

CH. V 



PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS 161 



triangle patterns of lining. There is also the 

 " quincunx " pattern, which is merely a modification of 

 the " square " method, a fifth peg being put in in the 

 centre of each square. 



Of the three methods the " square " is probably the 

 most commonly used, as it is the most easy to lay 

 out. The " triangular " pattern has the advantage of 

 allowing the area to be more fully stocked, and as each 

 tree is surrounded by six others at equidistances the 

 crowns grow more uniform in shape, and consequently 

 the boles of the trees are more cylindrical and the 

 timber produced of more even growth ; but this system 

 requires a greater outlay on seeds or on young plants, 

 the cost of upkeep and supervision is greater, and the 

 laying out is more difficult. In the " rectangular " 

 system the crowns of the trees grow broader in one 

 direction than in the other, and the growth of the rings 

 of wood is thus liable to be uneven and the timber 

 obtained more variable in strength and more given to 

 warping. On the other hand supervision is easier, and 

 the method may be useful in areas which are already 

 partly under timber and also for plantations of trees, the 

 chief produce of which is not timber, as e.g. in Rubber 

 plantations. 



As the difference between the three systems becomes 

 modified after the early thinnings, their respective effect 

 on the leaf-canopy also disappears, and for this reason 

 several foresters prefer the rectangular system as being 

 the cheapest to carry out and easiest to supervise. 1 



The laying out of the area according to the different 

 patterns may be done in different manners. The lines 

 may be laid out from a base line by means of surveying 

 instruments, such as the theodolite or prismatic compass, 

 or with the cross-staff, the distances between the pegs 

 in the lines being marked by means of a rope on which, 

 at the required distances, are knots of coloured thread 

 which indicate where the planting-pegs are to be put 

 in. In the case where the triangular pattern is used 



1 Schlich, op. cit. vol. ii. 



M 



