CHAPTEE VI 



TENDING THE PLANTATIONS 



Cleaning the plants — Beating up — Weeding and thinning — Pruning 

 — Cleaning ditches. 



Cleaning the Plants. 



Young trees on ground that is naturally dirty and 

 covered with weeds should be cleaned at least once a 

 year, but where growth of weeds is very rank, or wliere 

 there is bracken, it is often absolutely necessary to do 

 the work two or even three times ; otherwise heavy rains 

 may break it down on the tops of the young trees, either 

 injuring their tender leading shoots or entirely smothering 

 them. 



WTien bracken is in the young and succulent stage, a 

 very quick and effective method of dealing with it is to 

 knock off the heads with a stick; this prevents strong 

 growth afterwards. 



If it is allowed to become hard and stalky, a stiff grass 

 hook or a whin scythe must be used. The latter is a 

 short, stiff-bladed tool, and is extremely useful for cutting 

 other strong growths, such as Whin, Broom, young 

 Birch, etc. It should only be used when the plants are 

 at least 4 feet apart, and even then great care must be 

 taken not to chop off the young trees. 



132 



