BRITISH ]( >kl-;>T TREES 75 



in development, such seedlings never recover completely. 

 Thus a young self-sown crop, which has stood for more than 

 two or three years under the shade of close canopy, or older 

 plants under more open cover which show a shortened and 

 impaired growth of the leading shoot, do not yield suitable 

 material for the formation of future crops, in addition to 

 which the extraction of the parent trees can seldom be 

 effected without causing a good deal of damage to the young 

 undergrowth. The retention of self-sown seedlings occur- 

 ring only singly here and there on areas that are intended to 

 be stocked with pure forest of pine, is not advisable, as they 

 are apt to break into undue branch development, do not 

 form good boles, and generally interfere with the growth of 

 their neighbours. 



In mixed forests where the pine is grown along with 

 thickly-foliaged trees, or in pine forests that have been 

 underplanted with shade-bearing species, some soil pre- 

 paration is necessary for the purpose of accelerating the 

 decomposition of the layer of leaves on the ground, and the 

 formation of humus. In pure forests of Scots pine, how- 

 ever, it is more often the case that reproduction is hindered 

 by a heavy growth of grass and weeds, amongst which 

 germination of the seed is difficult and the malformation of 

 the seedling almost certain ; for good development of the 

 young plant can only be expected where the seed rests on 

 the naked soil, and the rootlets can penetrate immediately 

 into the earth. Even where the ground is only covered with 

 weeds here and there, some soil preparation is requisite, 

 otherwise the young crop is patchy, broken, and at best 

 unequal in height, conditions not at all suitable for the 

 formation of pure forests of a light-loving species like Scots 

 pine, which only forms good stems when the density of the 

 crop is sufficient to stimulate growth in height by interfering 

 with and checking the natural, strongly -marked tendency to 



