OF ARBORICULTURE IN YORKSHIRE. 



143 



The Class of Labourers employed in Plantations. — Assistant 

 foresters as a class are unknown in the county. The working 

 woodmen as mere labourers will compare favourably with those in 

 other parts of tbe country, but they are deficient in knowledge as 

 arboriculturists. Their highest ambition is to be good axemen, and 

 this undoubtedly many of them are. The work is looked upon too 

 much from a money point of view; consequently, there is a want of 

 interest in the work itself. The evil has grown up under a loose 

 system of management, and the remedy must be a work of time. 

 In Scotland young men enter the profession with a view to push 

 themselves forward to fill head foresters' situations ; so that, with- 

 out looking so much to present wages, they have a stimulus to 

 improvement which would otherwise be wanting. In present 

 circumstances, to obtain such a class of workmen in Yorkshire is 

 impossible, as young men prefer going into public works, where 

 wages are higher. This, no doubt, is partly owing to the low esti- 

 mation in which our profession is held in the county, caused by 

 ignorance of its principles. "We have here intelligent young men 

 being trained as gardeners, and it is from that class — as in Scotland 

 — we should be able to obtain our assistant foresters, who would 

 then, instead of looking solely to the amount of money they could 

 earn, look forward to advancing their social position, and be an 

 example for others to follow in the same steps. 



Ornamental Arboriculture. — That there has been, and still is, a 

 considerable taste for planting ornamental trees and shrubs is proved 

 by the extensive and varied collections in the county. It would 

 prove interesting to report on the deciduous and evergreen trees and 

 shrubs on different estates — their variety, height, age, nature of soil, 

 &c. ; but a complete list would much exceed the limits of this paper. 



