g \ C> .v- OF V i :'H VI . i 4 THE PLANTER'S KALENDAR; OR THE NURSERYMAN'S & FORESTER'S GUIDE, IN THE OPERATIONS THE NURSERY, THE FOREST, AND THE GROVE. BY THE LATE WALTER NICOL, AUTHOR OF THE GARDENER'S KALENBAR, &C, EDITED AND COMPLETED BY EDWARD SANG, NURSERYMAN. E D I N B U R G H : Printed by David Willison^ FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME AND BROWN, AND JOHN MURRAY, LONDON ; AND JOHN CUMMING, DUBLIN. 1812, LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALXFORN&T AD VERTISEMENT. THE Editor contracts for the Execution of att Jdnds of Forest and Ornamental Plantation. He reviews neglected Plantations , and gives Di* rectiom for their future Management. Letters addressed to EDWARD SANG., Nurs- ery and Seedsman, Kirkcaldy, will be duly attended to. a 2 CORRIGENDA. *. 105. 1. 3. for stools read shoots 177, 17, tight light 387. 12. moss, mass, 4-39. 9. alternate ultimate PREFACE. WHEN Mr Nicol publifhed his Gardener^ Kalendar, early in the year 1 8 1O, he announced his intention alfo to produce a Planter's and Nurferyman's Kalendar. In order to render this projected publication more perfect, he made an extenfive tour through England, in the courfeof the fummer and autumn of that year; vifiting many of the principal forefts and planta- tions, and the moft diftinguifhed feats of the Nobility and Gentry, in that opulent country, together with the chief nurferies near the me- tropolis ; and taking notes of the ftate of the forefts and plantations, and the different modes of management purfued by the moft eminent nurferymen and experienced forefters. It may fcarcely be neceflary to remark^ that Mr Nicol was previoufly well acquainted with the prac- tice in Scotland ; he having many years ago publifhed the Practical Planter ; a book very favourably received by the Public, and which has been frequently reprinted. Upon VI PREi ACE. Upon his return to Scotland he began this work. He had made fome progrefs in it, when he was feized with a fevere illnefs, which entirely interrupted his labours, and which ultimately proved fatal in the fpring following. Having been requefted by Mr Conftable to complete the undertaking, I carefully examined the notes and references left by the deceafed ; and I had the mortification to find, that how- ever ufeful and important they might and would have been to himfelf, they were in many cafes ufelefs to any one elfe. My tafk, therefore, proved much more ferious than I had anticipated. I enjoyed, indeed, fome advantages. Mr Nicol was a near and an efteemed relation : I had lived in habits of the greateft intimacy with him ; and was perfectly well acquainted with his profeffional opinions and practice. Still, however, fo much remained undone, that, had -not the fubjecls treated of been fa- miliar to myfelf, I fhould have declined inter- fering. v But, having been perfonally engaged from my earlSeft days in raifmg trees from feeds in the nurfery, and attending the plant- ing, pruning, and future management of them in the foreft and other fituations, I felt fome degree PREFACE. VU degree of confidence in my own experience ; and I truft, therefore, that I fliall not be deemed prefumptuous for having, in thefe circurnftances, undertaken the finifhing and editing of the Planter s Kalendar. Founding on my own practice and experi- ence, I have, where left entirely to myfelf, felt it my duty, on one or two occafions, to give opinions and advices different from thofe deli- vered by my friend in his Practical Planter, al- ready mentioned. I allude, in particular, to what is faid concerning the pruning of Firs and Larches hi the foreft and the grove ; the man- ner, in fome inftances, of pruning young hard- wood trees ; and the rules to be obferved iri pitting of grounds, according to their nature and other circumflances. Thefe matters were occasionally the fubjet of friendly difcuffion between us. In the following work, I thought it better at once to ftate my own views, than to have firft brought forward Mr Nicol's, and then, in efteft, to have confuted them, which a re- gard for the truth would have required of me, I feel that, on other grounds, fome explan- ation, and perhaps apology, is due to my.bre- thren x in the nurfery line. It may poflibly be thought^ vift PREFACE. thought, that I have in fome inftances reveal-* ed too freely the fecrets of the bufmefs. But* what is of more confequence, wherever the fcene of planting is extenfive, I have ftrongly recommended the eftablifhment of private nurf- eries ; and I have decidedly advifed \hejbwing of the larger kinds of tree feeds, fuch as acorns^ chenrats and walnuts, in the fpot where the trees are deftined to grow, in preference to \keplant* ing of young trees taken from any nurfery what- ever. For thefe things I alone am refponfible. In my. defence, I may appeal to every pa- triot Briton,- as to the extreme importance of ad- opting the moil fpeedy and effectual meafures to increafe the quantity of foreft plantation in thefe Iflands, in order to meet the extraordinary expenditure of our native timber which is now unavoidably taking place, owing to the unpa- ralleled war which has clofed the ufual fources of our fupply from the Continent. Now, where the defigns are extenfive, the planting will cer- tainly be greatly facilitated and forwarded by the formation of private nurferies ; and in no other cafes will fuch nurferies ever be found advan- tageous. Further ; few, I prefume, would be found difpofed to difpute the propofition r that private PREFACE. IK private emolument ought to give way to the general good. Befides, if individual emolu- ment is really to be thus leffened^ I cannot be fuppofed deftitute of a fellow-feeling on the fubjed: ; my own livelihood, and that of a nu- merous family, depending on the public nurfery bufmefs. But, after all, I have very little dread that either my own bufinefs, or that of my neigh* bours, will be hurt by the means alluded to. On the contrary, I am inclined to think, that if numerous private nurferies were eftablifhed, they would tend to make the fpirit for planting become more and more general, greatly to the advantage of thofe concerned in the bufinefs of public nurferies- The plan adopted in the following work, as now completed by me, differs but little from that fketched out by the late Mr Nicol, and publifhed at the end of the Gardener's Ka- lendar. In the Introduction, I have endeavoured to enforce the momentoufly important dodlrine above hinted at, of laying a foundation for the future fupply of native timber, not only for domeftic and agricultural purpofes, but for the BRITISH X PREFACE. BRITISH NAVY, that laft and glorious palla* dium of the liberties of Europe. The proper fixations and foils for a Nurfery are then treated of; and, in fucceffion, the foils and filiations beft calculated for Foreft and Grove plantations, and for Woods and Copfes. The different kinds of Foreft Trees are next characterized ; and this part of the work is clofed with a fhort view of the advantages tb be derived from planting. The Kalendar follows ; and, in it, for every month in the year, the work to be particularly attended to during each month, is diftinftly ftat- ed, under the refpe&ive heads of Nurfery, Fo- reft Plantation, Ornamental Plantation, Copfes, and Fences. In order to illuffrate fome things more per- fectly, three engravings are given. In the firft, I have exhibited the general appearance of two properly pruned grove trees, the one thirty, and the other ten years of age, and of one that is improperly pruned. In plate fecond, the baneful confequences of bad pruning are exem- plified in two planks, figured from nature. In the third plate, the various implements more particularly PRFFACE. SA particularly alluded o in the courfe of the trea- tife are reprefented. In an Appendix, I have given full inftruc- tions for the formation and management of Ofier plantations ; and have defcribed the dif- ferent fpeeies of willows beft fuited to this pur- pofe. I have added fome tabular views, which I judged might prove both entertaining and ufeful. Although, in a few inftances, the practice recommended in this treatife may be more im- mediately calculated for the climate of Scotland, I have conftantly kept in view the poilibllity of the book being confulted by Englifli or Iriih planters and improvers; and I flatter myfelf, that, if it be, they will have no caufe to re- pent. Being a Scotfman, I take it for granted that I may infenfibly have fallen into Scotictfms^ as they are called, in attempting to write Eng- lifli. I have fometimes alfo intentionally em- ployed expreffive Scots terms ; and where I iuppofed thefe might be unintelligible to my Southern readers, I have taken care to explain their meaning. As to the general ftyle of the book, (for which I confider myfelf anfwerable,- having: Xll PREFACE. having in a great meafure moulded Mr Nicolas obfervations into my own ftyle) ; if I have fucceeded in being tolerably plain and perfpi- cuous, and not very ungrammatical, this is all I have aimed at, and all, in my opinion, that ought to be required of a practical man. EDW. SANG. NURSERIES, KIRKCALDY, 1st April, 1812. CON- CONTENTS. Tag* PREFACE i - - * - v EXPLANATION OF PLATES - xvii INTRODUCTION. Importance of ensuring a future supply of Navy Timber - 1 Section I. Situations and Soils for a Nursery - 19 II. Situations for Forest and Grove Plant- ations, &c. 1. Forests - 28 2. Groves 40 III. Situations for Woods and Coppices. 1. Woods 4$ 2. Coppices - 47 IV. Soils best adapted to the different kinds of Forest Trees 49 V. Kinds of Trees fitted for Forests, Groves, Woods, &c. with their Properties and Uses 70 Deciduous - 72 Evergreen 106 Value of Timber, and short View of the Advantages to be derived from Planting - -. - 119 THE SiV CONTENTS. Page THE KALENDAR. January. Nursery - - * - 127 Ornamental Plantations - - - 138 Forest Plantations - 155 Woods and Copses - 188 Fences - - 202 February. Nursery ,- - 225 Ornamental Plantations - "*- - 255 Forest Plantations - 265 Woods and Copses 271 Fences - - 273 March. Nursery - 281 Ornamental Plantations - 291 Forest Plantations - 295 Woods and Copses 301 Fences - - - 308 April. Nursery - - - - 310 Ornamental Plantations - - - 341 Forest Plantations - 344* Woods anjd Copses - - - - 357 Fences ... 360 May. Nursery - 369 Ornamental Plantations - - - 377 Forest Plantations - 382 Woods and Copses - - 400 Fences - 412 June CONTENTS. XV Page June. Nursery - - Ornamental Plantations 42S Forest Plantations Woods and Copses Fences July. Nursery Ornamental Plantations - 4-37 Forest Plantations Woods and Copses - *** Fences August. Nursery - Ornamental Plantations Forest Plantations - 456 Woods and Copses Fences 46Q September. Nursery - - 465 Qrnamental Plantations - 470 Forest Plantations - 4-77 Woods and Copses - 489 Fences 490 October. Nursery - - 49S Ornamental Plantations - - 509 Forest Plantations - - - 61* Woods and Copses - - - 5 IS Fences r November* XVI CONTENTS, Page November. Nursery - - - - 519 Ornamental Plantations - - ~ ' 525 Forest Plantations - 528 Woods and Copses - 53 1 Fences - - - - 532 December* Nursery 535 Ornamental Plantations 537 Forest Plantations - 538 Woods and Copses - - 540 Fences - - - - APPENDIX. I* f. On the Formation and Management of Osier Plantations, &c. - 54,5 II. Account of some remarkable Trees in Scot- land 563 III. Amount of Waste Lands in Scotland - 574* IV. Tables showing the Number of Trees which may be planted on a Scots and on an Eng- lish Acre, at certain Distances 575 V. Prices of Timber and Oak Bark at Leith, for several Years - - - 576 INDEX - 577 JEXPLANr EXPLANATION OF PLATES. To THE BOOKBINDER. [The Binder is requested to place each Plate fronting its Explanation.] EXPLANATION OF PLATES, PLATE L FIG. 1. Represents a tree in a grove or thick plantation of thirty years of age, which has been regu- larly and properly pruned from infancy on- wards. FIG. 2. Represents a tree of the same age, on the skirti of a plantation, which has been neglected in the pruning from infancy onwards ; and which now being pruned in a way too frequently practised, is Isft in a state highly injurious to its health, and destructive of the soundness of its timber: For it is manifest, that before the bole can be enlarged sufficiently to cover the stumps of branches left, many years must elapse j these stumps must become rotten ; and consequently the timber will be useless, and probably the plant itself may be killed. r JFiG. 3. Represents a grove, or an ordinary plantation hardwood tree,' of ten years of age, clothed with a sufficient number of branches to secure the extension and enlargement of the bole. . . EXPLANATION OF PLATE II. xix FIG. 1. Represents a board or plank from an ash tree which grew on the estate of Balgrigey, in Fifeshire, and which had been pruned many years ago. The cuts, in this case, had been made several inches from the bole ; and the branches being very large, the stumps left had become rotten. The enlargement of the trunk, however, had not been stopped, for the new wood had covered over all the haggled parts, in some places to several inches thick : Yet the fffects of the previous exposure to the action of the weather, by injudicious pruning, is strikingly marked by the decayed state of the parts connected with the branches which had been amputated. FIG. 2. Represents another board of ash wood from a tree which grew at the same place. This tree had been long neglected in the pruning : but at last it had been pruned, when the plant was nearly the size of the part of the plank represented by the dark colour. The branches had been cut off in a careless man- ner, somewhat in the manner represented at Fig. 2. in Plate I. After these had become rotten, and had dropt off, or been broken off, the new wood had by degrees covered the blemished parts on the trunk ; but not until they had been the means of introducing a quantity of moisture sufficient completely to destroy the interior of the tree. Both these planks were cut up from trees felled in au- tumn 1811, and were sketched from nature by my ingenious friend Mr Skinner of Kirk-? xx EXPLANATION OF PLATE HI. FIG. 1. Represents the Diamond-pointed Dibble, de- scribed, together with its uses, at p. 351. FIG. 2* The Hand Mattock, alluded to, p. 192 & 392. The helve is 3 feet 6 inches long ; the mouth is 5 inches broad, and is made sharp; the length from it to the eye, or helve, is 16 inches ; and it is used to pare off the sward, heath, or other brush that may happen to be in the way, previous to easing the soil with the o- ther end. The small end tapers from the eye, and terminates in a point, and is 17 inches long : It is used for opening the soil, instead of pitting; and in hilly or stony ground, it is a very useful tool. FIG. 3. The West Indian Hoe 9 recommended for deep hoeing, p. 340. FIG. 4. The Planter. The helve is 16 inches long, the mouth is 4| inches broad, and the length of the head is 14 inches. This instrument is used in planting hilly ground previously pre- pared by the hand-mattock. The person who performs the work carries the plants in a close apron ; digs out the earth suffi- ciently to hold the jfoots of the plant; and sets and firms it, without help from another : It is only useful when small plants are used, and in hilly or rocky situations. FIG. 5. The Nurseryman's Mouse Trap. This trap ifr described in p. 247, THE PLANTER'S KALENDAR. INTRODUCTION. JT ERHAPS at no period of the hiftory of this country has a fpirit fof planting more prevailed among private individuals, than within thefe lafl thirty years. Surely at no period of our hiftory was ever fuch a fpirit more defirable ; whether we confider the decreafe of trees in our national fo- refts, the high price of timber in all parts of the country, or the difficulty of obtaining foreign fupplies of that article. The extenfive fcale on which plantations in this country, particularly in Scotland, have lately been conducted, certainly reflects very high honour on the landholders of the prefent age. It is not now, therefore, fo ne- ceflfary for us to call loudly on the proprietors of land, efpecially in the northern part of the king- dom, to plant, (as has uniformly been done by A late 9 INTRODUCTION. late writers on this fubjedl), as to take proper care of that which is already planted. The bufmefs of planting is now eflablifhed on a broad bads, and has become more or fefs the care of every great landholder in the kingdom ; and as there appears to be a onvition of its propriety, and a due fenfe of the returns to be ultimately derived from it, in the mind of every thinking man con- cerned, there need be little fear of the zeal for planting being slackened. It were well, however,, that as much anxiety were difplayed in fome other parts of management, the properly thinning out and cultivating plantations, and the reclaiming o neglected woods and copfes. A ferious conviction of the immenfe lofs which the country has already fuftained, by the negledt of its plantations and woods, strikingly visible in every part of it, has led us to turn our whole mind to this fubject ; and fuch lofs 1 cannot certainly be a matter of indifference to any well difpofed mem- ber of the community. While we regret the paft, let us welcome a dawn of hope in regard to the future management for the better ; fince we fee an example fet, by fome of the great proprietors of land, in various districts of the country ; and an indication of others being difpofed to follow ; as in many recent improvements in agriculture. Although precept upon precept (many of them good) have been laid down, by writers on this fubjec\ INTRODUCTION^ 3 fiibject* fpr the laft forty years ; yet it may truly be faid, that, with a very few exceptions, all fuch precepts have remained unheeded. A few pro- prietors of wood have at length thrown off the trammels of prejudice, and, in introducing their improved modes of management, have not fcru- pled to cut, not only what their fathers, but what themfelves have planted ! finners, of confequence, in the eyes of thoufands ; but, in the eyes of com* mon fenfe, no more fo than he who hoes out, to a proper diftance, an acre of carrots or turnips. While fuch management is commendable in the highefl degree, in fo far as refpe&s the thinning Of the trees in plantations, to proper diftances ; we have little reafon to fear that it will ever lead to the premature felling of timber. The recent, high price of that article has, no doubt, in feve- ral parts of the country, had this effect, efpecial- ly in fo far as regards ^r-timber ; but it is ques- tionable whether a much more than ordinary cut- ting of young improveable hard timber has taken place, either in England or Scotland. Of timber come to maturity, a very great quantity has doubt- lefs been cut of late years. The demand .occa- fioned by the extraordinary increafe in machinery, both in our manufactories and in hufbandry, may be afligned as the chief caufe. With refpecl: to Oak woods and copfes, the Very high price of oak-bark, for the laft fever* A 2 years, f INTRODUCTION. years, has unqueflionably led to many premature falls, and has rendered fome proprietors lefs care- ful of reserves or timber -stands, than might have been prudent. This is the more to be regretted* that, by a certain mode of management, # differ- ent indeed from the common, an equal return of bark might, hi moft cafes, have been obtained, and the timberlings at the fame time fpared to> grow to maturity, in due time, for the future in- creafe of our trade, or the defence of our mores* It is a very important, and, in our opinion, a demonftrable faft, that even in the natural woods fcattered over many parts of the Scots Highlands, there might be reared, with much expedition, an immenfe fupply of capital (hip-timber- With refpeft to a proper fupply of timber for the Britifh Navy, and the neglect of the Royal' Forefts, there has been a continued hire and cry for the last forty years ^ yet Government, till of late, feems to have paid littl'e or no attention to> the matter. Whether this indifference on the part of Government has or has not had the good ef- fect of making individuals turn their minds to the fubjecl, and plant on their private properties, is a point which remains doubtful with many. One thing, however, we are very certain of, that, within the period above mentioned, there have been * Described in a subsequent part of this volume, undes? the head Woods and Copses for 'May. INTRODUCTION. teen very many more timber-trees planted in Bri- tain, than there were in the days of EVELYN, or in confequence of his remonftrances to the Govern- tnent of his time. Faftiion, no doubt, has great weight ; and au improved tafte with regard to the embellifhment of eftates, has, fortunately enough, led to much planting in the vicinity of refidences ; but fome- thing more than fafhion has brought about the widely-extended fyftem of planting on many e- flates, particularly in the North. We are willing, too, to allow every thing on the fcore of patriot- ifm j but, furely, a uise foresight a juft calcula- tion of the ultimate refults has, with 'perfect pro- priety, had a.fignal iliare in .the matter. We may remark, alfo, that by an improved fyftem in the manner of planting, in the choice of kinds, and fizes of the plants, the expenfe may now be juft- ly eftimated at one half lefs than it was thirty years ago ; a circuinftance which, of courfe, has had confiderable influence in the encouragement of planting. The great attention paid to agricultu- ral improvements, has likewife proved very fa- vourable to the increafe of planting; it having been clearly perceived, that, by fubdividing ex- tended tracts of country, by means of fcreen- plantations, (generally denominated stripes or 'belts), and by trees in mafles of various lhapes dimenfions, the interefts of hufbandry rnuft INTRODUCTION. be very much promoted by the protection thus afforded to the corn lands ; and when the rearing of flock became a matter of the utmoft import- ance, the fheltering of their paflures could not be overlooked. In regard to the prefent fcarcity, and high price of timber, both of home and foreign growth, it certainly is a mofl ferious confideration. We have got into a difficulty, with which we mud undoubtedly flruggle for a time ; but we are fully convinced, from a very minute examination of the quantity of growing timber in England, and in Scotland in particular, made within the lafl fifteen months, that, in the fpace of fifty years from this date, we mail poffefs an internal fup- ply, equal to all our wants ; certainly in a much fhorter period, for all purpofes, excepting thpfe of large ship-building. When this is faid, let it not be for a moment inferred, that we think the extent of planting may or ought therefore to be curtailed. Far from it. The aftonifhing increafe of our trade, of our manufactures, and of our agriculture, and the inceflant demands of that Navy, to which, under Providence, thefe owe their profperity, and we our liberty and fecurity, powerfully forbid it. Far from relaxing, we would willingly fee the re- folution adopted, of importing 720 timber , except- pg from our own colonies, fo as to render the bufmefs INTRODUCTION. ^ i)ufinefs of planting and cultivating timber at home as necefiary and as permanent as that of agricul- ture ; of which, in truth, k certainly is ,a irioft important branch. There is, and long will be, an ample fufficiency of wafte land within the Bri- tifh Iflands, for all the purpofes of planting, ex- clufive of what may be moft advantageoufly ap- propriated to the raifing of grain, and the rearing of flock. The letter of the late LORD MELVILLE, to Mr PERCEVAL, on the fubject of Naval Timber, ,publifhed in July 1810, is fo much in point here, and contains fo much important matter, on this fubjecl:, that we cannot forbear making fome ex- tracts from it. Flowing from the pen of fo able a writer, and dictated by a judgment fo found, and a knowledge fo extenfive, thefe remarks muft carry convi&ion along with them ; and it is not likely that any reader will think them too long. His Lordfhip, after recapitulating, in his letter, the heads of the Report of the Commiffioners of Land Revenue, appointed by Parliament in 1792, to inquire into the condition of the woods and forefls of the Crown, Hates their general conclu- fion to be -" That if the profperity of this coun- try fhould continue, the confumption of oak tim- ber, for its internal purpofes, and for the fhipping neceflary for the whole of our trade, including that of the. Eaft India Company, would, at no very 8 INTRODUCTION. very diftant period, furnifh an ample demand for all that could be expected to be produced on pri- vate property in this kingdom ; and that, fuch was the exifling ftate of the growing timber, and the profpeft of future fupply, that this country would, in all probability, experience a fatal want of great oak timber, and become dependent on other powers for the means of fupporting her Navy, if care mould not be taken to provide a fupply in future, by the improvement and better management of the Royal Forefts ; and to reduce the confumption of it, by the utrnqft care and frugality in the expenditure. " His Lordfhip then proceeds thus. " The Com- miffioners then enter very fully into reafons for believing, that, if no delay were allowed to take place, in the adoption of the meafure recom- mended for the prefervation and improvement of the Royal Forefts, that refource alone would be found fufficient to afford an annual fupply of tim- ber, to the extent then required for the Navy, namely, 50,000 loads per annum. But none of thofe plans having, in any material degree, been acted upon, I fhall now proceed to contrafl the amount of the confumption of timber at the pre- fent time, with the extent of confumption as given by the Commiflioners of Land Revenue, and be- fore detailed. u As to the confumption for the internal pur- pofes INTRODUCTION. 9 pofes of the country When we reflect upon the very extenfive and rapid demands, which muft neceflarily have been occafioned by the numerous canals and wet docks, which the fpirit and induf- try of private entcrprife have formed within thefe few years upon the more general ufe of machin- ery, now, than at the time thofe Commiflioners wrote upon the incrcafed confumplion of oak timber in rnill-work, engines, lighters, barges, and all the other purpofes before enumerated, which depend upon the population, manufactures, commerce, agriculture and wealth of the coun- try, all of which, it cannot be denied, have, fmce the year 1792, when the Commiflioners of Land Revenue made their Eleventh Report, increafed to a degree that cannot fail to excite our admira- tion and aftonifhment ; and when, in addition to all thefe facts, we advert to the circumftance of the great advance in the price of fir timber, fmce the northern mores of Europe have been under the dominion of France (being in many parts of the country as dear as oak), we furefy cannot but be convinced, that a very great increafe in the confumption of oak timber, for the internal pur- poles of the country, muft have taken place be- jtween the year 1792 and the prefent time. " It muft be equally obvious, that a very con- fiderable increafe has alfo taken place in the con- fumption of timber for the merchant (hipping of this kingdom, fmce the period I am alluding to. " The SNTRODtreTlON. C The regiftered tonnage of the veflels belong- ing to the feveral ports of the Britiih empire in the year 1808, appears, by the accounts laid be- fore Parliament, to have been 2,324,819 tons ; and, following the fame rules for judging of the confumption of timber, as thofe adopted by the Commiflioners of 1792, it appears, that the an- nual confumption of timber, under this head, may be reckoned at 249,087 loads ; being an increafe, in eighteen years ^(fince 1790), of no lefs than 90,408 loads annually. " It becomes obvious and important to make one comment in this place, namely, that this very great increafed demand for timber of the middling fizes, muft tend moft powerfully to encourage the felling of oak trees, before they arrive at a fizc t for the essential uses of the Navy. " With regard to the confumption of timber for the Navy, it follows, that as the tonnage of the Navy is now near double the amount of what it was when the Commiflioners of Land Revenue made their Report, or about 800,000 tons, fo the confumption of oak timber muft have increafed in proportion ; and thus it cannot now be fairly con- .iidered at lefs than 1 00,000 loads per annum. " From what has been ftated, it is thus evi- dent, that the confumption of timber under the diree heads, namely for the internal purposes of .the country for the commercial shipping and fdf INTRODUCTION* J* for the ships of war, has very materially increafed, fince the CommifTioners of Land Revenue made their 1 1 th Report. " The confumption under the firft head, can- not be eftimated nor compared, for reafons al- ready given : But that under the other two heads may be contrafted as follows. Commercial fhipping Making an increafe 1788. LOADS. 158,000 50,000 1808. LOADS. 249,000 1OO,OOO 208,000 per annum of 349,000 208,000 141,000 c I have faid, in the beginning of this letter, that it was not my intention to difclofe any thing on this fubject which his Majefty's Government had thought it expedient to conceal. But, in following this courfe, I certainly act more in ac- quiefcence to the opinions of others, than from any exercife of my own judgment. If there are any parts of the Fourteenth Report which it is expedient to conceal, ftill, much ufeful informa- tion might be given to Parliament and the public, confidently with fuch a referye. I am not aware, that any good can refult from fuch a determined concealment. If, as I have already obferved, there is t2 INTRODUCTION.' s just caufe of alarm, from the increafmg decay and fcarcity of an article fo eflentially necefiary to the empire, the knowledge of fuch an impending danger would be the ftrongeft incitement to the public at large cordially to concur in every mea- ure which Government may think neceflary to ward off fo ferious a calamity. If an example he wanting of the benefit to be produced by the diffu- fion of a knowledge of the ftate of timber in the kingdom, a very ftrong proof is to be found in the effect which was produced by the writings of Evelyn, foon after the Reftoration, which excited a fpirit of planting throughout the kingdom; and the Minifters of that time, alarmed at the defola- tion which had been committed during the civil wars, gave great attention to the prefervation and increafe of timber in the Royal forefts, particu- larly the foreft of Dean* As it is almoft unirer- fally allowed that oak trees, to grow to a fize fit for the navy, require from eighty to a hundred and fifty years, according to the quality of the foil, it is obvious, that the vaft quantities of great timber confumed by our navy, during the prefent reign, were chiefly the produce of the plantations made between the Reftoration and the end of the iyth century, on private property, in almoft every part of England, as well as in the Royal forefts ; and which had been occafioned by the publication of the ft ate of timber ip the kingdom, and INTRODUCTION. 13 and by looking the danger of a fcarcity boldly in the face. " It is impoiTible to take a retrofpe&ive view of the details already given, without expreffing aftonifhment that the dangers pointed out mould not have excited the moil anxious apprehenlions. There is no reflecting perfon in the kingdom who does not feel and acknowledge, that the exiftence of every thing valuable to us as a nation, depends upon maintaining our naval fuperiority ; and yet, for more than forty years, we have remained in a ftate of apparent infenfibility, although it has been demonftrated that the article moft eflential to the prefervation of our navy, has been gra- dually diminifhing ; and the caufes of that dimi- nution are of a nature not to afford the fmalleft profped of a probable change, unlefs the moft vigorous exertions are made to provide a fubfti- tute for thofe refources on which we have hither- to relied, and which we know are in a progrefs of rapid decay, and of ultimate failure at no very diftant period. " It would feem as if the fuccefllve Government of this country had invariably become difheart- ened, and had therefore abandoned all attempts ta place this important branch of our naval re- fources upon a permanent bafis, becaufe the members of it could not hope to live to fee the fuccefs of their own meafures ; But, if this courfe of 14 INTRODUCTION. of policy is to govern all our actions; if, becaufe wd may ftruggle through the immediate difficulties we have to encounter, and are able to ward off any im- minent danger in our own lives, we are therefore to purfiie the narrow policy of neglecting to pro- vide for pofterity, with what reproaches will af- ter generations load our memory ? -Are we not daily pouring out bleffings upon our forefathers, for the conftitution which they have matured, and handed down to us to enjoy ? But if we omit to take any fteps to preferve the means of pro- tecting that conftitution, (for without a navy, what will be that conftitution ?) shall we not be certain of drawing down upon us the execrations, inftead of the praifes of pofterity ! " I have no doubt what the general tendency of the meafures to be adopted for enfuring a per- manent fupply ought to be ; but I purpofely de- fift from enlarging on them ; becaufe any details of that nature would lead me to ftate what I have declared my refolution to refrain from difclofing, left fuch a publication mould interfere with any of the plans which Government may think it ex- pedient to adopt for enfuring a permanent fupply of naval timber, without folely confiding in any of thofe refources which, from their nature, muft be contingent and precarious. I can, therefore, only again recommend to your moft ferious con- fidention the whole of the Fourteenth Report of i the INTRODUCTION. 15 the Cofnmiffioners of Naval Revifion, bearing al- ways in your recollection two eflential confidera- tions. The firft is, to take the moft effeclua! meafures to hufband and preferve, for the ufe of the Royal Navy, as much of the timber now re- maining in the kingdom as you poffibly can. The fecond is, to begin, without delay, to provide, within the kingdom, for the means of fupplying the future wants of the navy, when the timber now growing mail be exhaufted. " Adverting to the predicament in which we ftand with refpect to naval timber, and confider- mg how diftant the period is at which we cant look to the refult of the moft wife and vigorous rneafures we can now refort to for providing a permanent fupply hereafter, it is moft confolatory to reflect, that, in the interval, there are colla- teral refources to enable us to hufband and eco-< nomize the remaining flock of home timber, with- out being reduced to the neceflity of making any ferious diminution of our naval ftrength. " His Lordfhip then proceeds to mention the re- fources to be found in our American colonies, our Eaft Indian poifeffions, and the Ifland of Tri- nidad in the Weft Indies ; recommending, in the flrongeft terms, the encouragement of the timber trade with America, in preference to the Baltic, fhould that refource be again opened to us. He particularly notices the value of the teak-wood of l6 INTRODUCTION. India, and hints the propriety of building fhips of war of it in that country* He then clofes his mafterly letter in the following words. " I nioft fincerely congratulate you, Sir, and my country, on the fupplies to be derived from thefe foreign refources, in the view already al- luded to, of filling up the fpace between the ex- hauflion of our prefent home flock, and the ma- turity of the plans which, I truft, will be adopt- ed for the purpofe of enfuring permanently a fupply of naval timber of Britifh growth. Let it, however, not be forgotten, that all thefe foreign and collateral refources are more or lefs contin- gent and precarious ; and, I confidently hope, that the pofleflion of them will not induce his Mujefty's fervants to delay attending particularly to the meafures recommended by the Commif- fioners of Naval Revifion ; and to every other meafure which may have a tendency to fecure that permanent fupply, which, alone, ought to fatisfy a great nation in a concern of fuch vital importance. " Before I conclude, it feems proper to advert to the opinions of thofe few who contend againft the policy of appropriating any part, either of the Royal forefls, or of our other cultivatable lands, to the raifing of timber ; urging, that it would narrow the field which is required for the fub~ fiftence of the country, and is therefore objec* tionable, l There INTRODUCTION* IJ " There are many fallacies which could be de- tected, in the reafoning and theories of thofe who entertain fuch an opinion. It is a miftake, to fuppofe that every addition to the extent of the tillage of the country is productive of a propor- tionate addition to the food of the country. But fuch a difcuflion would open a field too wide for the purpofe of the prefent addrefs. A fimple llatement of the cafe is perfectly fufficient for the illuftration of my fentiments. It is fuppofed, that, exclufive of the Royal Forefts, there are, in Great Britain and Ireland, probably more than eighty millions of acres ; of which, perhaps, no part is yet brought to the highefl ftate of cultivation ; and that, certainly, not lefs than twenty millions are ftill wade. If, therefore, a comparatively very fmali part of the land of the kingdom is thought eflential to be appropriated to the pur- pofe of fecuring the continuance of our naval ftrngth and pride, it would furely be a very fhortfighted policy, which would fuggeft to this maritime country the expediency of trufting to a commerce, for the fupply of our dock-yards with timber , when, without any real riik to the fub- fiftence of the country, and, by a facrifice com- paratively fmall, we can avoid for ever putting to hazard, the fupply of an article on which, con- fefledly, our flrength, our glory, our independ- ence, and even our exiftence as a nation, muft now, and at all times, depend. " B This iS INTRODUCTION. This letter fpeaks not only to Mr PERCEVAL, but to every Pilot who fhall ever hold the Helm of the Realm; to every Minifler or Miniftry ; and to every individual in the empire porTefled of landed property. His Lordfhip's deductions ap- pear to us clear, and his conclufions juft. His earnefl and imprellive injun&ions will, it is to be hoped, have their full weight, and fink deep into the mind of every patriot. However much the fads quoted above from Lord MELVILLE'S letter, may be confidered by fome as reflecting on himfelr, for inattention to thofe objects while he was in power and in office ; or, however much the immediate motives, fuppof- ed to have produced the letter from which they are taken, may be deprecated by others ; in our eflimation, his arguments and deductions remain firm as the deep- founded rock ; and we feel our- felves exceedingly much indebted for the correcl data exhibited, and for the conclufions fo ably drawn, by his Lordfhip. SECT. SITUATIONS AND SOILS, &C. 19 SECTION L ON SITUATIONS AND SOILS FOR A NURSERY. 1 HE rearing of foreft trees and hedge plants from feeds, has hitherto been chiefly confined to the public nurferies throughout the kingdom. But although thefe are numerous, many cafes have occurred, efpecially in fequeftered places, ftrongly requiring proprietors to eftablifh private nurferies of their own, more conveniently fituat- ed for the fcene of planting. When nurfery plants muft be brought from great diftances,, the carriage much enhances their coft. But this is not all. When the diftance is very great, the plants muft lye fo long out of the ground, that they are often much injured, Thefe, \vith a variety of like reafons, have induced many to wifh to raife their own foreft trees from the feeds. Many gentlemen who have a great defire to raife their foreft trees from the, feeds, have, in B 2 their 2O SITUATIONS AND SOILS their fervice, deferving forefters and gardeners, who have not had opportunities of learning the beft methods of doing fo ; and with whom, for the fake of their other good qualities, their maf- ters are naturally loath to part. Some gentlemen fo fituated, have exprefled a wifh that we mould, in this publication, treat ful- ly and diftincfcly of sowing, of transplanting, and otherwife nursing, all the hardy and ufeful kinds of foreft-trees and hedge-plants. The remarks contained in this feclion, and thofe on nursing, throughout the Kalendar, are offered to fuch gen- tlemen of landed property, and their forefters and gardeners, as may be inclined to form private nurferies for their own ufe. We do not wifh to interfere with the bufmefs of the public nurfery- men ; and therefore, the kinds of trees and hedge- plants to be here treated of, mall be limited to fuch chiefly as are hardy, eafily reared, and mofl defirable in a private nurfery. It is to be under- ftood, further, that our obfervations on the fitua- tions and foils proper for a nurfery, are only ap- plicable to private nurferies at gentlemens' feats. Many people have been of opinion (and fome are fo ftill) that trees, in order to their being ren- dered fufficiently hardy, fhould be reared on the foil, and in the fituation, where they are ultimate- ly to be planted ; or at lead in a foil and fitua- tion as nearly fimilar as poflible. If FOR A NURSERY. 21 If the foil and fituation in which the trees are ultimately to be planted, be favourable, we can fee no folid reafon for objecting to fuch a plan ; particularly if the defign be extenfive, and fuch as may require many years for its completion ; becaufe a conveniently fituated nurfery is, in that cafe, highly defirable, not only as' faving the car- riage of plants, and facilitating the bufinets of tranfplanting, but as multiplying the chances of fuccefs, on accouut of the plants remaining a much fhorter time out of the ground, than if brought from a diflance. But if the fituation ultimately deftined for the trees be cold, high and bleak, and the foil of courfe various ; fome good, and much of it bad, or of an indifferent quality; it would by no means be advifable there to attempt the e- ftablimment of a nurfery, and efpecially a nurfery to raife plants from feeds. The chief properties of nurfery plants intended for transplanting, confifl in their flrength and cleannefs of ftem, and in their roots having a mul- tiplicity of healthy fibres. In order to obtain plants pofTeffing thefe qualities, it is neceffary to fow, and to plant out to nurfe, if not in rich, at least in mellow earth, and in a moderately flickered fituation. The more delicate kinds of tree-feeds, fuch as the birch, the larch, and the other refm- ous kinds, require a mould both rich and fine, and a considerable degree of fhelter, in order to obtain 22 SITUATIONS AND SOILS obtain one-year old or two-year old feedlings of good quality. It will rarely happen that nurfery ground will be naturally too rich for general pur- pofes ; excepting in fituations like fome of thofe in the vicinity of Edinburgh, where the foil is a collection of rich earthy particles, and putrefcent animal matter carried down by the common few^ crs of the City, and depofited in the meadows. Many acres of ground about Edinburgh are of this quality ; and they are certainly more proper for growing kitchen vegetables than for raifmg young plants for the bleak forest, though they are fometimes improperly ufed for this purpofe. In order to have a complete nurfery, it fhould contain foils of various qualities ; the generality of it fhould be a light friable earth ; a part of it fhould be of a clayey nature; and another part fliould be moffy. Each of thefe will be found peculiarly ufeful in the raifmg of the different kinds of young plants. A nurfery may certainly be over-frieltered ; but this is likely to happen only in the cafe of its be- ing very fmall ; for, if it extend to feveral acres, unlefs it be furrounded by very tali trees, the area will be confiderably expofed. The truth is, no part of the nurfery fliould be either too much ex- pofed, or too much fheltered. Any afpect from eaft to weft, following the courfe of the fun, will anfwer. Ground of an unequal FOR A NURSERY. . 23 unequal furface is moft likely to contain the va- rious foils above mentioned. A nurfery fhould therefore, in general, rife from a level to a pretty fmart acclivity ; yet no part of it mould be too fteep, becaufe it is in that cafe very troublefome to labour. The nurfery ground may be fufficiently fenced by a flone-wall, or even a hedge, fix feet high ; and if it be of fmall fize, an acre, or thereabout, it will require no other ihelter ; but if it extend to four or five acres, it mud have dividing hedges properly fituated to afford fhelter over -all the fpace. The fence, whether of thorns or (tone, should be made proof againft the admiffion of hares or rabbits. Both hares and rabbits are mod deftruHve to many kinds of young foreft trees, particularly laburnums ; indeed, they are fo vo- racioufly mifchievous, that they often bite over every fort which comes in their way. The nurfery ground mould never be encumber- ed with large trees in the quarters ; as apples, pears, or the like ; becaufe, being already efta- blifhed in the ground, they never fail to rob the young trees of their food, and to caufe them to be poor and flunted, unworthy of being planted in the foreft. It is of the very firft importance that the foil be completely drained of flagnant water, and freed @f spouts, or places from which water oozes our, At '24 SITUATIONS AND SOILS At the fame time, it would be very convenient to have a rill pafling through the ground, or to have a fmall pond, fed by a fpring or by a pipe, for the purpofes of watering. I If the depth of the foil be from one to two feet, that is, the fhallowefl parts a foot, and the deep- eft parts too feet, with various intermediate depths, it will be fufficient. If broken out from pafture, the ground will require to be trenched, and me- liorated by a crop or two of potatoes, turnips, or the like. For thefe crops it mould be well manur- ed, in order to prepare it for receiving the feeds to be fown in it ; or even to fit it for the receiv- ing of feedlings for the purpofe of nurfmg. We recollect of two inftances of nurferies being laid down on old paftures, in which multitudes of the wire-worm, flugs, and other vermin, had long exifted. In both cafes, it was thought fufficient to fubtrench the ground, preparatory to planting out feedlings. But it fo happened, that the plants became a prey to thefe vermin the feafon fol- lowing ; their (terns being found peeled entirely round, about an inch under the furface of the ground, and many of the plants cut quite afun- der. That a like misfortune may be avoided, it is proper, even for the fake of tranfplanted feed- lings, were fowing of feeds out of the queflion, to take a crop or two of grain, or efculents, as above advifed. In A NURSERY. In molt cafes, it is advifable to trench the ground to its full depth in the preparation ; and if it be anywife ftiff, or inclined to wernefs, it will be neceflary to give it a good drefling of lime (or marl) and dung in compoft. Rank manure, fuch as liable litter, fliould not be applied to nur- fery ground, at the time of cropping with nurfery articles ; but if it be neceflary to enrich it, this mould be done by a manured crop of onions, tur- nips, lettuces, or the like. Potatoes fhould never go before a crop of feedlings, even of the coarfer forts, as am, oak, or chefnuts ; becaufe potatoes never can be taken clean out of the ground ; and it being indifpenfable to pull up thofe which rife among the tree feedlings, many of thefe unavoid- ably come up along with them. Hence, crops of lettuces, turnips, cabbages, or the like, mould ra- ther precede the crop of feedlings. The befl kind of management, in this particular cafe, is to interchange the crops of timber trees and efcu- lents occafionally ; perhaps, with refpecl to molt forts of feedling plants, alternately ; obferving to low all fmall feeds, in particular, if not in a rich, at leaft in a fine tilth. But this matter will be more minutely directed in the Kalendar. For a Nurfery in the above view, no place, cer- tainly, can be more eligible, than a field which may alfo be occupied as a kitchen garden. If, for inftance, three acres were required for the purpofes of nursery, and one or two acres were alfo 2(5 SITUATIONS AND SOILS alfo required for extra kitchen ground, or for green crops for cattle-feeding, it would be proper to enclofe five or fix acres, lefs or more, accord- ing to circumftances ; by which means, two im- portant objects might be attained ; viz. land of a good quality, and fine tilth, for the raifing of feed- lings ; and an opportunity of effectually changing crops at pleafure. There is one kind of crop which we judge pe- culiarly fcourging for a nurfery, and that is car- rots ; they are, indeed, rather fevere for moft lands ; but we have very feldom found a good crop of trees following one of carrots ; while we have found peas, beans, and efpecially lettuces, eafy and enriching crops, well adapted, as pre- parers, for fucceeding crops of nurfery articles. In fo far as refpecls public nurferies, we have long remarked, that thofe which are as much market gardens as nurferies, generally produce the bed feedlings, and young articles, for fale ; pro- vided that their ground be any thing more than of a middling quality. This fact, if one were wanting, is a fufficient proof of the utility of oc- cupying the ground, as above advifed, m the dou- ble character of a kitchen garden and nurfery. Thus we have been fomewhat particular with refpecl: to the foil and fituation of a nurfery, fup- pofed to be placed in a favourable climate. A few words remain to be faid with refpect to fuch as are lefs happily fituated. In *OR A NURSERY. 111 a cold climate, or bleak fituation, -with a poor .barren foil, we would by/io means advife the raifing of feedlings at all. It will be found a cheaper, as well as a more fatisfaclory method , to purchafe fe*edlings, tranfplant them, and nurfe them till fit for planting out in the foreft ; and, even in this cafe, a piece of the beft and mod flickered land, perhaps, on the property, may be neceflary for the purpofe, This piece fhould be properly drained and improved ; and it fhould be flickered, by quick growing hedges of elder, pop- lar, privet, fpruce, larch, or the like, planted at fuch diftances as may anfwer completely to break the wind ; or by a clofe plantation of mixed trees and fhrubs ; or, both thefe and the quick-grow- ing fubdividing hedges may be ufed, as need may require. We have already noticed above, the ne- ceffity of furrounding the nurfery with a fence fufficient to exclude rabbits and hares. In many cafes, a good dofe of lime would be a fuitable preparative in a new nurfery like that in view ; and the more especially, if there be a con- fiderable portion of decayed vegetable matter in it, or if it has been well dunged before. But lime mould never be laid upon hungry, new land ; for on fuch land it will be found to do more ill than good. The foil, at any rate, fhould be well jneliqrated preyioufly to planting. SECT. 28 SITUATIONS FOR SECTION II. ON SITUATIONS FIT FOR FOREST AND GROVE PLANTATIONS. I. Of Forests. JLOREST plantations are underflood to be extend- ed on a more magnificent fcale than ordinary grove plantations. The more extenfive they are, the higher will their character be exalted. In- deed, the only diftin&ion between a forest and a grove plantation, may be faid to confifl in the ex- tent. We feldom employ the term Forest, un- lefs the trees cover feveral fquare miles ; while every plantation of half an acre and upwards, may be, and generally is, denominated a Grove. Situations for foreft plantations, then, may be ex- tremely various. The country to be planted may be flat, hilly, or mountainous ; or it may confift of a mixture of hills, dales, ravines, crags and rocks $ FORESTS AND GROVES. 29 rocks ; fo as to make it difficult or impoflible to fix on, or defcribe, its peculiar form. A flat, barren wafte is often appropriated to the rearing of foreft timber ; and fuch are frequently found to be more bleak than the fides of hills of confiderable elevation. In the rearing of trees in moft fituations, flickering of the plants till they get fairly eftablifhed in the foil, is a matter of the very firft importance. Unlefs there be natural fhrubs growing upon the furface, fuch as broom, whins (furze), or hazel, artificial means of pro- ducing a ihelter muft be reforted to ; and we ihall now confider the means to be employed. Firft, allow us to premife, that every plain, and moft fields and fituations for planting, in this coun- try, have what may be called a windward fide, which is more expofed to the definitive blaft than any other. It is of very great importance to be apprifed of this circumltance ; and to be able to fix upon the moft expofed fide of the propofed foreft plantation. Fix, then, upon the windward fide of the plain which is to be converted into a foreft ; mark off a horizontal ftripe, or belt, at leaft a hundred yards in breadth. Let this por- tion of ground be planted thick, fay at the dif- tance of thirty inches, or at the moft three feet, with a mixture of larch, fycamore and elder, in equal quantities, or nearly in equal quantities, if the foil be adapted for rearing thefe ; but, if it be 3 better 30 SITUATIONS FOR better adapted for Scots firs, then let it be plant- ed with them at the diitances prefcribed for the above mixture. We have no other kinds that will thrive better, or rife more quickly in bleak fituations, than thofe juft mentioned. When the trees in this belt, or zone, have rifen to the height of two feet, fuch hard-wood trees as are intended ultimately to fill the ground, mould be introduced, at the diftance of eight or ten feet from each o- ther, as circumftances may admit. At this pe- riod, or perhaps a year or two afterwards, ac- cording to the bleak or expofed fituation of the grounds, let another parallel belt, or zone, of nearly equal breadth, be added to the one already fo far grown up, and fo on, till the whole grounds be covered. It is not eafy here to determine on the exact breadth of the fubfequent belts or zones : this matter muft be regulated by the degree of expofure of the grounds, by the fhelter afforded by the zone previoufly planted, and by fuch like circumflances. In the formation of forefts, we would advife, thaj the feveral forts of timber be planted in dil- tincl maffes, which are to be introduced accord- ing to the nature of the foil ; of which fubject we fliall treat more fully in Section IV. Thefe diftincl maffes, however, it muft be ob- ferved, fliould be nurfed by larch, or fuch other nurfes as may be fuitable to the foil and expofure, until FORESTS AND GROVES. 3 I until the principals be fairly eftablifhed, and have grown to the height of ten or twelve feet. The nurfes fhould be indifcriminately mixed, over the whole plantation, in the proportion of at lead two to one. Some fituations may require three, or even four nurfes to each principal, according to the expofed or flickered nature of the fituation, or the quality of the foil. We hold it as the worfl of management, in expofed fituations, to plant thin, or to plant few nurfes. It is, however, very difficult to fix upon the exacl; diftances at which the whole fhould (land ; but the extremes may be fixed, at thirty inches for the leaft, and four feet fix inches for the greateft diftance ; or, in fome few inftances, in very favourable fitua- tions, at fix feet. In regard to the fize of plants, for the above purpofe, a confiderable latitude may be taken, provided always that the largeft do not exceed eighteen inches in height ; and even fuch a height is only to be allowed in the cafe of elders, moun- tain-am, fycamores, and fuch hard-wooded plants as are afterwards to be introduced for the princi- pal crop. The larch nurfes fhould not be older than one-year feedlings which have been one year nurfed in good ground. By that time they will be from fix to nine inches high, which is the beft poflible fize ; and if they have been nurfed in foft rich earth, their roots will abound with fine fibres. As 32 SITUATIONS FOR As to Scots firs, they fliould not be more than two-year feedlings, one year tranfplanted ; in very bare fandy grounds, they may even be introduced when merely two-year old feed lings. Thefe can be planted with the diamond dibble ; * and the cod of planting an acre in this manner is but trifling. In the extenfion of a foreft on the fide of a hill or mountain, by dividing it into zones or belts, in the manner above ftated, fome degree of artificial fhelter may likewife be produced. It is bed, of courfe, to begin at the bottom of the hill or deep ; the current of the wind being generally ftronged at the top. When two hills nearly ap- proach each other, and form a dell or deep ravine between them, the wind, in fuch a cafe, pafies, as if through a funnel, with very great force. It would then, in this cafe, be proper to plant a large mafs on either fide, in the eye of the wind. Suppofing it to blow most, as it generally does in this country, from the wedward, then fhould the plantation be begun at that point. A more favourable fite, however, than either of the preceding, for a foreft plantation, is a confi- derable extent of broken ground, confifting of hill and dale, of deeps and hollows, with the fides of a river, or of a brook. Such grounds will be the better for being rather of a north-eaderly expof- ure ; * Afterwards particularly described and figured. FORESTS AND GROVES. Jj tire ; becaufe, in this cafe, they will not fo feverely feel the effects of the prevailing blafts from the fouth-weft. In fuch broken fituations, the plantation might be very much extended at once ; as many parts of the ground, from its inequalities, would be well flickered, and the trees would rife freely, parti- cularly in the hollows, and on the banks of rivu- lets and rivers. It is in fuch fituations that Nature has planted moft of her forefts ; and to follow her plans of procedure, is by far the fureft way of fecuring ultimate fuccefs. The land proprietor, however, previous to com- mencing the eftabllfhment of a foreft, will no doubt confider well his particular fituation, with refpedt to a vent for the produce. The vicinity or pofition of public roads, canals, or navigable rivers, are points of the firft confideration ; and, next, the probability of an improvement in thefe different means of conveying the timber to a mar- ket. If his property lye contiguous to a navi- gable river, canal, or the fea, his cafe may then be reckoned moft favourable. But though thefe fhould be diftant, he ought not to be difcouraged* Many proprietors in the north of Scotland have been benefited by a method of conveying the pro- duce of their far-inland forefts to the ocean, never perhaps thought of by the planters of them. We here allude to the cuts, or fmall canals, made in C the 34 SITUATIONS FOR. the forefts of Glenmore, Glentannar, and Ran- noch ; and to the practice of what is termed float- ing, on the Dee, the Don, the Spey, and other rivers. Certainly the mod favourable foliations for fb- rell plantations, in regard to markets, are the banks of navigable rivers, or of canals. But, al- though a great extent of a river fhould not be na- vigable, if it be of fuch magnitude as will readily admit of the timber being floated down, without receiving injury, it may be confidered an excel' lent fituation for a foreft. The banks of many fuch rivers, are often bold, fieep, and rugged, and confequently of little ufe to the agricultural ; while, at the fame time, the foil is frequently, and indeed generally, of a na- ture highly fitted to produce the moll valuable forts of foreft timber. If a navigable canal pafs through a barren, hilly country, this circumftance puts the proprie- tors of the diflricl: nearly on an equal footing with proprietors in the laft flated cafe ; although it mud be confeiTed, jthat fuch foils and fituations are lefs favourable to the raifmg of timber. Yet, by flri&ly obferving to plant thick, and with fmall, well-rooted plants ; and by following fome other rules, applicable to planting in fuch fituations, to be found in the fequel, much valuable timber may certainly be reared, even in a country character- ized both as barren and hilly. Another FORESTS AND GROVES. 35 Another kind of fituation for foreft plantation demands our notice, namely, the bleak banks on. the Ihores of the ocean. To places which lye fomewhat inland, though on a large fcale they may properly enough be reckoned in a maritime diiirici, much of what has already been advanced is applicable. We would therefore be under flood, in the obfervations now to be made, as chiefly confining ourfelves to the banks immediately on the mores of the ocean, or its more confiderable inlets. Such fituations have been reckoned the mod untoward of jny for rearing timber ; and many have had fufficient caufe, in their experience, to acknowledge the truth of this opinion. The fat is, that, very generally, the want of fuccefs has been in confequence of planting thin, and. with large plants, especially in fituations much ex- poled. * We * The error of using large plants in any exposed situa- tion, has operated very much against the interests of plant- ing ; not only in maritime situations, but in others which might be thought more favourable. The Scots probably learned this practice from the sister kingdom ; for to this day we see all over England, plants of five, seven, and e- ven ten feet high, stuck into places very much exposed. Plants so far advanced should never be employed : the con- sequence of using them is, that even in the most favour- able places, many of the plants never vegetate ; and in C 2 56 SITUATIONS FOR We are here to diftinguifh between the banks of the Thames, the Severn, the Humber, the Solway, or the Clyde, and thofe of the open fea* On the former where the tide flows for many miles, we meet with multitudes of thriving plan- tations 5 and many fituations well adapted for rearing of others, where no more than ordinary care has been or may be neceflary ; and we alfo find fome fituations of an oppofite defcription,, which we would wifli to clafs with the bleak brinks ef the open ocean* When those much exposed, perhaps not one plant in four shows a leaf the second year. The truth is, the more exposed the situation, the smaller should the plants be, even down to ten, nine, eight, seven, six or five inches in height. It is a very general opinion, that sea air is more noxious or unfavourable to the growth of trees, than of grain or herbage ; which opinion is strengthened by the circumstance of trees, planted near the sea, being very generally stunted in growth. It may here be remarked, however, that it u- mformly happens, that the larger the trees have been when planted, so much the more are they stunted. We are fully of opinion, that there must be a defect of method, or too great a change of soil and climate, or perhaps both, when trees cannot be raised on the banks of the sea- shore. The bleakest of our coasts have formerly been covered with wood ; as the many large trees dug out of the mosses in th& maritime district of Buchan, and elsewhere, fully evince. Even more durable remains exhibit the fact. We know of a number of roots of petrified trees, on the margin of the sea, between Dysart and Wemyss in Fifeshire, at present standing in a puddingstone ba*, ORE ST S AND G ROVES. 37 When the bank is highly elevated above the level of the fea, fuccefs may be more reafonably expe&ed, than when it lyes low and flat ; provid- ed the foil of the higher ground be not materially worfe, than that of the lower or more flat ground $ \vhich however it generally is* There is what fearnen term a lull or lee shore, which extends in breadth from five hundred to two thoufand yards, more or left, according to the fteepnefs or flatnefs of the bank ; the current of wind pafling in a direct line between fome cer- tain point on the furface of the water, and the fummit of the bank. Suppofing this to be the cafe, muft not the lower part of the Hoping bank be equally included in the lull with the margin of the water ? In the other cafe, namely, where the land rifes but little above the level of the water, the wind paifes, as it were, over one continued plain ; accumulating humidity and cold, and in- creafing in velocity, till it wreak its vengeance on fome diftant high ground. Thus the plantation fituated on the elevated fea-bank, excepting fuch part of it as extends to the very fummit, may be more flickered, and better fecured from the bad effects of ftrong pre- vailing winds, than that fituated on the plain, which extends to the margin of the water, with- .out an adjoining elevated ground to break their defoliating force* 38 SITUATIONS FOR Thefe confi derations naturally fuggeft the pre priety of planting in the one cafe, on the face o the floping bank, and confiderably within the le vel of the fumniit, in order that the trees may have flicker from the current of wind till they ar- rive at the height of ten or twelve feet, and fo become a fcreen to any fucceeding plantation which may be made higher up. It is only by at- tending to fuch methods that we can expert to urmount fuch natural difficulties. In the cafe of a level more, it is bed to plant in zones ; begin- ning firft at the extremity of the propofed planta- tion or foreft which is to be nearer! to the mar- gin of the fea. For bleak fituations much ex- pofed to the fea breeze, the moft defireable plants for nurfes are the Elder and the Sycamore ; * a part * The Elder and the Sycamore should be plentifully planted as nurses to masses of Oak, Elm, &c. as they are known to stand the sea air, and bear up against gales of wind better than any others. The Pinaster- also thrives, near the sea on the western coasts of Scotland, and may therefore be tried as a nurse. Scots firs will endure the se- verity of the blast well, and should be intermixed in zones of such nurses as the above ; because they keep on their leaves during winter; and prevent the winter blast from seizing on the tender shoots of the other trees. In situa- tions like the above, Larches will hardly succeed ; they will become much bent by the breeze, snd so may prevent the principal crop of trees from rising ; while the others recom- FOUESTS AND GROVES. 39 part of the nurfes, however, may be Scots Firs and Pinafters ; the whole fhould be planted very thick, and treated as noticed above for bleak fituations. The principals are fuppofed to be Oak, Elm, Beech, and others, planted in mattes. It is very obvious, that it wo ... be improper to plant, in fuch fituations as above alluded to, a fmall corner, or a narrow ftripe. The plants in fuch a cafe would probably never rife to timber. Plan- tations, therefore, near to the fea, whether on flat or elevated ground, mould be very confider- ably extended : they mould confift of many a- cres ; and if of hundreds of acres, fo much the better. On the banks of a circular bay, including feveral fmall promontories or peninfulas, the land at the fame time being fomewhat bold, and the foil of a quality not to be called bad, a plantation may be reared with more fuccefs, than where the coaft is flraight or flat. Many fuch bays are to be found on the coafts of the Scots Highlands, and of their lochs or larger inlets of the fea, where the value of the property might be much en- hanced by being planted. II. mended, will keep erect, in the severest gales. If larches are attempted to be planted in such situations, they should lie in large masses. SITUATIONS FOR II. Of Groves. As already obferved, a grove plantation differs from a forest plantation, only with refpect to ex- tent: The fituation for a grove, therefore, may properly enough be fuch as any of thofe noticed a- bove, excepting the top of a bleak hill, or the expofed coaft of the open fea. A fmall grove, however, fhould never be attempted on an expofed open plain. In fuch a fituation, a mafs of lefs than four or five acres, unlefs the foil be uncommonly good, will feldom be found worth the trouble of planting and properly fencing round. On the bafe of a mountain, the hang of a hill, the banks of a river or other dream, a grove ap- pears to great advantage, provided its extent bear fome proportion to the objects around. Indeed, a fmali corner, or patch, can never pleafe in the character of a grove, (which implies a plantation of tall-ftemmed trees) ; becaufe, as the plants (hoot up, the lower part will naturally become open, and fo make an infignificant appearance. In fuch a cafe, a wood or copfe is certainly much more in character. But groves are mpft generally planted in the environs of a manfion-houfe, in parks, and orna- mental grounds ; and they often form the chief artificial features of a place. Ilere ? indeed, if the FORESTS AND GROVES. 4! the place be extenfive, they are moft in charac- ter ; and, if contrafted with woods, copfes, and thickets, produce great interefh But in fuch cafes, a grove fhould never be, or at leaft appear to be, diminutive. Its fituation fhould always be fuch, as to exhibit the greateft poflible magni- tude, when grown up, as well as in its infancy. That the grove may appear to moft advantage, it is necefTary that it occupy the hang of a hill, or the fwell of a riling ground : thus fituated, it mows a greatly enlarged canopy of foliage. When placed on level ground, the grove necefTarily re- quires to be more extended in length and in breadth, to produce the fame good efTeds. * We do not wifti that our obfervations refpecl- ing grove plantations, fhould be underftood as af- fe&ing thofe clumps, fmall patches of planting, or groups of trees that are merely intended to beautify the park or the lawn. Were fuch clumps planted * In an ornamental point of view, when the subject is a perfect level, there is a very good method of imitating a bank, or hang, by the management of the wood ; namely, by planting tall growing shrubs in the front, low growing trees in the middle, and the tallest growing trees behind. A grove situated on a level, although entirely consisting of tall growing trees, if not too old, may in some measure be re- duced to this order by judicious lopping or pruning ; at the same time, perhaps, planting in front of it a certain breadth of shrubbery. 41 SITUATIONS FOR planted for any other purpofe, we doubtlefs would confider them as very improper appendages : but when properly pruned and thinned, they are very ornamental. The trees in fuch. clumps,, however, fhould never be pruned up in imitation of grove trees, hut mould be feathered from the bottom upwards, SECT, WOODS AND COPSES. 43 SECTION III. ON SITUATIONS FOR WOODS AND COPPICES, I. Of Woods. IT may be proper here to remind the reader of the difference bet\veen a wood and a plantation. A wood, then, is always underftood to be either entirely a natural produ&ion ; or to be fown, not planted, by man ; and to confift of a mixture of timber trees, chiefly of oak and afh, with un- derwood or mrubs, as willow, hazel, holly, birch, or thorn. Some natural woods, however, parti- cularly in Scotland, confift almoft entirely of fir- trees, with, fometirnes, a mixture of birch, moun- tain-afl^ and feveral kinds of fhrubs. The ex- tent of a wood may be any thing, from an acre, or half an acre, to many fquare miles : when of this laft fize, it afTumes the appearance of a fcreft, and generally receives that denomination. Nature, in eftablifhing moft of her woods, feems to have chofen to begin in fheltered fitua- tions, 44- SITUATIONS FOR. tions, by the fides of rivers and brooks, in hol- lows among crags and rocks, on Hoping banks, or at the bottom of a hill or mountain ; whence, from fmall beginnings, me has often extended her felf-fown woods over a variety of country, into magnificent forefts. Hence in rearing of a wood we have a variety of examples, and a choice of fituation, fet before os. One rule we muft invariably adhere to; namely, to sow, and not to plant. All the woods of nature are raifed from the feeds, fown on the fpot where the trees grow ; and we are certain that her timber trees are never inferior, but often fuperior to fuch as have been planted by the hand of man. It is an opinion very generally entertained, that planted timber can never, in any cafe, be equal in durability and value, to that which is fown. We certainly feel ourfelves inclined to fupport this opinion, although we readily admit, that the matter has not been fo fully eflablifhed, from ex- periment, as to amount to pofitive proof. But although we have not met with decided evidence, to enable us to determine on the comparative ex- cellence of timber raifed from feeds, without be- ing replanted, over fuch as has been raifed from replanted trees, we are left in no doubt as to the preference, in refped of growth, of thofe trees which are fown, over fuch as are planted. When WOODS AND COPSES. 45 When trees are removed from the feed-bed, whatever care be employed, the tap-roots, with many of the lateral roots and fibres, are unavoid- ably injured, and often greatly curtailed : fubfe- quent removals, certainly do not tend to leflen this evil. Many who have the direction of the removal and replanting of feedling young foreft trees, feem not fatisfied with thefe accidental di- minutions of the original roots ; but cut them (till farther in, and fometimes fo unmercifully, that they never do more good. * We conlider a tree having its original roots thus abridged, as advancing pretty nearly in its nature to a cut* ting, or layer, which it is well known feldom at- tains to the fize of a tree of the fame kind raifed from feed. In fhort, we hold that the entire pre- fervation of the perpendicular, or tap root, pro- je&ed from every feed by nature, with all its fibres, is the fureil and moft effe&ual means of preferving an undiminilhed flow of the juices of the plant ; and confequently, of promoting its growth and excellence : While every abridgment of * Mr Knight, that intelligent student of vegetable nature, has noticed the necessity of preserving the whole roots f apple plants when removed from the nursery to the field He says, But in removing from the nursery to the orchard, attention should be paid to leave the roots as long and as * little injured as possible. ' See his excellent Treatise on the Apple and Pear, 46 SITUATIONS FOR of the roots, occafioned by thefubfequent removal of the plants, muil check the flow of their juices, and in fo far Hint and render them lefs vigorous and healthful, than they otherwife would have been. Hence the want of fuccefs generally at- tendant on the replanting of large trees. Indeed the younger that trees can be removed, and plant- ed in the field for good, fo much the more will the progrefs of their growth be accelerated, as has been well afcertained by experience. For thefe, and like reafons, we give the plan of raif- ing woods, forefts, and copfes, from feeds fown where they are to remain, a decided preference. The Oak is a tree very flow in growth, if plant- ed in a bleak fituation and a poor foil ; but if planted in a favourable fituation and good foil, it rifes faft, keeping pace with many other kinds of timber trees. In projecting an oak wood, therefore, it would be improper to fow in an ex- pofed fituation arid barren foil, without ufmg fome means to fhelter the rifmg plants. This may very effectually be done, by planting nurfe plants of other kinds ; which will be fully treated of in the fequel. In the rearing of woods, how- ever, in better filiations, fuch as the wafte cor- ner of a flickered eftate, or a farm in an arable , diftrict, or in a park for ornament, an oak-wood, properly fo called, may be raifed from acorns without any nurfes. In the former cafe, the wood partakes of the character of a grove for a number WOODS AND COPSES. 47 number of years, namely, until the nurfe plants be removed. A very advifabie and fit fituation for an oak wood, may be found on the banks of a navigable river ; or the banks of any confiderable ftream, paffing through a broken furface of craggy or rocky ground, where the foil consists of loam, gravel, and decompofed rock. In fuch a fitua- tion, the oak becomes most valuable ; and, ac- cording to the different circumstances of foil, the Am, and fome of the other kinds might be inter- fperfed ; which will be farther noticed in the next fection. The vicinage oPa navigable canal, alfo, where the fituation and foil are favourable, is a place very proper for the raifmg of an oak wood. There are likewife many fituations, altogether inland, which are very fit for the fame purpofe. Indeed, it is hard to fay in what part of the coun-% try it would not be advifabie to attempt an oak wood, if the circumstances of foil and local fitua- tion be favourable, fince the tree, in the various stages of its growth, is fo univerfally ufeful. II. Of Coppices. A natural copfe, with refpeft to its origin, and the kinds of plants, (excepting refmous trees), differs in nothing from a wood, as above defined. A copfe is never allowed to rife to timber of any confiderable 4& SITUATIONS FOR confiderable fize ; but is always cut down for fuel, flakes, poles, the bark, &c. When the tim- ber-growing kinds are allowed to remain un- touched, and are trained up to trees, it is ihen changed into a wood. The fituation of a natural copfe, of courfe, is generally fuch as that of a wood, of which, in truth, it is the prototype, and would, if left to nature, foon become one ; but it is kept in a flate of copfe by man, often from his neceffities, and fometimes from his choice* Copfes are often planted, or, more properly, fown, with the intention of keeping them merely as fuch, and to anfwer various ufeful purpofes ; as the produ&ion of flakes, rails, poles, hoops, charcoal, fuel, or bark. They are alfo frequently reared in parks and grounds as objects of orna- ment, or as covers for game. Hence, artificial copfes are frequently to be found in very favour- able fituations and foils ; and in fueh their pro- duds are exceeding profitable. The extent of a copfe, like a wood, may be any thing from half an acre and upwards ; but there is no fpecies of plantation fo well adapted to fill up, or occupy fmall corners, or broken fpots in arable fields, occafioned by the operations of mining or quarrying, or to cover the broken rugged banks of a flream or river. In parks, they appear to great advantage, when judicioufly placed, and contrafled with woods and groves. 1 SEC- FOREST TREES. SECTION IV; I ON THE SOILS BEST ADAPTED FOR THE DIF- FERENT KINDS OF FOREST TREES. A REVIOUSLY to confidering the foils bed adapted to particular trees, a few general remarks feeni 'proper. Although no tree will flourifh in a fuperlative degree, except in what may be termed its own soil-, yet, many trees of the fame kind are to be found in tolerable perfection, in foils of apparently dif- ferent qualities. In favourable fituations, although the furface may appear poor and thin, we mould not defpair of rearing fome kinds of tree to perfection ; as in fuch cafes, the under foil is often found of good quality, and able to produce valuable timber. The moft unfavourable of any foil, for the pro- duction of timber, is a cold, mallow, irony till, incumbent on a clay fubfoil, which upholds a poi- fonous, ochry water, that either ftagnates on the furface of the clay, or lodges in that part of the foil which is the pafture of the roots. The following, in moft cafes, are the foils and their fubftrata, on which it is deemed proper to D plant 5<> SOILS FOR. plant for the produ&ion of timber. Sandy, or gravelly foils, incumbent on rubble, or loofe land- ftone. Loamy foils, on a gravelly or porous fub- foil. Sandy, gravelly, or loamy foils, on a clay, or retentive fubfoil. Chalky loam, or flinty chalk, on a porous, or a rocky fubftratum. Loamy clay, on fandftone, or on limeftone rock. Clay on the fame. A mixture of loam and argillaceous fchift- us, on bafalt orwhinflone rock. Free, loamy foils, on granite rock. Strong loamy or clayey foils, on irony or on blue till. Thin, heathy, or moorifh foils, incumbent on rubble j and the fame incunv bent on clay, or on till. * THE ALDER. Although the alder is found in high perfec- tion, in moift foils, and even in (landing water, yet it will grow freely in light, elevated lands, where, however, its tendency is to impoverifh the foil, being only fatisfied with a fupenabundance of moifture. In calcareous and chalky foils it fpeedi- ly languifhes. The alder is naturally found grow- ing by the fides of the mod rapid rivers and ftreams ; * The nomenclature of soils, we may remark, is extreme- ly uncertain. We have employed the most popular and obvious phraseology, without attempting any new or more correct language. FOREST TREES, dreams ; and perhaps no tree is equally well ad- apted to the upholding of their banks, from the multiplicity of its roots, and their peculiar difpo- fition to feek continually along the edges of the water-courfes in queft of their natural food* THE ASH* This tree is found in the higheft perfection, on. dry, loamy foils : On fuch it fpontaneoufly grows : In moid, but not wet foils, it grows fall, but foon iickense It will grow freely on moft kinds of foils, if the fituation be tolerably good, excepting on retentive clays or tills. In wet foils, it foon sits up, * languifhes, and dies. In rich lands, its wood is fhort and brittle ; in fandy foils, it is tough and reedy, qualities which, for feveral pur- pofes, very much enhance its value. In loam, mixed with decompofed rock, at the bottom of a mountain, (as at Alva in Stirlingfliire, and Och- tertyre in Perthfhire), the afh arrives at a great fize. THE MOUNT Aitt- This plant is found in fo many different foils D 2 and * A gardener's phrase, which implies, that, while the tree still continues alivej it Ceases to increase, either in girth or in height, 5 SOILS FOR and fituations, growing naturally, that one might almofl fay any foil is adapted to it. It certainly, however, becomes moil ufeful and valuable in fandy foils. THE BEECH Is found in higheft perfection in fandy loams. It alfo flourilhes remarkably on all calcareous foils, and indeed naturally grows on fuch. Even on clayey foils, lying on a retentive, tilly, wet fub^ flratum, (as in the avenues at Panmure, Forfar- fhire), it beconies a graceful tree of great mag- nitude. Among rocks, crags, &c. where there is little or no foil to be feen, the beech arrives at a great fize. In low fituations, by the banks of rivers, (as at Newbottle, * Edinburgh (hire), and by the fides of rapid ftreams, at the foot of mountains, (as at Ardkindglafs, Argylefhire), this tree * One tree, in particular, at this ancient seat, was lately blown down by a heavy gale of wind. It contained up- wards of one thousand measurable feet of timber, (20 loads, or 25 tons), and is reasonably supposed to have been one of the largest beeches that ever grew in Scotland. Dr Walker, late Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh, in his Es- jsays, mentions, that, on the 6th of July 1789, the trunk of this beech, where thickest, was seventeen feet in girth ; and that the span of the branches was then eighty-nine feet. He thinks that it must have been planted between 1 540 and 1560. FOREST TREES. ^ j tree has fometimes grown to a vaft and very un- common fize. * THE * In the deer park at Panmure, a little below tjie old cas- tle, there now grow (1811) two very large and handsome beeches ; the girth of the one, at three feet above the sur- face of the ground, is 1 1. feet 9 inches, with a stem of 32 feet ; the girth of the other, at the same height, is 10 feet 6 incjhes, with a stem 51 feet long; both are quite straight and clean. The extreme height of these superb trees, is, by estimation, 90 feet. In another part of the grounds of Panmure, there is a beech tree 26 feet 6 inches in circumference at the surface of the ground, and, at 2 feet high, 20 feet. Its stem divides, at the height of 9 feet, into a very large head. The Ardkindglass beech, above alluded to, is as large as this, with a much better stem, and finer head. Excepting at Castle-Howard, in Yorkshire, (where are certainly the finest), and at Woburn, in Bedfordshire, we have seen no beeches to be compared with these. The Spanish beech, in the Ray Wood at Castle-Howard, (so called by Lord Carlisle from its resemblance to huge beech- es in Spain), is in girth, at 3 feet high, 15 feet 2 inches; stem 35 ; total height, by estimate, 90 feet. The largest Woburn beech, at the same height, measures 1 1 feet 3 in- ches in girth ; stem 50 feet ; total height, by estimate, 80 feet. These trees were both measured in summer 1810. The beeches in the deer park at Panmure grow in alluvial soil, being the deposition of a winding rivulet, and consisting of a mixture of loam and gravel. The Ray Wood beech at Castle-Howard grows on a loamy, elevated knoll ; the Woburn beech on the hang of a sandy or gravelly knoll. All the above trees seem in good health ; and it is impossi- ble to guess at what size they may arrive. 54 SOILS FOK THE BIRCH. The Birch, like the mountain-afh, is found growing naturally, in almofl every kind of foil, from that of a deep, moid, loam, in a low bottom ? to a poor, fandy, gravelly or moorifh earth, oa the fides of the Grampian mountains. It is found to luxuriate moft in deep loams, ly- ing on a porous fubfoil, or in alluvial foil, by the fides of rivers or fmaller ftreams. Even in fuch fituatipns, though among ftones and rocks, as on the river Dee (Aberdeenfhire) in particular, the Birch flourifhes moft exuberantly. On the fides of hills, in dry foils, it grows flowlyj but on fuch, its timber is moft durable. THE CHERRY, (Wild Gean.} The cherry may, properly enough, be reckoned a forefl tree ; it is often found growing naturally, both in our woods and groves, and is likewife often planted. It thrives belt in a fandy loam, in low ground, or on floping banks ; and in fuch fituations becomes moft valuable. In cold, damp foils, it grows very flowly, and foon fickens. It grows freely on rich foils ; but in fuch its wood is too foft, and too light-coloured, for the pur- pofes to which it is otherwife moft applicable. FOREST TREES, THE CHBSNUT. (Spanish Oiesnut.) This noble tree is found to thrive in many dif, ferent kinds of foils ; but, like the beech, it luxu- riates mofl in deep fandy loams. It does not thrive in wet, or over ftiif land ; though it will grow freely enough in a foft clay, lying on fand- ftone rock. In fandy foil, elevated but a little above the furface of the water, (as on the Ifland of Monteith, Perthfhire) ; in loamy foils, at the bottom of a mountain, (as at Alva, Stirlingfhire) ; in loam incumbent on clay, (as at Brechin-Caftle in Forfarihire, and at Gargunnock, Stirlingfhire) j and in gravelly or alluvial foil, near to a river, (as at Finhaven, Forfarfhire) ; and, even in the cold, tilly, expofed grounds of Lochgiily in Fifefhire, where it keeps pace with the beech, the Chefnut grows to a very great fize. * Some confider the chefnut * At Monteith, Alva, Brechin-Castle, and Gargunnock, the Chesnut has arrived at an uncommon size; and very fine specimens are just now to be seen at those places. At Fin- haven, a vast and aged chesnut was blown down, a good many years ago, being much decayed : The greatest cir- cumference of its trunk was 45 feet } its head was very large and spreading. In the possession of George Skene, Esq. of Skene and Carristone, there is a table made of the wood of the tree, having an engraved plate, on which are marked its dimensions. It was long accounted the largest tree in Scot* land ; and the late Dr Walker estimated its age at 500 years-o $0 SOILS FOR chefnut as a native of England ; but this is doubt- ful ; and it is certainly not indigenous to Scotland. THE ELM. * (Rough-kaved, broad-leaved, or Scots.) This tree accommodates itfelf, both in a na- tural date and when planted, to many different foils and fituatrons. The foil in which it moft luxuriates, is a deep rich loam; but that in which it becomes moft valuable, is a fandy loam, lying on rubble, or on dry rock. It is frequently found flourifhing by the fides of rivers or flreams, which perhaps often wafh part of its roots ; yet, it will not endure ftagnant moifture. In wet tilly clays, as at Panmure, it foon fickens. On bleak hills, among rocks, and where foil is hardly perceptible, it will often find pafture, and arrive at a confider- able fize. In a mixture of loam and clay fchiftus, incumbent on whinftone rock (as at Alva), it ar- rives at a very large fize within a century. THX * This kind is supposed by Evelyn to be the Alim of the antients. Mr Miller calls it * the Witch Elm ;' Mr Mar- shall * the Coarse-leaved Elm, the Wych Elm, or the 8 North-country Elm. * In Scotland it is the most com- mon kind, and is universally called the Scots Elm. The boughs spread wider, and hang more down than those of the English Elm, and the leaves and seeds are much Jargero FOREST TRESS. THE LABURNUM (the tree sort.) This is alfo a hardy tree, a native of Switzer- land and Savoy, and grows freely in expofed places, where, perhaps, the foil is but indifferent. It be- comes moft valuable in light loams, or fandy foils. It will grow moft rapidly in deep, fubhumid, or Joamy earth ; but in fuch, if much expofed to the wind, it is very apt to lean over to one fide, out- growing, as it were, its own ftrength. THE HORNBEAM. The Hornbeam is a hardy foreft tree, and is to be found thriving in many bleak fituations, and in a variety of foils, both where it has grown na- turally, and where it has been planted. In better fituations, and in loamy foils (as at Alva, Stirling- fhire, and at Keith-hall, Aberdeenmire), it becomes a very large tree. It has, however, been rather negleded as a foreft tree. * THE * One special reason why the Hornbeam has been less planted in forests, than it naturally deserved to be, is, that the English nurserymen long ago raised great numbers of them from layers, purposely for hedges, which answered that design very well. But plants of this kind raised from layers, never arrive at great stature as timber trees ; and SOILS FOR THE LARCH, The Larch is a native of the Swifs and Italian Alps. Its introdu&ion into this country has been a mod fortunate circumftance. * When we con- fider its general ufefulnefs, the facility with which it may be propagated, and that it will not only grow, but fpeedily reach a large fize, in almoft any foil or fituation ; we cannot, but with feel- ings of gratitude, think on the Noble Duke f who, about half a century ago, firft planted it on the Grampians ! The larch may now be confi- dered as naturalized in Scotland, being planted univerfally, the English plants being generally spread abroad, the horn- beam came to be considered more as a shrub than a forest tree. But, since the time Mr Miller wrote, it has been more raised from seeds, and is now more generally used as a forest tree. * The following anecdote concerning the introduction of the Larch into Scotland, is related by Dr Walker. Some larches ' were sent down from London, by the then Duke of Athol, in the year 1727, along with orange trees and e other greenhouse plants. They were kept with these for * two or three years, in pots, in a greenhouse, as rare exotic ' trees ; but, when their hardy nature came to be known, 4 they were planted out in the garden. ' One or two of these original larches still remain at Dunkeld House, ia the state of lofty trees. The late DUKE OF ATHOI. FOREST TREES* 59 univerfally, and found to grow to perfe&ion (as far as can yet be feen) on hill, dale and moun- tain ; in loam, in clay, in gravel ; in peat earth, in moor earth, among rocks and ftones ; in fhort, every where, except in ftanding water. At Dun- keld, Blair, Monzie and Gartmore, inPerthfhire ; atAlva, in Stirlingfliire ; at Panmure and Brechiii Caftle, in Forfarfhire ; and in the wood at Cul- loden, * Invernefs-fhire ; are to be found the largeft and fineft larches in all the ifland. f Of late years, the planters in this country were very much alarmed by the appearance of an in- fect (Coccus larixea) upon the larch, which threat- ened to be of ferious detriment to the trees, and certainly very much retarded the progrefs of the young plantations. This infeft is not new, either to * At Culloden there is, or lately was, a solitary larch, of a very fine stem, and great height. It stands, or stood, in a hollow by the side of a small rill, in a fir-plantation above ihe house, and in the west end of the moor on which the battle of 1746 was fought. This fir plantation was about 10 feet high at the time of the battle, according to the information given to us by a man who fought in the Prince's army ; of course, it must be about 75^ years old ; but the larch is supposed to have been planted some time after the battle, and does not appear to be much above 60 years old. f The boasted larches at Stow in Buckinghamshire, at Hagley, and at Enville in Shropshire, bear no comparison with those at Dunkeld, Blair and Monzie, in North Bri tain, &0 SOILS FOR. to, the larch or to feveral other trees in this coun- try. We knew of it appearing on larches at Raith, in Fifefhire, about the year 1785; but it was not obferved to fpread, or to do any parti- cular harm. It was not till 1801 or 1802 that its ravages were much extended ; it having been greatly encouraged by the circumftance of three dry feafons fucceeding each other. The infect, however, is now much lefs prevalent ; it feems to dirty, more than otherwife materially to injure the tree, and is now thought lightly of. In the pad feafon, 1811, thefe kifecb have not been fo numerous as in 18105 and they have difappeared fooner, probably owing to the exceffive dampnefs of the fpring and autumn ; circumftances which may tend very much to diminifh their numbers, and hinder their progrefs in fucceeding years. THE OAK. The Oak is a native both of England and Scot- land. The extenfive and general ufefulnefs of the timber is probably the caufc why it* is alfo to be found planted in a greater variety of foils than moft other trees. It luckily happens that it will grow, and even become timber, on foils of very oppofite natures. It thrives beft, however, in ftrong deep loam, incumbent on gravel or dry rock ; but in all foils in which there is any con- fiderable proportion of loam, it will thrive in a greater FOREST TREES. 6t greater or lefs degree. In low filiations, where the foil is deep and moid, it grows rapidly, and attains to a great fize ; but, in fuch places, it is found to decay fooner than it does in a more ele- vated fituation, with a drier foil. In light foils of little depth, it grows flowly, but firm in tex- ture ; and the timber, though fmaller in fize, ac- quires a ftate of maturity fooner than that grown on more cool and retentive foils. In deep, cool fand, it will root firmly, and arrive at a great fize. In clay, incumbent on till, to which all other trees, excepting the beech and the fyca- more, have an averfion, the Oak will grow and produce ufeful timber. Comparatively fpeaking, there are now no large oak trees in Scotland, though there have former- ly been very many. The recent fcarcity and high price of oak timber, and the uncommonly high prices given for the bark, have very much tend- ed to leffen the numbers of full grown trees. The largeft and fineft oak trees in Scotland are to be found at Dunkeld, Alva, Buchanan, Inve- rary, Hamilton, Melville Caftle, and Dalkeith ; but they cannot once be compared with thofe of Caftle Howard, Welbeck, * and Dunham- mafiey, in England. THE * We shall here note the dimensions of several oaks at Welbeck, as stated in a pamphlet, with drawings of the trees, by Hayman Rooke esq. F. S. A. The SOILS FOR THE SYCAMORE. (Plane4rce in Scotland.) This tree is generally confidered as a native of Britain. It will grow, and even become tim- ber, in any kind of foil from a light fand to a tiily The Green Dale Oak is said to be 700 years old. Girth of the trunk above arch, 35 feet ; height of the arch, 10 feet 3 inches ; width of ditto, 6 feet 3 inches ; and height of the tree, to the top of the live stump, 54? feet. The Porters are two very large trees, and are so called from the circumstante of there formerly having been a gate placed between them. No. 1. measures, in circumference, at the ground, 38 feet ; at a yard high, 27 feet ; at 2 yards, 23 feet ; total height, 98 feet 6 inches ; and solidity, 848 feet ! No. 2. in girth, at the surface, 34? feet ; at one yard high, 23 feet ; at 2 yards, 20 feet ; height 88 feet ; and so- lidity, 744 feet. The Duke's Walking SticJc> in girth, at the ground, 21 feet ; atone yard high, 14 feet; stem 70 feet 6 inches; total height, 111 feet ; and solidity, 440 feet. The Oak anci Ash. Girth of both at the ground, 36 feet ; of the oak, at one yard high, 18 feet ; at two yards, 15 feet 4 inches ; and height 92 feet. The ash is comparatively very small. It leaves the oak at a small distance above the ground, and unites again at 8 or 9 feet high ; then branch- es out, and towers along with it for some thirty or forty feet. Taken together, they form a very various and un- common picture. Of the famous Scots oak in the Torwood near Stirling, generally called Wallace's Oak, no trace now remains, FOREST TREES. 63 tilly clay. It diflikes much wetnefs, and will not thrive long in ftagnant water. In fandy or light loams, it thrives beft, and becomes mod valuable. In loam mixed with chy-fchiftus on whinftone rock, (as at Alva), it becomes a very large tree within a century. On colder, differ foils, (as at Panmure, Forfarflnre, and at Arniflon, Edin- burghfhire), it grows flowly, but arrives at a good fize. On the banks of a river, in a loamy foil, incumbent on rock, (as at Kippenrofs, Perthshire), it attains to a very great fize. * On rotten rock, and in an exceedingly expofed fituation, (as at Prior-Letham in Fifeshire) ; it grows, as a fmgle tree, to a very large fize. f THE Dr Walker mentions an oak, at Loch Arkeg in Lochaber, which measured twenty-four feet six inches, at the height of four feet from the ground. * The Plane-tree (sycamore) of Kippenross, belonging to John Stirling esq. is truly a noble tree ; and Nattes, in hisj* Scotia depicta, ' has given a representation of it. He states it to have been, in 1801, 28 feet 9 inches in girth, with a stem of SO feet. He must have measured its cir- cumference at the ground, as, at breast height in 1798, its g?rth was only 22 feet 6 incues. In 1809, this tree was in full health and beauty. Its head is very large and spread- ing. T 1 ^re are also some very fine Sycamores at Newbot- tle in M J -Loth? an. f 'he Pnor-Letham Plane measures in circumference, at the surface of the ground, 21 feet 8 inches, and at the parting SOILS FOR THE SCOTS FIR. This tree is naturally the inhabitant of moun- tainous diftri&s, and of rocky, gavelly, or poo* fandy foils, where its timber becomes moft valua- ble and durable. On the fides of mountains, in dells and hollows, among ftones and rocks, be- fide rapid rivulets or mountain torrents, it is found in high perfection j and if it ftand fmgle, it is of great beauty. In many parts of the Scots Highlands, where the foils are extremely various, and much mixed, the Scots Fir has arrived at a good fize, and often attained remarkable dimen- fions. In any kind of foil from a fand to a clay, provided the fubflratum be rubble or rock* it will grow and flourifh ; but in wet, tilly foils, it ought never to be planted ; becaufe whenever the roots have exhaufted the turf or upper foil, and begin to perforate the fubfoil, the tree lan- guifhes, and dies. * THE parting of the branches, 19 feet. The stem is 12 feet high. The top divides into 10 large limbs ; but what renders this tree very remarkable is, that it stands by itself in a cold, flat, exposed country, at a considerable distance from any other tree. There is another circumstance which, perhaps, entitles it to notice ; namely, it was one of the two trees discovered in Scotland by Dr Johnson on his memorable Northern Tour ! * There has been several varieties of the Scots Fir, di- stinguished FOREST TREES. 65 THE SILVER-FIR. This tree is alfo found to thrive on very oppo- ftte foils. In loamy foil and an elevated fituation, {as at Caftle-Howard) ; on a fandy or gravelly hill, (as at Woburn) ; and in clayey foil, incum- bent on till, and a high filiation, (as at Panmure), the Silver-fir has arrived at a very large fizc. f It is a hardy tree, being a native of Switzerland and stinguished by modern botanists. The sort which is most commonly cultivated is least worth the trouble. The Pinus syhestris var. montana, is the variety which yields the red wood : even young trees of this sort are said to become red in their wood, and full of resin very soon. Mr Don of Forfar lately exhibited specimens of cones of each varie- ty, to the Highland Society of Scotland : it is' much to be wished that he were encouraged to go on in his researches in so important a matter. We understand that the variety preferred by Mr Don is distinguished by the disposition of its branches, which are remarkable for their horizontal di- rection, and for a tendency to bend downward, close by the trunk. The leaves are broader and shorter than in the common kind, and are distinguishable at a distance by their much lighter and beautiful glaucous colour. The bark of the trunk is smoother than in the common kind. The cones are thicker and not so much pointed. This variety Mr Don considers as more hardy than the common sort, ob- serving that it grows freely in almost any soil or situation, and quickly arrives at a considerable size. f The largest Silver-fir at Panmure, measured)' in Sep- E tember 66 SOILS FOR and the high parts of Germany ; and in all free foils it grows apace, and becomes very valuable timber. Until of late years, however, the Silver fir has not generally been planted as a foreft tree, but rather as an ornamental tree ; for which pur- pofe indeed it is extremely well fitted. THE SPRUCE-FIR. The Spruce, like all other firs, will both grow and tember 1810, at the surface of the earth, 8 feet 4- inches ; at four feet high, 7 feet 1 inch ; length of the stem to the fork, 41 feet ; total height, 80 feet. Several others in the same place are nearly as large. One has a thicker but shorter stem. In the Ray Wood at Castle-Howard, there is a Silver-fir, in girth, at four feet high, 1 1 feet 6 inches, with a stem 80 feet high ; total height, by estimate, 100 feet. Some others in the same wood are nearly as large. The Grand Silver-Jir (as it is called) at Woburn, is in girth, at the same height, 9 feet 10 inches, with a stem of 75 feet ; total height, by estimate, 110 feet. Both these trees were measured in sum- mer 1810. These trees are evidently much older than those at Panmure ; which seem equally vigorous and heal- thy, though less drawn up by the proximity of other trees. At Newhall in Haddingtonshire, there stands a solitary Silver- fir, in girth, at the surface of the earth, 9 feet 6 in- ches, and at four feet high, 8 feet j stem, 4-0 feet ; and total height, 60 feet. It grows in strong clay, and seems heal- thy : but the leading shoot has been injured by the wind : its top is now much divided, and it promises to grow little more to the height. FOREST TREES. 6/ and thrive in foils of very different qualities. It luxuriates mod, however, in deep loams, and low fituations, where it has fufficient fcope for its roots. In (hallow foils, and expofed places, it never fucceeds. In foils of a middling fort, and in fituations tolerably well sheltered, its timber becomes very valuable. It is a native of Sweden and Norway. THE WALNUT. This is a tree not often found in the foreft, at leaft in Scotland ; yet, confidering the fize it at- tains to, and the ufefulnefs and value of its tim- ber, we think it claims the moft particular atten- tion of planters ail over the kingdom. It is ori- ginally from Afia ; but is hardy, and thrives well in all foils in which there is any confiderable por- tion of loam, provided they be dry, and the fitua- tion fomewhat flickered. In loam mixed with clay fchiftus, (as at Alva), * it flourifhes remark- ably, and arrives at a large fize ; in dry, brown loam, on the banks of a natural lake, (as at Ot- terflon, Fifefhire) ; and in clayey loam, on till, (as at Panmure) ; it has reached a good timber fize within a century. At Raith, (in Fifefhire), on a high fituation, in ftrong loam incumbent E 2 on * There stands, or did lately stand, near the house at Alva, the finest and largest Walnut-tree we remember of having seen, either in Scotland or England. 68 SOILS FOR on a whinflone rock, it makes a good tree. . The timber produced in fuch filiations, though fmall- er, is more folid and valuable than that produc- ed in more favourable places, as we lately ob- fcrved at Hillfide in Fifeihire. f THE WILLOW. The Willow, of which there are many fpecies, is often found growing naturally in forefts and woods, and of courfe it deferves a place here. The Huntingdon willow, and the Bedford wil- low, are the kinds moft worthy of cultivation for timber. The Huntingdon willow is very gene- rally known, while the Bedford willow, fo much efteemed in England, has been little attended to in Scotland. It grows to a great fize, and its tim- ber is ufeful for many purpofes. There are a few large trees of this fort about Edinburgh, par- ticularly at the village of Canonmills. A kind called the Red-twigged Willow may alfo be men- tioned : it forms a large tree, and has a fine fil- very foliage : it is probably the fame as the Up- land Willow of Mr Pontey. * ' The j- At Hillside grew a single large Walnut-tree, which was blown down last spring, (1810) ; when cut up, it was found quite hollow. It grew in very deep loam, but had probably been mismanaged in youth. * Several trees of the red-twigged willow, are presently growing at Brucefield Nursery, near Dunfermline, Fifeshire, 60 feet high and upwards: They grow as rapidly, and pro* duce as good timber as the Huntingdon. FOREST TREES, 69 The fituations rnoft proper for willow trees are fuch as are low and moid, by the fides of rivers and brooks ; yet moft fpecies will thrive in high, and even dry fituations and foils. In mod foils, if a foot in depth, the willow grows apace, and arrives at a confiderable fize, according to its nature* 70 KINDS OF SECTION V. ON THE KINDS OF TREES MOST FIT TO BE CUL- TIVATED IN FORESTS, GROVES AND WOODS; IN THE PARK, AND IN HEDGEROWS ; THEIR PROPERTIES AND USES. fhall here firft exhibit a lift of the kinds of trees mofl fit to be cultivated in the above fitua- tions ; and then proceed to detail their appear- ances, ftations, properties, and the general pur- pofes to which their wood, bark or twigs, are ap- plied. Deciduous Trees. * The Alder, The Beech, The Aft, The Birch, The Mountain-Afh, The Cherry, The * The particular order or arrangement of the trees men- tioned being of little importance, they chiefly follow in the alphabetical order of their common English names. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C.' ji The Chefnut, The Oak, The Horfe-Chefnut, The Plane, (2 fpecies.) The Elm, (2 fpecies.) The Poplar, (different The Hawthorh, fpecies.) The Hornbeam, The Sycamore, The Laburnum, The Walnut, The Larch, The Willow, (different The Lime, fpecies,) Evergreen Trees. The Balm of Gilead Fir, The Pinafter, The Silver Fir, The Scots Pine or Fir, The American Spruce The Weymouth Pine, Fir, (2 fpecies.) The Cedar of Lebanon 5 The Common, or Nor- The Holly, way, Spruce Fir, The Yew. * THE * In this list, there are several kinds of trees which have not been noticed in the preceding section on Soils ; and it may be proper here, for the information of some readers, to remark, that the Horse-Chesnut and the Hawthorn will thrive well in all loamy soils, and moderately sheltered situations. In treating of the last named as a hedge-plant, however, this matter will be more particularly noticed ifl the Kalendar. The Lime is a free-growing tree in almost any soil or si- tuation where it may with propriety be planted. It is fit only for situations near a residence. OF THE ALDER, Oiler, or Aller. (Betula alnus.) This is a middle-fized tree. If allowed to take its natural form, it may be termed rather a hand- fome The Plane thrives best in light loams which are moist* but not wet. It will grow freely, however, in drier and in poor soils. Like the lime, it is fit only for the grounds near a residence. The American Plane thrives better in a moist soil than the Eastern Plane, and will even endure partial inundations. The Poplar will thrive in the soils specified in the preced- ing section as being fit for the willow. The Balm of Gilead Fir will thrive wherever the Silver fir flourishes. The American Spruce thrives best in moist, loamy soils, and sheltered situations ; yet it will grow freely in lighter and drier soils, if moderately well sheltered^ The Pinaster is equally hardy with the Scots fir ; in ma- ritime situations perhaps more so. The Weymouth Pine and the Cedar of Lebanon, grow freely on all lightish soils of a moderate depth ; but best in deep sandy loams. Neither of them are suited for the northern parts of our island, especially in very exposed si- tuations. The Holly and the Yew are both hardy trees ; and are found growing naturally in high, bleak, as well as in low, sheltered, shaded situations ; in a variety of soils, from a light sand to a strong clay. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 73 fome tree than otherwife. Its leaves are of a fine dark green; and it retains them late in the leafon; fo that, in autumn, it forms a ftriking contraft with many other deciduous trees. It cannot, how- ever, be reckoned among ornamental trees, unlefs it be employed for the purpofe of concealing a marfh, flagnant pool, or the like, in a park or in drefTed grounds. Its great ufefulnefs, by the fides of rivers and rapid ftreams, has been noticed in the preceding fedion. Alder wood is ufed by the turners and patten-makers ; alfo for flooring, and for roofing of fheds and outhoufes ; for the death- ing or lining of carts, and the like. It makes durable pofts for gates ; and as it endures v/ater long without injury, it makes lading props in coal and iron mines, and has been much planted of late for thefe purpofes. Charcoal o"f it is a good deal ufed in the manufacture of gunpowder. The bark of the Alder affords a flrong tan, and is now much employed, along with the barks of oak and birch, in the tanning of leather. It is well known alfo, in the Scots Highlands, as a dye for fome of the colours ufed in the manufacture of tartan and other fluffs worn in that country. THE 74 KINDS OF TREES, THE ASH. (Fraxinus excelsior.) The Afh is a free growing tree, and, when in perfection, is of great magnitude. It is too well known to require minute defcription. The moft proper ftation for the Afh, is certainly in the fo- reft or the grove - 9 but it is of that figure that it may be admitted as a fingle tree in the park or the lawn. Much, however, has been faid againfl admit- ting the common Afh as an ornamental tree. One difcards it, becaufe it does not leaf till late in the fpring ; but, for the fame reafon, the oak and the platanus might alfo be rejected. Another de nies it admiflion, becaufe it fheds its leaves early in autumn ; but the fame objection would apply to the beech, the cherry, and the fycamore. A third denounces it, becaufe its foliage is thin, and its branches bare and ugly. Thus the Afh, the moft ufeful and accommodating of trees, is often denied a place where, we hefitate not to fay, it might appear with the utmoft propriety ; and the real reafon perhaps is merely that it is common. It may be remarked, that fome of the very ar- guments adduced againft the admiflion of the Afh into ornamental fituations, are fuch as a perfon of i taftc THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. J$ tafte would life for its introduction ; becaufe the more dilfimilar the Afh is to its neighbouring trees, the greater the contraft and variety, and, of courfe, the power of pleafmg. Surely the (lately height and bulk of a full- grown Afh, in its native foil, clothed with a live- ly green foliage, elegantly pinnated, plead its caufe in too eloquent a manner to be refitted . The roots of the Afh, no doubt, impoverim the foil they occupy ; but fo do the roots of all other trees, in a greater or lefs degree. The quantity of heavy leaves annually fhed by the Afh, and, con- fequently, the return of vegetable matter to the foil, may perhaps place it at leaft on a level with its lefs exhaufling neighbours. We prefume, then, that the common Afh may be admitted into the fociety of its brethren, the gold-flriped, the filver-ftriped, the weeping, the entire-leaved and the curled, or its congener the Flowering-am, in the park and in the lawn, without deviating from that propriety dictated by a just taste. * The * If, however, the park or lawn be intended for the pas~ ture of milch cows, for the making of butter, ash trees ought to be excluded. Cows eat the new-fallen leaves greedily ; and these greatly affect the butter. Mr Miller sa y s < Nor should any ash trees be permitted to grow near * pasture grounds ; for if any of the cows eat of the leaves 6 or shoots of the ash, the butter which is made of their milk j6 KINDS OF TREES, The Afh is alfo much cried down as a hedge* row tree. Next to the oak and Scots elm, how- ever, it becomes the most valuable in that cha- racter ; and, until the planting of hedge-row tim- ber be prevented (by ftatute), we can fee no good reafon why the Afh fhouid be excluded. It is the total want of training hedge-row timber in Scot- land, (for fear, perhaps, of producing the horri- bly mangled and ugly poles to be feen all over England), which has brought hedge-rows into difrepute, more than any thing elfe. But this fubjecl: we mall have occafion to notice more fully afterwards. It is hardly neceflary to enumerate the qualities of afh-timber, and the ufes to which it is applica- ble. It may be noted, however, that the afli pof- feffes a very fmgular property, namely, that of being in perfection even in infancy, no other tree becoming ufeful fo foon. A pole, three inches in diameter, is as valuable and durable, for any purpofe to which it can be applied, as the timber of the largeft tree. The plough and cart wrightj the milk will be rank, or of little or no value ; which is al- ways the quality of the butter which is made about Guil- ford, Godalmin, and some other parts of Surrey, where there are ash trees growing about all their pastures ; so that it is very rare to meet with any butter in those places which is fit to be eaten : But, in all good dairy counties, the.y never suffer an ash tree to grow. ' THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. JT.JT the coachmaker and the cooper, are the chief iconfumers of ash timber ; though, in many parts of the country, it is likewife ufed for various u- tenfils, and for fome articles of furniture. The ash affords, perhaps a greater quantity of potash than any other fort of timber in this country. THE MOUNTAIN-ASH, or Roan-tree of Scotland. {Sorbus aucupanaC) * This is both a forefl and an ornamental tree of middle growth. It moots freely in almoil any fituation ; and if it ftand fmgle, it acquires a fine head. It is an excellent nurfe to flow growing trees on bleak fituations. If it be planted in a grove, and be properly trained, it attains to a good fize. It is an excellent coppicfe plant, grow- ing faft, and being applicable to many purpofes. The timber of this tree has lately been found (owing-, no doubt, to the fcarcity of other wood) to be ufeful for many purpofes to which it had not formerly been applied. It has long been ufed by the tanners and wheelwrights. It is now ufed for flooring, for cart-linings, for herring cafe ftaves, * Pyrus aucuparia of Smith's Fl. Brit, 78 KINDS OF TREES, ilaves, and other purpofes. Its poles and (hoots are ufed as hoops. Its bark is employed by the tanner, along with the bark of the oak and birch, to the lad of which it is little or nothing inferior. Its berries afford a good dye; and are ufed, along with the bark of the alder, in dyeing fome of the colours for tartan and other coarfe fluffs made in the Highlands of Scotland. THE BEECH. (Fagus sylvatica.) The Beech is an elegant tree of the firft magni- tude ; and is univerfally allowed to be very orna- mental. When (landing fmgle, it acquires a fine head, and takes a beautiful outline. It is there- fore peculiarly well adapted to the decoration of the park. As a hedge-row tree, where fhelter is an object, it (lands unrivalled ; where ornament is an object, if properly trained, the fame thing might almoft be faid of it. In the gr6ve, the Beech becomes tall, (Iraight and clean, and of courfe affords the mofl valuable timber, as it is required to be (Iraight for every purpofe to which it is applied. Beech is much ufed in fhip building, for keels and for planking ; in husbandry, for many pur- pofes 5 in machinery, mill-work, and the like ; and THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 79 and for the tool-cutter, the cabinet-maker, and turner, it is in univerfal demand. It makes ex- cellent fuel, whether as faggots or billets ; and is much ufed for the making of charcoal, and for the fmoaking of herrings. The Purple Beech, is a fine ornamental variety, and even promifes to become fit for the decoration of the park, although it has hitherto been chief- ly confined to the pleafure ground. A tree of the purple variety in the gardens of Meffrs Telfords, within the walls of the city of York, and another in the pleafure ground at Enville, have nftiirncc fuch tree-like forms, each being fully thirty ten. high, that fuch an expectation may reafonably be entertained; and the more efpecially, as wekno\vol" feveral even in Scotland from twenty to thifty feet high. It mufl however beobferved, that (he pur- ple beech plants, mod: proper for the park or the lawn, or indeed for any fituation where it is required that they grow to a great fize, are fuch as are grafted or budded on the common fort. Thofe raifed by layers, grow more dwarf; and therefore mould be planted in fituation s where dwarf trees, or bufhes, are required. THE KINDS OF TREES, THE BIRCH, or J3irh 9 Scotland. (Be tula alba.) The Birch is a well known, hardy, low growing tree, of a delicate and fragrant foliage. When growing fmgle, and in a fheltered fituation, it as- fumes a pleafmg form. The variety with pendulous branches, called the Weeping-birch, is certainly a very^elegant tree, and defirable wherever orna- ment is an object. Whoever has ftrolled on the banks of the Dee, in Aberdeenfliire, after a gentle fummer fhower, mufl have been delighted with the appearance, and regaled by the fragrance of the wfteping-birches which decorate its banks. If planted in good foil, in the grove manner, and if properly trained, the Birch becomes a tim- ber tree of confiderable fize. It is an excellent coppice plant ; and is very generally found in that character in the Highlands of Scotland, and in many other parts of the country. Birch may be faid to be the univerfal wood of the Scots Highlanders. They make every thing of it ; they build their houfes of it ; make their beds, chairs, tables, diflies, and fpoons of it ; conftruct their mills of it ; make their carts, ploughs, har- rows, gates, and fences of it ; and even manu- facture ropes of it ! Birch is alfo ufed in many other THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 8l other parts of the country, in machinery, turnery, wheel-work, and for lafts, pattens, wooden fhoes, and fuch purpofes. It is likewife much ufed in coaleries, for props, and waggon-road fleepers. It is an excellent fuel, burning very clear, and emit- ting lefs finoke than mod other woods. In the fmoking of herrings, in particular, Birch is pre- ferred to all other kinds of wood. The bark of the Birch is very aftringent, and affords a tan perhaps inferior only to that of the oak ; with which it is ufed in mixture, in many parts of the country. A vinous liquor, or juice ? is extracted from it, called birch-wine ; it is drawn off by tapping the trees in fpring, or early in fum- mer. When properly manufactured, it makes a cooling, agreeable drink. PALLAS, in his Flora Roffica,-fays, that the well known and highly efteemed Ruffian leather owes its agreeable fmell to being anointed with an oil extracted from the Birch. He thus defcribes the procefs. " The oil is prepared from the white bark^ either taken from the live tree, or collected from thofe that are putrid in the woods. It is beft made from the latter ; becaufe by the putrefaction it is freed from the inner bark ; and the external white bark remains uncorrupted for ages, as appears by the old burial-places at Janifea, and the vaults of the very antient caftle of Mofcow, which I obferv- ed were covered with birch bark. The bark is F gathered to KINDS OF TREES, gathered into a heap, and prefled into pits made in the fhape of a funnel, prepared in clay foil 5 and when fet on fire, it is covered with turf. The oil, diftilling through the clay hole at the bottom of the funnel, drops into a veflel placed to receive it ; and it is then tunned into cafks made of the hollowed trunks of trees. The pure limpid oil fwims at top, and is in the greatefl requeft for anointing leather on account of its antifeptic quali- ty. The refiduum is thick and footy, and is em- ployed for various common ufes." THE CHERRY, or Gean. (Prunus avtum.) The Wild Cherry, or Gean, is a well known,, handfome, middle-fized tree, of peculiar beauty in fpring when in flower, and in Auguft when in fruit : In autumn, before its leaves begin to fall, they exhibit beautiful red and yellow colours. It is therefore very fit for the decoration of the park and the lawn. At the fame time it is a proper grove tree, and is admiflible in the foreft ^ where indeed, as before obferved, it is often found grow- ing in a natural ftate, having probably been fown by birds. There are two varieties of the Gean, the red, aad the black fruited j but they differ in no THEIR PROPERTIES*' &C. 8^ no other refpeft. The large red, and the large black Geans, fo well known as fruit-trees in Scot* land, are fub-varieties of thefe improved by culture, and are only to be had by grafting or budding. The Wild Cherry grows to be a tree of very confiderable ftem, fo as to produce good fizeable boards and planks ; and its timber is beautiful, durable, and is ufed for many purpofes. By the cabinet-makers, in particular, it is ufed for chairs, tables and the like. It takes a fine polifh, and, by a little ftaining, is made nearly to refemble ma- hogany. THE CHESNUT. , (Fagus castanea.) The Sweet or Spanifh Chefnut, is a ftrikingly grand tree of the firfl magnitude. Whether w confider the rich appearance of its foliage when flandmg fingle, the bold forms its branches take; or the general outline of the tree, it is a fuperb object, emulating, and even outftripping, the oak in thefe refpeds. It is therefore mofl highly pro- per for the decoration of the park, and of the lawn. Many Chefnut trees, however, fhould not be planted clofe to a refidence, becaufe the flower* F 2 emit * In many parts cf the country, it is called, by the c- binet- makers, Scots Mahogany. 84 KINDS OF TREKS, emit a very difagreeable odour which is offeniive to moft people. The timber of the Chefnut more nearly refem- bles oak in its appearance, than that of any other tree ; and next to the afh, and the Scots elm, of the hard timber kinds, approaches it in value. It is exceedingly durable. The roof of Weftminfter Abbey, and that of the Parliament -houfe in Edin- burgh, are conflruded of it. The beams, roofing, c. cf many wooden houfes in Edinburgh, lately pulled down, and which had flood for ages, were found to be of Chefnut ; and, from the city re- cords, it appears that large oaks and chefnuts for- merly covered a place called the Borough -moor, about two miles to the fouth-weft of the city, where no trees now exift. Chefnut is ufed, befides, by the cabinet-maker, for various purpofes. For pipes to convey water under ground, it excels the elm, and perhaps e- quals the oak. It is more durable than the oak in the character of gate polls, and (lands next to the yew and the larch in this refpecl:, or wherever it is funk into the ground, and (lands wet and dry. In Italy and Spain, their wine ca(ks are chiefly made of it ; and it is faid to poflefs the (ingular property of not (hrinking, nor tinging wines or o- ther liquors put into cafks made of it. It is a good coppice tree ; and is very generally ufed in the hop counties for poles. Chefnut (lakes, for THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 85 for fencing are alfo much ufed in the fouth, and are found very durable. Its bark is a ftrong aftringent, and affords a tan equal to that of the larch and mountain-alb. THE HORSE-CHESNUT. (^scidus hippocastanum. ) This is an elegant tree, of beautiful foliage and flowers; leafing more early in fpring, than moil others. It is a native of Afia, but grows freely in this country, and arrives at a great fize ; and, when Handing fingle, takes a handfome form : Its flowers in fpring and its fruit in autumn, contracted with its fine leaves, afford a pleating variety. The variegated kind, and the fcarlet-flowering fpecies,are much efleemed, * and are extremely ornamental. Indeed they are all merely ornamental trees, only fit for the park and the lawn. The timber of the Horfe-chefnut is of left value, perhaps, than that of any other tree ; yet it has of late been applied to feveral purpofes, as a mat- ter of neceffity, arifing from the fcarcity and high price of other woods. It has been ufed in the building * The variegated sort is propagated by budding. The scarlet-flowering species (JEsculits pavia) is also, in general, propagated by budding on stocks of the common horse- chesnutf 86 KINDS OF TREES, building of temporary fhades and outhoufes, cattle {hades, &c. ; for the ckathing of ftone-carts, as it does not eafily fplinter or rag, like deal, though it will readily break over, if not of confiderable thicknefs ; and for lime boards, troughs, boxes, and the like,. THE ELM. Ulmus monlana, Scots Elm. Ulmiis campestris, EnglifliElm. The Scots or rough-leaved Elm, is a deciduous tree of very confiderable magnitude. It cannot, ftri&ly fpeaking, be termed beautiful ; but cer- tainly an aged Elm, when ftanding fingle, is a very capital objeft. In the form of its branches, and its general outline, it much refembles the oak. Hence in many of the recently improved places in Scotland (where this tree chiefly abounds), it has been referved as an ornamental tree, and, in this particular, is an excellent fubftitute for the oak. Even where the oak and the chefnut abound, (as at Alva), the Scots Elm maintains its place, with excellent effeft, as a park tree. In the grove, if properly nurfed and trained, it becomes a ftraight, tall, and large-flemmed tree. In hedge-rows, it becomes moft ufeful and durable timber. And in open woods, it naturally aflumes many THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 87 many fine cafts and forms for the purpofes of fhip- building and the like. In fhort, the timber of this tree is fo ufeful and valuable, that it is al- ways prized next to the oak. It is ufed by the Shipbuilder, the boatbuilder, the block and pump maker, the cart-wright, the cabinet-maker, and the coach-maker. In regard to the fine -leaved, or Englifh elm, we may firft remark, that although there are many Englifh elms in Scotland, yet there are very few Scots elms, comparatively fpeaking, in England. In a late tour through mod of the counties of England, we hardly obferved a Scots elm after leaving Northumberland going fouthward, until we entered Cumberland returning northward. In- deed, it may be faid, that the rough-leaved, or Scots elm, of any ufeful fize, is to be found only on the north fide of the Tweed. The fine-leaved or Englifh elm is very orna- mental, when it ftands detached and free ; as, by the Thames, at Hampton-Court, at Bufhy, at Richmond, and by the high road, about halfway between Cheltenham and Tewksbury. It affords an agreeable fhade, (nearly equal to that of the lime), when formed into avenues ; as at Windfor, York, and Cheltenham. It may be a ufeful, but, as it is generally treated all over England, it is an ugly and difgufting hedge-timber. Nothing cer* tainly can be more tirefome, in travelling through the J88 KINDS OF TREES, the flat counties, than the continual fucceffion of meagre elms like poles ; from which we are now arid then relieved by Lombardy Poplars ! which are worfeif poflible ; though occafionally, no doubt, by a much finer plant than either, the Elder. The timber of the Englifli, compared with that of the Scots Elm, as above diflinguifhed, is very inferior, both in durability arid in value. In the fales of thefe timbers, the Englifh Elm, among good judges, feldom brings more than a half, or even a third part of the price of the Scots Elm, although both be of equal fizes and ages. Prejudice, no doubt, may have fome mare in this matter ; but certainly the timber of the one is very inferior to tha,t of the other. Indeed, if it be con- fidered, that the one fpecies is exceedingly hardy, and univerfally raifed from feeds, and that the o- ther may even be termed delicate, at kail in Scot- land, there can be little hefitation in determining \vhich deferves the preference as a forefl tree. The Englifh elm is too frequently reared from layers and fuckers. Thefe never make the bed trees ; and they always produce fuckers from their roots, and disfigure the grounds in which they (land. When intended as ornamental trees, for the park or the lawn, they ought to be budded, or grafted, on the Scots elm ; in this way, trees of fuperior vigour and figure would be obtained ; and which would never produce a fucker. THE THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 89 THE HAWTHORN. (Cratcegus oxyacantlia.} * The Hawthorn is to be found growing in moil places of the kingdom, we might fay of Europe, in various 'characters : as underwood, in the fo- reft, and in the park ; as a detached tree, or in groups, on the lawn ; as a fhrub ; and as a fence. As underwood in the foreft, where it grows fpontaneously, it may rather be confidered as out of place, and a nuifance. In the park, if growing at the foot of,, or near to a fine oak, it has an excellent effect. As a detached tree, if large and well formed, the Hawthorn never fails to pleafe. When cluttered in handfome groups on the lawn, Hawthorn-trees are very ornamental, particularly when in bloflbm. As a fhrub, or a buih over- hanging a rill, in a valley or dell, by the end of a mill, or the fide of a cottage, the Hawthorn ap- pears to great advantage. As a feiicc^ when pro- perly trained, it is furpafied by no plant whatib- ever. The wood of the Hawthorn, when it arrives at the fize of a timber tree, is of the moil: durable quality ; and is much in requeft for mill-cogs, and the like. The timber of the Hawthorn is often fpoiled * MespJlus oxyacantha, Smith's Fl. Brit. $0 KINDS OF TREES, fpoiled through inattention after cutting. If it be allowed to lye in the tree, it foon heats and be- comes quite/rw^ (brittle) and worthlefs : It there- fore ought to be inftantly cut up into planks and laid to dry. THE HORNBEAM. (Carpinus betulus.) The Hornbeam, in its general appearance, very much refembles the beech, but it does not grow near fo large, It is not now, however, planted as an ornamental tree, and but feldom as a timber one, although it certainly deferves a place in the foreft. It is often planted as a fcreen, and as a fence ; to which offices it is well adapted; being very hardy, and retaining its leaves (like the beech) in a fhrivelled ftate, over winter. The timber of this tree is nothing inferior to the beech, for any purpofe to which beech is ufually applied ; and for fome purpofes, (as mill- work), it is far preferable. It makes good fuel, and affords excellent charcoal. In fome parts of England it abounds in natural copfes ; and forms an excellent cover for game ; and alfo produces good flakes for fences and the like. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 9! THE LABURNUM (broad-leaved variety). (Cytisus laburnum.) This has been much planted as an ornamental tree, and, in Scotland, even as a timber tree. It has a full claim to both characters. It is cer- tainly very beautiful when in flower, (landing fin- gle, and being allowed to form its own natural head ; or as a border tree around other planta- tions. . In the grove, it may be trained to a fine ftem, of very confiderable fize. The timber of this tree is at prefent the mod valuable, and high-priced, of any that grows in this country. There was a confiderable quantity of it fold, at Brechin-caftle and Panmure, in No*, vember 1809, by public fale, at fully half a gui- nea per foot ! It was all bought by cabinet-makers ; who were as anxious to get the fmall and middle fized trees, as they were to have the large ones. Some of the above wood was very old, and large ; and in order to prevent any demur with refped to its quality, it was all cut down before the fale ? and was found good, and found. * In 1806, at a public fale, a quantity was fold at 75. 6d. a foot. THE * It may be proper to notice here, that the Laburnum timber which brought so high a price, was of the variety called 02 KINDS OF THE LARCH. {Pinus larix.) The Larch is a timber-tree of great beauty, magnitude, and value. Thofe of the largeit fize in this country, when (landing detached, and fome others of finaller iize, are certainly highly ornamental. A grove, or a group of larch trees, forms a pleafing objecl, at any period of their growth ; when young they look extremely gay ; when grown up, their fpiry heads have a fine ef- fect, efpecially if contrafled with broad headed trees, rocks, or bold ground. In mixed planta- tions, the larch is confpicuous at every feafon, and very much enlivc-is the appearance of other trees. A plantation of firs has a fombre, and even a gloomy appearance, at fome particular fea- ibns of the year. But if a few larches be fcat- tered on its borders, or a few groups be planted here and there, or if even its accidental blanks be called the Tree Laburnum ; the shrubby sort never arrives at any considerable size, and should never be planted as a forest, or even an ornamental tree ; being only fit for the shrubbery. The Tree Laburnum is easily distinguished from the shrubby, by the greater size of the leaves, and the superior length of the bunches of flowers. See article Nursery, for September. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 93 be filled up with larches, the difference of effect will foon become perceptible, and the whole will be ftrikingly altered for the better. The dation of the Larch may therefore be faid to be every where. It certainly, however, is mod properly placed in the foreft, and in the grove. No tree is fo eminently qualified as the Larch, for the office of a nurfe : In mod fituations, even in very expofed places, and thin foils, it out- grows all other timber trees, for the firft ten or twenty years after planting ; and if planted in fufficient numbers, in proportion to the principal trees to be nurfed, it affords them good fhelter ; while by its towering, it tends to draw them up for timber. * It will arrive at a timber fize in al- moft any fituation or foil, (as already noticed), and, of courfe, it may with propriety be planted on the mod broad and extended fcale. Certainly, had the vaft fored tracts, which have lately been planted with Scots Firs, in many parts of thi> country, been planted with Larches, at lead in thofe * Objections have been made to the Larch as a rmrse, from the circumstance of its leaning over upon the principal trees, in very exposed or windy situations. It is generally in consequence of being planted too sparingly, that it does so ; or it happens chiefly where the plantation is a mere stripe, or a patch. At any rate, by the time that nurse plants arrive at such a height as to be capable of bending over upon the principals, they should be removed. 94 KINDS Of TREES, thofe foils and fituations adapted for them, the properties would have been greatly enhanced in value, the Larch bearing the afcendancy over the Scots fir, in the following important circumftan- ces ; that it brings double the price, at leaft, per meafureable foot ; that it will arrive at a ufeful timber fize, in one half or a third part of the time, in general, which the fir requires ; and a- bove all, that the timber of the Larch, at thirty or forty years old, is in , every refpeft fuperior in quality to that of the fir at a hundred years old- In fhort, it is probable that the Larch will fuper- fede the Scots fir in moft fituations in this ifland at no very diftant period. The general ufefulnefs of Larch timber is now pretty well known, in moft parts of this country ; it is therefore hardly neceflary to enumerate the purpofes to which it is applicable. It may be e- nough, perhaps, to (late, that it is ufefui in fhip- building, in houfe-building, in hufbandry, for machinery, and in cabinet- making. It is exceed- ingly durable in any fituation ; and perhaps more fo than any other timber, when placed under water, or in ground where it ftands partly wet and partly dry. It is therefore moil ufeful in the conftruction of mill-dams, iluices, or the like j for mill-cogs, gate-potts, &c. ; in which latter cha- racter, the bark mould be retained on the part to be funk, and an inch or two above the furface of THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 95 of the ground ; the bark of the Larch being ai- med incorruptible. Befides the great value and ufefulnefs of Larch timber, the tree poffeffes other properties. Tur- pentine is extraded from it ; its bark makes a good tan j and its wood forms an excellent, laft- ing fuel. THE LIME. (Tilia Europcea.) The Lime is a well known, large growing, de- ciduous tree, of great beauty and fragrance when in flower. It is generally accounted a native of England. It is very ornamental, in all its varie- ties ; more efpecially the red-twigged Lime. The lime is to be found as a ftandard, or as an avenue tree, about moil refidences of note in the king- dom. It is feldom planted in the grove ; but of- ten as a fcreen, in fingle or double rows. The Lime is capable of affording a very complete fhel- ter, and a moft agreeable made ; and perhaps no tree is better adapted to the formation of an ave- nue, or a walk, near a refidence. Indeed, it has been preferred for thefe purpofes, by common eonfent, for more than a hundred years back. * Ic is * An avenue may be made too broad to have a good ef. f*ct :- That is to say, it may lie made so spacious as effec- tually 96* KINDS OF TREES, is a very general and confpicuous lawn tree ; and in the park, it forms a fine contraft with the oak, the chefnut, the elm, and the fycamore. The timber of the Lime is chiefly ufed by the carver, and the turner. It has been of late ap- plied to the lining of carts, and to other pur- pofes in bufbandry. Being light, foft, and fmooth, it makes hay rakes and fork-handles, which are better liked by female haymakers, than thofe of fir or am. Its charcoal is often ufed in the manu- facture of gunpowder ; and of its inner bark mace- rated in water, are made the bafs-mats fo much employed in the packing of goods. THE OAK. (Quercus robur.} The Oak is fo generally known, and fo uni- verfally efteemed, that we mall be very brief in our observations on it in this place. It is the pride tually to sink the height of its trees, even when full grown. The avenues at Castle-Howard, Stowe, Bushy, and some other places in England, have this defect. The Lime ave- nue at Taymouth, in Scotland, may be reckoned too narrow; but certainly it is very striking, and forms a grand Gothic canopy. Its trees would have met, although they had been planted twenty feet farther apart. I THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. gj pride of the foreft, the glory of the Britiih Navy, and the flay of the Nation ! The Oak is ornamental in the higheft degree, taking it as a tree fimply, and abftractly from any confideration of its great iifefulnefs. A young oak, if in health, is rather elegant ; a grown oak is beautiful ; and an aged oak is a very grand object. It can hardly be placed wrong : it is in character in the foreft, the grove, the park, the lawn, and by the wayfide. In very bleak, ex- pofed fituations, it will not attain to the fize of a tree, and efpecially when planted fingle. When fingle trees of oak are to be planted, it fhould be done in their favourite foil, a ftrong deep loam, on a dry bottom. THE PLANE. (Platanus orientdis, and P. occidentalls.} Both of thefe fpecies, with their varieties,^ are fine ornamental trees. In their native places, the former in the Eaft, and the latter in North Ame- rica, they grow to an amazing fize. The Eaftem Plane, with its varieties, (called the Spanifh, and the maple- leaved), are more efteemed than the American kind, their leaves being larger and more elegantly formed. The general outline of the tree, however, differs but little. G Thefe 98 KINDS OL TREES, Thefe have hitherto been confidered merely as ornamental trees in this country, having been chiefly confined to the decoration of grounds, and even but feldom planted in the park. The dif- aftrous effects of froft on the largefl American planes in England, thofe in Richmond Park, at Kew, at Sion Houfe, at Stowe, at Painhill, and feveral other places, has alarmed proprietors of this fine tree. It is evidently lefs hardy than the Afiatic plane ; becaufe, jn many inftances, we have obferved trees of both fpecies (landing near each other ; the Eaftern kind being nothing in- jured by the effects of the froft in 1809,* while the trees of the Weftern kind were either entirely killed, or fo much injured that their recovery was defpaired of. It is very fmgular, that of this fpe- cies, the larger trees only were killed. Trees of from twenty to twenty-five feet in height, were little hurt ; and f mailer ones nothing at all ; at lead in every inflance that came under our obfervation. We did not obferve or hear of a fmgle * In the neighbourhood of, London, in particular, in June 1809, a severe frost fell, which caused the above dis- aster. The trees were just breaking leaf; the foliage was killed , they pushed late in the season ; an early autumn frost again destroyed their feeble shoots : their juices, there- fore stagnated. The trees made an effort to push in 1810 ; but, failing, finally languished, and died. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 99 fmgle Oriental plane being injured in any part of the country. The timber of the Plane, fo far as it is known in this kingdom, is faid very much to referable that of the fycamore. THE POPLAR. (Populus alba*nigra, trtfrnula, fyc.) Thefe are all very tall growing trees, * and are either indigenous to Britain, or naturalized to many parts of it. There are fome other fpecies planted, and many varieties ; and they are all reckoned ornamental. As ornamental trees, how- ever, about the grounds of a refidence, they a^e only admiflible in low, wet fituations, where they luxuriate mod, and take the beft forms. In fuch fituations, even the Lombardy poplar is fuffer- G 2 able; * In the Reay wood at Castle-Howard, there are some of the largest black poplars that we have ever met with. One tree is twelve feet in girth, at four feet high, with a stem of at least sixty feet (measurable timber), and its total height about ninety. Another is as tall, and only nine inch' es less in girth. They grow on the north hang of a small hill; in deep, loamy soil* 100 KINDS OF TREES, able. * A fwamp or morafs in a park, which it is not thought advifable to drain, or otherwife im- prove, may be beautified by being planted with poplars, either in groups, or in mixture with* willows, alders, and birch. On account of the quicknefs of its growth, the Poplar, even in a dry foil, and pretty high fituation, very foon be- comes a fcreen and a fhelter to flow growing plants. The timber of the White Poplar, or Abele, has always been efteemed the moft valuable fort. It has been ufed in the flooring of rooms, in mill- work, by the turner and cooper, and is faid to be very durable. It takes a very fine polilh, and is often employed by the cabinet-maker. The tim- ber of the Black Poplar is perhaps little inferior. The bark of the Black is a ftrong aftringent, and a good tan. The wood of the Afpen-tree, or Trem- bling * Excepting near the cathedral at Dunkeld in Perthshire, we do not recollect of having seen a Lombardy Poplar that could be looked upon with any degree of pleasure. We think it a very ugly tree ; and the newly introduced Italian sort promises to be little else. Indeed, many have ventur ed to assert, that it is merely a play upon the vanity of pos- sessing new sorts which some people display, and is not really distinct from those formerly cultivated. The preva- lence of poplars in the vicinity of London, and other places in England, is tiresome in the extreme ; and the monotony ;s nothing relieved by the accompanying tree, namely, the English elm sadly disfigured. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. IOI bling Poplar, is much of the fame Duality ; but feems fomewhat coarfer in the grain. We have known quantities of this laft -mentioned kind pur- .chafed for the making of red herring calks. THE SYCAMORE, or Plane-tree of Scotland. (Acer pseudo-platanus.} This is a timber tree of the firft magnitude* It is highly ornamental ; and maintains its place, with great flatelinefs and boldnefs of outline, in the park and on the lawn. The variegated kind is extremely beautiful, and is admitted in all po- lifhed fcenery. The common kind is very fre- quently found (landing alone, or in fmall groups, about farms, cottages, mills and the like, of which it is an excellent accompaniment, and a protection from the chilling blaft. It is alfo very frequently to be found about old ruins, and in hedge-rows and divifion-rows of fields, efpecially in Scotland. It is among the mod hardy of our trees ; and affords more fhelter, when grown up, than any other tree. It pofTefles a fmgular pro- perty : it never (hows what is called a weather side, even in the mofl expofed fituations, on the fides of bleak hills. If it has been too clofely preffed, and been mifhapen by another tree, or a 102 KINDS OF TREES, wall, it will, very foon after the removal of the obftruftion, aiTume its own regular form, and become equally poifed. It is a very fit grove tree, and is now become a valuable one, as, in that character, it may be trained to a very long, clean, and large flem, which is required for many purpofes in our large manufactories. It is an excellent nurfe plant, a- long with the Elder, in all fituations expofed to the fea-breeze. The timber is very much in requeft for many parts of machinery and mill work ; for cotton printers' blocks ; for the turner, the cooper, and the cabinet-maker. Particular trees, for making rollers and fuch purpofes, have been fold as high as three half crowns a foot. In many parts of Scotland, fycamore timber brings a price next to the afh. THE WALNUT. (Juglans regia.) The walnut is well known as a fruit tree. It is a plant of beautiful and fragrant foliage, and has been very much planted as an ornamental tree, without regard to its fruiting. It is very fit for the decoration of the lawn, or for any ornamental plantation about a houfe. A grove of walnut trees. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 103 trees, or a walnut orchard, is a very delightful thing in the grounds of a place. In the view of rearing the walnut for timber, it fhould always be planted in the grove manner ; becaufe it does not otherwife rife with a good or a tall (tern. The fined walnut trees perhaps in the country, have been drawn up in a mixed grove plantation, until they arrived at a good fize. The timber of the walnut is very valuable. It is ufed in cabinet-making ; but, above all other woods, it is in demand for the making of gun- flocks. Indeed, fo much has it lately been in re- queft for this purpofe, and fo great a price has been paid for it, that but comparatively few large walnut trees are now to be met with in the coun- trv. THE WILLOW. (JSallx alba, RusseKana, fragilis, dnerea, capreaS) There are many fpecies of the Willow ; and fome of them very ornamental. The moil ccn- fpicuous, and which grow to a tree fize, are the Huntingdon, which we prefume to be the fame with the White Willow (Salix alba) ; the Bedford Willow (S. Ruffeliana) ; the Crack Willow (S, fragilis) ; the Grey Willow (S. cinerea) ; and the great round-leaved Sallow (S. Caprea). To thefe may KINDS OF TREES, may be added, the Red- twigged Willow formerly mentioned. As ornamental plants of lower growth, the Rofe Willow (S. helix), the Sweet or bay-leaved (S. pentandra), and the Golden Willow (S. vitel- lina), may be mentioned. All of thefe, excepting the Red-twigged, are natives : fome foreign fpe- cies are likewife of an ornamental kind, particu- larly the Weeping Willow (S. Babylonica), which is a native of the Eaft. None of the fpecies, however, tower fo fad, or become fo ufeful, as the Huntingdon, the Bedford, , and the Red-twigged. * Were the Huntingdon not fo very common, and fo frequently met with in low or mean fcenery,- it might, perhaps, be reckoned more ornamental than many of the other kinds. They certainly are very elegant plants while young, and in middle age : and if not piclurefque when grown old, yet, there is fomething, very (Inking in their hoary and reverend appearance. The * The Huntingdon is the most common willow pollard in England ; few grown trees of it are to be seen in that country ; while, in Scotland, . many very large trees are frequently to be met with. The barbarous custom of pol- larding trees "has not yet made very wide strides in the North ; and it is to be hoped that it never will : however, we felt a good deal vexed on lately seeing some fine oaks and beeches decapitated, both as standards and in the grove; and many pruned, mangled, and rumped up, to " make them look English-like. " THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 105 The mod natural fituation for the willow is in low moift ground by the fides of rivers, brooks, lakes, &c. ; and many of the kind, by the light- nefs of their branches, and the elegance of their foliage, being planted in groups or in mixture with other aquatics, give much life and beauty to fuch fcenery. The willow, however, efpecially the Huntingdon, will grow and thrive well in higher and drier grounds : and if this kind were planted in the grove manner, perhaps, no other plantation, excepting larches, would give fo quick a return for the trouble and expenfe of planting. It is an excellent coppice wood, grows extremely faft, and is very valuable. It is likewife an ex- cellent nurfe to other plants placed in humid li- tuations, as in fuch it outgrows all other trees. The timber of the willow is ufed in turnery , v in mill work, in coopery, for boarding, &c. ; the ftronger moots and poles ferve for making hoops and handles ; and the twigs are employed in wick- er work. The bark of the Huntingdon Willow has lately been found to be a tan equal in value to that of the birch or the mountain-am. This kind muft, therefore, as faid above, be a mod valuable cop- pice wood, on account of its rapid growth. The bark of the Bedford Willow is of equal value as a tan. Charcoal of the Sallow (Salix caprea) is a chief ingredient I06 KINDS OF TREES, ingredient in the manufacture of gunpowder ; and plantations of it, for that purpofe, have been found very profitable. The (tools which are ufed in this manufacture are from ten to fifteen feet in length, and generally about an -inch in diameter when peeled ; fo that the plantation would require to be made in very good foil, in order to have them produced of thefe dimenftons. * THE BALM OF Gi LEAD FIR. {Pinits lalsamea.*) This is an American fpecies, and is efteemed a very ornamental evergreen tree. Its appearance is like that of the filver-nr ; from which it is, a- mong other circumflances, diftinguifhed by the fragrance of its leaves. It may be confidered a lawn tree ; and as fiich, if planted in good deep foil, and allowed a fufTiciency of room, it will take a fine form, and arrive at a good fize. A more fit itation for this plant, however, is in a fcreen plantation near the houfe ; or on the mar- gin of a grove ; or in a grove by itfelf, unmixed \vith other trees. The timber of this tree is of a quality equal to that of the filver-fir ; and it produces turpentine, it is faid, of a more balmy and fragrant nature. THE * For some account of the kinds of willows fit for basket- work, &c. and of the formation and management of osier plantations, see Appendix No. 1. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. IC/ THE SILVER-FIR. (Pinus picea.*) This is a very tall growing, well known tim- ber tree. When allowed a fufficiency of room, and to take its own natural outline, it is a very beautiful object, of a fine conic form. In this cafe, there is fomething in its appearance which gives an idea of great (lability ; it feems to be placed on a firm bafe, its ftem and general out- line tapering, in uniform proportion, to a fiuu* mit at a vafl height. But it is a tree of a very different appearance when haggled, lopped, and pruned of its lower branches ; for, if thefe fall not down to the turf, its grandeur is in a great meafure loft. The Silver-fir may therefore be corifidered as an ornamental grove trej of much value. It is certainly an excellent fcrcen, and a more fit, and" more handfome plant for that purpofe, near a re- fidence, than the common fpruce. It is a tree abundantly hardy for the forefl ; and, next to the larch, its timber becomes the mod valuable of refmous woods. * In * In July 1810, we saw several very large logs of Sil- ver-fir, at Woburn, from trees which had been cut out of the park there. They struck us as being the finest native timber we had ever seen ; superior, at least in appearance, to the native Highland fir of Scotlaad. The soil about W6burn is light and sandy. KINDS OF TREES, In Switzerland, the Silver-fir grows naturally to a wonderful fize, and is efteemed among the moft valuable of their trees. From it is extracted turpentine, of a quality fuperior to that extracted from the larch. AMERICAN SPRUCE FIR. (Pinus nigra c alba.} The Black and the White American Spruce have hitherto been ufed merely as ornamental trees. The white is much more vigorous in its growth than either the black or the red ; and is eafily diftinguifhed from either of thefe by its vigour, and lighter appearance. The black aflumes a deeper green colour than the preceding, and is lefs luxriant in its growth. The red more nearly refembles the black, only the foliage is finer, and the branches more (lender. They have all hither- to been ufed in the fhrubbery and on the borders of finely ornamental plantations, where they may be always in view ; and they never fail to pleafe in fuch flations. They are beautifully ornament- al, as fmgle trees of low ftature, in flickered fpots, in the park or the lawn. Whether thefe will ever arrive at the fize of (lately timber trees in this country, time only can determine* THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 109 determine. But the method which fome follow in raifing the black and red kinds by layers, cer- tainly is the molt effectual means which can be purfued to bring them into contempt as trees. This method of raifing plants may anfwer where they are wifhed only to form low-growing fhrubs, but never for making trees. Thofe which are in- tended for growing to trees mould be raifed only from feeds. THE COMMON, OR NORWAY SPRUCE FIR. (Pinus ablest) This is a very hardy foreft tree of considerable value. It is the loftiefl of European trees. It has certainly, however, but few pretenfions to the' title ornamental. Next to the Lombardy poplar and the Scots fir, we think it the leaft fo. This tree mould never be planted, excepting in mafles or groves by itfelf ; otherwife its tim- ber is fo coarfe and knotty, that it is hardly worth working : But in the mafs way, if planted thick, and properly pruned and thinned afterwards, it may be trained to tall clean timber. The white deal, or Memel fir, fo long, and hitherto fo plentifully, imported from the Baltic, is the produce of this tree ; and therefore the va- lue of its timber cannot be queftioned. In Den- mark, Sweden and Norway, it is grown thick in natural IIO KINDS OF TREES, natural forefts. or planted groves ; and hence its len ;; f| ^ and cleannefs of ftem. But the use and of this fir, in this country, may be o be fuperfecied by the introduction of the larch, fave in peculiar fituations. This tree, it may he proper to obferve, produces that necefiarv article Pitch. THE PINASTER. (Pinus pinaster.} This is a foreft tree of very confiderable fize ; and found, efpecially on the weftern mores of Scotland, to be very hardy. It might therefore, if properly managed, perhaps be fuccefsfully ufed as a nurfe for other more valuable kinds. It fends out more rampant arms than even the Scots fir ; which would therefore require to be lopped tiiaeouily, or before they could injure the princi- pal plants. Some even plant this fir with a view to orna- ment. But an old pinafter, which never has been curbed or pruned, certainly looks fomewhat fan- taftical. THE SCOTS FIR, or Wild Pine. (Pinus sylvestris.) Next to the Grampian birch and mountain forb, perhaps, this is our mod hardy foreft plant. It THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. Ill It has, at leaft, been efteerned fo till of late ; but another, of a finer form, and much higher value, has been found ; namely, the Larch. The Scots fir mu ft, however, frill be confidered as a valu- able plant on very expofed fites and peculiar foils, efpecially as a nurfe. As nurfes for rearing oaks from feeds, Scots firs are ufed with good ef- fefl, as well as in many other refpecls. The value of the Highland fir of Scotland is well known, as being not inferior to any import- ed into this country, either in cleannefs or dura- bility, where it has been grown under favourable circurnflances, on its proper foil, and to a fufficient age. Owing to the fcarcity, and high price of foreign timber of late years, the demand for High- land fir has very much increafed. Indeed, the high price given, has been the caufe of much premature felling ; and many of the Scots natu- ral forefls are now. very much leffened in extent by the operation of ihefe caufes. The planted^ Lowland Scots fir, is feldom ap- plied to offices higher than that of roofing of (hades or hues ; lining of carts ; lathing, or making of packing-boxes : But were this tree, even the com- mon variety, cultivated with more care, it certain- ly would become more valuable timber. But we feldom fee the fmallefl care beftowed upon its cul- ture. Everywhere, almoft, the trees are unpruned; the dead branches are left (ticking in their places ; i and lit KINIJS OF TREES, , and the trees thus allowed to increafe their dia- meters over them ; fo that, when they are felled, the timber is condemned as worthlefs. A con- trary, and more rational, fyftem of management would evidently place this ufeful plant in a more favourable ftation, than prejudice will at prefent allow it. If once the red wood variety were fairly difcovered, and generally cultivated, the Scots fir would rank amongft our moft valuable timber trees. We have feen this variety at Cariftoim and Brechin-Caftle, and other places in the north. It may be proper to notice, that pitch is extract- ed in great abundance from the Scots fir. THE WEYMOUTH PINE. (Pinus Strobus.) This is an elegant tree ; and it grows to a very great fize. It is admiflible in all ornamental plan- tations, either in groups, or on their borders. In flickered fituations, it becomes a fine looking fmgle tree. In the grove, however, it is fure to become moft valuable ; and it mould, like all o- ther pines and firs, in this point of view, be plant- ed by itfelf, not in mixture with any other fort of wood. In America, this is, perhaps, the moft valuable of the pine or fir kinds. It grows to a very great length and iize in New England, and other pro- vinces ; from whence vaft quantities (with the fpruce) is imported ; and now more than ever, perhaps, THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 1 13 perhaps, on account of our connexion with the Continent being in a great meafure cut off. It feems, however, to be a plant of fo delicate a ha- bit, as to prevent our expecting it ever to become fo large or fo valuable a tree with us, efpecially in expofed filiation's. CEDAR OF LEBANON. (Pinus Cedrus.) This has always been efteemed an ornamental tree, and, we believe, has only been planted as fuch in this kingdom. The fined we know of are at Stow, * Pains-hill, and Blenheim. There are none fo large as thefe in Scotland, though fe- veral of a pretty large fize are to be fotirid in that country. We needi not attempt the rearing of it merely as a timber tree. Its growth is fo flow with us, that, although its wood, ^hen obtained, is abun- dantly durable, yet, even then, it would feem to be fully equalled by other kinds, which are far more readily and eafily reared, as the Larch. H THE * The largest Cedar at Stow, in 1810, measured, at 4 feet above the surface, 1 2 feet in girth ; the stem 40 feet to the cleft ; and total height, by estimation, 65 feet : it is said to have been planted about 90 year* ago, 114 KINDS OF TREES, THE HOLLY. (Ilex aguifolium.*) The Holly is one of the moft ornamental trees. It is alfo one of the mod hardy. Befides the common green holly, there are many of its beau- tiful varieties, which arrive at a tree fize, and are peculiarly adapted to the decoration of the lawn. In all ornamental plantations they claim a confpi- cuous place. There is fomething fo extremely cheerful in the Holly, particularly late in autumn, and in winter, that, wherever it appears, it never fails to command attention, and to pleafe. The common Holly is often found growing na- turally in woods and forefts, as an underwood to the oak, the am, and the fir ; * in which fituation it appears to great advantage, giving much variety to the fcene. It is, therefore, a moft fit under- wood for the park ; an appropriate accompani- ment * The greatest collection of natural Hollies, we ever re- collect to have seen or heard of, grew in the fir forest of Blackball, on the river Dee, about 20 miles above Aber- deen. Many of them were very large and well stemmed. The greater part of this forest has been cut ; - the Holly timber which grew in it was sent to London, and a very Jiigh price was obtained for it. Probably the name Hetty- lank, at Gordon-Castle, points at the existence of such a firest long ago. THEIR PROPERTIES, &C; 11$ ment to the oak, the chefnut, and other park trees. It is alfo very proper to be planted by the fides of walks in the grove ; few plants thriving better in the fhade of other trees. Many of the varie- gated kinds do equally well in fuch fituations, though their colours do not appear fo ftriking as when expofed. The timber of the Holly is very valuable. It is chiefly ufed in inlaying and fineering, and by turn- ers : it is almoft as white as ivory. Birdlime is made from the bark of holly. THE YEW. (Taxus baccata.) The Yew is found native in different parts both of England and Scotland. As an ornamen- tal tree, it is lefs in repute than it has formerly been. Neverthelefs, it will be allowed that an aged Yew is a ftriking and interefting object. It arrives at a great fize, and lives for many centu- ries. Whoever has feen thofe at Fotheringall and Kincardine in Perthfhire, and at Himly- hall in Staffordfhire, will allow an aged yew to be * very pifturefque tree. * , :'<*** The Yew has been cried down as a ftandard in pafture grounds, on account of the poifonous na- ture of its leaves ; but this is not a fufficient reafon for entirely difcarding it, fmce a tree or two might H* be Il6 KINDS OF TREES, be always kept particularly well fenced. We know, however, of many yew trees without fen- ces in paftures ; and alfo hedges, which are uni- formly browfed on by fheep and cattle. Goats are particularly fond of yew leaves j yet we never knew a bead to die in confequence ; or even met with any perfon who could fay, that they had known a bead to die in confequence of having eaten the leaves of the yew from growing trees or hedges. * The Yew is certainly admiffible on the lawn, and * Mr Marshall, speaking of this matter, says, " It is observable, that, in the extensive yew plantations above mentioned, cattle were admitted with impunity, and still range amongst the stragglers that are left, without any evil consequence. They are browsed to the very bole : Sheep are particularly fond of the leaves ; and, when the ground is covered with snow, will stand upon their hind legs, and devour them as high as they can reach. " But, notwithstanding of sheep and goats eating with im- punity the growing leaves, it would be very unsafe to allow this circumstance to induce us to be careless about their eating its leaves when clipped off. Mr Hanbury relates a story of seven or eight cattle having died in consequence of having eaten the half-dried clippings of a yew tree, or hedge, which a gardener had thrown over the wall ; by which it would appear that the leaves and twigs, when dried, or half dried, and when taken into the stomach in considerable quantities, have a very different effect from what tfeey have, whta ttkR m imall quantities when green, THEIR PROPERTIES, &C. 117 and in ornamental plantations. It makes an ex- cellent, clofe, effe&ual, and permanent fcreen ; and, if properly trained, will rife to a very confi- derable height, A grove of yew trees, in a re- olufe corner, would be a folemn paflage in the grounds of a place. As the cyprefs in the Eaft, the yew in Britain has been appropriated to the decoration of facred ground from time imme- morial. It is therefore a fit accompaniment to the temple and the maufoleum. * The timber of the Yew is very valuable ; but was much more fo formerly than it is now. It was of the Yew, chiefly, that our archers made their bows; befides which, Mr Evelyn fays, " The artifts in box, cabinet-makers, and inlay- " ers, gladly employ it; alfo for the cogs of mills, " pods to be fet in moid grounds, and everlafling cc axletrees, there is none to be compared with it. " ME Marfhall mentions a number of yew trees having been cut, in the neighbourhood of Box- hill * How much would that grand edifice, the Mausoleum at Castle-Howard, have been improved in appearance, at this time, had the builder of it planted about it some yews and cedar trees ? Certainly this has been overlooked, or neglected, by some accident. Every thing is otherwise done in great style (as it is termed) at this place; and, certainly, the propriety of connecting this building more immediately with wood of some kind, must have struck the jreat Howard. Il8 RINDS OF TREES, &C. hill in Surry, of a very large fize ; and that they were fold to the cabinet-makers, at very high prices, for inlaying ; that one, in particular, was valued at a hundred pounds Sterling the one half of which did actually fell for fifty pounds ; and that the leaft valuable trees were cut up into gate-pofls, which are expected to laft for ages. SECT. VALUE OF TIMBER* 1 19 SECTION VI. ON THE VALUE OF TIMBER, AND THE ADVAN* TAGES TO BE DERIVED FROM PLANTING. THAT Timber is of the utmoft importance to mankind, both in the favage and civilized flate, has been fully exemplified in the hiftory of every quarter of the globe. The foliage of thick forefts afforded fhelter to the ignorant and naked inha- bitants of thefe Iflands at a remote period ; and at this moment, in fome parts of the world, the natives have no other fhelter. Experience and neceflity, in due time, taught our forefathers to conftruct huts of trees, both to defend them from the attacks of deftroying animals, and to afford fhelter from the inclemency of the feafons. The fame powerful agents gradually inftrucled their children to apply their trees to more elevated and noble purpofes j till, at the prefent day, they have become, in the form of a triumphant Navy, the means of exalting thefe lilands to a height of glory unrivalled in the hiftory of the world. Daily experience teaches us, that Timber is a mod neceffary, ufeful, and valuable article in com- mon 120 VALUE OE TIMBER. mon life. Indeed, without it, we would be near- ly as deftitute as we mould be without food or raiment. Timber, therefore, is equally neceflary to our private comforts, and to our exiftence in a national point of view ; befides, wood is to the country as clothing to the body. By the proper management of wood, the feats of the great are embellifhed in an eminent degree ; towns and villages are beautified, and our fields are fhel- tered. The advantages to be derived from fubdividing extenfive tra&s of barren country by plantations^ are evidently great, whether confidered in the light of affording immediate flicker to the lands, or in that of improving the local climate. The fad, that the climate may be thus improved, has, in very many inftances, been fufficiently eftablifh- ed. It is, indeed, aftonifhing how much better cattle thrive, in fields even but moderately fhel- tered, than they do in an open expofed country. In the breeding of cattle, a flickered farm, or a flickered corner in a farm, is a thing much prized ; and, in inftances where fields are taken by the feafon, for the purpofe of fattening them, thofe mofl flickered never fail to bring the higheft rents, provided the foil be equal with that of the neigh- bouring fields which are not flickered by trees. If we inquire into the caufe, we fhall find, that It does not altogether depend on an early rife of grafs, VALUE OF TIMBER. 12 j| grafs, on account of the fhelter afforded to the lands by the plantations ; but, likewife, that cat- tle which have it in their power, in cold feafons, to indulge in the kindly fhelter afforded them by the trees, feed better ; becaufe their bodies are not pierced by the keen winds of fpring and au- tumn ; neither is the tender grafs deftroyed by the frofty blafts of March and April. But, in- deed, fhelter is iiot more ufeful in cold feafons, than the {hade of trees is gratifying to cattle in hot ones. In an expofed, open field, under a burn- ing fun, the torture which cattle often endure is truly diftrefling. It may be argued, that the defirable effe&s of fhelter and made may both be obtained, by fimply planting fmgle rows of trees in the divifion lines, or around the fides of fields. This is granted, in many cafes, where the land is good^ but in fitu* ations more expofed, even with tolerably good foil, the rearing of fmgle trees is a matter of great difficulty. But it may juftly be faid, that, even in the beft of lands, by planting a ftripe or belt of a moderate breadth, and keeping the fields of a good fize, there would not, ultimately, be any ground loft to the purpcfes of hufbandry. When the trees were pad being injured by the browfing of the cattle, the fences might be thrown open ; and, the plants being properly thinned out, the pafturage under them would be found early, and the VALUE OF TIMBER. the flicker and fhade moft valuable. Even the corn farmer, in many inftances, might be very much bettered by planting. Whether his farm be fituated on the plain, or on the fide of a hill, if deftitute of wood, it is pronounced, by common confent, a bare, cold looking place. Certainly a fpirit for planting has other objecls in view than that of increafing the quantity of arable ground. All that we propofe is to advife the making of ufeful plantations : And he is furely a fhortfighted proprietor, who would grudge the planting of fuch a part as fhall evidently benefit the reft by a moderate and convenient fhelter, even fuppo- fing the lands to be, what rarely can happen, fole- ly appropriated to tillage ; for, furely, under good management, in many cafes the arable farmer muft occafionally become a feeder ; and then he muft neceflarily be fenfible to the good effe&s of planting, in common with the breeder and gra- zier, as in the cafes adverted to above. It is very generally known, that fuch eftates as have a quantity of well arranged, healthy timber upon them, when brought to fale, bring an extra price, according to the quality and value of the wood, not only at the time of fale, but, counting forward on its value, to a diftant period. Thus, fuppofmg the half-grown timber on an eflate to be valued at ten thoufand pounds at the time of the fale, inftances are to be found where thirty thoufand VALUE OF TIMBER. thoufand pounds have been given, over and above the valuation of the lands. The purchafers of fuch eftates wifely forefee the increafe of value which will arife from healthy timber growing, where it may not only be che- rimed till of full maturity, but where, probably, it can then be turned to the bed advantage, by reafon of its local fituation. But, befides the real value of growing timber, there is mod gene- rally an ideal value attached to it, namely, that of its ornamental appearance. The actual profits arifmg from planted timber, we have known, in feveral inftances, to be very great ; and, probably, in none would it fink, in eighty or an hundred years, below what could have been procured from the land in name of rent, provided the trees be well managed. One inftance lately came under our obfervation, where a plantation of an acre and a half of fycamores, of 60 years (landing, was offered to be purchafed, at the rate of 14!. per acre per annum fince the time of planting ! and, perhaps, this fame land would not, at an average, have rented at 305* per acre per annum ! Other inftances might be ad- duced, where the profits of planting have been re- markably confpicuous. Thefe profits, however, mufl vary, in every county and diflncl of the kingdom, according to the quality of the foil, local circumftances, and the like. Every pro- prietor 124 VALUE OF TlMBBRc prietor who has ever cut an acre of timber, or of underwood, and who has rightly confidered the" value, for a given time, of an adjoining acre of the fame quality, which has been employed in agriculture, and has experienced an ordinary ma- nagement, muft, in fome meafure, be fatisfied of the relative value of a crop of trees. * The importance, however, of planting, and of cultivating the timber which is already planted, as adverted to in the Introdu&ion, muft appear fo manifeft, and is an employment at once fo rea- fonable, fo profitable, fo pleafmg, and fo honour- able, that it carries its own recommendation along with it : it barely requires to be hinted to the lover of his country. * See Tables of tfye value of timber in Appendix. JANU- JANUARY. Jan.'] THE NURSERY. THE KALENDAR. THE NURSERY. OF LAYING OUT A NEW NURSERY. Vv ITH refpecl: to the proper fituations and foils for a Nurfery, we have been particular in Sect. I., to which we beg leave to refer the reader. We have alfo noticed the methods of fencing, and of fubdividing the ground by breaking hedges ; and the neceffity of effe&ually draining it of ftagnant and fuperabundant water. If the weather be open, and the ground be mo- derately dry, this is a very proper feafon for trenching j an operation very generally indifpenf- afclc THE NURSERY* able in the laying out of a new Nurfery. In this bufmefs, much precifion is neceflary. In ordinary cafes, it will be proper to trench the ground to its full depth, fuppofing the upper foil or veget- able earth to be about twenty inches or two feet deep ; but in no cafe is it proper to trench up crude, unmeliorated foil, in the preparation of a feminary. Indeed, nothing could be more fatal to the raifmg of feedlings, or even to the nurfing of them when raifed. For the firft purpofe, it is important that the foil be rich, mellow, and very fine ; and for the fecond, that it be at leaft mel- low, and homogeneous. In the trenching, therefore, it will be neceflary to obferve to turn up none of the fubfoil, or poor under ftratum ; and to be particular in making the trenches of an equal breadth and depth, more efpecially if the ground be inclined to wetnefs : for if galls be left between them, the water will ftagnate below, and very much injure the crop. If the ground be broke out from the ley, the turf mould be well broken, and be buried in the bot- tom ; and in any cafe, as, if it be ftubble ground or the like, the foil fhould be well mixed, and be made fine with the fpade. The furface, however, at this time, mould be left rough, that it may be rendered the finer by the aftion of the weather, before being cropped. It will very rarely happen, that ground broken i out, THE NURSERY. 129 out, either from ley or ftubble, can be in fit con- dition for tree feeds, efpecially of the finer and more delicate kinds, the fame feafon. The befl preparation is a light fallow crop of efculents j fuch as lettuce, fpinage, or turnip. Potatoes, we may remark, mould never precede tree feeds. The ground mould be well manured for fuch crops, and often hoed in the courfe of the feafon, in order not only to clean, but to meliorate and render it fine. When fuch crop comes off, the ground fliould immediately be ridged up, that it may be ftill further meliorated. It may be fit to be fown by autumn or fpring, according to the kinds of trees to be raifed ; but if it lye over win- ter, the ridges fhould be again levelled in Novem- ber, in order to give the ground a new furface. Even for the reception of feedlings, fuch a pro- cefs as the above is commendable j although, if the ground be in pretty good heart, they will fuc- ceed very well after fufficient trenching and a win- ter fallow. In cafes, therefore, where it is not intended to prepare the ground by art efculent crop, it fhould be trenched the earlier before winter. It is hardly necefiary to remark, that in laying out a Nurfery, whether fimply as fuch, or as a field garden and nurfery combined, it will be proper to have a broad walk, or cartway, to pafs through the ground, and perhaps alfo to crofs it, I befides 1.30 THE NURSERY. [Jan. befidcs the necefiary alleys round the fences, and between the quarters, in order that manure may be the more readily carried in, and the crops car- ried out. This road or walk may be grafs ; but, if metalled and gravelled, it would give lefs trou- ble in keeping. We have obferved that the ground fhould be fenced in fuch a manner, as to exclude hares and rabbits. With this view, a wall appears to be the mod "immediate and effectual fen.ce. A fmall funk fence, with a hawthorn hedge at top, may anfwer very well, and may be found advantageous in cafes where much draining is requifite. If a hawthorn hedge be planted on the plain furface, it will require to be clofe paled, and to be kept fo for feveral years, and, of courfe, would be very expenfive. Few growing hedges will exclude rabbits, unlefs guarded at bottom by pales, or by a footing wall. The gates of the nurfery fliould be clofe, at lead at the bottom part, and fhould be fubftantially hung. OF DIGGING AND TRENCHING VACANT GROUND, &C. In an eftablifhed Nurfery, whether fimply fo, or occupied partly as a kitchen garden, there ne- ceffarily will, by this time of the feafon, be many fpots cleared from the crops of laft year. If thefe have not yet been, trenched, digged, or ridged up, it Jan.'] THE NURSERY. 13 1 it mould now be done without delay. Ground which has been ridged in September or October, fhould now be levelled flat ; and ground, which was then digged plain, fhould now be ridged up. Nothing is more important in the feminary, than a working of the foil when out of crop. Al- though, in moft cafes, it is proper that it be mo- derately rich, it is of greater importance, in any cafe, that it be very fme^ than very rich. It is not advifed, however, that this work be carried on in wet weather, or in time of fnow, or when the ground is in a ftate which may be termed wet ; at which time it would, indeed, be very prejudicial. OF DIGGING THE ROWS OF NURSERY STANDING OVER YEAR, TAPPING THE ROOTS, AND PRUNING THE PLANTS. This is a mod neceffary duty towards plants which are to remain in the Nurfery lines for one .or more years longer. If the ground be mode- .rately dry, this is a proper feafon for performing the work of digging between the rows ; if not, it may be deferred till next month. Previous to digging between the lines, the plants mould be gone over, and pruned of their ftrong competing, or lateral, branches only. A leading (hoot, of the moft promifmg appearance, mould I be 132 THE NURSERY. [Jan, be Tingled out, if poflible, for each plant ; and a number of the ftnall twigs fhould be left regularly difpofed on the ftem, in order to detain the fap, and to make it circulate more equally through the whole plant. It will feldom happen that it would be improper to cut off all the competing branches from a nursling ; but in fome cafes it may be pro- per to morten fome of them only. The above is to be underftood of the deciduous, or hard wood kinds : the fir kinds, while in a ftate of nurfing, will require nothing more than the removal of one of .their leaders, when they happen to have two, which will very feldom be the cafe. When it does happen, however, the ftrongefl of courfe fhould be left : Barely pinching off the top of the weakeft with the finger and thumb, is perhaps the bed method of pruning in the prefent cafe. Two-year feedling Oaks, Chefnuts, Walnuts, or Beech, which have been fown in drills, and which are intended to remain for another feafon In their prefent fituation, * fhould, together with fuch * This method of treating two-year seedlings, is only admissible in cases where there is too much labour to be performed. Lifting the plants entirely, and replanting them, is far preferable ; because it is more in our power tcr prune and treat them properly, when lifted, than other- wise. In the other case, the tres should have beea planted out in Jan.'] THE NURSERY, 133 fuch of the fame kinds as have already ftood two feafons in the lines, and which are intended to remain another feafon longer, be tapped; that is to fay, their tap roots mould be cut about eight inches below the furface. This is mod effectual- ly and readily done by two men with fharp fpades ; one rutting, or cutting the ground obliquely with his fpade, on each fide the line at once, and exadly oppofite to the other. After this operation has been performed, the plants mould be made firm a by a perfon treading the rows with a foot on each fide. Thefe kinds, fo tapped, will, in the courfe of the folio wing feafon, in conference of beingthus root-pruned, or tapped as it is called,, pum many more fibres on the upper part of their roots, than they otherwise would have done ; and thus will the plants be better fitted for being tranfplanted into mallow foils, or indeed into any foil, than they would have been by being allowed to remain in the ground untapped till the time of lifting. The interflices of all rows intended to ftand an- other year, fhould be neatly pointed over with a narrow fpade ; or, if the roots be much, matted, (as is the cafe with feveral kinds), a fmall three- pronged fork is to be ufed ; taking care, by all means, in the forest at the age of two years transplanted, but would probably be very much the worse for remaining LQ .the lines another year without being tapped. 134 THE NURSERY. [Jan. means, not to injure the fibrous roots if pofllble. It need hardly be noticed, that the ground ihould be cleaned of all loofe twigs, and grafs or other weeds, before the pperation of pointing with the fork. OF LIFTING PLANTS FOR PLANTING OUT. Where the fcene of planting is extenfive, and perhaps even in other cafes, that bufmefs may now be going forward (except evergreen or fir kinds, which (hould {land in the lines till the fea- fon of planting). Plants, of courfe, will be required from the nurfery, perhaps daily, or it may be weekly. It is of very great importance that they be taken up with care ; efpecially the lank-rooted or fibrelefs kinds, as the Oak and the Beech. We have known many thoufands of fine plants ruin- ed through inattention to this matter. If they have been planted by the dibble, it is no matter on which fide the plants be loofened by the fpade ; but if they have been laid, it is ne- cefTary to loofen them on the fide which was fo- lid at laying, otherwife you will be fure to cut off many of the mod fibrous and belt roots. In the loofening of plants, which have flood in the rows two years, as the Oak, Beech and Sycamore, which root perpendicularly and deep, if the fpade be much floped in thrufting it down, the main root Jan.~] THE NURSERY. 135 root is apt to be cut afiinder, perhaps too high. And if thefe kinds, and fome others, be not fair- ly undermined by the fpade, their roots may be torn and injured in the pulling up, to the great detriment of the plants. Refmous trees are lead troublefome in the lifting, as they roo't (hallow, and are generally very fibrous. Trees which have been in training feveral years, for the park, the lawn, or for hedge-rows, and which ftand at good diftances, mould 13e lifted in the manner of fruit trees ; that is, by throwing out a trench on one fide, fully to the depth of the roots, and then putting in the fpade on the oppofite fide, fo as to get below all the roots, and then heeling the plants fairly over to one fide. In lifting plants from the nurfery, they mould be fhaken as little as poflible ; the more earth they carry with them to the field, the better will their progrefs be enfured. OF PRUNING NURSERY PLANTS BEFORE PLANTING, &C. While thefe trees, both young and old, are in the hand, at lead before they be planted, they fhould be pruned. Many people pay no atten- tion to this matter, but put in the plants, of ail kinds and fizes, without touching them with a knife ; which is extremely wrong, and renders many plants very fickly, by allowing too great a proportion 136 THE NURSERY. [Jan. proportion of branches to the roots : it is the roots alone that fupport the tree j therefore, every one of them fhould be retained, if poflible, while the top fhould be greatly retrenched. Even moft of the deciduous kinds which have been previ- oufly pruned while flanding in the lines, as di- rected above, will require to have their ftems and tops looked over again, with the view of remov- ing any branch that might have been overlooked, and thus more completely directing the juices in- to the leader of the plant. The unmanageable lank roots of fome of the kinds may be Shortened, but in as fparing a man- ner as poflible, only as much as to allow their being planted in good ordinary fized holes ; the very fibrous -rooted kinds, as the Am, &c. will re- quire hardly any trouble, excepting in cafes like the above. In all cafes, however, where the large roots have been broken, or much bruifed in the lifting, thefe fliould be cut clean off by the knife. If trees are daily lifted for the planters, it will be proper to cover them over with mats while lying for the operation of pruning, that they may not be too much expofed to the air ; and if they are to be fent off to fhort diftances, once in two or three days, loofely in carts, it is obvious, that they muft be shoughed, or laid into the ground by the roots ; but if they are to be carried to a great diftance, they muft be carefully packed into mats. Jan.'] THE NURSERY. 137 mats, fo as to fecure them againft the feverities of the weather, to which they otherwife might be expofed, greatly to their hurt. It is alfo ne- ceflary that all the plants which have to lye any time at the field of planting, be skoughed, the bet- ter to fecure and protect them from injury. OF GATHERING FIR CONES. Now is a proper feafon to collect Larch cones. Be careful to gather only from fuch trees as ap- pear to have ripened their cones. Thefe can ea- fijy be afcertained, by cutting the fide of one or two cones taken from the tree : Cut in as far as the feat of the feeds ; if three or four good feeds are found in the fide, they are prime cones. After gathering, they fhould be laid upon a dry lofr, till the feafon of taking out the feed arrive. Scots fir, Spruce-fir, Silver-fir, and Balm of Gilead fir, may alfo now be gathered, and prefer ved as above advifed for the larch. It is of great importance, in the fecuring of a crop of any of the fir tribe, to have the feeds taken out of the cones as near to the time of fowing as poffible. The feeds will keep good in the cones for a year or two ; but after being taken out they fpoil, and will not grow, after a few months keeping. ORNA- 138 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. Under this head, we {hall confider all planta- tions near a refidence, which may be termed both ornamental and ufeful ; as groves, fcreens, mafles, detached trees, hedge-rows, ftripes for the divi- fion of farm, &c. ON PREPARING THE GROUND FOR GROVE OR SCREEN PLANTATIONS. The preparation of the ground, for any fort of plantation, is a matter of much importance. Ac- cording to the qualities of the foil, and the manner in which it is prepared previous to planting, we af- terwards perceive the good or the bad effects of management on the plants. A middling foil, well prepared, will often produce better growths, for feveral fucceflive years, than a good foil which has been prepared in a fuperficial manner. In fo far as regards plantations of the defcription under view, it is generally a matter of confiderable mo- ment to have them reared fpeedily ; confequent- ly, we mufl have recourfe to effectual preparation of the ground in the firft place : And a choice of fit Jan.~\ TRENCHING, &C. 139 fit plants, and a proper method of planting them, may fecure the defired fuccefs. In many inftances, as in the cafe of rearing aa immediate fcreen, a mafs, or a grove, placed in a particular point of view, it may be advifable to trench the ground ; in others, perhaps to plough it. But for an ornamental plantation, or indeed any which comes under the prefent head, it would ill become the planter to content himfelf with the fuperficial method of making pits only. If the expenfe of trenching be thought too much, let the plough be fubftituted wherever it is practi- cable. Pitting ought only to be reforted to in places where the furface is fteep, rocky, or fa ftony as that the plough cannot be introduced. Oa the fubject of pitting, therefore, we (hall here be filent. The reader will find that fubjecl fully treated of under the head of Forest Plantations for May. To drain when neceffary, and to drain effec- tually, are points of the firft importance in the preparation of the foil for a plantation, whether it is to be trenched or to be ploughed : it is as ne* ceflary, and as proper, to drain for timber as for wheat. The fpecies of drain mod generally ufeful in a plantation, is an open or fky drain. The depth ihould be according to that of the fprings, and iituated fo as effectually to cut them off. Mafter drains may often be conducted in fuch a manner as 140 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. as to form, at the fame time, the fence, or a part of it, efpecially if executed in the funk-fence man- ner. If furface water only is to be carried off, fmall open cuts, or good plough furrows, con- dueled into the matter drains, will generally be found to dry the furface completely. Rubble drains are improper in plantations ; being liable to injury and ftoppage by the roots of the trees. If it be necefiary to conceal a drain in an orna- mental plantation when it pafles near to a walk, or might be thought a nuifance, it mould be built on the fides, paved above and below, and covered over with earth. In trenching of the ground for a grove, fcreen, or other ornamental plantation, if the foil be any thing lefs than twenty inches deep, it may be faid, in general, that it mould be trenched to its full depth. The depth, however, of twenty inches, or at the mod two^feet, is quite fufficient in any cafe. In inftances where the foil is lefs than a foot in depth, a fimple digging may anfwer ; or it may be effectually prepared by the plough and the harrow. Few inftances occur in trenching for fuch plantations where it is necefiary to turn up the fubfoil. It is always proper, however, to break and mix the earth well in the operations of trenching. In cafes where the foil is thin, and where it be- comes neceflary, in digging or ploughing, to turn up Jan.~\ TRENCHING, &C. 14! up a part of the fubfoil in order to gain depth, it is proper to fallow the land for fome months pre- vious to planting. The time, therefore, for fuch digging or ploughing, fuppofmg it were intended to plant in February or March, is rather Novem- ber than January. But we have no hefitation in faying, that if the ground be broke up at this time or in February, by taking a fallow crop of potatoes or turnip, and planting a year hence, there would, with refpeft to the growth of the trees, be no time loft. If the foil be fliff, and in grafs, it may be proper to take firft a crop of oats, and then a fecond of potatoes, dunged, previous to planting the trees. In cafes where the ground is to be prepared by the plough alone, and where the foil is deeper than one of the improved Dalkeith ploughs can reach, it would be very proper to make one plough follow another in the fame furrow; by which means the foil may be ftirred fully a foot in depth. This operation, it muft be remarked, can- not, however, be fo well done in the breaking of ley ground, as in flubble or open furface. If the ley were reduced by a crop of oats or potatoes, the land might be effectually prepared in this manner in autumn and winter. In all cafes, it is obvi- ous, that where the foil is only fo deep as that the plough can, in this manner, command it, this inuft be the cheapeft mode of preparation. The i crop J4* ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. crop of grain, or of roots, would certainly cover every expenfe. In cafes where the land is trenched or dug, it mould be left rough, in order to increafe the fur- face as much as poflible ; and in cafes where it is ploughed, it mould lye in the furrow for fome time before being harrowed down ; all in order that it may be better meliorated by the action of the weather. After planting, we would propofe farther meliorating it by green crops, and by the ufe of the fpade and the hoe for feveral fucceflive years : Of which melioration, by thefe means, fee April on this head. ON PREPARING THE GROUND FOR USEFUL STRIPES, SfC. In preparing the ground for ufeful flrlpes for the divifion of the farm, or the divifion of ex- tended tracts of bleak country intended to be cultivated, the methods followed mud, according to circumftances, either fall under the above head, or under thofe to be recommended for Foreft Plantations in May ; of which much remains to be laid. OF PREPARING THE GROUND FOR DETACHED, AND FOR HEDGE-ROW TREES. Plants for this purpofe are generally put in of a much larger fize than thofe for the grove or the Jan.~] TRENCHING, &C. 143 the mafs. Being placed at confiderable diftances from one another, they are of courfe planted in prepared pits or holes, fuitable to their refpedttve iizes. Such plants are nurfed and removed at a very confiderable expenfe ; and it accordingly be- comes neceflary to beftow a correfponding degree of pains in the preparation of the foil for them. In cafes where the foil is light, deep, and re- markably rich, the leaft care will be neceifary ; and in cafes where it is ftiff, thin and poor, the more care will be requifite in the preparation. In the former cafe, it will generally be fufficient to form the pit, a few weeks before planting, of a width and depth correfponding with the fize of the plant, keeping it fully large however ; where- as, in the latter cafe, the better part of the fur- face-earth mould be taken out, and laid by itfelf, in order to be mixed with the better foil to be brought. The pit mould then be made three or four inches deeper and wider than neceffary tp hold the intended tree j and the crude foil taken therefrom mould be rejected. k The fpace dug-out mould be rilled up with the good foil broughr; or at leaft three or four inches of it mould be laid into the bottom of the hole. The reft mould then be intimately mixed with the better furface-earth dug out as above ; referving, however, as much of it unmixed as will ferve to cover the fmall fibres of the plants, along with that put into the bottom of the pit. It 144 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. It may be proper to remark here, that, accord- ing to the poverty of the foil, and the expofed nature of the fituation, the plants mould be pro- portionally fmall. It is feldom advifable to plant trees more than ten feet in height, in any fitua- tion. In fuch a foil and fituation as that alluded to above, plants half that height would fucceed better. The expenfe of preparing the foil for them would be infinitely lefs than for plants of eight or ten feet in height; whofe roots, of courfe, would be large in proportion, and would require a very great quantity of frelh rich earth, in which to plant them properly. In cafes where the foil is of a medium quality and depth, between the extremes noticed above, it is obvious, that a medium is to be obferved in the preparation of it. In fome inftances, the foil may not be fufficiently deep 5 and yet, by collect- ing a little from the furface around, it may foon be made fo, without, perhaps, disfiguring the ground. One thing ought to be obferved in eve- ry inftance, namely, that whatever foil is brought from a diftance, it mould be of a quality decided- ly fuperior to that on the fpot ; otherwife the la- bour of carrying it will, in a great meafure, be thrown away. There can be no rule laid down with refpedt to the diftance at which to plant detached trees, nor, indeed, with refpeft to arrangement. With Jan.~] TRENCHING, &C. 145 With refped to the diftance at which hedge- row trees Ihould be planted, we think twenty feet, in the firft inftance, near enough. When they are half grown, they may be thinned out alter- nately, and would then ftand at forty feet apart. If the fence by which they are planted be a wall,* they may be fet at fifteen feet apart, or even nearer ; as, in that cafe, they could not injure the fence. OF PLANTING ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS, In very few inftances will the grounds to be planted, be at this feafon in a ftate for receiving the plants : planting, when the land is in an im- proper ftate for it, is fure to entail deftru&ion on the plants. If, however, any of the ground be dry enough, young trees may now be planted, both in the grove, the mafs, the ftripe, and in the hedge- * If it be a fruit wall, however, care must be taken not to plant the forest trees too near to it ; because their roots will rob the fruit trees of their nourishment, and probably kill them entirely. Many instances of the baneful effects of forest trees being allowed too near fruit walls, might be adduced ; but this is not the proper place for such a dis- cussion. Forest trees should never stand nearer a fruit wall than forty feet ; and more especially if they be ash trees, which should not be nearer than a hundred feet, E 146 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. hedge-row ; but as the next month is a more pro- per feafon, we mail defer our particular directions for planting till that time ; which fee. OF PRUNING ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. THIS fubjecl: will naturally arrange itfelf under the refpeclive heads into which we have divided ^ornamental plantation ; as groves, niafles, ftripes, hedge-row, and detached trees and groups ; to- gether with fcreen plantations. While all thefe are profefledly for ornament, we mall endeavour to ftudy utility, in directing the operation of pruning j and we mall treat of the pruning of each fpecies of plantation feparately. It muft al- ways be kept in mind, that pruning is a matter of the higheft importance, both to the health, the vigour, the beauty, and the utility of timber and ornamental trees. PRUNING OF GROVES OF DECIDUOUS TREES* THE profefled objeft, in this cafe, is to acquire tall, clean-ftemmed trees. This end cannot be attained without thick planting, and alfo a con- fiderable breadth of it. Yet thefe alone, would never accomplifh it without the aid of judicious pruning. The pruning of groves of deciduous trees, niufl Jan."] PRUNING, &c. mti ft be commenced the fir ft year after planting ; and will at that time c infill in removing tv^ry branch competing with the leader for the afcen- dancy ; and thinning the fmaller fide moots and twigs on the boles of the plant ; leaving a fuf- ficient number to promote an equal diftribution of the fap over the whole plant. The fame attention to thefe will be annually required, till they arrive at maturity. Care, however, muft always be taken^ that the tops be neither too much lii;hrened nor left too thick : The proportion which the top of a grove- tree, from twenty years old and upwards, mould occupy, is about a third part of tht height of the plant ; thus, if the tree be thirty feet high, the top mould be ten feet* But, in infancy, grove trees mould be feathered from the bottom upwards, keeping the tops light and fpiral, fome- thing refembling a young Larch. A figure of fuch a tree, eight years of age, will be found in Plate I. fig. 3, The proportion of the tops mould be gradually diminished, year by year^ till, about their twentieth year, they come to bear the above proportion to the fize of the plants. In cutting, or pruning off the branches, the uttnoft care muft be taken not to leave any 1 ftumps (ticking out, but to cut them in to the quick. It is only by this m j ans that clean timber can be procured for the joiner ; or lightly fmooth ftemmed trees to pleafe the eye. K % la 148 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jail, In regard to Fir or Larch nurfes in grove plan- tations, they fhould not be removed, nor perhaps pruned, till their feventh or eighth year. Except- ing when neceffary to remove any competing branch, or fuch as bear too large a proportion to the bole, they fhould not be pruned before this age ; and wherever fuch occur, they ought to be removed entirely by the bole. The top of no Larch, at any period of its growth, mould be al- lowed to be too crowded with lateral branches. In every cafe where this happens, they fhould be thinned out, to prevent its getting top heavy ; be- ing careful, however, never to remove a great proportion of them at once. Thofe intended to be left, mould be pruned with very great caution ^ u tiei\ or at the moil two tiers of their undermoft branches, mould be removed the firft year of pruning ; and fo forth annually, till their top bear the fame proportion to their height, as is recom- mended above for the hard wood. The fame care to cut clean by the bole, muft be obferved In the cafe of Firs and Larches, as is recommend- ed above for the hard wood. In the pruning and thinning of a grove planta- tion, care muft be had not to make it fo thin of trees on the fkirts, as in the interior, nor to prune the nurses fituated on the edges of the grove fo much as more inwards. Many of the Larches, and, perhaps, the Silver firs upon the fkirts, fhould Jan."] PRUNING, &c. mould be left quite feathered from the bottom up- wards, to give the grove a clothed and maflive air. This precaution is efpecially neceifary, till it arrive at its twentieth or thirtieth year. PRUNING LARCH AND FIR GROVES. IT has been hinted above, that Firs mould not be pruned at fo early an age, as the deciduous or hard wood kinds. The pruning of a Larch grove fhould be commenced about its fixth or eighth year, according to its ftrength or vigour. No more than one, or at the mofl two tiers of branches mould be removed at once;* othenvife thefe trees might be much injured. The fize of the tops mould be gradually diminifhed, as recom- mended for the nurfes in the preceding article, till they are in the fore-mentioned proportion, which proportion muft be continued to the end. The Hurts of the Larch grove muft not be either fo much * Three years ago we knew a gentleman remove five or six tiers of branches from a good number of Larches, from fifteen to eighteen feet high ; and although it K now three seasons since it was done, the trees still exhibit a pallid and sickly appearance, and probably will never resume their wonted vigour, Those in the same plantation which escap- ed the fury of the pruner, are as green and vigorous as can be desired, ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. much pruned or thinned as the interior, at leaft for a great while of its infancy, Fir Groves require the fame treatment with Larch Groves in regard to pruning, fave in the c?fe of the Scots Fir, which is apt to put forth (hong and rampant fide-branches on the Skirts of the plantation, which muft be timeoufly attended to and reduced within proper bounds. PRUNING OF MASSES, This fpecies of plantation is more nearly alliec} to general fore ft plantation, than the preceding. Neverthelefs, the foregoing obfervations in refpecl: to pruning, will apply equally to it. If it be a mixture of Hard-wood, Larch, and Fir, thefe refpec- tive kinds muft be individually treated as above di- rected. And the ildrts of the mafs, and more efpe- cially the margin moft to windward, and to the view, muft be kept thick, and leaft pruned. PRUNING OF BELTS AND STRIPES. The pruning of ftripes, or narrow belts, is one of the molt Difficult parts of the forefter's em- ployment. He may go on wdl enough fur per* haps ten or fifteen years ; but afterwards thefe nar- row ftripes become naked and bare. Indeed ftripes ihould Jan."] PRUNING, &c. 151 mould always, if poflible, be of fome coniider- able breadth, and then their treatment would ap- proach more nearly to that of mafles, or ordi- nary foreft plantation : The only difference in this cafe would be, that they mould be rather lefs pruned, and efpecially on the Ikirts ; the heads, although pruned into a fpiral form, mould be left proportionally longer or better feathered than a- bove recommended for mafles and groves. PRUNING SCREEN PLANTATIONS. Screen plantations are, as implied in their name, intended either to fhelter from the wind, or to cover fome difagreeable object from the view. Screen plantations, therefore, are generally fur- nifhed with a flock of underwood, fuch as Holly, Yew, Laurel, Spruce, Hazel and the like. The pruning of the principal or timber trees in the fcreen plantation, may be confidered as al- ready pointed out ; fave only, that their heads mould be kept longer than thofe either of the grove or mafs trees ; or like thofe above recom- mended for trees on the fkirts of narrow ftripes or belts. The underwood mould be encouraged to rife up to their refpeclive proper heights, not by pruning them, (for they mould not feel the knife), but by removing the fhadowing branches of the principals, as much as the circumflances of the cafe 152 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. cafe will allow. Part of the principals, as Spa- nifh Chefnut, Elm, Poplar, or the like, which are more than neceffary, may be cut over by way of pollards, to complete the fcreen where wanted. A fcreen plantation fhould be, from top to bottom, one continued hill of leaves and branches ; be- ginning, at the edge or fkirt, with the mod dwarf growing kinds, and receding with the taller grow- ing, till they mix their branches with the branches of the principals. Both fides of a fcreen planta- tion may be.fo managed ; and, when thus manag- ed, it is rendered the moft effectual fcreen. PRUNING HEDGE-ROW TREES. Hedge-row trees, efpecially fuch as are planted in arable fields, although planted principally for ornament, mould be pruned with more attention to length of ftem, than fmgle trees which are planted in the park and in the lawn. It is a gal- ling thing for the corn-farmer to be interrupted by the pendulous branches of the Beech, or the Elm, in his operations in the field. To the gra- zier, however, fuch a circumftance would rather be an advantage. Yet fuch trees, at any diflance, want all the character of large trees, appearing rather like great bufhes ; and ccnfequently they can feldom be accounted beautiful in the fituation of hedge-row trees. Thofe hedgerow trees which we Jan."] PRUNING, c. 153 we have known to produce the mod pleafmg ef- fels, have their tops in proportion to their whole height, as two to two, or as four to five. Thus, if the tree be forty feet in height, the item mould be from twenty to twenty-four feet ; while the top mould be from eighteen to .twenty feet in height. The tops of hedge-row trees mould be allowed to exprefs the general character of the kind : it would be formal and inelegant, to force the Sycamore and the Elm to (how the fame character of top. The former will grow more upright and com pa el, while the latter will be more open and flraggiing. The tops of grown up hedge-row trees mould not be allowed to take too great a breadth ; neither mould they be too much retrenched ; no competing limb which might endanger the health of the plant fhould be allowed. The difficulty, or eafe, of pruning hedge-row trees of the above defcription, will depend on the kinds which are planted. The Scots Elm will give more trou- ble than the Englifh Elm ; the Beech, more than the Sycamore ; the Am and the Oak, in their pro- per foil and fituation, will need but a moderate at- tention. Hedge-row^ trees muft be pruned from the time of planting, onward ; in the manner directed for deciduous trees, on the fkirts of narrow ftripes. The leader muft be encouraged ; yet the branches, compofmg 154 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Jan. compofmg the top muft be numerous, and occu- py a greater proportion of the height of the plant, than thofe in thick plantations. PRUNING DETACHED TREES IN THE PARK. The relation of detached orjiamental trees in the park or the lawn, to hedge-row trees, is very intimate ; only the variety of figures which trees may be allowed to affume in the former fituation, is much greater than can be admitted in the latter. In the park, or the lawn, however, we may have a Lime tree forming a hill of leaves in fummer ; and adjoining, perhaps, a {lately Am, or a noble Oak or Beech, lifting its lofty top high into the heavens. The methods of pruning thefe maft vary ac- cording to their ultimate deftination. PRUNING GROUPS OF TREES, The pruning of groups muft be regulated by the effecl intended to be produced ; each kind of tree fhould exprefs its character, yet fo tempered by its neighbour, that they may appear like a whole. Where there is no mixture of kinds, the management is lefs difficult. FOREST FOREST PLANTATIONS. FOREST PLANTATIONS. OF PLANTING. IF the fcale be exterfive, and fuppofmg the ground to have been prepared as directed in the fummer months, and if the weather be open and dry, this is a fit time to plant. In an extenfive plantation, it will hardly happen but there will be a variety of foil, fome parts moid and heavy, and others dry and light. The lighted parts may be planted at this time ; and the more moid, or damp parts, next month, or in March. It mud be obferved, howtver, that if the ground be not in a proper cafe for planting, the operation had bet- ter be delayed. The plants will be injured, either by being committed to the ground when it is in a four and wet, or in a dry parched date. At a time when the foil may be termed neither wet nor dry, the operation of planting is mod fuccefsfully performed. The mould does not then adhere to the fpade, nor does it run in ; it divides well, and is made to intermingle with the fibres of the plants with little trouble ; and in treading and fetting the plant upright, the foil is not worked into mortar, which it neceffanly mud be, if in a Wet 156 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. wet ftate, evidently to the great detriment of the plants. It is therefore improper to plant on a retentive foil in the time of rain, or even perhaps for fome days afterwards ; nor after a fall of fnow, until it has for fome days difappeared. Whereas, on a dry abforbent foil, it may be proper to plant in the time of gentle mowers, immediately after heavy rains, or as foon as the fnow is diffolved. If the ground has been prepared by pitting, the diftances at which to plant will of courfe be de- fined. If not, it may be proper to remark here, that in very expofed fituations, with a thin foil, the plants may be put in at three, to three and a half feet apart \ and in better fituations, from four to five feet diftance, according to circumftances of foil, fhelter, and the like. With refpecl to the fize of the plants, that mud, in fome meafure, depend on their kinds ; but it may be faid, generally, that, for the purpofe under prefent view, the plants being tranfplanted, (not feedlings), they fhould be from a foot to eighteen, inches in height, fliff in the Hem, and well rooted. Plants for this purpofe fhould feldom be more than three years from the feed ; indeed never, if they have been raifed in good foil. Many of them may be fufficiently large at two years from the feed ; and if fo, are to be preferred to thofe of a greater age, as they will confequently be more vigorous and healthy. The Jan.~\ PLANTING. 157 The Larch, if properly treated, will be very fit at two years of age, A healthy feedling being removed from the feed-bed at the end of tht firft year, into good ground, will, by the end of the fecond, be a fitter plant for the foreft, than one nurfed a fecond year. The next beft plant for the purpofe, is that which has flood two years in the feed- bed, and has been tranfplanted for one feafon. This is fuppofmg it to have rifen a weakly plant ; for, if the Larch rife ftrong from the feed the firft feafon, it mould never Hand a fecond in the feed- bed. ' The Am, the Elm, and the Sycamore, one year from the feed, if well raifed, being nurfed in good foil for a fecond feafon, will often prove fufficient- ly flrong plants for the purpofe here in view. If they be weakly, they may (land two years in the feed-bed ; and then being nurfed one feafon in good foil, would be very fit for planting out in the foreft. The Oak, the Beech, and the Chefnut, if raifed in rich foil, and well furnimed with roots at the end of the firft year, being nurfed in rows for two years, would be very fit to be planted out, But if they be allowed to ftand for two years in the feed-bed, and be planted for one year in good ground, they will be ftill better for the foreft, and the roots will be found well feathered with fine fmall fibres. The Silver Fir, and common Spruce, mould ftand two years in the feed-bed. If tranfplanted into J5& FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. into very good foil, they may be fit for being planted out in the foreft at the end of the firft year ; but, more generally, they require two years in the li ies. The Scots Fir mould alfo ftand for two years in the feed-btd, and Ihould be nurfed in good ground for one year ; at the end of which, they will be much fitter for being planted in the foreft, than if they were allowed to ftand a fecond year in the lines. They are very generally taken at once from the feed-bed ; and, in land bare of heath or herbage, they fucceed pretty well ; ne- vertheltfs, we would prefer them one year nurfed* It will be unneceflary, for the preient purp^fe, further to enlarge on the age or fize of the plants. The above are the hardy and moft ufeful foreft kinds ; and, from the obfervations made, what- ever refpecls the age or fize of other kinds, may eafily be inferred. The next confederation is, the arrangement of the kinds. We are clearly of opinion, that the beft method is to plant each fort in diftincl; mafles or groups, provided the fituation and quality of the foil be properly kept in view - 7 (fee particu- larly the fecond and fourth Sections on this fub- jeft). * There has hitherto been too much random work carried on with refpeft to the mixture of different kinds. A longer practice, and more ex- perience, will difcover betcer methods in any fci- encc. * Page 30 et seq. ; and 4?y 9t seq. Jan."] . PLANTING. 159 ence. That of planting is now widely extended; and improvements in all its branches are intro- duced. We, therefore, having a better know- ledge of foils, perhaps, than our forefathers had, can, with greater certainty, affign to each tree its proper ftation. We can, perhaps, at fight, decide, that here the Oak will grow to perfection, there the Am, and here again the Beech ; and the fame with refpect to the others. If, however, there happen to be a piece of land of fuch a quality, that it may be faid to be equal- ly adapted for the Oak, the Walnut, or the Spa- nifh Chefnut, it will be proper to place fuch in it, in a mixed way, as the principals 5 becaufe each fort will extract its own proper nourifhment, and will have an enlarged range of pafturage for its roots, and confequently may make better tim- ber trees. Although, by indifcriminately mixing different kinds of hard-wood plants in a plantation, there is hardly a doubt but that the ground will be fully cropped with one kind or other ; yet it very often happens, in cafes where the foil is evidently well adapted to the mod valuable forts, as the Oak perhaps, that there is hardly one oak in the ground for a hundred that ought to have been planted. We have known this imperfection in feveral in- ftances feverely felt. It not unfrequently happens, too, that, even what oaks, or other hard-wood trees, l6o FOREST PLANTATIONS. \Jail. trees, are to be met with, are overtopped by lefs valuable kinds, or perhaps fuch, all things con- Iidered, as hardly deferve a place. Thefe evils are remediable by planting with at- tention to the foil, and in diftinft maflfes. In thefe maffes are infured a full crop, by being pro- perly nurfed, for a time, with kinds more hardy, or which afford more fhelter than fuch hard-wood plants. There is no rule by which to fix the fize or extent of any of thefe mafies. Indeed, the more various they be in this refpeft, the better they will, when grown up, pleafe the eye of a perfon of tafte. They may bs extended from one acre to fifty, or an hundred acres, according to the cir- cunrftances of foil and fituation : Their fhapes will accordingly be as various as their dimenfions. The kind of nurfe moft decidedly fit for the purpofe under confideration, is the Larch ; unlefs, as mentioned before, the fite be expofed to the fea air, or the plantation in queftion be the fhel- tering zone of an infant foreft ; in either of which cafes, the Scots Fir, the Elder, and the Sy- camore, mould take place of it, or, at leaft, be freely planted, as circumftances may direct. The diflances at which hard-timber trees ought to be planted, are from fix to ten feet , according to the quality of the foil, and the expofed or fhel- tered fituation, as noticed above. When the firft i four Jan.'} PLANTING,; l6l four oaks are planted, fuppofing them at right angles, and at nine feet apart, the interfaces will fall to be filled up with five nurfes, the whole (landing at four and a half feet afunder. When fixteen oaks are planted, there will neceflarily be thirty-three nurfes planted ; and when thirty-fix oaks are planted, eighty-five nurfes ; but when an hundred principal trees are planted in this man- ner, in a fquare of ten on the fide, there will be two hundred and fixty-one nurfe plants required. A Scots flatute acre would require, if planted at the above-mentioned diftances, fix hundred and feventy-fix oaks, and two thoufand and twenty larches, or very nearly fo. The Englifh acre would require five hundred and thirty-fix oaks, and one thoufand fix hundred and ten larches, or thereabouts. By this calculation, we find, that if the planta- tion or mafs be extended to an acre, the propor- tion of nurfes to the principals will be as three to one, or very nearly fo ; and this proportion of nurfes to the principals, will hold when the latter are placed at fix or twelve feet apart, as well as at nine. It is abundantly evident, that, if timber trees be planted at fix, feven, eight, or nine feet apart, ac- cording to the quality of the foil, they are planted clofe enough to become ufeful, provided they be nurfed up by others for a time. Hard-timber L trees l6*2 FOREST PLANTATIONS. \Jan. trees are feldom reckoned of much value, until the ftem be at lead a foot in diameter at the fur- face of the ground. At the above diftances, they might (land till they arrived at that fize ; but if planted much clofer, few kinds would be of ufe at the firfl thinning. It is therefore advifable to look to the nurfes for a reimburfement of the ex- penfe. If the nurfes confift of Larches, this expenfe will hardly fail to be paid within thirty years after planting ; the timber crop of Oak, Am, Elm, or the like, remaining free. Ir has been mown, that three larches are required for one oak or am \ and the medium diftance at planting has been fup- pofed four and a half feet. At this diftance all the larches may (land for ten or fifteen years, or until they would be u'fefui for various country pur- pofes. They might, about that time, be gradual- ly thinned out, excepting one in the centre of the fpace between every four oaks, which would thus be placed at the diftance of fix and a half feet from each of them, and at nine feet each way one from another. Thefe would afford fufficient fhel- ter to the hard timber, and might, in moft cafes, be allowed to ftand until they were twenty-five or thirty years old, and, of courfe, very valuable for many purpofes. This method of planting is clearly the leaft ex- penfive, and moft effectual of any ; efpecially if, as Jan.~\ PLANTING* 163 as in fome cafes which have lately come under our direction, the land be pitted for the principal trees only, and the larches, being fmall neat plants, be slitted or dibbled in. In this way there is a great faving in the price of plants, and in the quantity of labour. In cafes where the land can be prepared by the plough, and where the foil is a thin turf, or a dry fand or gravel without turf or rocks, there can be no objection to this mode* * By ufmg the Larch thus plentifully as a nurfe, much is evidently to be gained : Perhaps fome might not think of planting it in any other cha- racter. But the Larch is known to be fo very ufeful and valuable, that it deferves alfo to be planted in an extenfive manner as a Forest Tree., If the intention be to raife it to large timber, or to its full fize, it mould be planted in mafles by itfelf, not in mixture with any other tree. In the fame manner ought all the refmous kinds, which are intended for timber trees, to be plant* ed ; nor mould thefe be intermixed with any o- ther fort, but grown in diftinct maiTes by them- felves. The mailing of Larch, and Fir of all forts, is the leaft laborious, and fureft means of pro- ducing good, ftraight, and clean timber. It is by planting, or rather by fowing them in mafies, by placing them thick, by a timeous pruning and gradual thinning, that we can, with certainty, at-* tain to this object. Larches, and Firs in general, L 2 which 164 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. which it is intended to raife in maffes, fhould be clofe together; in the firft inftance, three, three and a half, or at the mofl four feet, accord- ing to foil and fituation, will be found fufficient diflance ; it being of the highefl importance to have them drawn up ftraight from infancy. Larches may be planted at this time, or any time between this and the end of March, accord- ing to the (late of the ground, as before noticed. The planting of all the firs mould be delayed till April, or even May ; to which months we refer the reader. We mall now proceed to treat of the manual operation of Planting. If it be determined to plant in Mafles, as above recommended, the hard timber fhould be firft planted, and afterwards the nurfes ; or, one fet of operators may plant the former, while another follows with the latter, provided the nurfes be larches ; but, if they be firs, fome time mufl e- lapfe before the feafon for removing them arrive. The plants, if brought from a diftance, fhould be xhoughed ; or they may be fupplied daily from the nurfery, as circumftances direct All the people employed ought to be provided with thick aprons, in which to lap up the plants ; the fpadefmen, as well as the boys or girls ; the latter being fupplied by the former, as occafion may require. All of them Jan.'] PLANTING. 165 them fhould regularly fill their aprons at one time, to prevent any of the plants being too long retained in any of the planters' aprons. Having mentioned boys or girls, we may here obferve, that it is the moft expeditious method, and that by which the planting may be beft exe- cuted, to employ a fpadefman and a young perfon together. One man cannot poflibly fet a plant fo well with the fpade, unlefs in the cafe of laying^ as two people can ; nor, fuppofing him to do it as well, can he plant half as many in the fame fpace of time, as two can. A boy ten years of age is equal, as a holder, to the beft man on the field, and can be generally had for lefs than half the money. Hence this method is not only the bed, but the lead expenfive. By the mode of preparation which will be found recommended in May, the pit will now have been dug for feveral months ; the furface will therefore be incrufted by the rains, or probably covered with weeds. The man firft ftrikes the fpade down- wards to the bottom, two or three times, in or- der to loofen the foil ; then poaches it, as if mix- ing mortar for the builder ; he next lifts out a fpadeful of the earth, or, if neceflary, two fpade- fuls, fo as to make room for all the fibres, with- out their being anywife crowded together ; he then chops the rotten turf remaining in the bottom, and levels the whole. The boy now places the plant l66 FOREST PLANTATIONS. {Jan. plant perfectly uptight, an inch deeper than when it flood in the nurfery, and holds it firm in that pofition. The man trindles in the mould gently. The boy gently moves the plant, not from fide to fide, but upwards and downwards, until the fi- bres be covered. The man then fills in all the remaining mould ; arid immediately proceeds to chop and poach the next pit, leaving the boy to fet the plant upright, and to tread the mould a- bout it. This, in ftiff> wet foil, he does lightly ; but in fandy or gravelly foil, he continues to tread until the foil no longer retains the impreflion of his foot. The man has by this time got the pit ready for the next plant : the boy is alfo ready with it in his hand j and in this manner the oper- ation goes on. In all cafes 'where the land has been prepared? whether by pitting, ploughing and pitting, or ploughing and harrowing, the above practice ought invariably to be adhered to. It borders on abfurdity to pretend to plant, by making, a gam, in tilled ground perhaps, and thrufting in the roots by force ; and this, after all, is probably attended with more trouble than the taking out a fpadeful of the earth, and inferting the plant in fuch a manner, as . that the mould may be intimately mixed with its fibres, a mat- ter of the mod evident utility and benefit, whe- ther confidered as enabling the fibrils more rea- PLANTING. 167 dily to feek pafturage in the foil, or rendering them lefs liable to be injured by parching drought. For it frequently happens, that if the foil is moift at the time of planting, in the former cafe the gafh feems to be clofed at top, while, in fad it remains open ; which is mown by the firft fuccecding drought, and, if not clofed, by the confequent languimment and death of the plant. On very deep hangs which have been pitted, the following rule ought to be obferved in plant- ing : To place the plant in the angle formed by the acclivity and surface of the pit ; and, in finim- ing, to raife the outer margin of the pit higheit, whereby the plant will be made to (land as if on level ground, and the moifture be retained in the hollow of the angle, evidently to its advantage. In proceeding to defcribe the method by flit, or the T method, as it is commonly termed, we muft declare, that we are not advocates for this method of planting, where a better can be purfued. Ne- verthelefs, we would rather fee bleak, barren moors planted by the flit, or indeed in any way, than fee them lying in a flare of nature, yielding nothing to the proprietor, and confequently a void in refpecl: to the nation. We would not recom- mend planting by the flit, unlefs where there is no more foil than is abfolutely occupied by the fibres of the herbage which grows on the place. Excepting on turf, it cannot be performed ; nor fhould >68 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. ihould it be pra&ifed, if the turf be found three or four inches thick. By the mode of prepara- tion already recommended, it has been fhown, that turf is capable of being converted -into a pro- per mould in the fpace of a few months ; and the expenfe of pitting, efpecially in fmall plantations, can never counterbalance the rilk of fuccefs, in the eyes of an ardent planter. The T method Is this : The man ftrikes the fpade at random to the depth of the turf. He then ftrikes it crofswife at the end of this incifion, and at right angles with it, Hoping the fpade con- fiderably outwards in the mouth, fo as that its handle may form an acute angle with the furface ; he next prefles the hand towards the ground, un- til the gafli is fufficiently opened to receive the roots of the plant without difficulty. The boy, or afiiftant, having the ftem of the plant in his hand, the top inside of the arm, and Handing op- posite, now claps the root upon the plate of the fpade, and draws it gently into the gafh. The fpade is then eafed upwards until the plant be- come upright, when it is withdrawn. The boy continues to hold the ftem in the upright pofition, till he treads the turf clofe down. Some people, before treading down the turf, chop it all round the ftem of the plant. This is done with the idea of keeping the slit from open- ing in dry weather, by which the roots are very apt Jan.~\ PLANTING. 169 apt to be parched. But if they are parched by the opening of one flit, the opening of many feems more likely to increafe, rather than diminifh the evil. The moil proper time to perform the operation of flitting-in the plants, is when the furface is in a moift ftate. On all fteeps, the plant mould be placed towards the declivity, that the moifture may fall to its roots ; that is to fay, in planting, the fpadefman mould fland higheft, and the boy low- eft, on the bank ; by which arrangement the plant will be inferted at the lower angle of the flit. In cafes where the foil is a fand or gravel, and the furface bare of herbage, two year feedling Scots firs, or plants of that fize, may be planted with the diamond-pointed dibble ; which is in- deed the cheapeft and moft expeditious method of planting, of any which we yet know of. Al- though it may be a little more expenfive, we would recommend, as a better method, however, the chopping and loofening of the foil to a good depth, with a dibble made in the form of a common pickaxe ; by which the work is done quickly, and at the fame time more perfectly. But of this afterwards. We think it proper in this place to remark, f. hat the operation ofphnting, in whatever manner performed, - ; 170 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. performed, being of the utmoft confequence to the immediate and future welfare of the trees, too much care can hardly be beftowed upon it : Nor mould he who performs his part well, if diligent, be chid for doing too little. OF PRUNING FOREST PLANTATIONS. The proper pruning of foreft plantations is cer* tainly an object of high importance, both to the proprietor and to the Nation at large, as the qua- lity of the timber much depends on it. Thereby the vegetative powers of the trees are directed to, and continued in, their proper channel. The un- necefiary wafle of their growth is prevented ; and timber of far fuperior quality, and trees of far greater beauty, are procured. To fecure thefe advantages, it is however ne- ceflary to prune betimes, or rather to commence pruning at the infancy of the trees, and thence- forward to continue it at intervals of one, or at mod two years. If the pruning of young foreft trees is performed only at intervals of eight or ten years, the growth is unnecefTarily thrown away, and wounds are inflicled which will ever after re- main blemishes in the timber ; whereas if the fu- perfluous or competing branches had been remov- ed Jan."] PRUNING. 171 cd annually, and before they attained a large fize, the places from which they iffued would be im- perceptible, or at lead not hurtful to the timber, when it came to the hands of the artif^. There is no kind of foreft-tree but may with propriety be pruned at this time of the year, ex- cept the Gean. If this tree be cut now, or indeed at any feafon, excepting the month of Auguft or beginning of September, it gums exceedingly at the wounds, and is much injured : but, if cut at the above feafon, the wounds become healed over before the winter, and never afterwards gum. A perfon who has been properly inftru&ed in the art of pruning, and who is alive to the advan- tages accruing from a judicious performance of it, can hardly travel a dozen of miles in any direc- tion, without having occafion to lament, and that deeply, the miferably neglected flate of the plant- ations in this country. How many young plantations do we fee, where numbers of the trees are loaded with, perhaps, three, four, or even five competing branches, of a diameter little fhort of that of the ftem on which they grow ! Thefe competing branches, when put together, compofe perhaps the greater half of the whole top of the tree. Suppofe that thefe be pruned off: Is it not then evident, that the circu- lation of the juices of the tree muft be impeded, that FOREST PLANTATIONS. that at leaft a temporary ftagnation thereof mull enfue, which may, in its confequences, prove highly injurious to the plants ? Neither is the in- jury fuftained by checking the flow of the juices the only one that will probably follow. It is ma- nifeft that, by removing competing branches, when they have attained perhaps half the diame- ter of the trunk of the tree, the grain of the tim- ber mufl be abruptly broken over, and confe- quently, at fuch places, be lefs ftrong than it o- therwife would have been. Befides thefe two e- vils, there is another of very confiderable magni- tude, namely, the lofs of the folid timber contain- ed in the branches fo removed. Is it not evident, that if thefe branches had been timeoufly check- ed, the greater part of the matter forming their folid contents would have fettled in the trunk it- felt" of the, tree ? We have known plantations which have been carefully pruned from infancy upwards, make a better figure at twelve years of age, and each tree have more folid wood in its bole, than trees in a neglefted plantation of twenty years of age. Timely pruning is, therefore, a matter of the utmoft importance. But while we thus inculcate the pruning of fo- reft trees, we would, at the fame time, deprecate in the ftrongeft terms what, in many inftances, bears the name, without poifefling a fingle cha- racter of judicious pruning. We have known men Jan.'] PRUNING. 173 men employed as forefters upon pretty extenfive eftates, who never had any inftru&ion in the art of pruning ; and who had not -mind fufficient to difcern what \vas necefTary, either for the health or perfe&ion of the trees which they were em- ployed to manage, and whofe principal qualifica- tions, indeed, feemed to be prefumption and flrength of body. Under fuch circumftances, it is abundantly evident, that pruning can never be properly, or even tolerably done, unlefs the pro- prietor underftand the fubjedt, and himfelf take the trouble of directing. But, alas ! how few do we find who either underftand the fubjecl them- felves, or are difpofed to be at the pains to under- ftand it, far lefs to fuperintend the operation ! In many fmall places, we frequently find a hatch- et put, perhaps, into the hand of fome common labourer, (or, it may be, a carpenter, or even a coachman), who is defired to go to fuch a plant- ation, and prune the trees. Off he goes, perhaps, with a few fuperficial inftr u&ions, and poflibly without any : Whichever be the cafe, is of no im- portance : To work he goes ; begins at the ground ; hacks off every branch and twig within his reach, fometimes clofe by the bole, fometimes three or four inches from it ; and if the trees are fmall, he not unfrequently cuts them half through, by his awkwardnefs in milling his aim. If the tree be twenty feet high or more, he has recourfe to another 174 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. another inftrument, the long-fhafted chisel, and, with it, pushes his barbarous purpofe upwards as far as poflible. * He then leaves the tree a woful monument of his ftrength and his ignorance, in a flate infinitely worfe than it was in before he be- gan to it. It is a thoufand to one, if it be divid- ed into two ftems at the bottom, if he has not done it the important fervice of lopping off the bed limb, and leaving that which is weakeft and word formed ! At all events, he leaves it top- heavy like a mop on the top of a pole to be buffeted by every wind ; and has mangled and enfeebled its trunk by the infliction of many un- neceflary wounds. But while we mention thefe barbarous practices, alike difgraceful to the employer and the! employ- ed alike followed with lofs to the immediate proprietor and to the nation we are far from fetting down every proprietor, and every forefter, as guilty of fuch reprehenfible conduct. We have known in both clafies, for many years, perfons who not only underflood the proper methods of pruning, but practifed them, to the manifefl ad- vantage of the trees under their care. It is not, then, here pretended to fet forth fome new * Plate I. fig. 2. shows a tree so pruned, contrasted with another, fig. 1. (same plate) of the same age, properly pruned. Jan.~\ PRUNING* 175 new fcheme of management, but to call the at* tention to eflablifhed principles, which are well known to produce the moft beneficial effeds. We have already been particular in our obferv- ations on pruning Deciduous grove plantations for the prefent month. We have ihown that the pruning of fuch trees fhould commence at a very early period. Indeed, plants fhould never be fent from the nurfery to be planted out in the foreft, without having previoufly undergone, in fome meafure, the operation of pruning; as has al- ready been adverted to under the article Nurse* ry for the prefent month. A forefl and a grove plantation, as has already been obferved, are very nearly allied to one another; confequently, the fame fyflem of pruning recommended for the one, will apply, or very nearly apply, to the other. Indeed, the right pruning of a tree, to the pro- curing of good, clean timber, muft, in every fitu- ation, confift in a timeous and effe&uai removal of all competing or fuperfluous branches. The difficulty of arriving at the propofed end, muft increafe or diminifh, according as the trees are flickered or expofed ; indeed, the labour and at- tention neceflary to procure clean timber, from a tree planted fingle, and expofed, will be found (if at all poflible) exceedingly greater than in the cafe of trees fituated in a thick plantation. Hence the propriety of making large maffes of planting, where Ij6 FOREST PLANTATIONS. {Jail. where timber is the objeft. Notwithstanding that we here fully admit the great utility of clofe maf- fes for the procuring of ftraight clean timber, it mufl be obvious to every one, that, for a number of the earlier years of the exiftence of the foreft, however extenfive it may be, the plants will not feel that influence from proximity which is necef- fary to give them the upright tendency or direc- tion that is fo highly defirable. Hence the ne- ceflity of early pruning of foreft plantations. The faying, ' Train up a child in the way he mould * go when he is young, and when he is old he 4 will not depart from it, * may well be applied in the prefent cafe. From the importance of this fubjeft, then, we beg leave here to repeat, that the pruning of all deciduous trees mould be begun at the top, or at leaft thofe branches which are to be removed from thence mould never be loft fight of. Having fix- ed upon what may be deemed the beft moot for a leader, or that by which the item is moft evi- dently to be elongated and enlarged, every other branch on the plant mould be rendered fubfer- vient to it, either by removing them inftantly, or by fhortening them. Where a plant has branch- ed into two or more rival ftems, and there are no other very ftrong branches upon it, nothing more needs to be done for it, than fimply to lop off the weakeft clean by the bole, leaving only the i ftrongeft Jan.] PRUNING. 177 ftrongeflt and moft promifing fiioot. If three or four fhoots or branches be contending for the a- fcendancy, they mould, in like manner, be lopped off, leaving only the moft promifing. If any of the branches which have been left further down on the bole of the plant at former primings have become very ftrong, or have extended their ex- tremities far, they mould either be taken clean off by the bole, or be fhortened at a proper dif- tance from it ; obferving always to ihorten at a lateral twig of confiderable length. It is of im- portance that the tree be equally poifed; and therefore if it have ftronger branches on the one fide than the other, the ftronger mould either be removed or be fliortened. Thus, a properly trained tree, under twenty feet in height, mould appear tight and fpiral, from within a yard or two of the ground to the upper extremity , its ftem being furnifhed with a mo- derate number of twigs and fmall branches, in order to detain the fap, and circulate it more e- qually through the plant. Trees of this fize, ftanding in a clofe planta- tion, after being properly formed, will require much lefs attention afterwards ; indeed, fubfe- quent prunings will moftly confift in keeping their leading (hoots fingle. From the want of air, their lateral branches will not be allowed to extend, but will remain as twigs upon the ftem. Thefe, M however. 17$ FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. however, frequently become dead branches ; and if fuch were allowed to remain at all on the trees, they would infallibly produce blemifhes calculated greatly to diminim the value of the timber : hence the impropriety of allowing any branch to die on the bole of a tree. Indeed, all branches mould be removed when they are alive ; fuch a method, to our knowledge, being the only fure one to make good timber. From thefe circumflances, an annual pruning, or at lead an annual examina- tion, of all forefts, is neceffary. We mall here fubjoin a a few words with re- fpect to the implements to be ufed, and the man- ner of making wounds. In every cafe where the knife is capable of lopping off the branch in queftion, namely, in the pruning of infant plants, it is the only inftrument necefiary. All other branches mould be taken off by the saw. A hatchet, or a chisel, mould never be ufed. Every wound on the ftem, or bole, mould be quite in to the quick, that is, to the level and depth of the bark ; nor mould the lead protuberance be left. The branch to be lopped off by the faw mould, in all cafes, be notched or llightly cut on .the under fide, in order to prevent the bark from being torn in the fall ; and when the branch has been removed, the edges of the wound, if any wife ragged, mould be pared fmooth with the knife. If the tree be vigorous, nature will Jan.'} PRUNING, 179 will foon cover the wound over with bark, with- out the addition of any plafter to exclude the air. In cafes, however, of reclaiming neglected plan- tations, an application of this fort may in fome inftances be neceffary, as will be afterwards mown under that head. But if a protuberance of three or four inches be left, a thing too frequently done, it mud ne- cefiarily happen, that, before the wound can be covered with bark, the trunk of the tree at the place mtift be enlarged four inches on every fide, or eight inches in diameter ; which may require a period of eight, twelve, or twenty years ; and, confequently, the end of fuch piece of the branch mud be rotten long before it can be covered over with bark : a circumftance which mufl unavoid- ably occafion a fatal blemifh in the wood. * la all cafes, therefore, where fuch protuberances or pieces of the branches have been left, either by carelefs pruning, or from branches having been broken by the wind, or other accidents, they mould be taken clean off, as above advifed. In the fhortening of a ftrong branch, the pofi- tion of which is pretty upright, it mould be ob- ferved to draw the faw obliquely acrols it, in fuch a manner as that the face of the wound (hall be incapable of retaining moifture ; and af- M 2 terwards * See this illustrated in Ash Planks, figured in Plate !.- I So FOREST PLANTATIONS. [JtffZ. terwards to fmooth the edges of the bark with the knife. The above obfervations only refpeft the prun- ing of Deciduous trees. In regard to the treat- ment of Larch and Fir trees, planted in groves or maffes (in which fituations only they fhould be planted for timber trees), we have been particu- lar in the preceding article for this month ; to which we beg leave to refer the reader. We fhall only here obferve, that the pruning of thefe kinds ought not to be commenced before their tenth or twelfth year;, and that only one, or at the moil two, tiers of branches mould be removed in a feafon. Thefe ought to be cut clofe in to the quick, as advifed above for the Deciduous kinds. Too much care cannot be taken never to. leave either pieces of the branches fo pruned oiF, or dead branches, upon larches or firs ; more efpeciaily the Scots Fir, becaufe thefe trees are more apt to produce dead branches than any of the other forts generally planted. The leaders, both of the firs of all forts, and of the krches, fhould be carefully kept fmgle. THINNING OUT PLANTATIONS* The properly thinning out of plantations h a matter of the very firft importance in their cul- ture. However much attention be paid to the article Jan."] THINNING. 1-8 1 article of pruning, if the plantation be left too thick, it will be inevitably ruined. A circulation of air, neither too great nor too fmall, is eflential to the welfare of the whole. This mould not be awanting at any period of the growth of the plan- tation : But, in cafes where it has been prevent- ed by neglect, it fhould not be admitted all at once, or fuddenly. Opening a plantation too much at once, is a fare way to deftroy its health and vigour. A timely, gradual, and judicious thinning, is therefore obvioufly neceifary. The thinning out of plantations, however, is liable to reftriftions, according to local and rela- tive circumftances ; the fituation of neighbouring plants ; their value ; and the value of the plants to be thinned out. Thefe lad may be eftimated in a twofold view : they may be valuable as ufe- iul timber, or as nurfes to other trees. But in thinning, the confideration which fhould in all cafes predominate, is, to cut for the good of the timber to be left, difregarding the value of the thinnings. For, if we have it in our choice to leave a good, and take away a bad plant or kind; and if it be necefTary that one of the two fhould fall ; the only queflion fhould be, by leaving ithich. of them mail we do moft juflice to the laudable intention of raifing excellent and full-fized tim- ber for the benefit of ourfelves and of pofterity ? The worfe tree mould never be left, bur with the \ iew of filling up an accidental vacancy. 1 82 FOREST PLANTATIONS. {Jan. In order to prevent unneceffary repetitions, and that the fubjecl may be the more clearly followed, we fhall proceed, in the firft place, with the man* ner of thinning mixed plantations. OF THINNING MIXED PLANTATIONS. Here the removing of the nurfes is the firft ob- ject which generally claims attention. This, how- ever, mould be cautioufly performed ; otherwife the intention of nurfing might, after all, be thwart- ed. If the fituation be much expofed, it will be prudent to retain more nurfes, although the plan- tation itfelf be rather crowded, than where the fituation is flickered. In no cafe, however, mould the nurfes be fuffered to overtop or whip the plants intended for a timber crop ; and for this reafon, in bleak fituations, and when perhaps par- ticular nurfe-plants can hardly be fpared, it may fometimes be neceflary to prune off the branches from one fide entirely. At fubfequent thinnings, fuch pruned or disfigured plants are firft to be removed ; and then thofe which, from their fitua- tion, may befl be difpenfed v/hh. At what period of the age of the plantation all the nurfes are to be removed, cannot eafily be determined ; and, indeed, if the nurfes chiefly confift of Larches, it may with propriety be faid, that they mould never be totally removed, while any Jan.~\ THINNING. 183 any of the other kinds remain. For, befides that this plant is admirably calculated to compofe part of a beautiful mixture, it is excelled by few kinds, perhaps by none, as a timber tree. But when the nurfes confift of inferior kinds, fuch as the Mountain-dh and the Scots Fir, they mould generally be all removed by the time that the plantation arrives at the height of fifteen or twenty feet, in order that the timber trees may not, by their means, be drawn up too weak and fiender. Before this time, it may probably be neceflary to thin out a part of the other kinds. The leaffc valuable, and the leaft thriving plants, mould firfl be condemned, provided their removal occaiion no blank or chafm ; but where this would hap- pen, they mould be allowed to Hand till the next, or other fubfequent revifion. At what diftance of time this revifion mould take place, cannot eafily be determined ; as the matter mufl very much depend on the circum- ftances of foil, fhelter, and the flate of health hi which the plants may be. In general, the third feafon after will be foon enough \ and if the plan- tation be from thirty to forty years old, and in a. thriving ftate, it will require to be revifed again, in moft cafes, within feven years. But one invariable rule ought to prevail in all safes, and in all fituations ; to allow no plant to overtop FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. overtop or 'whip another. Refpeft fhould be had to the distance of the tops, not to the diflance of the roots of the trees ; for fome kinds require much more head-room than others ; and all trees do not rife perpendicular to their roots, even on the moft level or fheltered ground. With refpect to the final distance to which trees, ftanding in a mixed plantation, fhould be thinned, it is hardly poffible to prefcribe fixed rules ; circumftances of health, vigour, the fpread- ing nature of the tree, and the like, muft deter- mine. Whether the trees are to be fuffered to (land till full grown; which of the kinds the foil feems bed fitted for ; whether the ground be flat or elevated ; and whether the fituation be expofed or fheltered, are all circumftances which muft in- fluence the determination of the ultimate diftance at which the trees are to ftand. It may, however, be faid in general, that if trees be allowed a dif- tance of from twenty-five to thirty feet, accord- ing to their kinds and manner of growth, they will have room enough to become large timber. OF THINNING GROUPED PLANTATIONS. Here two things muft be confidered, namely, whether the plantation be fimply grouped ; or, whether it have been mixed with'nurfe plants, with the intention of being afterwards grouped. In JanJ] THINNING. 185 In the firft cafe, it ihould be kept rather thick than otherwise, in its early ftage of growth, that the plants may as it were nurfe one another. But when the trees have arrived at the height of fifteen or twenty feet, due attention (hould be paid to regular thinning, that the trees may not be rendered unfit for any ufeful purpofe to which they might otherwife be applicable. In the fecond cafe, the treatment is fimilar to that of mixed plantations until the nurfes are re- moved ; with this difference, that the plants which are ultimately to form the group muft, from the beginning, be regarded as the prime object ; and the nurfes, of whatfoever kinds they be, muft be viewed merely as the means of bringing forward the principals, and be removed as occafion may require. After the removal of the nurfes, group, ed plantations of Oak, Elm, Beech, &c. are to be thinned according to the rules already lay down. OF THINNING FIR PLANTATIONS. Plantations of Scots Fir, if the plants have been put in at three, or three and a half feet apart, will require no care until the trees be ten or twelve feet high. It is neceffary to keep fuch plantations thick in the early ftages of their growth, in order that the trees may tower the rafter, and pufh fewer and weaker fide branches. Indeed, a fir or 1 86 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Jan. or foft-wood plantation fhould be kept thicker at any period of its growth than any of thofe con- fiding cf hard wood and nurfes already mention- ed ; and it may fometimes be proper to prune up certain plants as nurfes, as hinted at above for nurfes in a mixed plantation. Thofe pruned up trees are of courfe to be reckoned temporary plants, and are afterwards to be the firft thinned out: next to thefe, all plants which have loft their leaders by accident, mould be condemned ; becaufe fuch will never regain them fo far, as af- terwards to become (lately timber ; provided aU ways, however, that the removal of thefe muti- lated trees caufe no material blank in the planta- tion. Care mould be taken to prevent whipping ; nor mould the plantation be thinned much at any one time, left havock be made by prevailing winds ; an evil which many, through inadvertency, have thus incurred. This precaution feems the more neceifary, inafmuch as Scots Firs, intended for ufeful large timber, are prefumed never to be planted except in expofed fituations and thin foils. At forty years of age, a good medium diftance for the trees may be about fifteen feet every way. It may be worthy of remark, however, that after a certain period, perhaps by the time that the plantation arrives at the age of fifty or fixty years, it will be proper to thin more freely, in order, by the more free admnTion cf air, to hard- tin Jan.~\ THINNING. i$- en the timber ; and that, then, this may be done with Icfs riik of danger, from the ftrength the trees will have acquired, than at an earlier pe- riod ; but ftill it mould be done gradually. Plantations of Spruce and Silver Firs, intended for large ufeful timber, mould be kept much in the manner above ftated, both in their infancy and middle age. As already remarked, planting and keeping them as thick as is confident with their health, is the befl means of producing tall, ftraight, clean items, and valuable timber. When planted for fcreens or for ornament, they require a different treatment ; which will be noticed in the proper place. To Larch plantations, the above obfervations will alfo apply ; and indeed they are applicable to plantations of all kinds of refmous trees. It may be proper here to remark, that the ex- posed margins of all young plantations fliould be kept thicker than the interior. The extent to which this rule mould be carried, mud be regu- lated according to the degree of expofure of the fituation, the age of the plants, the tendernefs of the kinds, and other circumftances. The manner of thinning neglected older plan- tations will be treated of in September ; the fall of the leaf being deemed the fitteil time at which to judge of the ftate of health or decay of foreft WOODS WOODS AND COPSES. [Jan. WOODS AND COPSES. ON PREPARING THE GROUND FOR AN OAK. WOOD. DIFFERENT methods may be purfued in the eftablilhing of an Oak Wood ; one or other of which may be reforted to., according to circum- flances. We fhall ftate them feparatety. If the ground be fo level, and fo free from ftones or rocks, as that it can be ploughed, it is the beft method to truft the preparation of the land to the plough. In this cafe, however, we would by no means advife the rearing of an Oak wood on a poor moorifh foil. Such land fhould be referved to be planted with trees better fulted to its nature. The Oak requires, and deferyes a good foil ; and if an attempt be made to rear an oak wood in a very bad foil, fuch an attempt will inevitably fail. The upper foil fhould be at lead fix inches in depth, and a tolerably good mould ; fuch as would, if properly cultivated, produce a fair crop of grain. There can be no objection to a cool, deep fand ; the oak being found PF SPARING GROUND. 189 found to thrive well in fuch a foil, when once fairly eflablimed. If the ground be in ley, or in coarfe pafturage, and of a quality capable of producing a crop of oats, the field mould be prepared by fuch a crop. After the removal of the oats from the ground, it fhould be ploughed as deep as the foil will admit, if under nine or ten inches, either by fingle or double ploughing. It may lye in this furrow till March, and may then be harrowed flat. It muft be ploughed again in April, at which time the acorns are to be fown. In fuch a cafe as that under confideration, we would recommend the cropping of the ground among the young oaks for a few years : fuch cropping will defray the expenfe both of fowing the oaks, and of keeping the ground clean among them, and will greatly promote their growth, pro- vided the land be not overcropped. The crops in- troduced muft be, not of a feourging nature, but fuch as lettuces, turnips, potatoes, beans, and the like. Carrots and cabbage are more fevere crops, and mould, if poflible, be avoided. The land mould be manured for thefe crops, as in or- dinary gardening. The firft crop may be turnip with dung : Beans to follow, without dung : Af- ter the beans, a crop of lettuces without dung, which would generally leave the land very fit to be laid down in grafs in the following feafon with- i out WOODS AND COPSE . [Jan. out dung. If, however, it were judged necerTary, potatoes with a little dung might follow the let- tuce, which would put the ground in fine ftate to receive the grafs feeds in the fifth feafon. It is certainly the moft advifable method to dung the firft feafon ; becaufe the acorns thus re- ceive fuch powerful encouragement, that the pro* grefs of the plants is generally fecured. The moft proper manure, perhaps, is ftable dung, well re- duced : it may, however, be of different quali- ties, according to the nature of the foil. If the ground has been under a grain crop the preceding feafon, it will require no other treat- ment at this time than what is recommended a* bove for land under fuch circumftances. It is underflood that the ground, at the laft ploughing which it received, probably in October or No- vember, has been laid up in ridges of fuch breadth and pofition as were bed calculated to keep the ground dry. There can be no greater error than allowing the land to sour, from retaining water on the furface during the winter months. It is therefore a neceffary work, to let off all stagnant water from intended copfe-wood land, and to keep the land during the winter months as dry as poflible. It is hardly neceflary to obferve here, after what has been faid on the fubjecl:, under the head Or- nantental Plantations for this month, that the ground Jan.'} PREPARING GROUND. ground mould, in preparing it for an Oak wood, be as effe&ually drained, whether in refpeft to furface water, or that ifluing from fprings, as if it were intended to be cropped with wheat. In fituations where the plough cannot be intro- duced, but where it is defirable to rear an Oak wood, and where the foil is fit for the purpofe, the following methods may be purfued. Firft, if the fituation be flickered, as the banks of a river, or the like, the ground may be pitted, in the fame manner as for ordinary planting, (fee Forest Plantations for May), at the diftance of fix feet from centre to centre. The pits fhould b made eight or ten inches deep, if the foil will admit of it, and, at the leaft, fifteen inches in diameter. They mould be filled one out of another ; the fward being pared thin off, and laid in the boN torn, and chopped in pieces. In the prefent in- ftance, we recommend this method, whatever na- ture the fward be of; becaufe the pits are intend- ed for acorns. The foil will, by this treatment, be much meliorated by the firft of April, the fea- fon for fowing the acorns. If the pits, however, had been made in May, or the fubfequent months of the preceding year, they would have been (till better, by their receiving a longer fallow. If the land be a ftiff clay, it is abfolutely necefTary that the pits be made, if not in May, at lead in the autumn months preceding the fowing. Suppofing 1 92 WOODS AND COPSES. [Jan. Suppofmg the pits to be made for the recep- tion of the acorns, let a fmall patch, exactly hi the centre between every four pits, have the turf pared off quite thin, by means of the hand-mat- tock ; * and then let this patch be flirred up to a good depth by the fmall end of the mattock : into the hollow thus made, let a feedling, or ra- ther a one-year-nurfed larch be planted. If the ground be not in a proper ftate to receive the larches, the land fo prepared may lye off till it be in a proper condition for receiving the plants. Thefe Larches will have the ftart of the Oaks to be fown in April ; and will, confequently, both fhelter and draw them forward. Secondly, if the fituation be bleak, the ground may be planted all over with larches, by the hand- mattock as advifed above, but at not more than three, or three and a half feet apart. After the larches have flood two or three years, the ground may be pitted for the reception of the acorns. In pitting, in the above cafe, however, the diftances cannot poflibly be fo regular as if the land had been bare : the pits may, probably, be from four to feven feet apart, which will anfwer very well. We have here recommended Larches as nurfes, becaufe they are fooner of general ufe than Scots firs : ^the latter, however, are certainly prefer- able * Represented in Plate III, fig. 2, Jan.'] PREPARING GROUND. able as (bettering nurfes for the young oaks ; and in places where wood for coal mines, and fimilar purpofes, is required, Scots firs are of nearly equal Value with the larch. We have mentioned two or three years after planting as the time for fow- ing the acorns ; but, if the trees have made but fmall progrefs, the fowing may be deferred till the fourth, or, if need be, even to the fifth year after planting the firs or larches. It will be obferved, that we have here advifed the fowing of the acorns at much fmaller diftan- ces from each other, than we have recommended in treating of planting oaks, under the head Forest Plantations for thig month. The reafon is obvi- ous. Thofe at prefent under confideration, are intended for copfes, in the firfl inftance, after the removal of the nurfes : thefe copfes may, by pro- per management, be converted into oak woods afterwards, as pleaiure or intereft may direct. OF MIXED COPSES. PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. If it is intended to plant the mixed copfe, any neceffity of enlarging on the preparation of the ground, is in a great meafure fuperfeded by what we have faid above, refpecting the preparing for oak woods and copfes. Indeed, the nature of this crop is not fo far removed from that f the pre- Jtf ceding^ 194 WOOB5 AND COPSES. [Jfltf* ceding, as to require any very marked alteration. We have already noticed, that a thorough fum- rner-fallow is the mod defirable method of prepa- ration ; but that the mode to be followed muft vary according to the nature of the foil, and other circumftances. In the view, however, of rearing the mixed copfe from feeds, a much more particular atten- tion is requifite ; and efpecially in regard to the raifing of thofe kinds which have very fmall feeds, as the Birch and the Mountain-Am. Summer- .fallow is certainly very improperly withheld where thefe, or even the larger feeds, are to be fown,. In cafes, however, where this is impracticable, the pits (hould be dug in May, and, after eight months, they may now again be ftirred ; and by the fpring months, they may receive a preparative (Hiring, finally to fit them for the reception of the feeds. Here, however, we beg leave to notice, that we only admit of mixed copfes, either fown or plant- ed, as matters of ornament. We have already given our decided preference to the massing fyf- tem, for reafons before ailigned. Indeed, we judge it prepofterous, to attempt to force any one fort of plant from its own foil, into the foil adapted for another. For example : In many inftances where copfes are to be raifed, there is a great va- riety in the nature of the foil : ' Here, perhaps, we have twenty or thirty falls of moffy earth, and withal PREPARING GROUND. 195 withal very damp : Probably, next adjoining is a quarter of an acre of ftrong clay foil : On an ex- pofed point, perhaps, a few falls of fandy, worth- lefs foil ; and fo on. It will readily occur, that the Birch and the Poplar fhould divide the mofTy part ; the Oak and the Spanifh Chefnut the clay- ey foil ; and the Mountain Sorb its own expofed fituation. The Willow and the Alder might alfp find a place in the lower and damper part of fuch a varied furface ; and thus may each kind re- fpeftively occupy their own native foils in fmall unequal maffes or groups, which would produce a far more perfect variety, and probably yield much more pleafure to a true tafle, than any ge- neral mixture in the ordinary way. From the va- rious nature of the foil here fuppofed, the nurfes could not, probably, be all larches : Spruce fir would be found to be a better nurfe in the low- fituated places : And if the copfe were intended as, a cover for game, near a refidence, Hazels in abundance fhould be planted as nurfes. It is, perhaps, hardly necefifary to notice, that, in the ground prepared for fowing a mixed copfe, the nurfes fhould be introduced, as above recom- mended for the oak copfes* Indeed, land intend- ed for a mixed copfe to be raifed from feeds, may- be treated in all refpeds as if intended for an oak wood, as far as regards the fheltering of the young plants, N % PLANTING WOODS AND COPSES. PLANTING MIXED COPSES. If the ground under fummer-fallow, intended to be planted as a mixed copfe, be naturally dry, and if the ftate of the weather will allow, it may now receive a finifhing furrow to prepare it for immediate planting. The pits on the other grounds, prepared for the fame purpofe, mould now be examined, to fee whe- ther they be in a proper ftate to receive the plants j probably fuch as are fituated on elevated places, and floping dry grounds, or fuch as are made m light fandy foils, may now be in a fit condition to receive the intended occupiers ; and if fo, the o- perations of planting may be forthwith performed in fuch places. Other portions of the intended copfe ground, fituated more in hollows and por- tions perhaps of a clayey or retentive foil, mould be. left till a more advanced period of the feafon. Much, indeed, of the fuccefs of the planter de- pends on his rightly choofmg the feafons, for in- troducing his plants into the various foils. A dry hill may, with the utmoft propriety, be planted juft now ; while a bog, a moid hollow, or reten- tive clay, ought not to be planted, it may be, for two or three months to come. There is therefore very great danger in employing an unfkilful ope- rator, and efpecially in bargaining for the ground being Jan.'] PLANTING MIXED COPSES. 197 being planted at fo much per acre, by labouring people, where the fole object of the perfons fo employed, muft evidently be the fpeedy ex ecu- tion of the work. It is proper here to obferve, that in order to fuccefsful planting, in grounds fuch as thofe we are confidering, much more is neceflary to be at- tended to than merely the fitnefs of the foil, at a given time, to receive the plant. A difcrimina- tion of the quality of the foil is requifite ; and it is necefiary to be able to determine, whether a Birch or a Spanifh Chefnut, an Oak or a Poplar, will thrive beft on fuch and fuch a fpot. Even after having afcertained thefe points, the nature of the undertaking dill requires a little reflection. One queflion may be, Does the fituation of the intended copfe, when the ftate and kind of the minerals of the furrounding country, and the dif- tance from the fea or a navigable river, are con- fidered, indicate the probability of the planta- tion being ufed for fuel, or employed in an iron work ? If fuch mould become the deftination of the, copfe, it may be cut down, perhaps, once in twen- ty, or thirty years ; but while the advantages of cutting it down for thefe purpofes are contemplat- ed, the returns to be expected from the bark of the copfe wood, are not to be loft fight of. Hence the propriety of introducing chiefly fuch forts as are WOODS AND COPSES. [Jan. are capable of yielding the double advantage of fuel and tan. We have already glanced at the great utility of adapting the kinds to the particular foils ; yet it is agreeable to remark the beneficence of Nature in having chofen to vary her productions fo much, that we are fupplied with feveral forts of trees, which will grow luxuriantly in the fame kinds of foils, while their qualities are" materially different ; and confequently, their value alfo. The right afforting of thefe different kinds of trees to the refpe&ive foils, and their proper di- rection to the propofed end, fhow true {kill in the planter. The perfon who fets about planting a mixed copfe, with an indifcrimmate variety of trees, without being acquainted with their differ- ent qualities, or their fimefs or unfitnefs for the ultimate purpofes intended, labours as much in the dark, as the fportfman who difcharged his fowling-piece into a thicket of furze and ferns, ex- pecting to kill the invifible game. Suppofmg then, that a mixed copfe be intend- ed for fuel ; and that the foil admits that a confi- derable variety of trees fhould be ufed ; the quef- tions naturally occur. What kinds are likely to make greatefl progrefs in the land propofed to be planted ? Are thefe well adapted for fuel ? And yvill their barks, when the trees fhall be fit for fuel, contain the tanning principle in a proportion fuf- fi;ient to render them valuable ? Althoug^ PLANTING MIXED COPSES. 199 Although the foil were capable of producing excellent Am, Sycamore, or Elm, thefe muft ne- ceflarily be rejected, becaufe they want at lead one of the properties required ; and forne of the other kinds, whofe barks contain the tanning principle in the greateft quantity, as the Oak, the Spanifh Chefnut, the Birch, the Black Pop- lar, the Mountain-Am, the Huntingdon and Bedford Willow, and the Alder, muft be pre- ferred. Even among the plants juft named, it can hardly happen that there will not be found a fufficient number of kinds to anfwer even the moft various foil and furface which may happen to be contained within the precincts of the propofed copfe. Suppofmg the copfe mould confift of the a- bove kinds, the trees mould be planted at thp diftance of fix feet apart ; ancl the interfaces fliould be filled up with a like number of nurfes, bed fuited to the foil and fuuation. The greateft part of the nurfes fliould probably be Larches, be- caufe they not only rife fafter, but they thrive in a greater variety of foils, and their timber is mon? early of general ufe, than any other of the nurfes generally employed : Befides, the bark of the Larch contains the tanning principle in a very corifider- able proportion ; and, if it can be put to ufe, (which will probably be fomewhat difficult, o?i account of the rofm connected with it), the Larcji may 2CO "WOODS AND COPSES. , \J(tn* may become a ftill more valuable tree than it is yet efteemed. As to the fizcs of plants to be ufed for form- ing the mixed copfe, they mould not be more than eighteen inches high at mofl ; but from twelve to eighteen inches is the bed fize. The plants mould not be drawn up too flender in the nurfery, but mould be stout plants ; the more a- bundant in fibres their roots are, the better will the plants be found to fucceed. The method of planting has already been defcribed in the article Forest Planting for this month j which fee. PRUNING OF COPPICE WOODS. The obfervations already made refpecling the Pruning of Foreft Plantations from infancy on- ward, will equally apply to that of copfe wood. Here, alfo, every thing muft give way to the principal crop. Attention muft alfo be paid to prevent whipping, and to preferve a free circu- lation of air at all times, which can only be ac- complifhed by a timeous pruning and thinning. THINNING OF COPPICE WOODS. As advifed in the Thinning of Foreft Planta- tions, it is proper here, alfo, to begin with the removal of the nurfes. By the time indeed that th Jan.] PLANTING MIXED COPSES. the nurfes are completely removed, or very fliort- ly thereafter, the copfe wood itfelf may proba- bly be in a proper condition for being cut down. It will be underiiood, that we do not approve oi removing the nurfes fuddenly ; on the contrary, it mud be a work of years. They may, however, be all removed by the thirtieth year. If the copfe wood, whether mixed, mailed, or entirely of one fort, be planted at the diftance of fix feet between each tree, the principals will not require to be thinned out at all, but will have fufficient room to iland until they be large enough for the pur- pofes for which they were intended. The feafon. of felling copfe wood rnuft be re- gulated by the time mod proper for taking off the barks ; which will fall to be treated off in the fub- fequent months. FEN- 20$ FENCES* FENCES. ON FENCING GROUNDS IN GENERAL. THE utility of fencing grounds is and has been a matter of common confent in almoft every civi- lized and cultivated country. But while its ufe- fulnefs has been admitted in the mod unlimited manner, in too many instances has it been fo in theory, without practice. In mod parts of the country, we pafs but comparatively few fields, and flill fewer plantations, without feeing them expofed to the ravages of every browfing animal. A mock ditch, a ragged hedge, or a broken wall, is, in many inftances, the doughty barrier to de- fend a valuable property from the inroads of cat- tle. Yet, with comparatively a fmall fum, fences both of durability and elegance, could be con- ftructed and preferved. Indeed, nature has fo abundantly provided the means of protecting the labours of the field, that, where living fences are difficult to be raifed, ftones are generally ve- ry abundant ; fo that proprietors are literally 6 without FENCING GROUNDS IN GENERAL. 203 * without excufe' in having their arable fields and plantations expofed to the depredations of cattle. The fuperiority of living fences over dead ones feems to be eftablifhed by common confent. Many varieties of deciduous plants have been recommended ; but none of them have been fo generally adopted as the common Hawthorn.^ In- deed none anfwers the purpofe nearly fo welL It not only makes the ciofeft and mod perfect fence, but it readily takes with almoft any foil, and grows vigoroufly in almoft every fituation ; while mod other hedge-plants affecl: their own particular foils, and mow impatience when placed In others, Evergreen fences, of great beauty, value, and durability, may be formed of the Holly; and there are few foils in which it will not grow well. DITCHING. The lines and boundaries to be converted into fences by ditch and hedge, muft depend upon circumftances, the confideration of which does not at prefent fall in our way. Yet, in general, it may be obferyed, that the line of the ditch to be made ought to be adapted as much as poilible to carry off, both the furface water, and any fpring water contained in the fubfoi!. Moving the line 204 FENCES. {Jan. a few yards either to the right or to the left, will furely appear a trifling matter, in comparifon perhaps with laying a field dry, or even maintain- ing the line of beauty with the boundary of fome adjoining plantation. It need hardly be here ob- ferved, that the ditch fhould be fo conftru&ed, as that no part of it will retain Handing water. A declivity mould be fecured in every part of the bottom of the ditch. THORN PLANTS. The rapid progrefs of the hedge depends in a great meafure on the goodnefs of the plants em- ployed. The goodnefs of thefe, however, does not fo much confift in the thicknefs of their ftems, as in the numerous fibres of their roots. A very thick flemmed plant may have hardly a fibre at the root to fupport it when planted. The moft defirable plants are therefore fuch as have the greateft number of fibres at their roots, with a clean and vigorous ftem. It muft be obferved, that if thorns (land in the nurfery line more than one, or at the moft two years, unmoved, their roots become thinner of fibres, which confequent- ly renders them lefs fit for the purpofe of plant- ing for hedges, than if they had been removed at an earlier period of their growth. One-year feedlings of good growth, nurfed for one Jan.'] f HORN PLANTS. one year in rich earth, will generally make fitter plants for planting out, than when they are al- lowed to ftand for two or three years in the nur- fery lines. Two-year feedlings, carefully lifted from the feed-bed, fo as to preferve their roots entire, and then one year nurfed in rich mellow earth, will alfo make excellent plants for hedges. Indeed, plants of thefe ages, fo treated, will out- grow thofe of greater fize in any foil or fituation whatever. The caufe obvioufly is, that fmall plants, even by the fame treatment, are raifed with better roots, in proportion to their ftems, than larger plants. In rhe choofmg of quickfets, refpect mould therefore be had to the roots, more than to the tops of the plants. But there is a double advantage in ufmg young plants as above recommended. If they are to be bought, they will coft lefs money than older ones. If they are raifed in a private nurfery, lefs time is required, as well as lefs labour, to produce them. Further, they are better fitted for very expofed fituations, than fuch as are older ; not becaufe their tops are lefs bufhy, which, fince thefe are to be cut off, is immaterial, but becaufe they have better roots, and more fibres in proportion to their items, and, of courfe, are better fitted to feek paf- turage for their fuftenance, and to take a firm hold of the foil. As above hinted, the ftems of the plants ihould be FENCES. be cut over about half their length, of generally about fix inches above the ground mark. This may be performed by the hedge-fhears ; but a better method is, to gather a handful evenly, lay them on a block, and chop them through with a (harp hatchet, which makes a cleaner cut than the ihears. It is of importance to make the wounds, on the young thorti plants, as clean as poflible. For this reafon, fome are at the trouble of cutting the young plants individually with a fharp knife ; and it mufl be allowed, that this, although the mod tedious, is certainly the bed method of cut- ting over thorn plants, to prepare them for being laid in the ditches. After the obfervations already made under the head Nursery, and confidering thofe to be made, re- fpecting lifting plants from the nurfery ; we need hardly here direct, that every the fmalleft fibre of th roots mould be preferved in the lifting of the thorn fets ; and that the roots fliould b,e as little expofed to the air as poflible. METHOD OF DITCHING. Having fixed upon the direction of the ditch, the fide next to the plantation, or field to be fenced, is to be rutted oft' by the hand- line. The oper- ator rnuft (land with his face outwards, and hold the fpade ir\ fuch a direction as to form the Hope Jan."] METHOD OF DITCHIN6* 20? of the ditch to the depth of the rut as he proceeds* If the fward be in ley, it fhould be pared off as thin as poffible, to the extent of one foot in breadth, along the fide of the rut where the bank is to lye. This is cleaning the scarsement beforehand, and is done to prevent a rank growth of herbage the following feafon. If the land in, queftion has been in tillage the preceding feafon, the operation of paring will be unneceflary. Having now fmifhed the above, run another rut along by the line, on the fui face of what is af- terwards to become the ditch, a foot from the former rut. Go along, and notch the inner fpace crofsxvife, keeping the fpade in one pofition, fo as to form turfs of about a foot fquare. Begin at one end, and turn thefe fods at one cafl of the fpade, fo as they may be inverted with their edg- es at the diftance of about nine inches from the firft rut, which is now the face of the ditch, keep- ing them exadly in line, and joined clofe to each other : thus a fcarfement of about nine inches broad will be formed. In light, fandy, or gravel- ly lands, however, the fcarfement (hould not be lefs than a foot broad ; as, otherwife, the brink might crumble down, and leave the roots of the plants too much expofed. Another row of fods is now to be lifted from the fur face of the ditch, and thrown at random beyond, but not away from, the former. This is done to increafe the furfac* FENCES. {Jan. furface mould whereon the plants are to lye; and, where there is no turf, the operation is unnecef- fary. The operator mufl now go along the firft row of fods ; fmoothing all inequalities, and lay- ing the furface in a gently Hoping pofition, fo as that the roots of the plants may dip a little, and the tops may incline upwards when placed. Hav- ing the bed fmifhed as above, if neceffary, pro. cure fome well rotted dung, and lay on a thin sprinkling. A very fmall portion of earth may be applied above the dung ; being careful, however, fo cover it, fo as that the fibres of the plants, when laid on the bed fo prepared, may not im- mediately come in contact with the dung. The thorns are now to be fo placed, as that the point where they are cut over may be about an inch be- yond the margin of the fod towards the ditch, and from fix to nine inches apart, according to the quality of the foil, and the purpofe for which they are planted. They are to be covered, as fpeedily as poflible, with a portion of the best mould from the ditch. But on the oppofite fide, to the width Intended, the richer parts of the remaining earth are to be thrown up, and laid immediately be- yond the roots of the plants. In the event of pro- tecling the hedge with a railing, the remaining earth is to be laid in a neat ridge, iloping back- wards from the thorns. The ditch mufl be equal- ly Hoped on both fides to the propofed depth, keeping TOP DIKES, DEAD HEDGES, &C. keeping it one foot wide at bottom, whatever be the fize of the ditch. The general rule for mak- ing ditches for hedges is, that whatever be the breadth at top, the perpendicular depth mould be half as much. For inftance, a fix feet ditch mud be three feet deep ; a five feet ditch, two and a half deep ; and a four feet ditch, two feet deep ; and fo forth. Six feet ditches made in the above form, without thorn plants, may be rendered to- lerable fences, by fowing whin-hedges along the ridges of earth laid up in March ; which fee. TOP DIKES, DEAD HEDGES, AND RAILS. If, in the view of protecting the hedge, or more completely fencing the enclofure, it is intended to build a dike or wall on the top of the ditch, ii\ Sir George Suttie's ftyle, it is neceflary to flatten the earth thrown from the ditch, fo that it may {land about a foot above the thorn bed, with the fide thereto neatly Hoped back. The height of the wall may be thirty inches; the foundation twenty inches broad, and the top fifteen. The height of the dike muft be regulated by exifting circumftances. The outer face of the dike, next to the ditch, may (land ten or twelve inches back from the face of the thorn-bed, according to the loofe or retentive nature of the mould. The building of the tpp dike fliovild be deferred for O i 2io FENCES. [Jan. fix or eight months after the cafting of the ditch, to allow the earth to confolidate, in order to make the (tones lye the more fecure. Even the placing of the dike is a particular matter. If it (land too far forward or outward, it is in danger of flipping down, and the hedge cannot be cleaned and dref- fed without difficulty ; and, if it (tand too far back, the fpace may afford the cattle an opportu- nity of fcrarnbling up and treading down the hedge, and defacing the ditch. In regard to the materials of which the dike is to be conftru&ed, it may be a matter.of choice or of neceffity. Flat fquare stones are the be(t, be- caufe they lye more fecurely, efpecially if they arc of fome confiderable fize. The top mould be fi- nifhed with ftones large enough to reach from fide to fide of the wall. Bricks may be ufed with propriety ; but the great expenfe is almoft a prohibition. Some improvers have built their top dikes throughout with lime ; but where flones of a good fize can be had, they will ftand very well without any fort of mortar fox four or five years, by which time the hedge may be a tolerable fence, and the fervices of the dike may be difpenfed with. In diftrifts where (tones are not to be got, re- courfe may be had to turf, or well dried peat, for conftrucling the walls j or even wiburnt bricks Jan."] TOP DIKES, DEAD HEDGES, &C. 21 1 will do : for any of thefe may be made fufficient- ly fubftantial to {land, with occafional helping, till the hedge becomes a complete fence. Such walls, however, require to be built in the fpring months ; which fee. In fituations where none of the above materials can be got, recourfe may be had to pales or rails, or to dead Itedges, formed of brufhwood. The method of making brufhwood-hedges, is as foU lows : Having flattened the earth thrown fron^ the ditch, as directed for the foundation of the top dike, cut a trench a foot fquare, turning the earth inwards. Set in the brufhwood, fo as to ftand three feet above the furface, taking care to intermix the great and fmall together, and ram it firmly in, returning the earth, and firming the ends in the trench as well as poflible. When the placing of the hedge is finimed, clip the fides, fo as that the fide next to the quick hedge do not interfere with its growth, or hinder the operation, of cleaning, or the like ; the other fide may be drefled in till the dead hedge be about eighteen inches thick, and the height three feet. The pofition of the rail is in a great meafure a matter of indifference, provided it be fo placed as to protect the young hedge, and the plantation or field. Perhaps the mofl terrific manner of rail- ing, is by ufing rails with a great many knaggy * O 2 ftmnps * Sharp and rugged. 2i FENCES. [Jan< flumps about a foot long. The pods are to be driven into the face of the bank, a few inches a- bove the plants, and in an inclining pofition, fo as to form an angle of about 60 with the horizon. Two rails of the above defcriptjon are to be nail- ed on ; one a foot above the plants, and the other eighteen inches or two feet above that. A barrier will thus be formed, that few pafturing animals will attempt to pafs. PLASHING AND CUTTING OLD HEDGES. Hedges which have been long neglected, moot np to a great height like trees, become naked at bottom, and occupy too much ground, at lead for lands in a date of high cultivation. The beft method of reducing fuch to a proper fize, and of forming them into an immediate fence, is by Plash" ing. This confids in fele&ing the dronged and flraighteft fhoots. Thefe are to be drefled up and headed down to four feet, and in fuch a way that the tops of the whole may range in a neat line. Thefe are called the stakes ; and, when they are deficient, either in drength or number, recourfe mud be had to artificial flakes, which mud be driven in to dand firm, and fupply the deficiency of natural ones. Having proceeded thus far in preparing the hedge for plafhing, the hedger is to begin at one end, and bend down as dole as pof- fibl* PLASHING} &C. 213 fible the remaining pliable branches, crofting them in the manner of bafket work. Such as are too ftrong to be bent, may be cut half through with the bill, which will render them pliable enough to be iifed ; and fuch as are not required for any of the above-mentioned purpofes, muft be cut oil" clofe to the ground. After the plafhing is iinifli- ed, the hedge fhould be dreffed fmooth on both fides by the fwitching-bill and fhears. A Hawthorn, either in flower or in fruit, is a t>eautiful object. ' The time of plafhing hedges is a proper period for felecling fuch as promife to make handfome trees, which fliould be left for that purpofe. Surely the moft parfimonious will grant this indulgence to his neighbours, who may happen to have a tafte for fuch objects. They will repay him with many thanks \ and the feather- ed tenants of the grove will fmg his praife for the haws, in their * wild warbling notes. * There is another method of plafhfng, which has been fuggefted as an improvement upon the foregoing ; and that is, by not cutting any of the ftems over as flakes, but weaving in the tops a- long with the other branches. This method will not have fo immediate a tendency to bare the low- er parts of the hedge by the growth of the top; as when many of the plants are cut over for ftakes ; but ftill, at the bendings, the growth will rufh out with vigour : befides, this plan is at- tended 2i4 FENCES. {Jan. tended with more labour. Indeed, the beft fe- curity against baring the bottom of a plained hedge, is by cutting over by the furface as ma- iiy of the plants as can be at all fpared ; and the moots arifing from thefe will foon thicken the hedge at bottom. Flaming, however, can only be effectually and handfomely performed, when there is a good por- tion of long, pliable, and well- feathered branch- es, and where the hedge has, if not youth, at lead -vigour, an its fide. After the plafhing is completed, the ditch is to be fcoured out, and the bottom of the hedge cleaned and dreffed up, in the fame neat manner as if all were new work. Cutting over old hedges, is a much lefs expen- five method of reclaiming or renewing, than a- ny of the above ; and perhaps, in moft cafes, may be a more eligible favrng 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. The nature of the cutting muft be regulated by circumftances, according to the age, the flrength, or the clofenefs of the hedge, and whether it have been planted in Tingle or double rows. If the hedge in queflion be pretty vigorous and branch- ing towards the bottom, and if the ftems (land regularly and clofely together, it may be brought into Jan.'] CLASHING, &c, 215 into due fubjedlion without being cut down to the ground. In this cafe, the fides are firft to be Twitched up with the hook, not altogether clofe to the ftems, but within about a foot of them on each fide at bottom ^ tapering up clofe at top, which mould be four or five feet high, according to the general height of the hedge : But if the hedge be thin at bottom, it will be advifable to cut more in, in order to make it bumy from the ground upwards. If the hedge is not regularly clofe from end to end, but ragged, and full of gaps, the beft method is to cut it over, xvithin eight or ten inches of the ground, and to fill up the gaps with flout, well- rooted plants of the Same kind ; * and to point up the furface of the bank, and to fcour up the ditch, as above directed in plafhing. In other cafes, when the hedge is getting thin below, or too tall, and where the flems are placed regularly * The practice of filling up gaps in thorn hedges with sweet-brier or barberry, or indeed any other sort of plant than its own kind, is one which has never recompensed those who have done it, for their trouble, and which generally in- creases the evil it was intended to diminish. Every hedga should be beeled up * with plants of its own kind ; because the habit of growth, and sameness of nature, fit them more perfectly for associating with their kindred, than any acci- dental circumstances can fit a stranger for being introduced- * ' f. Mnded with living plants. 16 FEKCES* [Jan, regularly within eight or ten inches of one ano- ther, and where it is necefiary to retain a fence, and at the fame time to cut, fo as to have a fup- ply of young moots from the bottom, the plan to be followed j is to cut alternately the one part to within eight or ten inches of the bottom, and the other at four feet high ; drefling the bank, and fcouring the ditch, as directed above. In cafes where two rows of quicks have been planted, the front one is to be cut by the furface, and the other at four or five feet high, as circum- flances may require* In doling this article upon cutting fences, we would entreat proprietors and others to guard, with great caution and care, againfl the ordinary method of hafhing them downwards with the bill, fo as to fplit the flock : the cut ought always to be made upwards in a flanting direction, and fo as to leave the flock quite whole and fmooth at the place where the wound is made. Indt ed, in every cafe where a wound is neceflarily to be inflicted on a living tree, it ought to be made as fmooth and clean as poffible, that the effort of the plant to reflore the wounded part to a found flats be .not counteracted. ON SUNK FENCES. A Sunk Fence is formed by an excavation of , in a trisupgular form? to fuel} a depth as exifting ON SUNK FENCES. ft 17 exifting circumftances may require, and facing up the perpendicular fide with a (tone wall. The moft common rule for the proportions of the Sunk Fence, on level ground, is, that what* ever be the depth of the facing wall, the length of the flope, from the general furface of the field to the bottom of the facing wall, mall be twice its height. It would, however, be impoflible to ap- ply this rule in many cafes ; indeed, almoft every feparate field, intended to be fenced in this man- ner, requires fome deviation from the above rule. In cafes where the Sunk Fence is intended to defend a plantation from the depredations of paf- turing animals, a five feet wall will be found ge- nerally fufficient ; but in cafes where the furface is unequal, and where it is neceflary that it mould operate in the double capacity of a fence and a drain, thefe circumftances muft regulate the height of the wall, as well as the degree of flope. One general rule in fubdividing fields by the Sunk Fence> is to place the perpendicular wall next to the place from which the principal view- er profpecl is likely to be taken j as, for in- fiance, if a manfion-houfe be fo fituated that the furrounding lawn muft be divided into feparate enclofures, while it is defirable that this be done in fuch a manner that the dividing fences be not feen, a funk fence is fuitable j but the wall of the ;nk fence muft be placed next to the houfe; becaufe> FEKCJKS* becaufe, were the flope to be fo placed, part of the wall would inevitably appear from the win- dows of the fecond or third floor, or from any correfponding eminence, and deftroy the effect which it was wifhed to fecure. In no cafe, perhaps, ought the wall of the funk fence to be built without mortar ; being intended for a permanent fence, it ought to be fubftantially made ; a five feet wall ought to be eighteen inches thick at bottom, and twelve at top. Walls of greater or lefs height fhould be of flrength in pro- portion to the refiftance they have to make ; but, efpecially where the cut is very deep, (tones of great weight are required to be ufed ; and, in ge- neral, funk fence walls fhould be built with (lone* as large as the fize of the wall will admit of. GALLOWAY DIKES. Galloway Dikes form the cheapeft and ea- fled method of fencing, where ftones abound* As implied in the name, they are very common in the fouth-wefl diftrict of Scotland. Now, in- deed, they are to be feen everywhere. What are called land-stones anfwer for their conilruclion ; and many diftricts of country abound fo much in thefe, that removing them is an effential part of improving the foil. In fijch cafes, the rearing of Galloway dikes is comparatively an eafy talk. The GALLOWAY DIKES, &C. The chief art in building them confifts in af- forting the ftones at fight, fo as that they may bed well, and hold together firmly. The low price generally allowed for this kind of building will hardly admit of the ufe of the drefling tool. The flatted and fquareft of the ftones which are of a confiderable fize, mould be ufed in building about two feet of the lower part of the wall, while the more irregular pieces of the largeft fixe mould be referved for the under part of the coping, which is to be terminated of a wedge-fhape upwards, with the fmaller ftones. The quality of the ma- terials muft generally determine the height of fuch walls. The beft ftones will not admit of being built more than five feet high in this way but from four to five feet may be the medium height of the Galloway dike. DRY-STONE DIKES. Fencing with common ftone dikes may now be carried on with propriety. The ftones moft proper for building dry -ftone dikes are fuch as naturally have a flat or fquare form from the quarry. Walls built with fuch materials, and afterv/ards, at the proper feafon, pointed with good mortar, and coped with danders, * as ad- vifed * Slags from glass-houses, salt-works, or i [Jan. Tifed for ftone and lime walls in March, will ftand a very long time. If, however, the ftones are round, or awkwardly angular in their form, k would be better to build them into Galloway likf s, or with mortar at the proper feafon. FEBRUARY, THE NURSERY, THE NURSERY. THE feafon is now arrived which calls for all the yigilance of the nurferyman ; a variety of articles will be preflingly demanding his attention; among the foremoil of which will be the lifting of feed- ling Thorns, Larch, Elms, and Birch. Indeed, the lifting of all deciduous feedlings from the feed- bed fhould be performed in the courfe of this month, if not previoufly done ; and, in the per. formance of this labour, much attention is necef- fary. ON LIFTING SEEDLINGS PROM THE SEED-BSD, Thorns or Quicks. IF only one year has elapfed fmce the fowing of haws, many more plants may be expected to rife 224 THE NURSERY* rife this fpring ; therefore, the greateft care muft be had not to deface the beds or drills in which they ftand. If the earth be turned upfide down, the feeds which would otherwife have rifen will probably be too deep buried, or, it may be, laid upon the furface quite bare of covering. The utmoft attention to avoid fuch evils is requifite. The bed method is to eafe the plants gently with a fork, but fo as not to turn over the earth : by fo doing the plants will come up readily by a gentle pull. In the operation of eafing the feed- lings, the fork is to be put ftraight down to the depth of the roots : one fide of the bed is as far as a perfon eafmg feedlings can reach to at once ; therefore the easer mud go round the bed, in or- der to perform his work completely. After the eafing of the feedling thorns is per* formed, the plants are to be pulled up, and, as they are pulled, laid quite evenly in the hand ; an hundred is as many as can be conveniently held at a time. In the operation of pulling, care muft be had not to draw the plants to one fide, but perpendicularly ; fo as to keep the furface of the bed quite ftraight. If the weather be dry, they muft be inftantiy shoughed, in fuch a way as that a thoufand may occupy about two yards ia length ; in which ftate they may lye till they bt i;ot be used as may prevent the mouse from being killed by the fall of the slate, 25 THE NURSERY. beft ripened feeds which rife firft, it is therefore very important to prevent thefe from being pick- ed up. It is to be remarked of the Elms which were fown lafl June, that by the pulling out of fuch as have vegetated, the remaining feeds become much expofed : they mould therefore be attended to, both in regard to mice and birds. The latter are uncommonly fond of Elm feeds at any time, but more efpeciaily when they are juft breaking the ground. Particular attention mud therefore be paid at that crifis. CUTTINGS, &c. Propagation of Elder. The fpeedieft way of propagating Elders, is by cuttings. Thefe mould be taken from the lail year's (hoots, and cut in fuch lengths as to allow at lead one pair of eyes or buds below ground, and one pair above. They mould be planted in rich moift land, at eight inches between the fets in the rows, and eighteen inches between the rows. This width is neceffary for the Common, the Red-berried, and the \Vhite-berried, becaule they grow up very ftrong ; and it is feldom that any of the cuttings of thefe fail to take. The o- ther Feb.~} CUTTINGS, &c; 251 ther varieties, fuch as the Gold-ftriped, the Silver- ftriped, and the Cut-leaved, require lefs room at the firft, becaufe they do not make fo flrong ihoots. Betides the above method of propagating Elders by cuttings, they are alfo raifed from feeds. The berries may be fown immediately after being ga- thered in autumn ; or they may be kept till this time in fand, and fown in a bed of light rich foil, and covered a quarter of an inch deep. They mould be fown thin, as they generally rife well. Propagating of Poplars. The mod of the kinds of poplar are propagated from cuttings. The Black Athenian, however, the Woolly-leaved, and fome other varieties, fuc- ceed only by layers, in the manner of Limes. The bed cuttings of Poplars are taken from the thick end of lad year's fhoots. They should be at lead nine inches long, fo that a good moot of laft fea- fon may afford two good cuttings. The foil bed adapted for thefe, is fuch as is above recommend- ed for the Elder. They mould ftand at fix inch- es between the fets in the lines, and at eighteen inches between the lines, leaving only two inches above ground when planted. Pro- THE NURSERY. Propagating Willows. All the kinds of Willows may be eafily propa- gated by cuttings. Such as are intended for be- ing rooted in the nurfery, fliould be taken from the firm wood of laft-year fhoots. The cuttings fhould be nine inches long, and planted as above dire&ed for Poplar cuttings. The foil beft adapted for ftriking Willows, is fuch as is above recommended for the Elder and Poplars. Willow cuttings, however, which are to be planted at once in the field, to yield rods for bafkets, hoops, and the like, may be taken from two-year old wood, and formed into cut- tings of about two feet long, marpened at one end. This method is perhaps rather obje&ion- able, from the vaft quantity of Willows thus re- quired to plant any confiderable extent ; hence the cuttings are generally taken from the one-year ihoots alfo, and are formed into fets of only a foot long. Thefe anfwer pretty welL In planting in the field, they fhould be pufhed in, fo as to leave four or five inches above ground. In the nurfery, however, if there be two inches above ground, it is fufficient. Dire&ions as to preparing for, and making plantations of Willows, both for hoops and baJfket-work, are given in the Appendix, No. I. OTHER Feb.-] CUTTINGS, &C. OTHER WORK TO BE DONE IN THE NURSERY* Continue the digging between the lines of fuch trees as are intended to ftand for another feafon. This work mufl be all performed in the courfe of the month. All weeds mould be removed from fuch places as are not to be dug, that thefe ene- mies may not get too powerful. Such places as are deftined for receiving Fir feeds, mould be dug and laid up as rough as pof- fible, in order to prepare the foil the more com- pletely for the intended crop. Where the pruning of any deciduous trees has been, omitted, it should be forthwith done ; but on no account fhould a knife be put upon the Sy- camore, or the Birch, at this feafon ; for they would probably bleed to death. Indeed, the prun- ing of any trees fhould not be carried on after this month, till, at fooneft, the firft of July. If the Lime-tree and other layers which were taken off in October or November, are not plant- ed out, it fhould be forthwith done. If it be de- layed beyond this time, the future growths will be much the worfe for the firft year at lead. If there are feedling Limes to plant out, they fhould not be delayed any longer. Few trees take worfe with very late planting than the Lime, either in the character of layers or feedlings. If 254 TH NURSERY. [Fel, If a fufEcient quantity of Fir or Larch cones have not already been procured, this fhould forth- with be done. It will not be proper to defer this work beyond this month, becaufe other very pref- fing bufinefs in the Nurfery will henceforth require the whole attention. ORNA Feb.'] ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 255 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS, PROBABLY, by this time, the mod of the ground intended for Ornamental Plantations, will be in a fit condition for receiving the plants. It is prefumed, that the preparation of the land by fome of the methods previoufly recommended, has been completed. If, however, any of that under fallow requires a furrow to prepare it finally for planting, it fhould receive it as foon as the wea- ther will permit. ESTABLISHING AN ORNAMENTAL PLANTATION IMMEDIATELY UNDER VIEW OF THE MAN- SION-HOUSE, &C. Suppofing, then, that the grounds are neither too wet nor too dry for commencing the opera- tion of planting, and that all is ready ; allow us to interpofe a caution. Keep conftantly in mind, that you are about to plant for ornament ; that the plantation which you are about to make will be continually in view ; and that a tree of an un- common variety, which would have been an or- nament in its proper foil and fituation, will, if placed 256 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. placed in a foil and fituation improper for it, be a wretched deformity, and a teftimony of the igno- rance and incapacity of the defjgner. Avoid, therefore, putting in fuch kinds as are not pro- perly adapted to the foil and fituation. It is a thoufand times more agreeable to fee a frefh grow- ing healthy Scots fir, than any of the finer kinds of foreign trees in a Hunted, unhealthy flate. If, therefore, you at all attempt to plant the more delicate kinds of trees in an unpropitious foil, take the trouble to introduce a portion of better foil a- round each plant, as advifed for hedge-row trees tor lail month ; and you will thus approve your- felf a workman that needeth not to be afhamed of his labour. If the ground, for the purpofe prefently under view, has been prepared by trenching, perhaps twenty inches, or two feet deep ; and if the bot- tom be dry, and the foil of a good quality, there are few kinds, either of ufeful or ornamental trees, \vhich may not be attempted. The ikirts of fuch a plantation, if of a confi- derable depth, mould be embellifhed with fhrubs* The dwarfifh kinds mould be placed next to the verge ; the taller forts mould recede inwards till their tops lofe themfelves among the lowerrnofr. branches of the body of the plantation. The body of fuch a plantation may confift of Oaks, or of Spatiiih Chefnuts, or of Beech, or of Larch > or 257 or it may confift of a mixture of all thefe ; ill which cafe, the Larches chiefly fhould occupy the fkirts of the body of the wood, with here and there an evergreen fir, (a Silver- fir above all o- thers), the mixture may be continued ; increafing, however, the proportion of firs, in receding in wards, until they be, as it were, loft in the dark- iiefs of a foreft. If circumftances demand that the plantation be more narrow and confined than the above, it will fall under the defcription of an Ornamental Screen Plantation. SCREEN PLANTATIONS. Screen plantations, of the preceding defeription, frequire to be formed with peculiar attention, not only to the prefent, but the future* We mufl: here anticipate what will be ufeful, pleafing, and beautiful, for a great many years to come, and difpofe of our trees accordingly. The taller grow- ing kinds, as the Oak, the Elm, the Chefnut, and the Afli, recede farthest inwards. The Firs fhould recede from, or approach the view, according to the darknefs or lightnefs of their tinge ; but the fartheft removed part of the plantation, or ftripes, if at fome confiderable diflance, ihould contain a good proportion of tall growing firs, fuch as the Silver or the Scots j with fewer Larches till nearer R the ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. the fkirts, which, like the preceding, ihould be of fhrubs. Having fixed upon the kinds fit for the princi- pals, the next confideration is the Underwood. The kinds mod fit for this purpofe are, the Hol- ly, the Yew, the Common Laurel, and the Spruce Fir, of the evergreens. Thofe of the deciduous are, the Hazel, the Hawthorn, and the Common Furze ; and for thofe of the higher order, fuper- numerary Spanifh Chefnuts, Elms, and Mountain- Afhes, may be planted, which may be headed down as circumflances may require. The necef- fary underwood will diminifh the number of the nurfes to about half the number that otherwife would have been required. The tailed growing underwood fhould be placed fartheft inwards ; thofe more dwarf, neareft to the Ihrubs on the margin ; the tallefl growers of the fhrubs next to the trees ; fo that a complete fcreen from top to bottom may be formed, which may continue to be of ufe in that way for any length of time. The fpace of this plantation, as well as that of the foregoing, principally occupied with forest trees, muft be fupplied with a proper proportion of nurses, either of Larches or Firs, as circum- flances may direct. The diflances of the princi- pals, in both cafes, ought not to exceed nine feet. Narrow ftripes of planting, round fmall eflates, fhould all be, in fome degree, fcreen plantations. In Feb.~] SCREEN PLANTATIONS. 259 In planting fuch, there ought to be a good num- ber of underwood plants introduced at firft, which would fecure the good effects of fhelter, and take off the naked appearance which fuch ftripes other- wife affume* Screen plantations, removed to a confiderable diftance from the principal view, and formed of firs, produce a pleafing effect. Such, however, if the breadth will admit, affume the character of Groves, and mould be treated as fuch. In unpropitious foils, and bleak filiations, where it is neverthelefs necelfary to raife wood for beau- tifying the adjoining grounds, the nature and qua- lity of the foil muft be ftudied, and only fuch kinds introduced as will, with certainty, grow well. If experimental trees are at all ufed, let it only be where the nurfes would have flood, and that, too, with a fparing hand. PLANTING OR FORMING GROVES. It has already been obferved, that a grove is a plantation of trees, whatever be their kind or kinds, which are intended to be trained up with ftraight tall trunks. This circumftance will partly determine its extent. If the eye can penetrate through a plantation, it produces a feeling of na- kednefs. A grove, then, mould be of fuch art extent, or fo particularly fuuated, that, from no R % fide 26(3 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. fide {hall the eye be able to penetrate to the other, even were the trees arrived at their full ftature, and properly trained. This circumftance fhows alfo the propriety of removing the fituation of the grove to a confiderable diftance from the fite of the manfion-houfe : It would be no mark of an improved tafte to narrow the profpect, by placing a grove in an improper direction. For further information on this article, fee the article Groves for laft month. A Grove, then, may be conftituted of a mixture of trees, like ordinary mixed plantations, or, more properly, in the form of mafles ; in which refpeft, indeed, they may be confidered as ordinary plan- tations. Indeed, they differ from them hardly in any thing, excepting that the principals are to be placed rather more clofely together. The principals of a deciduous grove mould be placed at the diftance of fix feet ; and the interfaces filled up with nurfes of larch or firs, till the trees in the whole grove be only from three to four feet apart. Groves may be formed of Larches alone. A grove of larches of good extent, properly trained, produces a grand and pleafing effect. Larches planted for a grove mould ftand, in the firft in fiance, at the diftance of three feet and a half a- part. If the land be tolerably good, they may be planted in the T method like ordinary planting. After pitting, fallow, or trenching, they will dgubtlefs PLANTING OR FORMING GROVES. Q,6l doubtlefs grow more vigoroufly for the firft five or fix years ; but, after ten or twelve years, they are not to be diftinguifhed from thofe planted in the other way. Groves compofed entirely of Fir, of any of the kinds, have a better effect, when placed in proper fituations, than when firs are mixed with other kinds ; and, when thus feparate, they are much more eafily managed, and produce far finer dm- ber trees. Although we have here mentioned groves of fir trees, we do not "intend to advife the planting of them at this time. It has elfe where been noticed, that April is a more fit feafon. All the forts of Deciduous plants, if the land be in a proper ftate, mould be forthwith planted. MANNER OF PLANTING. Such lands as have been prepared for any of the above defcriptions of plantation, by trench- ing, by fallow, or by digging, require only that a fpadeful of earth be lifted out where the tree is "to ftand, fufficient for holding the whole fibres of the roots in an eafy, horizontal pofition ; and, at lead, as much under the furface as when in the nurfery. The earth is to be trindied in among the fibres, and the plants properly let, and treated in all re* fpects as advifed for Forest Plantations for laft month $ which fee, SIZES a-6'2 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Fel). SIZES OF PLANTS. The fizes and ages of the plants to be ufed muft .be regulated by the nature and expofure of the land, its mode of preparation, and the like. For trenched, fallowed, digged, or pitted ground, as previoufly obferved under the article Forest Plan- fat ions for laft month, they mould not exceed eighteen inches, or from a foot to eighteen inches in height. Nurfes of larches or Scots firs, which are to be slitted in, mould be fmall plants one year nurfed. In a piece of trenched land, however, which is rich and very well flickered, plants of a larger fize, which have been properly prepared in the nurfery, may be planted. Plants of from three to four feet in height, provided they have good roots, with numerous fibres, will fuccecd well under circumftances like the preceding. We have even mentioned plants for hedge-row and detached trees, in the park and in the lawn, of from four to eight, or ten feet in height ; but the expenfe of preparing thefe in the nurfery, of removing and planting them, is a fufficient argu- ment, were there no other, againft their general ufe : But when we know from experience, that fuch feldom or never make fo vigorous trees as thofe that are tranfplanted at an earlier perioc}, the preference is juftly given to young plants. PLANTING PLANTING HEDGE-ROW, &C. 263 PLANTING HEDGE-ROW AND DETACHED TREES. In all fituations where the foil is in a proper ftate for planting, it Ihould forthwith be done. The moft proper hedge-row trees, are the Sycamore, the Beech, the Afh, the Scots Elm, the Englifh Elm, and the Oak, where the foil is fuitable. Thefe may alfo be allowed a place in the park or the lawn; with the addition of the Lime, the Service, the SpanHh Chefnut, the Prolific Chefnut ; * the Gold, the Silver, and the Weeping Afh ; the Striped Sycamore, and the Copper Beech ; the Common and the Double-flowering Thorn. The Common and the varieties of the Holly ; the Por- tugal and Common Laurel; together with the foiribre Yew, when properly difpofed in the lawn or the park, either in iingle trees or in groups, and judicioufly confcrafted, afford a pleafmg variety to the eye, and give an air of livelinefs and gran- deur to the place, unknown where fuch are abfent. After what we have faid in January refpecling the preparation of pits far thefe, we need hardly again inculcate the propriety of bringing a portion of good foil a if neceflary, to encourage the intend- ed occupier in its progrefs ; or repeat, that the pits for receiving detached ornamental and hedge- row * An early-bearing variety, introduced by the ingenious Mr Knight 2^4 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS* [Feb. row trees, mould be made eight or ten inches \vider, and two or three inches deeper than ne- cefiary. for holding the roots of the trees to be planted in them, in order that they may be the more effectually encouraged in their growth, FOREST FOREST PLANTATIONS. 265 FOREST PLANTATIONS. IN the preceding month, when contemplating an extenfive plantation, confiding of a variety of foils and fituations, as hills, dales, and the like, we flrongly recommended the massing fyftem; be- caufe we thus have it in our power more perfectly to adapt each kind to its own natural foil, and thereby lay a better foundation for health and vi- gour in the plants, and confequently fecure far better timber in a morter time, than can be pro- cured by the ordinary mixing plan. Lad month we recommended the planting of dry portions only ; by this time a confiderably greater quantity of the land will be in a fit ftatc for being planted, efpecially fuch parts as are mod likely to be adapted for mafles of Elm, Aih, Syca- more, Beech, Spanifh Chefnut, and Larch ; the other portions of the grounds more clayey or damp, may lye off for the reception of the Oak, the Birch, the Poplar, and the Willow. Early planting, on elevated, dry fituations, which are much expofed to parching droughts, is the furefl means of fecuring the growth of the plants. In this climate, and particularly in Scotland, we can depend with certainty on having abundant rains, at ihort 266 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Feb. fliort intervals, during this month and March, and even April. But, beyond that till June, we not unfrequently have fevere parching droughts. If the trees are not planted till late, on dry places, the chance is, that their deftruction will follow. Even the evergreen forts (the firs) fhould be plant- ed fooner in the feafon on thefe places, than in fuch as have lefs chance to be parched. We need not here mention any thing of the diftances at which the principals fhould be plant- ed, that being previoufly determined in the pit- ti-ng of the ground. It is not prefumed that any of the ground which has been pitted for the reception of the principals will be too bleak or expofed at this feafon. For the reception of Larch nurfes, therefore, thefe fhould be forthwith planted in the dry parts. The earlieft opportunity for planting the Larches fhould be embraced ; becaufe they are of very early growth, and are moft impatient of being removed after they have begun to grow : However, this circumftance fhould not lead to planting them while the land is in too wet a flate. It has alrea- dy been noticed, that Larch nurfes may, with pro- priety, be stitted in, or planted after preparation by th mattock, provided proper plants be ufed, /. e. flrong one-year feedlings one year nurfed, or weaker two-year feedlings nurfed the fame length of time. There Feb.'] PLANTING NARROW STRIPES, &C. 26? There is not the leaft occafion, as elfewhere fhown, to pit the ground intended for mattes of Larches. Plants of the above age and nurfing, planted after preparation with the mattock, will be found to outgrow larger plants planted after pitting. PLANTING NARROW STRIPES OF FOREST TREES. Although we are decidedly againft the planting of narrow ftripes of Foreft Trees, they are in many cafes indifpenfable. Round a fmall park, in the neighbourhood of a town, where it is re- quired to cover a variety of difagreeable objects ; or on the boundaries of a fmall eftate, perhaps from fifty to a hundred acres, which is in a high ilate of cultivation, they are very neceifary. Thefe ftripes mould, however, if poffible, never be nar- rower than twenty-five or thirty feet. It would be prepofterous, in this cafe, to attempt massing. Small groups, however, according to the circum- ftances of foil, or fituation, may be planted. But it would be advifable to choofe a good proportion of the principals of fuch plantations, of the forts which are known to arrive at greateft perfection in expofed fituations ; fuch as the Sycamore, the Beech, the Mountain-Am, the Afh and the lm. Further, ftripes of the above defcription fhould never FOREST PLANTATIONS. never be planted without a good proportion of underwood plants ; fucH as Holly, common Lau- rel, Hazel, and the like. By the proper arrange- ment and management of fuch trees and unuer- plants, narrow (tripes may be made very ufeful, both for fhelter and fcreen. It would be fuperfluous here to repeat the dif- ftances, and manner of planting ; thefe fubjecls having been treated of at large under this article for lad month. PRUNING FOREST PLANTATIONS. This work may be carried on during this month on every fpecies of tree, excepting the Sycamore and the Birch. Thefe, however, mud not now receive an wound ; becaufe they bleed exceflively, and fometimes die when pruned fo late in the fea- fon. The fame may be faid of the Gean j fee January under this article on that fubject. The pruning of no kind of foreft tree mould be car- ried beyond this month ; becaufe every one of them, at the rifmg of the juices, bleeds, lefs or more, at recent wounds. Hence the advantage of autumn-pruning above that of any other fea- fon. When pruning is performed in autumn, the wounds become dead, and incapable of tranf- mitting the juices to the furface : So that the plant* Feb."] THINNING PLANTATIONS. 269 plants lofe none of their natural ftrength. The above obfervations hold in an efpecial manner in the refmous kinds. Pruning ought therefore to be fufpended, from the end of February till the middle or end of July. THINNING PLANTATIONS. The Thinning of Plantations may dill be con* tinued : Indeed, excepting for the injury which the living trees may fuftain, by the removal of fuch as are felled out, the Thinning might be con- tinued during the fummer months, as well as at any other period of the feafon. This is now the moft proper feafon for thin- ning out mafles of Birch, Black Poplar, Hunting- don Willow, Bedford Willow, and Spanifh Chef- nut ; becaufe they will now part eaiily with the bark, which is to be taken off, and prepared for tan, like oak bark. Throughout the whole of the mixed plantations, the thinning out of the above kinds, ought to be deferred till this time, that the advantages arifmg from the bark may be the more eafily fecured. The method of taking off the bark from the above, is the fame as that for taking off oak bark, which will be found de- fcribed under the article Oak Woods and Copses for May. While, therefore, the thinning out of the FOREST PLANTATIONS. [Fel, the above kinds is to be fufpended till this time, that of the oaks is ftill farther to be deferred till May ; becaufe, at that feafon, owing to the flow of the juices, the thinnings, or felled trees, art mod eafily barked. WOODS WOODS AND COPSES. 37* WOODS AND COPSES. PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. THOSE grounds intended for Oak Copfes from feeds, and which have been under fallow the pre- ceding feafon, may flili require a furrow previous to that for lowing the feeds. This will be efpe- cially necefiary, if the furface be much battered and flatted down by the winter rains. Lands intended for this purpofe, which have been under a crop of oats the preceding feafon, in order to rot and reduce the fward, and which are lying in the furrow which they received after the removal of the crop, ought now to be crofs- ploughed, as the beft means for reducing and me- liorating the foil. It may lye in that (late, and be harrowed down in March. But if the land has been under a rotation of corn and green crops ; has been laft feafon under oats, and has received a furrow after the feparation of the crop from the ground ; and if it remain tender and clean ; it will require nothing more till it receive the feed fur- row in April. If, however, crops of vegetables, or WOODS AND COPSES. or green crops of any kind, be intended to be taken from any of the above grounds, they muft receive a dreffing of dung to enable them to pro* duce fuch in perfection. It is a matter of confi- derable importance to have this ready at the fide of the field by the time of fowing, left the necef- fary operations fliould be hindered in procuring it from a diftance. Thofe lands which have been pitted for woods and copfes, require nothing at this feafon, except- ing, perhaps, the letting off of (landing water from low grounds and hollows, -the fouring of pitted land, or indeed any land, proving highly detri- mental to the vegetation of the feeds afterwards to be fown in it. PLANTING NURSES. In craggy and elevated grounds which have been pitted in May lad year for the fowing of Oak copfes in April this year, and which were in- tended to be meltered with Larch nurfes, it is now a proper feafon for planting thefe nurfes. The nature of the foil evidently points out, that the bed mode^of preparation is by the mattock. If the land be ilirred to a good depth, the plants thus fet will fucceed nearly as well as if the land had been pitted : And the preparation by the mattock will not coft one half of the fum that pitting Should have amounted to. PLANTING Feb.'] MIXED COPSES, &C, PLANTING MIXED COPSES. The feafon is now arrived when the moft of this work may probably be performed. Anxiety, however, mould never be allowed to drive us to plant when the ground is in an unfit ftate. It is a more rational and fafer plan to defcend to the loweft grounds in the planting as they begin to dry. It only requires a fmall addition of labour; which, put in competition with the fuccefs of the plants, is nothing. But, under this article for January^ we have already given directions in this refpect, as well as in regard to the moft proper kinds, the manner of planting, and introduction of the nurfes ; to which, to prevent repetition, we beg leave to refer the reader. PRUNING WOODS AND COPSES. As in Foreft plantations, the pruning of Copfes may ftill be carried on, excepting copfes of Birch, which, as before flated, muft not be wounded at fo late a period of the feafon. The pruning of coppice wood cannot be considered as differing fo much from the pruning of ordinary plantations, as to require any diftinct directions. We there- fore refer the reader to the article Pruning Forest Trees for laft month. S THINNING 4/4 fHINNlNG WOODS AND COPSES. THINNING WOODS AND COPSES. This is now a proper feafon for thinning out all the coppice kinds, in order to barking them ; fave the Oak, which fhould remain untouched till May ; where directions for taking off, and dry- ing the bark) will be given. The thinning out of the nurfes, in this defcription of plantation, will fall under the fame management with ordi- nary Foreft plantation* of equal ages j we there- fore refrr the reader to the article Thinning Forest Plantations for January. FEN- Feb.] FENCES. 275 FENCES. ChncKSET, or Thorn fences, may ftill be made with great propriety. The beft methods have been treated of under this article for laft month. The work of plaftiing and cutting down ne gle&ed hedges may ftill be carried on during this month ; although it may not be advifable to carry fuch operations much beyond it. It is extremely prejudicial to all deciduous plants to be lifted af- ter the fap begins to flow. The lifting of thorns ought therefore to be fufpended from the mid- dle of March till the autumn months. If any hedges have been neglected to be fwitch- ed, it muft not be delayed any longer. This is by no means the beft feafon for fuch work ; but, were it left undone till autumn, the hedge would fee much injured* MAKING AQUATIC HEDGES, We may here remark, that Aquatic Hedges are often of very great utility in fencing and fubdi- low wet grounds and moift meadows, and S a for 276 FENCES.. for forming fcreens and flicker in damp fituations, where the hawthorn would nor grow. The moft proper plants for forming fuch hedges are, the Birch, the Alder, the Elder, the Willow, and the Poplar. Seedlings of the two former kinds are required ; the latter forts may be rear- ed from cuttings inferted in the places where they are intended to grow. The plants of Birch and Alder, * which are moft proper for being planted out, are one-year feedlings which have been one year nurfed ; thefe mould be planted without being cut down. Both Birch and Alder are moft proper for being laid after ditch- ing, as dire&ed for Thorn Hedges in laft month. Neverthelefs-, they may be alfo planted upon the furface, without any ditch. The other forts may either be planted on the furface, or after ditching, with equal propriety. Jf, however, they are to be planted upon the fur- face, without any ditch, the land mould be pro- perly prepared. The beft method is by a light trenching : paring off the furface, and burying it under a good deep spading of earth, will be ge- nerally fufficient. The furface mould not be left over rough j and the cuttings are then to be thruft perpen- * The Alder is also propagated from cuttings, but with less certainty than the other sorts. For this reason, we re- commend planting Alder hedges with rooted plants* 1'eb.j AQUATIC HET)GES. 277 perpendicularly down, if it can be done with fafety to the fets, along the fide of the line, to within three or four inches of the top. The dif- tances at which thefe fhould (land, to form good thick hedges, is, for the Elder, nine inches ; for the Poplar, nine inches ; and for the Willow, fix inches : The cuttings, which are to be planted on the furface, as above,, muft be made (harp in the thick end to be pufhed into the ground, that they may be phnted with the greater eafe. If, however, any of the three forts are to be plant- ed after ditching, the cuttings will require no pre- paration of the kind ; but are to be .laid as if they were thorn plants. Some writers recommend the thrufling in of all cuttings of the forts above mentioned.- But this is often attended with danger to the cuttings ; the bark being fometimes pufhed off by the hardnefs of the land. If there is the lead danger of this, we would advife to ufe the iron-mod dibble, and put in the cuttings in the manner of ordinary planting. The cuttings of all the above -forts, for the prefent purpofe, ought to be fuch as are taken from firm laft year's flioots, and of fifteen inches in length. Care muft be had not to ufe the fmall foft part of the flioots of any of the kinds ; be- caufe fuch always produce weak bufhes, which oifght caufe gaps in the fences. OTHER TENCE$. OTHER KINDS OF FENCES. The fencing of plantations with dryflone and Galloway dikes, mould be carried on with all fpeed. Towards the end of the month is a good time to begin to build funk-fence wails, and other di- vifion walls, with mortar : In refped to the pre- paration of which, fee the article Stone Walls for March. A fufficient fupply of paling flabs and raits Ihould be provided for defending new planted hedges. Thefe mould be forthwith erecled. Thofe of former ere&ion mould be mended and fecured, wherever they may require reparation. In fhort, all the fences mould be put in a proper flate of repair as fpeedily as poffible. Such grounds as are intended to be fenced with a ditch and whin -hedge, as noticed laft month, may now be prepared for receiving the feeds next month ; which fee. MARCH. MARCH, THE NURSERY. THE NURSERY. (CONTINUE the laying out of feediing Thorns, Larches, and Elms, if not previoufly done. The work of planting out feediing plants of early growth ought not to be delayed beyond this time on any account. If any one-year or two-year feediing Afh, Oak, Beech, or the like, remain unmoved from the feed-bed, they fnould forthwith be lifted and shoughed, as directed laft month. When the nurfery runs fhort of any of the kinds of feedlings., and they mud be brought from a diftant nurfery, never allow them to re- main in the bundles in which they come tied up ; but have them inftantly fhoughed when they ar- rive. Even if it be intended to plant them out in a few days, this shoughing mould be attended to ; for fuch a change of weather may take place as may compel the poftponing of the planting for perhaps 2 Ss THE NURSERY. [MarcJi* perhaps a week longer, greatly to the injury of the plants, and more efpecially if they be very dry. The experience of every feafon points out the deftrudive effe&s of not attending to the pre- caution of immediate plunging in the earth. Elder, Poplar, and Willow cuttings muft now be provided and planted out. If circumftances render the planting of them at this time impof- fible, th'ey may be ftuck fmgly into a fpot of very damp foft earth, where they will remain fafely for two or three weeks. Cuttings fo treated, fend out their young roots probably before they can be re- moved : in which cafe, care fhould be had to plant them out in damp, or even rainy weather ; becaufe the young fibres are ill able to endure the violence of fpring droughts. When fuch cut- tings are to be lifted for planting, they fhould be eafed with the fpade a in order to prefer ve every T6ot entire* PLANTING SEEDLINO BJRCHES AND ALDERS. The Birch is of very early growth, and re- quires to be attended to immediately. The pro- per foil for Birches, as has already been hinted, Is fuch as is finely parted and mofly. They ought not to be committed to land of a clayey nature in their infant (late ; they will do pretty well in a foft fandy earth, but not nearly fo well as in their awn natural loofe arid mofly foil. SEEDLING BIRCHES ANB ALBERS. 283 What is above faid of the Birch, applies equal- ly to the Alder, the fame foil and treatment be- ing requiiite. The di fiance at which Birches and Aiders mould be planted, muft, as in the cafe of other feed lings, be regulated by the age and fize of the plants, and the time which it is intended they fhould be nurfed. Two-year feedlings of good growth, which are to be nurfed one year, fhould ftand fifteen inches between the lines, and five or fix inches apart in the lines. One-year feedlings, to be nurfed one year, fhould be twelve inches between the lines, and fo.ur inches apart in the lines. But if intended to be nurfed two years, the fame diftance is required as is affigned above for the two-year feedlings. A natural Birch or Alder foil does not require fo much manure to enable it to nourifh thefe plants, as is neceflary in mod cafes for other foils* Neverthelefs, it is very improper to commit young Birch or Alder plants to a foil which, though ap.- parently congenial, has been previouily exhau(le4 fey a heavy crop of trees, without a good dreffing of well made ftable dung : This mould be well intermixed with the foil in the ad of digging, SOWING SEEDS,. It often happens, particularly in Scotland, that tree-feeds, ordered from London and o ther 284 NURSERY. [March. ther places, do not arrive at the nurfery till this month. This is frequently the cafe with acorns, horfe-chefnuts, Spanifh chefnuts, hazel nuts, horn- beam feed, and walnuts. If thefe be now arrived, they mould forthwith 'be fown. Sowing Elms. The Elm feeds, which were gathered in the latter end of lad June, may now be fown. There is, however, great danger in rifking the whole elm feed at this early feafon, more efpecially as there already exifls a quantity which were fown lad June, and which are expected to rife this fpring. It frequently happens that the early ve- getating elms are cut oft by the fpring frofts. It will therefore be fafer to fow, perhaps, the half of the elm feeds faved, and to referve the other half for April fowing. Thofe late fown, although they will not be fo flrong plants by autumn as if they had been fown earlier, and had efcaped the froft, yet they will prove a fecurity againft a to- tal want of the article, which many have experi- enced by not attending to this precaution. The ground moft fit for fowing Elm feeds, is fuch as is tender and rich. If it has been under a light crop of vegetables lafl feafon with dung, it will anfwer the better. The crops of vegetables moft fit for preceding tree feeds of any kind, are fuch March.] SOWING LABURNUMS. 285 fuch as are not apt to leave any remains to dirty the ground during the fummer. Hence, potatoes are very improper as a preparing crop ; but let- tuces, fpinage, onions, turnips, or the like, are very proper preparing crops. If the Elms be intended for two-year feedlings, which in mod cafes is the preferable age, they fhould be fown very thin, in order that the plants may rife flout and vigorous. If they rife too thick the firft year, they are for feveral years af- ter fenfibly affected, continuing weaker, although carefully- thinned out. The beft form of fowing Elms is in beds, as previoufly advifed for haws in laft month. The covering of foil mould not be more than half an inch thick. Sowing Laburnums. Laburnums, both the tree and the fhrubby forts, being very hardy, may now be fown. There is no plant we know more liable to be hurt, or indeed more generally hurt, by thick fowing, than this. The feeds are generally good, and confequently fure growers. When they rife very thick, they lofe their leaves about midfummer, become mildewed, and die. Laburnums of neither of the forts fhould be fown to rife nearer to one another than an inch ; and NURSERY* [March, and if they are intended for two-year feedlings, as they generally fhould, this diflance is too little, and may be increafed to an inch and a half* In October, the time of gathering thefe feeds, We (hall point out the neceflity of keeping the tree and ihrubby forts feparate ; and the fame care fhould be continued to fow and plant each kind by themfelves, for fear of future miftakes. The land moil proper for Laburnum feeds, is i'uch as has above been recommended for elms. The bed form is the bed, and the covering mould fee three quarters of an inch thick. Sowing Sycamores. Sycamores, like elms, are very liable to be kill-* ed at the briering by late frofls. It would there- fore be proper to fow only one half of the feeds at this time (towards the end of the month), and to referve the other half for April fowing. Sycamores mould never be fown in rich rhoifl land, elfe they will rife fo tall and foft, that not one of a thoufand of them will have a whole top ; and hence will be little worth. The land mod proper for fowing Sycamore feeds in, is dry expofed fandy foil, by no means rich. If 'they can be raifed three or four inches high, with whole tops, in the firft year, a thoufand of thefe are worth twenty thoufand of fuch as are % or eighteen inches high without tops. Sycamores March.~] SOWING BIRCH AND ALDER. 287 Sycamores Ihould not be fown thick ; if they rife an inch apart, it is abundantly thick for one- year feedlings : and if intended for two-year feed- lings, they fhould not rife nearer one another than two inches. Sowing Birch and Alder. This is now a proper time for fowing Birch and Alder feeds. We have feveral times had oc- calion to notice the quality of foil moil fuitable for thefe kinds. The land, however, mould ei- ther have been under a preparing green crop, or fallow, the preceding feafon, and previoufly dung- ed, that the manure may be well incorporated with the foil previous to fowing. The land muft be carefully digged, and parti- cularly broken, from top to bottom, in the dig- ging. The raking alfo muft be performed with great attention to part the foil very fine. It is hardly pollible to cover Birch feeds too little, if they be covered at all. The covering therefore muft be very gentle. It need hardly be obferved, that a calru day mould be chofen for fowing birch feeds, as for all others that are light. The preparation for Alder feeds is the fame as for the Birch: The covering, however, for the former ought to be a quarter of an inch thick j aad the bed form for both kinds is the beft. A!- though 288 NURSERY. \Marcli. though we here recommend the fowing of the Birch at this time, it may alfo be fown direct from the tree in the end of Augufl or beginning of September. But fuch rife fometimes too early for a Scots climate : It is proper, therefore, to referve the principal part of the fowing till about the firfl week of April. It is difficult to fay how thick Birch and Alder feeds mould be fown, it being no eafy thing to know their quality. It is better, however, to fow pretty thick, and to thin them out the following fpring, if necefiary. Sowing Beech. The Beech, like the fycamore and the elm, is very liable to be killed by late frofls in the fpring. It would therefore be very proper to withhold the fowing of a part of the beech mad till the firfl or fecond week in April. There is danger, how- ever, in keeping it longer out of the ground than the middle of April : For if fevere drought fet in, it will not rife till the following fpring, and fo have a great chance to perifh by the froft. Beech mad mould never be fown in poor land, The foil moft fit for it, is fuch as we have de- fcribed as fit for elm feeds : only the land for the beech may receive a drefling of fmali dung pre- vious to the fowing of the feeds. Care muft be had not to fow the feeds too thick, and efpecially i if March.'] DESTROYING VERMIN. 289 if intended for two-year feedlings. If the feeds are good, they mould not lye nearer to one arr- ther, when fown, than an inch. The bed or the drill form may he adopted at pleafure. The co- vering for beech-maft mould be a full inch thick. DESTROYING VERMIN. According as the fowing of feeds in the nur- fery is increafed, fo will the care to preferve them from definition by mice and birds require to be increafed. New fown elm feed will be greedily fought for by the birds, and the beech-maft by the mice. PREPARING VACANT GROUND FOR GREEN CROPS, &C. In the Introduction^ the advantage of a rturfery being occafionally ufed as a kitchen garden, has been mentioned. In all cafes, land which has been long under trees, mould be refted by a crop of vegetables with dung. We have already men- tioned fome of the crops which may advantageous- ly be ufed as preparing crops before fowing fome forts of tree feeds. If, however, the crop which . is immediately to follow be tranfplanted trees or thorns, potatoes may precede with great propriety. Beans, with manure, will alfo be found an ex* T eeilent 290 NURSERY. [March, cellent preparative. Carrots, manured with a good dreffing of dung, may alfo be admitted ; but they are otherways a very fcourging crop. We cannot enter upon the methods of preparing the land and lowing the feeds of culinary vege- tables here. * DESTROYING WEEDS. The dry weather of this month is a proper time to begin the killing of the rifing weeds. A man will do more execution in a day now, than he will do in a week, if the weeds are allowed to get to a large fize before he begin. Befides, by an early clearance of the weeds, the powers of the foil are referved for the growth of the young trees and feeds. It is a very difgraceful thing for a nurferyman to have his ground in a weedy Hate. * We beg leave to refer to " the Gardener's Kalendar, or Monthly Directory of Operations in every branch of Horticulture," one volume ccUvo, published by Messrs, Constable & Co. in 1310. March."] ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 291 o ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. IT is prefumed that, by this time, the whole of the grounds intended for Ornamental Plantation will be in a ftate to receive all kinds of deciduous trees. The firs, however, muft ftill be withheld, excepting in fuch grounds as are very high and dry in their nature. Such as are fo, fhould be furnifhed with their evergreen firs about the end of this month ; but the general planting of firs muft be delayed till next month. The works which were recommended for lafl month under this article, may dill be continued in this : It would be needlefs, however, to repeat .the directions formerly given. In all cafes where it is intended to crop with ve- getables land which has been planted after trench- ing, fummer*fallow, or digging, it may now be prepared for their reception. None of fuch crops fhould be introduced, unlefs the land be previ- oufly dunged. If cabbages or potatoes be plant- ed, only one plant in the centre, between every four trees, fhould be put in. This thin planting will produce more weight of crop than if they T 2 were ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. were thicker planted, and with lefs injury to the trees. Sowing Lettuces among young plantations will be found a very profitable crop for feeding fwine. Befides, Lettuces, if a good crop, have this, ad- vantage, that they exhaufc the land very little, if any thing at all. There is no crop that will en- rich the land more than Lettuces, if they be dig- ged down after having grown to a large fize. We have tried this, and found the good effects for fe- veral yesrs after. Carrots form one of the heavieft crops that can be put among young plantations, and' fhonld feldom or never be fovvn among them. Parfnips are much lefs hurtful. A rotation of crops among young trees will be found of great ufe. Suppofing a crop of Pota- toes the firft year with dung ; Cabbages may fol- low without dung ; and afterwards Lettuces with- out dung. In the fourth fpring, the ground fhould be fown down with grafs feeds. But whatever fort of crop be planted or fown among young trees, care muft be taken not to put the plants fo near the trees as to difturb their roots, either in planting, in working, or in taking up. Above, we have recommended dung as a neceiTary preparation for any of the more fcourg- ing crops. Yet we have found that plantations, made in land of tolerable quality, which had been under rotation of corn crops for agricultural pur- pofes, ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 293 pofes, and not run out at the time of planting, throve much better, even when cropped with po- tatoes and greens without dung, but properly hoed, than thofe that were left to nature, without any crops being put among them. Keeping a plantation clean of weeds, and renewing the fur- face of the ground among the trees by frequent hoeings, is the fureft way to procure a rapid growth among the plants; and we only would allow of introducing vegetable crops, the better to fecure the cleaning and hoeing the furface of the earth ; becaufe, if -the trees fucceed better even with the oppreflion of green crops, when properly hoed, than thofe left in a ftateof nature ; what mufl they do, when properly hoed and at- tended to, without the oppreffion of .another crop? If the trees have thriven as might be expected, no more <:rops after the third year can be intro- duced ; in which cafe, by the end of this month, the plantation may be fown out with White Clo- yer and Perennial Ryegrafs feeds. This mode of 'management will procure crops of ufeful grafs, a more plealing and agreeable furface, and better growth of trees, than if the plantation were al- lowed to take its chance in the ordinary way j and it is what mould be univerfally pra&ifed a- mong every plantation which can bear the name of Ornamental. Pruning 294 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [March* Pruning ought to be fufpended till the vi- gour of the growth is over, for reafons previoufly ftated. Thinning is ftill to be carried on efpccially o( the Birch, Mountain- Afti, Huntingdon and Bed- ford Willow, Black Poplar, and Spanifh Chefnut. The thinning of Oaks is to be fufpended till May ; which fee. FOREST JTOREST PLANTATIONS. 295 FOREST PLANTATIONS. MOST probably by the end of this month the whole grounds in any plantation will require to be planted. If, however, in any place the land is over damp, it is better ftill to put off the planting until the pits, or otherwife prepared land, be fuf- ficiently dry for the reception of the plants. It is very hurtful to plants to be put into (landing water : Even the aquatic plants themfelves, fuch as the Alder, Birch, Willow, or the Poplar, when put into pits with water in them, have their roots ferioufly injured, or what nurferymen call scalded, by (landing only for a week or two in fuch a flate. Grounds low in their fituation, or foils of a retentive nature, may not therefore be in a fit flate for planting for fome time to come. Firs mud not yet be planted, excepting, as former- ly obferved, on elevated dry fpots, which are liable to be hurt by the fevere droughts of May and June. In the early part of April, or indeed, in fome cafes, in May, firs will fucceed better than if Wanted DQ\\\ BESTING tf)6 FOREST PLANTATIONS. BEETING UP PLANTATIONS. This is now the proper feafon for this work. Beeting, however, is fubject to feveral reftriftions. A foreft plantation after pitting, either in the mafs form, or ordinary mixture, mould remain fe- veral years after planting, before any beeting of the apparently dead hard-ivood plants takes place. Hard- wood plants, in the firft year, and even fometimes in the fecond year after planting, die down quite to the furface of the ground, and are apparently dead, while their roots, and the wood immediately above them, are quite frefh, and ca- pable of producing very vigorous moots, which they frequently do produce, if allowed to (land in their places. If a tree, fuch as that above alluded to, be taken out the firft or the fecond year after planting, and the place filled up with a frefh plant of the fame kind, what happened to the former may probably happen to the latter ; and fo the period of raifing a plant on the fpot may be protracted to a great length of time ; or it is poffible this object may never be gained. The beeting of the hard-wood kinds, in a plan- tation which has been planted after trenching, or fummer fallow which has been kept clean by the hoe, may be done with fafety at an earlier period than under the foregoing circumftances j becaufe the March."] FOREST PLANTATIONS. 497 the trees, in the prefent cafe, have greater en- couragement to grow vigoroufly after planting, and maybe more eafily afcertained to be entirely dead, than where the natural herbage is allowed to grow among them. While the beeting up of the hard-wood is pro- perly protracted for feveral years after planting, that of the larches and firs may take place the firft fpring after the plantation has been made ; becaufe, fuch as have died are more eafily dis- tinguimed. In many cafes when a larch or a fir lofes its top, either by dying down, or the bit- ing of hares or rabbits ; fome of the moft vigor- ous lateral branches are elected by nature to fupply the deficiency, which by degrees afiumes the character of an original top. Firs and Larches therefore, which have frefh lateral branches, are not to be difplaced, although they may have loft their tops. Indeed, no tree in the foreft, or other plantation, ought to be removed, until there be left no roon^jd^hope for its recovery. While we offer the above reflections to guard againft precipitate beeting, we are equally defir- ous that it fhould not be left undone for too long a time. If the beeting of plantations be left undone till the trees have rifen to fifteen or twenty feet in height, their roots are fpread far abroad and their tops occupy a confiderable breadth of fpace. The introduction- FOREST PLANTATIONS. [MdrcJt, Introduction of probably two or three plants, from a foot to three feet in height, at a particular de- ficient place, can never, in the above circumftan- ccs, be attended with any advantage. Such plants may indeed become buftes, and may anfwer well enough in the chara&er of underwood, but they will for ever remain unfit for any other purpofe. It is highly improper, then, to commence the beeting of hard- wood plantations before the third year after planting ; or to protraft it beyond the fifth or the fixth. We have mentioned, above, the impropriety of planting young plants among large trees ; never- ihelefs, we would not be underftood as difluading from planting, even in grown woods, a vacant fpace, of fome falls in extent. Where fuch fpace^ happen to occur, they may and ought to be plant- ed up, even when furrounded with trees of fifteen or twenty feet in height. When trees in an old plantation have been fell- ed, fo as to leave vacancies of a half or a whole acre, fuch may be replanted with great propriety. It may however be obferved, that there ought to be as great a difference between the natures of the former and intended occupiers, as the foil will poffibly admit., If, for inftance, the trees remov- ed were Scots Fir ; perhaps Oaks, Elms, or Afh may follow; along with nurfes of Willow, Elder -,r Mountain- Afh, or a mixture of thefe. It March."} FOREST PLANTATIONS. It is, however, impofTible to note down here all the circumftances which may influence works of the above defcription. The intelligent planter mud exercife caution and reflection. Precipitancy we have found to be the greateft error a planter can fall into. HEADING DOWN TREES. It is now a proper time to examine all planta- tions which are three or four years planted, to fee if the Jiard-vcood trees are in a thriving ftate ; and fuch as have not begun to grow freely fhould be headed down to within three or four inches of the ground. The cut muft be made in a Hoping direction, and with one cut of the pruning knife. Great care mould be taken not to bend over the tree in the aft of cutting. By fo bending, the root may be fplit; a thing which too often happens. The operation of cutting over young trees fhould not be performed at an earlier period of the feafon, becaufe the wounded part might re- ceive much injury from the levere weather to be expected in January and February, and the ex- pected fhoot be thereby prevented from rifing fq Orong and THINNING joa FOB.EST PLANTATIONS. [March. THINNING FOREST PLANTATIONS. We have already (hown, in laft month, the im- propriety of continuing the pruning of trees in this month, and thofe of April, May, or June. Thinning, however, as ftated laft month, may now be carried on, efpecially in cafes where Birch, Mountain-Am, Willow, and Spanifli Chefnut, are the trees to be removed, and which are to be barked. The thinning out of the Oak is to be fufpended till May; which fee. WOODS March,'} WOODS AND COPSES. 301 WOODS AND COPSES, IN the preceding month, dire&ions were given for planting mixed Copfes. Whatever more of fuch work remains to be done, it ought not now to be delayed, unlefs on account of the too damp ftate of the land. The drought of this month is ge- nerally very intenfe : Intervals of a few days may therefore be expecled, when the damp of the wetted of the pits will be entirely dried up. Thefe favourable times (hould be embraced with avidity, for the purpofes of planting. In the laft month we noticed, that the operation of cutting Coppice- wood of Birch, &c. fhould go on. If there is (till any work of this kind to per- form, it mould forthwith be done. SOWING COPSES AND WOODS. In the event of fowing copfes, either of Oak, or of a mixture of kinds, in grafs land which hag barely been prepared by pitting, like ordinary plantation, it would be proper to defer the work i till 302 WOODS AND COPSES. till next month. One fpecial reafon for deferring the fowing of acorns till April, is, that they may be the more perfectly fecured from the ravages of field-mice. If the lowing of oats and other grains be going on in the adjoining fields, thefe vermin will be drawn that way, and will continue to live upon the grain as long as pofTible ; but, were the acorns firft put into the ground, a vafl quantity of them might be deftroyed. Lands which have been prepared by fallow have noc fo much harbourage for thefe vermin. Such, therefore, may be fown at this time. It is gene- rally proper, previous to fowing, to give the land a drefling of fmall dung ; to plough it neatly in > and harrow all flat. No feeds which require two years for vegetat- ing, mould be fown in mixed copfes, or, indeed, in any fpecies of plantation. It is much better to fow them from the rot-heap in the nurfery, early in the fpring in which they are to brier ; becaufe they will make far better moots fo treated, than if the feeds were allowed to lye in the ground dor- mant for a feafon. Befides, the care will be di- minimed a whole feafon ; and the future cropping with vegetables may be done with much more eafe. The directions which have been given, under the title Nursery, for fowing feeds there, will give 3 correct idea, both of the deepnefs and thicknefs at March.~\ WOODS AND COPSES. 3; at which patches of Copfe-wood feeds are to be fown. Thefe patches fhould be at fix feet diftance from each other, both in the rows, and alfo be- twixt them. They fhould be fo difpofed, as that the patch in the one row mail be oppofite the middle of the vacant fpace between the two patches of the oppofite row, or in what is called the Quincunx Order. The eafiefi manner of performing this, is by a chain marked at the proper diflances. Lock out for the permanent angle of the field which i .; nearefl the fquare, that is, which will bed corre- fpond with an angle of 90; which being form- ed, let the limbs of this angle extend themfelves the whole extent of your field either way, which can be eafily done by poles, a hand line, and a hoe. Form a line parallel to the longed limb of the angle, and at ten, fifteen, or twenty times the diftance propofed for the rows of plants. Be- gin at the other, or fhorteft limb of the angle, and meafure on each of the above lines the dif- tance of the propofed line of patches; which mark, by flicking up a fmall pin eight or nine inches long. Thefe two lines may be fo marked through their whole length. Then ft retch the chain over the firft two equidiftant pins, and produce the line till the proper point be exaclly marked upon the above mentioned longeft limb of the angle. While doing this, you go along the chain, and f o w 304 WOODS AND COPSES. [Afara/. fow or plant the patches, as their nature requires. Of Chefnuts and Acorns there may be three good feeds in a patch, placed fo as to form an equilateral triangle, whofe fides mall be feven inches in length ; and the fmaller feeds may be fcattered over a fpace of the fame fize. Having fmifhed this line of patches, ftretch the chain over the next two pins, taking care that the exaft half of a divifion be meafured from the foremen tioned line or limb of the angle. Proceed to fow at the marks in this manner ; making the third line like the firfl, the fourth like the fecond, and fo on to the end. And thus, the field will be fown in the beft man- ner poflible ; the plants will each occupy their allotted circle ; and the future operations of ploughing will be performed with, far greater eafe and perfection. / In order that this fubjeft may be the better un- derftood, we mall here give a diagram, illuflrative of the mode of fowing Woods and Copfes now re- commended in ground prepared by the plough. J M[arcli.'] WOODS AND COPSES, A, The permanent angle of the field neareft to an angle of 90. A B, AC, The limbs of the angle extended the whole length of the field. D, The longeft limb of the angle. E, The line formed parallel to the longeft limb of the angle. . The pins denoting the diftances between the rows of the patches, o The patches. 306 WOODS AND COPSES. [March, THINNING OUT THE PATCHES OF FORMER SOWINGS. Woods and Copfes, of whatever kind, fhouid be carefully examined at this time. Thofe that were fown a feafon ago with fmall feeds, fuch as Birch or the like, and which rofe very thick, mould be thinned out, as directed for rearing two-year feedlings in the nurfery. And fuch as have been two years fown, and thinned out in the fpring of laft year, may now be thinned put to ftand at the diftances formerly recommended for planting A- corns and Chefnuts. We may here again obferve, that upon no account whatever are thefe patches to be eafed with a fpade, on pretence of majdng the work of thinning more practicable. The fu- perfluous plants mufl be pulled out by main force, being careful to leave the bed formed and mod promifmg plants, and to diflurb thofe left as little as poflible. At the fourth feafon after fowing, the plants fhouid be finally thinned out to fmgle trees ; obferving to leave the fineft plants, i. e. fuch as are beft formed, and mofl promifing in their appearance. FRI- March."] WOODS AND COPSES. 307 PREPARING THE .GROUND AMONG LAST AND FORMER YEAR'S SOWN COPSES, FOR GREEK CROPS. The laft year's fown Copfes which were crop- ped with potatoes, may now receive a furrow to prepare the land for the reception of Lettuce feeds, or for fuch plants as are intended for the crop. The ploughing mould not come quite clofe to the patches, for fear of disturbing their roots, or expofing them to too much drought during the enfuing fummer. The land may be prepared among young woods of the above defcription by the plough, till the plants rife to the height of eighteen inches, when ploughing mould be difcontiriued. Afterwards, the land mufl be prepared by the fpade 5 or, per- haps, it may better be fown down with grafs feeds, as recommended above, for young foreft planta- tions this month ; which fee. Indeed, digging among young Copfe woods after this time, will be of little advantage to them, feeing that they are now well eftablifhed ; and crops of clover and grafs will be lefs hurtful than if the grounds were left to chance for a crop, and they will be much more ufeful. TJ 9 FENCES. [Marcli. FENCES. THORN AND AQUATIC HEDGES. THORN Hedges, which remain implanted, fliould forthwith be done. Beech and Horn- beam for nurfery or other melterers, fliould alfo be completed. All aquatic hedges and fcreens mould be fpeedi- ly finimed. By this time cuttings will be apt to part with the bark in planting ; care muft there- fore be had, in the operation of planting, not to pufli it off. Indeed, efpecially after the feafon is fo far advanced, it is better to ufe the dibble for cuttings, as advifed under this article for laft month. BUILDING OF STONE FENCES WITH MORTAR. Such works may now be carried on with great propriety, becaufe it is to be expected that fe- vere frofts are over for the feafon. Much more, however, March.] FFNCE*. 309 however, is neceffary in making a good wall, than the building of it after the froft is gone. We have known many tradefmen, who, from their ilovenly difpofition, have fpoiled good materials, even in the midil of fummer weather. The build- ing of walls is generally engaged for at fo much a rood ; and it not urifrequently happens, that thole who perhaps have the management or overfeeing of the work, cannot detecl the imperfection of the execution till it be too late. It is for the fake of fuch perfons that we offer the following obferva- dons. In order to make durable walls, it is not only neceffary to ufe lime, but to ufe it under proper circumftances, and with fuch a proportion of fand as is fit to make proper mortal* or cement, other- wife we feek in vain to make durable walls. Pro- perly prepared mortar in a wall is its bond of u* nion, and the pledge of its durability. A wall built with ill prepared mortar is not fo efficient as a good dry-done dike,. The mod profitable lime to be ufed for build- ing, is fuch as requires the greateft quantity of fand to a given quantity of time-shells, * to make proper mortar. Different limes, although of equal ftrength, rnay require very different treatment in preparing them for building with. We have known a lime T vhich would have fallen to fine powder, on the application * Limestone. FENCES. application of water, although it had been feveral months removed from the burning kiln ; while o- thers that we have known, removed but a week or two, would never after fall into powdery lime* If, however, the latter fort had been inftantly re- moved from the kiln while yet hot, and cover- ed with fand before the application of water, it would mod readily have falkn into as fine powder as could have been defired. But no lime-mells ever fall fo fpeedily as immediately after they are removed from the burning kiln. In order to prepare proper mortar for building, it is neceffary to riddle the lime. This operation is befl performed, as foon as the lime is cold after watering. The cooling is greatly facilitated bj turning. The time fpent in the operation of rid* dling will be more than repaid by the greater progrefs in building. Befides, the mafon will not be obliged to tofs away the best particles of the lime with the cinders, chips of {tones and the like, which are to be found among even the clean- ed; lime that has not been riddled. The fand fhould alfo be riddled if neceffary. If the lirne is of good quality, it will require nearly 300 peunds of good fharp fand to a barlej firlot of lime-shells. The sand should be added to the lime while it is in its powdery flate. They mould be intimate- ly mixed" together, and afterwards thoroughly drench d March."] FENCES. 31* drenched with water, and fo left in what is called a souring heap for at leaft eight days before the mortar is to be ufed in building ; but twice that length of time would be dill better. When it is to be ufed, it is not fufficient to add a quantity of water to make it thin ; but it mud have a hearty application of the back of the fpade or (hovel, by fmart (trokes, fo as to break down the lime, and unite it and the fand as completely as poflible. The fand most proper to be ufed, is fuch as is quite free from earthy particles. Sea fand, of good grist, takes strong band, and is very pro- per for walls and divifion fences. Pit fand, how- ever, will be found better for houfe-walls ; be- eaufe it does not attract the damp fo readily as the other. We judge it unneceiTary, in this place, to fpeak of any other kind of mortar than that compofed of lime and fand, which is the best. Good stones are an effential part of a good wall. Such mould be ufed as are clean, i. e. not eoated over with an earthy or clayey fubilance. We have known (tones, of good quality in other refpecls, fo foul, that walls built with them never took band. Where there are none but foul (tones to be had, the belt method of preparing them, is by expofing them in a thin, loofe man- ner, to the winter rains. The frofts may deftroy. fome of the foftest of them ; but better have half the 3*2 FENCES. [March* the quantity properly prepared, than the whole unfit. When the objeft is merely to procure a fence* it is a matter of fmall moment what fort or varie- ty of ftones be ufed, provided they be durable. But where the wall is to be ufed alfo as a fruit- wall, we would prefer a dark- coloured tvhinstone,* of clofe texture, built with black mortar, even in preference to any brick wall. The mortar for fuch a wall can eafily be made black, by mixing foot in working it, or when the lime is in a pow- dery flate. Circumftances and tafte muft regulate the height of the wall. A fix-feet wall will, however, be found the mod complete fence. The thicknefs of a fix-feet wall, at the foundation, ought to be twenty-four inches, and at the top eighteen. The fame thicknefs at foundation and top, will anfwer for a wall twelve or fifteen feet in height ; but, when the wall is below fix feet in height, the thicknefs may be reduced in proportion. In the building of the wall, care muft be taken that the ftones be laid upon their beds, and fo a to take band in the moft perfect manner that the materials will allow. The plan of fetting ftones on edge ; of building up, as it were, two fkins, and filling in probably loofe ftones, with a dafh of a trowel-full of mortar on their top, cannot be too much execrated or guarded againft ; and no- thing * Greenstone and Basalt. March.'] FENCES. thing is more common, when walls are built by the rood. The (tones of the wall mould, as of- ten as pofiible, pafs from fide to fide of the wall, and, at all events, mould have a hold from the oppofite fide to within four or five inches of the furface, or face of the wall, very frequently ; and the heart of the wall mould be intimately and clofely packed. The coping of a wall is an article of confides able importance. It mould be fo difpofed as to turn the water off the wall. Two ftones placed on their edges, fo as to have their under and out- er furfaces flufh with the fides of the wall, and to meet in a fharp point at top, form a good coping ; but any other manner which tafte may fugged will anfwer equally well, provided the water bo turned off to the outfides of the wall, which is all that is effential to good coping. The fcorias, flags, or danders, to be found at glafsworks, fak-works, and iron founderies, make excellent coping, provided they be built with good mortar ; indeed, lefs will be required to build them with, than to dafh them after they are laid together in the common way ; and the differ- ence in durability is very great. BUILD- 314 FENCES. \_MarcJi* BUILDING TOP-DIKES WITH TURF, AND MORTAR OF CLAY. In fome cafes, the turfs for building top-dikes with mortar of clay, as defcribed in January un- der this article, may now be prepared ; in which cafe, the dikes mould now be fet about. Build- ing them at an earlier period might fubjec~l them to deftruction by frofts, to which they would be equally liable as Xvalls built with rnortar of lime. If fine hard black peat can be readily procured, and be built with mortar of clay, it will fland for a great length of time. The thicknefs and height of the above fpecie? of top-dikes may be the fame as recommended for top-dikes in January ; which see. BUILDING TURF WALLS. Jn fituations where ftone walls cannot be had, or where they are not defired, and where hedges are not to be introduced, walls may be formed of iurf at little expenfe, and of considerable durabi- lity. For this purpofe, the turfs Ihould be tough and firm, fuch as are to be had in old grafs land. It is only in fituations where the materials can be procured, without expenfe of carriage, that fu * Plate It I. fig. L 352 FOREST PLANTATIONS. \_AjJTlL er, with his other hand, introduces the roots of the feedling plant, being careful to put them fully to the bottom of the opening : He then pulls out the dibble, fo as not to difplace the roots of the newly introduced plant, and gives the eafed turf a fmart ftroke with the heel ; and thus will the plant be completely firmed. The greatefl error that the planter with this inftrument can run in- to in planting, is the imperfect introduction of the roots. Green or unpradifed hands are apt to double the roots, or fometitnes to lay them acrofs the opening, inftead of putting them flraight down, as above directed. A careful man, how- ever, will become, if not a fpeedy, at lead a good planter in a day's time ; and it is of more import- ance that he be a fure hand, than a quick one. A perfon who is of a carelefs or flovenly difpofi- tion, mould never be allowed to handle a dibble of this kind. Befides the fandy moors covered with fhort heath now alluded to, there is alfo, particularly in Scotland, much ground covered with long heath ; and this lad is equally unproductive as the former. Such land, however, cannot gene- rally be planted on fo eafy terms, even though the fame kinds of plants are to be ufed ; be- caufe part of the encumbering heath may re- quire to be pared off to make room for the plants y April'] PLANTING SANDY MOORS, &C. 355 plants ; and probably the ground may require plants which have been one year nurfed to be planted in it. Thefe larger plants cannot be fo eafily fet as the feedlings above mentioned ; and the plants themfelves muft coft a good deal more money ; or, which is the fame thing, mufl require a much longer time in the nurfery, and much more labour to prepare them for fuch a purpofe. Yet, with all thefe enhancing circum- ftances, the price of furniihing fuch trees, and planting an acre with them, cannot advance the fum per acre much above 4!. Sterling, allowing 4000 trees to an acre. Now, this will be found but a very fmall fum, when compared with the value of fuch a planta- tion after a certain period of years. For, fuppof- ing the expenfe of planting a Scots acre to be the fum of - L. 4 o And the fencing, by fome of the eafy methods recommended in this work, to be o 15 Q The amount of thefe fums, improved for 30 years, at the rate of 5 per cent, compound intereft, will be 20 12 9 And valuing the annual rent of an acre of fuch land at 58., and that fum im- proved as above, it will amount to 1612 c Carryover L. 42 o, 354 FOREST PLANTATIONS* [April. Confequently the coft of an acre fo planted, by the time that it is 30 years of age, will be - L. 42 o 2 But allowing the trees to have been thinned out to nine feet apart by their 3oth year, then will a Scots acre contain 670 * trees; and allow- ing thefe, at an eafy valuation, to be worth 55. each, then will an acre fo filled be worth the fum of - 167 10 e 'Which leaves a clear profit of no lefs a fum than - - L. 125 9 10 By the fame rate of calculation, an JSnglish acre will coft for trees and planting - - L. 2 15 o Coft of fencing, as above 015 o This fum improved, at 5 per cent. compound intereft, for 30 years, will amount to 15 2 7 I^ent of an acre eftimated at 45., which, for 30 years, at 5 per cent, as above, will be - - - J 3 5 9 Aggregate expenfe by 30 years L. 31 18 4 * See Table in Appendix, No. IV. showing die number of trees which may be planted. on a Scots and on an English acre, at certain distances. 'April] PLANTING SANDY MOORS, &C. 35$ Aggregate expenfe brought forward L.3i 18 4 But if the trees be thinned out to nine feet apart, as above, then will an Englifh acre contain 537, which, valued as above, will be equal to 134 5 c Leaving a clear profit, at the above period, of no lefs a fum than L. 102 6 8 Calculations of the increafing value of fuch plantations might be carried on to many fubfe- quent years 5 but we have faid enough fully to eftablifh the advantages of planting, under the cir- cumflances alluded to. We have taken no ac- count of the thinnings ; thefe mufl doubtlefs have been worth a confiderable fum from the i5th to the 3oth year of the age of the plantation, and will fully cover the expenfe of pruning and thin- ning, together with like contingencies. Even if ground of far greater annual value were planted, and with plants more expenfive than the above, the profits could eafily be fhown to be art object of much importance. We have known feveral inftances of ground, of a quality to bear Oaks, Afli, Elm and Beech, and which had been planted with thefe as principals, and with Larches as nurfes, where, at 30 years of age, the principals were eftimated at 155. each, one with another. But, fuppofing the worth on- ly i os. each, that is, the hardwood kinds above Z 3 enumerated 356 FOREST PLANTATIONS. enumerated ; and that by its 3oth year, the plan- tation has been thinned out as above ; then will a Scots acre be worth - - L. 33500 And allowing the yearly rent of it to be il. IDS. ; this fum, in the form of an annuity for 30 years,, at 5 per cent, compound intereft, will quote 99 .13 o Suppofe that the trees and planting coil - L. 10 o o And the fencing - i o o -- ii oo This fum, improved at the rate of 5 per cent, compound intereft for 30 years, will give ' 47 i o o L. 158 3 o Thus will a profit arife of no lefs a fum than - - - - 176 170 1. 335 It will appear from the above examples, that the better the quality of the land to be planted, the greater will be the advantages ultimately ob- tained. Neverthelefs, we are far from advifmg the planting of fuch lands as may be fit for grow- ing corn crops ; there being abundance of other land, all over the country, * fit for the purpofes of planting. WOODS * See Table of Waste Laad& in Scotland, Appendix, No. IIL WOODS AND COPSES. 357 WOODS AND COPSES. CONTINUE the fowing out of mixed Copies, and alfo finiih the fowing of Oak Copfes, as di- reded for laft month. It has already been no- ticed, that the rows of patches fown laft month fliould be diftinguilhed by ftakes, in order to pre- vent miftakes in the cropping of the fpaces be- tween. Thefe, wherever intended, mould now be cropped. If potatoes be the crop intended, fome of the early varieties which have fhort skaws are mofl proper ; becaiafe tall or long growing Items are very injurious to the young trees. The lines of potatoes Ihould not be nearer thofe of the trees than twenty inches. We have formerly advifed to plough down the dung before fowing copfe woods. The potatoes mult therefore be planted with the dibble, as in gardening. Three drills or rows will be fufficient for the fix-feet fpace. In cafes where it is intended to crop fuch fpaces with field turnip for feeding cattle, it will be pro- per to defer it for two months to come ; or at leaft till the firft of June, We, however, would rather WOODS AND COPSES. April* rather wifh to fee the garden yellow turnip grown in fuch filiations ; becaufe they are not fo fevere for the ground, neither are their tops fo large, nor fo apt to encroach upon the young trees ; and the weight of crop, even for feeding cattle, will not be very much lefs than the other. Swedifh turnip for feeding horfes are alfo a better crop for fuch places, than the common field turnips are. The Swedifh turnip mould be fown in drills about the fecond week of May. If carrots are determined on for the crop, they mould be fown about the lad week of this month. Three drills of thefe, as advifed for potatoes, will be found fufficiently heavy between the lines of trees. The beginning of this month is a proper time to fow lettuce for feeding fwine. The bed me- thod is in drills, nine inches apart, leaving a fpace of eighteen inches on either fide ; and thus there will be fix rows of lettuce between the lines of trees ; and the lettuce plants mould be thinned out to fix or eight inches in the row. When there is a want of nurfery ground, the fpaces between the lines of patches may be employ, ed in that way to nurfe plants for a year, or for two years. Thefe, howerer, will prove much more fcourging for the crops than efculent vege- tables. Trees, of any defcription "whatever, are more nearly allied in nature to the tree feeds fown, April."] WOODS AND COPSES. 359 fown, thin any kind of culinary vegetable is ; and confequently, by requiring from the foil the fame fort of food, mud tend to exhauft the land more than any crop of fuch vegetables is likely to do : Befides, the fucculent and fpreading items and leaves of thefe lafl are very ufeful in keeping the furface moid and foft. Planting of nuriery articles, therefore, between the lines of patches, fhould only be reforted to in cafes of neceffity. Some writers have advifed to fow the fpnces clofe up with crops of grain. Such a plan mufi receive eur decided negative ; becaufe the feed- ling trees would thereby be overfhadowed, if not deilroyed. Neither, in this cafe, can the ground around the patches be wrought with the hoe: the want of which operation mufl tend very much to diminim their vigour. Indeed, unlefs the crop to be fown can keep its place fecurely, fo as not to injure the plants by overhanging them, it fhould not be thought of. Long-pod, Windfor, or fome other of the (tout-growing kinds of beans, are the only grain crops that we would ever wifh to fee fown among young copfes ; and even they fhould never be fown nearer the rows of the coppice plants than twenty inches or two feet. If fuch grounds are to be cropped with beans, they fhould be planted at the above diilances from the rows of trees ; and two rows will be quite fuf- ficient for a fpace, FEN. JFENCES. FENCES. PLANTING EVERGREEN HEDGES. IT is now a fit feafon for planting out all Ever- green Hedges. Where difagreeable obje&s exift in any point or direction, they may, perhaps, be covered from the view by Evergreen Hedges, e- fpecially if fituated at a confiderable diftance. Hedges fhould never, indeed, if it can poffibly be avoided, be ufed near a refidence $ becaufe they give a confined and formal air to the grounds. In cafes where difagreeable objefts muft be co- vered near the houfe, a neat fhrubbery, or perhaps groups of trees, will anfwer better. But when the end of a houfe, an old wall, or fimilar objeds are required to be covered, common ivy, Ayrfhire rofe, or evergreen thorn, may be ufed with good effeft. Planting Holly Hedges. Hollies are the beft for making durable fences to afford the greateft degree of fhelter, efpecially during the winter months. No plant, as a hedge plant, endures the fhears better than the Holly. It r Apnl~\ PLANTING HOLLY HEDGES, 361 It may therefore be carried to a great height, and confequently is highly fitted for fituations where ftrength and flicker are required. It lux- uriates mod in rich fandy loams, although there are few foils in which it will not grow. After planting, the Holly makes but very indifferent pro^refs for a few years ; but after it becomes eftabliihed in the ground ; or, about the third or fourth year after planting, no fence whatever will outgrow the Holly. The fame method of planting, recommended for the thorn, will anfwer for the Holly. It how- ever may, in fome cafes, be necefiary to plant hedges of it upon the furface without a ditch, as upon the back of a funk fence, or the like. In fuch cafes, it mould be laid, as recommended for trees in the nurfery. The moft proper plants for fuch purpofes, are thofe which have been nurfed two years from the tranfplanted beds, or four-year old plants. Such mould be planted at nine or ten inches apart. We have already fpoken of the care neceflary in preferving the adhering earth, at the roots of evergreens lifted from the nurfery ground. Such care is efpecially important, in regard to the Holly. It is very hurtful to Holly plants to be lifted, and to have their roots expofed in dry weather. It is therefore proper to delay lifting them, if poflible, till damp weather : But if they muft be lifted in time of drought, their roots i mould 362 FENCES. [April fhould be puddled, as recommended under the ar- ticle Nursery, for- February ; which fee. Planting Yew Hedges.' Yew Hedges ought alfo now to be planted. They are nioft properly adapted for divifion fences in the nurfery or the garden, or for ornamental evergreen hedges. While a Yew hedge makes an excellent fhelter, it is far too inoffenfive for a fence to divide or protect a field, where plants, well armed with thorns, often prove ineffectual. Yew bears the {hears as well as any plant known ; and, in the character of a hedge, it may be conducted to any height ; but its growth is very flow. It will thrive in almofl any foil. The method, recommended for planting the Holly on level ground, will alfo do for the Yew. Plants which are twelve or fifteen inches high, that have good roots, will anfwer well : Such fhould (land twelve or fourteen inches apart in the line of hedge. If dwarf hedges of Yew are required, fuch plants as are raifed from cuttings are to be preferred ; becaufe they grow more dwarf than thofe which are raifed from feeds. Planting Evergreen-Privet Hedges. Like the yew, the Privet is fit only for dividing- hedges in the nurfery, or for dwarf ornamental hedges. PLANTING EVERGREEN HEDGES. 363 hedges. Good plants, two years from cuttings, may be planted a foot apart in the line of hedge. The Privet will grow in almoft any foil ; and it endures the fhears with great patience. Planting of Common Laurel Hedges. The Laurel forms a delightful fcreen hedge ; and, indeed, is fit only to be ufed in that charac- ter, or as a fhelterer. The Laurel mould not be planted too ciofe together ; from eighteen inches to two feet is near enough. Neither the ihears nor the fwitching bill are to be ufed upon the Laurel Hedge : It muft be kept within bounds, by mork ening the diforderiy branches with the knife. Planting Hedges of Tree Box. No plant makes more beautiful dwarf orna- mental dividing hedges, than the Tree Box, efpe- cially the variegated varieties. Like the common Laurel, it mould never be clipped or fwitched ; but the draggling branches mould be fhortened in by the knife, fo as to allow the fmall twigs and the leaves to exprefs their own natural beauty. If the Box plants be a foot or eighteen inches high, they may be planted a foot apart in the line of hedge. Spruce FENCES* [April Spruce Fir Hedges. Wherever flickering hedges of evergreen trees are required, the Spruce will be found to anfwer well. The plants fliould, however, only be plant- ed for a temporary fhelter, or as a means of bring ing forward a better ; becaufe they foon get bare at the bottom. For the above purpofe, the Spruce fliould be planted eighteen inches apart. BUILDING WALLS. Every defcription of walls requiring to be built with mortar, either of lime or clay, (hould now be carried on with vigour. It is better for any wall to dry gradually, and even rather flowly, than o- therwife. The walls which are built at this fea- fon will have this advantage. CLEANING HEDGES. The moil of the winter-drefled hedges, together with thofe which were then planted, will now re- quire to be cleaned. Even though the rifing weeds make little appearance, it is better to de- ftroy them early, than to allow them to get efta- blifhed, and then to cut them down, after they have robbed and overridden the hedge. After winter April."} CLEANING HEDGES. 365 winter planting, any couch-grafs, or other root weeds, will, by this time, be beginning to (how their heads. If thefe are once allowed to become interwoven with the roots of the thorn plants, it is next to impomble to eradicate them; but if taken in time, and carefully kept down, they will be eaii- ly overcome. A little well-timed labour now, will prevent much after-trouble and vexation. MAY. MAY. THE NURSER.Yi ; 369 THE NURSERY. THIS moft prefling work in the Nurfery, at this time, is to finifh the planting out of any remain- ing evergreen feedlings, rooted layers, and the like. SOWING FIR SEEDS. In all cafes where the fowing of Fir and Larch feeds has not been already completed, it mould now be done ; and in no cafe mould it be delayed beyond the firft or fecond week of this month. It is of much importance to the nurferyman to fow all his Fir and Larch feeds, as well as all others which require protection from the birds, fo as to rife about the fame time 5 bccaufe his labour thus be greatly abridged. A a WEEDING NURSERY. [May. WEEDING SEED-BEDS. By this time the firs, and the feeds which were fown laft month, will have a number of weeds appearing among them. Thefe are to be picked out with great care ; and the more early that this work is performed, the lefs injury will the crop fuftain, either in refpecl: of the ground being im- poverifhed, or the briefing plants being choked up, Indeed, if the firft weeding of the feed-beds be delayed till the weeds come to a confiderable fize, the crop will be much hurt, if not quite ruined. Even a thick rifing crop of feedlings is often con- verted into a thin one, by delaying the weeding ; while a thin, crop is much improved by a timeous and continued attention to weeding. A nursery- man> who can negleft his young trees in the above refpecl:, or even walk through his grounds when his young plants languifh under weeds, without the fevered compunctions, exciting him to relieve them, is in no refpecl entitled to the name which he aflumes. RELIEVING INCRUStED VEGETATING SEEDS* It not unfrequently happens, that the land in which fir and larch feeds have been fown, becomes battered by heavy rains. This will certainly hap- pen, RELIEVING INCRUSTED SEEDS. 37* pen, if rain fall immediately after fowing, before the furface become dry ; but if it once be fully dried after fowing, and before the rain fall, it will feldom or never batter. Suppofe, however, the feed-beds are battered, fb that the tender feeds cannot rife with freedom, the beft way to relieve them is to draw over them a wooden roller, fluck over with lath nails at half an inch diftance, and driven in fo as to remain half an inch beyond the wood of the roller. The roller mould not be more than thirty inches long, and not more than thirty pounds weight. * By drawing this roller along the one fide of the battered bed, while walking in the alley, and returning with it over the other, an ordinary fized bed will be complete- ly relieved. * Some people rake their battered beds, in order to ena- ble the seeds to rise. This is a most dangerous and destruc- tive method of relieving vegetating plants. From their ten- der state, the smallest twist breaks them over, and conse- quently destroys them. We have experienced much advan- tage from using the light, armed roller, here recommended. It is, however, much better when no such are required. The surest way to guard against the need of such means, is to sow the seeds in such weather, as that the surface after sowing will be fully dry before rain come on. There is rio dispensing with this precaution, when it is wished to secure an equal and good crop of seedlings. A a 2 PLANTING 372 THE NURSERY. [May, TLANTING OUT LARGE EVERGREENS IN THE NURSERY. It is frequently neceflary, and generally defir- able, to have large Evergreen plants ready to re- move to particular fituations in the park and in the lawn. Large Evergreens, that can be remov- ed with certainty of fuccefs, can never be fo well procured by tranfplanting from fhrubberies, or o- ther places where they have been for fome years eftablifhed, as by preparing them in the Nurfery. All fuch, therefore, as it is intended to remove, perhaps a year hence, to fuch fituations as above noticed, mould be now replanted into a piece of the fofteft and richest of the nurfery ground, in or- der that they may make a profufion of fmall fibres, by the arrival of the lifting time. Plants of the above defcription mould ftand free and unconfin- cd on all fides. A few of them, therefore, will fill a conflderable fpace of ground in the Nurfery. This fpace, however, ought cheerfully to be giv- en ; for, if they be crowded here, it will require feveral years before they recover their verdure on the fides which were confined, if ever they reco- ver it. Such Evergreens, as Hollies of forts, Yews, Laurels of forts, Boxes, or the like, which it is wifhed to prepare for large plants, for occafional de- mands M(ty.~\ THE NURSERY. 373 mands of the above defcription, mould, if they have flood two or three years fince they were planted out, be now replanted in fuch foil as above recommend- ed. They muft, like the above, have plenty of room on all fides, left they become naked on any of their fides. There are few articles on which the nobleman or gentleman's nurferyman can put his hand, which, at the time of lifting to their ulti- mate ftation, are more anxioufly defired to prof- per, than the above kinds of plants ; therefore, too much pains can hardly be beftowed on their preparation. DIGGING AND CROPPING VACANT GROUND. By the removal of the Evergreens to the foreft plantations, there will now be feveral vacant quarters in the Nurfery. Some part of thefe will be required in June for fowing Elm feeds ; fome in September, for tranfplaming Firs and other E- vergreens, as well as for fowing feeds from the rot-heap. Such ground as is intended for thefe purpofes, mould, without lofs of time, be digged over as rough as poffible ; and fuch part as will not be required before the fpring months, may now be prepared for yellow turnips, late peas, favoys, or potatoes, according as circumftances may point out, WATCH* 374 I*HE NURSERY. WATCHING THE BIRDS. This will now be a moft important work. The firft fown Firs and Larches will juft be breaking the ground, or briering with the hufks of the feeds flill on their tops, a crifis mofl inviting to the chaffinch, the green linnet or green grofbeak, the red linnet or greater redpole, the yellow-hammer, and even the fky-lark. Not one of thefe is therefore to be allowed to alight upon the beds : nor, in- deed, ought any other bird. This will require attention from the break of day to funfet, with- out intermiflion, till the plants throw off the hufks. This is certainly a hard part of the nurfe- Tyman's duty 5 but it is a mofl indifpenfable one. DESTROYING MICE. After Acorns, Chefnuts, Beech-maft, Hazles, Nuts or Fir feeds, have briered, mice are no long, er to be dreaded as enemies to them. In refpeft to thefe, therefore, the nurferyman's anxiety and labour may for fome time be difpenfed with ; and, whoever has had experiehce of the tafk, will think it high time. HfbEING AND CLEANING. The rifmg weeds, on every hand, will be call- ing loudly for the application of the hoe, This is THE NURSERY. 375 is a work not to be difpenfed with. Every dry day, or even part of a dry day, muft be improv- ed ; for, if the weeds be allowed to get ahead at this time, farewel to all pleafure or profit in the Nurfery for the feafon ! Nothing furely can be more galling to a nurferyman, who has any feel- ing, than to fee his ground overrun with weeds. When he ceafes to be moved with this fight, he is callous indeed ! Sometimes, however, it is not his fault. From our previous obfervations and directions in this department, it will appear that a very fmall fpace of ground requires a vaft deal of labour and attention. No nurferyman fhould therefore be opprefled with too much to do, or be refufed a fufficient command of hands, to ac- complim every piece of work in its proper feafon. Indeed, the matter who gives his nurferyman too little help to do his work completely, is his own punifher ; becaufe, in that cafe,, it rnuft be hur- ried over in an imperfect manner, and fometimes will not be done at all. If the nurferyman has any feeling or fenfe of character, he becomes dif- heartened ; the confequence is, that he takes the tirfl opportunity to move from the place, A like conduct to another fervant, in a fubfequent year, produces a like removal. The perfon, therefore, who works the ground, is conftantly unacquaint- ed with its powers ; his attachments to, and in- icreft in it, are flight, and never get eftablifhed. It 376 THE KURSERY. It Is, in truth, of the utmoft advantage to the fcurfery, to be under one fyftem of management ; and greatly to the credit, both of the employer and his nurferyman, that he remain/or ever in the fame place ! We may be permitted here to re- mark, that neither mafter nor fervant Ihould quit with one another on any supposed ground of dif- ference, nor even upon slight offences on either fide. He knows little of the world, either as mafter or man, who expects to get through it, without encountering difficulties of this kind and he who cannot pafs over a flight offence, gives himfelf unneceffary pain, and trouble. QRNA* ORNAMENTAL PLANTATION*. 377 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS, PLANTING OUT LARGE EVERGREENS ON THE LAWN, &C. THE planting of fuch muft be forthwith com- pleted. In the difpofmg of thefe, Taste has its fulleft play. It would, perhaps, be impoflible to convey an idea of the exat pofition in which the plants to be ufed fliould be placed. The general flatnefs, or the number and degree of the inequa- lities of the ground ; the number and qualities of adjoining plantations, together with their relative fituations; a diftant village, or a diftant parifh church or fpire; or, perhaps, a farm-houfe ; or far diftant mountains or hills, with a variety of other obje&s and circumftances muft determine the tinges of hue, the pofition, the number, natural heights, and qualities of the plants to be ufed* Any attempt, therefore, to lay down, in this place, the exaft fituations in which the refpeclive Ever- greens fliould be placed, would be ridiculous. It ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [Mai/. It may, however, be humbly fuggefled, that the Park, or the Lawn, fliould never be daubed too full of groups, or of fingle plants. When there are too many put in, the whole park ac- quires a confined air and appearance ; and, what- ever be the intrinfic worth of the plants individu- ally confidered, the eye turns from the appear- ance with diflike. Single plants, it is prefumed, never produce in the mind that fociable feeling which a fmall group creates. Groups, however, fhould never aflume any regular figure, or appear at all artifi- cial. The eye and general ufte require, that they be after the manner of Nature's works, wild and irregular. Groups, therefore, fhould vary in num- ber, and in ftature in fhades of colour and in figure, as they recede from, or approach, the Man* fion-houfe. The flowering Evergreen fhrubs of low growth, (fuch as the Laurustinus, and different fpecies of Rhododendron), fhould be placed nearer the eye, or perhaps on the brow of a fomewhat diflant knoll, or on the brinjc of a rivulet near a walk, that, in the ftroll of the evening, the wanderer may be furprifed and pleafed, It would be in Vain to attempt the diverfity and variety above hinted at, in a fmall piece of ground of perhaps an acre or two. Then, all is probably feen at a glance? In fuch fmall places, therefore, the ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 379 the plants and variety muft be fuited to the near- nefs of fituation, and other circumftances. In whatever pofition it be found neceflary to plant Evergreen trees and fhrubs, care muft be taken to procure the requisite foils, if they are not naturally prefent. TREATMENT OF NEW PLANTED DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. Late-planted hedge-row, and ornamental single trees, mould now be examined, to fee if they are windwaved, which they are liable to be from their height. Such as are found windwaved are to be placed upright, and fo held till dry earth be trin- died in around them at the roots, and made mo- derately firm, by beating it downwards with the end of a flick. If the fituations in which thefe or the Ever- greens have been planted, be naturally gravelly or porous ; and if dry weather fucceed, they will require occafional waterings ; and more efpecial- ly, if the plants are of large fize. This attention will conduce, not only to keep the plants alive, but to give them more strength and bolder ver- dure. ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. CROPPING THE GROUND AMONG NEW PLANT- ED ORNAMENTAL STRIPES, &C. In fuch fcreen or other ornamental plantations as have been prepared by fallow, trenching or digging, and in which it is intended to raife field or yellow turnip, the end of this month is the proper time for fowing. A fmall patch between the plants in the middle of the fpace only, fhouid be fown. Potatoes alfo may yet be planted a- mong them, or late cabbage for feeding cattle in winter. PREPARING GROUND FOR FUTURE PLANTATIONS. We have before noticed the intimate relation between this fpecies of plantation and ordinary foreft plantation ; and as we have already, under this head, as well as under Forest Plantation for May, treated largely on the preparation of grounds for future plantations, we (hall, for the prefent, refer the reader to thefe places ; with on- ly further noticing, that in all cafes where an im- prover is preparing a narrow (tripe, by throwing up a ditch on each fide, and turning the earth in- wards, he fhouid be careful to form, at all pro- per places, outlets for the water, which muft o- therwife be confined among the roots of the trees, from ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 81 from the nature of the fituation. In many cafes$ it may be neceflary to make an open dram in the middle of the fpace, with crofs outlets as above* In a vaft many old ftripes which we have feen, the trees have become fickly, and have even died out, from the above defect ; although it is of & nature to be guarded againft by a little and a trifling expenfe* FOREST PLANTATIONS* FOREST PLANTATIONS. PLANTING EVERGREENS. ALL the plantations which require to be finifh- ed with Evergreen trees, fhould be immediately completed. Indeed, in but very few cafes is it advifable to leave the planting of fuch undone till this late period of the feafon. Damp weather for removing and planting thefe is now greatly to be defired. If it be necefiary to go on with it in dry weather, puddle mufl be reforted to, as dire&ed for laft month j which fee. CROPPING WITH VEGETABLES AMONG FOREST PLANTATIONS. Wherever cropping with potatoes among new planted foreft trees after fallow is intended, they fhould now be planted. Turnip of various forts may alfo now be fown. For further particulars, fee Ornamental Plantations for this month. PRE May.'] FOREST PLANTATIONS. 38 PREPARING THE GROUND FOR FUTURE PLANTATIONS. It has frequently been noticed, that this is the beft feafon of the year for preparation of the land for future plantations ; by Pitting, Fallowing, and Paring and Burning. This fubject will there- fore divide itfelf into many particulars under thefe heads. It muft be obvious to every one who has been engaged in cultivating foreft timber, that trees grow, for feveral years after planting, with far greater rapidity, in land which has been prepared by fallow, than in equal foils after pitting ; and far better after pitting, than by being merely flit- ted in. Neverthelefs, we would by no means wifh to be underftood as recommending generally the preparation of ground for foreft plantations by fallow. Indeed, the expenfe would be extra- vagant ; and, were it otherwife, the work is im- practicable. Generally fpeaking, fallow for fo- reft plantation is not to be looked for. Pitting may be confidered as the moft perfect method of preparation that extenfive tracts of ground for foreft plantation can receive ; and that, too, on- ly where hard-wood trees, as principals, are ei- ther to be planted or fown, it having been already mentioned that the nurfes may be slitted in with propriety. 384 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [May. propriety. Indeed, in the event of fowing forefts with all forts of trees, pitting muft be reforted to. Paring and burning, therefore, together with its concomitant fallow, is intended principally for grounds to be ufed either as Coppice, Grove, or Ornamental Plantations. Paring and Burning. This fpecies of preparation, as above hinted, is principally to be adopted in preparing for the fore- mentioned kinds of plantation. Yet, in many inftances, it may be required for completing a diftricl: of foreft plantation, or when it is requir- ed to advance with more rapidity ; and it is efpe- cially ufeful in mofly, or fub-moffy foils, which are covered with coarfe grafses. The fpeedieft and cheapeft, as well as the moft effectual method of paring, is by the plough. Any ordinary plough may be made to do the work, by fimply enlarging the lock to nine inch- es at the back end, and making the cutting point and angles very {harp. The coulter fhculd be made fharp on the point, and efpecially fo where It has to cut the fward. When the plough is du- ly prepared as above, the fward may be pared with it as thin as is wilhed. The turf, however, Ihould not be more than two inches thick, other- wife it would require fo long a time to dry, that the FOREST PLANTATIONS. 385 the feafon for burning, and other operations, might be loft. It will be found a great means of forwarding its preparation for burning, to crofs- cut it, perhaps a fortnight after the firft plough- ing ; only, the whole mould be dry at the time of performing the crofs-ploughing. After the turf is dry enough for burning, the furrows are to be lighted on the fide of the field from which the wind is blowing ; and it is gene- rally proper to wait till it blow from the moft fteady point. The whole is to be attended to during this operation ; and, when the progrefs of the fire is impeded at any place, perhaps by a damp fpot, it muft be lighted on the other fide. So foon as the burning is over, and the heat a- bated, the land mould be wrought like ordinary fallow ; being, however, careful not to plough too deep for the prefent. Before the winter ar- rive, it mould be laid up in ridges, of fuch a breadth as circumftances may require; and the ridges mould lye in fuch a direction as to lay the whole furface at leaft, as dry as poflible. Some furfaces anfwer better to be pared in au- tumn or winter, and left with the earth fide ex- pofed during frofts and rains : The crofs-cutting of fuch is generally deferred till fummer, juft be- fore the turf is to be burnt. Where the foil is unfavourable for burning, this method will be found of great ufe j becaufe the action of the B b weather^ 385 FOREST PLANTATIONS. [May* weather, during winter and fpring, will have freed the turf in a great meafure from the adhering par- ticles of earth, and fo left it in a (late more fit for burning than otherwife it could be. Many cafes will neverthelefs occur, where the methods of paring above recommended will not be practicable ; in fome inftances, for want of firmnefs, and, in others, from the unevennefs of the furface : in which cafes, recourfe muft be had to paring in the ordinary way ; which is too well known, to require defcription. If the grounds now under confideration be found very much inclined to mofs ; or, if they are too foft for being planted or fown in the following fpring with trees or tree feeds, a crop of oats may be taken, which will give the furface a more firm confiftency, and reduce the mofly fubftance more perfectly to earth. After the feparation of the crop of oats, the land ftiould receive a furrow, in which it (hould lye till fpring, when it is to be finally prepared for planting or fowing. We are aware that many arguments have been advanced againft burning the coarfe fwards of fuch grounds as above noticed. But experi- ence, that ftubborn and incontrovertible argu- ment, has led us to recommend it as highly ufe- ful on fuch foils, in raifing trees; and we have at prefent no further bufinefs with it. JFM. FOREST PLANTATIONS. 387 FALLOWING GROUNDS. If the grounds propofed to be fummer-fallowed for the purpofes at prefent under view, will at all bear a crop of oats, it fhould be taken previous to attempting the fallowing. Without a crop to re- duce and rot the fward, there is, in many cafes, hardly a poflibility of bringing it to a good mould in one feafon. And if the fward cannot be pro- perly reduced, and the weeds deftroyed, without two years labour, the advantage is evidently on the fide of taking the oats, which will allow it to be reduced with eafe in the following feafon. All {tripes of plantation, or parts of a large mofs, which are fituated near a refidence, ought to be prepared by fallow, if it be required that the trees fhould rife with fpeed in their infancy. In cafes where their early progrefs can be confidered as a matter of indifference, pitting, as for ordinary foreft plantation, may be adopted. PREPARING GROUNDS BY PITTING, BOTH FOR. PRINCIPALS AND NURSES. This method, next to fallow, is the beft. If the defign be extenfive, and the foil various, the methods of management attendant on pitting mud yary in proportion. The diftances at which the B b a pits, 88 POREST PLANTATIONS* \M(ty* pits are to be made, mud be regulated by the circumftances of foil and flicker, or the want of it. On fuch parts as are very much expofed, the pits mould not be at a greater diftance than three and a half feet, nor nearer than three feet. On places lefs expofed, and where the foil is good, they may fland at the diftance of four and a halfj or, in very fine land, and where the fhelter is greater, at five feet diftance ; and this is the greateft diftance at which trees fhould ftand in any new planted grounds, however favourable the foil and fituation may be. In a plantation of the extent and variety of foils at prefent under our view, it cannot be expected that the fame rule of pitting will every where equal- ly apply 5 neither would the fuccefs be equal, if all foils were pitted in the fame manner* In light, porous foils, the furface of the pit fliould be pared thin off, and laid in the bottom of the laft made pit, with its green fide undermoft, and the earth laid on above it ; becaufe, by this means, the fward will be fully reduced to earth by the planting feafon in the following fpring ; and the foil will be, in fome meafure, fallowed in the pits. This method is elfential in all thin foils. But if the foil to be pitted be ftrong, ftubborn clay, with a tough fward, it may be proper to place FOREST PLANTATIONS. 389 place the turf, pared off as above, in the bottom of the laft made pit, and only a fmall portion of the foil above it, in order to facilitate the rotting of the fward ; but the remainder of the foil from the pit muft be laid on the furface, at the edge of it, that it may there receive all the benefit of the fummer and winter weather, to pulverize and meliorate it ; while, at the fame time, the fides of the pit, and the portion of foil placed over the turf in the bottom of the pit, are equally expofed to the beneficial action of the air. But, in cafes where the furface is too ftrong and coarfe to be reduced to earth, by the time of planting in the above manner, and yet where the foil is a ftrong clay, as above, the furface muft be pared off as thin as poffible ; and is to be difcard- ed. In this cafe, the whole contents of the pit, befide, are to be laid upon the furface at its edge, which will expofe all the infide of the pit, toge- ther with its contents, to the action of the wea- ther; will likewife greatly pulverize and meli- orate the earth, and make it a more fit receptacle for the purpofed occupier than any other method of management will, In fpots of land, which have formerly lain m a wet or four ftate, and which have a coarfe fpritty fward upon them, the furface of the pit is to be thrown afide, and its contents expofed as above. Indeed, fuch foils, although of a lighter nature FOREST PLANTATIONS. M plants that were to be introduced, and feeds of a very hardy kind, which required to be buried feveral inches under the furface, and whofe roots would confequently be imbedded in what good foil there might be. But, in the prefent cafe, we are to pit for very tender feeds, which require all the encouragement and care which it is in onr power to give : Therefore, we cannot advife, in any 396 FOREST PLANTATIONS. any cafe, the making of the pits deeper than the natural foil, however little that may be. If the fward contain the whole good foil, it mould be turned upon its green fide, and wrought by the hoe, or other means, for two years, if one is not fufficient to qualify it for the reception of the feeds. PITTING FOR SOWING TREE SEEDS IN GENERAL. Pitting for Walnuts and Chefnuts may be done as above advifed for acorns ; becaufe thefe feeds require to be buried to a good depth, and will do better in foil lefs meliorated than any of the fir tribes. Beech-maft, although it needs to be pret- ty deeply covered, requires to have the foil better made ; fuch as its tender feeds may pufh through with eafe. Elms are, in point of tendernefs, nearly allied to the Firs. The pits, for either the Oak or the Sycamore, fhould not have much crude earth mixed with them ; and the Birch and Alder fhould not have any. Without attending to thefe precautions, it will be difficult, if not im- poflible, to fucceed in railing forefts or mattes of thefe kinds from feeds. GENERAL May.'] GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, &C. 397 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE STATE OF THE GROUNDS TO BE PITTED. It generally happens, that the grounds to be pitted are lefs or more covered with whins, broom, or other brufhwood ; and, when this is the cafe, it is fo far fortunate for the plantation. Shelter, that great promoter of the growth of trees, is anxioufly fought for by very intelligent planter. Some planters, of little experience, and who feem neither to have thought nor read, have, in prac- tice, ihcautioufly cut up the whole brufhwood from their grounds before pitting. But a little reflection would have convinced them, that it was their intereft to take advantage of the fhelter al- ready provided by nature. In cafes where fuch brufhwood confifts of the Sloe-Thorn, or other too tall growing kinds, a greater portion of them may be taken away ; but, in ordinary cafes, only fo much as to allow the pits either for fowing or planting to be made, mould be removed. In. cafes where the Whins left appear to be too flen- der for flanding, without having their tops bent over upon the pits or young plants, they muft be cut over at two or three feet high to prevent it, * DRAINING INTENDED FORESTS, By whatever means it is propofed, either to prepare, or crop grounds with trees, draining is - elftntiai FOREST PLANTATIONS. eflential to their well-being. Generally fpeaking, open drains are fuperior to all others for forefl draining. A rubble drain, or one partially built, is liable to have its interftices fuddenly filled up with the roots of trees ; and, after fuch drains are filled up, it is no eafy taik to clear them. Leading or matter drains, in the principal places, with con- duding lateral drains formed by the fpade, and often fuch as may be formed by the plough fur- row, will anfwer perfectly well. The very firft ftep necefTary to be taken in any preparation, is the formation of drains, wherever they appear to be necefTary. Pitting, and other works, follow with greater propriety than precede this work. THINNING OAK WOODS. We have formerly recommended, that the Thinning out of Oak Woods, as well as the ge- neral thinning out of oaks over any part of the plantations, mould be left undone till this time, for the fake of getting off the bark with the great- er facility. We have already, in January r , given directions for thinning forefls of various ages : Thefe will equally apply here ; we fhall therefore refer the reader to them, CLEANING CLEANING GROUND, &c. 399 CLEANING THE GROUND AMONG NEW PLANTED TREES. We have previouily pointed out, that cropping with vegetables among young ornamental planta- tions made after fallow, trenching or digging, is only intended to induce a more clofe attention to keeping them clean. Such plantations, then, as are to be kept with the hoe, will now require to be attended to. In the performance of this work, hoes of confiderable weight, and not broad in the mouth, will anfwer beft ; becaufe thereby the furface can be more effe&ually ftirred or re- newed, than by ordinary garden hoes. Indeed, in land of a clayey or ftrong nature, hoes of the above defcription are eflential to the proper per- formance of the work of hoeing. OAK 400 WOODS AND COPSES. OAK WOODS AND COPSES. PLANTING EVERGREEN NURSES. IN all cafes where Oakwoods or Copfes have been laid out by fowing in pits, and where Fir nurfes are to be planted, and have not hitherto been got accomplifhed, the nurfes ought to be completed without delay, as advifed laft month \ which fee. The feafon is now arrived for fingling the moots on the Oak (tools ; for thinning out Oak woods and Copfes ; and for taking the bark off the tim- ber. SINGLING THE SHOOTS ON THE OAK STOOLS. The ftools which were cut over two years ago, will by this time have produced a great numbed of (hoots. If thefe were left upon the ftools un- touched, they would unnecefiarily exhauft the ftrength of the roots, in producing brufhwood hardly May.1 WOODS AND COPSES* 401 hardly fit for the fire ; while, by a moderate de- gree of care, it may be turned to far more im- portant ends. The firft thing neceffary to be confidered, is the ftrength of the ftool to be thinned ; and, in proportion. to this, to leave a greater or fmaller number of moots upon it. The number to be left may vary from one, to four or five. What- ever number are to be left, they ought to be the flraightefl and mod promifing moots, and as e- qually difpofed around the ftool as poffible. The neceffity of retaining a fufficient number of fhoots will appear obvious to every one. If a number too fmall for conducting the whole flow of juices from the roots upwards be left, thefe juices will feek an outlet, by forming new moots at the places from which their predeceffors were removed ; by which means, the evil fought to be prevented would be effectually continued. On the other hand, if too great a "number be left, they prevent the neceffary enlargement of the principals, and become themfelves ftunted, hide- bound, and dwarfifh. To guard againft running into either of thefe extremes, is the bufmefs of the forefter in the prefent cafe. Such of the young fhoots as it is neceffary to remove, mould be flipped off by a wedge-fhaped chifel, furnifhed with a handle three feet long. Pufhing them off by the chifel as above, is by far a better method than cutting them ; becaufe, C c wherever 402 WOODS AND COPSES* wherever they are cut off, the ftools produce a greater profusion of new moots, which both need- lefsly throws away the flrength of the ftool, and robs thofe {hoots intended for the crop, of a part of their nourimment. Having fele&ed the proper fhoots to remain on the ftools, and removed, by the chifel, all re- dundant ones, nothing farther is necefiary to be done for them, till the proper feafon for pruning them arrives in autumn, when they mud be trim- med, as directed for foreft plantations of their age and fize. Stools which have been thus treated two years ago, fhould now be cleared of all young growths which have fmce rifen up. Indeed, it were bet- ter, both for the ftools and wavers, that the fu- perfluous young growths were annually removed. Stools which have flood ftill two years longer, and which have been treated as above directed, inuft now be freed from fome of thofe faplings which were left at the firft thinning. In cafes where five were left, two may be removed ; and thefe, of courfe, the worft. The three which are left mould be chofen to ftand as equally dif- pofed around the ftool as poffible. Thofe which were left with four upon them, fhould now be freed from two of the worft ; and the two left fhould be as nearly oppofite to each other on the (tool as poflible. After this thinning, the plants May.] WOODS AND COPSES. 403 or wavers left will require nothing more till the time of commencing the autumn pruning, when they mud be treated as directed for foreft plants of their height. If the propofed object be a Copfe, little more will be required, till the time for cutting it down arrive, which may happen about fifteen or twenty years after the lafl felling took place. But its fitnefs for being cut at this age, will depend on the goodnefs of the foil, the climate, and the ma- nagement of the whole. CONVERTING A COPSE INTO AN OAK WOOD. If, however, it were sdvifable, from local cir- cumftances, to rear an Oak wood from the ftoolsj which have been treated as above directed ; it would be neceflary to remove one third part of the whole stands by the twelfth year after cutting as above, which would thin them out to between feven and eight feet diflance, one with another. In all cafes where it is required to deprive a flool of its leader, it mud be managed with the fame care and attention to its future growth, as has been al- ready advifed. The ftools fo deprived of their leaders muft be kept unincumbered by any brum- wood, dead branches, or the like, in order that its young moots may proceed onward without in- terruption. C c 3 By 404 WOODS AND COPSES. By their twentieth year, another third part may be removed, which will allow the remaining ftands to be at the diftance of nine or ten feet apart ; and by their twenty-fifth year, perhaps, they may require to be thinned out to twenty or twenty-five feet diftance ; and, five years thence, the remain- ing (lands may require to be thinned out to thirty feet diftance : Which diftance will probably an- fwer till they arrive at their fortieth year, when they may be thinned out to about forty feet dif- tance from one another. The ftools produced by thefe intermediate thin- nings, and which have been managed as directed above, will by this time have produced a plenti- ful crop of young faplings for fupplying the places of fuch trees as it may be neceffary from time to time to remove : and thus, by a fimple method and moderate care, may copies be converted not only Into woods, but it may be faid into everlaft- ing woods. * TAKING * Although we look forward for a great length of time, during which the roots of the oak will supply nourishment to the saplings at intermediate cuttings, and produce these to good timber trees, the time will doubtless arrive when these, through age, will become rigid and incapable of performing their functions. Every tree with which we are yet acquainted has evidently its periods of infancy, youth., maturity, decay and death. TAKING DOWN OLD OAKS. 405 TAKING DOWN OLD OAKS FROM SUCH WOODS AS THE ABOVE. In taking down old oak trees in fuch a planta- tion as the above, great care is to be had not to hurt the young wavers or underwood which are rifing up. The tops of fuch trees as are to be felled, fhould be much reduced in fize immedi- ately before the felling take place, fo that they may occupy lefs room in their fall. The height at which the trees mould be cut above the furface of the ground is four inches : if more Item be left, it is unneceflary ; and if lefs, the fubfequent growths cannot be managed with fo much eafe. The edges of the cut part left in the ground mould be fo pared or rounded by the adz as to turn the rain readily off; for if moif- ture were allowed to lodge upon the ftools, they would be ferioufly injured by it. No part of the bark mould on any account be peeled off the root, as fome greedy foreflers do, greatly to the detriment of the fucceeding crop. In taking down the trees, it is even proper to guard againft their accidentally tearing off any of the bark from the roots. BARKING WOODS AND COPSES. BARKING OAK WOOD. We mall fuppofe that the forefler, with his bed inftru&ed men, are bufily engaged in the re- fpe&ive works noticed in the preceding article, according to the circumftances of the age of the copfe or plantation ; and that he has procured a proper number of barkers* according to the extent of his undertaking. A piece of vacant ground, at a convenient fide of the wood, is to be looked out, to which the large and finall wood is to be carried, here to undergo the operation of barking. The barkers are furnimed with light fhort- handled mallets made of afh-wood, the head about eight inches long, three inches in diameter at the face, and the other end blunt, but fomewhat wedge-ihaped ; and with fharp wedges, made of the fame fort of timber, fomewhat fpatula-fhaped: thefe, from their form, may either be drove by the mallet, or pufhed by the hand. The barkers are alfo provided with a fmooth whinftone, about fix or eigh: inches in diameter on the face, and four or five inches thick. The young faplings, fmall branches or twigs, are held by one hand on the ftone, and with the other beat by the mallet until the bark be fplit on the \vood : it is then peeled off, and laid re- guiarly a5.je, till a bundle of confiderable fize be The May."} BARKING OAK WOOD. 407 The larger branches, young trees, and full grown timber trees, are laid along on the ground: the upper fide of the tree to be barked is beat with force by the mallet from one end of the tree to the other. The bark is then darted at the thick end, by thrufting or driving in the wedge ; which being thrud along the whole length, the bark is fpeedily ripped open. The wedge is then applied under the bark at both fides of the incifion. The firm parts are then fucceffively beat by the^mallet, and the wedge gradually pufhed along till the whole be completely fevered from the timber. The point mod particularly to be obferved m this art, is the taking off the bark in as long fhreds as poflible, for the conveniency of carriage to, and drying it on what are called the horses. Thefe are formed of long branches, and two or more pieces of about a yard in length, fharpened at one end, and having a knag or fork at the other to receive and fupport the long branch. The horfes may (land within four or five feet of each other, and fo as to have a declivity from one end to the other, that the occafional rains may the more eafily run off. A dry elevated fpot, in an airy place, is the mod proper for e- recting the horfes upon, in order that the bark, when laid upon them, may. have a free circula- tion of air when drying, At I WOODS AND COPSES. [May. At the end of each day's work, the bark is carried to, and laid acrofs the horfes, to the thiqk- nefs of fix or eight inches. The large boardy pieces of bark are built into fmall pyramidal flacks, or fet up on end leaning againfl the horfes. If the weather be very dry and fine, the bark Ihould be turned twice a day, or at lead once a day. Gentle fhowers are found beneficial to it ; "while fevere rains, of long continuance, are very hurtful. A careful hag-man will take pains to lay the flrong boardy pieces of the bark in fuch a manner as to defend the more tender parts from fevere rains. Great care is to be ufed to preferve the colour of the inner bark ; becaufe the colour of this is generally looked to as a principal cri- terion of its value. It is chiefly by the colour of the inner bark, and the aflringent effects which it produces upon the palate when tailed, that the merchant or tanner judges of the value of the bark. If, therefore, by the viciffitudes of the weather, or the neglect of the hagman, the bark fre blemimed even in colour,, its value is very much diminifhed. When it is fufficiently dry to be in no danger of fermentation, it mould be carried to a dry houfe or {hade. Where fuch cannot be had, it Ihould be Hacked up in the fame manner as hay. It may be proper to notice here, that flacks of bark Humid not be ib large as to incur the rifk of CROPPING VEGETABLES, &C. 4 and have not been thinned, are certainly in a flate which requires immediate attention. At this age, they may be thinned out the firfl year, after commencing the work, to five feet diflance ; and, in the next, to fix feet apart, being particularly careful not to expofe them too much at once ; and, within the next ten years, they may be oc- cafionally thinned out, till they fland from nine to tvrelve feet apart, according to the vigour of the plants, the quality of the foil, and the expofed or flickered nature of the fituation. But, during this time, an annual attention to prune off fuch laterals as are unnecefTary is indifpenfable. Plantations, of thirty or forty years of age, which have been fuffered to run into diforder, mufl be treated with flill more caution in thin- ning. Their forlorn condition bas been the con- fequence of many years neglecl: ; and they mufl not be expected to be fuddenly reclaimed. In the firfl year, remove only the fmall overridden plants ; 438 FOREST PLANTATIONS. plants : The fecond year go a little nearer : Mark fdch as you judge the bed for the crop ; and prune off the dead flumps. In the third year, you may thin them out to fix feet apart, and, by the fifth year> they may be thinned out to nine feet apart. The next thinning. f hin ten years, may be to eighteen or twenty feet apart, provided it hap- pen at intervals of five years ; and a third revi * fion, at twenty years diflance from the lafl, fhould determine the final diflance ; which mould be from thirty to forty feet, according to circum- ftances, It may be unnecefTary to repeat, that fuch plants as have loft their leaders are the firft objects for removal, provided no confiderable blank be thereby occafioned. What is above faid, refpe&ing the Scots Fir, will equally apply to the Larch, and all others of the Fir tribe, which are planted for timber trees* WOODS WOODS AND COPSES* WOODS AND COPSES. LET all new-fown Coppice Woods be examined, and the patches carefully cleaned of weeds ; and let fuch as have been fown in pits be relieved from all encroaching biufhwood. If thefe oper- ations be well performed at this time, the young plants will require no more attention till fpring* Continue the preparing of foil for future Copfes, as formerly directed. Go on with the work of pruning wavers, as advifed lad month. It need hardly be noticed, that the only inftrument proper to be ufed in thh fort of pruning is the knife ; and that the wounds &ould be made quite clean. FENCES. 4.9 FENCES, FENCES. THIS is now a fit time for preparing all young Hedges for winter, by cleaning them of weeds. Recoiled how difagreeable it muft be for the hedger to {land in the ditches in the winter months, probably among water ; and how little work is done under thefe circumftances, and how imperfectly that little is performed : Therefore, let all hedges be now cleaned, and, if poflible, all deciduous hedges fwitchd. If they are fwitched at this time, the wounds will be healed before the&- ed, in a greater or lefs degree, to inherit the good qualities, or the defects, of their progenitors. GATHERING ASH-KEYS. By this time the feeds of Afli muft be fecured. They are to be got, in great abundance and per- fe&ion, wherever large trees of this kind are to be met with. The flowers of the Afh are gene- rally hermaphrodite ; but fome trees produce not only hermaphrodite flowers, but alfo numerous female flowers ; and other trees produce none but thefe laft. The prolific trees are eafily diftin- guiihed, at this feafon, by the profufion of bunch- es of keys which they every where exhibit. When a fufficient quantity of Afh-feeds ha,s been procured, they are to be carried to the rot- heap, and to be mixed with light fandy earth, and laid in a heap of a flat form, not more than ten inches thick. This we advife, to prevent them from heating. We have feveral times known THE NURSERY. 497 known a crop of Afh-trees to have been loft, ow- ing entirely to the heating of the feeds ; and we are perfuaded that there is no evil to which the Nurferyman more owes the failure of feveral of his crops, than to carelefsnefs in guarding againft heating. The Adi-feeds, it may be mentioned., muft be turned over feveral times during their flay in the rot-heap. GATHERING MOUNTAIN-ASH BERRIES; This mould be done in the firft of the month ;' becaufe, by the end of it, the roans are frequent- ly fwept from the trees by the birds. Thefe ber- ries are very eafily procured, and are both good and plentiful wherever Quicken trees grow. As foon as they 'are gathered, they mould be carried to the rot-pit, mixed with light fandy earth, and laid ten inches thick in a flat form, and covered two inches thick with the fame kind of foil ; in which flate they may remain till the following autumn, for fowing. GATHERING ALDER SEED. This is now fit for being gathered. It is found very plentifully on almoft every tree of the kindc It grows in fmall cones, fomewhat refembling the Birch, but hard, and rather woody, I i By NURSERV. [Oct. By choofingdry weather for gathering the cones, you will have much lefs trouble in drying itj and be furer of undamaged feeds. As foon as you have gathered the cones, they are to be carried to a loft floor, and fpread out thin. They are afterwards to be frequently turned, and the feeds will fall out in the acl: of turning. They are much more ready to drop out, if the loft happen to be placed above an apartment where a good fire is kept. When all the feeds which will readily come out by the above plan, have efcaped, and are lying on the floor, gather them up into a bag for fpring fowing* The cones are then to be thraihed and fifted, as advifed for Fir cones. Al- der feeds may, like thofe of Birch, be fown from the tree ; but, like the Birch, the germinating Alders are liable to be deftroyed by early frofts in the fpring* GATHEkING BEECH-MASl'i Beech-mail is now ripe, and muft be gathered without delay. It is found in abundance in many places in Scotland ; but is flill more plentiful in England, from whence great quantities are brought by the Scots Nurferymen every year when it is to be had. The feed very readily drops from the trees when ripe. The capfule opens of its own accord, and allows the feeds to fall out. A dry windy THE NURSERY. 499 windy day, in the beginning of this month, will fometimes make the feed rain down from trees plentifully loaded with mads. When the trees ftand in fliort grafs, the mod expeditious method of colle&ing the feed, is by fweeping it together by birch befoms. It ought next to be fifted, and the chips of (licks, leaves, &c. to be picked out from among it. It is then to be laid in a loft, in a dratum five or fix inches thick, and to be turn- ed over once a week, till it be perfe&ly dry ; when it may be laid eighteen inches thick, to lye till April, for fo wing. Beech feed fhould never t>e kept in facks during the winter. GATHERING LABURNUM SEED, Laburnum being one of our hardied trees, and which produces feeds very freely, this is an arti- cle very eafy to be had. As already dated, there are two varieties of the Laburnum ; one of which is called the Tree Laburnum, (fometimes the Scots Laburnum); and the other, which is mod common, is called the Shrubby. The Tree Laburnum is the only one worth propagating for timber. It is eafily didin- guidied from the other, by its fhining light green leaves, which are of a larger fize than thofe of the other ; the bark is more glofly, and the buds are larger and bolder than the buds of the other ; the bunches of flowers are alfo longer ; and, lad- I i 2 Iv, 500 THE NURSERY. [Ocf. Iy, this grows to the fize of a large tree, while the other continues a fhrub or an wider-tree. Af- ter all, by the ignorance or inattention of feed- gatherers, the Tree kind is fo confounded with the Shrubby, that it is feldom to be got feparate. It is therefore of great importance to be particu- lar in gathering the pods from the real Tree La- burnum, when timber trees are wifhed for \ and, when the Shrubby fort is wanted, the feed fhould be gathered by itfelf. When the Laburnum pods are all collected, they are to be carried to the drying loft ; and, as foon as they are dried, they may be gathered into a bag, and kept till fpring ; at which time the feeds are to be beat out of the pods j and are then to be fown immediately. GATHERING HOLLY BERRIES. Holly berries are now fit for being gathered. They are found all over Britain in confiderable plenty and perfection. When they are gather- ed, they are to be carried to the rot-heap, and are to be treated in the fame manner as above advif- ed for the roan-berries-. Holly-feeds generally re- quire to Lye two years in the rot-heap, to fecure their fpeedy germination after feeing fown. But as part of them may rife the fecond year, it is better, perhaps, to fow them after one year*s rotting. We have often procured parcels of Holly- THE NURSERY. 50! Holly-berries from England, and from diftant places in Scotland, and have found them liable to heat, from which they have fuftained much injury. When they are brought from a great clirjance, they fhould be packed up in fin all, or long narrow hampers ; and there fhould not be more than a bufhel of berries in each hamper. OATHERING HORNBEAM SEEDS. Hornbeam feeds are now ripe. They need v fcarcely, however, be fought for in the planta- tions of Scotland ; for, although there are many line trees, cones are feldom or never found upon them in this country. They ripen freely in Eng- land. The feeds readily feparate from the nuts or cones, and fliould be fown as foon after being ga- thered as poffible. Many of the feeds will germi- nate the firfl year after fowing, and all of them the fecond. GATHERING SPANISH CHESNUTS, Spanifh Chefnuts fliould be ripe at this time $ but we have never found them ripe in Scotland. They are therefore procured from England and from Spain. Thofe that come from Spain are by far the bed. They mould, where practicable, be fown immediately from the trees; and, confe- <3uently, they fhould be committed to the ground as rPIE NURSERY. [Of/* as foon after their arrival in this country as pof- fible. GATHERING HORSE CHESNUTS. Horfe Chefnuts ripen in fome favoured fpots in Scotland, and are fit for being gathered at this time. But the principal fupply of Horfe- chefnuts comes from England. They mould be treated like the Spanifh Chefnut. We beg leave to obferve, that neither Spanifli Chefnuts nor Horfe-chefnuts mould be allowed to remain in the facks in which they come to Scot- land, a day after they arrive ; becaufe they arc apt to mould ; and if they be damp at the time of being packed up, which they often are, they be- come hot, and fo are very liable to be deftroyed. GATHERING ELDER BERRIES. Elder berries are now ripe, and are to be had in great plenty and perfection, in a great many- places in Scotland. Thefe fhould be fown in beds of light earth immediately when gathered ; and they will rife in plenty the following fpring. The Elder, however, is raifed fo much more quickly from cuttings, that it is feldom raifed from feeds. GATHERING YEW BERRIES. Thefe sre now ripe. When they are gathered, they are to be carried to the rot-heap, and laid in light Oct."] THE NURSERY. 503 light fandy earth, to lye till next September, for fowing. They muft not be laid fo thick as to heat. They are to be got in many places in Scot- land ; but great quantities are brought from Eng- land. GATHERING HAWTHORN SEEDS. Haws are now in a proper ftate for being ga- thered ; and are to be had in great abundance and perfection, on all hedges and hawthorn trees which are allowed to grow wild. So foon as they are gathered, they are to be carried to the rot- heap, and treated as above recommended for Afh- keys. They mould not be kept in facks for a, fingle day after being gathered ; becaufe they quickly become hot, and are fpoiled. When there is occafion to bring Haws from a great dif- tance, they mould be treated as above directed for Holly berries. The Englifh feedfmen generally fend what Haws they do fend to Scotland, in old fugar hog (heads ; and, from fo many of them being heaped together, in fo clofe a vefTel, they heat fo much, that we will venture to fay, that not once out of twenty times is there a tolerable crop raifecj from fuch Haws. Hence the neceflity of putting* up Haws in fmall packages, when they are to be Carried any confiderable diftance, A- 504 "THE NURSERY. GATHERING THE SEEDS OF LIMES. The Lime Tree ripens its feeds in many fitua- tions In England ; but the berries are but feldom produced in Scotland, and they come to maturity only in very well flickered places, and in favour- able feafons. They fhould be ripe at this time ; and are to be fown on a bed of light earth, little expofed to the midday fun ; by which means they will rife the following fpring : But if they are kept unfown till the fpring, they will not vegetate till a year after. Limes, however, are more commonly raifed from layers ; Although it is not fo good a way ; yet, being more ipeedy and eafy, it is generally practifed, GATHERING THE SEEDS OF THE PLATANUS. Seeds of the Platanus, of both forts, but efpe- cially the occidental, ripen, in very warm feafons, in England : They need not be looked for in Scotland, even in the beft fituations. The feeds of both forts (hould be fown as foon as gathered from the trees, in a foil and fituation like the Lime, as above ; and they will rife in great num- bers in the following fpring. The raifing of thefe from feed is more dilatory than by layers : Hence the latter method is generally followed. The Occidental, THE NURSERY. 505 Occidental, or American, will do pretty well from cuttings, if planted out in autumn. GATHERING ACORNS. Acorns are now in a proper condition for being gathered. They are to be got in many places in Scotland ; but generally in fuch fmali quantities, at any particular place, that we are dependent on England for our principal fupply of the article. Acorns always fucceed beft when fown immediate Jy from the tree. GATHERING WEYMOUTH PINE, SILVER FIR, AND BALM OF GILEAD FIR CONES. If thefe kinds of Cones are left longer upon the trees, they will be very apt to open, and give out their feeds ; and fo be loft. They fhould there- fore be forthwith collected, and laid up in a mo- derately dry corner of a loft, to remain there till fpring, when the feeds are to be taken out. It is a proper general rule never to take out any kind of Fir feeds from the Cones, till the time of fow- ing have arrived. TAKING OFF THE LAYERS FROM LIME STOOLS, &C. This is now the feafon for taking off the lime and other layers from the Stools. The layers are to 50$ THE NURSERY. [0Cf, to be cut off where they enter the ground ; being careful to leave all the (hoots which have rifen from the part bent down, for laying in again if required. The layers are then to be eafed up with the fpade, and that with the greateft care, to preferve every fibre of the roots ; and the unrooted part is then to be cut off quite in to the new-formed roots, which prepares it for being planted out. Thefe mould be planted out in light, rich earth, in lines, at two feet diftance, and eight or ten inches apart in the lines. The Stools mould then be prepared for relay- ing, which is done by cutting off all the fuperflu- ous twigs and moots, and gathering off all chips from among them. The ground is then to re- ceive a good drefling of fmall and rich dung, in ' order to infure a good crop of layers in the fol- lowing feafon. Having all things prepared as above, begin to dig at one end of a row of ftools ; and when you have digged the mofl diftant fide of the ftool, as far as you can reach with eafe, make a flit with the fpade injhe new-digged ground, oppofite the fhoot which you intend to lay : Take hold of it towards the ftool with one hand, and bring it down to the flit ; then take hold of the point of the fhoot with the other hand : Prefs down with the firft, and pull up with the other, in a gentle manner, till you form a Imce upon the moot \ yet not Oct. THE NURSERV. 507 not fo as to crack the bark : Set this Jcnee into the flit three or four inches below the furface : Tread in the earth clofe to the knee of the layer with your foot : Cut off the points of the new- laid moots, leaving only one bud above the fur- face. Proceed in the fame manner with each fhoot, being careful to level up the whole in the courfe of digging, in a handfome manner ; and the work is finifhed. Such Limes as are beft adapted for converting into Stools, are well rooted plants, four or five years old ; and if they are divided into two or three branches at the bottom, fo much the better. Thefe are to be planted into a quarter of light, rich mould, a little damp in its nature, at the diftance of five feet every way ; and, in Febru- ary, thefe are to be cut over clofe by the ground, and they will produce feveral fine moots by this time of the year, which are to be laid down as above directed. Thefe directions, both for laying and for pro- curing {tool plants, will apply generally to all other kir\ds of trees that are raifed by thoie means. TAKING OFF LAYERS OF EASTERN AND AME- RICAN PLATANUS FROM THE STOOLS. As above hinted, thefe forts are to be treated as directed for the Limes. Be careful not to delay this 508 THE NURSERY. this work beyond this month ; otherwife you will both endanger the health of the rooted layers, and the rooting of the flioots to be laid down. MAKING CUTTINGS. This is now a proper time for making cuttings of the Alder, and of the Platanus Occidentalis : Both of thefe fhould be taken from the young moots of lafl feafon, which are well ripened : The cuttings mould be from nine to twelve inches long ; and are to be planted out in a rich, fha- dowyfpot, where they will make good progrefs in the courfe of the following feafon. DIGGING AND RIDGING VACANT GROUNDS. Thefe are now works of great importance in the nurfery. Every fpot which is vacant mould . either be digged rough, or ridged up. The ad- vantages of fuch treatment have elfewhere been treated of. QRNA- Oct.'] ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 509 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. THE work of thinning Ornamental Plantations and groves is ftill to be carried on : Likewife the pruning and reclaiming of various trees and plan- tations, as advifed laft month. Continue the preparation of grounds for future Plantations, as recommended in the preceding months. It is now time to take up the potatoes which are among the young plantations. Remove all the haulm, and dig the ground over ; laying it as rough as poflible for the winter. Be care- ful not to come too near the roots of the trees with the fpade, for fear of injuring them. FELLING TIMBEH ABOUT A PLACE. This is now the proper feafon for determining upon fuch trees as are to be felled about the grounds of a place. Thofe of the kind which lofe their leaves fooner, or appear more fickly than their neighbours, or which are worft formed, or lefs adapted by their figure to produce a de- fired effect are the firft to be felled. Such as are 510 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. are determined upon, are, at this time, to be marked with a daub of white paint in a vertical direction. In the event of taking down trees in fuch fituations, it is of importance to cut them as low as poflible ; fo that the roots may be quickly covered over with grafs, and no rife may be left in the ground ; for this purpofe, it will be neceflary to dig a little of the earth away around the tree ; and when it is cut, it will be proper to (kin off the bark of the root all round, to prevent faplings rifmg up. The mod effectual way to prevent faplings, is by taking out the roots with the tree at once ; but, in fituations where there are adjoining trees, it will fometimes be dangerous for the roots of thofe that are intended to ftand - ? therwife it mould always be done. FOREST FOREST PLANTATION!. FOREST PLANTATIONS. CARRY on the work of thinning and pruning Forefl Plantations, and reclaiming fuch as have been neglected. PITTING GROUNDS. As the time cf pitting approaches nearer to the time of planting, fo does the necefiity of care in- creafe, not to bury fuch furfaces as may probably remain in an unreduced ftate till fpring* In all cafes of hazard, therefore, fee that you pare off, as thin as poffible, the fward ; which difcard ; and otherwife treat the foil according to its na* ture, as recommended in May ; which fee. FALLOW. The grounds which have been under prepara- tion by fallow, mould forthwith be laid up in proper ridges, to render the furface dry during winter* as recommended laft month ; which fee. FELLIN* 512 FOREST PLANTATIONS. FELLING TIMBER. This is now a proper time for felling full-grown Timber ; fuch as Am, Elm, Beech, and the like. Mark fuch as are to be felled, as advifed in the preceding article. It is feldom that it is either prudent or ufeful to take up trees in this fituation by the roots ; becaufe thefe are of little or no ufe when ta- ken up ; and, in the doing of it, thofe that re- main might be much injured in their roots. It is, therefore, only required to cut them as near the furface as poflible by the crofs-cut faw. WOODS WOODS AND COPSES. 513 WOODS AND COPSES. CONTINUE the work of pruning young Coppice wood, and alfo all wavers left upon the ftools, as recommended laft and preceding months, In cafes where you have cropped the fpaces of your laft, cr preceding fpring-fown patches, with potatoes, they mould now be taken up, and the f'urface be cleaned of all haulm : the ground fhould then be ploughed up, to lye during the winter. The land among young Coppice patches of one or two years old, fhould be gathered by the plough, leaving the furrov/s next to the patches, and within ten inches or a foot of them, on each fide, which will leave twenty inches or two feet of folid ground around them: On the two or three laft furrows, the plough muft be drawn by one horfe, otherwife the plants might be trod down. But after the trees have rifen to the height G two feet, ploughing among them muft be dif- continued altogether ; for even although the fur- rows next to the patches were made with one :korfe in the plough, the trees would, in many K k cafes, $14 WOODS AND COPSES. [Oct. cafes, be barked by the apparatus of the plough. Indeed, after this period, the cropping of the land with green crops mould be difcontinued altogether, and the ground fhould be fown down with grafs. Suppofing the trees have now arrived to the above height, the ground may lye during winter with- out a furrow, and be gathered toward the trees by the fpring furrow for the grafs feeds, fo as to leave the furrow in the middle of the fpace. This plan will tend to keep the furface dry for ever after, FENCES, Oet,"\ FINCIS, 515 FENCES, CONTINUE the cleaning of hedges of all forts. Go on with the fwitching and clipping of all kinds of deciduous hedges, as advifed laft month* Commence the plafhing and cutting down of old neglected hedges, as recommended in Ja- nuary^ under this sir dele (p. 212) ; which fee. This is now ,a proper feafon to begin the plant- ing of young hedges pf deciduous kinds. We have treated of this fqbject fully in January; and {hall therefore refer the reader for further infor- mation to that month (p. 104.) Building dikes with mortar muft now be dif- continued during the winter months. The build?, ing of dryftone and Galloway dikes may, how- 'ver, ftill t>e continued. NOVEMBER. THE NURSERY, THE NURSERY. GATHERING SEEDS. C/ONTINUE the gathering of haws, holly-berries* yew-berries, afh-keys, alder-cones, and laburnum pods, and let them be treated as directed laft month ; which fee. You may now commence the gathering of fir cones, fuch as thofe of Scots Fir and Spruce, to- gether with Larch. If thefe are gathered in a damp ftate, let them be fpread thin> and moder- ately dried, on a loft floor, before being laid to* gether in quantities, for keeping till fpring, when the feeds are to be taken out for fowing : take care that they be not laid in large heaps, till they be quite dry. THE NURSERY. SOWING SEEDS. '- In cafes where you have not already accom- plifhed the fowing of haws, afh-keys, holly, yew, or roan-berries, from the rot heap, it may (till be done with propriety, if the ftate of the ground and the weather will permit. Do not, however, attempt to fow if the land be in a very damp ftate. It will be found a more fafe plan to defer it tiH February. LIFTING PLANTS FOR THE PLANTATION, The operation of lifting deciduous trees for fuch plantations as are now to be planted, mould be performed with great care. In every cafe, fee that you injure or fhorten the tap roots of young trees but as little as poffible. Bear in mind that the principal reafon why natural fown timber, in foils adapted to its nature, arrives at fo great per- fection, is becaufe the jjrtf roots are allowed to remain unimpaired. Therefore, in lifting all young trees, be careful of the tap roots as well as of e- very lateral root. It is more fafe to lay the large roots of young plants horizontally in the pits, than to (horten them in. PRUN- NOV.] PRUNING NEW LIFTED PLANTS. 52! PRUNING NEW LIFTED PLANTS FOR THE FOREST. If the dire&ions given in July and August re- fpecling pruning young plants in the lines have been attended to, little or no pruning will now be required, excepting any negleded branches on the bole, and fuch of the large roots as have been wounded in taking up. Wherever they have been bruifed or coarfely cut by the fpade, they fhould be fhortened in to the found parts of the root fo hurt. But wherever the pruning in the lines has been neglected, fee that it be done before thefe are fent to be planted in the foreft ; and let the pruning be peformed with attention to the directions al- ready given (p. 435.) LIFTING SEEDLINGS. The feafon is again arrived when you may commence the lifting of deciduous feedlings. Exercife all due care to preferve every root. We have before deprecated the plan of cutting in the roots of young feedling trees. Several kinds of thefe, as the Oak, the Chefnut, and probably the Beech, may require to have their tap root fhort- ened 5 but it fhould be done as fparingly as pof- fible, fible. The Walnut, although pufhing a very flrong root downwards, fhould never, if poffible, have the tap root fhortened ; for if it is, the up- right dire&ion of the growth will be greatly pre- vented, and probably the health of the plant much impaired. Seedlings, not immediately planted out, mud be shoughed with care. TRENCHING VACANT QUARTERS, Such quarters as have been feverely cropped with trees for fome confiderable time, and are now vacant, will require to be trenched. This work fhould be performed with much care, not to leave any fad or unmoved ground between the trenches, and not to bring up much of the fub- foil. It is highly improper to attempt the deep- ening of the foil at once ; fubfequent trenchings muft be looked forward to, for making the land fufficiently deep. We have feveral times feen the bad effe&s of too deep trenching, efpecially for raifing trees in a nurfery j and ftiil more particularly for raifing feedlings. Two, or at the moft three inches of the fubfoil, is all that fhould be brought up in a feafon, unlefs it be evidently of a fuperior or e* qual quality with the furface, which is very rare- ly the cafe. Even if the upper foil be ten or twelve inches deep, it will be more fuitable for raifing DICGING NtTKSERY PLANTS, &G. 523 railing trees, either feedling or tranfplanted, that! if it were made at once eighteen inches or tw& feet deep by bringing up the fubfoiL JDIGGING AMONG NURSERY PLANTS WHICH AR$ TO STAND IN THE LINES ANOTHER SEASON* This work may now be commenced* The fpades to be ufed mould be very narrow, and de* prived, by previous ufe, of their fharp corners, fo that they may not injure the roots of the plants* Let the furface be left as rough or unbroken M the circumftances of the cafe will allow* LAYING SEEDLINGS* You may now commence the laying of feedling thorns in dry ground ; 6r indeed the laying of any one -year or two-year deciduous feedlings; Be careful, however, not to attempt this work in any part of the nurfery that is wet; otherwife many of the plants will be thrown out during winter by the frofls j and fo may be hiuch hutt, if not quite ruined* PREPARING HEDGE-ROW ANfc ORNAMENTAL* DECIDUOUS TRKES* This is novr a very proper feafon for lifting and replanting deciduous trees intended for the above purpofes- 524 THE NURSERY. purpofes. See obfervations on this work for the months of January and February (p. 135 & 237.) ROT-HEAP. Examine all the feeds lately laid in the rot- heap ; have them carefully turned over, and fur- ther mixed with dry fandy earth : Lay them neatly up in layers, not thicker than ten inches, to lye till needed ; covering them over, two inches thick, with the fame fort of dry foil. ORNA- ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 525 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. IF the pruning of ornamental plantations, or fmgle ornamental or hedge-row trees, is not yet performed, it ought not to be longer delayed. See that fuch grounds as are intended for plant- Ing, and which have been under preparation by a crop of oats, be forthwith ploughed over, to lye till fpring. It is of much advantage to all fuch lands to have the Hubble and unreduced turf rotted during the winter, becaufe the foil is much more enriched, than if it were delayed till farther on in the feafon ; neither would the fur- face be fo much meliorated by the winter frofts, Jf it remained unploughed. Pitting may aifo now be carried on ; but irj. very few cafes will it be advifable to bury the fward in the pits at this late period of the feafon. If the fward is at all of a coarfe, or even of an adhefive or matted nature, it ought to be pared off and difcarded, as formerly advifed. PLANTING ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. [NffV* PLANTING GROUNDS, &c. Such grounds as are of a very dry nature, and which have been prepared for planting in the fumine* months, may now be planted. We hav often noticed the impropriety of planting at this feafon, or indeed at any feafon, when the ground is in a very wet ftate. Deciduous fmgle trees, or fmall groups of trees }n dry fituations, may now be planted in the park or the lawn. Thefe, as formerly noticed, fhould 6e prepared trees from the nurfery. In cafe of planting groups, let them be irregular 5 circular or fquare groups are alike bad reprefentations of nature, which is in the prefent cafe the only pattern. Hedge-row trees may now alfo be planted. Indeed, the fituation of fuch is commonly dry ; therefore they may generally be planted in this month. In planting hedge-row trees, variety ftiould be ftudied as far as is confident with the jiature of the thing. Such kinds as the Sycamore, Am, Beech, Oak, and others, fhould be planted here. The kinds to be ufed fhould not be planfc- gd alternately, but perhaps two of the fame fon herej three of the next kind following; and per- Jiaps one of each kind alternately next ; and fo n, in an irregular manner. The necefiity of pro- curing tov.] TRENCHING GROUNB*. 547 curing proper foil for thefe, and for the trees to be planted in the lawn, where the native foil U bad, has already been dwelt upon at length, un- der the title Ornamental Plantations for February (p. 263.) TRENCHING GROUNDS. In the event of preparing for planting by trenching, it is proper that this work fhould be got forward at this time, in order that the ground may have the benefit of the winter frofls. In the prefent inflance, if the foil be not of a fufficient depth, the fubfoil may be thrown up, even al- though it may be of very inferior quality, till the depth of foil be at lead eighteen or twenty inches ; becaufe, at planting, the roots of the trees will be nearly touching the former furface earth, will thus bt much encouraged. FOREST PLANTATIONS. FOREST PLANTATIONS, PLANTING. IN all grounds which have been prepared in fummer, and which are of a dry or gravelly na- ture, planting may now be carried on. In very extenfive defigns, there cannot fail to be many fuch pieces ; and the planting of fuch, at this fea- fon, will greatly leflen the prefs of work which would otherwife neceffarily come on in the fpring. Anxiety to get forward, however, ought neither to induce to plant land in an improper ftate, nor to put in kinds which ought to be referved till a more advanced period of the planting feafon. The only plants to be introduced now are the principals, and larch nurfes. On the whole, fpring planting is more fafe, efpecially for inexperienced planters. PREPARING GROUNDS. Generally fpeaking, this work ought to be all $ver by this time, for reafons already afligned. NOV.] PRUNING AND THINNING. 529 Yet, circumftances may occur to induce the plant- ing of grounds not previously determined upon. It is now too late to think of preparing grounds, at prefent in old grafs, by the plough, for fpring planting. Such, however, as have been under grain the lad feafon, may now receive a furrow, to prepare them for fpring planting. Such grounds as are to be pitted, mud be at- tended to with much care. If the fward be pared off, and buried in the bottom of the pits, efpe- cially if of a coarfe nature, it will lye unreduced, and will rather prove a lofs, than an advantage^ in the fpring. It will therefore, in general, be better to difcard the fward entirely when pitting at this late feafon. The foil muft be managed in other refpeds according to its nature, as ftated at large, in May, under this article (p. 388, etseg.*) $ which fee. PRUNING AND THINNING. In all cafes where the operations of pruning and thinning plantations and forefts are not com- pleted, they are (till to be carried on, as recom- mended in the preceding months. Continue the felling of grown timber, as noticed laft month. LI DIGGING 530 FOREST PLANTATIONS, DIGGING AMONG YOUNG PLANTATIONS. Such young plantations as have been cropped with vegetables, or which are kept by the hoe without cropping, fhould at this time be cleaned of all weeds, haulm, and the chips and twigs re- fulting from pruning ; and the ground is after- wards to be digged rough, to lye during the win- ter. The fpades to be ufed here, mould be round- ed at the corners ; or indeed a tool, in the form of a dung-fork with three prongs, will anfwer well for faving the young roots of the plants. WOODS Nov.] WOODS AND COPSES. WOODS AND COPSES. CONTINUE the various works recommended under this head laft month, as far as they are yet unfinifhed. Pruning, in particular, may go on. Examine all your Copfe grounds, whether planted or fown ; and take care that they be made free from (landing water. In like manner, the grounds under preparation muft be freed from water. There is no rearing timber to perfection.; if the ground be allowed to lye wet. LI a 53- FNCS. FENCES. The whole works recommended in the preced- ing month, under this article, are (till to be car- ried forward. This is perhaps the beft feafon of any for mak- ing new fences of deciduous plants. If the land is dry, they will have made fine roots before the fevere weather of winter ; and fo be ready to pro- ceed with vigour in fpring* When, however, hedges of any of the deciduous forts are required where the foil is wet or ftrong clay, it will be proper to defer the planting of fuch till fpring. As formerly obferved, dryflone and Galloway dikes may ftill be carried on with propriety, but by no means any walls that require to be built with mortar, for reafons formerly afligned. It may be proper to notice here, that a dryflone or Galloway dike ought never to be founded up- on ground when it is deep frozen, otherwife it will be in danger of being much loofened when the froft goes off. DE- DECEMBER. Dec."] THE NURSERY. 535 December* THE NURSERY. THE operations in this department, recommend- ed either in the months of November or January, are to be carried on in this. Efpecially, have your rot-heap examined, and treated again as advifed laft month (p. 524), which will ferve till the tow- ing time. In the prefent inftance, the covering of earth placed upon the feeds mould be fix or eight inches thick, in order to protect them a- gainft the effects of fevere frofts. If you have riot yet got a fufficient quantity of Am or Laburnum feeds, they may flill be collect- ed with propriety. This is alfo a very proper time for procuring a full fupply of Larch and Scots Fir cones, It 536 THE NURSERY. It will fometimes happen, that part of the nurfery ground which may be damp, fuch as that adapted for Birch and Alder, will be apt to throw- out the young feedling plants. It will be a good means of preventing this, to deepen the alleys between the beds, or to cover them with faw- duft of hard-wood timber. Saw-duft of fir tim- ber contains too much turpentine to be ufed in this cafe with fafety. Indeed, it mould never be allowed to be laid upon ground till it has been feveral years rotted. Tanners bark fhould alib be for feveral years expofed before it be laid on the Nurfery. ORNA- ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. 537 ORNAMENTAL PLANTATIONS. IN favourable weather, continue the planting out of hedge-row and ornamental trees, in all fuitable fituations ; as advifed laft month. Be careful not to plant them in too damp a fitua- tion at this feafon of the year. Never attempt to franfplant an Evergreen of any kind at this fea- fon. All Evergreens mould be referved to the fpring or autumn months ; which fee. The work of preparing ground for ornamental plantations may dill go on, efpecially of trench- ing. It mould not be flattened in the working, but left in ridges, and as whole as poffible. It is defirable that the greatefl poffible extent of fur- face be expofed to the action of the froft, in order the more perfectly to pulverife and meliorate the foil. Pruning alfo may flill be performed in cafes where it has not been done in September ; but that is a much more proper feafon for it than this, more efpecially for the gean ; wounds made up- on this plant, either in winter or fpring, being more liable to gum than when made in autumn. "In cafes where the young plantations have not yet been digged rough for the benefit of the win- ter froft, it may dill be done when the weather permits. . FO- FOREST PLANTATIONS. \JDcc* FOREST PLANTATIONS. KEEPING PLANTATIONS DRY.' A variety of circumftances may have laid your young plantations in fome parts under water. Ex- amine, therefore, the whole of fuch as are liable to fuch an occurrence from their fituation ; and take care that they be made dry, or at leafl as much fo as things will admit. Although we have above urged that the young plantations mould be kept dry with care, we would not be underftood as giving the lead latitude as to keeping old woods, or timber trees of any kind, at all in a wet flate. Indeed, if the young plant- ations require to be kept dry to fecure their pro- fperity, old trees require it much more fo ; info- much, that when we fee old foreft trees in a fick- ly ilate, our firfl fufpicion generally is, that it a- rifes from too great a quantity of moifture ; and, in nine c*fes out often, this proves to be the fad. It generally happens, that, at the firft eftablifh- ment of a plantation, proper ditches and drains are made. But, from a change of matters, or probably from neglect, or it may be from an idea that it is a matter of indifference, they are, in a vaft many inflances, allowed to be choked up, ancl SOREST PLANTATIONS. 539 and the ground is confequently more or lefs over- flowed. In all cafes, therefore, where the health and vigour of the trees is an objed, let the origi- nal drains be fcoured, and rather deepened than filled up ; and let new ones be made when requir- ed, fo that the whole trees may be laid dry at their roots. We have feen many Larches, Firs, and vari- ous forts of Deciduous trees, to outward appear- ance good and found timber, but, when cut down, many of them rotten in the heart, and fome of them mere hollow trunks ! All this evil had been occafioned by an excefs of moifture. Damp, or wetnefs, may be charged as the foundation of fe- veral other evils. It reduces Fir trees to a ftate inviting to a fpecies of moth ; which is known to be very deftruclive to fickly fir timber. Very lately, we faw a piece of Scots fir plantation to- tally deftroyed by this infecl;. The original caufe evidently was too much moifture ; for the piece of land was fo wet, that it required boots to en- able one to go through to examine the trees. The trees in queftion were from twenty-fix to thirty feet high. The other parts of the planta- tion on dry ground are juft now quite healthy. The whole of the works recommended in the preceding month may flill be carried on in this* together with thofe advifed in January ; to which ^ve beg leave to refer the reader. WOODS 54O WOODS AND COPSES. [T)CC> WOODS AND COPSES. See that all Copfe Woods be laid dry in the winter. Allow us again to fay, that the health and vigour of young and old woods depend, in a great meafure, upon the ground being kept dry. Thin out patches of two-year old trees, as advifed in February. Continue the operations of preparing ground, as advifed lafl and preceding months. The pru- ning of young Copfe Woods may now go on, as recommended ia January for For-eft Planta- tions. Two-year old patches of trees, in young woods, fliould be thinned out. It is wrong to attempt to raife them by the fpade ; for this would injure thofe which are intended for the crop ; they Ihould therefore be pulled out by the hand. Do not attempt to thin one-year patches ; be- .caufe they will make far better progrefs when left thick, than when thinned out. In thinning out your trees, flili leave them more thick the firft year than they are intended to ftand : In a patch of twelve inches, three or four trees may be left. Where Acorns, Chefnuts, or Walnuts have been planted, little thinning will be required ; but Beech, Elm, Am, Birch, or the like, will re- quire more attention at this feafgru FEN. FENCES. 541 FENCES. The whole branches of work relating to Fences, either in the laft or preceding months, are equal- ly proper to be carried on in this, when the wea- ther permits: Therefore, in order to prevent farther repetitions (of which there are unavoid- ably many in a book of this kind), we beg leave to refer the reader to thefe months for particular information; and efpecially to pp. 309 313. Great attention mould be paid, efpecially at the commencement of a thaw after a mow ftorm, to keeping ditches clear of all obftru&ing matters, it being equally important to the welfare of the hedges and the fields, that the water have a free pafiage. APPEN- APPENDIX, APPENDlXo N* r, ON THE FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF OSIER PLANTATIONS. for the purposes of forming aquatic hedges and preparing for plants of the tree kinds of Willow^ w have not treated of the culture of Willows in the fore- going work. Indeed, this matter does not directly fall under the kind of subjects proposed to be treated of iri the Kalendar ; although it is not a less important and useful branch of rural concern. It is well known that, in a variety of instancies through- out Scotland, from the varied surface of the country* a great many parcels of ground, of less or greater di- mensions, are better adapted for the growth of Willow* than for any other crop. Many of these spots contain a soil of a soft texture, and of n quality apt to imbibe and retain too much moisture, after being improved for producing crops of grain, but which moisture would be readily swallowed up by osier plants, greatly to their benefit. Probably there are few crops which can drink xip a greater quantity of superfluous moisture, and be in luxuriant health, than that under consideration. M na Although 546 PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. - [dpp. I. 9 Although we readily admit this fact, we are far from allowing that the ground for Osier plantations should be suffered to be wet in the bottom. Indeed, when- ever this is the case, the shoots will never arrive to any tolerable consistency for wicker-work, and will never be able to resist the early frosts of autumn. We saw a striking instance of this four years ago, in an attempt to raise a plantation of Willows in a part of the small lake of Lochore, in Fifeshire. This lake formerly co- vered five or six hundred acres of space ; and was drain- ed, about thirty years ago, by Captain Park of Loch- ore. When the water was let off, the bottom proved to be a sludgy sediment, . of many feet in thickness, and of a quality apparently very rich ; but so soft, that no- thing could be sown upon it for a considerable time. At length, it acquired such a degree of consistency, as to allow cuts to be made for draining out the water from the body of the soil or sediment. These cut* could only be made to a small depth at first, because the whole was still in so soft a state, that it inclined, like water, to every deep opening or cut that was made in it. Willows were planted on a part of it. By tlie time we saw it, the plantation of willows was surround- ed with a ditch more than a yard wide, and nearly as deep ; at one side, much deeper and wider : but, when the ground was broke to two feet deep inwards from the ditches, it was as soft as mortar ; hence, when the roots of the willows got down that length, they drank too copiously of the moisture ; and the conse- quence was, that they died down generally half their length, and that many of them died down quite to the ground by December, notwithstanding that, in Sep- tember, they had looked tolerably healthy. Many more instances of the same kind might be stat- ed. * I."] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. ed. We shall, however, be contented with mention- ing the opinion of a 'gentleman, who has made the cul- tivation of Willows part of his employment. He says, * * Moderate moisture is favourable to the production of ' fine twigs ; but water continually stagnant, may be * considered ruinous. The writer has seen good osiers * grow where water stood in the bottom of an old ditch 6 during the greater part of the winter months ; but * thinks that water continually stagnant is very destruc~ * tive in summer, by preventing the wood from ripen- * ing ; and he apprehends, that when good osiers grow 4 in water, the roots must reach sound, dry soil, im~ * mediately contiguous ; which was the case in the in- * stance mentioned above ; for the soil was dry and mo- * derately rich also, on each side of the ditch. * It ought, however, to be noticed, that the kinds of Willows which are naturally of a firm and woody tex- ture, as the common sallow (&dix aquatica) endure standing water much better than such sorts as make na- turally very vigorous pushes like the common hoop wil- low, and some of the basket willows. We know of a striking instance of this on tl e estate of Raith in Fife- shire, at the West Mill-dam* part of which is occasi- onally dry during the summer months, but seldom irt winter. Many years ago, the part which is occasional- ly dry was planted with basket willows of various kinds 5 but those which throve best, and continued to live long- est* were the hard- wooded kinds, which made natural- ly small shoots. It is presumed that these instances will show the ne- cessity of completely draining the site of a proposed Willow plantation, as the first step towards its forma* M m 2 tiom * Mr Sbirreff's Paper on Osiers, Far, Mag. May 180,5,- PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. [_App. I. tioii, and as the foundation of its prosperity, and con- sequently of the profit to be derived from it. Drains in any ground to be occupied with a permanent crop of trees, should be constructed upon principles of durabi- lity. If the drains be what are called rubble drains, the interstices will suddenly be filled up with the fibres of the willow roots, which will creep down to drink the oosing water. They ought therefore either to be open drains, or drains built on the sides, and covered over with flags, to prevent their being choked up with the roots. A variety of cases may however occur, where it will be impossible to form covered drains, or where, perhaps, the expense might operate as a prohibition to doing so with the view of planting willows. In such cases, the ground may be formed into beds of a less or greater size, according to circumstances, by cuts or drains of a wideness and depth sufficient to by the soil dry. These drains will require to be cleaned out every autumn and spring. The scrapings may be thrown abroad up- on the general surface of the beds. In several instan- ces, where we have been employed in forming Osier plantations, we have been compelled to make the bed* only six feet wide, from the softness of the land ; yet such plantations succeeded well. But, whatever be the width of the beds or ridges be- tween the drains, the surface of grass ought to be well reduced by crops of grain and green crops, wherever the soil will at all produce such crops. In preparing ground for an Osier plantation ; if the soil be poor, it should be well dressed with dung, as if it were intended for a crop of wheat or barley. The dung most proper for willows is stable dung. We have found the twigs much facd, or spotted with a sort of canker, so that they broke over thereat in attempting to . /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 549 to bend them, after the ground being limed. Indeed, if a plantation of Osiers be formed previous to a thorough preparation of the soil for the reception of the plants, the saving of the expense will be found a most severe loss, by the diminution of the crop in succeeding seasons. There are few soils which will not bear Willows ; yet some situations are very unfit for them. Dry and ex- posed grounds, peat moss, arid land covered with stand- ing water, or a quagmire, are not fit. Hollows, the soil of which is composed of rich, soft, earthy parti- cles, and which can be laid dry, are the most eligible for converting into osieries ; and, if such can be occa- sionally soaked with water during the dry months in summer, the situation may be considered perfect, and the advantages will be found very great. Although we would give a preference to a situation like the above, we are far from attempting to dissuade from cultivating them in others. We know of osieries planted in very different soils, and very differently situ- ated ; yet producing very great returns to the owners. A few acres of Osiers planted upon the south exposure of a sloping bank, sheltered from the south-west by a belt of plantation, and in a cold, humid, clay soil, on the farm of Hayfield near Kirkaldy, has yielded from 257. to 30/. per acre annually for a number of years past. This piece of ground was under agricultural rotation crops for a great many years before being planted with willows ; but it was so damp, and so much sheltered from the west by a plantation, and from the north by its situation, that the crops of grain were generally of poor quality. It was therefore consigned to bear willows, which were planted after a crop of potatoes in February 1801. Mr 550 PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. dpp. 7, Mr ShhrefPs plantation of Osiers was nearly under si- milar circumstances in regard to shelter and quality of soil, The lowness of the situation, and greater humi- dity of the soil, were greatly in his favour. The de- scription of this osier plantation follows. ' It is situat-^ * ed in a bottom, sheltered from the west and north * winds by hedges and hedge-row trees, but exposed to * the south-east, the fences being low on these sides. * The soil may generally be denominated a clayey loam, * of coarse quality. It had probably, till about thirty- 6 five years ago, been under natural meadow ; and a * considerable part of it was subject to be flooded in * winter. An open drain or ditch, six feet wide, and * three and one half deep, cured it of this inconveni- * ence. It had afterwards been in the rotation of crops * common to the practice of good agriculture in the * district, and frequently laid down to pasture in excel- * lent preparation for several years, at different times * since that period. The pasturage, however, was but * coarse ; and crops of grain, excepting oats, were sel- * dom valuable. ' In no case should a plantation of willows be attempt- ed (as noticed above) but in prepared ground ; except- ing perhaps where a few rows may be introduced upon the very brink of a river, or on the top of the counter- ditches, which form in many instances the barrier of the waters, where the soil can scarcely be dug or other- wise meliorated. Nothing can be farther from being good management than planting the truncheons in grass, and allowing the sward to remain green under, or among, the crop. Having fixed upon the spot, and having also care- fully prepared the ground, the next matter in course is procuring the plants. These, notwithstanding of all that . /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 55! that has been said about strong old shoots, we would recommend to be of the last year's wood, or of shoots of one year old, taken from the under end of well- ripened shoots of good size, and cut in a slanting di- rection by a sharp knife, and in lengths of one foot, or one foot four inches. Each shoot of good growth may afford two or three plants ; the upper ends, as far as appears soft, should be discarded, because such produce weak shoots, and do not make so good roots the first season, as the firmer parts of the shoots dr. Pieces of two-year old shoots of the same length, and cut in the same manner, may also be used ; but such are more expensive, and not better for the purpose than the former. If, indeed, they are intended for planting among grass, or to beet up decayed plants in an established plantation, they should be used greater, older, and longer. Two, or three-year old shoots several feet long, and pushed into the ground perhaps a foot or eighteen inches, are necessary for such purposes. But in a well dressed or prepared field, the first de- scribed cuttings are by far the best, whether the plan- tation be intended for basket twigs or for hoops. The distances at which osiers for wicker work ought to be planted, is eighteen inches between the rows, and twelve inches apart in the rows. This distance will not be too thick for at least five or six years ; but, af- ter that period, the plants should be alternately stubbed up ; which will leave them at two feet apart in the rows. The stools should be carefully attended to annually, from the first year of producing a crop of twigs, to keep them clean of rotten stumps, and not to allow them to be overcrowded with the bottoms of the shoots. When these have become too numerous, they should be carefully thin- ned out, and also cut down, leaving only an eye or two at . PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. [App. I. at the bottom of each, until they be diminished to suck a number as the stool is capable of supporting with vi- gour throughout the season. A basket-maker finds more service from a shoot of six or eight feet in length, than from four of three feet in length ; and one of the first dimensions will not exhaust the stool or the land* so much as four of the others. The proper season for cleaning and thinning the Stocks, is from the first of March to the middle of April. It is done by a sharp knife, and if it has been regularly attended to from the establishment of the plantation, it is neither troublesome nor expensive. In- deed, this care is necessary, were it only for keeping them clean of destructive insects. We have seen seve- ral instances of neglected stools proving a harbourage of insects, which have eaten up the crop. Willows are generally planted by being pushed into the ground by the hand, which must be well defended by a piece of strong leather ; but sometimes, in push- ing in the cutting, the bark is pressed off. In order to prevent this, it is better to use a common dibble shod with iron, and have them planted by it, like ordinary planting in ' the nursery. Where the ground is any way hard, or where there is a danger of pushing off the bark, they should be planted so as to leave five or six inches above ground, that, when it may become necessary, the top of the stool may be cut off, in order to renovate them. This may happen to be in ten or twelve years after planting ; and the practice will be found of considerable advantage. It is a matter of in- difference whether the cuttings be planted in a- sloping or perpendicular position. Some have advised to plant a crop of potatoes among |he new planted willow cuttings \ but this method is |ughly destructive 10 the new iormcd plantation. In deed, . /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 55$ deed, cuttings of any description require every encou- ragement to enable them to root freely : But if there be " a potato plant dibbled into the centre of each interspace, " after the planting of the willows, even sup- posing them to be two feet apart, we presume the land must be greatly impoverished, the new planted cuttings retarded in growth, and the ultimate advantage dimi- nished in no inconsiderable degree. It may be suffer- Me to place a potato plant in the centre of each inter- space, where the willows are four or five feet distance from each other, and when rooted plants are used ; but never when the distance is only two feet, even although root- ed plants were used. After the planting of the osiers, they must be care- fully hoed and cleaned : Nothing contributes more to the rearing of a good crop, after due preparation, than cleaning. We know of several plantations of osiers, which have been formed at considerable expense, but having afterwards been let run wild, the crop at pre- sent is not annually worth a fourth part of the sum it would have been worth, if it had been duly kept clean by the hoe. Even when the expense is compared with the advantages, the balance is greatly on the side of cleaning. If the work of cleaning be attended to from tlie first onwards, the expense may be estimated at from. 25s. to 35s. per acre per annum, according to the nar ture of the soil ; but in no case perhaps will it cost more than 2/. Sterling. And money expended, at the above rate, upon the plantation, will be found to yield a return of 300 or 400 per cent, per annum! The spring hoeing of the willow plantation should always be performed by a deep hoe of small breadth, in order that the earth may be stirred to several inches of Indeed, were it not for the great increase of expense, 554 PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. \_ApP* / expense, it would be proper to have the interspaces digged by the spade. Subsequent cleaning may be per- formed by. the common draw-hoe, Or by the Dutch hoe, with great propriety. The willows should not be cut till the second season after planting. By being allowed to stand uncut for such a length of time, the stools become stronger, and more able to produce a good crop, than if cut at an earlier period. Indeed, by the third autumn after planting, under the above management, the crop will be of very considerable value. In establishing a willow plantation for hoops, the same care and attention to the preparation of the ground is necessary, as well as to its quality. Such plantations should never be attempted upon a thin, poor gravelly moor soil, nor indeed in any which are not evidently appropriate for the purpose. Hoop will- lows, however, require to be planted thinner at the first, than osiers for basket work. If the former be planted two feet between the rows, and eighteen inches between the plants in the rows, it will be thick enough. Like the others above noticed, they should not be cut till the second year after planting ; by which time, they will generally have formed one strong shoot, with pro- bably some inferior twigs. In the first cutting, care must be had not to allow any part of the small twigs, or side shoots, to be left, but to cut them clean off. Were a part of these allowed to remain, such might produce a crop of twigs fit for wicker work ; but by no means adapted for the purpose in view. It is better to have a few good growths, than a profusion of others. At no period should any one stool be allowed to bear too many shoots, otherwise they will be small and worthless. Every manager of willows has it in his power App. /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 555 power to increase or diminish the number of shoot* from the stools under his care : For if he take off the shoots clean by the stem of the plant in spring, the number of shoots will be proportionally diminished in the following season. The proper season for cutting willows is any time during the month of November, or in. the month of March. If they are cut after November, they have the chance of encountering much damp, and severe frosts, which never fail to injure the stools, and dimmish the strength of the shoots, in the succeeding season. If the cutting be deferred till the month of April, fcbe sap has probably begun to ascend with rapidity ; and must necessarily continue to exude from the wound, till nature find more proper channels in some of the adjoining buds. If, therefore, the cutting of wil- lows be properly attended to in regard to the season, the extremes pointed out will be avoided. No doubt, in some seasons, the winter cutting may extend to the middle or end of December ; and the spring cutting from the middle of March to the middle of April, ac- cording to the state of the weather. With regard to the manner of cutting, it may be proper to notice, that the cut should be made to within two or three buds of the place from whence the shoot issued, and even, if possible to attend to directions in. the form of the cut, it should be in a sloping direction, it the back of the uppermost bud left on the bottom of the shoot on the stool. In cutting hoop willows from the stools, the swell at the bottom of the shoot only should be left. ' This part is amply furnished with proper outlets for the rising sap, so that it is unnecessary to leave so much at the bottom of those as above advised for basket willows, especiallv 556 PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. \_App. T. especially as fewer shoots are required in the present case. We are decidedly hostile to the barbarous cus- tom not uncommonly practised by coopers in cutting hoops from the stools. Under the idea of saving the hoops from being split, they hack them off downwards, and thus the under part left upon the stool is split into many pieces, to the manifest injury of the plant. It may be useful here to remark, that osiers in the peeled state are more fit to be kept to wait a market than if left with the bark on ; and they never fail to pro- duce a greater return in the peeled state, after paying for the labour of peeling, than they do as they are cut from the stools. The operation of peeling is very simple, and may be done by infirm people, or by women, at so much a bundle. The way to prepare the willows for peeling is as fol- lows. Immediately alter cutting them, set them on their ends into standing water, a few inches deep, and allow them to remain in that situation till the growth begins to ascend freely, which will probably be by the end of May. They are then ready to p#rt with the bark. The apparatus for peeling is simply two round rods of iron, nearly half an inch thick, sixteen inches long, and tapering a little upwards, welded together at the one end, which is sharpened, so as that it may be ea- fsily thrust down into the ground. When thus placed, in a piece of firm ground, the peeler sits down opposite to it, and takes the willow in the right hand by the small end, and puts a foot or more of the great end into the instrument, the prongs of which he presses together with the left hand, and with the right draws the willow ror ards him ; by v-Jrich operation the bark will at once be . /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 557 be separated from the wood : The small end is then treated in the same manner, and the peeling is com- pleted. Good willows, peeled in the above manner, have been sold, for some seasons past, at from 6s. 6d. to 7s. the bundle of four feet circumference. After beirig peel- ed, they will keep in good condition for a long time, till a proper market be found. In regard to the kinds of willows proper to be plant- ed, much might be said ; for no kind of plant generally cultivated exhibits so many different species as the wil- low. Several of these, it must be owned, are very im- proper for being cultivated for the above purposes ; and to this circumstance, in some instances, maybe attri- buted the failure of the crops. We may observe, in general, that by far the easiest way of procuring proper sorts, is to get them from some established plantations, containing willows of good quality, approved by basket makers and coopers. We shall here, however, describe, in a slight and popu- lar way, the different species of willows which best deserve to be cultivated for hoops and for the various sorts of wicker work. We may premise, that in every district both of Scotland and England, basket-makers and osier grow- ers have provincial names for their willows. To men- tion these would be quite nugatory. We shall there- fore give the correct English names, as fixed by Dr Smith, and also the scientific or botanic names ; and by means of these united, we doubt not that the species recommended may, with tolerable certainty, be procur- ed at the principal nurseries both in England and Scot- land, by those who are desirous of cultivating only the most select kinds. The Common Osier (Salix riminalis) is the most fre- quent PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. [_App. _/ quent species in willow plantations, and it is naturalized in many parts of Scotland. The leaves are long, waved at the edges, but not serrated j shining green above, and silvery beneath. The shoots grow very long and straight, and are tough ; well calculated for the larger sorts of baskets, hampers, and crets, and likewise for Loops. Several well marked varieties occur in osier plantations, and are there distinguished by different names. It is well known, that in most species of wil- low, the male and the female flowers are produced on separate plants ; it often happens that the female plant is considered by the osier growers as a distinct kind ; and if they differ considerably in quality the distinction is fair ; but kinds thus come to be created which the botanist cannot recognize. The Auricled Osier (S. stipularis) is a very good willow. The two-year old shoots make excellent rods for baskets, cradles, bird-cages, and such articles ; and the one- year shoots are used as Jillings. The shoots are long, nearly equal in thickness throughout their ex- tent, and somewhat downy, or hoary, particularly at the tops or extremities. The leaves are alternate, with footstalks, long and narrow, somewhat notched on the edges, green and smooth above, woolly below. The stipulse or leaf-scales are conspicuous and remarkable, resembling a pair of ears : both the English and the botanic name have reference to this part of the plant. It occurs in many willow plantations, but is not much attended to, being often confounded with the common osier. The Green Osier (S. rubra), is an excellent basket willow, but it is not very common. The shoots are very long, tough, smooth, and of a grey colour, occasionally inclining to purplish. The leaves are narrow and very . /.] PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. 559 long, from three to four inches, bright green on both sides, and serrated. The trivial name rubra is not ap- posite ; but it has been retained by Dr Smith in his excellent Flora Britannica. The Basket Osier, emphatically so called by Dr Smith in his Flora Britannica, is perhaps the very best willow for the finer sorts of basket-work. It is not, however, much known in Scotland, though a native ; but it well deserves attention. The wands are of a yellowish ash colour, sometimes purplish ; smooth, very- flexible and tough. The leaves are alternate, on foot- stalks, from two to three inches long, somewhat serrat- ed, chiefly towards the top ; dark green above, and glaucous or pale bluish beneath. This species is de- scribed in Dr Martyn's edition of Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, under the name of Salixjissa : in the Flora Britannica it is named S. For by ana, in honour of the Rev. Mr Forby of Norfolk. The Long-leaved triaridrous Willow (S. triandra^) is common in osier beds, and its stools afford most excel- lent shoots for basket-work, long, slender, pliable and tough ; they are smooth, of a brownish colour, and towards the top they are fluted or grooved. The leaves are long, and closely and strongly serrated. When permitted to grow up, this species attains the size of a tree, and the male flowers or catkins are very orna- mental in April and May. The Almond-leaved Willow ( amygdalina,} is like the preceding, but is readily distinguished by its leaves being .broader, so as to resemble those of the almond- tree. This species forms but an indifferent osier, though it is often used, particularly in the north and west of Scotland, where it is frequent as a native. The Long-leaved Sallow (S. acuminata\ produces numerous PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. numerous shoots, which, in the second year, form pretty good rods. The leaves are about two inches long, and one inch broad ; dark green above, and cottony under- neath. It is not a common species in Scotland. The Velvet Osier (S. mollissima), is a useful sort. It is easily distinguished by its leaves being very smooth and green above, and very silky and soft beneath. Its hoots are long, and very numerous, but not tough. When allowed, however, to remain for two years, they make most capital rods. The shoots are distinguished from many others by their forming a large bend where they come off from the stool. This species is indige- nous to many places of Scotland, as well as England, and should be more cultivated in osier grounds than it is. The Bitter purple Willow (S. purpurca), is not com- mon in Scotland; but in Yorkshire, its long slender twigs are sometimes used for fillings to the finer sorts of baskets. It makes excellent bands or withes, being ex- tremely tough ; and the bark is so exceedingly bitter, that no vermin will attack it. This, it is believed, i one of the sorts in demand for tying the hoops on the beef barrels in the Navy Victualling Yard. The leaves are remarkable for becoming broader upwards or out- wards; they are smooth, and somewhat glaucous ; but the excessive bitterness of the leaves and bark, forms perhaps the easiest mark of distinction. The Rose Willow (S. Helix, Fl. Brit. ; S. monandra. of Hoffman). This is very like the former, but is no! bitter. It is more common. Its numerous slender purplish twigs make very good fillings for fine basket work. The Boyton Willow (5. Lambertiana) resembles th Rose Willow ; but it* leaves are shorter, and have shorter * J.J PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS* 56* shorter leaf-stalks. It is one of the hardest wooded willows. Its twigs are much used for basket fillings in England; and it is pretty well known in Scotland by the name of Packthread Willow. . The yellow Willow ( vitellma), produces handsome shoots, of a yellow colour and shining, and well adapt- ed for basket-work. The leaves are nearly sessile, or have only a very short foot- stalk ; they are minutely serrated, smooth and shining above, and somewhat of a bluish tint, and silky beneath. In osier grounds, al- most every willow with a yellowish bark is called a yellow willow ; but the true Salix vitellina is not com- mon, at least in Scotland. The Purslane Willow, or Cane Willow of the late Br Walker, (S. decipiens of Hoffman ?), produces very beautiful shoots, with a fine lively bark, like some sorts of cane. It forms a good basket osier. It grows some- times to a large size, and then greatly resembles the Crack Willow, S. fragilis. The Dark Broad-leaved Willow, or, as it is sometimes called, the Black Willow, (S. nigricans.) This is scarcely to be found in Scots osier grounds ; though it occasionally occurs in those of England. It is cer- tainly not worth cultivating, its wands being apt to break. The Violet Willow (S. violacea of Don's Cambridge Catalogue,) deserves the same character. It is much fitter for an ornament in the shrubbery, than to be planted as an osier. Its one-year shoots are very flexi-< ble till about December or January ; but after that period they readily snap. The tree Willows mentioned in a former part of this work (p. 103) may be so kept down and managed as to N n cause 5&2 PLANTATIONS OF OSIERS. cause them to produce numerous shoots, forming excel- lent rods, hoops, and poles. The Sweet or Bay-leaved Willow (S. yentandra) is a pretty common native of Scotland : Here, however, it is scarcely attended to as an osier ; while in Yorkshire its shoots are often used for making the larger sorts of baskets, hampers, and crets. The Crack Willow (S. fragilis) is frequent in willow plantations, and, when duly kept down, forms a good osier. The shoots and twigs are flexible and tough ; the name alluding only to the circumstance of their very readily separating at the point of insertion into the trunk. The leaves are about four inches long, and an inch and a half broad, deeply serrated. The Bedford or Dishly Willow (S. Russelliana), ha* already been particularly recommended to attention as a tree. When rightly managed, its stools afford very good shoots for hoops or for poles. The Common White, or Huntingdon Willow (S. alba) possesses similar qualities with the Bedford Wil- low. The two-year old shoots make pretty good hoops, and excellent poles or stakes. Of the above species, nine are decidedly natives of Scotland, viz. S. triandra, mollissima, amygdalina, he- lix, pentandra, fragilis, decipiens, russelliana, and alba. S. viminalis, or common osier, is completely naturalized, being found on the banks of streams, and by the sides of ditches near every village. The same thing is in some measure true of S. stipularis and vitellina. Most of the other species are either indigenous to England, or naturalized in the osier holts of that country. The Violet Willow is therefore the only truly exotic specie* here mentioned. It was introduced from Russia not many years ago. App, II.'] LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES'. 563 II. LIST OF SOME REMARKABLY LARGE TREES IN SCOTLAND. IN the section on Soils, and in that on Kinds of Trees, in the foregoing work, we have mentioned some in- stances of trees growing to a large size in the soils adapt- ed to their respective natures. There are, however, many more much larger trees in Scotland than those there taken notice of; a list of some of which we here beg leave to subjoin, as a stimulus to the cultivation of timber in Scotland. We may be permitted to ob- serve, that if trees of the following kinds have arrived to so considerable a size in this country, under a short and much varied summer, and generally matured alone by the hand of nature, it is a powerful earnest of what may be done by good management. Further, the en- ormous sizes to which the same kinds have arrived, in the southern parts of England, and in the warmer latitudes of Europe, and other quarters of the globe, borne testimony to by various writers and historians, seem no longer surprising. We regret that it is not at present in our power to state the quality of soil in which the respective trees have arrived to so considerable a size ; perhaps at some future period this may be done. It is only by stu- dying the quality of soil, and the situation in which N n 2 tree* 564 LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. [App. ll. trees have been long healthy, and in which they have Arrived at the most considerable size, that we are direct- ed with certainty in the operations of rearing timber to the greatest possible perfection. THE OAK. F. IN. An oak tree, at Killearn Place, in Stirlingshire, in 1795, measured in circumference (1) 12 Another at Cockwood, in Annandale, in the month of April 1773, measured, at six feet from the ground, in circumference 14? Tin's tree was about 60 feet high, and suppos- ed to be about 230 years old. (2) At Blairquosh, in the- parish of Strathblane, Stirlingshire, an oak measured, m 1796, in cir- cumference (3) - - - 15 The remains of a decayed oak, upon the road between Inverness and Strbntian in Argyleshire, were measured in October 1764, and found to be in girth, at a foot above the ground (34) - 173 Wallace's oak, so named for ages, must have been a large tree 500 years ago. It was situated in a wet clay soil, in the Tor-wood, near Falkirk, and in 1771 was supposed to be in girth, at four feet above the ground - ... 22 No trace of this venerable tree now remains. The 1) Stat. Acct. Vol. XVI. p. 3: 2) Walker's Essays on Nat. Hist, and Rural Econ. p. 4. 3) Stat. Acct. Vol. XVIII. p. 580. 4) Walker's Essays, p. 6. He says, that many remains of oaks wero observed, approaching to the same size, in this valley of Morven; situated among rank heather, in deep peat-earth, lying above banks of mountain, gravel* . 77. ] LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. 565 F. IN- The largest oak which we have noticed in Scot- land is in the old oak wood on the north side of Loch Arkeg, in Lochaber. When measured, & was found to be in girth, at four feet above the ground (5) 24 In a moss in the parish of Auchterderran in Fifeshire, the remains of an oak which has its root several feet above the bottom of the moss, measures in diameter at the root 6 THE LARCH. This is but a newly introduced tree ; none of fhem are above 60 years old ; the oldest are to ;be found at Dunkeld. The finest of these is 100 feet high, and in circumference at the ground 10 In Monzie garden there are four larch trees, said to be the largest in the island. They arc not yet 60 years old ; yet the largest one is 80 feet high, and its girth at the ground is 16 Other two are about ihe same height, but the circumference of the one at the ground is 15 The other is 90 And the last is 90 feet high, and at the ground ie in girth only (6) 80 THE ASH. An ash at Lord Morton's, near Aberdour, in Fifeshire, measured in March 1812, extended in length of bole 50 feet, and in girth, at four feet Jilgh 10 3 ^ An 5) Walker's Essays, &c. p. 9. 6) Stat. Acct. VoL XV. p. 254. 566 LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. [App. II. F. IN. An ash at Newbottle, in Mid-Lothian, stand- ing east from the house, near the river, in the month of July 1789, measured in circumfer- ence (7) - 11 .1 An ash in the island of Loch Leven, in Fife- shire, in September 1796, measured, in circum- ference, at four feet from the ground 12 An ash at Yair, in Selkirkshire, measures, at the surface, in circumference (8) 12 9 An ash near the church of Logierait, in Perth- shire, measured, at four feet from the ground, in 1770 (9) 16 An ash tree at Wemyss Castle, in Fifeshire, growing about 100 yards from the gate, measur- ed, on the 13th March 1812, 35 feet bole; and in circumference, at four feet from the ground 15 9 An ash in the church-yard of Bonhill, in Dumbartonshire, in September 17S4, measured in circumference at the surface - 33 The GlammisAshtreesit Castle-Hun tly in Perth- shire, measured in circumference at the ground 27 And at a yard high (10) 170 At the river Blackburn, in the parish of Castletown in Roxburghshire, the trunk of an old ash measures in circumference (II) - 18 An ash at Midstrath, in the parish of Bins, at the ground (12) - 20 An 7) Walker's Essays, p. 12. 8) Selkirkshire Rep. p. 284. 9) The same tree, measured in March 1812, was found to be, at breast height, 21 feet Q inches in circumference. 10) Statistical Accpunt, vol. XIX. p. 467. 11) Id. vol. XVI. p. 79. 12) Id. voL IX. p. 129. App.II.~] LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. 567 F. IN. An ash near Deskford, in the county of Banff, called St John's Tree, measures in girth (12) 24? 5* A few yards from Cessford Castle, in Rox- burghshire, there is a venerable ash tree, which measures at die base (13) 278 An ash tree near Bonhill House, in Dum- bartonshire, which is surrounded with a slop- ing bank of earth, about three feet in height, measured, in circumference, in September 1784, at four feet above the general surface of the ground (14) 34 1 An ash tree in the church-yard of Kilmalie, in Lochaber, burnt down during the troubles in 1746, was long considered as the largest and most remarkable tree in Scotland. Its remains were measured in October 1764, and, at the ground, the circumference was no less than (15) - 58 THE ELM. On the estate of Castle- Huntly there are se- veral fine Scots elms, which measure, at three feet from the ground, about (16) 11 At 12) Statistical Account, vol. IV. p. 511. 13) Id. vol. VIII. p. 56. 14) Walker's Essays, p. 15. The proprietor has fitted up a room in the inside of it with benches around, and glass windows. The diame- ter of the room is eight feet fiv inches, and its roof is near eleven feet in height. 15) Walker's Essays, p. 17. This tree stood in a deep rich soil, on- ly about thirty feet above the level of the sea, in Locliiel, with a small rivulet running within a few paces of it. 26) Statistical Account, vol. XIX. p. 4G4. 568 LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. [App. II. F. IN. At Lord Morton's, Aberdour, Fife, there is a Scots elm, which measured, March 10. 1812, forty feet length of bole, and in girth 11 Q Two elms at Yair, in Selkirkshire, measure, each, at the surface of the ground (17) - 13 An elm tree in the parish of Roxburgh, in Tiviotdale, called the Trusting Tree, was mea- sured in 1796, and its girth, at four feet from the surface of the ground, found to be (18) SO Q THE BEECH. A beech at Leslie House, in Fifeshire, mea- sured, in March 1812, by estimation, 56 feet to the branches, and was in girth, at breast high . 11 Another, at the same place, is 30 feet of bole, and, at the same height from the ground, in girth - 13 8 Another, at breast high, at the same place and time, measured in circumference - 15 Another, at same height, with a trunk 45 feet, was in girth 10 2 Another, at same height, with a trunk 60 feet 10 Near the Abbey of Balmerino, on die banks of the river Tay, a beech tree, measured in 1793, was found to be in girth (19) 12 7 A beech at Inverary, whose stem was 12 feet in length, and the diameter of its head 90 feet, had a trunk whose circumference was (20) 14- A 17) Selkirkshire Report, p. 287. 18) Statistical Account, vol. XIX. p. 134. 19) Id. vol. IX. p. 225. 0) Argyleshire Report, p. 14& LIST OF REMARKABLE TUEES. 569 F. IN, A beech, near the castle of Kelly, in the county of Fife, was measured in 1793 ; its stem was 30 feet in height, and the circumference (21) - 16 The large beech at Newbottle Abbey, stand- ing on the lawn behind the house, was measured in July 1789, and the circumference ascertained to be 17 The large beech at Ormiston-hall, in East- Lothian, measured, in May 1762, in circumfe- rence - 18 10 A beech near the house of Oxenford, in Mid- Lothian, was measured in June 1763, and, at three feet high, the circumference was (22) 19 6 THE SILVER FIR. A silver fir, at the house of Polkemmet, in West Lothian, measured, in October 1799, in circumference - 10 The above tree was planted in 1705 (23). A silver fir, in the old garden at Woodhouse- lee, in Mid Lothian, measured, in March 1793, (24) 11 1 A silver fir, at Drumlanrig, in Nithsdale, measured, in April 1773 - - 120 SCOTS 21) Statistical Account, vol. XIII. p. 5, 22) Walker's Essays, p. 21. 23) Idem, p. 36. 24) Idem, p. 36, 57$ *^5T Of itMAKiv^.BLE TREES. (_App. II. SCOTS FIE. J. IN. There is In Gordon Castle an uncommonly large square board of Scots fir, made from a tree which grew in Glenmore wood. The board measures five feet six inches square. It was pre- sented to the Duke of Gordon by the Company who bought that wood from his Grace. A Scots fir, at Inverary, measures in circum- ference (25) - 100 A Scots fir at Castle- Huntly, in Perthshire, was measured in 1 796, arid the circumference, at three feet from the surface of the ground, was 13 6 The same tree, measured close by the surface of the ground, was in circumference 19 THE SYCAMORE. A sycamore at Nisbet, in Berwickshire, stand- ing on the lawn behind the house, and from 60 to 70 feet in height, was measured in September 1795, and the girth found to be 123 A sycamore at Castle- Campbell, near Dollar, growing at the back of the Castle, measured, in March 1812, at breast high, in girth 12 There are other two sycamores on the same extremely exposed spot, but smaller than the one measured. These trees are remarkable for hav- ing lived many centuries, and until their neigh- bours, three ash trees of very considerable size,. have died ; the sycamores are still vigorous. 25) Argyleshire Report, p. 146. * //] LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. 57! F. IN. A sycamore at Lord Morton's, Aberdour, was measured on the 10th March 1812, and the bole was found to be 45 feet, and at breast-high in girth - - 14 6 Another, at the same place, has a bole of 50 feet in length, and is in girth, at same height 13 5 Both these are very beautiful trees. A sycamore at Torwoodlee, in Selkirkshire, measures at the surface of the ground (26) 13 7 A sycamore at the house of Rosedoe, in Dum- bartonshire, measured, in 1795, at 30 inches a- bove the ground (27) - - - - 13 7 A sycamore in the garden at Castle- Menzies, in Perthshire, measured in circumference, in September 1778 - 16 S An old sycamore tree at Ninewells, in Ber- wickshire, measured in girth, in 1795, a little below the boughs (28) 17 A sycamore at Calder-house, in Mid Lothian, standing by the road leading from the house to the church, measured, in October 1799 - 17 7 The Prior Eetham Plane, or sycamore, for- merly mentioned in a note (p. 63), is of the striped-leaved variety, and measured, in girth, at the surface, in January 1811 - - 268 THE CHESNUT. A chesnut at Lord Murray's, in Fife, has 9 feet bole, and in-girth measured, March 1812 11 3 A 26) Selkirkshire Report, p.. 285. 27) Statistical Account, vol. XVII. p. 245. 28) Idem, vol. XIV. p. 4<>. 572 LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. \_App. //,- F. IN. A chesnut at Leslie House, in Fife, has a bole 36 feet in length, and was in girth at breast- high, in March 1812 86 A chesnut at Newbottle, in Mid Lothian, near the house, measured in girth, in July 1789 11 9 A chesnut at Inverary, in Argyleshire, which has a stem 18 feet in length, measured in girth, m 1794 (29) - - 12 6 There is a chesnut tree in the old garden at Balmerino, the bole of which measures 15 At Fernie, in Fife, a little way south of the liouse, there grows a chesnut tree in a deep hazely loam, which measured in girth, in Fe- bruary 1J312 - 14-0 BLACK POPLAR. A fine tree of this kind at Alloa House, m Clackmananshire, measured in girth, at three #r four feet high (30) - 136 THE YEW. A yew tree in the garden at Broich, Stirling- shire, measured in circumference, at the height of two feet (31) 10 A yew in the garden at Ormiston-hall, in East Lothian, measured in girth, in May 1762 10 3 A yew at Balikinrain, in Stirlingshire, mea- sured in girth, in 1794? (32) 10 2 29) Argyleshire Report, p. 146. 30) Statistical Account, vol. VIII. p. 594. SI) Idem, vpl. XV. p. 528. 32) Idem, voL XVI. p. 111. App.II. LIST OF REMARKABLE TREES. 573 F. IN. A yew at the house of Rosedoe, in Dumbar- tonshire, measured in circumference, 18 inches above the ground, in 1795 (33) - 12 6 A yew in the island of Inch-Lonach, in Loch- Lomond, measured, in August 1770 10 7 Another, the largest in the same island 13 The great yew at Fortingal, in Perthshire, measured by the Hon. Judge Barrington previ- ous to the year 1770, was in girth (34) 52 THE HOLLY. At Lord Moray's, in Fifeshire, there is a holly with a stem of 1 2 feet, and the trunk is in circumference, at three feet high - 63 At Lord Morton's, Aberdour, there is a holly which measures in circumference, at the same height - 50 No, 33) Statistical Account, vols XVII. p. 245. 34) Philos. Trans. 1770, p. 57. 574 AMOUNT OF WASTE LANDS. \Afp. III. N- III, GENERAL VIEW of the AMOUNT of WASTE LANDS in SCOTLAND ; from the Report of the Committee of the Board of Agriculture. County. Statement on ivhat founded. Distinction of Lands, Number of Acres. Aberdeen County Rep. p. 127. Unimproved Lands 374,400 Argyle - - Ayr -,- Gen. information Ditto - - C Waste & Moun- 7 1 tainous Districts 5 Moorish Waste 785,733 218,454 Banff - - Ditto - - Wastes and Hills - 290,000 Berwick County Rep. p. 10. Moor, Moss, &c. - 126,000 Bute and the? Hebrides J Hebrides Rep. p. 60. Moors, Wastes, &c. 2,880,000 Caithness County Report Wastes and Commons 368,000 Clydesdale - Ditto, p. 17. Moors, &c. 250,000 Clackmanan - Gen. information Wastes and Moors - 25,000 Dumbarton - Ditto - - Wastes - - - - 164,266 Dumfries - Ditto - - Wastes and Commons 200,000 Elgin - Ditto - - Ditto - - - 350,000 Fife ... County Rep. p. 1. Hill, Moss, &e. - 64,000 Forfar - - Ditto, p. 1. - Wastes in Eng. acres 71,875 Inverness Gen. information 5-6ths Waste - - 1,695,933 Kinross - - Ditto - - Wastes - - - - 25,000 Kirkcudbright East- Lothian Galloway Rep. p. 1. Gen. information yds Waste in Eng, acr. Wastes - - - - 366,734 55,000 West-ditto - County Rep. p. 5. Do. in Eng. acres - 14,356 Mid-ditto - Ditto, p. 7. - l-3d Waste - - 7 519 -^- uses to which it is applied 73 soil for planting out seedlings of - 283 - sowing of - 287 preserving the seedlings from being thrown out by frost - - 536 Arbor Vi t .... 342 Arbutus, or Strawberry tree - ib; Ash, the seils in which it is found in high perfection 51 situations for planting, uses of the timber - 77 * reasons for giving it a place in Ornamental Plan- tations - 74> should not be planted in dairy counties Note 75 qualities of the timber - - -73 ^- Keys, gathering and storing of - 496,519,535 Mountain, or Roan- tree, soils in which it thrives 51 Aspen tree, or Trembling Poplar - 100 B Balm of Gilead Fir, soils fit for the 72 gathering cones of - 505 Barberry Bush - - 215 Barking of Oak wood, implements for 406 Bedford Willow, recommended - 68 ed$ t manner of forming 240 Beech s 578 INDEX. Fage JBeech, soils in which it is found in high perfection 52 grows to a great size Note ib. where to plant ; its appearance, and uses of the timber .... 78 * Mast, gathering and storing of - 498 purple or copper, method of propagating 79 fleeting up Plantations, when to perform it 296 Larch and Fir Plantations 297 improper to be left undone too long - - 298 Belts and clumps beneficial to the farmer and grazier 5 Birch, soils in which it grows 54- natural soil does not require much manure 283 uses to which the wood is applied in the High- lands of Scotland - - 80 Bark of ... 81 Oil - - - ib. seeds* gathering of - 466 required to be dried when gathered 467 Weeping distinguished - ib. to preserve the seedlings from being thrown out by frost - - 536 Birds, driving them away from destroying rising seeds 374 watching of - 418, 426 Box Tree, for hedging - - 341 Branches should be lopped off the boles when alive 178 Building stone walls with mortar of lime - 308 proper stones for - - 312 C Carrots a scourging crop - 26 Cedar of Lebanon, Ornamental - 113 - cones, what length of time they may be kept before taking out the seeds 331 how raised, when lifted, quality of soil required for planting in 325 Cedar, Red, or Virginian Juniper 342 Cherry^ Wild, or Gean ; a forest tree - 54 soils in which it thrives best - ib. proper situations for - 82 uses of the timber - 83 Chesnut, INDEX. 579 Page Chesnut, Spanish, general appearance of 83 fit places for planting in - ib. thrives in many different soils 55 uses of the timber - - 84 - gathering seeds of - 501 the Horse, general appearance of 85 uses of the wood - ib. - gathering seeds of the common 502 Cleaning Ground in the Nursery 433, 451, 465, 476, 495 rake as seldom as possible - 434 hedges - 460, 515 . copses 489 Clumps sometimes useful - - - 41 Cluster Pine. See Pinaster. Cones, Fir, gathering - - 137 how to try if good ib. how to treat them after being gathered ib. kinds which require fire heat to give out the seeds - 329 . which give out their seeds with little trouble - 380 Coping of walls 313 Copse, a natural, in appearance does not differ from a wood 47 is never allowed to grow to a great age ib. purposes for which they are planted - 48 extent and situation of - ib. Mixed, preparation of the soil for - - 193 cleaning of weeds . 459 forming, by sowing seeds ]94 kinds of trees to be adapted to the soil 195, 198 planting 273 kinds, thebarkofwhichis most usefulfortan 199 cleaning chips from . 410 sowing out with grass seeds 411 Crops fit for preceding Tree Seeds in the Nursery 15 Cropping with vegetables among Forest Plantations 382 Cuffing, manner of performing . 239 Cutting old Hedges - - - 212 nature of 214 Cuttings, propagating plants by . 250 the speediest way of propagating Eiders ib. wideness to plant Elder ib. O 2 Cuttings^ 80 INDEX. Page' Cuttings, making of - 508 Cypress, Evergreen - 3$2 D Dalkcith Plough, trenching ground by 141 Deciduous Trees, a list of the common kinds - 7O Diagram, for sowing Oak Copses 30 Dibble, Diamond-pointed, described * 351 Dibbling seedlings - 231 manner of performing the work - $5% Digging and trenching vacant ground- Nursery 130, 508 ground, reason for 131 between the lines in the Nursery 1 31, 523 when to be performed 255 for Ornamental Plantations- 14-1 young Forest Plantations . 530 Dikes, Top 209 Sir George Suttie's style ib^ time for building ... ib. materials for making - 210 building with mortar of clay SI 4* Galloway 218 sandstone proper for constructing ib. chief art of building 219 Drystone ib. Ditches, general rule for the depth of 209 cleaning out the obstructing snow at the time of a thaw - - 541 Ditching, method of 203, 206208 Drains, Sky, best for Plantations 139, 398 Mortar, manner of making ib. Rubble, unfit for Plantations - 398 Open, necessary in narrow stripes 381 Draining ground for intended Plantations 427 E Elder Berries, gathering of 502 propagation of by cuttings - ib. Elm, Scots, grows to perfection in many soils and situ- ations 56 English, distinction between . #7 INDEX. 581 Page J2lm t English, uses to which the timber is applicable 88 Scots, seeds, gathering - 420, 421, sowing ... 420. to be gathered from handsome healthy trees 421 spread thin when gathered - 422 -Even's writings, good effects produced by - 12 Evergreen trees, list of common .kinds 71 when to plant in dry situations 266 lifting from the Nursery - 337, 437 puddling the roots of - 338 planting in Ornamental Plantations 341 iinds and sizes to be lifted in April ib. improper to be planted out 342 preparing large plants in the Nursery 372 planting in the Forest - 382 Nurses, planting among Oak Woods and Copses 400 for single Ornamental Plants, pruning of - - ,- 436 laying of in the Nursery 451 cuttings, making and laying - 453 Hedges completed - 491 F Fallotv, grounds under, how to fee treated - 477, 511 Felling timber about a place 509, 512 old trees 484 Fencing grounds in general [202 Fences of the Nursery - - 130 Hawthorn, best deciduous kind * 203 Evergreen ; the Holly the best . ib. Evergreen, ... 350 Deciduous kinds, making - 275, 515 planting various sorts - 308 Ditches, with whins sown on the top - 316 Sunk, described 21 & Common, rule for making of 217 thickness of the walls - 218 - proper time to build the walls of - 278 large stones to be used in building the walls of 413 making several kinds of 447, 532 F.ttbert Nut - - 229 INDEX- Firs and Evergreens, planting in the nursery - 319 Scots, laying out in the nursery - - 320 shi.uld Lever be planted out in poor land 321 pruce, proper soil for laying ou'. in - 322 Silver. age of seedlings for laying out at - ib. BM^o ol Giiead, of laying -out - . 323 - white American Spruce, age for laying out 324- black American Spruce, age of seedlings - 325 ana Larches, sowing forests of - 345 flowering ash - - - -75 Forc&t Plantations - - 295 planting . - 342 Forests Royal, rather neglected by government - 13 Fourth-figure trap described - - 247 Furze, or Whins, for hedges 258 G Galloway dikes - - - 218 Gean trees to be pruned in August and October 268 gathering seeds of the - - 468 Green crops, preparing the ground among late sown copses for 307 _ -,-. management of, among ornamental plan- tations - 437 Ground vacant, in the nursery, preparing for crops 289, 373 preparing for ornamental planting 381 for forest plantation - 383 by pitting for principals and nurses 387 by fallowing - ib. for woods and copses - 395 Groves, c ituations fit for planting 40 ' fir - - - - 261 effects produced by - - 259 Grow, extent of 259 trees, tall, straight ib. a, may be a mixture of trees like ordinary mix- ed plantations - 261 Groups of trees, feelings produced by 278 should be wild and irregular - ib. Grubs, destructive to young larches - 453, H Hares and Rabbits hurtful to nursery articles 23 Hatvthorn t INDEX. Page Hawthorn, fit situations for single plants of the 89 soils fit for Note - - 71 uses to which the timber is applicable ib. trees, time for procuring them in hedges 213 gathering seeds of, and storing them in the rot heap 503 Hazel-nut tree - - 229, 245 Hedges, dead - - - - 209 method of forming aquatic, useful for dividing moist grounds proper kinds for making 276 preparing ground for, and planting by cuttings - 277 age of the wood fit for making cuttings ib. Holly 360 proper age of plants, and method of plant- ing - - 361 of Yew, method of planting 362 of Evergreen Privet, meihods of planting ib. screen of common Laurel - - 362 of Spruce Fir - - 364? Evergreen, directions for planting 412, 44-6 cleaning - 413, 430, 446, 447, 490 Whin, cleaning 414 Evergreen, directions for managing 445, 446 switching and clipping 460, 490, 515 the tops should not be cut till as high as re- quired - 461 Hedge-row trees, distances for planting pruning of - - 1 52 should be allowed to express their own character proper kinds for - - 265 new planted, examined to see if wind- waved - - 423 Hemlock Spruce - - - 341 Highland Oak-woods might be made to produce a sup- ply of ship timber - 4 Hoe, West Indian, recommended MO Hoeing^ advantages to be gained by 339, 417 deep, recommended - - - 340 . and cleaning - 375 Holly 584 soils fit for highly ornamental situations proper for - timber, valuable - - . length of time in the seed bed - soil proper for planting out seedlings in . improper to expose the roots of the planting out two-year seedlings in beds berries, gathering and storing of i. Hornbeam, soils in which it thrives best general appearance situations for planting . uses of the timber gathering the seeds of Uorse-chesnut. See Chesnut. Huntingdon Willow - - K 72 - ib. 115 . 326 - ib. 361 - 452 500,519 57 90 ib. ib. 501 104 26 Kitchen garden a fit place for raising seedling trees L Lalurmim, soils where it grows best 57 planted for ornament 91 - also for timber - ib. timber valuable - ib. gathering and storing the soeds of 499, 519, 535 >arch, when introduced into this country - 58 proper situations for planting for ornament 93 will soon arrive to a large size, preferable to Scots fir $4 usefulness and durability of the timber of the ib. yields turpentine - - 95 . Bark incorruptible, and a good tan - ib., 199 P requires to be early planted - * 266 small plants recommended - ib. and Fir, seeds taken out by fire heat - 327 Larch-cones, gathering of, 519,535 -r how to treat them when gathered ib. form of the kiln for drying them on 327 splitting to take out the seeds 328 - mill for grinding, &c. 329 . of Larches and Firs sometimes selected for leaders - - . 297 Larch- INDEX. 585 Page Larch-cones may be sown among young plantations 423 Laurel, Common, makes good hedges 363 Portugal - ib. Laurustinus - . - 378 Laying young plants in the nursery 230, 525 manner of performing the work 232, 233 Lettuces an easy and enriching crop - 26 Lifting plants for planting out 1 34, 230 Lime tree, soils t for its appearance 95 \ where it should be placed - ib. uses to which the timber is applicable 96 layers, to be planted out - 253 gathering seeds of - 504 sowing of seeds of ib. taking off the layers from stools 505 laying down - - 506 plants best adapted for converting into stools 507 JLombardy poplar - - 100 M Manure, rank, unfit for nurseries 25 in compost, for nurseries - ib. Massing forests recommended - 30, 158 of Firs recommende^ - 163 Mattock, hand, 1 92. Uses of - - 392 Melville's, Lord, letter to Mr Perceval, on naval timber 7 Mice, how to destroy in the nursery 337 Mortar, of lime, preparing for building walls with 310 quality of sand requisite for making ib. quantity of sand required for - 311 Mountain-ash, gathering and storing the berries of 497 fifousetrap, nurseryman's, described - 247 N Naval superiority, every thing depends upon maintain- ing our - - - 13 ~ strength depends on economising the present stock of oak timber 15, 16 Navy, increase of, forbids to slacken the planting of timber 6 advice to supply timber for the future wants of the 15 Nurse plants, kinds of * 160 Nurses 586 INDEX. Page Nurses, numbers required -T- for bleak situations exposed to the sea breeze 38 Nurseries, private, remarks on this subject, offered to those who wish to establish - 20 public, that are partly used as kitchen gardens, produce the best seedling trees 26 small, may be toomuch sheltered - 22 Nursery to raise plants from seeds not adviseable in high, cold, and bleak situations - 21 plants, chief properties of - ib. aspect and acclivity necessary for - 22 ground not to be encumbered with large trees, or fruit trees, in the quarters - 23 should be completely drained - ib. advantages of a rill passing through - 24 should be well sheltered with dividing hedges 27 laying out a new 1 27 laying out of seedlings in the - 281 plants, destructive consequences of not shoughing - - 282 planting out deciduous seedlings in the 319 planting out evergreens in the 369 Nurseryman, season requiring all the vigilance of the 223 O Oak - - - . 96 a native both of Scotland and England 60 soon dies in very wet soil 61 account of large trees of - 62 ornamental in the highest degree - 97 situations for ib. poor, bleak situations unfit for 48 rises fast in good soil - 46 new-sown in pits to be relieved from encroaching weeds - - - 425,428 Timber consumed in country purposes 9 demands for the middling size tends to diminish the increase of large ship timber 1 annual consumption of - 10, 11 danger of a scarcity of -_ 12 Wood, proper situation for an 47 preparing the ground for 188,429 depth of soil fit for - - ib. Oak INDEX. Page Dak Wood, cropping the ground with vegetables among 1 89 draining for - 190 pitting for - - - 191 , planting nurses to prepare for establishing 192 converting a copse into - 403 barking of 406, 428 Bark, horses for dry'ng - 407 gentle .showers a benefit to 408 preserving tfie colour of importance ib. stacking of - 409 prices of at Lci.th in different years ( App.) 576 Stools, singling the shoots on 4'00 number of shoots to be left upon 402 instruments for slipping off the redundant shoots 401 Old, taking down among young wavers 405 Trees, time required to grow to a size fit for the Navy - 12 Ornamental Plantations, cleaning of - 455 Osier Plantations, formation and management of 545 Osiers, list and description of the best for the cooper and basket-maker - - - 557 P Paling Rails ... 209 kinds and position - 211 Paring and burning - 384, 426, 429 Pinaster, soils fit for thrives well on the west coast of Scotland 110 fit for nurses - - - ib. time in the seed-bed - - 321- laying out in the Nursery - ib. Pine, Scots. See Fir. Wey mouth. See Weymouth. Stone, Siberian 324, 335 Pits, making for hedge-row trees 143, 263 depth to be made 391 distance to be made at - 383 new sown, to be kept clean of weeds 348 Pitting* how to perform, according to the nature of the soil 393 ground for the principals only - 392 for sowing acorns among new planted nurses .394- Pitting, 5SS INDEX. Page Pitting ground for sowing forests of Firs - 295 for sowing forests in general 396 advantages of retaining part of the brush- wood on the ground for shelter 397 directions respecting 511,525 Plane Tree of Scotland. See Sycamore. or Platanus, soils fit for Note - 72 varieties of 97 where the finest are - 98 American, of large size, have been killed by frost ib. Eastern Plane, have not suffered by frost - ib. nature of the timber of die 99 gathering seeds of - 504 sowing of seeds - ib. taking off layers - - 507 Plantation*, neglected state of 1 71 Ornamental, planting of 255 choosing of the kinds of trees 256 furnishing with Evergreens 291 cropping with vegetables, best kinds - 292 frequent hoeings among, of much use - 293 . sowing down with grass seeds ib. cleaning the ground among 399 keeping them dry 538, 539 Screen, kinds fit for 257 kinds of underwood fit for 268 Plants, the proper sizes for planting out 31, 134, 156, 157, 200, 262 taking up in the Nursery for planting out 134, 135, 520 arrangement of the kinds - 158 Planting thin, on exposed situations, discommended SI thick, advised 29 thin, and with large plants, the cause of fail- ure on the exposed shores of the ocean 35 Ornamental Plantations 145, 526 when the land is in an improper state, hurtful ib. fit time for - 1 55, 526, 528, 537 distances for . 160, 161 manual operation of 164 by the T method 167 Planting INDEX* Page Planting by the T, most proper time for performing 169 forest iVees in masses - 265 kinds of trees requiring to be planted in Feb. ib, proper kinds of trees for particular situations 267 underwood necessary in narrow stripes 268 Seedling Alders and Birches in the Nursery 282 when the land is either too wet or too dry, hurtful vacant spaces among old Plantations 298 bare sandy moors cheap method of - 35O advantages to be derived from - 351 manner of with the diamond dibble described ib. ground covered with long heath 352 expense of - 355 profits to be gamed by ib. expense of a Scots acre ib. __ of an English acre - 354? land of good quality profitable 356 Ornamental Plantations - 377 general directions respecting Ornamental ib Evergreens, damp weather most proper 382 and Firs in prepared Ornamental Plantations - 4-55 in Forest Plantations 457 Plashing old Hedges 212, 515 manner of - ib, another method 21 $ can only be well done where there are plenty of young shoots 214 Poplar, different species of 9& appearance when planted in groups - 10O T- qualities of the timber - ib. Black, bark of, is a good tan - ib. propagated generally l>y cuttings - 251 how to make cuttings of ib. how thick to plant cuttings in the Nursery ib* Potatoes, an unfit crop for preceding a crop of Seed- ling trees 25 Preparing ground by the mattock 169 for future Plantations 440, 476, 509, 525, 529 Hedge-row and Ornamental Deci- duous trees - 523, 537 Privet, Evergreen, for hedges 590 INDEX* Pruning trees in a clump - - 42 plants in the Nursery lines 131, 435, 451 by pinching off the weakest 132, 435, 436 plants in the hand I;i5, 521 Ornamental Plantations 146, 470, 471, 525, 537 Groves of Deciduous Trees - - ib. when to commence 147 time improper for performing the operation of 286 1 * manner of performing the operation of 147 to be gentle on the skirts of a grove - 148 Larch and Fir Groves, when to commence the pruning of 149, 180 masses - 150 belts and stripes - - ib. Screen Plantations - 151 - Hedge-row and detached trees 153, 154, 470 groups - 154 Forest Plantations 170, 268, 457, 511, 529 - importance of - ib. annual, recommended - 170 bad method described 172 right method set forth - - 175 of deciduous trees, to be begun at the top 176 implements to be used in the operation of 178 in, no protuberances or pieces of stumps to be left 1 79 of Coppice Woods 200,273,459,489,513,531,540 Deciduous trees in the Nursery 253 Larches and Firs, few branches to be removed at once 438, 442 in, no large branches should be required to be removed 439 - narrow stripes, attention required in 441 young neglected Plantations 480 Puddle for building Turf Dikes 315 Q Quicks. See Hawthorn. Quicken Tree. See Mountain-Ash. R Reclaiming neglected Hedge- row trees - 472 Plantations from 20 to 40 years of age 481 _* from 50 to 60 years of age - 483 591 Page Relieving last spring planted trees in the forest - 458 Roller, armed, for relieving incrusted briering seeds 371 Rot-heap, how to treat seeds in the - 524, 535 Rotting, interior, of timber incurable 475 Roots of trees to be carefully preserved when taken up 1 36 some of the, to be reduced ib. retrenching makes the plants less healthy 422 of trees, felled in a thick plantation, not to be stubbed up 485 Rhododendron, Ornamental - 342, 378 Ridging up ground - - 129 Roan Tree. See Mountain-Ash. S Sallow, round-leaved - 103, 10G Scots Fir does not thrive in wet, tilly soil - 64 varieties of Note - 64, 65 plantations of, not soon injured by being thick 487 gathering of cones of - 535 Screen Plantations - - 152 Seeds, relieving incrusted briering - 370, 419 new-sown kinds a prey to vermin , - 247 protecting from mice - 337 - watering vegetating seeds in the Nursery 419 time to gather many kinds of 496 Seedlings, best preparation for a crop of 1 29 lifting from the seed-bed 223, 321 < Thorns or quicks ib. Elms - 225 Larches - 226 Beeches and Alder, thinning out - 227 one-year Mountain- Ash, thinning out 228 Beeches, Laburnum, Sycamore, and Oak - - ib taking up of two-year old - 229 Service Tree, Wild - 263 Shakes in timber curable with difficulty 475 Shoughing one-year seedlings 224 two year ditto - - 229 seedlings brought from a distant nursery 1 36, 1 37 Silver, Fir grows to a great size . 65 gathering cones of - - 505 Situations for making private Nurseries * 19 favourable for Forest Plantations - 32, 34 for Woods and Copses 43 592 Slitting in plants 163 Sloe-thorn ..... 397 Soils fit and unfit for a Nursery 22 opinion of some respecting - 20 bare of herbage, easy method of planting - 32 unfavourable for producing different sorts of forest trees ... 49 favourable for 50 Solving woods, Forest and Copses preferred - 46, 163 seeds in the Nursery - 239 Haws .... ib. in broad drills ... 241 Ash ..... 242 Hollies .... ib. Mountain Ash - - 243 Yews - ib. Acorns .... 244- Spanish and Horse Chesnuts - 245 Hazel Nuts - - - ib. Geans .... 245, 469 Hornbeam .... 246 Walnuts .... ib. Elder berries - - 251 seeds in the Nursery 283, 327, 396, 466, 520 Elms, ground fit for Laburnums, soil fit for - . 285 Sycamore, soil fit for - 286 Birch and Alder, preparation of the ground for 287 Beech, preparation of the ground for 288 Cedar of Lebanon - 331 Scots Fir .... Spruce Fir ... 333 Balm of Gilead Fir - - 334 - Silver Fir ib. Weymouth Pine ... ib. Sowing Pinaster ... 335 Stone Pine ... ib. White American Fir - ib. Black and Red American Spruce Fir - 336 Forests in general ... of many kinds necessarily - 384 all sorts of seeds in the rot-heap 465, 495 Spruce Fir, Norway, thrives in many soils- - 66 best in deep loams - 67 , American, soils fit for - 72 INDEX. 503 Page Stone Pine, Siberian, time in the seed-bed - .324? Stripes for sheltering intended Forest Plantations - 29 narrow, unfit to be planted on grounds exposed to the blast from the ccean - 39 old, bad effects of damp in - 381 narrow, management of - - 442 Sweet Brier - 215 Sycamore, or Plane - 62 soils fit for - ib. remarkable trees of Note - 63 general appearance of 101 variegated, a beautiful variety, and never becomes impatient of an exposed situation - 102 gathering the seeds of - 468 Tapping roots of trees . - 1 33 Thinning out Plantations 180, 269, 294-, 300, 44-0, 443 457, 511 a principal part of their culture 180 liable to restrictions - '181 mixed Plantations 182 grouped - - - 184 Fir - 185 Scots Fir - ib. Spruce - - 187 Larch - ib. out patches of sown Copses - 348 Oak Woods - 274. 398 Ornamental Plantations - 470, 509 young neglected Plantations, directions how to perform - 478 old neglected Plantations with great caution 488 Thorn plants, good ones described 204 young plants best - 205 cutting over ... 206 roots to be preserved in lifting ib. laying on the new-formed ditch - 208 lifting of, suspended 275 Timber, none should be imported but from our own colonies - 6 trade with America and the West Indies, to be encouraged - - . 15 INJDEX. Page Timber, raising in Britain, opinions of some respecting, considered - - - 16 piante ;!, contrasted with sown 44 its high importance to this kingdom 119 advantage derived by subdividing ground with 120 no ground lost br planting belts of - 121 increase of the value of ground by planting 122 prices of. <>t Leith, in different years (App.) 576 Tree* a properly raised, resembles a slender cone 238 Trees have their roots reduced by being removed 45 c in >e of the want of success in lifting large 46 lifting for the forest - - 230 preparing for Hv-dge-rows - - 236 distance at which they should be planted 238 hractical manner, neither clouded by theory, nor enveloped in tech- lical terms. That eminent writer on husbandry, the Rev. Mr Harte, his Treatise on Agriculture, says, " The plain practical author (pays his little contingent to the republic of knowledge with a bit of ^unstamped real bullion, whilst the vain-glorious man of science throws, 'down an heap of glittering counters, which are gold to the eye, bu lead to the touchstone. " RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (415)642-6233 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW DEC 18 1988 N2 463089 Nicol, W. The planter's kalendar. SD391 N63 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS 1175 00291 4417