monteath's forester's guide. 153 



sandy flats. Many casualties will, however, occur 

 among resinous trees especially in unsuitable soil, 

 even when the plants rise from the seed naturally 

 sown, and have sufficient room for lateral expansion. 

 The same cause, viz. closeness or want of thinning, 

 induces early maturity, old age and decay in larch, 

 although it does not seem to have any influence, 

 either as inducement to, or prevention of, the rot. 

 We have heard men, — even men reasonable on 

 other subjects — speak of allowing a pine wood to 

 thin itself : as well might a farmer speak of allow- 

 ing his turnip field to thin itself. When woods 

 are planted of various kinds of timber, the stronger, 

 larger growing kinds will sometimes acquire room 

 by overwhelming the smaller : but when the forest 

 is of one kind of tree, and too close, all suffer 

 nearly ahke, and follow each other fast in decay, 

 as their various strength of constitution gives way ; 

 unless, from some negligence or defect in planting, a 

 portion of the plants have come away quickly, and 

 the others hung back sickly for several years, so that 



* The coniferse have a weaker or more connected vitality than 

 most other trees — the whole individual participating in the injury 

 of any part. Perhaps this arises from the liability of resinous 

 juice to putrescency — any putrid affection in one spot of the more 

 vital part of the tree spreading quickly over the whole. 



