1884.] EDITORS BOX. 



T do not write this in order to extricate Mr. Scott from difficult} , 

 as he can do so liimself if inclined; but he may rest assured tlint 

 north of the Tweed his opinions un forestry are regarded as high 

 authority. 



Should your correspondent cast aside his noin de plume, t may 

 again revert to this subject ; but a.s in the meantime he is only 

 known as 'Loanleah,' I feel justified in adopting the respectable 

 designation of Tamas. 



Stanedike, Forres, N.B. 



Sm, — With tlie remarks in 'Forest Work' (for October) of INlr. 

 1>. Scott — at page 67 of 'Forestry' — I quite concur concerning 

 the planning and leaving unplanted of all the main roads in all 

 extensive forest enclosures. I acquiesce in those remarks for obvious 

 leasons ; and in briefly stating these reasons, I will not undertake to 

 answer Loanleah's ' ([uery ' (his knack of economy and finance 

 appears exquisite in the habiliment of a query), but will assay to 

 manifest the foresight and discretion of Mr. Scott's remarks. In 

 my opinion, then, it is desirable to have all main roads in a plantation 

 planned and marked off prior to planting, because whilst the ground is 

 nude and implanted, the place of the roadways can be better seen and 

 traced; andthereforc, whether thegroundbe steep, rough, flat, undulating, 

 or whether the roads have to wind about among small hills, traverse 

 the sides of hills, run obliquely, run vertically, or traverse a level 

 plain — no matter which, it is much easier to plan advantageous roads 

 before planting than after ; nor, in doing so, need the best soils be 

 utilised. 



Now, allowing wood roads to Ije five yards wide ; then, for the sake 

 of argument, imagine a forest in which there are eight miles of such 

 luads ; that is, within a small fraction of fifteen acres. Let us call it 

 fourteen acres, and, as ' Loanleah ' seems to plant his trees about 

 three feet apart, it will require 4,840 trees to the acre, and 

 4,840 X 14 = 67,760 trees, to plant the eight miles of roads, which 

 I will suppose costs the small price of nine shillings per 1,000 for 

 plants and planting, or about £2 3s. per acre, or rather more than 

 £oO for the eight miles of road, all of which unessential outlay 

 ' Loanleah ' ignores. Being full of the Utopian idea of again getting 

 all of these thousands of trees when they are two or three feet high 

 to transplant at £2 per 1,000 — all other economy is obscured by the 

 radiancy of that. Such a vision is too biilliant to (|uit the stage 

 of incidents still-born. But what I would respectfully ask 

 Loanleah' is 'this : Is he going to plant these thousands of plants 



