BRAMBLES. 403 



spreading millium {Millinm effasnm, L.). Grasses with fairly 

 broad leaves grow on deep, moist, fertile soil — they are termed 

 Ilaitu/mser, in German. AiHjeir/rnser is the term applied to 

 narrow-leaved grasses, that grow on shallow, dry and poor soil. 



The damage due to a dense growth of grass is of several 

 kinds : the soil may become matted with its roots, which may 

 prevent the seed of forest trees from reaching the ground ; 

 young growth may be choked, the soil dried up, or moisture 

 kept in, and frost increased ; damage may also be done by 

 mice and insects which shelter in the grass. When grass 

 grows densely, it is a sign that the forest is too thin and 

 admits too much light. Twitch flourishes in sandy soils, 

 creeping in all directions through the soil and filling it with 

 rhizomes ; it may even penetrate roots of living plants, and 

 thus interfere with their growth. 



Weedy places may be treated as already stated for heather, 

 and are best recruited by means of transplants. Twitch is got 

 rid of by repeated ploughing, and by collecting and burning its 

 rhizomes ; three years' grazing on land where it grows is very 

 useful, as finer grasses then gradually replace it. 



In tropical and sub-tropical countries, the dense growth of 

 grass, frequently exceeding six feet in height, is one of the 

 most serious impediments to forestry. Such grassy tracts are 

 burned annually, the fires extending for miles, and wherever 

 the grass borders on forests, or in the form of savannah is 

 intermixed with thinly stocked trees, danger from lire occurs 

 during every dry season. 



2. Ilalf-shadebrarers. 



These are all woody plants, except ferns and mosses. 



(a) Blackthorn {Prniius spinosa, L.) is common on moist, 

 loamy, and clay soils, and on marls, and ascends to 3,000 feet 

 in mountains. It stands frost better than hawthorn, and 

 replaces it for hedging in very frosty localities. It sends out 

 roots and suckers, and has a spreading root-system, and does 

 much harm in regeneration areas and among coppice. It is 

 best to dig it up by the roots in clearings, or cut it back 

 several years before the coppice is felled. 



{h) Bramble {Ruhus fruticoms, L.). There are numerous 



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