42 FINANCE AND PLANTING METHODS 



this class of material and probably no other as a 

 successful commercial proposition. 



The greater bulk of the oak, ash, elm, etc., utiUsed 

 in this country will, as we have seen, probably be raised 

 in the woods kept either for sport, shelter, or amenity 

 purposes, and may to a great extent be left out of the 

 question. It may be suggested, however, that a certain 

 percentage of the better-class oak soils in England 

 should be confined to the growth of this species as, e.g., 

 in the Forest of Dean, High Meadow Woods, Tintern, 

 etc. England has been famous for its oak throughout 

 the centuries. It is a national tree and it would be a 

 pity to see it disappear from areas which have known 

 it for so long. Beech will probably be more largely 

 used in the future to form a lower storey in woods of 

 light-demanding coniferous species. 



If therefore we confine ourselves here to the conifer- 

 ous species we may restrict ourselves to those of whose 

 commercial utility in this country there is no doubt, 

 to wit — Tyrolese Larch, Scots Pine, Common Spruce, 

 and Austrian Pine, to which we may add, with less 

 certainty, Douglas, Sitka Spruce, and Japanese Larch. 



This httle work is not intended to be a manual of 

 forestry, but a brief note may be given on planting 

 methods and the difference in cost of such.* Expert 

 opinion is probably unanimous on the point that the 

 planting methods in force in Britain in the past and 

 even now amongst the older generation of foresters, 



* I have added the following note as the result of a criticism 

 made by a friend interested in planting who had read my MSS., 

 on the absence of all mention of planting methods and their relative 

 costs. 



