264 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



oak is termed) and let it stand for shelter. Some- 

 times, indeed, it grows so thick as to be destructive 

 instead of salutary : when this happens, it must, of 

 course, be thinned to the requisite distances ; and 

 to prevent the too frequent recurrence of that labour, 

 all the unnecessary roots thould be grubbed up or 

 destroyed. In concluding this subject, I do not he- 

 sitate to assert, that, by means of shelter, the growth 

 of coppice may be so materially accelerated as to 

 add permanently twenty per cent, to its value. 



The last thing proposed to be done, in this some- 

 what miscellaneous chapter, was to throw out a few 

 hints for the recovery of oak plantations in a sickly 

 or un thriving condition. It has been already men- 

 tioned, as a frequent consequence of the common 

 mode of planting oaks, that they become stunted, 

 and remain for years without making any progress. 

 The roots, being first injured by transplanting, re- 

 quire several seasons to re-establish their vigour, and 

 enable them to convey a due quantity of sap to the 

 branches. During this interval, the latter become 

 hide-bound, their vessels contract, and they lose the 

 power of drawing the supply of nourishment requi- 

 site for their growth, after the roots are capable of 

 affording it. The superabundant sap must, of 

 course, have a vent ; but finding none in the origi- 



