184 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



can only be done in the spring, when the new growth or wood- 

 ring is just about to form by the activity of the cambium 

 layer. In most districts the tree is first felled, but in parts 

 of Devonshire and elsewhere a limited practice prevails of 

 barking the trees standing, and allowing them to remain until 

 the following winter. This is done to improve the quality of 

 the timber, as the sap still retained in the tree and renewed 

 by the roots during the summer prevents any cracking or 

 warping of the timber. But in the great majority of cases 

 oak is cut and barked in one operation. 



Fifty years ago, when foreign tannin, barks, and chemicals 

 were unknown in the tanneries, the demand for oak bark 

 was keen, and the price ran high, from 8 to 12 per ton 

 being average prices in those days, and tanners took all they 

 could get with thanks. Now the price of bark has sunk to 

 3 or so per ton, and many tanners are not eager to take it 

 at that. Indeed there is little doubt that the price would 

 be lower still if proprietors could be induced to take it off 

 for lower rates, but experience proves that most estate 

 owners prefer to cut their oak in winter, and avoid the 

 trouble of barking and collecting, when the price falls below 

 3 per ton delivered. The cost of barking and delivery runs 

 to at least 2 per ton when the woods are not more than five 

 or six miles from the tanyard, and when put on rail this 

 cost is increased. It is evident, therefore, that the wood 

 owner gets very little for his trouble after all outgoings are 

 paid, and the inducement to bark is not great. One 

 advantage in barking is the fact that the operation pays for 

 the felling of the timber, and a further advantage may be 

 gained when the latter has to be forwarded by rail, as the 

 carriage of bark has to be paid for. But, taking it all round, 

 the advantages and disadvantages are fairly evenly matched ; 

 for amongst the latter must be reckoned the greater diffi- 

 culties of cutting and working up timber through the summer 

 months, the trouble and risk of taking up bark in wet 

 weather, and the greater damage done to the under-wood 

 shoots when the timber is cut amongst it and not removed 

 until the end of the summer. Still, a nett return of 1 per 

 ton, together with the saving of something like |d. per foot on 

 the throwing of the timber, is an inducement which appeals 



