146 Practical Forestry 



ence, and an intimate knowledge of trees and their sur- 

 roundings. 



The quality as well as quantity of timber produced 

 should be carefully considered in the management of every 

 plantation. In dealing with the following questions regard- 

 ing thinning, it may be well to state that the average planta- 

 tion will alone form the basis of remarks. 



1. At what age should thinning be commenced ? 

 The necessity of thinning, few practical arboriculturists will 

 care to deny, and that whether the plantation be composed 

 of coniferous or hard- wooded trees. It is the abuse of the 

 practice that, in this country at least, is so to be condemned, 

 and I entirely dissent from those who consider that a 

 coniferous plantation should be left to Nature, or, in other 

 words, should thin itself. The argument that the natural 

 forests of America, the source from, which we derive the 

 finest and best quality of timber, thinned themselves, is 

 often quoted ; but it should also be remembered that the 

 conditions of such forests are widely different from those of 

 our own, and that the waste of timber is immense, great 

 quantities being destroyed in procuring what is required. 

 Although, however, we cannot adopt all the details of 

 Nature's practice, we can and we should admit the correct- 

 ness of the principle on which she acts, and by studying 

 this we learn much, and it is by acquiring a knowledge of 

 her economy, and where and when to apply assistance, 

 that the point of the whole argument rests. Natural 

 regeneration, unless it be in a limited number of cases, and 

 particularly with our least valuable classes of timber, is 

 never, in this country, likely to supersede artificial planting, 

 and it has been conclusively proved in the Forest of Dean, 

 that with our most valuable timber-producing tree, the Oak, 

 the latter system is most to be encouraged. 



No thinning of young trees should take place until a 

 complete ground shade has been established ; and it is most 

 important for the welfare of the plantation, that a complete 

 overhead foliage covering be brought about at as early a 

 date as possible after planting. At what age this may take 

 place will depend mainly on the size of the plants used and 



