34 THE NEW FORESTRY. 



SECTION I. — BRITISH FORESTRY PRACTICE OF THE PAST. 



In Great Britain, natural forests, such as exist abroad, 

 have long ceased to, be. On the Continent they are still of great 

 extent, and have been the real schools of forestry there, par- 

 ticularly in Germany and France, and the absence of such 

 schools in Britain has, probably, been the reason why the art 

 of true forestry has been lost, and empirical practices set up, 

 which, it is now seen, are wrong, and have been the cause of 

 much loss. Primarily, the causes that have crippled forestry 

 in Britain have been the want of a recognised system of general 

 practice, neglect of working forestry plans, and the absence of 

 anything in the shape of a methodical rotation system. The 

 first has been the cause of much confusion of opinion and 

 practice among foresters ; the second has crippled the manage- 

 ment of woods on estates ; and the third has prevented anything 

 like a just balance being maintained between the planting and 

 felling of timber crops and a regular system of successional 

 cropping, planting and felling having generally been carried 

 on according to the whims and necessities of the owner or the 

 fads of the forester. Hence the irregular aspect which our 

 woodlands generally present, the wide gaps in the ages of the 

 different plantations, and the absence of a regular succession 

 of crops such as one sees everywhere in 'German forests. 

 Errors of practice in other ways relate to methods of planting, 

 thinning, mixtures of unsuitable species, roads, and neglect in 

 planting those species in most demand for timber. On other 

 points, British forestry does not differ widely from that pursued 

 on the Continent, but on the points named the difference is 

 marked. A question that arises in proposing the intro- 

 duction of important changes is, What is likely to be the 

 attitude of owners of private estates ? Those who understand 

 the subject reply that the gain to owners, from a financial 

 point of view, in a country where the demand for timber is 

 practically unlimited, cannot be doubted ; that opposition of a 

 serious nature need not be expected from those principally 

 interested ; and that there are no obstacles to the proposed 

 changes that may not be easily overcome. Practically, the new 

 system means making two trees grow where only one grew 

 before, and little doubt exists now in the minds of those 

 acquainted with forestry in this country that that can be done. 



