THE FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT OF GAME COVERTS
When we consider that on not a few estates in this country the value
of the plantations as game coverts is wellnigh of as much importance
as that of the timber produced, it will be readily seen that the
successful formation and management of these is a matter of no small
moment to those entrusted with the work. That game-rearing and economic
forestry can be advantageously carried on in the same woods is,
however, a contention we by no means feel inclined to uphold, and from
which, being apart from the subject matter of the chapter, we will for
the present stand aloof.
Game coverts may be divided into two kinds, natural and
artificial—natural when the woods are kept sufficiently thin to admit
of the free growth of bramble, bracken or other native vegetation;
and artificial when the planting of such shrubs as are suitable for
underwood is resorted to.
Natural game coverts, which, by most sportsmen, are considered superior
to those artificially formed, can only exist where the plantations
are kept well and regularly thinned, so as to admit abundance of both
light and air—the two principal requisites for the successful growth of
natural underwood. Generally speaking, the formation of natural coverts
has seldom to be helped, although occasionally it is found necessary
to assist Nature by the sowing of such seeds as those of gorse, broom,
etc., in the thinner and more open portions of the woodlands. This may,
however, be considered an exception to the rule, as where the woods
are kept sufficiently thin, spontaneous undergrowth is usually pretty
abundant, and requires neither care nor management, beyond preventing
its too free incursions along the margins of roads and shooting drives.
Where, however, bare patches do occur, the sowing of seed may be relied
upon as not only a speedy but most effectual method of increasing
the cover. Where seeds are intended to be sown, the soil should be
dug over, and all hard clods or lumps broken down, and the whole
made smooth and fine with a rake. The seeds may be sown in spring,
and afterwards covered over with hardwood branches as a preservative
against the depredations of small birds and game.
The best natural game coverts are those composed of bramble, gorse,
heath, hazel, holly, blackthorn, elder, blackberry, bracken or the
stronger growing grasses, these being arranged according to merit, and
each possessing some peculiar feature, specially recommending it for
planting in certain soils, altitudes or situations.
In the formation of artificial game coverts, when not only shelter and
protection for game are required, but ornamental effect as well, the
judicious grouping of the different shrubs should never be lost sight
of, more especially when the coverts are within the park or policy
grounds, and visible from drives and roads. Formality and stiffness are
so often the characteristics of the present style of shrub planting,
that in many cases our woodlands seem utterly destitute of that variety
of outline and contrast of light and shade so essential to picturesque
beauty. In planting evergreen shrubs for the two-fold purpose of covert
and ornament, the best method is to plant each variety in separate
groups or clumps. No hard and fast lines can be laid down as to the
distribution or number of plants to be used in the clumps, which, to a
great extent, must depend on the size and shape of the ground as well
as taste of the operator. The clumps should, however, be placed at
irregular distances apart, be irregular in size and outline, and with
from forty or fifty to one hundred plants in each—bearing in mind that
game of all kinds delight in small patches of shrubs with abundance of
open space around each, but detest in a most marked manner continuous
masses or jungles of underwood.
In selecting sites for the various groups, be careful to choose the
most open positions, avoiding as much as possible planting immediately
under the spread of trees; and, if practicable, so arrange that in
viewing the wood from any point, the eye may not pass along a straight
bare unplanted space, but become arrested by the various clumps in
passing to the farther side.
Having arranged the positions of the various clumps, the pits should
be opened of a size, and at a distance apart suitable for the plants
intended to be used, taking care that they are sufficiently large to
avoid cramping or bending of the roots, which in all cases should be
spread out to their full extent. In making the pits, it is well to
thoroughly loosen the soil in the bottom and sides with a pick, so as
to give the tender rootlets a free course when starting into growth
in spring. Should the soil be found of inferior quality, a few loads
of leaf-mould, road-scrapings or loam from an adjoining field will be
found to work wonders in the way of giving the plants a start, and also
in producing a strong, healthy growth. Drainage should also have been
attended to previous to opening the pits, and all stagnant water or
superfluous moisture removed by the formation of open ditches.
In giving a list of the best evergreen shrubs for covert purposes, I
would call attention particularly to the merits of laurel, box, privet,
laurustinus, rhododendron, holly and yew, as these have been very
extensively used for underwood, and with the best possible results.
As to which of the above shrubs should receive pre-eminence as an
ornamental covert plant I cannot decide, each having some peculiar
merit rendering it valuable in its own particular place. We will for
the present, however, consider all alike in this respect, and briefly
describe the value of each separately, beginning with the laurel.
The =Common= and =Colchic= laurels are amongst our best shrubs for
underwood, and should be planted extensively; they are of free growth,
bear cutting and pruning well, and thrive under the shade and drip of
other trees. For covert planting the Colchic is perhaps preferable
to the normal form, as it is of a more dense and procumbent habit,
perfectly hardy, and less liable to injury from hares and rabbits.
The common laurel requires frequent and heavy pruning to keep it in
bounds, as, if allowed to ramble at will, it soon becomes bare near
the ground, and useless either as game covert or ornament. Some years
ago we layered a great number of this plant that had through neglect
become useless for the purpose intended, many being from 12 ft. to
over 20 ft. in height, with simply a tuft of foliage near the top. In
layering, the stems were sawn half through near the ground, to assist
in bending, and laid flat on their sides, a couple of stout pegs being
driven alongside, the crooked heads of which served to keep the plants
in their procumbent position. A spadeful of soil was then placed on
the top of each peg to assist the layer in rooting. The result at the
present time is everything that could be desired, each stem having
thrown up quantities of young shoots, and thus formed a jungle of
underwood, which year by year will increase in value.
In planting the laurel for covert avoid overcrowding, as, being of
quick growth, the plants, even although placed at a considerable
distance apart, soon unite and form a continuous undergrowth. No rule
can be laid down as to the distance which should be allowed between
individual plants, this depending entirely on their size, as well
as on the quality of the soil in which they are to be planted. We
not unfrequently plant double thick, either for immediate effect, or
to produce covert at once, and when the plants begin to encroach on
each other every alternate one is removed, thus giving the remaining
plants ample room for developing side branches and thereby inducing a
dwarf-spreading habit. Having a tendency, especially when confined,
to increase more in height than width, the laurel, after a few years’
growth, should have all the leading and straggling upper branches
cut over, by which not only will the under shoots be increased but
the plants will be prevented from running up into tall, branchless
specimens.
The =Green Tree Box= (_Buxus sempervirens_) forms a very pretty as
well as desirable covert plant, and thrives well beneath the shade of
deciduous trees. It is also of slow, dense growth, and well adapted for
planting in various soils and situations, although preferring a light
loam and a shady position. Another recommendation is its immunity from
the attacks of game, hares and rabbits having such an aversion to this
plant that even during the most severe weather I cannot remember having
seen it badly injured. Few plants suffer more from overcrowding than
the box, and for this reason it should be planted at wide distances
apart, the plants soon getting top-heavy and falling over of their own
accord. Where the plants are not of large size, and immediate effect
or covert is required, they may be planted pretty close, and in a few
years, when encroaching on each other, every alternate one may be
removed. It is well adapted for transplanting, the almost solid mass of
matted roots holding the ball of earth firmly together, thus rendering
the plant one of our easiest as well as safest to remove.
The box would seem at one time to have been more abundant in our own
land than it now is; thus, Boxley in Kent, Boxwell in Gloucestershire,
and Boxhill in Surrey, were named from the quantity of this plant which
was formerly found in their neighbourhoods.
=Privet=, as a covert plant, has its advantages and disadvantages.
On the one hand it is cheap, easily grown, and not at all fastidious
about soil. When planted amongst trees, however, it generally assumes
a loose, straggling habit, and as the shade increases it usually dies
out altogether. Where the plantations are well thinned and regularly
kept so, privet, if a little care and trouble be expended on its
cultivation, will succeed and form capital underwood. In planting
privet the greatest care is necessary to prevent its being overdone.
Close planting is always productive of the most unsatisfactory results,
not only as regards the health of the plants, but management of the
woods as well. Instead of filling up the whole ground, as is not
unfrequently done, plant in small clumps, and these at wide distances
apart, as this will not only allow the privet to grow more healthy
and compact but also admit of space for pruning and layering—two
necessaries for the successful cultivation of privet as underwood.
The layering of privet, which is a simple and inexpensive though
effectual method of increase, is performed as follows:—Cut off all the
branches, except those intended for layering, which are then laid flat
on the ground equidistant around the main stem or root and kept fast
by hooked pegs driven firmly down. A spadeful or two of soil should
then be placed on the top of each peg, which will partly exclude air
and hasten the formation of roots. The pegs may be made of any refuse
branches—hard wood, such as ash or oak, being preferable—about 10 ins.
in length, one end being hooked for holding the branches in position,
and the other sharply pointed for ease in driving. As several forms of
privet have crept into circulation of late, it is well to be sure that
none but the true evergreen are used in the formation of game coverts.
The oval-leaved privet, though a most desirable evergreen plant and
well suited for ornamental hedges, is from its too luxuriant growth and
upright form hardly to be commended for underwood; at least, its merits
in this respect are inferior to those of the common form.
=Aucuba Japonica= and the =Laurustinus= are two of our handsomest
evergreen shrubs, but, unlike those already described, they will not
succeed in the densest shade. In open places or along woodland drives
they thrive well, and are excellent for variety and contrast. The
laurustinus cannot, however, be considered as perfectly hardy in this
country, for even in maritime situations where the air is to some
extent ameliorated, it suffers severely from frost, and during severe
winters it is even killed completely to the ground. It, however,
springs very freely from the root, and in a few years quite regains its
original size and luxuriance. From their bushy, well-furnished habit
of growth both the above plants are excellent as game covert, more
especially around the outskirts of woods and plantations. They should
be allowed plenty of room for development of both root and branch,
though they may, when necessary, be pruned with the greatest advantage.
=Mahonia aquifolia=, =Berberis Darwinii= and =B. Stenophylla= are
frequently recommended as covert plants and for using in similar
situations to those favoured by the laurel and box. Along the margins
of plantations or in very open places they may and do succeed, but from
practical experience of these plants we find them next to useless as
underwood in shady positions. Where many thousands of covert plants
are used annually, we have entirely discarded them from use except in
the most open situations. These plants are highly ornamental, both in
foliage and flower; produce berries which are much sought after by
game, are quite hardy, and not at all fastidious about soil—qualities
which specially recommend them for extensive use in positions at all
suited for their growth.
The barberry, more especially when planted out in rich soil, and
when at all confined, is apt to lose the compact, branchy nature so
recognizable a feature of the plant when allowed ample room in the
nursery border, and to assume a more upright habit of growth, which is
anything but desirable in underwood generally. To check this and keep
the plant in bounds, frequent light prunings will have to be resorted
to, and this had best be effected during dull, damp weather, as the
barberry is not a good subject for the pruning shears. Neither the
barberry nor mahonia are adapted for planting in very high or exposed
situations—at least where such has been tried the results have been
anything but satisfactory, the plants soon presenting a miserable,
half-starved appearance.
Both plants are readily propagated—the mahonia, when planted in
loose soil and an open situation, soon covering a considerable space
of ground, the running roots being especially active under such
circumstances.
=Rhododendron ponticum=, although useful in an ornamental point of
view, cannot be considered a first-class plant for game shelter. It
has, however, several good qualities which recommend it for underwood,
such as ease of culture, dwarf-spreading habit, and immunity from the
attacks of game—indeed, in this latter respect, it is not equalled
by any other plant, if we except one or two species of Daphne. It is
seldom resorted to by pheasants, the bottom being not only damp, but
such a tangled mass of branches that it forms anything but pleasant
quarters for game. For ornamental effect along the outskirts of
plantations, the rhododendron is invaluable, and is by no means so
fastidious about soil as is generally supposed, peat being not at all
essential to its growth and successful cultivation. Few plants can be
made to increase in like proportion with the rhododendron, and for
this reason it should be planted in small patches; and when it is
desirable to increase the cover, the outer branches may be pegged down
or layered. This plant also bears pruning with impunity, so that old
plants that have, through neglect, become lank and straggling, may
without fear or risk be layered or pruned in with advantage.
The =Common Yew= and =Holly= cannot be too extensively used in the
formation of game coverts, both being unrivalled for beauty and
hardiness. They thrive in a great variety of soils, and beneath the
densest shade of our woodland trees. In planting the yew it is well,
however, to bear in mind that its branches are highly deleterious to
farm stock that may browse upon them, and for this reason it should
never be planted along the outskirts of a wood, or in any position to
which such have access.
The =St. John’s Wort=, as a low-spreading shrub, is unsurpassed, and
thrives best in a light sandy or peaty soil. It is readily propagated
by division of the roots; and when planted out in small patches a foot
or two apart, the creeping stems soon cover a considerable surface of
ground, and form a dense evergreen mass, covered in summer with bright
golden flowers.
=Gaultheria Shallon=, another plant of creeping habit, is,
notwithstanding its many good qualities, seldom planted to any extent
in our woodlands; but this may, to some extent at least, be accounted
for by the high price of the plants, and the small size of those
purchaseable from our nurserymen. Like most other North American
plants, the Gaultheria prefers a rather damp, peaty soil, and is one of
the few shrubs found to thrive in pine plantations. The berries, which
are borne in great abundance, are greedily devoured by pheasants, and
in their native country are not unfrequently used as food.
The =Butcher’s Broom= is a fine glaucous green shrub densely covered
with sharp, prickly, leaves and invaluable for planting in shady
places—indeed, in such positions it seems to be quite at home. There
it flowers and fruits freely beneath half-standard rhododendrons where
few other plants could exist, far less succeed. The twigs of this shrub
were formerly used by butchers for sweeping their blocks; hence the
English name.
Some of the above plants, notably the =St. John’s Wort= and
=Gaultheria=, may be considered as carpet plants, which, in
contradistinction to general underwood, may be classed as evergreens,
which, from their low, procumbent mode of growth, are scarcely in the
true sense of the word suited for game coverts. To clearly define
the difference would, however, be no easy matter, and, even were it
possible to do so, would in the end be productive of but little good,
as the habits of different plants vary so much that what is used in
one place for carpeting purposes might in another and more favourable
situation be equally valuable for game covert. A good example of
this will be found in the St. John’s Wort, which, when planted out
and allowed to ramble at will amongst bramble, privet, etc., forms a
capital covert; whereas, when used in open, airy situations—such as
alongside shrubbery walks—it soon forms a dense evergreen carpet, of so
compact a growth as to be almost impenetrable even to ground game.
In addition to the above-named plants, the following are well adapted
for giving shelter to game:—Dogwood, Hazel, Elder, Arbutus, Cotoneaster
of sorts, Juniper of sorts, _Pernettya mucronata_, _Rubus nutkanus_,
_Taxus adpressa_, _Photinia serrulata_, _Kalmia latifolia_, _Garrya
elliptica_, etc. These should be planted out in small groups—the more
valuable kinds in the most conspicuous position, such as alongside or
within view of woodland drives and shooting-roads.
=Protection from Rabbits=, etc.—It may seem somewhat absurd to speak
of planting coverts, and then to protect them from the depredations
of game; but that this is highly necessary for the first two years,
at least, is well known to all planters. Few of the shrubs treated
of in this paper are exempt from the attacks of hares and rabbits,
more especially when in a young state and newly transferred from the
nursery; and for this reason it is always found necessary to protect
them in some way or other until fairly started into growth and beyond
the reach of game. For this purpose wire netting is the cheapest
and most effectual preservative with which I am acquainted. The
netting should be about 4 ft. in height, not more than 1½ in. mesh,
and inserted in the ground 4 in., to prevent rabbits from working
underneath. It may be fixed to posts driven firmly into the ground at
a distance of 5 ft. apart along the line of fence. This precaution
against the depredations of game may not be necessary for all the
clumps, but it is especially so for those of laurustinus, barberry, and
laurel.
For the first two or three years after planting, the shrubs should be
kept free of grass and weeds, as this will encourage the plants to
start into growth more quickly and thrive much better than they can do
if the ground is impoverished and light and air excluded by weeds.