2 50 OUR FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 



Just as it is infinitely preferable and cheaper in 

 the long run to keep farm buildings and out- 

 houses in good repair, rather than have consider- 

 able outlay forced upon one from time to time, 

 so also is it in every way economical to see 

 that all hedges around fields or plantations 

 are kept in proper order. In not a few parts 

 of Britain the neglect, or even the disloyalty 

 of tenants, in this matter is only equalled by 

 what at first thought might seem the apathy 

 of estate agents and landowners. This, however, 

 is merely one phase of the agricultural depression 

 spreading over the last quarter of a century. 

 Tenants will naturally endeavour to save as much 

 as they can on the tending and maintenance of 

 hedges, while agents and landowners are often 

 only too glad to have tenants at all on the farms 

 to insist too stringently on the letter of the lease 

 in this respect. But there can be no doubt that, 

 while the maintenance of the hedges in clean and 

 good condition is easy and not unduly expensive, 

 the repair of neglected hedgerows is truly ' spend- 

 thrift,' costly alike as to money and time. Good, 

 well-kept hedges, properly cleaned and pruned, can 

 be maintained on well-managed estates in different 



