PLANTING EXPOSED GROUND
As the majority of plantations for purely economic purposes are formed
on the wind-swept moor or hillside, the successful management of these
is a matter of considerable importance.
There are many difficulties to encounter in planting high-lying and
exposed ground that one would never have to think about in low-lying
and sheltered situations. Planting, for instance, should not be
commenced until February or March, as, by deferring it till that time,
the newly-inserted plants will be fresh and vigorous, and ready for an
immediate start in growth, which would not be the case if they had been
put out in autumn and subjected during winter to the inevitable wind
shaking that is always to be reckoned with on exposed ground.
The choice of trees, too, for planting on wind-swept ground is a matter
of far more moment than is generally supposed, for that there are
certain species of trees peculiarly suitable for withstanding prolonged
storms is well known to those who have had to do with the forming of
woods and plantations at high altitudes. The size of trees planted has
also much to do with the after success of the woods, and it may be
well at the outset to say that these should not exceed about 12 in. in
height on the most favoured sites to about from 6 in. to 9 in. on the
more exposed grounds. They should also be properly prepared by frequent
careful transplanting for the situations they are intended to occupy,
as it can hardly be expected that a young and immature tree can, after
being brought from a probably sheltered lowland nursery—as nine-tenths
of those in this country are—to a high piece of ground, where at
times the wind blows with terrific fury, and where one can scarcely
stand upright, have sufficient stamina to stand against such odds and
difference as must and do exist between the two points at present under
consideration.
Sometimes it is well to trench over a piece of ground on
partially-exposed land, and insert therein for a couple of years before
the proposed plantation is to be formed, the young trees intended for
planting out. This has a wonderful effect in hardening and inuring
them to severe cold and a wind-swept situation. By forming a nursery
of young trees by the sea-coast, I have known great success attend the
formation of woods and plantations in maritime situations, and like
results are sure to attend the planting out of trees in any uncongenial
and unfavourable situation.
About the trees to be planted, being such as are sufficiently hardy
to withstand prolonged storms, we will now say a few words. In the
outer line—or, rather lines—the Scotch, Austrian, and Corsican Pines
(_Pinus sylvestris_, _P. austriaca_, and _P. laricio_) are of first
value, since they are able to stand against the storms of the hillside
and produce a great amount of shelter to other less hardy kinds. It is
often only necessary to make a wind-barrier, as it were—that is, to
plant well-tried evergreen kinds, from which shelter can be obtained
next the most windy position, then to follow up with other kinds that
are second hardy in nature, and so on inwards; while, in the very
centre of the plantation, almost any kind of tree can be used.
The =Austrian Pine= has been successfully planted at high altitudes,
and in the most exposed situations, and on the Continent it has proved
itself of great value for breezy sites and maritime situations.
The State forests are composed of not a few Austrian pines, and they
are greatly valued for the shelter and warmth they afford to other less
hardy kinds of trees. The best results are to be obtained if planted
when young, for when removed at a greater age, with roots large and
rampant of growth, it is with great difficulty that they can be got to
keep upright. Unfortunately the timber is of no special value.
The =Corsican Pine= is equally as good as the latter for using where
winds are of common occurrence, proving stout and strong, rooting well,
and presenting a broad surface of hardy evergreen foliage to the blast.
It is a good timber-producer, and, being well fitted for growing in
patches close together, will yet be largely used for forest work in
this country.
About the =Scotch Pine= it is, perhaps, needless to speak, for every
one who has travelled in Scotland, particularly in the more exposed
northern parts, must have made himself acquainted with the capabilities
of this valuable native tree. It can grow and flourish almost
anywhere—on pure gravel, on the rocky mountain-slope, or by the rushing
brookside, and in all these positions it seems to feel quite happy and
contented, as the beautiful silvery glaucous foliage, the upright,
rampant growth, and the cheery cinnamon or terra-cotta bark clearly
indicate.
With these three excellent storm-resisting trees for an outer barrier
almost any kind of planting can be engaged in, for the shelter they
afford is amply sufficient to start away into rapid growth even our
only second-class hardy kinds of trees. The =Sycamore= is a good
tree for planting where the storms blow loud and long, being able to
withstand in a very commendable way the first brunt of the hillside
winds. It is also a good timber-producer, the wood at all times being
easily disposed of, and at a very remunerative price.
The =Elder= and =Mountain Ash= are other valuable small-growing trees
for planting on exposed ground, both flourishing apace even in very
high and exposed woodlands.
In the =Scotch= or =Mountain Elm= (_Ulmus montana_) we have a
first-class tree for planting as shelter, while the =Alder=, =Willows=
of various kinds, and the =Hornbeam= should all receive attention in
the formation of woodlands on exposed and storm-swept sites.
The =American Winged Elm= (_Ulmus alata_) has few equals for
withstanding long-continued storms at high altitudes, for it sends out
its cork-covered branches without fear of harm into the very teeth of
the blast. I have noticed how well suited this elm is for planting
on exposed, high-lying ground by the few examples that occur at
considerable elevations in some of the screen-belts that have been
formed on the flanks of the Snowdon range of hills, where the tree
looks quite as healthy and happy as at lower elevations in a sheltered
park.
The =Larch=, be it remembered, is a good tree for planting on exposed
ground, for, though it gets twisted about and untidy of appearance, it
has a wonderful recuperative nature, and will succeed well even when
planted on the margins of exposed woodlands. By taking advantage of
natural tree or shrub growth when forming plantations at high altitudes
much good may be brought about. A young tree planted to the leeward of
a clump of gorse, broom, juniper, or birch has a much better chance of
succeeding than another planted where it has no shelter from the worst
winds of the particular district. These wild clumps of natural shrubs
should be encouraged in every way, for they will not only give a great
amount of shelter, but help to thicken up the plantations as well. In
exposed woodlands it is a good plan to plant up the margins with such
hardy wild shrubs as the gorse, broom, thorn, juniper, blackthorn,
etc., all of which will afford a great amount of shelter to the young
plants when newly inserted, and help them to start away freely.
The =Common Beech= is a good all-round tree for planting in exposed
sites, but especially where the soil is poor, or, in other words,
composed principally of chalk or gravel. Some of the highest grounds
in several of the English counties are occupied by thriving beech
plantations, these acting as landmarks for many miles around, as
notably at Knockholt and on the Chiltern Hills.
The =Oak= and =Ash= should both find places in high-lying and exposed
woodlands, for, although they cannot be planted successfully along the
margins, yet they thrive well where a little shelter is afforded, and
where the soil is fairly deep and rich.
The =Birch= cannot be passed by in any list of trees for planting in
exposed places; it thrives well at high altitudes, and where only a
small quantity of soil overlies the rock.
The =Wild= and =Bird Cherries= (_Cerasus vulgaris_ and _C. Padus_) are
excellent ornamental trees for exposed grounds, where they grow to a
large size and flower freely. They can both subsist where but a small
depth of soil is present.
=Preparation of the Ground and Planting.=—As regards the pits for
planting, these should be well prepared—that is, the soil loosened
up and made free for the roots to run in, which will greatly help
the trees to become quickly established—a point of great importance
on exposed ground. The top turf may be chopped up and placed in the
bottom of the pit, this serving, when decomposed, as manure to the
roots, and assisting to promote vigorous growth. In planting, place the
best-rooted sides of the trees to the windward or most exposed site,
and do not cover with the soil to a greater depth than that in which
the plant stood whilst in the nursery border. On very exposed sites,
and where the soil is thin, notch planting and inserting with the
planting iron are to be recommended.
It will be well, at stated intervals, to examine young plantations
formed on high-lying and exposed ground, to see that the plants do not
get shaken about with the wind and holes formed around the stems. This
latter is highly injurious to the welfare of the plants, as the air
passing down the stem side causes the roots to get dry to an inordinate
degree.
Wind-swaying, where these holes have been formed around the stem, is
also hurtful, as the tender roots get strained and barked, and ill
fitted for maintaining a healthy condition of the young trees. The
holes formed by swaying of the stems should be filled up with fine
soil—not stones, as is sometimes the case—and a small piece of stiff,
grassy turf tramped firmly against the stem on the side opposite that
from which the worst winds may be expected.
Should rank vegetation, which, is, however, rarely met with at high
altitudes and on exposed ground, interfere with the growth of the young
trees, it would be well to have such cut over and either burned or
spread evenly over the ground.