I trust I may now conclude that I have satisfactorily proved, not only that the “magnitude of the sacrifice which the present practice involves is disproportionate to the good resulting,” but that “the embellishment of a landscape does not necessarily include the perpetuity of any one race of Trees.” In handling the remaining proposition, and in endeavouring to prove that the present treatment of Hedge-row Timber is “a perpetual offence against good taste,” I shall at the same time, be accumulating evidence in support of the other two.
It is proper to remark before I proceed any further, that when I speak of Timber being allowed to stand too long, and of the consequent heavy loss upon it to the proprietors, I refer to such as belongs to the Nobility and Gentry, for, although their example has in this, as well as in every thing else, some effect upon those below them, it does happen that, in this respect at least, the middle classes are wiser in their day and generation than their superiors, the Timber upon small estates being generally taken down at an earlier period than on large ones. There is indeed among the higher orders—of course with a few exceptions—a prejudice against felling Timber, older than the oldest Timber Tree in existence; and as strong as the most enthusiastic admirer of the beauties of landscape scenery can desire it to be: and so far is this feeling carried, that, by many, Timber of the most unsightly character, and in situations where it can be associated with no idea connected with the scenery, is religiously spared, and spared long after it has ceased to be either useful or ornamental where it stands.
Having ventured thus strongly to point out the loss to proprietors, I will now show, by an example, how the community is affected by the disinclination to fell one particular kind of timber; viz., the Ash. This tree is hardly ever cut down before it becomes exceedingly tender; and as almost every agricultural implement is either wholly, or partly composed of it, the consumers—those who wear out the wagons and carts, the ploughs and harrows—are proportionate sufferers; for it cannot for a moment be supposed, that timber which is in the last stage of decay, or indeed, approaching to that stage, will wear half so long as that which is cut down as soon as it has arrived at full maturity. The period when it has done so, will be indicated to a practiced eye, at a single glance, even with that class of trees which has had fair play; or in other words, where premature decay has not been brought on by mal-treatment. But the latter class is by far the most numerous, and it requires very little either of science, or of knowledge of a practical kind, to teach a man how to deal with them. It is of no use to let them stand. If they are not wanted for ornament, the sooner they are felled the better, for the process of decay is very rapid in this particular tree. Their early removal is further necessary, because they injuriously affect the Farmer in another way, as I will show.
The roots, &c. of one single Ash Tree are said to amount to a million in number, and to extend themselves as far all round the bole as the branches. I do not profess to be able to form a very decided opinion as to the number of the roots, rootlets, fibres, &c., but I have seen quite enough of the habits of the tree to convince me, that the roots extend themselves much farther than is here supposed; and it is well known to all farmers, that to a distance far beyond this, vegetation is almost totally destroyed; and that, near a Hedge-row (dividing two arable fields) which is filled with filthy, scabbed, stunted Ash Trees, which, from “mismanagement,” have been brought into such a condition as positively to be making no progress at all, sow what he may, the farmer can never reap any thing: and yet these unsightly things, which are the latest of all other of our common deciduous trees, in getting their foliage, and almost the earliest out again, are suffered to linger out their feeble, but blighting existence, until by slow decay they become so unsound, that the wind blows them down, and they are fit for nothing but the fire! or, if they do not actually reach this stage, they are only cut down because the owner has the fear of such a result before his eyes! A volume might be written with reference to this particular tree, were it necessary to take up every one of the points which present themselves, as condemning the present practice in its management, but that is not needed, for the Ash Tree is so generally met with in a diseased state, that it may be considered as the subject of grosser “mis-management” than any other of our domestic trees. If any one still deny this, let him look round him and say, why Hedge-rows so abound every where, in puny, sickly, Ash Timber, which cannot possibly attain to a useful size: and when he has confessed the fact, that they really do exist in that state, I will reiterate the assertion, that the cause is bad management! If the present condition of Hedge-row Ash, generally, does not prove “mis-management,” I am at a loss to know what does, for when the different kinds are planted upon a congenial soil, if they be properly treated, they will continue to grow, more or less rapidly, according to circumstances, and for a longer or shorter period, as the natural term of their existence may rule: but as they are now treated, they are never healthy, for the principle of decay is introduced at a very early stage of their existence, and in consequence, premature old age is brought on. To the absence of early training, may be attributed much of what is seen to be wrong in the present condition and quality of Hedge-row Timber, but much more to the vile practice of mutilating the trees, which almost every where obtains. There is, indeed, in some quarters, such perfect indifference manifested about the well-being of the trees, that free licence is allowed to the tenants of the land to do as they will with them: and free use they make of it, as may well be supposed, and as is abundantly evident in all such places. And why should it be otherwise? It has so long been the practice, and it is so far out of their way to really understand the matter, that farmers may well be excused. They cut off the roots, and reduce the extent of the branches, of their enemy, in self defence; and without having the remotest idea that they are doing so serious an injury to the property of their landlords. This is fully proved by the fact, that they treat their own trees in precisely the same way. It is, then, to the indifference that has hitherto been manifested by the proprietors of Hedge-row Timber, and the consequent prevalence of mistaken views on the subject, that the present state of things is to be attributed. Some gentlemen do indeed introduce into their Agreements, clauses affecting to provide against the mischievous pruning which is here condemned, but, except in the neighbourhood of a mansion, where a strict look out is generally kept, they are quite inoperative—they are a dead letter, for not only does the pruning go on, but, as I have just hinted, the trees are often attacked below too, and deprived of their roots, as well as their branches, thus cutting off their supply of nutriment from the atmosphere above, and from their legitimate sources of supply from the soil. Both these practices ought to be most strictly interdicted.
My indignation and regret have a thousand times been excited, on seeing the noblest of all our Hedge-row Trees, the Oak, clipped of its beautiful proportions, and reduced by repeated snaring, as it is most aptly called, to the capacity and shape of a huge besom! and by this truly infamous treatment, deprived not only of all its scenic beauty, but actually of its specific character! and, if not altogether stopped in its growth, rendered utterly worthless for application to the chief end and purpose for which it is adapted and intended. I need not say, that I mean—the building of ships.
Upon this subject there ought not to be two opinions: neither will there, among those who really understand it; but it is much to be lamented, that a very large portion of the Hedge-row Timber of this country is in the hands of persons who either do not understand the management of it, or who are indifferent about it. It very frequently happens, that there is no person but the Land Steward, who can make any pretensions to a correct judgment in the matter, and he has often quite enough to attend to, without so responsible a duty as this is—being added to his department. He therefore, very naturally, attends to those duties which are indispensable; and as for the Timber, &c. &c. he only thinks about it seriously, when he wishes to ascertain how much of it he can turn to profit.
Every considerable estate ought to have a person upon it, whose attention shall exclusively be devoted to the supervision of the Woods, Plantations and Hedge Rows, &c. He should be a well-educated and an intelligent man; and should be so well-paid for his services, as to feel that his employer has a moral claim upon him, for the entire devotion of his mind, as well as his physical powers, to the efficient discharge of his duties.
An inquiry into the natural history of Hedge-row Timber, if I may so speak of it, would furnish a field for highly interesting remark, and it would assuredly remove any doubts that might remain in the minds of those who have gone no farther than to suspect that the management of it has been bad. When it is considered that the Timber of our Hedges is the product of chance, or even worse than that, that it has grown to what it is, notwithstanding that it has been subjected to the most barbarous treatment; it is impossible not to perceive, that if it had been watched and tended as it ought to have been, it would have equalled any thing that could have been conceived of it.
The classes of trees which may be met with in our Hedge-rows are various, and are so situated in many places, as to really give rise to the idea just now referred to—that they are found there, more as a matter of chance, than of design: and this may be assigned, partly at least, as the reason why they have been so neglected, or so shamefully used. If they had been planted, and if any calculation at all were made before planting, it might be imagined that a gentleman would wish to ascertain what would be the surest mode of raising a class of fine unblemished trees, whether they were Oaks, or Elms, or Ash, or any other kind; and having carefully, and at some expense, introduced them into his hedges, it is difficult to suppose, that he would either leave them to shift for themselves, or to the tender mercies of their natural enemies, the occupiers of the land on which they might be growing: it is therefore more than probable, that a considerable proportion of them are in the hedges more by accident than any thing else. But however that may be, the fact remains the same: they are, very generally, standing memorials of the ignorance of the men in whose care they have been placed, and a triumphant vindication of the propriety of my title.
If Hedge-row Trees have length of bole, they have it—not because they were properly trained and assisted when they were young, and therefore needed it, but—in consequence, most likely, of indiscriminate lopping and pruning at some former period of their growth, the fruits of which, although now invisible to the unpracticed eye, will appear hereafter, to the dismay, and serious loss, of the person who may have to saw them up.