CHAPTER VII 

 PLANTING EXPOSED GROUND 



As the majority of plantations for purely economic pur- 

 poses are formed on the wind-swept moor or hillside, the 

 successful management of these is a matter of considerable 

 importance. 



There are many difficulties to encounter in planting high- 

 lying and exposed ground that one would never have to 

 think about in low-lying and sheltered situations. Planting, 

 for instance, should not be commenced until February or 

 March, as, by deferring it till that time, the newly-inserted 

 plants will be fresh and vigorous, and ready for an imme- 

 diate start in growth, which would not be the case if they 

 had been put out in autumn and subjected during winter 

 to the inevitable wind shaking that is always to be 

 reckoned with on exposed ground. 



The choice of trees, too, for planting on wind-swept 

 ground is a matter of far more moment than is generally 

 supposed, for that there are certain species of trees pecu- 

 liarly suitable for withstanding prolonged storms is well 

 known to those who have had to do with the forming of 

 woods and plantations at high altitudes. The size of trees 

 planted has also much to do with the after success of the 

 woods, and it may be well at the outset to say that these 

 should not exceed about 12 in. in height on the most fav- 

 oured sites to about from 6 in. to 9 in. on the more exposed 

 grounds. They should also be properly prepared by fre- 

 quent careful transplanting for the situations they are in- 

 tended to occupy, as it can hardly be expected that a young 

 and immature tree can, after being brought from a probably 

 sheltered lowland nursery as nine-tenths of those in this 



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