PllfiiPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



127 



a blown or loose state, and admits both the frost 

 and drought much too freely. Heath should not be 

 burnt when it does not exceed fom* inches in height, 

 as, in this state, it will not impede the planting of 

 the smallest plants that are ever removed from the 

 nursery. At the greatest length it attains, it does 

 not injure the plants themselves, but merely renders 

 the fixing of them a matter of greater difficulty than 

 is desirable, or than can sometimes be overcome, 

 even by the most expert workmen. 



Furze and broom are more difficult to get rid 

 of than heath. They may, indeed, be burnt as easi- 

 ly as the latter, but their roots remaining in the 

 ground render it boss or hollow, a state in which the 

 drought gains so easy admission, as to make it im- 

 possible for any thing planted in such a situation to 

 grow, or even to survive. Instead of being burnt, 

 therefore, as has been recommended with regard to 

 heath, it is necessary that furze as well as broom be 

 carefully rooted up. These remarks, however, are 

 to be understood as applicable only when very small 

 plants are to be used. There are cases, as we will 

 afterwards have occasion to notice, in which it is ad- 

 vantageous to let furze and broom remain as we find 

 them. 



Wherever heath grows plentifully, the surface 



