THE NEW FORESTRY. 5 



the past, in its most important features, has been the main cause 

 of failure and disappointment in the production of timber crops, 

 and that a more intelligent system might alone turn the scale 

 in the right direction. 



In discussing this part of the subject in the following 

 chapters, Brown, author of " The Forester," has been chosen 

 as representing British opinion and practice up to the present 

 time. Probably his " Forester," which has seen five editions, 

 has exerted more influence than any other work of the kind, 

 and there is not much difference between his teachings and 

 that of his contemporaries, and those who have followed him 

 as writers on forestry. " The Book of Landed Estate," by 

 Robert E. Brown, and well known in private libraries, is, in the 

 portion devoted to forestry, but a re-echo of James Brown's 

 " Forester ; " "Grigor's Arboriculture " is much the same ; while 

 as late as the present year, 1898, we have a Professor of 

 Forestry in one of our most noted agricultural colleges pub^ 

 lishing a work on forestry in which principles are laid down 

 and practices advocated that are identical with those of the 

 writers just named above, and who are now regarded as wrong 

 by all competent authorities. 



The new system advocated starts with the advantage that 

 it is based upon rational and intelligible principles that the 

 student can understand and appreciate, whereas the writings 

 of exponents of the old system may be read through without 

 finding any clear exposition of the principles on which that 

 system is based. What the result of the latter system has been 

 may be gathered from the opinion of Professor Schlich in the 

 preface to the third volume of his Manual. He says : — " In 

 the first place, British timber cannot compete with the imported 

 timber, because, as at present grown, it is of inferior quality, 

 being generally shorter and less clean of branches and knots. 

 Moreover, conifers generally grow much too quickly in Britain, 

 because the woods are too heavily thinned while young ; 

 hence the individual trees increase too rapidly, and produce 

 timber inferior to that of the same species imported from the 

 Baltic, and grown in crowded woods. Secondly, the home- 

 grown timber is brought into the market in fluctuating quan- 

 tities, so that neither a regular timber trade, nor superior 

 methods of working up the material, nor forest industries, have 

 a chance of developing and thriving ; in short, the whole 

 business is far too haphazard." 



The author has acknowledged the sources of any quotations 

 he may have given from writers on forestry. For most of the 



