348 THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE. 



remembrance in sowing their crops ; and the same consideration should 

 be given to trees. 



SECTION 3.- TJie Qualifications necessary in a Forester. 



Woods and plantations, as a department of a landed estate, should, 

 as I shall afterwards show, produce an important share of the annual 

 income, according to their extent and character; but this will not 

 be the case if they are not attended to by a competent and well- 

 qualified forester. The plantations on an estate should be placed 

 under the care of some one who thoroughly understands the manage- 

 ment of woodlands. If they are of any considerable extent, there will 

 be full employment for one man to superintend and carry out the 

 several operations connected- with that department ; but if of only small 

 acreage, they can be attended to by any other person on the estate hold- 

 ing another position, but who should have a competent knowledge of 

 trees and their management. 



Any one desirous of following out the profession of a forester should 

 receive an efficient and careful training, as much as a farm-bailiff or 

 gardener. 



It is very necessary, indeed, that any one trusted with the management 

 of extensive and valuable woodlands should be properly educated for 

 his trust, and that he should be active, shrewd, and conscientious in 

 everything he does. 



He should have received a good education in the common branches 

 usually taught in our schools. He should be able to measure land, so that 

 he may take correct plans of plantations and their acreage. He should 

 have a fair knowledge of botany, so that he may be able to describe 

 trees when required. He should also know the different qualities of soils, 

 so that he will know what soils suit one kind of tree and what another. 



Vegetable physiology is the science which gives an account of all that 

 takes place in the growth of plants. Every one desirous to become a 

 thorough forester should know something of this science. 



It is not necessary that foresters should be professors of these sciences, 

 but they should have a fair knowledge of them, so that they may be able 

 to apply them in dealing with the different operations in their business. 



Besides the theoretical knowledge stated, it is still more necessary 

 that a forester should be trained in the practice of his profession in the 

 woods of some landed proprietor where there is a thoroughly good forester. 

 I could name several estates, both in England and in Scotland, where for 

 the last twenty years the woods have been under the superintendence of 



