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Hedgerow Timber. 



[JUNE, 



entirely upon the suitability of the soil and situation for the 

 species grown. Shapely and well-developed trees, whatever 

 the species may be, cannot fail to improve the landscape and 

 render an otherwise bare or uninteresting country more or 

 less picturesque. Stunted and misshapen specimens, on the 

 other hand, invariably give a district a mean and monotonous 

 appearance, and at once suggest a bleak climate or poor soil. 

 They may afford a certain amount of shelter, but not sufficient 

 to make good the damage done to hedges by low-crowned 

 trees or the drain upon an already poor soil by their roots, 

 while the value of the timber is practically nil. In such districts 

 it is doubtful whether hedgerow timber in the form of single 

 trees is worth having, and it is better to provide shelter by 

 means of clumps, belts, or ordinary plantations. 



The importance of hedgerow timber in the way of shade 

 and shelter is difficult to estimate with any degree of accuracy. 

 There can be little doubt, however, that hedgerow trees act as 

 wind-breaks and prevent rapid evaporation from the surface. 

 A district thickly studded with such trees, therefore, should be 

 warmer in winter and less affected by summer drought than one 

 practically treeless. To the dairy farmer, therefore, hedgerow 

 trees should be more beneficial than harmful, although much 

 may depend upon soil and climate and, to some extent, upon 

 elevation. To the arable farmer, hedgerow trees are rarely of 

 much benefit, except in the way of acting as general wind-breaks. 

 They invariably cause the unequal ripening of crops by shading 

 the ground, while their roots rob the soil round about them 

 and cause a reduced yield. With fields of small acreage this 

 may constitute a considerable loss, and it can hardly be said 

 that the arable farmer has any great liking for hedgerow trees. 



The value of hedgerow trees as producers of timber depends 

 very much upon the species. Hedgerow timber in general is 

 grown under two great disadvantages: 1st, its' height-growth 

 and the formation of long straight boles are checked and 

 diminished by prevailing winds, and the absence of competition 

 between individual trees ; and, 2nd, the unrestricted development 

 of side branches, which tends to produce coarse, knotty timber. 

 These disadvantages are more or less common to all hedgerow 

 trees, but they are very much greater with some species than 



