U6 THE DEVELOPMEN^T OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



few larch, mountain, maritime, and Corsican pines may- 

 be found lilcely to grow to fencing poles or pit props if 

 protected, but the general result has been, in the words 

 of a witness before the Departmental Committee on Irish 

 Forestry, ' a failure.' 



In the Isle of Man the Office of Woods and Forests 

 planted in 1883-1884 nearly 400 acres of land at an eleva- 

 tion of 500 to 700 feet, which turned out a complete failure, 

 exactly as in the case of Knockboy. In the following 

 year 225 acres of adjoining land facing the north-east 

 were planted at an altitude of 700 to 1100 feet. The 

 upper part of this also failed. In 1889, 167 acres were 

 planted at an altitude of 300 to 1100 feet, and the upper 

 half of this behaved in the same way. 



These instances are not given as a proof that afforesta- 

 tion on poor soils and exposed sites is impossible, but as 

 an indication of what happened in the past and may 

 easily happen in the future if obvious facts are dis- 

 regarded. In these and similar cases the failures gradually 

 disappear and are forgotten. The successes alone remain. 

 But the forester is not yet born, and probably never will 

 be found, who can predict, with absolute certainty, the 

 result of planting exposed or very poor land. 



On ground free from peat much more hopeful cases for 

 afforestation may be met with. These will usually be well 

 within the zone of cultivated holdings, although not neces- 

 sarily on them. To deal with this class of land alone, how- 

 ever, is really the only sound policy to adopt in British 

 forestry, whether actual or prospective, unless planting for 

 shelter or landscape is the object in view. Fairly deep and 

 porous gravels, carrying a natural growth of bracken, coarse 

 grass, etc., exist to a limited extent in many parts of the 

 country, and if the unbroken areas they occupy are not 

 large individually, they are usually sufficient to form a 

 nucleus for afforestation work, and can be extended as 



