64 SOWING AND PLANTING IN THE FOREST 



with a garden line, though this is advisable if the plantation 

 is near a much frequented road or ride, as it looks tidier. 

 A fairly experienced man will be able to plant in sufficiently 

 straight lines if he occasionally checks his distance with a 

 stick cut to proper length. When planting up areas from 

 which a previous crop has been cut it is often impossible to 

 space the plants regularly owing to the stumps of the old trees, 

 and the plants must be put in wherever there is room for them. 



The most common forms of distribution are the square, 

 where the distance between the lines is equal to the distance 

 between the plants in a line, four plants thus standing in the 

 four corners of a square ; equidistant lines, in which case the 

 plants stand closer together in the lines than the distance be- 

 tween the lines ; and the triangle, when the plants stand at 

 the three corners of an equilateral triangle, the distance 

 between the lines being rather less than the distance between 

 the plants in a line, and the plants in one row are opposite 

 the spaces in the next row. 



When once the young wood has formed thicket there is 

 very little difference between these various forms of dis- 

 tribution, and for all practical purposes square planting is 

 satisfactory and is the easiest to carry out. 



If a mixed wood has been decided on, the planters should 

 be instructed how to make the mixture ; if it is to be by 

 groups the woodman should mark out with stakes the areas 

 where the different species are to be placed. 



Density of planting. The number of trees which should be 

 planted on an acre depends on the cost, the species to be 

 planted, the size of plants used, the soil and climate, the object 

 of the plantation, and the probable market for small poles. 



The general object should be to obtain a complete cover 

 over the ground within from five to ten years and therefore 

 quick growing light-demanding trees can be planted further 

 apart than slow growing shade-bearers. Species which tend 

 to branch heavily, such as oak and Scotch pine, should be, 



