CHAP. I.ANCIENT WOODS.
While professionally employed, and while passing from one part of the country to another, my surprise has often been great, when I have witnessed, from its effects, the indifference which many gentlemen manifest, as to the state and management of this description of property: there appears, in comparatively few instances, to be any thing worth the name of an effort to rescue them from that state of wild unproductiveness in which they have been for ages! One generation passes away after another, and like as was the father, so is the son—and as was the agent of the former, so is the agent of the latter! All they have done for ages gone by, they do now, and little or nothing more. They calculate, with tolerable accuracy,the return of the year, when, according to immemorial custom, they ought to “cut, and hack, and hew,” and they go into the wood for the purpose ofsetting outthe piece which they intend to fell: this they divide, in many districts, into a certain number of lots, or ranges, of what they call “Gad Wood,” which vary considerably in size, but which, as far as they go, includeallthe Underwood. At the same time, the sapient woodman contrives to satisfy himself—and it is seldom that his superiors make any inquiry into the matter—as to the number ofOak Trees, &c. that it is proper to take down; and then, after due notice given, the whole is sold, Underwood and all, by Auction.
It is a common practice to describe aringround a portion of the Standard Trees which are to remain—such as the Oak, Ash, &c.—and these, of course, are intended for future timber, the selection being often as bad as it well can be, but the whole system, from the beginning to the end, is most objectionable, and it is matter of astonishment that it should have continued so long. It is objectionable for many reasons, among which I mention the following: viz.: because the Proprietorthrows out of his own hands thatcontrolwhich a gentleman ought to have over every person who enters his woods, whether as a purchaser or as a workman. This control is absolutely necessary in order to secure two things, for which Conditions of Sale, however well they may be drawn up, offer but a very feeble security—I meanthe prevention of entry by teams, &c. at an improper season, and the clearing of the Woods at a given time. There are other reasons which apply more or less strongly, according to the condition of the wood,as to its stock, and the staple of its soil. Carting, or ratherteaming, for carts are not often used, will inevitably do much injury in woods that arewell stocked, if the utmost possible care is not taken, whatever the soil may be; but if it be atenacious, retentive, cold, clay, damage would be done in two ways: viz.: in the poaching of the land, and in that which would be done to thestockby thewheels. The injury to which woods are liable from these two causes, and others, may be almost wholly prevented by the active supervision of an intelligent woodman. Such a person will take care to dividehis cuttings as nearly as he can to suit the local demand, and to beginas early as possible, so that every opportunity may be seized, insuitable weather, for getting away the produce, and it must be his own personal duty to see that noavoidableinjury is done to the stools by the carriages. These reasons appear to me to be quite sufficient to establish a decided preference for the mode which I recommend over the system to which I have referred; but there is another, which I cannot but think will be deemed of importance enough by itself to decide the question, and it is this: viz.:the impossibility of deciding, before the Underwood is cut, what Oak Treesought, orought not, to come down. It is quite possible, I admit, to jump to aconclusionon the subject: to deny this in the face of the evidence which every succeeding Winter affords, would be absurd; but I affirm that no woodman can do itcorrectly. He ought, at least, to have aclear coast, to enable him to give due consideration to the various points on which he should be fully satisfied, before he cuts down that, which his whole life would not suffice to set up again. How little consideration enters intothese matters, it is easy for those who really understand them to judge. For my own part, I am compelled to say, that I never yet saw a single instance, where timber was selected in the way to which I refer, without gross blunders being committed. But more than this may be affirmed—and it is not an over-weening fondness for my own plans, but a perfect conviction of theutter want of adaptationin the present practice of many, which induces me to say it—there is notone solitary argument that can be advanced in favour of the practice which I have condemned. If this be so, then let all gentlemen abandon it; if not, let the arguments be brought forward.
I have said that the whole system is wrong, and I add, that no good will be done by a patchwork attempt to amend it. So long, for instance, as a proprietor retains the “Gad-Wood” plan, he will insure the continuance of the old system of “mismanagement.” He might as well think of bending, by his own personal strength, one of the sturdy stems of his well-grown oaks, as attempt to turn his woodman gently aside out of his usual track—especially if he be an old man—there mustbe a total revolution effected—he must be put into an entirely new course, if either the condition of the woods, or the revenue arising from them, is to be improved.
Unfortunately it seldom happens that customers are not found for all that may be offered, in almost any neighbourhood, and in any way. I say unfortunately, inasmuch as it keeps the managers of many woods exactlystationary, while everybody else is going on. If they had a little difficulty to contend with, it might, perhaps, induce alittlereflection, and raise a doubt in their minds as to the propriety of the course they were pursuing; which would be a great point gained, as there has beenvery little thoughtapplied to the management of this species of property, either by its owners, or by the persons they have employed.
There are, no doubt, many refreshing instances of good management to be met with—I could myself mention a few, were it not invidious to do so—but in a large majority of cases, from mistaken management, woods are in a high degree, and for many reasons, a discredit to those who belong tothem. If the Woodman’s account were fairly examined—if aDr.andCr.balance sheet were exhibited, it would be found that the land was payinga very small rent indeed from the underwood, even where there might be very little oak, which most assuredly ought not to be the case; for I contend that there is no Ancient Woodland which is not considerably below the average quality of what I have seen, that is not quite capable ofgrowing a full crop—either of underwood or of oak; and for this plain reason, viz.; becausethe period of pecuniary sacrifice, the infancy of the wood, is gone by: and that woodman’s management is essentially defective, who cannot show, uponeveryacre under his care, a good crop either of the one or the other. I would here remark, that afull crop of bothcannot contemporaneously grow up together; and this consideration is of far more importance in the management of woods than is at first sight imagined, or, than by a slight acquaintance with the subject would be perceived.
If there is found in a wood a superabundance of oaks, and if they are seen to bethrifty, nothing could possibly be soill judgedas tothin them too freely, even though thecrop of underwood were entirely sacrificed; for, the very objects most to be desired, can only be attained by bringing about that state of things which is here supposed, and which necessarily involvesthe sacrifice of the underwood, or, at the least, all idea of any considerableprofitfrom it. Under these circumstances, the exertions of the skilful Woodman will be directed to the securing ofgreat length of bole or stem; for these, and these alone, are the trees which have any legitimate right to a place in a wood: and, of course, the longer their boles are, the better.
Having attained this object, the woodman will then anxiously employ the best means in his power, for encouraging the growth of the underwood, so far as, at least, tokeep it alive, andas healthyas possible; and if he have well considered the subject, he will have contrived to lay down a plan, a regularly systematic plan, that his successors can neither mistake, nor, without somegood reason, depart from, by which, during the period that the crop of oaks is being taken, the stock of underwood shall gradually be acquiring strength and vigour, and getting well hold of the soil; as well as that, they shall be so equally diffused over it, as fully and beneficially to occupy the ground,when the oaks are all gone. All these calculations, and many more, which it is impossible to enumerate, will suggest themselves to the mind of a man well-skilled in the management of woods; but there are very few indeed, who either see the necessity of making, or will give themselves the trouble to make, any calculations at all. In the oversight of woods, &c. much more is included than is generally supposed. He who imagines, as too many do, that when woods have been cut, they may be safely left to themselves; and that when the period comes round again for felling, they will do all that could be expected from them, has a very imperfect knowledge of the subject, or, rather, no knowledge at all: and further; he who does not know that woods will ultimately pay well for the highest degree of care, attention, and culture, is not afitting person to have the oversight of them. But such is the ignorance on the part of many, who call themselves woodmen, and the carelessness of their employers, that there is a total negation offorethoughtandcalculation, instead of every step that is taken having reference to a remote period.
A nobleman, or gentleman, or his agent, may calculate what will be the effect upon a farm at the expiration of a lease of twenty-one years, if it be not cultivated as it ought to be, and, by introducing certain clauses into the lease, he may secure himself against the certain and serious loss which would accrue to him from bad management; and he who does not so calculate, has a very inadequate idea of the nature of the contract which he is about to make; but the man who takes upon himself the management of woods, and whose views and plans are not extended overseveral of those cycles of time which intervene between the seasons of cutting, does not rightly comprehend the peculiar duties which he has undertaken to perform, and ought, at once, to be relieved from them, and provided for in some other way; for if woods are worth having at all, they are worth looking after,andif they will pay for proper culture, which no one who understands the subject will deny, they ought to receive it, for various weighty reasons, which have been before adverted to.
The foregoing remarks will apply, of course, most directly, to woods where there is anapparent redundancyof oak. I will now suppose the case of a wood where there is adeficiency, or little or no oak. Here there ought, unquestionably, to bea full crop of underwood. This underwood ought to be adapted, as tokind, first, to the nature of the soil; and, secondly, to thelocal demand, if the local demand be good: and as to itsage, of course it must be that which best suits the market, or when, comparatively, it will fetch the best price; so that in some districts, as in Kent, for instance, it willsellbest, and therefore ought to becut, at about twelve years of age: in others it would not sell so well at less than from fifteen to twenty years old. But it doesnotfollow as a matter of course, that because a wood has always, previously, stood from twenty to twenty-five years, it should for ever continue to do so; on the contrary, I should say, that there arevery few woods indeed, if any,which ought to stand more than twenty years, and a great proportion of them, nothing like so long. The great reason why the produce of woods does not earlier come to maturity, is the gross “mismanagement” to which they are subjected: but when the time shall arrive that they shall be deemed worthy of as much “care, attention, and culture,” as any other part of an estate, then will they be found, probably, to yield quite as good a return for it; and the presentno systemmanagement will be exploded.
In all cases where the cycle has run beyond twenty years, it will, at least, be well for the proprietor, or his manager, to sit down and calculate whether the stuff would not pay better if felled some years earlier. The inquiry can do no harm; and much good may possibly arise out of it. In the case last supposed, viz.: a wood with little or no oak,and well stocked with underwood of a suitable kind, there cannot be a doubt upon the subject; for if the stock—by which term I mean the shoots which have sprung up from the stools—has been properly treated, it will have arrived, in twenty years, at a size quite large enough foragricultural uses, and it can very seldom be allowed to stand longer withoutserious injury to the stools. A very little consideration will convince any one, who does not resist conviction, that such ought to be the state of a wood so circumstanced as to oak; but nevertheless the actual condition of most woods is widely different from this: instead of there being a full crop of underwood, where there is a deficiency of timber, or a full crop of timber, where there is little or no underwood, it too frequently happens that there is neither the one nor the other, even on land which is, as was remarked before, capable of yielding a handsome revenue! And here let it not be supposed that I am speaking ofextreme cases only, or that there are butfewwoods in this state: the cases are numerous: I have seen, and could point out many, but this I shall not do: I rather choose to leave these observations with “all whom they may concern,” to work conviction where they are seen to bejust, quite indifferent as to the effect which they may produce on the minds of any who may oppose them.
And now let me ask—if this be the state of many woods—if neither a crop of timber nor of underwood is found—to what is it owing?the reply is not difficult: it ismainlyattributable to proprietors themselves, and to their agents: to woodmen in a subordinate degree. In proof of my first position, I would respectfully remark, that if a gentlemanchoosesto sacrifice every thing to the idea of havinggood covers; and, supposing that any thing which interferes with the primeval state of his woods, is incompatible with this object,refuses to do any thing at them, the woodman may not bear the blame. Again: if a proprietor happen, unfortunately, to havesuch an aversion to felling timber—and there are many such—that he will sooner let itrot down, orallow one tree to destroy another; or again; suffer the timber trees to stand so thickly that they not only totally destroy each other, but the underwood below also, the woodman ought not to be censured; except indeed, he have advised such a course, which I can hardly think any man accustomed to woods could do, in the present day. Once more; if gentlemen lack the moral courage—and I havemet withsomeof this description—to treat with the contempt which it deserves the vulgar meddling, the idle tattle of those who are ever ready to say, when timber is felled, that the owner’spoverty, and not hiswill, consents to the deed, we are furnished with abundance of reasons for the serious waste of property that is going on, but the woodman is not in fault, neither ought he to be blamed. Lastly: if proprietors commit the management of their woods to persons who are wholly incompetent—as is too often the case—to discharge the duties confided to them, I cannot see that the men are to be condemned, but rather their employers. Wherever such “mismanagement” prevails as I have attempted to describe, and have seen so much cause to lament, it may generally, I think, be traced, either to ignorance on the part of woodmen, or inattention on the part of their employers: but it will be quite clear to all, who will allow themselves time to think on the subject, that thegrossestmismanagement is to be met with, not on first, nor even on second, but onthird, andfourth-rateestates, whereregular woodmenare not kept, and below that gradedownwards, to property which is in the hands of Trustees, or mainly under the control of Solicitors, or Corporate bodies; or, which is probably worse than all, under the supreme direction of men who having, during the whole of their business life, had too many Stewardships, &c.for any human being to look after and manage well, cannot of course be deemed capable of judging rightly on a subject which requiresthe closest possible attention, the nicest discrimination, and an extended and varied experience.
Much mischief has also arisen from the employment by gentlemen, and by their agents, of persons, who, while they may, usefully and creditably, fulfil their duties as village carpenters and the like, cannot possibly possess those enlarged, comprehensive views, which are necessary to the proper management of timber generally, and Ancient Woods especially. I must here protest against the conclusion being drawn, that I am doing injustice to any class of men in remarking, as I have done, on their manner of discharging the trust committed to them. As to the professional gentlemen, either theirengagements, theirposition,or theirhabits, interpose an insurmountable difficulty, and relieve them from the charge of wilful neglect: and as to the others it is no injustice to them to affirm, as I do most positively, that there are principles and considerations involved in this subject, which they can, in no wise, grasp or comprehend: and so perfectly clear is this to me, so fully am I borne out by a long course of “observation and experience,” that I have never yet seen one solitary instance, wherethe timber taken down in thinning, either in woods or plantations,when in such hands, has been properly done; and invery fewcases indeed, either here, or higher up the scale, without the mostserious blunders. One case has fallen under my observation this Winter, (1842,) whereoak timber trees were selected and marked for sale, which were exactly, in every respect, such as a good judge would wish to see in every wood; and not only, not too thick, but, from the same injudicious mode of selecting and marking at previous auctions, much too thin. They were also in a state ofhigh vigorous health, and moreover, there was no underwood which could be benefited! I admit that this was a moreflagrant outrage against the principles which ought to rule in selecting, than is usually committed, but the work is hardly ever done as it ought to be.
But whatever difference of opinion may arise among practical men, upon the points now under consideration, and on whomsoever the blame may rest, it is unquestionable that the actual state of a large proportion of our Ancient Woods is very bad indeed: they are either crowdedwith inferior oak timber, along with the most miserable rubbish as underwood; or, if they contain any thing valuable in either the one or the other, noprinciples, or rules of any kind, are applied in the management of them; and, consequently, they are, on some account or other, and of course more or less rapidly,passing through the stage of deterioration, and are annually losing to their owners,a heavy per centage on their value. In many cases, the oak, from ages of “mismanagement,” is stunted in growth, and of aform, and shape, totally unsuited to the place where it stands; and the underwood consists of that alone which is indigenous to the soil, and which, therefore, no neglect can destroy, nor any culture improve: in addition to all this,they are often, nay almost always, on clayey, retentive soils,ruined with water: they are periodicallyshut up, for from eighteen to twenty-five years, during which time, it is impossible to do any thing at them; and, when they are cleared of the underwood, instead of the opportunity being gratefully seized, for the purpose of effecting those operations which can only be carried on at such a time, they areshut up again, and left in their original state—except indeed they may have been despoiled of some of their oak—nothing beingdone at them, or, if any thing, probably so little, or soilldone, that no good result is produced. But what ought to be the course pursued at such a time? Why, as it is only during the year of “hagging,” and the following season, that any work of magnitude, any improvement worth mentioning, can be carried on; a proprietor should more carefully examine his woods when they have been cut, than he would any other description of property: he should himself, if he understand it—which, however, is very seldom the case—or if he do not, by a person who is conversant with such matters, make a most rigid, and particular survey,in order to satisfy himselfas to what ought to be done; and this he must doimmediately when the underwood is cut, or rather, as soon as any considerable portion is done, so that he may have before himall the time which he can possibly command, for carrying on, and completing, his improvements. He must not be deterred from commencing them by any consideration ofthe remoteness of the prospect of return upon his outlay; but, instead of visiting the sins of his fathers upon the generations following him, he must, if the case demand it, make apresentsacrifice, for the benefit of his posterity: I say if the casedemandit, but this will not very frequently happen, as there are very few instances of “mismanagement” wherethe fear of cutting timberhas not been one of the principal causes of that mismanagement; and where this is so, there is at once found a source from whence may be obtainedthe means of amply paying for any outlay that may be required. I have thus far remarked only on what may, and what ought to be done, when Ancient Woods come to befelled in the regular way, andat the usual time and age; but thereare vast numbers of cases where, first, the condition of the woods is so bad, that all considerations about theusualtime, are merged in the necessity for immediately commencing the work of renovation; and, secondly, the instances are not few, where the same course is desirable, in order that a more profitable way of disposing of the produce may be introduced, to supersede the old jog-trot mode of getting rid of it.
With regard to the first, it will at once be perceived, by a practical eye, and a sound judgment, whether a wood is in such a state,as to the prospect of a crop, that it is the proprietor’s interest tomake a sacrifice in the underwoodandcut it, although it may sell for nothing but faggots,rather than finish, or run out, the term, at the end of which it would be cut in the usual course. I have seen hundreds of such cases: there are many in almost every neighbourhood where woods exist at all; and I confidently ask, what would be the use, or how would it be possible to show the propriety, of completing the term of the cycle, if, first,the wood contained nothing valuable as underwood; and if, secondly,it contained a considerableportion of timber that required immediate attention, on some account or other? I should, for instance, instantly determine to cut, where I found a wood crowded with a class of unhealthy oaks, or other timber: but it is not necessary to particularize, as I would not pretend to give such directions here as would enable a gentleman to decide, for that could only be doneafter inspection. So many points have to be considered, that a careful survey of a wood must be made. This done, fortunately there is no difficulty in coming to a correct conclusion upon such a question as this. A practical man, who understands what he is about, will be in no danger of committing an error in the decision to which he will be led, for these are not subjects on which a difference of opinion might naturally arise upon an examination taken. The various considerations forcutting, orforbearing to cut, wouldso certainly present themselvesto the mind of a personreally competent to judge, that I should say there would be no doubt whatever, of his deciding correctly, if he were not interfered with by the personal wish, or taste, of his employer. It is with this as with most other subjects:—wherevermen understand what they are about, and are guided and governed byfixed principles, matters go on well; but the misfortune, with regard to woods, is, that ages of “mismanagement,” and other causes, interpose obstacles and difficulties which it will be no slight task to overcome. To give a brief summary of my views upon this important point, I would remark, that no wood ought to be allowed torun out its termwhich is notstocked as it ought to be, or which, if stocked tolerably well,is suffering injury from imperfect drainage. As I have just said, these points must be determined by an examination of the wood by some person whose judgment may be relied upon; but any gentleman may see at once, if he will, that if a wood is really in the state which I have supposed, viz., without either timber or underwoodworth standing, &c. it would be perfectly absurd tolet it stand; for at the end of the cycle it would be very little better than at the beginning, and so much more time would be irrecoverably lost.
As to the second point—the improvement of revenue to be derived from a different mode of disposing of the produce, I am of opinion thatmuch might be done, in many places, without laying an increased tax on the local buyers, who are generally either farmers, or their tradesmen, the wheelwrights and carpenters of every neighbourhood, and who already pay quite enough for what they get; and especially theformer, to whom I would much sooner recommend their landlords to allow anabatement, as an encouragement to them to keep their fences, gates, &c. in good order, than any thing in the shape of an advance. But still, much may be done to increase the returns from woodland property, by an improved system of management, and, first, I should advisea careful assortment of the stuff after it is felled: I would here, as in every thing else,classify, by which means, the different kinds, as well as the different sizes, and shapes, will come into the hands of such persons as they may exactly suit, instead of jumbling all sorts together, so that a buyer is obliged to purchase that which hedoes not want, in order to come at another portion of the same lot which he is desirous of having.
Secondly: There is room to doubt, I think, as hinted before, whether mistakes are not oftenmade, in not adapting the produce of woods better as to itsage, both to the local demand, and the interests of the proprietor.
Thirdly: So numerous are the facilities in the present day, to what they used to be, for the transmission of produce of every kind from one place to another, and so many demands have, by commercial enterprize, been opened out, which were altogether unknown a quarter of a century ago, that it may, even as to heavy produce, like that of woods, be always questioned,when the demand is slack, and when prices are low, whether the local market be indeed the best market, or whether the produce may not be much better disposed of in some other way. That this sometimes occurs, I can prove from my own experience in many cases, but I will mention only one, which was that of an Ancient Wood, a twentieth portion of which was felled every year, and in which, from “mismanagement,” a large quantity of the stuff was annually left unsold, but where, after the introduction of a better system, the whole was disposed of without difficulty.
Fourthly: A great increase of revenue may be derived froma better mode of managing the stock, both of timber and underwood: the latter may, by timely and judicious pruning, by a proper attention to draining, &c.be brought to maturityat a much earlier period than it has hitherto been done in many places, and thus, of course, be made to return a greater rent.
It is incredible how little is done to Ancient Woods compared with what ought to be done,in the way of draining, pruning, stubbing up rubbish, andfilling up with young plants; although it is manifest that, whenever a wood is opened, these important operationsshouldclaim the very particular attention of the proprietor or his woodman. But they do not receive it; and hence one cannot wonder at thestunted, unhealthyappearance, which many woods exhibit. They are almost always without anyeffective drainage, it being generally thought quite sufficient to open out a few paltry drains, which the falling leaves of the first Autumn willchokeup. It will indeed very seldom be found, that even the outside ditches are well looked after: whereas it should alwaysbe the anxious concern of the woodman to provide, as well as he possibly can, for theeffectual drainageof a wood after being felled, not only during a year or two, but for the term of the whole cycle. Of course I am aware that the leavesmustfall, and, consequently, that the free egress of the water must, in some degree, beimpeded, but, nevertheless, it is in the power of the woodman to provide, in a great measure, if not wholly, against this contingency, by making a sufficient number of ditches, ofample capacity, and by putting them in the best direction. But instead of this, it will very rarely be found, as I have just now said, that even the outside ditches are properly attended to. The consequence is, that theoaks, and our best underwood, the ash, not liking too much moisture, become diseased, and make comparatively slow progress: in fact, theirexistenceis shortened by it, as the former will be found upon cold clay land, having a strong subsoil, to be very stunted and sickly in their appearance, and ultimately to die at the top, when, of course, they must be cut down; while the latter will much sooner become hollow, and they too, will finallyperish. A small outlay in draining, if judiciously expended, would, in most cases, prevent these effects, and as it would only require to be done once in fifteen or twenty years, it could not lay more than a trifling charge upon the land.
Pruning is also a very necessary operation in Ancient Woods, both of the oak and of the underwood. I shall not here enter upon an inquiry intothe general question of pruning, but, continuing to treat my subject practically, venture to remark, that, as our woods are now circumstanced, pruning, of some kind or other, is, as far as the oak is concerned, quiteindispensable. Whether it should be byfore-shortening,close pruning, or some other method, must be determined upon an examination taken, but I do not hesitate to express my belief, thatthe pruning of oak trees in woods, may be almost wholly dispensed with, after the few first years,if they are well trained from the beginning; but that being the case with very few, pruningmustbe resorted to. And as to the underwood, the question has still less difficulty in it. When a wood is well stocked with underwood of the right sort, the object to be aimed at by the woodmanisto bring it to maturity as soon as possible, and one means which he possesses, if he will make use of it, ispruning; which he should commence, after one year’s growth, and occasionally repeat—say on the fourth and sixth years, allowing the intervals to pass without interfering with it. If this operation be performed as it ought to be, the stools will have a number of poles proportioned to their size and capacity of supporting them, and the poles themselves will not only be more of an uniform size, but they will be much straighter, and on every account better adapted to the use for which they may be intended. But if a wood be stocked with nothing but rubbish, such as hazel, birch, alder, &c. it will not beworthpruning, and the best course to take with it, would be tostub it up, and get rid of it altogether.
Finally, on this point, and more particularly with reference to timber, if the pruning bejudiciously done, it will tend greatly to improve the health of the wood, butthe indiscriminateuse of the pruning knife might do much harm, it should, therefore, only be done under the most careful direction.
Stubbing up rubbish, such asthorns,briers,birch, and, in many places,hazel, is much to be recommended, as by this means, light and air will be admitted more freely, and the health of the wood promoted, and, of course, its growth facilitated. It is perhaps just possible, that there may be a few cases where the demand may be such for birch, hazel, or alder, as to warrant a woodman in keeping them as a part of his stock; but I have generally found, upon inquiry, that they have fetched such a miserable price, as to yield very little more than would pay expences.
The absolute necessity of filling up with young plantsmust be universally admitted, althoughin practice, it is very rarely done, or, if done at all, it is very generally so ill done, as to produce no perceptible improvement in the stock.
It too often happens that sufficient care is not bestowed inselecting the plants. They are frequently put intoo small, and when they are long enough, they are oftendeficient in thickness. All plants put into old woods, should be ofgood size,stiff, andwell rooted. Again: it will be admitted, that they are often planted in a most slovenlyand careless manner.—The following is a specimen of what I haveseen. The workman takes his spade, and inserts it in the ground as far as it will go,in a sloping direction; he then raises it to aperpendicular position, which, of course, produces a “nick,” into which hethrusts the plant, and having put his heavy foot upon it, there and thus, he leaves it to its fate, and pursues his ill-directed labour, without a gleam of light breaking in upon him, as to the possibility of his being more usefully employed, or doing his work in a more effective manner! In this way, or in some such way as this, thousands of acres of Ancient Woods are treated every year; but it must be clear to every one, that such a practice is a disgrace to those who pursue it. If the workmen are asked their opinion of it, they will, in most cases, assure you, that the plants will “all grow,” but the misfortune is, thatexperienceis against them. Both theory and practice are directly opposed to their view. But independently of facts, which every where condemn such methods, no one acquainted with therudimentsof the subject, needs to be told, that it is utterly unlikely that eitheran oak or an ash plant should grow, under the manifest disadvantages in which it is placed, when its roots are thusjumbled together, and forced into a “nick” fit only for a willow set; and when, moreover, it has to commence its course in competition with other underwood, which has already possession of the ground. It is absurd to suppose that it should succeed.
I do not presume to say that some woods do not receive different treatment, inallrespects, to that which I have denounced: that would not be true; but these are the exceptions, and even where the management is best, there is much to complain of.
In commencing the subject of Planting, I am impressed with a sense of the importance which should be attached to it in such a work as this. I mean planting by way of filling up, in Ancient Woods. I am quite aware that it demands such a largeness and comprehension of view, that it might well be supposed likely to discourage one of stouter nerves than mine. It is important because, first, every wood in the kingdom ought to bewell planted, whether it is or not: It is so,secondly, because there are very few that are properly planted.
As I have stated before, the infancy of a wood, or plantation, is the only time when it cannot be expected to pay. After it has arrived at a certain age, say from fifteen to twenty years, it ought to begin to makesomereturn. In woods, if they are properly planted, it will necessarily be small during the first two cycles of twenty years each. It must be observed, that I am here speaking of the first forty years of anAncientWood, supposing it to have been thoroughly purged of its rubbish, retaining all the valuable stock, and to have been re-planted. The return must be small, because the oaks will have been planted thickly, in order that they may acquire great length of bole: and this being the case, whatever underwood may have been put in, it will be treated with direct reference to the health and prosperity of the entire class of timber trees. After the expiration of the first cycle, that portion of the stuff put in for underwood will be cut over, and such pruning of the oak as may be required (which will be very slight) will be done, carebeing taken never to lose sight of the principle ofclassification of the oaks, into certain families of larger or smaller size, according to the term which a skilful woodman will allot for their entire existence. This is of immense consequence, and will embrace calculations, and a knowledge of the habits of trees, which can only be acquired by “close observation and long experience.” Where a sufficient number of oaks have been introduced, theunderwoodwill yield very little return per acre, even at the end of the second cycle; but if the wood has been well managed, it will have been kept alive and tolerably healthy; and when it is cut, at the end of forty years, a considerable number of oaks of a useful size for farmers, wheelwrights, &c. will be taken down: this will admit light and air, and in a slight degree, perhaps, improve the position of the underwood during the course of the third cycle.
I need not pursue the subject farther here, having, I trust, succeeded in opening to the reader a general view of the plan which should be pursued. But there are other woods where a larger portion, both of oak and of underwood, will be found, andwhere, consequently, it will be more the object of the woodman to improve byless extensive measuresthan would be adopted in such a case as the one just referred to. It will mostly be best to do this by pruning, stubbing, and planting—always supposing that an effectual drainage has been secured—and here I would remark, that whenever planting is done in a wood, it should be as well done as circumstances will possibly allow. Instead of the “nick” system, or any similar plan, the woodman should dig holes for the underwood in the Autumn, and plant in February, or early in March. For oak, he should dig a larger hole, in the Autumn, give it a Summer fallow, and put in a vigorous, stiff plant, the Autumn following, or in the February next but one. If some such plan as this were pursued, there is not much fear but the plants would grow, and in this way woods may be gradually brought into a prosperous state, instead of their being, as they now are, in the aggregate, acomparativelyvalueless property to their owners.
I may here illustrate my view by a reference to a particular case, which came under my professionalnotice. It was a wood held on lease by a gentleman, under an ecclesiastical body, the lease being for a certain number of years, renewable upon the payment of a fine every seven years. Some dissatisfaction was felt by the lessee at the amount of the fines demanded, and the lease was permitted tolapse, at which time the intrinsic value of the stock, whether of timber orunderwood, was literally nothing. The oak was all gone, as it was quite natural that, with a lease so framed, it should be, and the underwood, instead of being usefully and beneficially occupying the ground, of which it then hadentire possession, was not worth the trouble of cutting! How different would have been the position of the lessors in this instance, I need not say, if, during the two last cycles, when the oaks were becoming very thinly scattered, the underwood had been cherished, as it most undoubtedly ought to have been. The neighbourhood was one where there was plenty of demand for the produce of woods; the particular wood referred to, would have been, on every account, as good a cover, and all parties wouldhave been alike interested in the continuance of the lease.
But as I must now very shortly bring such of my “Remarks” as refer to “Ancient Woods,” to a close, it may be as well just to run over the whole subject in a recapitulary form, so as to present it to the reader in a sort of bird’s-eye view.
I have, then, endeavoured to show, that the present state of the Ancient Woods of this kingdom is very far from what it ought to be, and fully proves that their owners have paid little attention to them: that they are almost valueless to them, simply and only for want of better management: that they are capable of such a degree of improvement as would insure from them a fair, reasonable return: I have endeavoured to show this by contrasting the plans of woodmen, if they can be said to have any, with those which, in my judgment, ought to be pursued; and I am not aware that I have, upon any one point, exposed the errors of their course, without suggesting that which I conceive would be the right one. It is quite impossible, however, to lay down in a booklike this, or in any other, specific rules or directions which shall constitute a sufficient guide for the manager of woods, out of the difficulties of a false position, or enable him to reform the errors of a vicious practice: for, first, not one woodman in fifty would be convinced, by any process of reasoning, that the present state of woods is so bad as I have described it to be; and if they would not admit the existence of the evil, they would not be likely to perceive the value of any remedial measures that might be recommended. Next: a difficulty would every where present itself, if woods were improperly treated, from the woodman feeling that the introduction of any new plans would, necessarily, involve the condemnation of his own. Besides all this, as I have remarked before, so many things have to be considered as to the state of a wood, before a safe opinion could be given as to the best course to be taken with it, that nothing less than a minute examination, affording the opportunity of duly weighing all the circumstances of each particular case, would justify any man in suggesting a specific course.
In proof of this, I would offer the example of a wood which I will suppose to be of forty years standing, and to have been started with as many oak plants as would suffice to insure a sufficient number of timber trees, possessing ample length of bole, or stem. Upon the plan of management which I have suggested, there would be, at the second cutting of the under wood, a certain number of oaks to cut out also, and from the stools of these, there would start young shoots, which, ifproperly dealt with, would, with those which would spring from every subsequent cutting, furnish a succession of timber trees; but if no care were taken innursingthem, the probability is, that they would be unfit for timber, and that it would therefore be necessary, occasionally, to introduce a small number of maiden plants, even as early as the expiration of the second cycle.