Culture of the British Oak. 285 



manent tree. The reason he assigns for so doing is, he wishes 

 to leave the best trees, that is, the largest, not considering 

 that the small tree, if it had a good leading shoot, and was 

 otherwise a well formed tree, is likely to make as good a tree 

 at a future period as the one he has left, or perhaps better. 

 I have seen many plantations disfigured by the above method 

 of thinning, besides the loss to the proprietor. In the course 

 of practice in thinning plantations, especially when under 

 thirty years of age, I have never hesitated to cut down a larger 

 tree than the one next to it, if by so doing I got my trees to 

 stand in a more regular form, and the smaller tree was equally 

 healthful. By following such a method of thinning, there is 

 more to be made of thinnings, besides managing the plant- 

 ation in a way for its future welfare. 



Pruning of woods and plantations is another important part 

 of their culture; but that subject would make my letter too 

 long. I will therefore defer it at this time, hoping the cul- 

 tivation of timber will become more a professional pursuit. 



I am, Sir, &c. 

 October 13. 1827. Quercus. 



Art. XL The falling Fortunes of the English Oak defended. 

 By Quercus Secundus. 



Sir, 

 After some few years of compassionate consideration, I 

 am induced to take up my pen to support the falling fortunes 

 of an old favourite, and which has been, and ought to be, a 

 national one — the old English oak. It is astonishing how 

 much the planting of this very valuable tree has decreased of 

 late, owing to various wiseacres asserting that, in consequence 

 of after removing, and necessarily shortening its taproot, it 

 would never make timber : and then they recommend plant- 

 ing acorns in fields, so as to have woods of oak alone ; but 

 these said woods I have never yet seen raised in this manner. 

 Now, my object for troubling you is to combat this opinion, 

 which has gained a vast deal of ground, and to show that the 

 oak will grow with as much luxuriance as the larch, i. e. com- 

 paratively, and with a soil not decidedly unfavourable. I live 

 in the neighbourhood of some fine plantations of about thirty 

 years' growth, one third of which is oaks, and such oaks as 

 are never seen in common oak woods, where they have risen 

 from acorns, and are evidently indigenous to the soil, gene- 



