. Forestry. bear agricultural crops for a few (two to four) may then be sown or lines of forest trees planted, andbetween these lines the ground may still be utilised for a yearor two for the growth of crops. This cheapens the forma-tion of the wood, and furthers its growth by the thoroughcultivation of the soil. On the other hand, the agriculturalcrop extracts much of the soils nourishing matter, so that bytaking several crops from poor land the trees suffer. Surface loosening of the soil is effected by the use of thegrubber or cultivator, horse-hoe, harrow, hand-hoe, and rake. The s
. Forestry. bear agricultural crops for a few (two to four) may then be sown or lines of forest trees planted, andbetween these lines the ground may still be utilised for a yearor two for the growth of crops. This cheapens the forma-tion of the wood, and furthers its growth by the thoroughcultivation of the soil. On the other hand, the agriculturalcrop extracts much of the soils nourishing matter, so that bytaking several crops from poor land the trees suffer. Surface loosening of the soil is effected by the use of thegrubber or cultivator, horse-hoe, harrow, hand-hoe, and rake. The system most in vogue in well-conducted forestry is 36 FORESTRY the thorough preparation of patches or strips of limited level ground strips are formed parallel to the longest sideof the area. On slopes, whether made with the plough orby hand labour, they should run horizontally, following thecontour of the hill. A type of strong forest plough is shownin Fig. 2. With hand labour the strips may be hoed,. FIG. 2. FOREST PLOUGH(Only one wing (/) is shown in the figure) dug, or trenched. The depth to which the soil is stirredmay be only a few inches as with the hoe, nine or teninches in digging, and in trenching considerably morethan a foot. The width of the strips varies from a fewinches up to about three feet, according as the plants arethreatened by weed growth from the unprepared between the strips is regulated by the widthof the strips, and also with regard to the nature of the soilssurface cover, the selected species rate of growth, and thedensity of the crop. Strips of a foot broad may be fromthree to four feet apart. Culti\ ation of the soil in patches occurs either in the formof squares of from one to five feet on the side, or as in-terrupted rectangular strips. It is useful chiefly in situationswhere the presence of large stones and roots makes long SYLVICULTURE 37 connected strips difficult or impossible. By its means aspecies may be brought int
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectforestsandforestry
