THE FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF GAME COVERTS. 219 
increase in like proportion with the rhododendron, and for this 
reason it should be planted in small patches; and when it is 
desirable to increase the cover, the outer branches may be pegged 
down or layered. This plant also bears pruning with impunity, 
so that old plants that have, through neglect, become lank and 
straggling may without fear or risk be layered or pruned in with 
advantage. 
The common Yew and Holly cannot be too extensively used in 
the formation of game coverts, both being unrivalled for beauty and 
hardiness. They thrive in a great variety of soils, and beneath the 
densest shade of our woodland trees. In planting the yew it is 
well, however, to bear in mind that it is highly deleterious to stock 
that may browse upon its branches, and for this reason should never 
be planted along the outskirts of a wood, or in any position to which 
they have access. 
The St John’s Wort, as a low-spreading shrub, is unsurpassed, 
and thrives best in a light sandy or peaty soil. It is readily pro- 
pagated by division of the roots; and when planted out in small 
patches a foot or two apart, the creeping stems soon cover a con- 
siderable surface of ground, and form a dense evergreen mass, 
covered in summer with bright golden flowers. 
Gaultherva Shallon, another plant of creeping habit, is, notwith- 
standing its many good qualities, seldom planted to any extent in 
our woodlands ; but this may, to some extent at least, be accounted 
for by the high price of the plants, as well as the small size of those 
purchaseable from our nurserymen. Like most other North American 
plants, the Gaultheria prefers a rather damp, peaty soil, and is one 
of the few shrubs found to thrive in pine plantations. The berries, 
which are borne in great abundance, are greedily devoured by pheas- 
ants, and in their native country are not unfrequently used as food. 
The Butcher's Broom is a fine glaucous green shrub, densely 
covered with sharp, prickly leaves, and invaluable for planting in 
shady places—indeed, in such positions it seems to be quite at 
home. Here it flowers and fruits freely beneath half-standard 
rhododendrons where few other plants could exist, far less succeed. 
The twigs of this shrub were formerly used by butchers for sweep- 
ing their blocks ; hence the English name. 
Some of the above plants, notably the St John’s Wort and Gaul- 
theria, may be considered as carpet plants, which, in contradistine- 
tion to general underwood, may be classed as evergreens, which, 
from their low, procumbent mode of growth, are scarcely in the true 
VOL, XI., PART Il. Q 
