70 SOME TYPES OF BRITISH WOODLANDS. 



occurrence of beechmast years permits. The older oak woods, 

 about ninety years old, demand a somewhat different treat- 

 ment, and this was commenced by Mr. Baylis about ten years 

 ago. In these woods, only oaks of some promise are left, all 

 others being cut out ; then all blanks are filled up, chiefly with 

 larch, oak, and other trees, such as sj^camore and ash, and in 

 suitable places spruce and Douglas fir. As soon as these young 

 plantations have made a fair start, beech will be brought in 

 over the whole area, so as to return to a state of affairs similar 

 to that which existed a hundred years ago. 



Some wiseacres have of late been writing about " The New 

 Forestry." Alas ! it seems to me what is really wanted is to 

 return to " The Old Forestry," and to eliminate as quickly as 

 possible the errors introduced into British forestry by the 

 nineteenth century forest experts. These gentlemen were in 

 too much of a hurry. " Quick returns regardless of conse- 

 quences " was their maxim, and now they have almost ruined 

 national property of an enormous value, inasmuch as they 

 have considerably reduced the fertility, or yield capacity, of 

 the soil. It may indeed be said that the competency of a 

 forester can be judged by examining the soil in his forests: 

 if there is a good layer of leaf-mould on the ground, the 

 management is sure to have been good ; if not, undoubted 

 mistakes have been made, which should be eliminated as 

 quickly as possible. 



No doubt, some readers will say, This is all very well, but 

 what are we to do with so much beech, which fetches only a 

 small price per cubic foot ? The answer may be given by 

 another question : What is done with beech in Bucking- 

 hamshire and adjoining counties ? Why, it is made into 

 chairs and other articles of furniture, and it fetches at least a 

 shilling a foot all round. In other words, provide the raw 

 material, and industries to utilise it will soon spring up. They 

 follow the raw material. Beech wood is coming into use more 

 and more every year, for casks for dry goods, railway sleepers, 

 pattens, heels for ladies' boots, and what not. Besides, the 



