4 ENGLISH WOODLANDS 



it certain in most cases that the same man who 

 plants will never sell the mature trees, and that 

 therefore planting cannot be looked at merely 

 as a commercial undertaking, and also that a 

 man who plants from a sense of duty or the 

 love of seeing on his land thriving plantations 

 will not pay much attention to the expenditure 

 in planting of a few pounds more or less per 

 acre. There may be something in the argument 

 that planting cannot be considered as simply 

 a commercial undertaking, but even proof that 

 there is no pecuniary profit in planting can be 

 no excuse for unnecessary expenditure. 



Altitude has little or no effect on the climate 

 in the British Isles. There are no lofty ranges 

 of hills, where the traveller, as he ascends, passes 

 through different zones of climate. Altitude 

 in this country is important to the planter, as 

 it increases the exposure to gales and to denu- 

 dation. There are very few flourishing woods 

 above the 1,000 -foot contour- line. Planting at 

 a greater altitude is, as a general rule, a very 

 doubtful experiment, but this rule can be modi- 

 fied by local circumstances. The situation of 

 plantations on high ground is relative. Trees 

 thrive better at 1,100 or 1,200 feet if protected 

 by still higher hills, than many planted at 800 



