Game Coverts : their Formation and Management 181 



It is seldom resorted to by pheasants, the bottom being not 

 only damp, but such a tangled mass of branches that it 

 forms anything but pleasant quarters for game. For orna- 

 mental effect along the outskirts of plantations, the rhodo- 

 dendron is invaluable, and is by no means so fastidious about 

 soil as is generally supposed, peat being not at all essential 

 to its growth and successful cultivation. Few plants can be 

 made to increase in like proportion with the rhododendron, 

 and for this reason it should be planted in small patches ; 

 and when it is desirable to increase the cover, the outer 

 branches may be pegged down or layered. This plant also 

 bears pruning with impunity, so that old plants that have, 

 through neglect, become lank and straggling, may without 

 fear or risk be layered or pruned in with advantage. 



The Common Yew and Holly cannot be too extensively 

 used in the formation of game coverts, both being unrivalled 

 for beauty and hardiness. They thrive in a great variety 

 of soils, and beneath the densest shade of our woodland trees. 

 In planting the yew it is well, however, to bear in mind that 

 its branches are highly deleterious to farm stock that may 

 browse upon them, and for this reason it should never be 

 planted along the outskirts of a wood, or in any position 

 to which such have access. 



The St. John's Wort, as a low-spreading shrub, is unsur- 

 passed, and thrives best in a light sandy or peaty soil. It is 

 readily propagated by division of the roots ; and when 

 planted out in small patches a foot or two apart, the creeping 

 stems soon cover a considerable surface of ground, and form 

 a dense evergreen mass, covered in summer with bright 

 golden flowers. 



Gaultheria Shallon, another plant of creeping habit, is, 

 notwithstanding its many good qualities, seldom planted to 

 any extent in our woodlands ; but this may, to some extent 

 at least, be accounted for by the high price of the plants, and 

 the small size of those purchaseable from our nurserymen. 

 Like most other North American plants, the Gaultheria pre- 

 fers a rather damp, peaty soil, and is one of the few shrubs 

 found to thrive in pine plantations. The berries, which 

 are borne in great abundance, are greedily devoured by 



