498 Of Plantations. 



Steuart), whose work on that subject justly merits the en- 

 comiums which have been bestowed upon it. 



7. The profit of a plantation must, in a great measure, 

 depend upon a number of local circumstances. The ex- 

 pense is immediate, and can be easily ascertained ; but the 

 returns are distant, and the planter is disposed to form too 

 sanguine expectations for the future. 



In Somersetshire, land not worth 3s. per acre, in a state 

 of pasturage, has been planted with Scotch fir, which at 30 

 years old, was worth L.30 per acre ( 6 4 ). Scotch firs 

 planted in Galloway, on land of the same value, have been 

 estimated worth from L.24 to L.32 per statute acre ( 6o5 ). 



In Clydesdale, Scotch fir, planted on poor land, in the 

 lower part of the county of Lanark, sells at from L.20 to 

 L.25 per acre, at 25 years' growth, and at upwards of L.80 

 when it reaches 50 or 60 years ( 6o6 ). But this is in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of Glasgow, of the Clyde iron-works, and 

 of many extensive manufactories. 



Oak must always be valuable on account of the bark ; but 

 unless in the neighbourhood of large towns, of extensive 

 manufactures, or water-carriage, the estimates commonly 

 given of the profit derivable from plantations, are in general 

 exaggerated. At the same time, there is no mode by which 

 poor soils can be more advantageously occupied ; and stony 

 or rocky land, cannot be so profitably employed, in any 

 other way. Indeed, on land properly situated, and calculated 

 for that purpose, no speculation can be more pleasing, and, 

 in some cases, more lucrative, than that of planting. The 

 only objection is, the length of time required to bring it to 

 perfection ( 6 7 ). But this ought not to have much weight, 

 as the benefit must accrue, either to the planter or his heirs ; 

 and where he has a numerous family, there is no means, by 

 which its younger branches, can be more easily provided 

 for ( 6o8 ). If it be profitable, however, to plant new woods, 

 it is certainly much more so, to protect those that are already 

 planted, and to restore them from a state of decay ( 6 9 ). 



On the subject of plantations, it is necessary to observe, 

 how important it is, to discriminate between the different 

 species of the same tree ; since it frequently happens, that 

 two or three distinct species, which require different situa- 

 tions as to climate, have been occasionally confounded in 

 the same plantation. This discrimination is effected, with 

 much ability, in a work printed in the Memoirs of the Cale- 

 donian Horticultural Society ( 6l ), in so far as regards the 

 trees usually grown in Scotland. The advantages and de- 



