SOIL AND SURFACE CONDITIONS 133 



the possibility of profit from planting it. The Cotswold 

 Hills, Sussex, Wilts, and Dorset Downs, and the high-lying 

 tracts of Exnioor, Dartmoor, etc., may be regarded as un- 

 favourable subjects for afforestation, although they may 

 contain numerous valleys and ravines capable of producing 

 good timber. 



When the typical districts of Wales, and the north of 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland are examined, however, 

 it will be found that the surface varies in its character 

 and fertility much more frequently than is indicated 

 above. Valleys and glens show a surface closely resem- 

 bling that of the most favoured portions of England, 

 clays and loams of alluvial or glacial origin giving a fertile 

 and easily cultivated surface, which is the more highly 

 valued as it diminishes in extent, or as the valleys 

 become narrower, and the population more congested in 

 them. These fertile patches are invariably mixed up, first, 

 with the gravel or shallow soils typical of the poorer 

 parts of Southern England ; and secondly, with the peaty 

 or rocky surfaces falling under the third and fourth 

 classes. The fertile soils are generally at elevations 

 below 400 or 500 feet, according to the general elevation 

 of the country. Between 400 and 800 feet the natural 

 surface covering usually varies between scrub and second 

 and third rate pasture. On the latter, hillocks and rocky 

 points of high ground are interspersed with ravines or 

 small valleys with deep and good soil, but not of sufficient 

 extent to possess an agricultural value distinct from that 

 of rough grazing. 



This type of country is exceptionally well adapted for 

 planting by the individual landowners, as, although the 

 total area available for planting is large, it is too much 

 broken up by holdings to admit of afforestation on a 

 scale large enough to allow State action to be taken. On 

 this type of surface many of the best wooded estates of 



