332! SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 



bound round with marline, half twisted and pitched, 

 such as is used on board of ship to secure the ends 

 of the cables. A small piece of mat, four inches 

 broad, is previously put between the tops of the 

 stakes and the stem, to prevent chafing. As soon as 

 the ring or hempen collar is put on, the workman 

 who fixes it proceeds to connect it with the bracer at 

 the centre, drawing the end of the marline half way 

 down between the top of the stakes and the ground, 

 and making it fast to one of them. From thence 

 he passes it loosely round the whole, taking a turn 

 round each stake, until he arrives at the point where 

 he began." 



" Thus it will be perceived, that a fence for trees 

 of the firmest sort is procured, and such as will last for 

 nine or ten years, with occasional repairs of the mar- 

 line ; which last, as it suffers by contraction and ex- 

 pansion, should, after the first year, be gone over two 

 or three times during the summer, and kept in good 

 order. If the larger end of the stakes be dipped in 

 coal tar, brought to the state of half pitch, they 

 will last from twelve to fifteen years. The entire 

 cost of this defence, materials and workmanship, 

 does not exceed sixpence per tree." 



The first summer after planting, it is necessary 



