monteath's forester's guide. 149 



Trees in single rows thrive latterly much better 

 than in narrow belts, because, from the planting, 

 they are habituated to open situation, and acquire 

 roots, branches, and stem, suited to this : whereas 

 trees in narrow belts, from being in a thicket while 

 young, acquire great length of stem, and roots and 

 tops unproportionably small ; and, when thinned out, 

 and from the narrowness of the belt, exposed nearly 

 as much, as, though in single row, they become 

 sickly, from delicacy of constitution unsuited to this 

 exposiu*e, and from deficiency of roots to draw mois- 

 ture commensurate to the increased evaporation. 

 To obviate this evil, resulting from narrow belts, 

 timely thinning, so as to retain numerous side- 

 branches downward to the ground, of course, shoidd 

 be adopted. In a drier climate, or in high and ex- 

 posed situation, continued forest will have great ef- 

 fect in promoting the luxuriance and health of tim- 

 ber ; but in the southern part of Scotland, there are 

 few situations, keeping away from high elevation 

 and the eastern coast, where any of our common 

 trees would prosper in forest, which would not grow 

 pretty well singly, provided the plant be allowed 

 from the first to accommodate its figure to the situa- 

 tion. 



Mr Monteath's system of pruning severely while 



