OF PRUNING TREES. 119 



as I could find convenient opportunity. Having 

 laid down this principle, as a rule of procedure, 

 I commenced first upon a plantation of oaks, 

 about twelve years of age — which plantation, I 

 saw, had never, up to the period I commenced upon 

 it, been either thinned or pruned. The first thing 

 I did, when about to commence pruning in this 

 piece of plantation, was to go carefully over the 

 whole, and examine most minutely its state ; ob- 

 serving, in a particular manner, whether or not the 

 situatioji was exposed; and being convinced, from 

 the general bearing of other plantations in the 

 neighbourhood, that the situation was rather shel- 

 tered than otherwise, I determined upon thinning- 

 out the firs pretty freely from among the young 

 oaks: having done so, and had the firs all cleared off 

 wliich were cut, I found that the young oaks had 

 been a good deal crushed down by the firs, which 

 had grown very freely as compared with the oaks; 

 and in consequence of having been thus crushed 

 down, many of the latter had grown strongly to side 

 branches, and not to height ; but wherever the oaks 

 had had free top room, Avith firs rather close upon 

 their sides, they were tall plants and generally well 

 shaped. The average height of the oaks was from 

 five to eight feet ; the bark of the trees was clean 

 and fleshy, and generally speaking they were in 

 good health. In the pruning of those trees, I 

 first had all the small branches not exceeding 



