SOWING AND PLANTING IN THE FOREST 71 



J. *. 



1,500 plants at 3o/- per 1,000 ............... 250 



1,440 holes at 2/- per 100 ... ... ... ... ... ... I 8 9 



Planting the above at 3/- per 100 ............ 2 3 2 



Carriage of plants, &c. ... ... .'. .......... o 10 o 



6 6 ii 



4. As above, but using purchased plants of any species 

 obtainable for 5q/- per 1,000 delivered at railway station. 



1,500 plants at 5o/- per 1,000 ' ............... 



Holes, planting, and carriage as above ............ 



NOTE. The cost of labour is assumed to be 7/6 per day per man. 



Before the war it was possible to plant the trees closer 

 together than the above distances at a cost per acre varying 

 from % ics. to 7, and it was a usual practice to plant seed- 

 lings at 3 feet apart and larger plants at 4 feet. Results have 

 in many instances shown that these distances were too close 

 from a sylvicultural point of view, there being too great a com- 

 petition amongst the individual trees, and, independently of 

 cost, many foresters have formed the opinion that it would be 

 better to increase the distances to those now recommended. 

 The rise in cost of plants and labour since 1914 has made it 

 absolutely essential to reduce the number of plants per acre 

 by increasing the distance between them, and fortunately this 

 can be done without serious sylvicultural disadvantage, pro- 

 vided that all failures are filled up the year after planting. At 

 these extended distances a gap caused by the failure of a few 

 plants would be serious. 



The minimum agricultural wage in Devonshire has gone up 

 from i i6s. 6d. to i 6s. per week during 1920, and before 

 these lines appear in print may have again increased, with 

 a corresponding increase in the cost of planting. 



The cost can be kept down by using home-grown plants, by 

 planting rather farther apart, and by using small plants, but on 



