(i) THE DEAN FOREST SCHOOL OF FORESTRY 63 



THE DEAN FOREST SCHOOL OF FORESTRY 



BY 



W. THOMPSON 



A week, to the day, after hearing Mr Hanson deHver his 

 interesting lecture in Gloucester, I, with two other Members 

 of the Club, visited the School at Parkend, with a view to ob- 

 .taining further information about the practical work, and at 

 the same time inspecting at first hand some of the fruits. 



The day we chose for our trip to the Forest was infinitely 

 superior to many summer days. All the rich colouring so pre- 

 valent a month previous had vanished. The oaks and beeches 

 had divested themselves of their leafy mantle. That had gone 

 to increase the stock of humus — that top-dressing so beneficial 

 to vegetation, and so helpful to acorns, beech mast and chest- 

 nuts when self-sown. To study the outline of a tree, it must 

 be seen in a state of nudity. Then it is possible to gauge its 

 true proportions, and admire its symmetry of form. Ever and 

 anon the sunshine piercing through the clouds shot down 

 .streamers and lighted up the magnificent woods and open 

 clearings, such time as we cHmbed the hill from Parkend to 

 take our bearings for Soudley. But, before doing that, Mr 

 Hanson took us to his Forest Nursery, and showed us what 

 the students have accomplished in the way of raising from 

 seed young larches, Douglas firs, Corsican pines, beeches, chest- 

 nuts, oaks, spruces, &c. Beech mast has been very abundant 

 this year (1912-), and we were shewn a large stock of the brown 

 keeled nuts which, in due course, will be planted. A square 

 yard of seedHng larches will yield a thousand plants, of which, 

 at least eight hundred will be good enough for transplanting. 

 The seed is sown in trenches about a foot wide, the covering 

 of soil being thin. There are some fine oaks on the gently 

 sloping ground situated between Mr Hanson's office and the 

 Nursery. These are to be felled soon, and it is proposed to 

 make an arboretum by way of adjunct to the Nursery. 



