NOTES ON FOREST WORK. 451 



XXXV. Notes on Forest Work. By George U. Macdonald, 

 Forester, Raith. 



In these days, when the annual labour-bill on a landed pro- 

 perty amounts of necessity to a large sum, and when the price of 

 wood and other products is relatively small, it behoves us, who 

 are to a large extent responsible for the control and the distribu- 

 tion of work on an estate, and particularly on its wooded ai-eas, 

 to be constantly alive to the great importance of adopting the 

 most economical methods of work. 



If woods are to pay, the maximum of work in connection with 

 their upkeep must be accomplished at the minimum of cost ; and 

 on this assumption I venture to make the following remarks, in 

 the hope that other foresters, whose knowledge of such matters 

 is greater than my own, may, through the pages of the Transac- 

 tions, or otherwise, give us the benefit of their experience, and 

 offer a few hints as to what, in their opinion, would tend to lessen 

 the ever-increasing expenditure on the upkeep of woods and other 

 contingent works. 



Fencing. 



A very important and by no means the least costly item in 

 the forester's annual estimate of expenditure, is the erection 

 and maintenance of fences and gates. These may be required 

 either for the protection of woods and plantations or for 

 agricultural purposes. In either case, the point to be aimed 

 at is to afford sufficient protection at the least possible 

 expense. 



It is evident, I think, that on many estates the important 

 question of fencing has not always received the attention it 

 deserves. In erecting a fence, too many foresters cling to the old 

 and apparently stereotyped fashion of placing stobs at 6 feet 

 intervals, regardless of the nature of the danger against which pro- 

 tection is required. This, in many instances, leads to unnecessary 

 expense. Where, for instance, a plantation or field has to be 

 protected against the im^oads of cattle and horses, and where the 

 line of fence is more or less straight, a sufficiently efficient 

 protection would be provided by placing stobs, or standards, 

 18 feet apart, and by attaching thereto three plain and two 



VOL. XVI. PART III. 2 H 



