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towards obtaining a good nursery, is to cut away the spruce 

 firs and larches, whicli have been planted as nurses. But if 

 any Scotch firs appear, with tolerable heads (a rare thing to 

 be seen under such circumstances), they are well deserving 

 of preservation. Such fine picturesque pines are sometimes 

 susceptible of removal on the principles already laid down ; 

 and they always form noble park-wood, particularly when of 

 that species which throws out its branches horizontally from 

 the stem. The next object is, to clear away the most drawn- 

 up and unsightly plants, by at once grubbing them up, so 

 that their roots may not continue to exhaust the soil unpro- 

 fitably, and that the best plants may be left free, and at single 

 distance from one another. Last of all, the ground is to be 

 trenched over, eighteen inches deep at the least, that is, sup- 

 posing it never to have been trenched before ; leaving open 

 drains deeper than the trench, for the surface water to run 

 off properly. 



During this operation, a few of the handsomest plants, and 

 such as possess the desirable prerequisites in the greatest de- 

 gree, must have about five feet broad of solid ground left 

 round them, and two or three roots also entire and untouched 

 on the stormy side. The rest of the trees may have three 

 feet and a half of solid ground left entire during the trench- 

 ing ; also two or three roots, in the same way, towards the 

 west and southwest, and so passing through the trench. 

 During the execution of this work, some tolerable mould, to 

 the depth of a foot or better near the stem, and not less than 

 six or eight inches at the extremity of the solid ground, 

 should be thrown up, in order that the roots may send out 

 new fibres into that friable superaddition to the soil. More- 

 over, in respect to injury from wind, should the nursery be 

 formed at, or near the outskirts of a plantation (which is 

 rather an advantage), care must be taken for the three first 

 years, to leave the two outside rows unthinned, and as close 

 as may be, both in respect to underwood and standard plants. 



