86 A DISCOURSE 



BOOK I. '< cepting only Apple and Pear-trees." And in cap. xxxix. lib. xvi. 



" The timber of those trees which grow in moist and shady places is not 

 '* so good as that which comes from a more exposed situation, nor is 

 " it so close, substantial, and durable :" Upon which he much prefers 

 the timber growing in Tuscany, before that towards the Venetian side, 

 and upper part of the Gulph. And that timber, so grown, was in 



may be converted into a spring wood, in wliich case no timber should be left standing, as 

 the copse wood will be retarded in its growth by the over-dripping of the large trees. — 

 According to the goodness of the land, the spring wood will arrive sooner or later at ma- 

 turity ; and as wood of that kind is a regular and constant income, after a term of years, it 

 becomes a very advantageous method of applying land in all countries where fuel is 

 dear. 



As much depends upon keeping the seedling plants clear from weeds, it might be an 

 improvement to the plan, if, after the oats are harrowed in, drills were drawn with a light 

 plough all over the field at a distance of four feet from each other. Into these let the 

 acorns, chestnuts, and other seeds be sown, after which they may be covered with rakes ; 

 the thickness, however, of the covering, and the deepness of the drills, must be regulated 

 by the nature of the soil and the seed sown. A wood raised in this manner may be cleaned 

 at a small expense by horse-hoeing the intervals, and hand-hoeing and thinning the rows 

 at proper seasons ; for which necessaiy operations, consult the directions already given for 

 cleaning Oaks drawn from the nursery, and planted in rows. In Livonia, Courland, and 

 Poland, where the Pine and Fir grow in abundance, it is the practice to prepare the land 

 as for grain, and then sow it with Pine and Fir seeds in the month of April. The whole 

 is afterwards left to Nature. And thus being sown thick, the strong plants smother the 

 weaker, and the wood advances apace. In consequence of the close standing of the trees, 

 the lower branches drop off soon, which clears the timber of knots. In these countries it 

 is esteemed an injudicious practice to thin the woods till the most vigorous trees are 

 arrived at the height of twenty feet, and then the low and smothered plants are removed. 

 When the wood is arrived at maturity, the whole is cut down, and every fifty or sixty 

 yards a Pine, or Fir, is left standing to stock the land with seeds, the ground being care- 

 fully harrowed at the time the cones of the mother trees begin to open. Others again 

 judge it better to leave a deep skirting of trees round the place cleared of wood with the 

 same precaution of harrowing the gi'ound at the time when Nature points out her sowing 

 season. 



The celebrated Marquis of Turbilly, speaking of woods raised from seeds, says, " woods 

 thus raised out-grow, even in a few years, those that have been planted at the same time, 

 and cultivated by digging and dressing at a great expense. No trees are taller, straighter, 

 and of a finer bark." 



In this place I judge it necessary to remark, that the above directions are drawn from 

 the most approved authors, as well as the private information of gentlemen well con- 



