VALUE OF THINNINGS. 75 



been left behind in the race, should be removed, as 

 they can never recover, and mar by their presence the 

 appearance and uniformity of the whole. 



All should be felled one way, so as not to become 

 entangled ; and if the work is commenced on the 

 outside, and the trees thrown against the standing 

 timber, they can be drawn out and stripped as the 

 work proceeds, either by manual or horse labour. 

 When stripped, they should be sorted and laid in piles 

 by the roadside so that each lot can be readily 

 removed. The branches of fir are of little use without 

 bricks are burnt upon the estate, when it may pay to 

 tie them in bundles ; this, however, will cost 2s. 6d. per 

 hundred. If there is no demand, the best course is 

 to burn the whole in the plantation, taking care, of 

 course, not to scorch any ornamental or outside trees. 



The first thinnings will be of little value without 

 they are larch, when, if there is a demand, they may 

 be sold for hop poles at prices according to lengths. 

 They should be cut into 12, 14, and 16 feet lengths, 

 and sorted accordingly, and the price in the plantation 

 may run from I2s. to 2Os. per hundred. Small Scotch 

 pine possess really no value, but when large enough, 

 say three to four inches in diameter at the smallest 

 end, both larch and Scotch may be sold for pit-wood. 

 It should be remarked here that the value of thinnings 

 will depend almost entirely upon the proximity of the 

 plantations to roads. When roads are good and near, 

 a maximum value may be anticipated ; but when 

 situated in remote and inaccessible districts, a mini- 

 mum. This rule, of course, applies in every case, and 

 equally to agricultural and arboreal products. There 



