ARBORICULTURE IN ABERDEENSHIRE. 247 



recede from the rivers and lines of transit. All these circumstances 

 tend to make wood scarcer, and the price will necessarily in- 

 crease; in fact, during the last three years the price of wood has 

 increased at least 20 per cent. Apart from the direct value of 

 timber, wood exercises a benign influence on the agriculture of a 

 district, so that to improve the agriculture, the aid of arboriculture 

 must be called into requisition in providing shelter for the crops 

 and herds. This is especially requisite in a county like Aberdeen, 

 the north and east coast of which is much exposed to the cold cut- 

 ting blasts. It is not necessary to cultivate large tracts of wood 

 in that part of the county, but without doubt there ought to be 

 a fair proportion of belts and clumps of wood, along with the more 

 general introduction of hedges. There is considerable room for im- 

 provement in respect to these points throughout the greater part of 

 East Aberdeenshire. 



Looking at the future of the county, it is probable that arboricul- 

 ture will occupy a more important position in estate management 

 than now, although the present time compares favourably with the 

 past. From the approximate classification, it will be seen that the 

 woodlands have increased considerably during the last twenty years. 

 It is also to be observed that a great part of the new wood is on 

 hilly ground, not previously occupied by trees. The prospective 

 value of the whole, taken at an average of L.45 per acre, which is a 

 low estimate, would be L. 5, 175,000, or sufficient to yield a yearly 

 revenue of upwards of L. 100,000. Besides this, it is no exaggera- 

 tion to state that the area of woodland in the county could be 

 doubled, and a great extent, which at present is covered with natural 

 birch, &c, could, by judicious management, be made to grow more 

 profitable kinds. It is therefore probable that if the woodlands of 

 Aberdeenshire were fully developed and extended, an annual 

 revenue of about L.200,000 might be realised. This sum, besides 

 increasing the income of landed proprietors, would indirectly 

 benefit the railway companies, and tend to develop the rural 

 industries. 



The want or neglect of thinning is one of the greatest dangers 

 to be apprehended in the recently-formed plantations. Many of 

 these have been planted at 3| to 4 feet apart, and some at 3 feet 

 apart, and as most of them have succeeded well, they invariably 

 are, if not previously thinned, perfect thickets at from 12 to 16 

 years old. The distance from market makes the thinnings of no 

 value at that age, and workmen's wages being high, it is often 



VOL. VII. PART III. S 



