ON PROTECTING YOUNG SPRUCE FROM FROST. 5 I 



for the fibres must not be cut, and only perfectly straight-grained 

 wood, split out along the medullary rays, will do. Of course 

 there must be nothing like a knot. Finally, only the sapwood 

 is used, and the heartwood is rejected. 



8. On Protecting Young Spruce from Frost. 



By William Hall, Bilton, York. 



Great inconvenience and loss is frequently caused to young 

 spruce plantations by frost, especially in late spring after the sap 

 has begun to flow into the extremities of the branches. Spruce 

 and a few other conifers suffer severely from such frosts ; they 

 are mostly met with on damp low-lying land which is sometimes 

 difficult to drain, and generally on peaty soil, which in Yorkshire 

 overlies a subsoil commonly known as quicksand. 



The writer is desirous of explaining an experience obtained on 

 this estate, in one of the above-mentioned hollows ; although it 

 happened by accident, and not by any plan or foresight, it 

 proved very successful, and might be useful to anyone else 

 working under similar conditions. 



The facts of the case are that in 1905 about 6 acres of the 

 Nova Scotia Wood were felled, and the following winter were 

 thoroughly cleared out ; the ground being replanted in February 

 1906. It might be advisable to explain here that owing to the 

 low-lying, basin-like configuration of the ground, a very deep 

 dyke about half a mile long had been cut at some previous 

 time to drain this wood, which is intersected by smaller dykes, 

 carried to all the wettest parts. As a rule there is no water 

 in these dykes in summer; but in winter, owing to the fact 

 that some of the surrounding arable land drains into the wood, 

 and owing to its very level nature, the water becomes backed 

 up, with the result that the lowest-lying part is kept very damp 

 throughout the winter. 



About two acres of a fringe round the outside of the plot, 

 where the soil is stronger, were planted with larch and spruce 

 in the proportion of about 3 to i respectively, and mixed with 

 hardwoods, oak and ash, at about every 16 feet. The wet, 

 low-lying part in the centre was planted entirely with spruce, 

 mixed with alder, in place of oak and ash, as the ground was 

 rather wet for these trees. The alders were planted in every 



