PLANTING AMONGST OTHER TREES. 15 



essentials of success ; yet such situations offer many 

 advantages to the planter, though at the same time, 

 unless great care is exercised, the disadvantages will 

 more than preponderate. An efficient shelter, a large 

 amount of atmospheric moisture, and generally a good 

 soil, highly enriched by yearly deposits of vegetable 

 matter, are in the favourable scale. In the opposite, 

 a deficiency of light and air, drip from the heads and 

 encroachments from the roots of the existing trees, 

 are amongst the most formidable difficulties to contend 

 with. It is for the planter to seize upon the advan- 

 tageous features, and to combat those of an opposite 

 tendency. 



In commencing operations under such circumstances, 

 an examination of the character and condition of the 

 existing trees will afford a good criterion of the state 

 of the soil, and assist in forming an opinion as to the 

 amount of preparation required. 



Whether it is found necessary to drain or not, a 

 thorough preparation of the soil will be indispensable. 



An arrangement having been decided on, and the 

 position of the several groups and single trees set out, 

 the spaces necessary for each must be thoroughly 

 cleared of underwood, and sometimes an occasional tree 

 will require removal. But in selecting the places for 

 the new trees, every advantage consistent with the 

 intended arrangement will, of course, be taken of the 

 spaces between those already existing, and of any 

 situations altogether clear of them. And it will often 

 be necessary to curtail the branches of such as are 

 contiguous to those newly planted, for the double 



