In numerous instances—and this I shall call mistake the first—the trees are put in without any previous preparation of the soil. It is not possible, in the ordinary run of cases, to commit a greater error than this. It is, emphatically, to build upon a bad foundation, and it is very rarely indeed that Plantations, so commenced, ever make any thing out. When I say this, I do not mean to assert that they never become trees of any size: unfortunately they do, in some situations, and men are so ignorant—there is so little real scientific knowledge of the subject to be met with anywhere—that the most erroneous conclusions are drawn from this fact. The question as to what a Plantation might have done, or what it would have done, if it had been properly treated, is never thought of! No one ever dreams of instituting a comparison between such a Plantation as it is, and as it ought to have been. And yet this is the very first question which should be asked, or rather which should be anticipated.
But the majority of Plantations, which are commenced without any preparation of the soil, are complete failures, as may be seen by any one who chooses to take the trouble to examine for himself.
Influenced by a most mistaken notion of economy, many persons plant their trees on land which is already fully occupied—it may be, by ling, by bracken, or by long grass, or twitch—and in most cases of this sort, the greater number die; but there may probably remain a few which sustain a feeble existence, so as just to make a show of a Plantation, and the owner seldom gives himself the trouble to attempt to ascertain why it is no better. The method usually adopted, when planting is done in this way, is, to dig small holes at fixed distances, into which the plants are put by the workman in the best manner that he can, and they are left to fight their way as best they may.
Mr. Withers, of Holt, in Norfolk, has ably, and indignantly, denounced the hole-digging system, and has shown, most clearly, the advantage of “the highest degree of culture,” for raising timber, whether as a pecuniary question, or where it is wanted for merely ornamental purposes. It is true that an opinion at variance with his, has been given by some, but every practical man will, at once, perceive where the truth lies; nor will he be at any loss, whether, in the preparation of a field for planting, to follow the directions of Sir Henry Steuart, or those of Mr. Withers.
It was the practice of the latter gentleman, to trench his ground from “fourteen to eighteen inches deep,” and on poor land, to “put on as much manure as if turnips were intended to be sown,” and to hoe and keep clean the land, for seven years after planting. The results were, extraordinary rapidity of growth, and a consequent early and ample return upon the capital invested, in addition to the full accomplishment of an object, which is, of course, ardently desired by every planter: viz.: the pleasure of seeing rapidly rise up before him, a healthy and most promising race of trees.
The second mistake which I shall notice is a very common one; and is committed by those who prepare the land well, but, by a bad selection of plants, either as to age, or kind, or both, render success impossible. The error as to age consists, most frequently, in their being too old: that as to the kind, in not choosing such as are adapted to the nature of the soil.
A third class of planters may be met with, who, to a certain extent, avoid all the mistakes previously referred to, but who commit the unaccountable blunder of throwing the various kinds promiscuously together, without any regard to congeniality as to the plants; and in this case, the trees that are really valuable are overtopped, and mastered by a set of worthless trash, which, when full grown, are hardly worth the trouble of cutting down. When a Plantation is made in this barbarous manner, and left in this state for twenty years, or even less, no subsequent efforts, however sound the judgment which is exercised may be, can wholly repair the mischief which is done. By this mistake, an immense loss of property accrues to the proprietor, and the worst of all is, that the trite consolation is not left him, that what is “his loss, is another’s gain,” for here nobody is benefitted; while to himself there is superadded the mortification of a loss of time, “which no man can restore.”
That the strong language which I have here employed is fully justified, will at once be admitted by every reflecting person, who has any acquaintance with these matters; for it will appear at the outset, that if a slow-growing tree is planted close to one which will grow half as fast again, and if the slow grower is the tree intended for timber, the latter must inevitably be so much damaged as to affect its health for ever, if something be not done to relieve it.
I shall not, in this place, “remark” more particularly on this point, than to say, that I have often seen the oak in this relative position, with the alder, the birch, the poplar, the larch, and other trees.
To imagine that a comparatively slow-growing tree can be placed in near contiguity with another whose rate of progress is much quicker, without receiving injury, is to manifest a want of knowledge of the habits of trees, which may be excused in an amateur planter, but which cannot be overlooked in a practical man, who is well paid for his services.