CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



THE primary object of this short treatise is to provide a handy 

 and concise guide for the general estate manager, whose 

 duties usually include the care and management of woodland. 

 In most cases, he has no time to make a special study of forestry, 

 or to select from more comprehensive works just the kind of 

 information which he requires. 



Most estates are managed by a man who has been trained in 

 agriculture especially, his main duties consisting of the management 

 of live stock, agricultural land, etc. It is exceptional, however, to 

 find that his qualifications embrace an expert knowledge of forestry ; 

 and this accounts for the errors which are committed in this 

 branch of estate-management. It has been felt that a short 

 handbook on the subject, comprising most of the essential points, 

 but avoiding details, would prove an acceptable and useful guide. 

 In writing this book, the author has omitted arguments and reasons 

 for the chief methods advocated ; he has been anxious to present 

 only the most important portions of the subject, because he 

 recognises that the estate manager, in most cases, is thoroughly 

 conversant with the principles of "growth/' and that he will be 

 able, therefore, to see the " why and the wherefore " for himself. 



There is no doubt whatever that most estates would be better 

 if the wooded portions were placed under the management of a 

 competent forester; but the usual English estate is seldom sufficiently 

 extensive as to be able to bear the expense of a man solely for this 

 purpose. Indeed, the requirements of an ordinary estate are such 

 that his time could not possibly be fully occupied, and he could 

 just as well manage several estates, or he could give his services to 

 a whole district. Thus, it would seem to be a wiser arrangement if 



