PRUNING FOREST TREES. 1 19 
the water to lodge in. But the evil does not stop here, for although 
in the course of lime the new wood will cover the old stump, yet it 
never unites with it, and whenever the tree is converted into plants, 
the defect will be visible, 
Ii> thinning out plantations, trees may often be found, the limbs 
of which, have been close cut off some years previous, and the bark 
nearly or quite grown over; cut one of these across, a few inches 
above, and also a few inches below the scar, then bisect it longitudi¬ 
nally, putting the teeth of the saw as near as may be upon the mid¬ 
dle of the scar: and I am much mistaken, if two or three such speci¬ 
mens, do not serve to cure any man of his fondness for close pruning ; 
and what I contend for, is this; that all the good effects of close 
pruning, without any of its evils, may be attained by a judicious use 
of foreshortening. 
Some growers of timber are of opinion that trees, whilst they are 
young, cannot be kept too close, upon the principal that the straight- 
est boles are found in the thickest forests. I think, on the contrary, 
young plantations should be thinned out every year, or every other 
year at most; and that as trees advance in growth, more and more 
attention should be paid to see that their heads have room to play 
clear of each other, during very high winds, which is a very impor¬ 
tant time, to examine the plantations and woods of young growing 
timber. 
At Thoresby and Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, may be seen in 
certain spots the effects of trees having grown up without thinning. 
If my memory serves me, there are some, forty feet high or more, 
with a bole, whose diameter would not exceed a foot. Such trees 
must, I think be considered as having been irrecoverably drawn up 
out of their due and natural proportions. It is true that in the 
above parks, and also at Lord Scarsdale’s, at Kedlestone, and in 
other places, may be seen magnificent oaks, several hundred years 
old, with holes straight as arrows, and with very few side branches, 
and those of a small size. But I consider these to have been master 
trees, and such will be found in every young plantation of oaks, 
they have outgrown their fellows, and have by that means preserved 
their heads uninjured. 
I will conclude this long letter by stating my belief that young- 
oaks of three, four, or five years old, would put up better and 
straighter stems, if headed close down. We all know that a straight 
growing Spanish chesnut, can hardly be met with except by this 
process. George. 
3rd December, 1832 . 
I 
