SHEEP WALKS 149 



the situation is not too exposed nor the slopes too 

 steep. The difficulty of communication has been the 

 main reason why the land has not been divided into 

 smaller farms and improved. The work of reclama- 

 tion would begin with the construction of roads. The 

 better land by the stream courses would be prepared 

 for arable cultivation by drainage and the use of basic 

 slag and lime, the steep slopes would be best utilised 

 for forestry, while the higher land would be still left 

 as sheep walks to be improved by the occupier as 

 time went on. After the preliminary operations what 

 would be aimed at would be the creation of small 

 farms of 150 acres or so of the better land, 20-30 acres 

 of which would be under the plough and the rest im- 

 proved grass, while to each farm would be attached 

 a stretch of sheep walk above the forest. The forestry 

 and the farming would react favourably on one 

 another, as the forest would provide winter occupations 

 for the occupiers of the farms and thus derive the 

 labour for planting and maintenance which would be 

 otherwise unobtainable in those districts. The rela- 

 tive proportion the forests would bear to the farms 

 would depend upon the configuration and elevation of 

 each district. It is not possible to frame any general 

 estimate of the expenditure and returns for reclama- 

 tion of this kind, but as the rentals run as high as 

 125. an acre for farms in Wales on precisely the same 

 class of land and at similar elevations as that which 

 in its unimproved state only commands Is. to Is. 6d. 

 per acre, and the buildings and fences cannot be set 

 at more than £4 an acre on the existing farms, there 

 is a considerable margin for expenditure. The cost 

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