PRACTICAL FORESTRY. 



1) ill-side plantations, the thinnings up to that time doing 

 little more than covering the expense of cutting and 

 interest on first cost. From twenty-five to forty years an 

 annual return of fully 12s. per acre has been forthcoming, 

 while the value of the standing crop at that age was found 

 to be about .60 per acre. 



I do not think that these figures would be, generally 

 speaking, too high, as on the estate of Balfour, in Scotland, 

 the larch, at forty-three years' growth, on a hill-side, were 

 valued at 20s. each, while a similar valuation was made of 

 the individual trees, principally larch, on the slopes of 

 the Snowdon range of hills in North Wales at the age of 

 forty years. From this it will be seen that land under 

 plantations yields not less than 1 of rent from the time 

 of planting onwards, for, say sixty years, at which date the 

 crop will be ripe for felling, especially larch, which is the 

 tree above all others for afforesting the waste and mountain 



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lands of Scotland and Ireland at least. 



In the case of the plantations above referred to the 

 lands were rented at an average figure of 2s. 8d. per acre, 

 and when this is compared with the 20s. per acre now 

 returned under a crop of timber, besides the interest on 

 the money originally expended, the value of the lands 

 will be found to have increased almost seven-fold. 



Advantages of Tree Planting. Not only for their 

 value as timber producers, but for shelter for farm stock, 

 improving the adjoining lower-lying lands, and clothing 

 and ornamenting our bare hill sides, plantations are of 

 vast importance, indeed, their value in that way can 

 hardly be over-estimated. On a spur of the Snowdon range 

 of hills, where fierce blasts were of almost constant 

 occurrence, I formed a belt of plantation at an altitude 

 of 400 to 600 feet, and the amount of shelter and warmth 

 it affords to the farm stock and lower-lying lands would 

 hardly be credited. Previous to forming this particular 

 plantation, the adjoining lands were incapable of culti- 

 vation, but now crops are gradually creeping up the 

 hill-side, and the farm stock find the much-needed shelter 

 and warmth : in fact, as the farmer of the land told 



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