74 TRANSACTIONS OK ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



If the ground is not damp, the following procedure should be 

 adopted : — Holes should be dug in the ground 40 inches 

 wide and 2 to 2 \ feet deep, and the slips should be planted 

 in these holes as if they were rooted plants — the soil 

 round the slip must afterwards be kept carefully weeded. 

 M. Marion states that planting by slips gives the best results. 

 Professor Henry, on the other hand, recommends planting 

 rooted plants from the nursery. 



(2) Planting of rooted plants. 



Date of planting — 15th November to end of April. Holes 

 should be dug 40 inches wide, 2 to 2\ feet deep. The 

 plants should, however, be planted only 18 inches deep. 



The soil should be well broken up. 



During the first few years the soil round the plant must be 

 kept free of weeds or mulched with dead leaves or heather. 



(3) Recommends planting 200 to 500 per hectare, say 100 to 



200 per acre. 

 6. With regard to the subsequent treatment of plantations, 

 M. Marion gives the following instructions : — 



During the first few years all buds growing along the stem 



should be nipped off by hand in the month of June. 

 Pruning, i.e. the cutting of all side branches up to a certain 



height. 

 Lopping, i.e. the cutting of branches in the crown of the 

 tree which threaten to destroy its equilibrium or to make 

 double leaders. 

 Both pruning and lopping should be done between 15th 

 November to 15th March — lopping is particularly neces- 

 sary when the tree is young, in order to encourage the 

 leader and to suppress all branches which might interfere 

 with its upward growth. 

 After pruning, sprouts will grow from the edge of the 

 wound, these must be removed in the month of August, 

 and such sprouts will ultimately cease to develop— a 

 pruning-hook can be used for these up to about 25 feet. 

 M. Marion considers lopping indispensable for the proper 

 growth of the trees. He advises that pruning be carried out 

 with great care, and that sufficient branches should be left to 

 ensure full increment. The proportion he recommends is — for 

 young trees three-fourths branched, one-fourth pruned, for larger 

 trees one-half branched, one-half pruned. 



M. Marion gives instructions as to the best way of protecting 



