110 ENGLISH WOODLANDS 



but even in this matter there is much to be said 

 on both sides. No definite rule can be laid 

 down. English woods, as a rule, compare 

 favourably with German woods as regards the 

 amount of saleable timber ; that is to say, timber 

 which as a minimum squares 6 inches quarter- 

 girth under bark. 



In the present day the tendency is to ascribe 

 an almost miraculous effect to science. In the 

 various works which have been written on 

 forestry from a scientific point of view little 

 regard has been paid to the difficulties or the 

 prejudices of English owners. It has been con- 

 sidered sufficient to ascribe any doubts about 

 the value of science to ignorance of what science 

 is and what it has done for forestry. 



It is possible that the writers in favour of the 

 claims of science in forestry may have failed to 

 have in their own minds a clear definition of 

 science, and that they may have meant by 

 science merely a knowledge of the natural 

 sciences connected with forestry. The praise 

 of science may be the expression of the benefit 

 which the writers have themselves received in 

 the management of English woods, from a know- 

 ledge of the natural sciences. Where this is 

 not the case the advocacy of the claims of 



