THE NEW FORESTRY. 125 



gress of growth assumes importance. The older and larger 

 a tree gets the greater the ratio of annual increment. In the 

 earlier stages of growth the increment is fractional, by com- 

 parison, with that added in the later stages of the tree's life, 

 and which may then amount to several cubic feet every year. 

 For example, a tree trunk forty-five feet long, the quarter girth 

 of which is eighteen inches, contains 101 feet 3 in. opa. ; but 

 if in one year the quarter-girth of the tree increases one 

 quarter-of-an-inch, the bulk rises to 104 feet o inches II pa., 

 and that is only a moderate increase. We have seen sections 

 of the Douglas fir, oaks, and other trees showing a very much 

 larger annual increase than the above ; and Dr. Lindley states 

 in his " Theory and Practice " that the annual rate of growth 

 of oaks on the Duke of Wellington's estate, computed in 

 tenths of an inch, was'ten, which in a large tree means many 

 cubic feet annually. Some may think that it is superfluous to 

 mention facts like these, which should be known to all practical 

 men, but it is a fact that they are not sufficiently realised by 

 owners of woods, or the valuation, for sale, of standing timber 

 made one year would not be held to be sufficient for several 

 years to come, as has often happened. It is well known that 

 the period allowed on estates to purchasers to clear lots off the 

 ground depends on the size of the lots ; and we have known 

 six years granted, where there was nothing urgent, the pur- 

 chaser paying cash down at the beginning, but trusting to the 

 increment gained during the time to pay interest and also 

 compensate him for incidental expenses connected with felling 

 and hauling, etc. 



When autumn planting cannot be carried out, then spring 

 is the next best season, extending from March till the end of 

 May, provided the soil is sufficiently moist. Even so late as 

 May, with trees that have been transplanted the previous year, 

 or two years before, there should be few failures if the roots 

 are well puddled and pit planting is adopted, taking out the 

 pits as the work proceeds. 



In any case, none of the conifera tribe should be planted 

 after the first, or at the latest, the second week in November, 

 nor between that period and the middle of March. This 

 period is condemned alike by the theorist and the experienced 

 forester. The roots of evergreens are said never to be quite 

 inactive, even in winter, but for all practical purposes growth is 

 at a standstill in the case of plants lifted with mutilated roots 

 and transplanted in winter, and it is well known that by far the 

 greatest losses are sustained under such conditions. 



