NOTES ON FOREST WORK, 457 



method better than to the other. While I do not advocate that 

 all kinds of forest work should be done by contract, I am con- 

 vinced that this system should be more generally applied on some 

 estates than it is at present. Draining, fencing, road-making, 

 hedge-switching, and the felling of timber, particularly if it is 

 cut clean, are all good subjects for execution by piece-work. 

 Where a number of young men are kept on an estate, I believe 

 that giving them the chance of doing certain classes of work by 

 contract encourages them to acquire active habits, and helps to 

 ti*ain their judgment in various kinds of work. 



The above are a few hints out of many which might be given, 

 showing where, in my opinion, a greater or less saving in money 

 could be annually effected in forest work. Such savings would 

 tend in some small measure to solve the all-important question of 

 how to make woods pay. 



