246 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



instead of being a dense lumpy mass, through which beaters 

 can hardly break their way, and out of which pheasants rise 

 in a flock at the finish of a beat. 



TREATMENT OF OKNAMENTAL WOODS. 



After an ornamental wood has been once planted, little 

 requires doing beyond taking such steps as are necessary for 

 the proper development of the trees. Nurses, or temporary 

 groups, planted to fill up or for immediate effect, may have 

 to be removed from time to time, but, as a general rule, trees 

 of this class should not be put in more than is possible. 

 Where something of a temporary nature is needed, gorse, 

 broom, or such growth, is most suitable, as the small size of 

 the trees when first planted gives the ground more the 

 character of a common or waste than a wood. As time goes 

 on, the cutting back of overgrown shrubs, or the removal of 

 dead or dying trees, is work which invariably requires attend- 

 ing to. In this, mere " rule of thumb " should be avoided as 

 much as possible, as cutting back shrubs to a set distance 

 from a ride, or the trimming and cutting of the latter in 

 too methodical a manner, often forms an unpleasant artificial 

 line, and spoils the picturesque effect of the wood to a great 

 extent. 



If rabbits are kept well down, woods containing a good 

 number of indigenous trees rarely need replanting, as seedlings 

 will always be coming up from time to time. When an old 

 clump has been gradually thinned out until little remains, or 

 is so shattered that its removal is necessary, self-sown groups 

 may often be allowed to take its place, and are best left more 

 or less alone. Any attempt to encourage their growth, or 

 improve their appearance by artificial thinning, usually makes 

 matters worse instead of better, for it tends to produce a 

 monotonous type of tree throughout the wood, and destroys its 

 most picturesque elements. In replanting, an opportunity is 

 often presented of introducing a little more variety in heights 

 and ages, and filling up clumps with trees of the same species, 

 so as to resemble natural regeneration as much as possible. 

 Nothing looks better than to see a few young trees growing 



