CONCERNING NATURAL REGENERATION IN GENERAL. 19 
thick net-work of roots that no seed gets near the mineral soil. 
The bilberry also exhausts and dries the surface-soil so much, 
that very few seeds can germinate owing to the dry, dead 
nature of the ground. In planting it is quite useless to put in 
plants with the T-notch unless the bilberry is first cut away, 
and the roots and dead surface removed; and if this is im- 
perative before artificially-inserted plants can thrive successfully, 
neglect of it gives little hope for successful natural regenera- 
tion. Where a combination of wére-grass and moss exists, the 
case is equally difficult. In woods with such a soil-covering, 
it is a difficult matter to determine how to clear the ground. 
Tearing up the moss in strips yields fair results, but is expensive; 
burning, when very dry, reduces the moss to a slight degree, 
but generally leaves a layer of moss and grass-roots which no 
radicle can push through, and in such cases it is useless to 
trust to natural regeneration. 
The rational method of treating woods is to keep the trees in 
close canopy throughout the entire life-period of the crop, so 
that the shade prevents the growth of surface-weeds. To keep 
a wood in such a manner is difficult, because, generally, as a 
wood grows older it gets more open, and especially if formed 
of light-demanding trees without any shade-bearer having been 
introduced to help to maintain close canopy, and thus protect 
the soil. In plantations of hardwoods (and especially of beech) 
with a dense leaf-canopy, the fallen foliage and other débris 
usually accumulate at a more rapid rate than decomposition 
proceeds, with the result that a mass of leaves and dead branches 
(raw humus) covers the ground. When such is the case, the 
seed is not likely to germinate to any great extent, and the 
ultimate result is that the seedlings damp off in a few weeks. 
This is easily remedied by raking the leaves together when dry, 
and burning them, nothing else being required to make the mould 
below a good seed-bed. But though the supply of seed may be 
abundant, and its quality good, the seedlings have little chance 
of establishing themselves unless the surface is comparatively 
free from weeds and rubbish, and is in a loose friable condition. 
3. REMOVAL OF SEED-BEARING TREES. 
The proper time for the removal of seed-bearing trees depends 
mainly on the light or shade required by the young seedlings. 
Some kinds of young growth are more liable to be injured by 
