PLANTING.

Auckland Times, Volume 2, Issue 58, 20 February 1844, Page 1

PLANTING.

(Continued frsni our hut,)

MODES OF TRANSPLANTING. The proper distances at which voimg forest trees should he planted on their timber sites depends on the natural habits of growth of the different specie#/ the nature and preparation of the soil, and the size of the plants to he planted. The larch* spruce; and pine require Jess space than the oak, chesnut, elm, &e. The nature of the soil will determine the peculiar species of trees which should predominate it? the plantation, and point out the distances at which they should be placed. If the soi! is thin and of a light texture, the fir tribe should occupy the largest proportion, if not the whole space of land ; if clayey, the oak, elm, ash, &t\, should he the principal trees in the design; and, if a deep sandy soil, or if the soil be calcareous, elevated land, the beech, hornbeam, fee., ought to have the preference--ad with the view to the ultimate produce of tiniff cr. In pr cfitab s e fore st tree p 1 an tin g, the nearest distance at which young trees should be planted on their timber sites, is a yard, or three feet, and the widest space five feet; the medium distance of four feet from plant to plant is, or ought to be,the one most generally adopted. Seedlings of three years’ growth, or plants, which have remained two years in the seed7bed and one year > in transplanted nursery rows,

shoutd be planted on their timber sites three feet apart every way, it being understood at the same time that the soil is this light, and sandy, and that the slit or uoling in method of planting is used. But should the soli have been prepared by ploughing- and trenching, and be in a clean fallow state, the medium distance of four feet, or three and a half feet, if the specks of trees to be planted are exclusively of the fir or pine tribe, will be the most proper, 'frees of the age now alluded to will vary in size from nine to twenty inches in height, exclusive of some species of poplar, eli a. &c., w hich grow faster than the generality of form-.trees. In well prepared land of a deeper surface soil than the above, plants from eighteen to twenty-four inches in height of the fir tribes may be planted with advantage ; and deciduous trees, as the oak, chestnut, elm, &c., from three* to four feet in height, may be planted at the distance of live feet apart, in thb last case a return of profits from thinnings will be obtained at least two years earlier than from transplanted seedlings, under the like circumstances of soil. Trees planted as nurses for assisting the progress of those intended for timber are of quick growth, and in the course of from Seven to twelve years will have attained a size fit for the purposes of fencing, or to be used as' poles, coopers' ware, Sec:, according to local demand. When the nurse trees have arrived at this stage of growth, they will require to be part;n)!v thinned tarsak? l e.ooro far fa- n rirnber trees, or prmebufa or the plantation, as they are termed. Whenever the branches of the former interfere with fchoSe of the latter, no time should be lost in remedying the evil, by pruning the nurse trees, or cutting them down, if the different operations of planting have been judiciously performed, the value of the trees thinned out at this period will cover the .rent of the Iced,, with compound interest on the capital expended in planting it. Hence the importance of nUrSe tree#, and the propriety of furnishing Ihe ground at first with a sufficient number of young plants to be eftfc down and taken away periodically, until the principal timber trees have attained to maturity. In poor soffs, where the original outlay of capital and the rent of the land are both small, the expenditure will he covered by the periodical crop of thinnings, and vice versa in better soils, authorizing a larger expenditure in the preparation, ; in the size of the plants, and in the mode j of planting, a comparatively superior | number of trees of increased value will j he produced at each periodical thinning ! These results are sure to follow judicious j olantingv

The third ond last mode of rearing forest frees proposed to be discussed at the head of this chapter, is that of se ecting the superior shoots of coppice stools and training them to full-grown timber trees. The oak,«?n account of the value of its bark, i» more frequently reared in this way than the elm, ash, and chesnut, The timber of coppice trees is in general faulty, and of inferior quality to that reared from seeds. Where care, however, is taken in the se ection of the shoots ff’om healthy and not overaged coppice stoo's, timber ot the best quality may be obtained from them. The produce of coppice stools consists of materials fur fence wood, fuel, besoms, &c. Poles and bark are the most va’uable of this produce, where the practice is to leave no standards, or saplings for .timber. It is, however, perfectly clear, that when a wood or

coppice <»Uers to the purchaser produce of various sizes convertible to v w '.on., , uses, along with full-grown timber for navy purposes, the sale is more readily effected, and generally on better terms • than when the produce consists of smaller wood only. In making choice of the shoots «A' ‘Nprice Aools, to b; trained for timber trees, great care should be had to select none but Such

as are straight and vigorous, and which originate as near to the roots of the stool as possible. The neglect of this latter circumstance is the chief cause of the unsoundness of coppice -reared timber, particularly at the root or butt end of tire bole. The parent Wood of coppice stools is most frequently suffered to' rise too high from the roots, consequently the shoots emitted from if never grow with so much vigour, or attain to so great a size in a given space of time, as when the stool is kept within aii inch or two of the surface of the ground. When the parent stool is a foot or more in height from the root, it becomes divided into pointed rugged parts, and if a tiller or shoot left for a tree, is situated near to o no or -ittier of these, the stub is In time encompassed by the bark of the young tree wholly or partially, which carries blemish and unsoundness in the timber, as well as obstruction to its prosperous growth. The stumps of coppice stools should, therefore, be cut near, to 'the surface of the ground, and the face of the stub* as level and free from fractures as can

-■ e. Tr.c--HV.ds Of treek-xironfc-jMt suable for coppice produce are those wirioh possess the reproductive power in the highest degree. It may be unnecessary hOre to observe that the nonproductive trees, such m all the pine and fir tribes, are unfit for the purposes of coppice. The shoot or tiller being selected, with due attention to those essential points, all other shoots belonging to the parent stool should be cut away close to the root. The youngtree should thfin receive the same treatment as other tress reared by Seed or transplanting. Although, under any circumstances, li cannot be recbmmbnded to convert a coppice wood Into a timber grove, nevertheless!, should the circumstance of local demand for timber trees be considerable, it is a highly profitable practice to allow' a certain number of the most select oak tillers to remain for timber. Should the number finally left to become timber trees not exceed thirty on the space of an acre, the copniee produce will not receive any injury to be put in competition with the value of the trees retained. Were one hundred select tillers left on the cutting or fall of a cop-pice, and w-we tho periodical falls made at eighteen year* interva’a of time, on the second cutting these tillers should be thirty-six years old, and worth from 10$. to 12*. each. At this period of growth twenty-fir* of the number should be taken away, leaving an average distance between those that remain of about twenty -four feet. At the next fall the trees will Is are attained to fifty-six years’ growth * and will afford seventeen trees to be thinned out, of the'value of 225, each. At seventy-two years growth the value will be emroased to 38*. each tree, and allowing fifteen trees to be thinned out. At the fourth, or last thinning, the trees will be ninety of growth, and worth at least 50$. eaeh; leaving thirty timber trees, of which & part will be fit for ship-building, and exceed in value the fee-simple of the land.