280 TENDING OF WOODS DURING EARLY YOUTH. 



iiumher of seedliiit; trees ; uiis-sliapeii or spreading young 

 trees ; trees wliieh have accidentally established themselves by 

 seed blown on to the area (as poplars, willows, birch), or carried 

 there by animals, as sweet chestnuts, acorns, hazelnuts, and 

 others. Often spruce, Scotch pine, lime, alder, and elm also 

 appear where their cultivation was not intended. 



It would, however, be a mistake to remove all such addi- 

 tions without distinction. Frequently they are very welcome 

 in filling up otherwise thin woods ; hence the}' should be 

 removed only where they interfere with the principal species. 



It is often desirable to make several cleanings, especially 

 where the undesirable growth occu[)ies a considerable portion 

 of the area, and where its removal at one time would leave 

 blanks. In some cases it may be judicious to accept a portion 

 of the accidental growth as a constituent of the final crop, in 

 others it may serve as a shelter- wood. 



4. Prcsenatioti of a Proper Mixture. 



This difficult subject must receive special attention while a 

 wood is young ; much can be done towards realising it during 

 the operations of recruiting and cleaning which have just been 

 described, by i)lanting into blanks those species which are 

 otherwise deficient in number, or by removing an excess in 

 other places. 



Again, where one species is threatened by another, the latter 

 can be checked either l)y lopping off its side branches, by 

 topping, ringing, or removing some of the trees. 



The operation demands the forester's special attention, since 

 it is much easier to produce a proper mixture at this early 

 period of life than later on. 



