FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE CULTIVATION OF TIMBER. 503 



equally bad one. A considerable extent of land was planted with 

 larch, Scots fir, and spruce. The species had been badly 

 selected for the soil and situation, and game had done its work 

 early, the result being that at the age of thirty-eight the sale- 

 value of the timber on the land amounted to less than the original 

 cost of planting. 



On an estate in the north of Scotland, a piece of land 36 acres 

 in extent, worth 10s. per acre as pasture, was planted with 

 larch, with some spruce and Scots fir. Four thousand trees 

 per acre were planted. The trenching, fencing, and planting cost 

 £11 per acre. Thinnings took place at 14, 20, 28, 35, and 45 

 years, and the final cutting at 60 years of age. The total cost 

 per acre was £44, 15s. Of the 4000 trees planted, only 2580 

 were accounted for, 1400 odd trees per acre were lost through 

 bad management or other causes. The money received for the 

 2580 trees was £189, lis. 8d., and the owner is satisfied that he 

 made a profit of £144, 16s. 8d. per acre. I think this is hardly 

 correct, because no allowance is made for the loss of sixty years' 

 rents at 10s. per acre, nor is there any allowance for interest on 

 the admitted capital expenditure of £44, 15s. As the third, 

 fourth, and fifth thinnings more than paid expenses, we may take 

 one-half of the capital expenditure (say £22, 10s.) at 4 per cent, 

 for thirty years, which is £27, and sixty years' rents and taxes, 

 which amount to £33. We have thus a charge of £104, 15s., 

 which leaves an apparent credit balance of £74, 16s. 8d., and not 

 £144, 16s. 8d. as claimed by the owner. It is said that had this 

 plantation been properly managed, the profits would have been 

 much greater than they actually were. 



The writer has, to the best of his ability, analysed the figures 

 sent him; and although on the whole the returns show fairly 

 good results, it is to be regretted that the accounting, even 

 amongst the best, has been defective. Some returns were not of 

 sufficient interest to be noticed. The fact that in this country 

 nearly half the area under woods is kept more for game preserves, 

 shelter, or other amenities than for the profitable growth of 

 timber, must not be lost sight of. The writer, however, sees no 

 reason why better results could not be obtained without sacrific- 

 ing these amenities, which are not incompatible with profitable 

 management. One cannot help thinking that there is a great 

 field for enterprise in connection with the raising of crops of 

 timber on a large scale; but the initiative must be taken by some 

 influential individual or public body. 



