THE MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 



59 



well-grown stock of hedgerow timber undoubtedly proves a 

 source of profit, and, if properly managed, does less harm than 

 might be supposed. Like coppice, however, it should only be 

 grown in a good soil and climate, as poor soils cannot afford the 

 drain which trees make upon their resources, and in unfavour- 

 able climates the latter do not make a sufficiently free growth 

 for producing good timber. 



As numerous suckers are always thrown up from Elm roots, 

 that tree usually reproduces itself without assistance from man, 

 hence its frequency in hedgerows. The saplings from these suckers 

 generally push up straight and clean for the first few years, and 

 probably form better boles than would planted trees similarly 

 placed, and, so long as horses are kept away from them, thrive 

 well enough. The comparatively moderate crown and erect 

 habit of growth also renders Elm a more suitable tree for the pur- 

 pose than Beech or Oak, and with a little lopping near the base its 

 shade is not too dense to prevent the growth of grass or other 

 crops beneath. Probably less harm is done on the whole when 

 the trees stand two or three together than when singly, as in the 

 former case the growth of side branches is retarded, and when the 

 height-growth of the trees has culminated the least promising 

 can be removed. When Elm-trees stand in the line of Thorn 

 hedges all suckers which are not reserved for timber should be 

 regularly cut down to the ground, otherwise the hedge will soon 

 consist of little but Elm. 



In order to obviate all unnecessary damage to hedges or 

 crops, pruning must take a prominent place in the growing of 

 hedgerow timber. This sometimes takes the form of the 

 periodical lopping off of all side branches, converting the trees 

 so treated into objects closely resembling gigantic broomsticks 

 with tufts of feathers at the top. This treatment favours the 

 outgrowth of spray down the whole length of the stem, which 

 every successive lopping increases, so that in some cases the 

 bole is entirely obscured from view. This method of pruning 

 both disfigures the landscape and also retards the growth of the 

 trees, while the timber is simply a mass of knots. Generally 

 speaking, free-growing suckers require little pruning beyond the 

 removal of low branches, and any trees that show a bushy, flat 

 top or crooked stem should be cut out entirely, as they are never 

 likely to become well-shaped trees. The removal of double leaders 



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