30 FORESTRY IN LATER TIMES 



lines. In other words, proprietors were oblivious, 

 for they could scarcely have been ignorant, of the 

 altered market conditions, and woods all over the 

 country continued to be managed in the old way and 

 for the production of the old material — i.e. coppice 

 (for which there was still a demand) and standards 

 (for which the chief demand was gone) . The markets 

 no longer wanted the old knees and crooks from the 

 branches of big-crowined trees. Soft woods, pines 

 and firs, were now chiefly in demand. Clean, straight 

 timber of good length was now asked for. This can 

 only be produced by growing the trees densely 

 on the ground and opening them out comparatively 

 slowly. The old heavy thinnings made to furnish 

 each tree with plenty of room, which result in short- 

 height growth aiid a large crown, were now useless, 

 as there was no demand for the article they produced. 

 To some extent before the end of this second 

 period pure woods of conifers had been planted 

 (notably in Scotland — e.g. the great larch woods of 

 the AthoU estates planted by the " Planting Duke " 

 early in the nineteenth century). But in the treat- 

 ment of these coniferous v(Oods we again went 

 wrong. Instead of applying the rules of thinning 

 for these previously untried species as appUed on 

 the Continent, which could have been easily ascer- 

 tained by the proprietors, the matter was left to the 

 foresters, who carried on the old British rule of heavy 

 thinnings. The foresters knew no better. How 

 should they, scientific forestry training being 

 entirely absent in the country. But the results 

 were disastrous for the owners and ultimately for 



