CHAPTER VIII. 



MANAGEMENT FROM TIME OF PLANTING TO 

 THINNING. 



ISTo period of a plantation's history is of more import- 

 ance, or more critical, than that which intervenes be- 

 tween planting and the first thinning. The most for- 

 midable and general enemies to contend with are the 

 long grass, brackens, nettles, docks, thistles, brambles, 

 whins, and such like. I have not mentioned heather, 

 for it is assumed that when heath is so luxuriant as to 

 injure the plants before they rise above it, it is burned 

 down before planting ; but if it has not been so burned, 

 the next best thing to do is to cut it so that every 

 plant stands quite clear of it, and will not be en- 

 croached upon till fairly above it. 



In order that the plants be kept clear, they should 

 be gone over once a year at least, and every tree set 

 at perfect freedom, not only the top of the plant, 

 but, which is almost as important, the side branches as 

 well, down even to the exposure of the swell of the 

 stem, above the roots. When the turf was not pared 

 off preparatory to planting, the decayed grass and 

 herbage should be thoroughly cleared away to some 

 distance from the stem all round: this allows the 



