TREE CULTURE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 45 



this kind, together with ordinary black loam. The roots of the trees 

 must not be long exposed to the sea breeze, as the small spongioles or 

 spongy tissue at the end of the roots, through which nourishment is 

 conveyed to the plant, wiU otherwise soon get dried up, and failure 

 will follow. The system of " puddling," which is elsewhere explained 

 in these pages, should especially be applied in the treatment of trees 

 for sea-side plantations. 



Distance Apart to Plant. — This should not be more than 8ft., plant from 

 plant, in the plantation grounds. On the outside of the plantation, or 

 that nearest the sea, a belt of say one chain in breadth should be formed 

 of commoner kinds of trees and shrubs, put in at 5ft. apart, in order 

 to come up quickly and form a break-wind to the more yaluable kinds 

 to leeward. 



Break-Winds. — In seaside planting, of whatever description, it is 

 indispensably necessary to protect the young plants for a while until they 

 get established in the ground, and become of such heights and strength 

 as will admit of their resisting the effects of the vicissitudes of the site. 

 There are many ways of doing this ; and of course much will depend on 

 the size of the plantation, as well as the kind of material at hand for 

 the purpose, as to what kind of structure should be erected. One of the 

 best and least expensive materials for the purpose is the common brush- 

 wood which is always to be found on our coasts. This can be worked 

 up into excellent screen-fences by driving stakes into the ground at 

 every 10ft. (these to stand 7ft. out of the ground), with three wires run 

 through them at about 2ft. apart. The briish can then be laced into 

 the wires like hurdle- work, with the ends of the lower tier sunk 6in. 

 or Sin. into the ground. Or it can be piled up to a height of Oft. to 7ft., 

 in regular bush-fence fashion, with stakes driven into the ground on both 

 sides to keep it stationary. Much, of cotu'se, will depend upon the 

 character of the site — whether it be more than usually exposed, or the 

 reverse — as to the number of screen fences which it may be necessary 

 to erect in a plantation, but I can only say that if the brushwood is 

 plentiful, the more fences there are put up the better will it undoubtedly 

 be for the young trees. The first and largest fence should be run close 

 to the sea-margin of the plantation, and in a line parallel with the sea- 

 line ; the second fence parallel to the first, and about 200ft. from it ; 

 the third, 3O0ft. from the second ; the fourth, 500ft. from the third 

 (each time increasing the distance between the fences as they get further 

 from the coast) ; and so on through the whole plantation if it is very 

 much exposed, or, if it is not of this character, until fairly sheltered 

 ground is reached, when the screen may be discontinued altogether. In 

 very sandy sites, where there is likely to be a drift, bushes should be laid 

 all over the surface of the ground until the plants get a fair size and 

 cover the space betwixt the rows. 



In Fig. 10 I give a rough sketch of plantation on sea-coast, showing 

 brush-screens as described above. 



Cleaving and Mulching. — The soil should be frequently stirred about 

 the roots of the young trees, and afterwards carefuUy mulched before 

 summer, all in the manner elsewhere described in this work. 



