36 NATURAL REPRODUCTION OF FORESTS. 
IV. Natural Reproduction of Forests. By Joun M‘Lean, 
Forester, Edinburgh. 
Natural Regeneration may be best defined as a branch of the 
science of Arboriculture, or rather let me term it Sylviculture, 
having for its object the reproduction of timber forests from seed, 
a subject which, I believe, has not received any great or special 
attention in the past history of British Forestry, at least so far as 
I am able to judge from my observations of woods in different 
parts of Scotland. From this, however, no one must jump to the 
conclusion that it isan operation quite unknown amongst us in the 
routine of practical forestry. In Scotland, at least, there are not 
a few extensive estates spread over portions of different counties, 
where natural reproduction is known and systematically practised 
with perfect success, especially among Scots fir woods in the 
northern counties, where local circumstances are found most 
favourable to carrying out such a system. When necessary, it is 
assisted, of course, by artificial means, with the most successful 
results. The future programme of forest economy must at all 
times be based on science and art, with a view to establish and 
facilitate a systematic code of rules by which the forester may be 
enabled to perform certain duties and operations with dexterity 
and skill. This will tend to produce the best results of practical 
forestry in its phases of profit, pleasure, and ornament, always 
leading on to having the right tree planted and growing in the 
right place. In order to carry this out to a profitable end, I will 
state the few points which must first be attended to. 
All areas under woodlands should be clearly mapped out, so as 
to show distinctly the boundaries and divisions of the various 
blocks ; connected with this map there should be a forest book con- 
taining details of the names of the woods and the numbers of the 
blocks; their age; length of period of rotation; description of 
soils and subsoils, and their suitability to grow and mature 
certain species of trees under local conditions ; also noting the 
annual rate of growth of certain species, and all experiments 
carried out each season. This would form a basis upon which all 
operations might be grounded, and it could be deviated from 
when circumstances rendered it necessary to do so. The loss to 
the owners of private woods is much greater than is generally 
imagined, owing to the common want of a systematic basis in 
