SUITABLE DISTANCES FOR PLANTING FOREST TREES. 77 



VII. On the Distances at which Forest Trees should be planted on 

 different Soils and Situations. By Lewis Bayne, Forester, 

 Kinmel Park, Abergele. 



There is probably no point in forestry on which the opinion of 

 practical men has undergone less change than as to the distances 

 at which forest trees should be planted ; and it is a matter of im- 

 portance, as the first start of a plantation has much to do with its 

 after progress — that is, whether it will turn out a profitable or a 

 losing investment. 



The nature and quality of the soil, the situation, and altitude at 

 which ti'ees are planted, will in great measure settle the ques- 

 tion, as the better the soil, and the more sheltered the situation, 

 the fewer plants will be required, and vice versd on poor thin land 

 and exposed situations. 



In planting hardwood trees that are to form the ultimate crop, 

 particular attention should be directed to the size they are likely 

 to attain in the different soils and situations, so that after the 

 plantation has been regularly thinned, those to be left may stand 

 at proper distances apart, before arriving at timber size. In con- 

 sidering this, it should be borne in mind that in most cases larch 

 and other coniferous trees are of more value when young than 

 hardwood trees of the same age ; and that accordingly in view of 

 the after thinning, the former class, larch, etc., should be thickly 

 planted, and the hardwoods as widely apart as the circumstances 

 will admit of. It must, however, be carefully guarded against 

 planting the latter too thinly, as the system of planting the exact 

 number of hardwood trees required for the main crop, and filling 

 in the remainder with quick-growing trees of more value when 

 young, would be impracticable, because the hardwood varieties, in 

 order to thrive, require an amount of sun, light, and air, which 

 would be denied them by the great shade of the tall and faster- 

 growing trees of the fir tribe. 



The same objection is not applicable to close planting of coniferous 

 trees, providing they are thinned in proper time, but by planting an 

 xumecessary number per acre, extra expense is incurred in plants 

 and labour, when it may be the labour is required elsewhere ; for 

 instance, the trees required to plant an acre at 3 feet apart 

 exceed the number by over two thousand, if planted at 4 feet 

 apart, which at 20s. per thousand (including carriage and labour), 



