NATURAL REPRODUCTION OF FORESTS. 45 
any great distance by the action of the wind, such as oak, beech, 
chestnuts, and hazel, and to these we may add the maples. The 
latter class all germinate the following spring after they are ripe ; 
the second class must be gathered and pitted for some time; the 
first class may be sown immediately after the seeds are ripe. 
Heavy seeds may be gathered as soon as they are ripe, and 
planted in vacant portions of the woods by dibbling them 
into the soil to the depth of two inches. The seeds of maples 
and suchlike do not require to be placed so deep; about an 
inch is sufficiently deep for them, and they may be sown as soon 
as they are ripe. 
A great deal more time ought to be devoted to this work 
of renovating woods than is usually given to it. Ifa few 
women or boys were employed during the autumn to gather the 
seeds of hardwood trees as they ripen and fall, a great advan- 
tage would be derived, and wonderful progress might be made in 
reproduction at comparatively little cost. The women and boys 
should be under the supervision of a skilled man, who would take 
care to select the seed from healthy trees, and to see that it was 
properly planted in the vacant spaces in the woods. All healthy 
seed-bearing trees ought to be specially numbered previous to 
the seeds being gathered. It would be judicious to have this 
done in the summer when the trees are clothed with their 
foliage, and any signs of decay are more easily detected than 
when the trees are in a leafless state. 
Seeds of pines and other trees might also be sown with great 
advantage on rocky ledges and elevated spots difficult of access, 
where it is almost impossible to find enough of soil to plant 
the roots of a tree in with any prospect of success. Seedlings in 
such exposed places have a better chance to grow up, inured to 
the blast and firmly rooted in the crevices of the rock, so as to 
be able to brave the fiercest storm. 
Then as to fencing in connection with the natural reproduction 
of forests, permit me to say it is an absolute necessity to have all 
woods undergoing the process of regeneration fenced in a sub- 
stantial and secure manner, so as to perfectly exclude hares and 
rabbits and all such destructive vermin. If young seedlings are 
eaten over before they have developed buds or leaves, they perish 
immediately. The leaves and buds are essential to the life and 
growth of a plant, and if these be nibbled off the seedlings, it is in 
vain to expect a healthy and vigorous crop of trees from any 
