nsoith a View to facilitating their after Management. 239 



posed situations, closer planting may be advisable, I have, for the 

 sake of illustration, commenced the plantation represented in 

 fg. 23., at 3 ft. plant from plant, in squares; introducing hard- 

 w^ood plants (say oak) at 12 ft. apart, interlined as marked by the 

 darkest spots. Supposing this a plantation ultimately to stand 

 either as oak coppice, larch, or Scotch pine, the first thinning 

 might be necessary some time between the 6th and 9th years, 

 according to soil and locality. The first thinnings may be useful 

 for tops of dike fences, short hurdles, and rustic fancy work; and, 

 by taking every other plant, as marked [fig. 24.), the plants re- 



24 



maining will be interlined without the trouble of conspicuous 

 " knots " on a garden line in planting. If hard wood is inter- 

 mixed as indicated by the dark marks, the larch nurses may 

 be "Billingtoned" [have their side branches foreshortened] where 

 they interfere with the reserves, before the second thinning, which 

 should take place between the 15th and 20th years, according to 

 circumstances ; when the thinnings will be useful for palings, 

 bosses [hollow cones in the centre of corn ricks, to admit the air], 

 and other rural purposes. In this thinning, it will be observed, 

 that all the nurses in the line of reserves, whether these reserves 

 are of soft or hard wood, are removed ; and the entire rows next 

 to them, with the half of those left at the previous thinning in the 

 middle row. This will leave the mass rather irregular, as ap- 

 pears from fig. 25. The nurses left should be finally removed 

 some time between the 20th and 25th years from planting, leaving 

 the reserves, whether larch, Scotch pine, or oak coppice, at 12 ft. 

 apart, and regularly interlined, or quincunxed, as some call it, as 



T 2 



