CHAPTER V 

 FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS 



Laying out the Boundary. Before commencing actual 

 planting operations several preliminaries must be attended 

 to. These will include (1) laying out the boundary, (2) 

 clearing the ground of rough -growing vegetation, (3) drain- 

 age where necessary, (4) fencing, and (5) laying out such 

 roads as may be necessary for the efficient working of the 

 plantation. For the benefit of the trees, for shelter pur- 

 poses, and for the general appearance of the landscape, 

 it would be well were more attention paid to the laying-out 

 of the sites for new plantations. In many cases, however, 

 there is no choice in the matter, the proprietor saying, Here 

 is a field that is of no great value for agricultural purposes, 

 plant it up. But in the case of hillside or moorland plant- 

 ing the matter is usually different, the choice of ground, size 

 of plantation, and method of planting being left entirely 

 in the hands of the forester. Many considerations will tend 

 to determine the position of boundaries bounds of pro- 

 perty, proximity to roads, public paths, and the existence 

 or future probabilities of modes of transit, all being more or 

 less significant factors. 



First, however, it is advisable to take into consideration 

 when planting hillside or moorland, the shelter to be afforded 

 to cultivated land in the neighbourhood, but a combination 

 of this with the aforementioned considerations will be all- 

 important. 



The form of the outline must also be laid out with due 

 regard to the prevailing wind, and should always present a 

 convex side towards it, as it is obvious that on striking such 

 a curve the force of the wind would be divided and expend 



