36 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



During the last half-century, more or less, we may say that 

 the planting of woods on estates has been done for one or other 

 of the following reasons: Utilisation of waste land, such as heath 

 or moorland; the improvement of the landscape; providing 

 shelter for game, live-stock, and dwelling-houses ; gratification 

 of the proprietor's tastes and wishes; the production of poles, 

 timber &c The depressed condition of agriculture has also re- 

 sulted 'in some of the poorer and less favourably situated soils 

 going out o£ cultivation altogether, and portions of these have in 

 TYianv eases been planted. 



If it were possible to ascertain the ideas of estate-owners who 

 have planted land during this period, regarding the probable 

 return they would realise from the work, we have no hesita ion 

 in predicting that not one in a hundred have given ^ question 

 of personal and direct profit a moment's serious thought. This 

 prediction, of course, is not based on any pretence of knowing the 

 motives which induce proprietors to plant but simply on the 

 Tength of the fact that an average man's lifetime must elapse 

 between the planting and reaping of a crop of timber, even under 

 ft most favourable conditions. From the little at present 

 known of human nature, therefore, it may he assumed that 

 no hing less than a supernatural interest in the future value , of 

 ft estate would induce a proprietor to plant solely witb a 

 view to ultimate returns. In other words we may, I think 

 Tfely assume that plantations in this country have not been 

 ormed on economic lines alone, but owe their existence quite as 

 muTh to the attractions they possess whilst growing and their 

 fevourable influence upon game preservation, as to the probable 

 Surns they may ultimately yield when mature The result of 

 "that we find the production of good trniber sacrificed for 

 he ake of present appearances, or slight present pecuniary 

 ins in the form of over-drafts upon the immature crop, or 

 f; the av n of expenditure in the management To illustrate 

 Lse Lts we may mention some of the weak points of the 

 lragrelIe planUon,both in regard to its formation and 

 JLt In the first place, we usually find the crop 

 3 t consist of a miscellaneous collection of trees and 

 shrubs, which are arranged with mathematical precision bu 

 wi ftout the slightest regard to the habits and rates of growth of 

 ft respective species. Fast-growing Conifers and slow-growing 



