294 THE HAZEL. 
The covering should be one inch in depth. The young plants 
break through the ground towards the end of May, and only 
require to be kept clear of weeds during the summer. A 
strong crop is usually removed into nursery lines when one 
year old, but weak plants are allowed to remain two years in 
the seed-bed. 
In nursery lines the plants should be placed about ten or 
twelve inches apart, and the lines two feet distant. After 
remaining two years in lines, the plants are commonly removed 
to their final situations. 
‘The hazel is profitably cultivated in coppice, and as under- 
wood. When lopped, it stools, and shoots up vigorously, 
producing growths from established roots five or six feet long 
in one season ; and in favourable soil it is not apt to become 
enfeebled by the treatment. In Staffordshire, and many other 
quarters, it is cultivated in the vicinity of potteries and 
manufactories, where it is formed into crates of various sorts, 
adapted for the transmission of goods, for which purpose it is 
well adapted, being extremely tough and elastic. It is also 
used in forming hurdles, hoops, walking-sticks, garden-seats, 
and all descriptions of rustic work. The roots yield a valuable 
timber for veneering, and for the manufacture of toys and 
fancy wares. The wood makes a charcoal esteemed in the 
manufacture of gunpowder and black paint. The hazel never 
produces wood of a sufficient size for building purposes ; but 
a good specimen of the tree is sometimes found to stand thirty 
feet in height, with a trunk three feet in circumference. 
When trained as a standard with one stem, it forms a very 
handsome ornamental tree, and often yields a rich display of 
catkins, which commonly continue in bloom during winter 
and spring, before the leaves expand, the gay appearance of 
which are generally appreciated at that season. It is also 
one of our best deciduous plants for underwood ; as such it 
adds richness, closeness, and seclusion to narrow beltings and 
clumps. Few plants retain their leaves longer after they are 
affected by frost, the influence of which imparts to the foliage 
a rich yellow colour, which continues ornamental for months 
