CHAPTER XVIII

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.