PLANTING 17 



which every one can test for himself by ex- 

 periment. It is certainly possible that in some 

 cases a plantation made with trees originally 

 planted 5j feet apart, will at twelve years old 

 be more healthy, with a complete canopy over 

 the ground, more vigorous, and more able to 

 resist the wind than a plantation in which the 

 trees had been planted at a less distance. 



There are two cases in which close-planting 

 may be useful. First, exposed moorlands, for 

 they are so cold naturally that the young trees 

 cannot establish themselves without an increase 

 of warmth, and a heavy mortality must be 

 expected, so that unless many more trees are 

 planted than are likely to live, there will not 

 be a complete crop ; and secondly, situations 

 where there is a good market for hop poles and 

 the soil is fairly good. In these situations the 

 advantage of having early returns makes it 

 prudent from a financial point of view to incur 

 some risk of injury to the trees and to the 

 soil. 



It may be urged that according to the argu- 

 ments already given against close-planting, it 

 would be better to plant at much wider distances 

 than 5| feet, say at 8 or 9 feet. The advantages, 

 it is claimed, would be economy in planting, for 

 2 



