uneven-aged. 
In those parts where the regeneration is quite satisfactory, and 
where consequently no more seed or plants are required, the length 
of time during which the old trees should be retained is regulated 
by various considerations. In the case of shade-bearing trees, which 
are liable to suffer from frost, the old trees should not be removed 
too soon, for though their shade will somewhat retard growth in the 
younger trees, it will not cripple them, and will prove very bene- 
ficial in the way of protection. Where, however, we are dealing 
with light-demanding trees, the subsequent felling, or light-felling, 
