THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 200 
burned, but this seems rather to foster than check their growth. 
Not only do the old plants spring anew from the roots, but, owing 
to the condition of the ground after the burning takes place, seeds 
lying dormant are enabled to germinate ; and both crops coming 
up together, the ground is in a worse state than ever. No doubt 
the most effectual way of getting rid of them is to grub them up 
entirely by the roots, but this is a very expensive operation, and 
often necessitates an expenditure of as much as £4 per acre. A 
cheaper method may be adopted. When the ground is entirely 
covered with whins or broom, strips about 2 feet wide, and from 
3 to 4 feet apart, are cut through them, and the plants put in along 
these. By a little attention for the first few years the whins and 
broom will easily be prevented from unduly interfering with the 
growth of the plants. Where tall grass occurs it is necessary, if 
the plants are to be notched into the ground, to pare off patches of 
the surface about 15 inches square, on the spots where the plants 
are to be inserted. This will enable the plants to get a good start 
before the grass can again grow with its usual luxuriance. 
Trenching is an expensive operation, and is seldom resorted to 
as a preparation for young trees. When planting is done with a 
view to profit, it is better to leave the land in its natural condition, 
not only on the ground of economy, but that the timber may not 
deteriorate in quality, which, in the case of conifers at all events, 
it certainly will do, if growth is unduly accelerated by artificial 
means. In forming shelter plantations, however, on the sea-coast 
trenching may with advantage be resorted to; and it very often 
happens that trees are made to grow by thus preparing the soil, 
when attempts to follow the ordinary method of planting result in 
failure. 
7. SOIL AND CLIMATE. 
When it is considered that a period of fifty, sixty, or one hundred 
years must elapse before the full value of a crop of trees can be 
realised, it is obvious that great forethought and careful dis- 
crimination must be exercised by the planter. Errors committed 
at the outset cannot, as a rule, be remedied during the whole life 
of the trees composing the plantation. One of the most serious 
of such errors is committed when planting operations are carried 
on without sufficient care being taken to select each variety of tree 
for the soil for which it is naturally fitted. Nothing is more 
common than to find trees, which nature has adapted for a light 
