126 PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



possible method leading to success, and the cost of such 

 operation will render it prohibitive. This class of waste 

 land, therefore, the wise man will avoid, and the expert 

 who recommends the planting of such will incur no small 

 responsibility. 



The white mossy surface should be taken as a true 

 indication of sterility. 



(2.) Healthy and vigorous heath, with busl es of gorse, 

 bracken, and grass will be found indicative of a useful soil 

 beneath, and may be planted with prospect of success. 



(3.) Marsh and boglands abound in those waste areas, 

 and are due to a low-lying position with pent-up waters or 

 to a cold clay bottom. In the first the letting off of the 

 water may lay dry an extensive area of useful land, but in 

 the second, even with drainage, there must remain a great 

 element of doubt. 



(4.) Then there are areas of grassy hill land or downs, all 

 of which may be planted with some degree of success, 

 though on the immediate rocky outcrop, whether of chalk 

 or other rock, success is doubtful. There are, however, in 

 most of these pockets of useful clay, gravels, and sands 

 which will yield a valuable crop of timber. 



This analysis might be extended, but enough has been 

 written to prove the point of selection and the necessity for 

 studying it. 



The soils in each of the above instances will be found 

 crude and often quite unfitted for the reception of young 

 trees, and to establish a plantation under such conditions 

 will try the patience of any landowner; but perseverance 

 will be more or less rewarded according to the wisdom of 

 the selection and procedure. 



A wise old Dorsetshire squire, who in his life probably 

 planted successfully a greater area of poor land than any 

 contemporary, has left maxims of value, which, though 



