5C2 



Improvement of Woodland. 



[OCT., 



taminated animals have been killed and the premises disinfected. 

 The portion of the premises reserved for the non-reacting 

 animals can, however, be declared free after disinfection. 



Compensation for animals slaughtered by order is paid at 

 the rate of one-third of the value in the case of general tuber- 

 culosis, three-fourths in the case of " local " tuberculosis, and 

 full value if the animal after slaughter is found not to be affected 

 with the disease. The value of the carcase, however, is deducted 

 from this amount, and the State only pays the difference between 

 the carcase value and the full compensation allowed. 



The order for slaughter is only to be given on the advice of 

 two official veterinary surgeons. 



THE IMPROVEMENT OF WOODLAND. 

 Robert Anderson. 

 The ancient existing woods in the Midlands and south of 

 England are almost invariably composed of coppice with 

 standards, at one time a profitable crop, but now generally 

 discredited except for sporting purposes, the coppice wood 

 having in many districts become unsaleable, while the standards 

 growing in it are short stemmed and branchy, and of less value 

 than the clean straight boles produced in high forest. This 

 description of woodland is also the most difficult to manage, 

 and the difficulty is accentuated where rabbits have destroyed 

 the saplings that should have provided the necessary succession, 

 often resulting in trees being left standing for the sake of 

 appearance until they have depreciated in value. It is 

 generally admitted that such woods do not produce a ^proper 

 return, and must as time goes on produce still less. Various 

 schemes have therefore been put forward with the object of 

 converting them into high forest, which when attained should 

 result in a higher annual increment of timber and greater 

 simplicity of management. High forest is, however, useless 

 as a game covert, since pheasants will not remain under the 

 dense shade that is essential to the system, and enough con- 

 sideration does not seem to have been given to a landowner's 

 not unreasonable desire that his property should provide him 

 with a certain amount of pleasure, since he himself is not 

 likely to enjoy the profit that he is advised will be the result 

 of conversion. It is therefore necessary to devise a working 



