48 ON THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF THE 



were dried, they were sold, and about one-fourth of those cut from 

 No. 2 were rejected, and disposed of at less money, owing, as the 

 wood merchant said, to the " black knots falling out of them j" and 

 that these were pieces of decayed branches that had been enclosed 

 during the growth of the tree there can be no doubt. We went and 

 compared the staves together, and found that there was scarce a flaw 

 in those cut from No. 1 plantation, while many of the others were 

 much discoloured, and in some of them there were holes about a 

 half-inch in diameter, from which the pieces of decayed branches 

 had fallen. An examination of the trees showed the same results; 

 many of the trees in No. 2 were partially covered with tumours, and 

 the timber of many had a blackish appearance to the very root. 

 And there can be no doubt that this was caused by the admis- 

 sion of water through the cavities that had been formed by the fall 

 of decayed branches. In this instance, the attempt to produce a 

 clean but sound bole of timber, by delaying thinning until, from 

 confinement, the branches had decayed and fallen from the stem, 

 and so rendered pruning unnecessary, proved abortive. The method 

 of treatment followed in rearing these plantations was very different, 

 and so was the quality of timber produced. The best timber, and 

 therefore the most profitable crop, was produced by No. 1, which 

 had been reared under a moderate system of pruning, when in 

 its most rapid state of growth. 



These examples prove the inadequacy of nature's pruning to pro- 

 duce a sound bole of timber; and they also, we think, show that 

 timely foreshortening would frequently prevent the decay of branches, 

 and thus avert the formation of cavities in the stems of the trees. 

 It is well known that severe thinning produces a coarse, branchy 

 stem ; for, unless they be pruned, there is nothing to prevent the 

 branches from having their own w T ay without restraint, and 

 they thus absorb too much of the nourishment from the stem. 

 These branches are frequently improperly attached to the trunk; and 

 being heavy, they often splinter off, and thereby destroy the orna- 

 mental appearance of the tree, and deteriorate the value of its 

 timber. Trees brought up under these conditions are generally 

 short in the stem, with large wide-spread heads, that occupy more 

 space than if they were reared under a proper system of pruning 

 and thinning. Judicious foreshortening enables the trees to econo- 

 mise space and the benefits of the atmosphere: timely checking of 

 rival shoots and strong side branches restrains the natural bent of 

 the tree, and thus they are kept within due bounds, without being 



