6 THE NEW FORESTRY. 



than anything else, and it strikes an English forester, after 

 first impressions wear off, that when a German forester is 

 appointed to a head charge with a system and a general 

 routine of work, from which he cannot depart, laid down for 

 him, and every inch of the ground mapped out in all its 

 bearings, his duties cannot be difficult. 



What has to some extent prompted these remarks is the 

 impression existing among owners of woods, fostered by much 

 that has been written about Continental forestry and forestry 

 education, that the Continental system is difficult and expen- 

 sive to put into operation, whereas in principle it is a far 

 simpler and less expensive business than the kind of forestry 

 hitherto practised in Britain, and only wants adopting 

 culturally to suit private ownership. Continental forestry may 

 be said to consist in sowing or planting very few of the most 

 useful species, preservation of the overhead canopy with due 

 regard to the shade-bearing power of the different species, 

 and thinning but few times between the 25th, 35th, or zpth 

 year and the end of the rotation period. Such a system 

 costs less thought, less work, and less expense than our present 

 home practice, and in most instances its adoption on estates 

 would convert a losing investment into a paying one ; but 

 while in principle the system may be adopted on any private 

 estate, working plans may have to be modified to suit restricted 

 and special conditions. 



The best advice one can offer owners of woods is to first 

 inquire carefully into the state of these themselves, ascertain 

 their actual extent and value, and then decide about their 

 future management. Usually the woods are clearly enough 

 marked on estate maps, copied from the Ordnance Survey, 

 which, however, takes no account of the contents ; and my 

 experience is that owners seldom know what is in their woods 

 themselves, hence the reason why such appalling miscalcula- 

 tions, sometimes amounting to thousands of pounds, are made 

 by estate agents when estates are valued for sale. The woods 

 are always the most difficult portion of an estate to appraise, 

 and the professional estate agent's formula for such work is 

 usually of the laxest description. Some estates are much 

 more wealthy in the way of timber than their owners are 

 aware, and instances have occurred in which the purchasers 

 of well-wooded estates have sold timber, after taking posses- 

 sion, worth as much as the whole of the woods were valued 

 at in the sale and still left a fair stock of timber on the ground. 

 Nothing but a close inspection of the woods one after the other 



