CHAPTER VII 



WOOD AND COVERT FROM SEED 



THE free way in which trees sow themselves should 

 lead us to think of the advantages of sowing the seeds 

 of some trees direct where they are to grow as a wood. 

 Perhaps in planting with Pine an arable field in which 

 a tree has not grown for ages, among the young Pines 

 we may find young Ash trees and clean young saplings 

 of the Oak brought thither by squirrels, birds, or mice. 

 The Scotch Fir sows itself rapidly in heaths and rough 

 lands in Surrey, Devon, and Hants, and many other 

 places; Larch we may see come up on poor soilless 

 railway banks. Sycamore comes up thickly, and, though 

 not now a tree much planted, is a valuable one in many 

 ways. Chestnuts are more easily raised from seed than 

 in any other way, by dibbling in the nuts. The squirrel, 

 long- tailed bank mouse, the bank vole, the jay, and the 

 rook are among the living things that bring and scatter 

 the seeds of Oak and other trees for us. 



Our reasons for sowing direct are various ; plants for 

 forest work are not easy to get in many districts, planting 

 trees too large is fatal to success. As the ordinary 

 nursery does not always lend itself to the cultivation of 

 forest plants in the best state for woodland planting, 

 nurserymen often have to apply to other growers for 

 them, and hence a double movement of the plants, often 

 to their injury. Unless, moreover, the ground is ready, 

 the plants suffer after getting home. The best results 



