ARBORICULTURE. 



be broken, and not allowed to burst with their full 

 force upon the whole body of the plantation at 

 once. This is a consideration of paramount import- 

 ance everywhere, but more especially m high-lying 

 and exposed districts. The next step is to have the 

 land properly fenced, in whatever manner may be 

 found cheapest and most efficient ; whether by 

 stone-dikes, thorn-hedges, or wire-railing, must 

 depend upon local circumstances and individual 

 judgment and taste. Following immediately upon 

 this, drainage of the land, in all cases where found 

 necessary, should be carried out. Having these 

 preliminary particulars fully completed, and hav- 

 ing determined upon what kinds of plants are 

 required, the next step and a vitally important 

 one it is is to make a careful selection of the 

 plants that are to be employed. This is a duty no 

 forester who consults his employer's interest, or 

 who has respect for his own character and pro- 

 fessional standing, will neglect, seeing that if 

 diseased or otherwise inferior plants are obtained, 

 the whole operation will inevitably end in failure 

 and disappointment, and the expense both of 

 plants and planting will have to be again incurred ; 

 and not only so, but the diseases which most com- 

 monly infest nursery stock are of a very contagious 

 nature, and will, to a certainty, contaminate the 

 whole adjoining neighbourhood ; and when they 

 once obtain a hold in any district of country, it is 

 by no means an easy task to effect an eradication. 

 The greatest judgment and care must therefore be 

 exercised in the selection of forest -trees ; it must 

 be seen that both roots and stems are free from 

 bug or other disease, and that they are of a size 

 suitable for the soil, situation, and climate wherein 

 they are to be planted.' 



With respect to the choice of trees for different 

 soils and circumstances, the same writer observes : 

 'With a view to profit only, larch should be 

 more extensively planted than any other kind of 

 tree, as it grows very rapidly, is in constant 

 demand, and generally sells at a remunerative 

 price. Approximate calculations shew that two 

 crops of larch can be brought to maturity in the 

 same space of time required to bring one of oak to 

 perfection ; and supposing that both are equally 

 well situated as regards external circumstances, 

 the several sums realised for the former, with 

 accumulated interest, will more than double the 

 amount of income derived from the latter. When 

 k is grown upon good sound land, and found 

 close and firm in the texture, it is in many cases 

 preferred to the best Memel. . . . 



' The oak, also, is a tree which will be planted 

 as long as planting continues. Deep loamy soil, 

 or a mixture of clay and loam, upon a rocky for- 

 mation, is the best adapted for its rapid growth ; 

 but from the far-spreading and searching nature of 

 its roots, it will thrive on what is termed " bare 

 rocky ground," if there is sufficient depth of soil 

 wherein its roots may become firmly established ; 

 and when once established, it is well known the 

 amount of endurance it will undergo rather than 

 relinquish its hold. On light or gravelly soils, the 

 oak ought not to be planted, as it very soon be- 

 comes stunted in its growth upon all such, and 

 never succeeds to large or profitable dimensions. 

 The oak is also valuable on account of the bark it 

 produces, which is employed in tanning. The ash 

 and elm are somewhat similar to the oak in their 

 natural characteristics, and can be successfully 



grown under much the same general circum- 

 stances ; only, to grow healthily, the land upon 

 which they are planted should be considerably 

 drier than such as the oak will succeed well in, 

 though it also delights in a dry soil. If dampness 

 pervades the soil upon which these trees are 

 planted, both kinds, but more especially the ash, 

 will soon become covered over with moss and 

 lichen, from the injurious tendency and effect of 

 which it is next to impossible to relieve them. 

 Neither should they be planted upon gravelly soils, 

 as I have observed that in all such cases they 

 invariably decay at an early stage of their growth ; 

 and though they may continue to exist for a 

 moderate length of time, they do not proportion- 

 ally increase in bulk and stature, and must, there- 

 fore, as a natural sequence, become deteriorated in 

 quality. Where all these kinds of hard-wooded 

 trees the oak, the ash, and the elm succeed 

 best, is on a loamy or alluvial soil, with a sub- 

 soil of clay, situated upon a substratum of rock 

 or gravel. In marshy places, or along the margin 

 of lakes, water-courses, &c. the birch, the alder, 

 and the poplar may be planted to any extent, as 

 they luxuriate in low-lying grounds, which, being 

 their natural habitat, is of course most congenial 

 to their growth. The birch will also grow well on 

 moderately dry lands. 



* For planting on light or gravelly soils, the 

 Scots pine should be principally selected, seeing 

 that it flourishes upon the poorest lands, and in 

 the most exposed situations. The Pinus Austriaca 

 has to a certain extent superseded the planting of 

 Scots firs during the last few years, and is sup- 

 posed to constitute a good substitute ; but its gen- 

 eral applicability to the soil and temperature of 

 Great Britain not having yet been fully tested, and 

 possessing, as we do, but little information of its 

 quality as a timber-tree, it would appear to be 

 unadvisable that it should be introduced to the 

 entire exclusion of our own native pine. The 

 timber of the Scots fir is useful for many purposes, 

 and, when fully matured on land favourable to its 

 growth, far surpasses in quality much of the 

 timber imported from foreign countries ; whilst no 

 other tree whatever equals in amount the shelter 

 it affords. Even in the most mountainous and 

 exposed districts, and on the barest lands, it 

 thrives in an extraordinary manner ; and consider- 

 ing that it combines, in an eminent degree, ex- 

 treme hardness with general practical utility as a 

 timber-tree, and seeing that it possesses such 

 powers of contending successfully against difficul- 

 ties in the form of soil, temperature, and aspect, 

 we would earnestly advise that, instead of allowing 

 it to become obsolete, more and more attention 

 should be bestowed on the culture of the real 

 native sorts, and that it should be more extensively 

 planted than ever. The spruce fir also thrives 

 well on light soils ; and where the temperature is 

 mild and humid, it forms an excellent tree for 

 admixture with others of various sorts. It will not, 

 however, endure the same amount of exposure as 

 the Scots pine, and should not, therefore, be 

 planted at any considerable altitude ; but in 

 moderately elevated situations, it may, with pro- 

 priety of taste and judgment, be largely introduced, 

 as the shelter it affords is of the greatest conse- 

 quence to plants of a more delicate nature, and it 

 likewise possesses such natural beauties as to war- 

 rant its being cultivated in all woodland scenery. 



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