50 ENGLISH WOODLANDS 



of a few broad-leaved trees can have little 

 effect in preventing injury by disease. Broad 

 belts of such trees might prevent injurious 

 spores from being blown by the winds from 

 diseased trees to fresh spots, but they w^ould 

 occupy a large amount of ground and diminish 

 the returns which the planter had hoped to 

 receive from a pure larch crop. 



A plantation of pure larch is advisable when 

 the ground is unsuitable for oak, or financial 

 reasons make quick returns imperative. In this 

 case the risk of disease must be faced. It cannot 

 be overlooked, but it is possible to; exaggerate 

 it. The liability to disease is always present. 

 Diseased trees can be seen in natural Swiss 

 forests and in the middle of English lawns, but 

 the worst forms of disease occur only in crowded 

 artificial plantations. Assuming that the site 

 of the plantation is suitable for larch, disease 

 can be kept in check by free circulation of air, 

 and this is possible if the trees are properly 

 thinned. 



A pure larch wood, if exposed to gales, must 

 be protected by the introduction of some broad- 

 leaved trees, either singly or in groups. Few 

 of these trees grow into good timber, but the 

 cost of planting them is well repaid by the 



