10 ENGLISH WOODLANDS 



be made on the site of an old wood or on land 

 adjoining an old wood ; and in the case of a 

 plantation made on land separate from other 

 woods, entire fields should be planted, so that 

 use can be made of the existing fences, and if 

 this is impossible, the plantation should be of 

 as large an extent as circumstances permit. 



Wherever the woods are of a straggling and 

 irregular form it is generally possible, by planting 

 land between the woods, to make a great reduc- 

 tion in the amount of fencing compared with 

 the acreage of the woods. 



The usual form of a new plantation-fence is 

 double : there is a fence of wire-strands or rails, 

 and on the inside of that fence a hedge is planted. 

 The thorn hedge is intended to be the permanent 

 protection of the plantation, and the wire or 

 wood fence to be the temporary protection of 

 the thorn hedge. In most cases the thorn 

 hedge should be omitted ; it causes consider- 

 able expense in planting and subsequent main- 

 tenance. If the trees are planted close to the 

 hedge it rarely grows satisfactorily, and if a 

 space of 8 or 10 feet on the inside of the hedge 

 is left unplanted, there is a serious loss of ground. 

 The hedge is generally unnecessary. A well- 

 made fence will last at least twelve years, and 



