ECONOMIC PLANTING 233 



one of the largest trees, I counted around me no 

 less than nine others whose average stem girth 

 was 5 feet 4 inches and the height 65 feet. 



Regarding the rate of growth and cubic con- 

 tents of timber of the Corsican, Austrian, Wey- 

 mouth and Scotch Pines, and the Larch, the 

 following w^ill be interesting. 



Twenty-five years ago, at the instigation of 

 the then Earl of Derby, the writer formed several 

 plantations on the Holwood Estate in Kent. At 

 the outset, it may be well to state that these 

 plantations were not formed with the object of 

 producing valuable timber, but rather for the 

 purposes of ornamentation and privacy. The 

 trees used were the Scotch, Corsican, Austrian, and 

 Weymouth Pines, the Larch, and several species 

 of hardw^oods ; and as all have succeeded well 

 under exactly similar conditions, the following 

 notes as to the rate of growth and production of 

 timber, both of which are unusually great, during 

 a period of twenty-five years may be instructive. 



Previously to being planted, the land, which 

 may best be described as a hungry loam on a 

 gravelly subsoil and sheltered, was let out for 

 rough grazing and the cultivation of strawberries 

 and other fruit. The cost per acre of forming 

 these plantations was : 



Pitting, 2722 at is. per 100 . .£172 



Planting . . . . .110 



Trees, at 40s. per 1000 . . .580 



£7 16 

 This price may appear both high and low, 



