2 Forestry 



one man could be appointed to give advice to the estates of a 

 whole district. Such an arrangement would not only benefit the 

 estates individually, but also the whole country. 



The condition of forestry in this country is deplorable, as is 

 evident from the recent interest and agitation in favour of reafforest- 

 ation ; and there is very little chance of improvement until some 

 far-seeing individual or society decides to take the matter in hand. 

 Yet, if all those engaged in the management of woodland would 

 make themselves acquainted with the general principles of forestry, 

 many mistakes would be avoided and much could be done to rectify 

 the errors of a past generation. 



The question is often asked, " Does forestry pay in this 

 country ? " and, apparently, much doubt exists on the subject. One 

 aspect of the question is perfectly clear : that forestry conducted in 

 the present haphazard fashion cannot pay ; and nothing short of 

 periodic and careful supervision by a competent man, from the time 

 of planting to the time of cutting, could ensure a proper return. It 

 should be remembered that this period occupies the working lives 

 of two generations at least ; and a mistake once made, or any 

 considerable break in the continuity of the supervision, may have 

 the effect of spoiling the work of a lifetime. Faulty methods, even 

 when practised for a few years only, induce faults in the wood 

 which will persist to the end of the rotation, and which will diminish 

 the value of the produce. In the case of a farm, the worst managed 

 land in the world is capable of being put into good order in a few 

 years; and the farmer is able to rectify his mistakes each season 

 from the experience gained during the previous one. In forestry, 

 however, the conditions are entirely different, since the period of 

 rotation may be from 50 to lOO years. Thus, a good forester, if he 

 has the misfortune to succeed a bad one, may be unable to rectify 

 the initial errors ; or, in any case, he may find his work most 

 difficult to accomplish satisfactorily. 



Home-grown timber is often condemned ; and justly so, as it 

 is usually rough and full of knots. This is caused by insufficient 



