PLANTING OF WATER CATCHMENT AEEAS 107 



trees than if left in its present state as poor grazing 

 land. 



The hill pasture is often common land, serving as grazing 

 for sheep and occasionally cattle in the summer months, and 

 in such cases it is troublesome to purchase the grazing 

 rights from the numerous owners who occupy the farms 

 below. The Birmingham Corporation had great difficulty 

 in getting rid of these rights on their catchment area in 

 Wales. Prof Somerville estimates that the average 

 amount of mutton produced on poor hill pasture in 

 Wales and in Scotland is about 10 lbs. per acre 

 annually. Afforestation of the hill pasture would appar- 

 ently displace the sheep and to some extent diminish the 

 meat supply of the nation. These calculations do not, 

 however, take into account the amelioration in climate 

 brought about in high -lying districts by afforestation. 

 The shelter provided by plantations in the zone of hill 

 pasture has a marked effect in improving the value of the 

 grazing and arable lands in the farms immediately below. 

 In the mountains of Denbighshire and Wicklow wherever 

 there are farms protected by plantations, the farmers are 

 enabled to keep sheep out in the winter, and all stock thrive 

 better. The upper limit of the arable land is pushed higher 

 when there are sheltering plantations, and the gain to the 

 district is considerable. 



The last point is of considerable importance. Most 

 writers advocate the afforestation of mountain waste land 

 in large continuous blocks, and do not consider the effect 

 upon the adjoining land. It is possible that a joint scheme 

 of afforestation and reclamation would be more profitable 

 than a scheme of afforestation only. Mountain slopes might 

 be planted in widely separated blocks, joined on the upper 

 side by narrow belts, the intervening blank areas being 

 utilised for grazing and farming. The pasture of these 

 areas might often be much improved by draining and by 

 manuring with basic slag, whicli induce the production of 

 grass in greater quantity and of better quality. Where 

 there are great numbers of small farmers, as in Wales and 



