BRITISH FOREST TREES 9? 



as the roots interlace and the lower portions of the stems 

 grow into each other. Localities exposed to the danger of 

 snow-accumulation require the most careful thinning, 

 and even dominated individuals should be left standing, as 

 reserves in case of accidents, if their crowns are still green ; 

 broken stems also should not be removed if three or four 

 green whorls give hope of some side spray assuming the role 

 of leading-shoot. Where a strong head of game is main- 

 tained, deer often do greatest damage by stripping the bark 

 in woods directly they have been thinned, and in particular 

 just after the first time of thinning out ; from such wounds 

 spruce suffers more serious permanent damage than Scots 

 pine or silver fir, owing to its weaker recuperative power. 

 For the same reason the removal of green branches with the 

 bill or axe is not advisable ; when it is desired to remove 

 branches for the purpose of producing clean-stemmed timber 

 free from knots, the operation should invariably be 

 performed with the saw in the case of both living and of 

 dead branches, and confined to those under 2\" diameter. 



Soils that are somewhat inferior for the production of 

 mixed forests of broad-leaved species, or areas where long- 

 continued or badly managed copse, or coppice under standards, 

 has allowed the soil to become more or less deteriorated, 

 frequently afford good localities for the growth of spruce in 

 pure forest, although it is not advisable to confine it to soils 

 below the average in quality if the production of the larger, 

 more valuable, and under certain circumstances more remu- 

 nerative assortments of timber be desired. Where pure 

 forests of spruce exist on an extensive scale over large 

 tracts, it is exceedingly desirable to frame the working 

 plan so that the annual fall should take place in several 

 places apart from each other, instead of being combined in 

 one large area annually, as it is to a great extent the latter 

 method of procedure which causes so many of the draw- 



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