THE NEW FORESTRY. 33 



CHAPTER IIL 



PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF THE OLD AND NEW 



FORESTRY DESCRIBED AND 



CONTRASTED. 



British Forestry of the past. — The New Forestry. — Timber Trees of the 

 older British Woods. 



The title, " New Forestry," is applied here, not because 

 the system to be described is new, either in principle or 

 practice, everywhere, but because it is practically new in Great 

 Britain, as contrasted with the system generally recognised 

 and practised in this country. It is important to understand 

 the difference between these two systems ; and to make the 

 difference clear, and also to justify the title adopted, it will be 

 necessary to describe both systems rather fully. There has 

 been a tendency in some quarters to pooh-pooh the difference 

 between the two, and where the difference has been admitted, 

 it has been attributed to other causes than the right one — 

 such as climate and soil, etc. ; but the difference is real enough, 

 and the causes assigned will not bear investigation, as will be 

 shown. Besides, the old system, as it may be named, and as 

 represented by long-acknowledged authorities, is now being 

 condemned in its most important aspects by recognised and 

 competent teachers of forestry, while books on the subject, 

 that have long done duty as guides, have been withdrawn 

 from circulation and others substituted in their place. 

 3 



