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particularly at such an advanced age as this, (as former- 

 ly noticed,) a consultation, as it were, should be held 

 within the Forester's own breast before putting a 

 mark or an axe to any tree in any plantation, deli- 

 berately asking himself for what future purpose or 

 design is this plantation intended, is it to rear 

 trees to maturity, to be cut down in order to bring 

 money to the estate, or is it to rear trees to stand 

 for generations on the ground, chiefly for orna- 

 ment ? And here in all cases, but in the latter case 

 particularly, the proprietor should be consulted. 

 Here it must be obvious to the most ignorant in the 

 profession of forestry, that a different treatment is 

 requisite. In so far as the thinning of this belt of 

 planting has been proceeded in, I am at a loss to dis- 

 cover what has been the design ; sometimes and in 

 different places, the most ornamental, long lived, and 

 healthy trees have been taken, and a few polish trees 

 left that never will be either ornamental or profitable ; 

 in many other places the reverse has been the case, 

 and upon the whole, the belt has been very careless- 

 ly dealt with ; so careless in some instances has the 

 cutting been proceeded with, that the very tree cut 

 has been allowed to destroy the one it was intended 

 to relieve, and apparently without any attempt being 

 made to save it. As this belt is certainly very orna- 

 mental on this part of the estate, and should be rear- 

 ed as such, and trees arrived at such an age when cut 

 down cannot be reared up in a lifetime, no one will 

 deny that deliberation in marking, and care to pre- 

 serve the standing trees in cutting is truly necessary. 

 This belt will require to be correctly gone over again, 

 and take away the polish trees of ash and oak, such 

 as never will come to be trees, and dress up their 



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