SECTION VII. 



447 



was derived merely from the thinnings of these thriving plantations, 

 including, of course, the cutting out of the place and park, as already- 

 stated. 



To those acquainted with the rapid progress made by the Larch on a 

 gravelly soil, on which any tolerable quantity of vegetable mould has 

 been aggregated, it is a fact well known that it doubles its value every 

 three years, after fifteen years old, and every five years, after five-and- 

 twenty ; so that it was obvious that, in that ratio, it must soon reach 

 the greatest size and value which the soil and climate would admit. 

 This period has now nearly arrived ; and a valuation having been made 

 of the whole of the Fir and Larch wood on the estate, it amounted last 

 year (1826) to the surprising sum of £30,000, putting little value on any 

 other species of wood ! ! ! Whatever is at its best, it is pretty clear, 

 can admit of no further improvement ; so that the judicious owner, as 

 I am informed, has it now in contemplation to cut down the whole ; 

 and after taking two crops of corn, (which must be of the most abun- 

 dant sort,) to plant the estate anew, in order to create a second fortune 

 for his family ! 



I regret that I am not so much acquainted with the details, as to 

 give a comparative view of the expenditure and the returns from the 

 beginning, as it might prove interesting to those who are embarking, or 

 who may hereafter embark, in similar designs. But there is good ground 

 to believe that arboricultural skill and perseverance were never more 

 amply or speedily rewarded, even during the lifetime of the planter, 

 than by this judicious and most successful speculation. 



