17. How wood sales ought to be conducted on the property, taking the situation of the timber-crops and their distance from market into consideration. 18. Statement showing the probable nett income that may be anticipated during the next ten years. This statement should also be made to furnish the

detail for each crop that will be harvested within these ten years.

Having thus specified in detail what seems to him the most important points calling for attention from any one who would undertake reporting on plantations, whether of a small or large extent, the author would next devote a few remarks to a short description of the manner in which the reporter should take up and illustrate each of these detailed points for the full benefit of the proprietor and of his forester. The various points are treated of seriatim as tabulated in the above classification.

1. In framing a register of the various crops, the reporter should be careful to make his tabular statement as comprehensive as possible; and he should at least embrace in it the following points, each of which should be stated under a separate column:

(a) The name of each plantation;

(b) The character of the soil and subsoil;

(c) The nature of the underlying rock;

(d) The condition of the land previous to its having been planted; (e) The extent in imperial acres ;

(f) The character of the crop;

(g) Its age;

(h) Description of fence by which surrounded;

(i) The elevation above the sea.

A well-arranged statement of this sort will form a comprehensive description of each plantation, which will be found of great use both to the reporter himself, while he is engaged in the work of reporting, and to the proprietor and his forester for reference at any subsequent time.

2. In detailing the concrete condition of each crop, the reporter should prepare himself, by a careful examination, to give a particular account of the state in which he finds the crop in each plantation, paying special attention to the state of the trees, with reference to density of the leaf-canopy (if crowded, or normal, or thin), to any tendency to wetness or dryness of the soil, to the nature of the soilcovering (herbage, dead foliage, humus-layer). He should also note the state of the fences around each separate enclosure, the extent of drainage necessary to improve the various crops, and the probable value of each crop, both as regards the cost of formation increased at compound interest up to the present, and with respect to its prospective or probable future value judging from its present condition.

3. In adverting to past management he must be careful, as he proceeds, to make notes with reference to the health of the several crops, and to state whether the trees are suited to the land they occupy, or whether they are likely to attain good ultimate development as a marketable crop.

4. In summarising under this head, of course, the report will follow the general tone previously expressed with reference to the several crops which go to form the whole growing stock.

5. In singling out the best of the timber-crops for special mention, the reporter should previously have prepared himself for specifying them by making judicious notes whilst examining the various individual crops, more particularly with reference to any that seem to him exceptionally good for their age. These notes will also be useful as illustrative facts when formulating his general recommendations for improvements requisite in the management of the whole growing stock; and he should be careful to show the cause of certain crops being better than others of the same age, &c.

6. With regard to backward or diseased crops, it need only be here remarked that the reporter should be as careful to state the causes of the inferior development or disease under this heading, as he previously has been in accounting for the greater vigour and healthier development of the crops singled out for special mention under heading 5; because ample details under both of these heads are necessary for the information and guidance of the proprietor and of his forester.

7. Although all the headings set forth for detailed description, at one part or another of the report, are absolutely necessary in order to frame a proper and useful working-plan for the woods, still it may safely be stated that the section now being considered is the most important. It should therefore be drawn up in the most minute, careful, and intelligible manner. Upon the accurate statement and classification of all the well-considered suggestions for the present and subsequent guidance of the forester in all the different branches of his work, the real utility derivable from such a report depends. This subject should therefore be carefully taken up and discussed; and a judicious method of treatment should be laid down in full but not unnecessary detail, for the guidance of the proprietor who is employing the reporter.

8. No comment need be made with regard to that section of the report which deals with the fencing of enclosures. It should

1

1 The opportunity may here be taken of calling the attention of the student to a report on the Various Modes of Enclosing Plantations in the Trans. Scot. Arbor. Socy., vol. ix., 1879, pp. 199-216.

VOL. II.

2 D

be short and clear, and should contain any detailed recommendations that suggest themselves with reference to the nature or given circumstances of that particular part of the country.

9. The section treating of drainage operations is also a very important one, which should be carefully attended to by the reporter. Especially reference ought to be made to details such as the depth of and the distance between the drains, under due consideration of the nature of the land. He should also note the probable expense of the drains to be made in each separate enclosure, and the extent to which he considers them necessary in each case. He should likewise draw up a statement showing the particulars of all drainage operations he proposes for the improvement of the crop of each enclosure.

10. A tabular statement should be drawn up with reference to the drainage requisite for the plots to be planted up. In this should be exhibited the extent requiring to be replanted in each separate crop, the kinds of plants to be used, and the expense of the operation. An explanation may also be given by the reporter of the results. that may be expected from the outlay which he advises for each

concrete case.

11. Under this section reference should be made to the drainage or soil-preparation requisite before proceeding with the planting of new enclosures. As this is a most important section, every particular with regard to the proper performance of the work should be clearly and intelligibly laid down, so that no two opinions may arise on any point afterwards. After giving details as to fencing, draining, trenching, ploughing, &c., the reporter should show on a plan the parts on which he considers the several kinds of trees ought to be planted, and should state clearly and definitely the proportion in which the various species of trees shall be admixed throughout each of the crops formed on different areas, as also the distance at which the young plants are to be planted out, the age of seedlings or transplants to be used, &c. &c.

12. Under this section reference must be made to the extent to which weedings and cleanings seem necessary for the improved development of the younger timber-crops.1

13. The section treating of the thinnings is also a very important one, and should on that account be treated in detail for the various crops. The reporter should give a specimen of his mode of thinning. in each of the plantations he recommends to be thus operated on, and to these specimens he should make special reference in his report. He should, at the same time, give instructions as to the general

1 The editor would here call attention to the technical distinction between weedings and cleanings and thinnings. It was previously pointed out in vol. i. chap. vii. p. 581; and in vol. ii. chap. x. pp. 132 et seq.

mode, and estimates relative to the expense, of the operation in reference to each separate crop, as well as any other particulars that occur to him on the subject.

14. So far as pruning is concerned, the author would merely remark that a judicious reporter, who understands his work, will usually be very guarded in recommending this operation as an improvement with respect to young trees; for there is, generally speaking, more harm done by pruning than advantage gained by it. Still the subject may often deserve attention; and in that case it should certainly be referred to.

15. The forecasting of the income that ought to be derivable from the woodlands forms, as it were, the estimate of the harvest of all the operations. Hence the greatest care should be taken to show the quantities of wood, bark, &c., that may be taken from each crop to be operated on in a given year, and their value according to present ruling prices in the neighbourhood. A proper tabular statement should be drawn up, showing the probable amount of income from each of the woods to be operated on during the year. In this the reporter should clearly state the grounds for arriving at his conclusions. He should, of course, carry this statement as to income over a given number of years, so that afterwards the proprietor may be able to ascertain from after results how far the reporter's estimate has proved itself correct.

16. The section dealing with expenditure is also equally important. The reporter should therefore be very exact and careful in making calculations with regard to it. Every item of expense should be noted, under its own proper head, as will be described in the succeeding chapter (see p. 435).

17. The system of disposing of the mature crops is a subject of very great importance with regard to reporting on woodlands, and should therefore be judiciously gone into. This subject should be taken up at such a length as to explain every particular necessary in order to show how the present prices of wood are affected by roads and distance from market, and how higher prices might be realised by adopting certain improvements in sales or in the mode of transit.

18. The concluding section of the report, exhibiting the nett income that ought to be derivable during the next ten years, should be in the form of a tabular statement, setting forth the points referred to. As the formulation of such a statement requires great judgment and experience, in order that it may prove a fairly correct and reliable approximation,-for absolute accuracy could not be reasonably expected,none should attempt it who have not full confidence in their own experience. Any errors made in this respect will soon register themselves against the reputation of the reporter.

B. THE SYLVICULTURAL OR CONTINENTAL METHOD OF

MANAGING WOODLANDS.

The leading feature of the Continental system of forest management consists in the pains there taken to ascertain, first of all, the exact productivity of the land and the actual quantity of wood growing in each crop, and then to forecast the annual fall of timber that ought to be annually obtainable in perpetuo. The working plans which are formed for guidance in this respect are usually, however, subjected to revisions once every ten years. During such revisions all the actual operations are checked with the original forecast; and any variations, of sufficient importance to necessitate modifications in the working plan, are duly considered and given practical effect to. The working plan forms, therefore, an index or guide that is prescribed after approval, and that must be followed as closely as possible in the general conduct of operations; but, of course, from the very nature of the dangers to which timber-crops are exposed, its provisions cannot always be adhered to in detail.

The general principles underlying the working plan are well expressed in the following extract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division, Bulletin No. 5, 1891, What is Forestry? by B. E. Fernow, chief of the Division of Forestry, in which the German method is sketched :

"Working Plans.-In making up working plans for a large forest area, considering the fact that the crop matures only in 60 to 150 years, more or less, it stands to reason that a general plan for the whole time of production, and a special working plan from year to year is necessary; and in planning, both technical and financial considerations must be consulted.

"For a forest administration on a large scale, and especially for a State forest administration, the management should produce from year to year about the same amount of revenue, and involve the same amount of expenditure.

"Especially is it desirable, although technically by no means necessary, that neither less nor more wood be cut than grows annually, so that there is a continuous production of about the same amount for ever.

"To determine what that amount is requires a considerable knowledge of the conditions of the forest and the rapidity with which the annual woodgrowth accumulates.

"As stated before, it is not wood, but wood of a certain quality, and the largest amount at least expense per acre, that forest management is after. Now, the quality as well as the greatest quantity of wood is to be found in a tree of certain age, and while this age may vary for different kinds of trees and different localities, it is approximately determinable when it is most advantageous, alike for quality, quantity, and cost of production, to cut the tree or the forest. The time from the seedling stage to the mature tree ready for the axe is called the 'rotation.' If we say this Pine forest is managed under a rotation of 100 years, it means that we allow each tract to grow to 100 years before we cut the trees, or that we expect to return for a new crop within 100 years to the same acre we have just cut. Now, if we desire to cut an even amount every year, say, for instance, one acre of 100-year-old Pine, we would need to have 100 acres of Pine, each acre differing in age by one year.

"This would be an ideal or normal forest, in which we also suppose an equal annual normal accretion. In such a normal or ideal forest there must be at the outset a certain amount of wood standing, which is the stock upon which the yearly accretion accumulates, and may be called the normal stock