NOTES AND QUERIES. 69 



likely that both the witnesses included a much larger area that 

 is at present used for sheep-grazing, but which would not be 

 suitable for raising corn crops. However, that is not the point, 

 but the very large difference in the estimates of the area that 

 might be devoted to forestry is one of the strongest arguments 

 that has been produced for undertaking a survey of the land in 

 question, for the large discrepancy points to the guess-work nature 

 of the evidence. The petition for a general survey put forward 

 by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, which was 

 actually carried out by Lord Lovat and Captain Stirling in 

 Glenmore, is the sort of survey that is required before any one 

 can say what land is available for forestry in the country. 

 Such a survey would be useful from many points of view, but 

 in order to be of the greatest use, it would have to be carried 

 out by men who had a knowledge of both forestry and sheep- 

 farming, and who were not biassed in favour of one or the other, 

 for it is obviously necessary to maintain or increase the number 

 of sheep in the country as well as to increase the amount of 

 home-grown timber. The sooner such a survey is undertaken 

 the better for the prospects of systematic forestry in these islands. 

 If a man is going to undertake any commercial business, he 

 must first find out what materials he has to deal with, and count 

 the cost, then lay out his plans and pursue them systematically. 

 The same sequence applies to forestry ; first make the survey 

 and count the cost of the proposed undertaking, then make the 

 forestry plan, and having made it, carry it out on a continuous 

 system ; in no other way can it succeed as a commercial scheme. 

 One of the chief defects in forestry as carried out in this country 

 is that it has been spasmodic, and the want of system has caused 

 many people to think and say that forestry cannot pay ; neither 

 would gold-mining if it were carried out with the same want of 

 method. But if and when a well-considered scheme is carried 

 out, there is no doubt that a fair return will accrue to who ever 

 carries it out. 



This survey will, however, take time, and the question remains. 

 What can an owner of woodlands do in the meantime to increase 

 the supply of home-grown timber? I suggest that at present, 

 when there is a great demand for all sorts of timber, owners 

 should cut and sell those parts of their existing woods that have 

 been overthinned in the past and no longer carry a full crop, for 

 boards or sleepers or whatever they are fit for, and also cut 



