322 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



confidence in his work. We consider that every forester 

 ought to be directly responsible to his employer, so far as his 

 woods are concerned, and occupy exactly the same position 

 as a gardener, coachman, or gamekeeper. Yet, as often as 

 not, the proprietor practically hands over the forestry 

 department to his agent, and leaves him to settle the 

 principal details of the work of the woods. When the aim 

 of the latter is to make everything look well on paper so 

 long as he holds the agency, his invariable policy, so far as 

 the woods are concerned, is that of combining a maximum 

 income with a minimum expenditure. Sales are forced, 

 immature woods are cut into, and all outlay on planting or 

 other improvement discouraged as much as possible. When 

 this sort of thing has gone on for a few generations, the 

 condition of the woods is well-nigh hopeless, and they can 

 only be brought round again by wholesale planting operations 

 and lengthened periods of rest. In such cases the influence 

 of the forester is practically nil, and, for all the good his 

 professional training does him, he might just as well have 

 spared himself the trouble of acquiring it. All that is needed 

 in such places is a man able to measure timber and super- 

 intend the felling of it, and it is easily understood that men 

 of this description suit some estates a good deal better than 

 those really qualified to take the entire charge of woods and 

 improve their condition. 



It is, perhaps, for this reason, that the employment 

 of properly trained foresters, if not actually discouraged, at 

 least meets with little encouragement on estates. It is 

 evident that the only course open to a competent man is 

 the complete reversal of the ruinous policy that has so long 

 been adopted, and this simply means an increased expenditure 

 and a diminished income. Where proprietors themselves are 

 aware of what is going on, and sanction it by tacit consent, 

 one cannot of course blame the agent or anyone else for not 

 altering a system which can hardly be avoided. But where 

 a proprietor is really anxious to do the right thing by his 

 woods, and is willing to bear the necessary expenditure, there 

 is no good reason why a competent forester, if one is employed 

 at all, should not be allowed to spend the amount necessary 

 to accomplish the owner's object in view, and spend it in his 



