Introduction 5 



This shows a balance in favour of the timber crop as against 

 the grazing rent, of ;£'i6o8 15s. yd., or more than £1 per 

 acre per annum over lOO years. The wood might have been 

 cut thirty years ago with similar returns ; but, as it was 

 in a prominent situation, it was allowed to stand beyond 

 the proper time for felling. The land is on the sea-board, 

 on a conical promontorj- without shelter. The soil is of 

 moderate quality, naturally well drained, and the stone 

 underneath is Ardrishaig Phyllites. 



From these figures it will be seen that excellent profit results 

 under good management. 



The "Assessment 0/ the Locality " is one of the most important 

 points in the consideration of any problem of afforestation. It 

 includes consideration as to what should be planted, and how it should 

 be grown ; with special reference to all conditions existing in the district, 

 including not only the class of trees suited to the soil and climate, 

 but also the local demands for timber, the cost of haulage, and even 

 such details as the cost of labour for felling, etc. Having once 

 reviewed the possibilities of the district — having made an "Assess- 

 ment of the Locality," in fact — the forester has to formulate a 

 method for achieving his ends in the most economical and profitable 

 manner. The general conception has been referred to, already, as 

 the " Working Plan," and it cannot be discussed in greater detail 

 here. It includes a choice of species — or mixture of species — which 

 are to be planted originally ; and a decision as to what is to take the 

 place of the trees felled, and so on. It is in this preliminary work, 

 perhaps, more than in the management of the trees when planted, 

 that the advice of a competent forester is invaluable. Much of the 

 trouble with our English timber results from errors in the " Working 

 Plan " — or more generally from its total omission — as well, also, 

 as in the failure to make a correct "Assessment of the Locality." 

 As already stated, the principal reason for adopting a working plan 

 is to ensure a periodic income. To ensure, as far as possible, an 

 equal periodic fall of timber, demands an intimate knowledge of the 



