Io6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



14. The Advantages of Shelter- Belts. 



By J. P. F. Bell, F.R.S.E. 

 Forestry and Agricultural Interests. 



The Government grant ^ of ;^25o,ooo with the view of reducing 

 unemployment in rural districts, and at the same time assisting 

 landowners to replant areas where trees were cut down during 

 the war, is one which must commend itself to all classes con- 

 nected with the land. In these days of excessive local and 

 imperial taxation many landlords are scarcely in a position 

 to undertake planting on an extensive scale, but the grant ot 

 ^3 per acre, and under certain conditions up to ^^5 per acre, 

 should act as an inducement to plant every acre possible during 

 the six months that the grant is available. By adopting the 

 enterprise, unemployment will be appreciably reduced, especially 

 amongst ex-service men, and the resultant benefits to landowners, 

 tenant farmers, and the country generally, can scarcely be 

 exaggerated. There is a world of truth in Scott's historic 

 dictum, " Aye be stickin' in a tree," and this policy, generally 

 prosecuted, would eventually attain excellent results. 



It is amazing what an amount of prejudice exists between 

 farmers on the one hand and foresters, or forestry advisers, 

 on the other ; it is often held that their interests are antagonistic, 

 but on careful investigation they are really not so when both 

 sides unite scientifically and practically to attain results that 

 are mutually satisfactory and beneficial. Old prejudices die 

 hard, but the younger and better trained men on both sides 

 will eventually win, and the sooner the better in the interests 

 of the country generally. 



The regulations under which grants will be paid are set 

 out in full in Lord Lovat's letter on p, 103. This letter shows 

 clearly that they are simple, and only designed to ensure that 

 the objects of the grant be carried out adequately. The 

 grants themselves offer considerable opportunity to those who 

 are desirous of extending the area of their woodlands, but are 

 hampered by the present high cost of the necessary operations. 

 It may be suggested that one form which planting might 

 take, to the great advantage of the agricultural community 

 as a whole, would be the planting of shelter-belts on farm lands. 

 ^ For details see p. loi. 



