THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 



51 



have sketched in outline, viz. the " even-aged high forest " 

 system, is the only one capable of yielding the best possible 

 return. I am not asserting that this method of raising woods is 

 practicable in this country at the present day. The varied 

 functions which woods perform in Great Britain, and the in- 

 fluence of individual interests and tastes, have already been 

 mentioned, but as these vary on every estate, it would be 

 perfectly useless to consider them when dealing with general 

 principles, which is all I have attempted to do in this paper. I 

 might also explain that by " unmixed" wood I do not mean 

 that a plantation need consist of one species only, but that 

 the different species which compose it should be grown in 

 " unmixed" groups, or if mixed, mixed on the principles pre- 

 viously explained. 



Perhaps, however, the advantages of growing pure groups 

 instead of the usual mixtures have not been made sufficiently 

 clear to satisfy all minds. Let me briefly run over the growth 

 and development of a typical mixed plantation, and note 

 wherein it differs from our example. We will select one which 

 is intended to produce a crop of hardwoods, Beech, Oak, and 

 Ash. These are planted twelve feet apart, and the space 

 between filled up with Larch and Pines, leaving the whole stand- 

 ing four feet apart. At the time of planting the trees are two to 

 four feet high, according to species, and as the roots are too 

 strong and spreading to be placed perpendicularly into the 

 ground, they are laid at the bottom of a shallow pit in a more or 

 less horizontal position. This need not affect their growth to 

 any great extent, but affects their stability, and in windy weather 

 they get blown about if at all top-heavy, and require putting right 

 again. This is disadvantage the first. Then it will take about 

 eight or ten years for the branches of neighbouring trees to meet 

 and form a perfect leaf canopy, and by that time the side 

 branches will be strong and vigorous, and when choked off by 

 the shade will leave dead knots and ugly blemishes in the 

 timber. The stems of the hardwoods will be comparatively 

 crooked and the heads bushy, especially if ground-game has 

 nibbled them or the leading shoot been destroyed in any way. 

 This means that a certain proportion of them have little chance 

 of becoming good timber-trees, and the prospect of a good 

 crop is lessened : disadvantage the second. During the next few 



