PLANTATIONS. 93 



If, however, it were only from neglecting to 

 prune that the Plantations of this kingdom had 

 gone wrong, the "mismanagement" would not 

 have furnished a subject for remarks so strong as 

 it now does ; but, as I have stated over and over 

 again, the practice is, in most cases and on many 

 accounts, at every stage of their progress, almost 

 as bad as it can be. 



The treatment which a Plantation ought to 

 receive, may be comprised in a very few words. 

 The principals will require pruning from an early 

 period after being planted, and the pruning must 

 be continued, more or less, according to circum- 

 stances, either every year or every alternate year, 

 until it is from fifteen to twenty years old ; and, 

 during the same period, a small portion of thinning 

 will probably be required. As to the nurses, they 

 must be watched constantly after the fourth year, 

 and they must be treated with sole reference to 

 the prosperity of the other trees ; they may, there- 

 fore, be pruned, or lopped in any way that will 

 best subserve that end. Of course I am now 

 speaking of Plantations where the trees are not 

 N 



