552 PROTECTION AGAINST WINDS. 



badly in such places, and within ten or fifteen years the crowns 

 of the surrounding trees will close them again. Larger 

 blanks, however, should be at once planted, before they 

 become covered with weeds, unless natural regeneration can 

 be secured. In planting blanks, about 20 to 25 feet should 

 be left unplanted round them, as plants within this strip 

 would suffer from the shade of the surrounding trees. 



In filling blanks in injured spruce and silver-fir woods, 

 beech, hornbeam, sycamore, or silver-fir are preferable ; but 

 if the forest contains red deer, silver-fir plants will require 

 fencing with hurdles. Woods of Scots pine and larch, when 

 damaged by storms, may be filled up with spruce, Weymouth 

 or Corsican pines. Beech woods that have been invaded, 

 where the soil is deep, should be planted with oak, and on 

 good but stony soil, with sycamore ; in wet places, with ash, 

 or alder. When the next felling takes place, these groups of 

 young trees will be carried on for another rotation, but will be 

 thinned and pruned where they endanger the future young 

 beech. They will eventually yield fine timber trees. 



B. Injured Poles. 



It is very difficult to decide on the proper treatment of pole- 

 woods when broken into by storms. Premature fellings would 

 be undertaken only when the damage done is on a large scale, 

 or when these woods interrupt the normal cutting-series, 

 or when they would not expose neighbouring woods to 

 the west. 



In most cases the felling of broken poles will be considered 

 in connection with the volume of broken timber from older 

 compartments. 



In general, the treatment of damaged pole-woods will vary 

 according to species, locality, area of blanks, etc. 



Small blanks could be left unplanted for the same reason as 

 that given for older woods. Larger blanks could be planted 

 with tall transplants of beech, hornbeam, or sycamore. Lime 

 and white alder are also suitable species. Larch and Wey- 

 mouth pine owing to their rapid growth would soon fill up the 

 blanks, but the larch does not thrive everywhere, and the 



