264 REPORT ON THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATIONS. 



60 trees marked by forester, including some use- 

 less ones, . . . =£006 



„ cut by two men in one day, @ 2s. 4d. 



per day, . . . =048 



„ man and horse, carting distance 1 mile, 



1 clay . . . . =070 



„ clearing out branches and assisting to 



load cart, . . . 2 4 



Sawing 40 roods of paling out of the 60 trees, 



at 3id. per rood (3 rails), . = 10 10 



£15 4 



40 roods paling, sold at saw-mill at Is. per rood, = £2 



The proprietor has, therefore, 14s. 8d. for the wood, which 

 produces 40s. worth of sawn paling. 720 lineal feet of rough 

 wood are required to produce the above quantity, which, at one 

 farthing per foot, amounts to 15s. It will be observed that the 

 trees were only size enough for paling rails to an average length 

 of about 12 feet, thus requiring 60 trees to make 40 roods of 

 paling. 



A small quantity of the thinnings were converted into pit- 

 props, for which the proprietor derived still smaller returns, after 

 carting to railway a distance of 5 miles, thence carriage on railway 

 about 50 miles, there remained to the proprietor only about one- 

 eighth of a-penny. 



Squirrels commenced their ravages upon the Scots pine when 

 about fifteen years planted, by stripping off the bark in order to 

 reach the saccharine matter, of which they are very fond. About 

 twelve years ago one-half of the number of trees upon the ground 

 were less or more injured by them, a great part of which were 

 entirely destroyed ; since that time a considerable number of the 

 damaged trees have been thinned out, and at present only about 

 20 per cent, of the whole standing crop is injured. 



In 1859 arrangements were made for their suppression, if not 

 extirpation, prior to which date nothing of any importance was 

 done to prevent their destroying the trees. The arrangements 

 and operations were simple, but truly effective. The keepers in 

 each district of the estate were to kill them and preserve the tails 

 till stated periods of six months, when, on bringing them to the 

 district forester, received 3s. per doz. This was the premium fixed 

 for the first year: 6d. per tail was named for the second; Is. for 

 the third; and so on to 5s. per tail. The same plan has been 

 adopted upon other estates, and Works well. If the same system 

 were practised generally over all Scotland, squirrels would soon 

 be all but extirpated. 



In addition to the injurious effects of the squirrels, other im- 



