RELATION OF FORESTRY TO AGRICULTURE, ETC. I 35 



the small holder. For example, many of the crofters having 

 perhaps two yoke of cows or oxen set up as small contractors, 

 and find constant employment either in dragging timber in 

 the forest or in transporting it to the nearest railway or water- 

 way. The rearing of draught animals, principally cows and 

 oxen, forms an important part of the business of the small 

 holder in such regions. 



" In addition, the forest industries of those districts, e.g. saw- 

 milling, furniture-making, paper-pulp manufacturing, etc., absorb 

 the labour not required for the forest and croft-land. Thus, 

 that section of the community which in Scotland has either 

 to emigrate or come into the large centres, is kept on the land. 

 As a rule this section consists of the younger and more energetic 

 members, who with riper experience invariably take up small 

 plots of land, or return to the land altogether." 



Mr H. M. Cadell of Grange, Bo'ness, said: — "There is 

 one other aspect of the question which you might excuse 

 me for calling attention to. It is not quite forestry, but 

 it has got to do with forestry and agriculture, and there are 

 a number of people here connected with the land. I have 

 been looking into the question of the utilisation of peat 

 mosses. There are a number of very good sites covered up 

 with peat. A noble lord, who knew all about that in 1766, 

 reclaimed 1800 acres of the Forth. I have written a book on 

 the subject which will be published next week, and I have 

 put forward a suggestion in that book. After making con- 

 siderable inquiries into the subject, I find that one ton of 

 peat contains 5s. worth of sulphate of ammonia. I had a 

 sample examined by Messrs James Ross & Son, Philipstoun, 

 and it was found that it contained 80 per cent, of water, but 

 once the water is extracted the peat is three times as valuable 

 as oil shale. It contains sulphate of ammonia, paraffin, coke, 

 petrol, and in fact everything that ministers to human existence. 

 Now there are a great many peat mosses in the country which 

 might be cleared off", including the mosses of the Forth, and 

 these mosses once cleared would produce splendid soil for 

 forestry. There are about 2000 acres of mosses in the Forth, 

 and these are far too good for forestry. But there are 10, 15, 

 or 20 feet of moss which can be cleared off', and you could 

 get that ground for is. an acre, making a profit in the clearing, 

 and then you get the estate for planting trees for nothing. 



