CHAPTEE IX. 



THINNING. 



The next necessary work to be done is that of thin- 

 ning, and it depends upon several circumstances both 

 how and when to perform it. If planting was done 

 thickly, thinning must be done early, and likewise if 

 the growth is rapid, it must be done earlier than if 

 growth had been slow. 



The following are the general rules by which the 

 writer conducts his operations of thinning, and when 

 properly understood and attended to, will be found 

 productive of the most satisfactory results. 



!N"ot having fixed any particular distances at which 

 the trees should be planted, but leaving that matter to 

 be determined by those local circumstances which can- 

 not be specified, such as size of plantation, likelihood 

 of deaths occurring, exposure to injury of game, &c., 

 it cannot be said at what age thinning should be 

 done, nor can it be said what size the trees should 

 be when it should be commenced, nor even whether 

 or not thinning should be proceeded with when 

 the side branches begin to touch each other. In 

 some cases, it is too soon to thin when the side 

 branches begin to touch, and in others, if delayed till 



