11 



'layer over them ; the plants should then be tied together in bundles of convenient 

 size. For transport over short distances, which occupies not more than one day, 

 the bundles should be placed in baskets, wheelbarrows, carts or waggons, accord- 

 ing to circumstances, the roots being surrounded by, or imbedded in moss, grass, 

 or earth. If the weather is dry and the sun shining, some c >ver may also be pro- 

 vided, to prevent the drying up of the foliage. The moss or grass used to cover 

 them should be well moistened, and this process may be repeated fro n time to 

 time during transit. 



" If the transport extends over several days, further precautions are necessary. 

 The small bundles are, in that case, bound together into large packages, by arrang- 

 ing the plants so th t the roots are all on one end, well wrapped in wet moss, 

 grass, &c., and then secured by withes. The whole package is covered with mat- 

 ting. In the case of small or middle-sized plants two layers are packed together 

 with the roots in the centre and the crowns outwards on both sides. Plants 

 packed in this manner keep fresh for a week, provided they are so packed that no 

 heating takes place. 



H On arrival at their destination the plants should be at once unpacked, and 

 either planted out, or bedded in earth until they can be planted. The imbedding 

 is best done by arranging the small bundles in trenches and covering the roots 

 and part of the stem with moist soil. If necessary, shelter against the sun or 

 dry winds may also be provided, and the plants may be watered." 



NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 



The formation of a new wood may be effected in a natural manner by allowing 

 the seed to fall from the trees on suitable ground, and by giving the seedlings 

 proper room to grow and develop. 



If the soil is not in such a condition that the seed will generate readily, it must 

 be prepared by removing weeds or excess of vegetable covering, and working the 

 soil by hoeing. The old trees must be thinned out to give room for the young 

 growth, leaving a sufficient number as a cover overhead. 



Only a limited number of trees are necessary to afford shelter to the young crop 

 and to the soil, and these should be evenly distributed over the whole area, and be 

 selected and marked from the beginning. The rest should be removed gradually, 

 for if the selected shelter trees are suddenly brought from a crowded into a com- 

 paratively open position they would be blown over by the first strong wind, or 

 disease would be induced by the fact that the leaves would not be able to react to 

 the greater stimulus of more light. For these reasons the cuttings preparatory to 

 the year during which the trees seed abundantly, may range over several years. 

 In the case of open woods and deep-rooted species only one cutting may be 

 necessary, or even none at all. 



As it is usually uncertain when there will be a seed year in a forest, the prepara- 

 tory cuttings must not be brought to completion too soon so as to open out the 

 old wood too early, and the final cutting should only take place «vhen it is certain 

 that the seed can be depended upon. 



The important question at this stage is the density of the shelter-wood which 

 remains after the final cutting has been carried out ; and various circumstances 

 must be considered. 



The shelter- wood should afford protection against the drying up of the soil, cold 

 winds, and growth of weeds ; if any of these dangers exist, the shelter- wood, or such 

 portions of it as may be necessary, must be kept dark. 



The nature of the species is very important in considering the density of the 

 shelter-wood. Tender species, especially those of slow growth during youth, require 

 a dark shelter-wood ; hardy, light- demanding, quick-growing species a much 

 lighter one. 



The shelter wood is removed when it is no longer required to protect the young 

 growth against various dangers and to preserve the activity of the soil until the 

 new crop can so act. Whether the removal takes place by one or several cuttings 

 depends on various considerations ; for instance whether the soil is properly 

 covered with humus and conserves a suitable degree of moisture ; whether weeds 

 will not choke the seedlings if the cutting is too severe ; whether a free admission 

 of light is necessary for the new crop from the first, or only after a short time. 



Instead of conducting the regenerating process uniformly over a whole wood, 

 some foresters divide up the area into a number of narrow strips, each strip 

 .about the height of the trees but of any length that may be convenient. These 



