t>26 The yoiLrnal of Fo7'esiry. 



supply from America and the Netherlands, and other causes mentioned 

 above, have restricted tlie demand in this part of the country to oak 

 bark alone. 



From the years 1825 to 1827 the average prices of the various 

 kinds of bark in use in Loudon ranged as follows: — oak bark, 

 £14 15s. per ton; sweet chestnut, £11 Us.; birch, £7 7s.; and 

 larch, £7. 



Birch bark Avill generally peel nearly a month before the oak ; 

 though, as the diflPerent layers required to be separated for the use of 

 the tanner, the operation was often deferred till June or July. When 

 larch was stripped, only the body bark was used. 



With most oak trees, the period when the bud is just bursting into 

 leaf will be found the proper time for falling, to insure easy stripping. 

 By deferring the work much beyond this time there is a perceptible 

 loss in weight and a considerable deterioration in quality. The 

 difference in weight is so great as sometimes to amount to ten per 

 cent, loss when the leaf is fully out. 



In order to secure the possibility of a good stripping season, the 

 forester i-equires to make early arrangements for marking and 

 numbering trees, and estimating the probable yield of timber. This 

 will enable him to fomi an approximate idea of the quantity of bark to 

 be harvested and the number of hands required. 



It is but seldom that more than about twenty-eight days are 

 available for the operation in any one district. In the south and east 

 of England the period ranges from the 20th of April to the same date 

 in May, or from about the 1st of May to near the end, according as 

 the season is an early or a late one. Farther north it will extend from 

 the middle of May to the end of June, or even later, according to 

 latitudes and exposure. 



Healthy trees generally break out earliest into leaf, strip easily, and 

 yield good bark : unhealthy ones come out late, and often hang in the 

 bud, peel with difficulty, sometimes requiring hammering, and produce 

 inferior bark. 



The weight of bark produced by a given number of loads, tons, or 

 cubic feet of timber, will depend very much upon situation and aspect, 

 as well as upon the age of the trees and the time of stripping. The 

 heaviest bark will generally be obtained from trees which have grown 

 in sheltered hollows having a southern aspect; and the faster the 

 growth of the tree, and the more sapwood it contains, the better the 

 bark, especially if the tree has remained in a healthy state up to the 

 time of felhng. 



A flourishing tree with a good head and well proportioned will 

 often produce from five to six cwt. of bark for every ton of measurable 

 timber it contains, especially if peeled down to branches of one inch in 



