THE DENSITY OF FOREST CROPS. 39 



situ. This is, without doubt, the best way of starting oak 

 woods, but where the acorns are likely to suffer severely from 

 mice, the next best thing is to plant one year old seedlings. 

 Such plants invariably develop better leaders than plants 

 put out when three or more years old. Corsican and 

 Austrian pines may be treated as Scotch pine. Of Wey- 

 month pine not more than 2,700 to 3,000 plants need be put 

 to the acre. 



The above remarks refer to the rearing of fine timber trees. 

 Where only poles or pit timber are grown, the thinnings before 

 the age of 40 are somewhat heavier, so as to produce a certain 

 diameter at an earlier age than is the case when working for 

 timber trees with clean boles. 



4. Yield and Financial Results. 



In attempting to answer the question, what will be the 

 yield and financial results produced by afforesting mountain 

 and heath lands in this country, we meet with great difficul- 

 ties. The most natural way would be to inquire what the 

 results of forestry on similar lands have been in the past. 

 That attempt would lead to disappointment, because, in the 

 first place, it is almost impossible at present to obtain in this 

 country data which would conclusively show what yield to 

 expect, and, secondly, the 'few data available as to receipts 

 and expenses are almost invariably rendered useless by the 

 fact that many items are included under expenses which 

 have little or nothing to do with forestry by itself. Again, 

 I have no hesitation in saying, that the returns hitherto 

 yielded by British woodlands might in many, if not in most, 

 cases be doubled by following the rules of rational sylvi- 

 culture and by systematic management. An example will 

 best illustrate this : 



There is probably no country in the world which has such 

 complete records of the past management of woods as the 



