TIic Gi uhhing up of Woods. 
353 
klnson was well acquainted with tlie process of conversion, and 
aware of the value of the land converted. He supplied me with 
some men who undertook to do for 6/. \^s. per acre what my un- 
skilled men could not do with any advantage to themselves for 
20/. ; and he furnished me with the results of his own experi- 
ence in the following paper, which I transcribe : — 
" Agreeably to your request, I beg to band you the following statement of 
tlie result of converting wood lands into tillage, and in order to make it clear 
and definite, I sliall give you the actual result of a particular example, that of 
Brockwood Hills Wood in this parish. This wood comprised 136 acres, and 
consisted chiefly of oak timber, and ash and hazel underwood. It had been 
wood for a long period ; certainly for 500 years, and probably much longer. 
" The stock of oak timber averaged 38 trees per acre, and the average size 
of the trees was 15 feet each. The underwood was of excellent quality: it 
had been cut at intervals of 18 years, and being in the vicinity of a good 
market, ri!alised higher prices than the average of woodlands. 
" The soil \\ as a strong red loam of considerable depth, and of good 
natural fertility. Although the stock of timber was not so great in number of 
trees, or so large in respect of size, as many of the ancient woods in Notts, yet 
altogether this wood was, I think, as fine and as profitable a specimen of wood- 
lands as any in the county, and certainly much above the average. In 1840 
it was proposed to the owner to stub this wood, and convert it into arable 
land, and in support of that proposition a careful inquiry was made as to the 
following points : — 
" 1. What was the annual value to be expected in perpetuity, from the 
wood, if continued as wood. 
" 2. What was the present net market value of the stock of timber and 
imderwood, producing such annual value, supposing it to be stubbed and sold. 
" 3. What would be the total expense of stubbing, burning, draining, 
fencing, and preparing for tillage. 
" 4. What would be the annual value of the land for agricultural purposes, 
when prejiared for cultivation, as arable land. 
" The first point, though essential to be known, is ordinarily very difficult 
to estimate, because in addition to the underwood, which recurring at regular 
intervals may be exactly valued, there is the question, whether the occa- 
sional falls of timber exactly represent the annual growth antl increase of 
timber, or whether they fall short or are in excess of that increase, and trench 
upon the permanent stock. It is the want of accurate information on this 
point, which has led to the false and exaggerated notions of the value of wood- 
lands which have hitherto prevailed. 
" In the case of Brockwood Hills a fair test existed on this p)oint. The 
wood was purchased of Lord Howe in 1816, and the whole of the timber was 
then numbered and measured. 
" The timber was again measiu-ed in 1840, when it was proposed to stub it, 
and these two admeasurements gave the means of detennining whether the 
timber felled between 1816 and 1840 fairly represented the growth of that 
period. It was found that the net annual income derived from the wood in 
the 24 years, from 1816 to 1840, averaged 101., being equal to an annual 
rent of nearly 10s. per acre. I may say here that my experience of other woods 
leads me to the conclusion that 10s. per acre per annum is above the net 
income derived from the average of woodlands in the midland districts of the 
county. 
" The 2nd question. — The present net value of the stock of timber and 
underwood, was found by admeasurement and valuation to be 7344?., or 54?, 
per acre, and this sum was slightly exceeded the subsequent sale. 
