424 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



replanted and beat up with fresh plants every year, and yet they were 

 eaten down each year in succession by either hares or rabbits, or 

 both. The loss which thus takes place is not only the value of the 

 plants themselves, but there is the labour which has been spent upon 

 them in putting them into their places ; and, what is of more value, 

 there is a great loss sustained in the number of years which pass over ; 

 and there is nothing to see for the former outlay, as of course when the 

 principal has been disposed of, there is no interest to receive afterwards. 

 Presuming that a single acre has cost 4 at first, then, if left undis- 

 turbed by animals or other causes, that acre should be of some con- 

 siderable value in a few years. The value of the crop upon it should 

 not only give an increased yearly value equal to the rent of the land that 

 it would be worth as pasture, but the crops should also give a further 

 increase of value each year, equal to interest at the rate of, say, 5 per 

 cent upon the rent which the land would have given in an agricultural 

 state, and also the same upon the original outlay in the formation of 

 the plantation, and upon this interest there will of course be compound 

 interest to account for. Therefore, taking this into consideration, if the 

 crop is at first destroyed, and then replanted and destroyed again, the 

 loss sustained is veiy much larger than many would think. 



How, then, can young trees in a plantation be preserved from the 

 destructive habits of deer, hares, and rabbits ? 



If landed proprietors would look to their own interests, thejr would 

 destroy all hares and rabbits on their estates. Not only would the sav- 

 ing of expense to themselves be immense, and the increased value of the 

 young plantations be more satisfactory, but for the sake of their tenants 

 on the property this deserves consideration. 



Many proprietors, however, choose to attempt to rear young plantations, 

 and at the same time keep up a large stock of hares and rabbits. In 

 experience I have not found hares so destructive as rabbits. 



Many mixtures have been tried applied to the stems and branches of 

 the trees, but, generally speaking, they are ineffectual. Some veiy soon 

 get washed off by rain, and others which remain on the plants injure 

 their growth, and are about as destructive as the rabbits themselves. It 

 is only reasonable to expect that, when all the pores of the bark and 

 leaves of a plant are closed up by some mixture foreign to it, it cannot 

 thrive well, and is entirely against nature. 



The mixtures which have been tried as an application to young trees 

 are hog's lard, train-oil, cow-dung, and soot ; another, common tar, and 

 also lime-and-water, and also paints. The hog's lard, train-oil, common 

 tar, and paints injure the trees very much, and prevent their growth, 

 especially when they are young. The cow-dung and soot, and lime-and- 



