The Principles of Forestnj. 
345 
Scliool," condemns our system, or rather our want of any system 
at all. He says : — 
"It is, llierefore, a matter of re.yret that, among- all t!ie forests visited by 
us in our travels, there is not a single one suitable for tlie teach inj^ of sylvi- 
culture on that broad basis so essential when tlie pupils are called upon to 
apply it in all parts of the globe. In England, as in Scotland, all the wood- 
lands may be arranged in two categories, the. one containing plantations 
too young, recently created by the hand of man, the other containing 
plantations too old, or too much overworked, to ba useful for the purpose. 
Nowhere did we see a high timber forest formed of really mature trees." 
These words surely, if correct, thoroughly condemn the 
forestry practices of Great Britain. Nevertheless, allowance 
must be made for his attachment to the French method of 
natural reproduction. 
Next, as to the evidence taken in 1887; and preference is 
given to the evidence of those who may be called practical wit- 
nesses. 
Mr. H. A. Britton, manager to the firm of Messrs. Richard 
Sheltan & Sous, timber merchants, Wolverhampton, says in 
reply to the direct question — 
" What is your opinion as to the management of woodlands in those 
(Ilerefordshire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire) counties ? " 
" There are exceptions, of course, but gener-ally speaking it is very bad." 
Mr. John Macgregor, head forester to the Duke of Athole, 
says, in reply to the question, " What is your opinion as to the 
management in Perthshire ? " 
" It might be better." 
Mr. John Glutton says : — 
"As regards the large proprietors their woods are well managed. As a 
general rule the smaller woods are not very well managed." 
Mr. Evan Powell, of Llanidloes, in Wales, says : — 
" I think that there bas been a great deal of injudicious planting from 
the want of knowledge of trees suitable to the soil, and there has beeu a 
great deal of neglect in the management of timber I have seen many 
estates in England where the timber has been grossly mismanaged, and 
where an immense loss occurs to the owner through the want of a proper 
knowledge of forestry." 
Sir J. D. Hooker, M.D., K.G.S.L, says : — 
" I have observed that they [woodlands] are very much neglected." 
These extracts, coupled with the implied testimony which 
runs through the whole evidence, fully confirm the opinion I 
have expressed that our woodlands are in a neglected and lan- 
guishing condition owing to the want of a knowledge of the 
principles of forestry, and the direct application of it. 
The question will therefore naturally arise, How can this 
