'1;
staEHÍ¥tYmi'sa“etaraW?d?sfail'¿t¥thOTYrsfttréíeré¥hré observes, should
worthless description ot tim b e /is p ro d u e S (6’» ™ ¥ S r é v S T ii i ° '] ”Yr-Y°''®''
bpitb is
strument necessary. All other branches shoMd be tik en off bv thfe s f f a fe L " fe ’ ‘S fe e /'n ly In'-
ragged, should be pared smooth with the knife If rh« ♦>• ? • edges of the wound, if anywise
rvouud over with b irk , without t h l SdEiiou i f l u v p , “ “ ' ^ e x r é X E t a ’Y “'" ? " ti“ "
strong branch, the position of ivhich is pretty upright it ,h™ld b l „1? 3 a shortening of a
across it, m such a manner as that the flee of th ] wnulid íb íii A ■ observed to draw the saw obliquely
afterwards to smooth the edges of tiie b " k ¥ t í Ih e k, * f a iT Y ' " » ‘ “ A
the branches are too large for th e knife, Pontev n r í f e s t h e r é ¥ £ í h Í ' ’r é ', í ’ »''«fycaso where
Strument; and one, th e use of which is more e-isTlv icnnireli ife fe’i i expeditious inuxe.
In “ large work” he uses the common c-iroenter^s cfe? cL ’‘ft®“ ’’®*’ f t ''" of either the bill or
fefeTu*?®fe'’ ft® "?oot 20 fn long ’ smaller branches, one with somewhat
•; ” “ of the first importance in
thick, it will be inevitably ruined. A circuIatMn (!f pfo felfefe fe 'f tke plantation be left too
the welfare o fth e whole.^ This shoíldff be wanting’aA^^^^^^^^
but, m cases where it has been prevented by neglect it s h n n l/ fefei fe ( fefe " f the plantation ;
Opening a plantation too much a t 0 0 0 ?? « a sfeirl w íL ín fefefelfe -fe fe® fefel"’“ ®'’ " t once, or suddenly,
consideration which should in all cases’predomffiXraí ¿ Lfe7 its health and vjgour. in thinning, the
mg the value of the thinnings. For i f w f w l t M òffe 7 / / ‘fe® ‘™l>er left, disregardplant
or kind, and if it be neLssa ry th a t one of tlife tffh o fe frt fell fe ¿T fe " ®®°fe ®"‘l « b"d
ing which of them shall wc do most justice to the Iafedferife ilfe ? fe the only question should be, by leav-
timber for the benefit of our.selves and of feosteritv^^^^^^^ of raising excellent and fuli-sized
view of filling up an accidental vacancy ” tree should never be left, but with the
i“ I.e first object which generally
might, after all, be thwarted. If the situation be wèhefefefecfed fe '•fe '®'’'''*®? ‘^’® ’" ‘«"tion of nursing
Mthough the plantation itself be ra the r cíofeded S fe fw h e re th è ¡ f e -n íf e V / / / " “ '■««í
!ver, should the nurses be suffered to overton nr «-h m refe f fe situation ¿ sheltered. In no case, how-
eveur..,SHOU a me sulfered overtop or whin the n pni;
reason, in bleak situations, " and t o w when f " perhapk perbap] o p a a fe r tic tk ílí?"„fe la rfeK S feiLV'“ '‘'''fe‘' '' i ‘. ‘'fe"®®‘ ®''®P5 for f»' this
‘»is
times be necessary to prune off the branches from one fefeie efefefe ! can hardly be spared, it may some-
pruned or disfigured plants are first to be removed • and Hien fehfe v.'^fe ®"?®«'iuent thinnings, such
be.st be dispensed with. At what period of tlTe Ige ¿ f he fefefeS L f ’fefe’ ft®’*" situation, may
¿annot easily be determined ; and, indeed if the nurses rhifflfeffenfe f V ^ "«rses are to bo removed,
be said th at they should never be totally removed whillfenfe nf fehl fe iarchcs, it may with propriety
that thi.s plant is admirably calculated to comfefellfeffof fef fe® ®-fe®‘ remain. For, besides
periiaps by none, as a timber tree. (Sang 9 beautiful mixture, it is excelled by few kinds,
time, it may, probably, be necessary to thin out“ m r t nf thfe slender. Before this
least thriving plants, should first be condSnned movidM refe-fef ^ ^®"®‘ valuable, and the
but where this would happen, they should be allowed to sren?Hn r?’"®’'*’’ occasion no blank or chasm ;
At what distance of time this revision should take n l a S Afefefe lferii fef^a fe'' ®‘.ber subsequent revision,
very much depend on the circumstances of soil shS te r ?d feh fe re / be determined; as th em a tte r must
be. In general, the third season afte rw ill bifeoon e f i n f e -fefe® “ feh^a’f t >" which the plants may
years old, and in a thriving state, it will require to bfe re v ife d feL il ® ’“" be from thirty to forty
But one invariable rule ought to prevail in all cases and i l ?1) ffo fe.’fe ®fi®®®’ ' " ‘b’" seven years,
or whip another. Respect should be had to th e S a f e c o Z refe fefefe ! fe." fe?' "® ‘“ overtop
the trees ; for some kinds require much more h lad rlSm fhaf fefePfe’ ? nfe " f ‘he roots of
SSS' ffe® i«vfe?o?XKS g?™aifd!’7 / ^ ^ ! f p ® ' - p ® " -
it is hardly possible to'’prescribe S ? d fe fe lIs f e d S im f e tw™ feK plantation should be thinned,
tree, and the like, must determine. Whether t h e S e s S t l f e “ ‘‘‘be
of the kinds the soil seems best fitted fo r ; whether the ferlnfefe h f a ? ' ’’'bich
situation be exposed or sheltered, are all circumstfeLefe whifeh fe fe • I ®‘ ' «"ft whether the
ultimate distance at which the tr^es are to stfefed It hfefe-L "'fluence the determination of the
allowed a distance of from 25 ft.ft feccofeding tofehLr ic fe L r''^® ‘b"‘. if trees be
room^enmigh to become larger timber. (Ibid.) manner of growth, they will have
... a t 3 ft. or 3Jft. apart, will require little
keep such plantations thick in the early
md push fewer and weaker side
V...U..X.U « U.BLCUG« Ul irom -¿OK. to 30 tt., according to their icinH
become larger timber, \lb id .) ^
bHSG Flantaiionscf Scotch pine, if the plants have been nnt in
care until the trees be 10 ft. or 12 ft. high It is necessarv to Voo C ' V' -tHuiie uccie
stages of thmr growth, in order that th i trees mife to fe l7 th e ‘b’®*" ’’i the early
branches. Indeed, a pine or fir-wood plantation sL iI m be V e lra fo ’ fe P" ’ weaker side
maiine'r abo”v ] S ’od, d '" '’“ ’ *3°“,''' >” ‘" 'P ' » e
bra«indlJcQh es on, as before stated. [(JCEni).J ornament, they’ req*u ire to be .lOeTf.vt w.. i.OtTh.a tattlal LthiJeCfllt
■■ ■- v S i f i S ' í r S í o S r e í s ’i’T í S t r é " “’ '"íYí- "PP"-“ » “>
plantations u. an K in a s or resinous trees. It mav be nmnor' ho.
of all young plantations should be carrmd must IPfefefe‘be fe"regulated ® according be be kept kept thicker thicker thfen than tlfe the iifelrfefe''interior If,ThfeTvrefev? ' L‘ '•'.‘to th e S S e of o 7 re '^ m ‘
o exposeu margins
b this rule shofedd
ft® and otherfeircumstSces ( /aS situation, the age of the plants.
t a i S i f * >" wheve the trees are to he
trees as are valuable for their bark should be lift uuM iehid iu '” '"® ta ti.mher and fuel , but sueh
woods require thinning when young lik i other£ £ £ ? £ Wl theraap rises in April or May. Copse-
quire to be gone over the secoid y e lr after c u ttm Ì m d in f,? ’ £ " * e stools re.
t i i w' i ritlEnn ttherreeee »iPY/“" taPPP-S PP ev¥r] two ‘o Ì T S ioous “ l r sueaers é Y “ - to and shoots PPremoved.
™o™d
' Z ‘"'■PP ' ¡ ' ' / T yP-'PP Pf ‘Ph .eeneral'fall of t“h i o '™ ............ with pruning,
they rvere p la iS d " ^In’S 'S l i 'd l i f o r S s ' ’ t h Y 'f i i i ^ ^ t a t ”^^^^^ agreeable to the Intention with which
and in plantations in imitation of nature, the p r i n S e i f jEoifoh,] r^ PPPPPPyp». as the main o b jec t;
in view. A thin part is to he rendered tliinne] and a th i ii i r e " "n n e c tio n must be kept steadily
up, but merely deprived ot such trees as are boioming smothe, Z bhyi tthl £e rreeYst. P^ P'"" '* ' PPPi'Pi*
5891. Improving neglected plantations. Though it has been more or less fjishionable, for upwards o f a
century, to form plantations; yet it has been also so generally the custom to neglect their future culture.
that by far the greater proportion of the surface covered with trees in Britain may be considered as
neglected or mismanaged. The artificial strips and masses have generally never been thinned or pruned;
and the natural woods and copscwoods improperly thinned, or cut over. It is often a difficult matter to
/ays
I ha’
s to
.......... . . X work of considerable time. “ Trees,” Sang observes, “ however
hardy their natures may be, whicb have been reared in a thick plantation, and consequently have been
very much sheltered, have their natures so far changed, that, if they be suddenly exposed to a circulation
of air, which, under different circumstances, would have been salubrious and useful to them, they will
become sickly and die. Hence the necessity of admitting the air to circulate freely among trees in a
thick plantation, only gradually and with great caution. To prevent a misfortune of this kind, a plantation
which has become close and crowded, having been neglected from the time of planting till,.perhaps,
its twentieth year, should have only some of the smallest and most unsightly plants removed: one, perhaps,
in every six or eight, in the first season ; in the followmg season, a like number may be removed ;
and in two or th ree years after it should be gone over again, and so on, till it be sufflciently thinned. It
will be proper to commence th e thinning, as above, at the interior of the plantation, leaving the skirts
thicker till the la s t: indeed, the thinning of th e skirts of such a plantation should be protracted to a
great length of time.” With thinning, pruning to a certain extent should also be carried on. “ If
the plantation,” Sang observes, “ consists of pines and firs, all th e rotten stumps, decayed branches, and
the like, must be cut off close by the bole. It will be needful, however, to be cautious not to inflict too
many wounds upon the tree in one season ; the removing of these, therefore, should be the work of two
or three years, ra the r than endanger the health of the plantation. After the removal of these from the
boles of th e firs and larches, proceed every two or three years, but with a sparing hand, to displace one
or perhaps two tiers of th e lowermost live branches, as circumstances may d ire c t; being careful to cut
close by the trunk, as above noticed. In a plantation of hard wood, under the above circumstances, the
trees left for the ultimate crop are not to be pruned so much at first as might otherwise be required ;
only one or two of their competing branches are to be taken away, and even these with caution. If it be
judged too much for th e first operation to remove them entirely, they may be shortened, to prevent th e
-------- ................- - - ‘“••■■in; and the remaining parts may be removed in the fl ” ' . . . .
. hey must be cut close by the bole.” (Plant. K
5892. The operations of thinning and pruning, thickening or filling up, i
e following season ; a t which
Kal., p. 467.)
rt. . OT. or renewing portions that cannot
be profitably recovered, should thus go on year after year, as appearances may direct, on the general
principles of tree culture. And for this purpose the attentive observation and reflection o f a judicious
manager will be worth more than directions which must be given with so much latitude. Pontey lias
noticed various errors in Kennedy’s Treatise on Planting, and even in Sang’s Kalendar, on th e simple
subject of distances, which have originated in tlunr giving directions for anticipated cases, which had
never come within their experience. “ Most people,” he says, “ take it for granted, that if trees stand
3 ft. apart, they have only to take out the half to make the distances 6 ft., though, to do that, they must
take down three times as many as they leave. By the same rule, again, most people would suppose, that
12 feet distance was only th e double of 6 ; but the square of the latter is only 36, and that of th e former
144, or four times the latter ; so that to bring 6 feet distances to 12, three trees must be removed for every
one left.” (Profitable Planter, p. 256.; Forest Pruner, p. 21.)
6893. Copscwoods are sometimes improved by turning them into woods, which requires nothing more
than a judicious selection and reservation of those shoots from the stools which are strongest, and which
spring more immediately from the collar. But a greater improvement of copscwoods consists in cutting
over the overgrown and protuberant stools, by th e surface of the
soil (fig . 957. a, b, c, d), which has been found by Monteath completely
to regenerate them. 7'he operation is performed with a saw,
in a slanting direction, and the young shoots, being afterwards properly
thinned and pruned, soon establish themselves securely on
the circumference of large, and perhaps rotten-hearted, roots. (Fo-
rester's Guide, p. 60.)
5894. Hedgerows are often neglected, and, like larger plantations,
require renovation by cutting down and filling in vacancies, and by
cultivating th e soil a t their roots. Hedges, Sang observes, which
have been long neglected, shoot up to a great height like trees, become
naked a t bottom, and occupy too much ground, a t least for
lands in a state of high cultivation. 7 h e best method of reducing
such to a proper size,and of forming them into an immediate fence,
is by plashing.
5895. Plashing. This consists in selecting the strongest and
straightest shoots. These are to be dressed up and headed down to 4 ft., in such a way that the
tops of the whole may range in a straight line. These are called the stakes ; and, when they are deficient,
either in strength or number, recourse must be had to artificial stakes, which must be driven in to stand
finn, and supply the deficiency of natural ones. Having proceeded thus far in preparing th e hedge for
plashing, the hedger is to begin a t one end, and bend down as close as possible the remaining pliable
branches, crossing them in the manner of basketwork. Such as are too strong to be bent, may be cut
half through with the bill, which will render them pliable enough to be u s e d ; and such as are not
required for any of the above-mentioned purposes, must be cut off close to the ground. After the
plashing is finished, the hedge should be dressed smooth on both sides by th e switching-bill ir shears.
7 'here is another method of plashing, which has been suggested as an improvement upon the foregoing ;
and th at is, by not cutting any of the stems over as stakes, but weaving in the tops along with tho other
branches. 7 his method will not have so immediate a tendency to bare the lower parts of the hedge by
th e growth of th e top, as when any of the plants are cut over for stakes ; but still, at the bendings, the
growth will rush out with vigour; besides, this plan is attended with more labour. Indeed, the best
security against baring the bottom of a plashed hedge, is by cutting over by the surface as many of the
plants as can be at all spared; and the shoots arising from these will soon thicken the hedge at bottom.
Plashing can only be effectually and handsomely performed, when there is a good portion of long, pliable,
and well-feathered branches, and where the he'dge has, if not youth, a t least vigour, on its side. After
the plashing is completed, the ditch is to be scoured out, and th e bottom of the hedge cleaned and
dressed up, in the same neat manner as if all were new work.
5896. Cutting over old hedges is a much less expensive method of reclaiming or renewing, than any of
the above ; and, perhaps, in most cases, may be a more eligible o n e ; save when an immediate fence is
the object. In cutting down an old hedge, there is certainly a very fit opportunity of laying the foundation
of a complete and durable fence. 7'he nature of the cutting must be regulated by circumstances,
according to the age, the strength, or the closeness of th e hedge, and whether it has been planted in
single or double rows. If the hedge in question be pretty vigorous and branching towards the bottom,
and if the stems stand regularly and closely together, it may be brought into due subjection, without
being cut down to the ground. In this case, tho side.s are first to be switched up with the hook, not altogether
close to th e stems, b u t within about 1 ft, of them on each side at bottom, tapering up close a t top,
which should be 4 ft. or 5 ft. high, according to tho general height of the hedge ; but if th e hedge be thin
a t bottom, it will be advisable to cut more in, in order to make it bushy from the ground upwards. If
tho hedge is not regularly close from end to end, but ragged, and full ot gaps, the best method is to cut
li:''!
’ if.
fi
toi