Thinning Plantations 147 



the distance apart at which they were inserted in the ground, 

 and to a lesser extent on the quality of soil and other con- 

 siderations. At a short period after a complete leaf canopy 

 has been established, the individual trees begin to press 

 against each other, and later on a struggle for existence 

 commences, the stronger specimens gaining the supremacy 

 over the weaker. Here it must be borne in mind that 

 hard-wooded trees require proportionately more room for 

 their healthy development than coniferous kinds, while 

 length and clearness of stem, produced by a due proportion 

 of shade, is an object of prime importance. It might, as 

 some suppose, do little harm, to let the struggle for exist- 

 ence go on unchecked, but there can be no question that for 

 several reasons it is wise policy to allow the stronger trees 

 every chance of succeeding, and to cut away the weaker. 

 The object should be to provide for the trees left standing 

 that amount of room or growing space best suited for 

 bringing about the particular conditions aimed at, and in 

 thinning, it must be the aim of the forester to arrive at the 

 happy mean neither over nor underdoing the work, the 

 former in particular. But while overcrowding is not to be 

 tolerated, the danger of suddenly exposing the trees to 

 currents of air, to which they have hitherto been unac- 

 customed, must be carefully guarded against, and it 

 should be distinctly borne in mind that to thin trees in an 

 abrupt manner is one of the greatest mistakes that it is 

 possible to make. 



Statistics compiled from a healthy Larch plantation, 

 growing on fair soil, and in a moderately sheltered position 

 in southern England, will now be given, from which a good 

 idea can be formed as to the age and size when thinning 

 should be commenced. The trees when planted were 2 ft. 

 high, and pitted at 3 ft. apart. In four years the outer 

 branches began to touch each other, and in six years from 

 time of planting the average height of trees was 7 ft. 10 in. 

 and the shade occasioned had killed out most of the grassy 

 undergrowth. At this period of growth, the disproportion 

 in the size of the trees was, as is usually the case, consider- 

 able, and left no doubt about which to remove when the 



