to me, I shall only examine the manner in which the posts should 

 be made. 



The most proper wood is, without denial, heart of oak ; the next 

 best, chesnut and mulberry ; even elm, ash or maple may be used; 

 but willow or poplar should be avoided, and also alder, the porous, 

 sappy wood of which scarcely lasts a year. Coppice-wood or sap- 

 ling props are very poor, although the wood be seven or nine years 

 old. Good props should be of logs of fifteen or twenty year old wood, 

 five feet long, six inches thick, and split in four ; the corners well 

 smoothed by the hatchet, the sharp end charred, and the bark strip- 

 ped entirely. The time for putting down the props is just before the 

 first spring tillage and before the shooting of the buds. They must 

 be put down deep enough to stand *he winds and drought, but with 

 care, so as not to injure the roots. 



