2 THE SAD PLIGHT OF BRITISH POKESTRY 



natural regeneration — that is, the growth of self-sown 

 seedlings upon ground where ripe timber has been felled. 

 To ensure this, which is far the most economic method of 

 securing a fresh crop, a plentiful supply of natural seed is 

 essential ; and that, in the case of pine woods, is precisely 

 what flocks of crossbills prevent. They split the cones 

 with their powerful beaks, devour the seeds, and defeat 

 the object of the forester. If the choice were proved to 

 lie between pine forest and crossbills, most people would 

 give their vote in support of the pines, as contributing 

 more to both the beauty and wealth of the district ; but 

 in fact the case for the pines is stronger than that, for it 

 is the presence of pines that attracts these large flocks 

 of crossbills. It comes to this, therefore, that if you do 

 not reduce the number of your crossbills, you must do 

 without natural pine forest; and if you do not have 

 extensive pine forest you wiU have no crossbills, for they 

 will go to other lands where their favourite diet can 

 be had in plenty. Troublesome as crossbills are, their 

 presence with us in larger numbers than formerly is a 

 gratifying proof of the extent to which reafforestation 

 has made headway in the Highlands during the last half- 

 century. Of all the counties of the United Kingdom, 

 Inverness-shire now contains the largest extent of wood- 

 land, 150,929 acres; at the beginning of last century there 

 were few more treeless wastes. 



Still more gratifying is the start which has been made 

 in the north by applying scientific system to forestry. 

 Too long has the old, wasteful, hand-to-mouth, rule-of- 

 thumb manner prevailed ; not a moment too soon have 

 some Highland landowners awakened to the increasing 

 value of home timber, and have begun to recognise 



