572 ON USEFUL AND BOOK I. 



tions may be drained by open cuts, the necessary expense is 

 very trifling, compared with the drainage of arable grounds. 

 It is almost unnecessary to mention, that in reclaiming neg- 

 lected plantations, the fences are always supposed to be kept 

 in proper repair, a neglect of which is often the complete ruin 

 of numberless acres. 



Thinning old or neglected plantations should always be 

 performed gradually, and with a due regard to the age and 

 kinds of tree, the soil, situation, and other circumstances. The 

 margin should generally be left thicker than the inside; and 

 that place where the soil is thin, should not be left so thick of 

 trees as where it is deep and good. 



Pruning, also, should accompany these operations, accord- 

 ing to the age and size of the plants, the particular species, and 

 the purpose in view. 



Let me urge those who have neglected or badly managed 

 plantations to reclaim them without delay. Forming young 

 plantations will prove highly advantageous to posterity. But 

 improving those already grown, by a judicious reformation in 

 the system of management, is a certain gain to the present 

 proprietor, and a benefit to the age in which he lives. 



