200 PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1914 



they then soon form a thicket, in which stage natural pruning takes place, the 

 branches die off and clean timber results — a very important point to the 

 modem forester. 



It is also to be noted that the Pacific variety of the Douglas Fir is a 



much faster grower than the Colorado variety. The latter hardly appears 



to be worth growing, at any rate under the conditions found in Dean Forest. 



These plots will be of great value when older for experiments in thinning 



the various species. 



Entering the motor-cars, a short drive brought the party to Bradley 

 Hill Wood, where a light lunch was taken. When this had been disposed of, 

 and a welcome drink of water taken from a forest stream, the wood^ was 

 inspected. It consists of 59 acres of pure oak, 42 years old (Plate XV'III., 

 fig. 2). The elevation is 250 to 500 feet, and aspect south-east. The soil is 

 very stony, but is a good loam over Old Red Sandstone. The wood was 

 originally planted with oak and larch in alternate lines four feet apart. 

 The larch was cut out in thinnings made in 1887, 1891, 1897 and 1900. This 

 work is often left too late, with the result that the oaks get suppressed. In 

 Bradley Hill, however, the larch were removed at the right time, and the 

 oaks are now very fine for their age. Sample plots were measured in 1910 

 with the following results per acre. Number of oak = 248 ; average height 

 = 47 feet; average volume, 1162 cubic feet. .\ few selected trees were 

 measured in March, 1912, and were then 60 feet high and with girth up to 

 2' lo^". Six of these selected trees were again measured on 7th July, 1914. 

 and gave an average increase in height in the two and a half years of 2 feet 

 10 inches, and an increase in girth at 5 feet of i J inches. 



The total revenue to date for this wood is ^1,678, and expenditure 

 ^,071 — not a bad result for so young a wood. In the future the revenue 

 will be large and expenditure small. 



Below the oak much natural regeneration of beech has appeared, and 

 where this was absent, beech was underplanted below the oak in 1913-14. 



Climbing up the hill to Blakeney Lodge at an elevation of 550 feet, the 

 Members obtained a good view over a large portion of the Forest. Blakeney 

 Hill Wood itself is a very fine example of natural regeneration of oak, which 

 extends over some 370 acres, and is the finest e.\ample in England of naturally- 

 sown oak (Plate XVIII., fig. i). The soil is a splendid sandy loam over 

 Old Red Sandstone. The area was enclosed against sheep in 1900, the crop 

 being then pure oak 92 years old. In 1900 there was a good acorn year, and 

 about half the crop was cut. The removal of the timber wounded the soil 

 and buried the acorns, and the whole area became covered with seedling oak. 

 When well established the remaining old oaks were cut, to give more light to 

 the young crop, and there is now a really fine thicket. On 7th July, 1914, 

 the oaks on a 25 square yard patch were counted and gave 12,580 per acre, 

 and are from 14 to 18 feet high. .\s time goes on thinnings will be made, and 

 eventually beech will be introduced under the oak and there should be a fine 

 stand of timber here in 100 years' time. [C.O.H.] 



From Blakeney Hill to Blackpool Bridge the walk was much enjoyed, 

 for in this part of the Forest the natural beauties are exceptionally varied and 

 romantic. If close at hand the art of man has interfered with the primeval 

 grandeur of the Forest, in the distance masses of oak trees clothe the undulating 

 ground, and so maintain a fairly even balance between nature and scientific 

 experiment. Passing down the steep hill, the Members found themselves by 

 a stretch of paved road (Plate XX.), which Mr John Sawyer and Mr St. Clair 

 Baddeley had no hesitation in attributing to Roman artificers. The former 

 pointed out that it differs from the great Roman roads in one or two important 

 respects. Unlike such roads as the Fossway, the paving-stones rest on the 



