FORESTRY IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SCOTLAND. 1 67 



sporting value, and they are being planted now. These planta- 

 tions, even in their infancy, give more employment than the 

 whole of the rest of the estate. I am convinced that in many 

 deer forests — I was almost going to say in most deer forests — 

 there are areas which, if planted, and once yielding a regular 

 supply of timber, would bring in an income larger and steadier 

 than that which the whole subject brings at present. The same 

 is true of many a large sheep farm. If anyone wants a bird's- 

 eye view of the sort of ground available for this purpose, he 

 has only to travel from Helensburgh to Fort William by the 

 West Highland Railway. He will pass through nearly loo 

 miles of afforestable country, the only exception being the great 

 area of peat called the Moor of Rannoch, which lies between 

 Goreton and Loch Treig. 



There may be a few deer forests which consist mainly of 

 plantable ground, but as a rule the greater part is too high and 

 exposed and poor for any purpose except summer grazing. 

 And so with many sheep farms. The height to which planting 

 can be profitably carried cannot be decided by any formula, 

 since shelter and soil are the determining features, rather than 

 mere elevation. It is certain, however, that there is little 

 plantable ground above 1500 feet, and that the bulk of the 

 best ground lies below 1000 feet. The value of the unplantable 

 high pastures depends entirely upon the adjacent ground 

 available for wintering. Now this is just the ground we want 

 to plant. The problem is how to plant it without rendering the 

 rest useless and without hopelessly upsetting the local budget, 

 which often depends mainly on the rates levied on sporting 

 rents. You will find, if you read the report to which I referred, 

 that two circumstances come to the rescue. The first is the 

 necessity of forming your plantations gradually, so that the 

 timber crops may ripen in succession and eventually give a 

 regular yield every year. If, for example, you intend to cut 

 the woods when they are 80 years old, you need not in the 

 first 20 years plant more than one quarter of the whole area 

 to be afforested. The second is the fact that a small area of 

 wooded ground is more valuable for wintering than a much 

 larger area of bare ground. Another lucky thing which 

 may be mentioned is that southern exposures are the best 

 for wintering sheep or deer, while northern exposures are 

 the best for growing trees. These fortunate circumstances 



