PRACTICE OF AGKICUL1 UltE. r. i III. 



»nd ht to be all turned over, and the >tn.iii bark "pre id out, Boat nol to allow it to fil together, 



winch, il much prctM d, il ii apt to do , and II it dens io with the natural sap in it, it baa .1 chance of 

 moulding, winch is extreme!) hurtful to the bark, and both lessens it in weight and in value After 

 the hark baa -t<»«i on the ranges about eight or ten days, if the weather be good, it may either be put 



■ .1 bouse or a tied, or il intended to be put up into a stack it may now be done A stack ol 1 

 ought never to exceed eighl feel in width, and twelve or fifteen feet in height, raised in the middle 

 like a haystack. Ii it is to stand an) length ol time in the stack, it ought to be thatched, and in that 

 state may remain all winter. . taken to preserve the colour of the inner 



parts ol ti.e hark, because the colour ol it is generally looked to as a principal criterion of its value 



re hi in;: put into the stack, the natural sap ought to he dried nut el it. in eider to prevent its 



fermentin . il a fermentation take- place in one part ol the Btack, it gem rally gov- through and 



.spoils tin' whole The same mode Of treatment will do for all kinds ol bark a- w.ll as the oak : I nt the 

 birch lias an outer or shreddy .skin upon it, that i- rejected by the tanner, and, as already observed, mutt 

 he pech d oil; 



Chopping the hark. " When the bark is ready for the tanner, it has to undergo the work of 

 pping, which i- done by driving in two or more stakes into the ground, with a fork on the upper en. I 

 of each, leaving them about two feet six inches from the ground, and laying a long small piece of wood 

 across between the two, where a number ol people stand, and the bark is carried and laid down bel 



them, which they take up in their hands and lay on the cross tree, and then, with a sharp whittle or 

 bill in the ether hand, they cut it into small piece-, about three inches in length : when this is none, it is 

 trampled into bags, which hold a. out two hundred weight each, and in these bags it is weighed when 



sold bj the ten, in tons, hunched weights, quarters, and pounds, and in the above manner delivered to 

 the merchant or tanner." [Forester's Guide, l! 



The disbarlted timber is prepared lor sale by being sorted into straight poles of the largest size, 

 stakes and other pieces tit for palings, faggots, fuel, &c. The unbarked wood is sin.il . r 1 \ sorted, and 

 affords, where there is much hazel or ash, cord wood or bundles "f clean shoots tor making packing 

 crates, hampers. ,\c , poles for hops, larger poles lor fences, rails, paling-stakes, stake- and sheet- tor 

 hurdles, besom stuff, spray tor distillation, and a variety of other objects, according to the local demand, 

 or the opportunity ol supplying a distant market by land-carriage, fhe brush or spray of non-resinous 



trees is called in some places ton-wood, and is used lor distilling the pyrolignous acid used in blcachfiekls 

 and calico print-works. " When wood of this description is .-cut to Glasgow, where there are extensive 

 work- lor the purpose of distilling it, it sells readily at from 1/. St. to 1/. 10*. per ton; but when tin re 

 are large cuttings, particularly of young woods, it is worth while to erect boilers near the wood to distil 

 it, as tliese boilers can be erected at no great expense, and in this case the liquid is easily carried in 

 casks to where it is consumed, at less expense than the rough timber could be; of course it will pay 

 much better. Small wood oft- ■ used for charcoal : but in distilling it, there is part 



of it made into charcoal, which will supply the demand of that article, so that it is by tar the 1 

 profitable Way, win n there is any great quantity to dispose of, to erect boilers and distil it ; unless where 

 the local situation of the wood will admit of its being shipped at a small expense, and carried to where 

 the works mentioned are carried on. All kinds of non-resinous weeds « ill give the extract in question ; 

 but oak, ash, Spanish chestnut, and birch, are the best." {Fori ster'a Guide, 155.) Where the oak grows 

 slowly, as in the Highlands, the but-ends of the poles are used tor spokes for chaise, wheels. " I.. 

 spokes are from thirty to thirty-two inches long by three inches and a half broad, and one inch and a half 

 thick, and the short ones for the same purpose, from twenty-two to twenty-four inches long, and tie 

 same sizes otherwise. Cart-wheel spokes, from twenty-six to twenty-eight inches long, four inches 

 broad by two inches thick. These are the sizes they require to stand when rough blocked from the axe. 

 Small wood, when sold for this purpose, brought, in 1S2U, Sis', a cubic foot, measured down to three inches 

 square." [Monteith.) 



4054. In same cases copsc-ivrods are sown with grass-seeds, and pastured by sheep, horses, and cattle. 

 Some admit the animals the fifth year after the last cutting; others, not till the eighth : but Monteith 

 thinks this should never be done till the fifteenth year. If the ground is properly covered with 

 trees, it can seldom be advantageous to admit any species of stock, unless during a month or two 

 in winter. 



4055. rollard-trces, which may be considered in most cases as injurious deformities, 

 are lopped at stated periods like copse-woods ; and the lop, whether to be barked or other- 

 wise, is to be treated in all respects like that of copse. 



4056. The period at which trees are felled, for the sake of their timber, is determined 

 by various causes. By maturity of growth, or where the annual increase is so trifling as 

 to render their standing no longer worth wliile in point of profit; when wanted for pri- 

 vate use or sale; or when defects in the tree, or new arrangements in its situation, point 

 out the necessity of its removal. " A timbered estate," -Marshal observes, " should fre- 

 quently be gone over by some person of judgment ; who, let the price and demand for 

 timber be what they may, ought to mark every tree which wears the appearance of decay. 

 If the demand be brisk, and the price high, he ought to go two steps farther, and mark 

 Dot only such as are full-grown, but such also as are near perfection." In trees, as in 

 the human species, there are three stages, youth, manhood, and old age. In the period 

 of youth, the growth is rapid ; in manhood, that growth is matured ; and in old age, 

 it begins to decay. 



4057. Tlie most / :ason for felling timber is at what may thus be termed the beginning of man- 

 hood. After that time, though the tree may appear sound and healthy, its annual increase is so little, that 

 it would be more profitable to cut it down and replant The number of years that a tree may stand, before 

 it arrives at this period, must vary in different soils and situations; but the period itself may easily be 

 ascertained by the annual shoots, the state of the bark, and by taking the circumference of the tree at the 

 same place for two or three successive seasons, anil comparing the difference In the view of profiting 

 from timber produce, it is of great consequence to cut down plantations at maturity. Many trees will 

 stand half, others a whole century, after they are full-grown, appear quite healthy, and at the same tune 

 make little or no increase of timber. Hut there are particular cases, arising from the nature and state of 

 the markets, where it may even be more profitable to cut timber before it is arrived at a full growth. 

 (Treat, on Count): lies. ii. .077.) 



4058. Preparations for felling. It has hern strongly recommended to disbark trees a year or more 

 before they are taken down, in consequence of the result of certain experiments commenced by fiuflbn 

 in 1737, In May of that year, he disbarked thr( e oak tree-, forty feet in height, where they stood. In 

 the course of three years they died, and, on cutting them down, the enter wood was found hard and dry, 

 and the internal wood moist and sorter. Alter trying its strength, &c, he concludes that " timber which 

 has been disbarked and dried wliile standing, will weigh heavier, and prove stronger, than timber cut 111 

 its bark." Bosc and other French authoi Compl, d'Agr, &c ait Aubier, Inns, Quercus, &c) 

 strongly recommend this practice, which 1.- followed in some places on the Continent, and in this country 



