CHAPTER XI 



FORMING WOODLAND RIDES 



GOOD rides through woods are necessary for shooting, 

 for the clearing of the woods, driving, hunting, and the 

 pleasure of riding or walking in them, and they are often 

 best dealt with in replanting worn-out underwoods. The 

 older and more picturesque the woodland, the easier the 

 task of making rides pleasant to the eye as well as right 

 for use, though we see many woods without rides of any 

 value. Native and other plants are often handsome in 

 masses near rides, and their effect seen in any clear way 

 in shade is as good as could be given by any plants. By 

 these rides are among the right places to have beautiful 

 native wood plants, such as Solomon's Seal, Lily of the 

 Valley, and Willow Herb, and also many of our hardy 

 Ferns, in moist spots, such as the Royal Fern. Groups 

 of neglected native shrubs might also be planted here 

 and there, and native trees such as the Aspen and Field 

 Maple, not often planted in the usual mixtures. In warm 

 and seashore districts not subject to severe frosts we 

 may have groups of Pampas Grass, New Zealand Flax, 

 and hardy Bamboo here and there, though generally it 

 is better to trust to good native things even in such 

 districts. If we go beyond these, let us take care that 

 the shrubs are as hardy as any of our own ; it is easy to 

 find such among the hardy Azaleas and Rhododendrons 

 and the beautiful Mountain Laurel (Kalmia), where the 

 soil is not against us. 



