NATIONAL AFFORESTATION 



trees, as in ornamental plantations, are matters 

 of first importance, and require that the indi- 

 vidual specimens be grown thinly on the 

 ground, the greatest yield of the best quality 

 of timber cannot be expected; but where, as on 

 various Scottish and a few English estates, the 

 trees are grown thickly together and solely for 

 their economic value, the case is quite different, 

 and the returns of such will now be recorded. 



One hundred acres of common land were 

 planted from 1852 to 1862. Larch was the 

 principal crop, with a few beech, Scotch pine, 

 spruce, and silver fir. The plantation was 

 thinned at intervals from 1871 to 1884, the 

 thinnings being sold for close on 500, but 

 many trees were used for fencing and estate 

 purposes generally. The whole plantation 

 was felled in 1907, and realised fully 4,500, 

 or at the rate of 45 per acre. The larch on 

 the lower portion averaged 23J feet per tree, 

 but on the exposed ground they were only 

 about one-third of that dimension. This 

 plantation has a northern aspect, and is 

 situated at from 800 feet to 1,300 feet above 



94 



