WOODS AND PLANTATIONS. 367 



birch-seeds will do to be covered very slightly, just sufficient to keep them 

 from being blown away ; but the seed of the pines requires half an inch of 

 covering. In the course of two or three years the patches should be . 

 looked over, and all the rubbish and weeds taken out ; and if more than 

 one plant is found growing in one place, only one should be left and the 

 others taken out. Those thinned out can be used in filling up any fail- 

 ures which may have occurred elsewhere. 



Pits should always be made one or two months previous to planting, 

 and more especially on soils which are stiff, or where the subsoil may be 

 hard. This gives time for the weather to moulder down and open out 

 the soil, both that taken out of the pit and the sides of the pit itself; 

 and the young trees generally do better afterwards. 



It is always desirable to avoid planting young trees amongst old ones, 

 as I have never found them to do well, as, from the close confinement 

 amongst the older trees, they are generally drawn up and grow weakly. 

 However, should it be found necessary to do so, the plants should not 

 be planted too close, and not less than five feet from the drip of the 

 standard trees. If the old trees extend their branches a long way over, 

 so as to cover a large space of the surface of the land, these long 

 branches should be pruned in, so as to give more room for the young 

 trees. 



Planting is often done by contract, many proprietors being in favour 

 of contracting with some nurseryman for the whole work of supplying 

 the plants and putting them in the soil. As a rule, it is not a good 

 plan to do this, as the plants are often of such a character that they 

 would be rejected by a regular forester, being frequently the refuse 

 of the nursery, drawn up, weak, and badly rooted. Along with this, 

 the plants are hardly if ever so well planted. Of course the more 

 quickly that the nurseryman gets over the work the better for him- 

 self. Planting never should be done except by the regular forester and 

 the regular workmen. There are, however, instances in which it may be 

 necessary to resort to this plan as on an estate where no regular forester 

 is kept, or where there are no regular workmen employed who are able 

 to plant. When this is the case, specifications must be drawn out with 

 the view of taking in offers for the work from nurserymen ; but we 

 should always prefer giving a respectable nurseryman one with whom 

 we are acquainted, and know that he will do the work well a higher 

 price per acre for the work than to any who would most likely wish to 

 have the work finished as soon and as cheap as possible, irrespective of 

 the consequences. 



The following is a copy of specifications which I drew out in 1865 

 for the formation of a plantation in the courtly of Northumberland : 



