196 A MANUAL OF FOKESTKY. 



species likely to stand the shade of the surrounding 

 saplings. 



Sometimes a young crop of a valuable species may be 

 too thin throughout the area, so that the soil is exposed, 

 and the young trees are not sufficiently forced up. In 

 such cases it may be useful to interplant the whole area 

 with a quick-growing species, such as Birch, Scotch Pine, 

 or Larch, which remains until the first species has grown 

 sufficiently to form by itself a complete leaf-canopy. 

 Frequently a portion of the filling species is retained as 

 a permanent constituent of the crop. 



Young woods which are the result of direct sowing or 

 of natural regeneration, are frequently here and there 

 too densely stocked. If no action were taken, the 

 young trees would grow up too weedy and lanky ; hence 

 some of them nrast be pulled up. Where they are not 

 to be used for planting elsewhere, they may be cut off 

 close to the ground with a knife, sickle, billhook, or 

 shears. If the plants have already reached some size, 

 the removal of a portion must be done gradually, else 

 the remaining plants may be bent over from being de- 

 prived of the support of their neighbours. 



3. Cleaning of Young Woods. 



The cleaning of a young wood has for its object to 

 remove in good time all growth which interferes with 

 the proper development of the principal species or 

 individuals. Such interfering growth may consist of 

 stool shoots amongst a sufficient number of seedling 

 trees ; mis-shapen or spreading young trees ; trees which 

 have accidentally established themselves by seed blown 



