Planting and pruning Forest Trees. 417 



few inches of poor soil on rock, gravel, or grey sand, as void 

 of nurture as the congealed lava from Mount Etna or Vesu- 

 vius ; yet even such will grow many of the pine and fir tribes 

 of trees better, in three inches of soil, than if planted in rich 

 loam. As the trees grow, the soil will increase, and be fit for 

 a crop of oaks, &c, by the time that the pines or firs are pro- 

 perly thinned out for timber trees. Suppose an acre of such 

 land is bought for 1 0/., and planted for 51., by contract, with 

 larch fir, Scotch pine, birch, and mountain ash, in equal pro- 

 portions ; in the course of 1 5 years, such trees will every one 

 be from 15 to 30 ft. high ; and, if they have been well pruned, 

 they will be still higher and more valuable. To prune a tree 

 'well, is to prune it while it is young ; say at 6 ft. high, it should 

 be pruned 2 ft. up the stem. This is done in one minute, or 

 less, with a good Sheffield knife ( Barns, maker). The trees 

 should be gone over in this manner every two years, say six 

 times, or six minutes for each tree, equal to one farthing ! 

 Observe that I speak from experience. By this early prun- 

 ing, there is no occasion for thinning out any trees till they 

 are fit for something. The Scotch pine are thinned out first 

 for rails, &c. ; the best of the larch are left as timber trees ; 

 the birch, mountain ash, &c, are cut periodically for crate- 

 rods, &c. &c. ; and oaks, &c, are introduced into all vacant 

 places. I shall not attempt to make a debtor and creditor 

 account of such an acre of land, as the demand and locality 

 of markets make so much difference ; but, at the lowest cal- 

 culation possible, the profit is sufficient to induce every land- 

 owner to plant his waste lands with trees of some sort. With 

 respect to pruning, it is a maxim with me to prune young, to 

 prune often, and not prune too much at a time : I once killed 

 a beautiful row of spruce trees by pruning them up too much 

 in one season. We can never do wrong in taking off two 

 crops of branches every second year, while the tree is in full 

 vigour : after it begins to be at a stand-still, it should never be 

 touched more ; pruning then can do it no good, and may do 

 it much harm. 



I have been reading the letter of Mr. Blaikie to the Duke 

 of Bedford, in the Country Times newspaper of Feb. 15. The 

 letter is certainly written much more in the spirit of meekness 

 than the letters of Mr. Withers ; nevertheless, he is as much 

 mistaken in the vegetable economy or physiology of forest 

 trees as Mr. Monteith : his method of pruning, yclept fore- 

 shortening, is all very well for laurels, hollies, and other orna- 

 mental shrubs and trees, but for forest timber it is the very 

 worst of all bad systems. Mr. Blaikie seems to think that the 

 boughs of a tree will grow out and fall off in the same maimer 



Vol. VI. — No. 27. e e 



