NATIONAL AFFORESTATION 



acre, as a copy of the contract in my posses- 

 sion shows. Each man planted from 2,000 

 to 3,000 trees per day, and a boy was provided 



for every two men, the boy putting in the plant 

 to each man, and the men were responsible 

 both for working the spade and firmly tramping 

 the ground around the plants. But many 

 similar instances could be given of the forma- 

 tion of plantations on Scottish estates at 

 from 2 to 3 per acre; but it should be borne 

 in mind that such woods were formed for 

 purely commercial purposes, which is seldom 

 the case with English plantations. For various 

 reasons pit-planting is usually adopted 

 throughout Southern England, the cost in 

 comparison with notching being proportion- 

 ately higher, not only on account of extra 

 labour in opening the holes, but the higher 

 price of the larger and stronger plants that 

 can be used. For all practical purposes, 

 however, the cost of forming plantations, 

 taking the British Isles as a whole, may be 

 put down at 5 per acre, as the average of the 

 following figures will show: 



60 



