Read Ebook: Remarks on the management or rather the mis-management of woods plantations and hedge-row timber by West J

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Ebook has 64 lines and 28175 words, and 2 pages

Release date: October 25, 2023

Original publication: Newark: Longman & Co, 1842

BY J. WEST, Land Agent, &c. &c. NORTH COLLINGHAM, NEWARK, NOTTS.

NEWARK. PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. PERFECT, CARTERGATE. LONGMAN & Co. LONDON.

TO JOHN EVELYN DENISON, ESQ. M. P.

SIR,

Having had the honor to spend nineteen years in your service as resident Land Agent--having during that period, as well as since, received from you many marks of favour--having on your Estate laid the foundation, and to some extent tested the accuracy, of the opinions which are given in the following pages; I am, I assure you, deeply grateful for the kind permission with which you have favoured me, to dedicate them to you.

If I were to allow myself to indulge in the expression of feelings, which a recollection of my long connection with your Estates might prompt, I should risk your displeasure, for I well know, how distasteful to you would be the language of adulation; I shall therefore only add, that it gives me pleasure to dedicate my Book to you, because, from long experience, I know you to be the zealous patron of improvement in every department of rural economy, and because you are practically and intimately acquainted with the subject on which I have written.

Encouraging as it would be to me if it were so, I do not expect that you will concur with me in all the views to which I have given expression: nevertheless, I trust I may be allowed to hope that, in the main, the principles which are developed will approve themselves to your judgment, and command your approbation.

I have the honor to be,

SIR,

Your most obedient obliged Servant,

J. WEST.

PREFACE

It has probably been with many others as it is with the writer of this, who finds the little which he has to say by way of Preface, more disagreeable, and more difficult, than he has found any other part of his book. A Preface, however, of some sort or other, must be written.

The Author needs not to be told, for of that he is quite conscious--that his book is very defective in arrangement, and faulty in style, but if he have succeeded in the attempt to be tolerably "plain and perspicuous," and "not very ungrammatical," that is as much, perhaps, as ought to be required of a practical man.

One word is necessary here, with reference to Sir H. Steuart, whose name, as a Planter, the Author has mentioned at page 58. He wishes to correct an impression which he may have produced, that the honourable Baronet is altogether opposed to the practice of preparing the soil previous to planting. This is not the case; but Sir Henry, with singular inconsistency, after speaking in the highest terms in favour of trenching, manuring, &c. declares the practice to be inapplicable to Plantations on a large scale. It is unnecessary to remark here, that on this point the Author is of a different opinion.

P. S. The Author reviews neglected Woods, Plantations, &c. and gives directions for their proper management, or he would contract with any Noblemen or Gentlemen to overlook their Woods, &c. at so much per acre per year.

INTRODUCTION.

Upon the second point in particular,--I mean the present modes of managing property of this description,--I shall endeavour to show in what respects, and, as well as I am able, to what extent, it is erroneous or defective.

But first, I would remark generally, that although the treatment of Plantations is bad enough, it is not so grossly bad as is that of Ancient Woods and Hedge-Row Timber. I have, for some time, had it in my mind to write respecting the two latter, having been long convinced that a most extensive waste of property, and loss of time, was going on, but, until now, I have neither had leisure to prepare for, nor confidence to submit to, a "discerning public," those views which have been matured during an eighteen years observation and experience.

Of course I am aware that much has been said, and much has been written, by others who have preceded me, on these subjects, but notwithstanding that this be true, I am not at all of opinion that this branch of rural economy has received its fair share of attention, or that the subject has been viewed in that particular aspect in which it is here presented, highly important and interesting as that view must be acknowledged to be, when considered as it affects the growers of Timber, the labouring poor, and the community at large.

It is really surprising that in an age like this, when there is an onward movement in almost everything else, such instances of "mismanagement" of Woods, &c. should every where meet the eye. If any one well acquainted with the subject, were to take horse and ride through every county of the kingdom, he would find in ninety cases out of a hundred, the Old Woods especially, to be in as bad a condition as if they were solely intended for fox or game covers, and incapable of being turned to any other use. They are permitted to continue precisely in the same uncultivated state in which their present possessors found them, Gentlemen too often totally overlooking the important fact, that while they might, by proper attention to the draining and improvement of their Woods, and the best mode of disposing of the produce, give employment to a very considerable number of their poor dependents; increase the present revenue, and lay the foundation of a greatly improved permanent income from them, they would, to a very small extent, if at all, injure the covers for sporting purposes.

As to Plantations, the treatment may be said to be somewhat better, but, as I have before said, in most cases it is bad enough, as I shall hereafter show.

Of the Hedge-Rows I affirm, that they are, very generally, either left entirely to themselves, or to the tender mercies of the occupiers of the soil, who, having no interest in their success, but rather the contrary, cannot, of course, be expected to exercise any care in their preservation.

Having thus briefly introduced the various subjects which it is my intention to notice more fully under separate and distinct heads, I shall commence my first chapter with "Ancient Woods."

ANCIENT WOODS.

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 must be 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.

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 book like 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.

PLANTATIONS.

In order to afford some facility to the reader in perusing what I may write, I shall divide what I have to say into several distinct heads; and, first, as to the

Present Modes of Planting.

But the majority of Plantations, which are commenced without any preparation of the soil, are complete failures, as may be seen by any one who chooses to take the trouble to examine for himself.

I shall not, in this place, "remark" more particularly on this point, than to say, that I have often seen the oak in this relative position, with the alder, the birch, the poplar, the larch, and other trees.

Most serious mistakes have been committed upon both these points, even by men whose writings have procured them a niche in the Temple of Fame. Under this head a few cases will now be referred to.

It is neither my purpose, nor is it in my power, to decide, upon paper, what is the best average distance at which the trees of a young Plantation should be placed from each other. Many questions ought to be previously asked, as many very important considerations will present themselves to the mind of a practical man, before he will decide.

Those who have most carefully attended to Sir Henry's instructions in removing large subjects, will have been most successful; and while they will be the first to admit that the plan is one of very considerable difficulty, and requiring the greatest possible amount of attention; they will be the most powerful and decided witnesses in its favour, for the purposes for which it is here recommended.

But now, the question as to planting, or sowing, or, if the former be preferred, that of the distance of the plants, being settled, the next which presents itself is this: what kinds shall be planted as the

Nurses for the Oak.

Here again, a good deal will depend upon the object of the planter, the nature of the soil, and the exact arrangements which are made at the time of planting; for it might be quite proper to plant a species of Tree in one place, while, owing to a difference in the staple or the condition of the soil, it would be just the reverse in another.

The remarks which I shall have to make on this subject have, in some degree, been anticipated by the observations which I have already made, respecting the Skellingthorpe Plantation, but a more particular reference to a few well-known kinds, may not be amiss.

The Larch is found, in greater or smaller proportions, in most places where Plantations are made; and it is entirely the planter's fault, if he be not well acquainted with its character, as a nurse for Oak. I say this, because it has been so extensively tested, and its habits are so well known, that no one, having the slightest wish to become acquainted with it, can have failed for want of opportunity.

For large Plantations, intended for profit, it may be questioned whether, in the first instance, any thing else than Oak and Larch should be planted, and the distance must be decided after due consideration is given to the quality and condition of the land.

If, however, a disposition is felt to plant other kinds, as nurses, there can be no objection, provided that their companionship is made fully to square with the well-being of the trees intended for timber.

But where it is intended to introduce nothing that shall not act as a good nurse for the Oak, exception must certainly be taken to the Alder, the Poplars, the Sycamore, the Horse Chesnut, the Birch, and the Scotch Fir, &c. Not one of these discovers any congeniality for the Oak, nor any fitness for the office of nursing it; and it does really appear to my mind, as most unaccountably strange, that trees of all sorts should, without forethought, or calculation--and most particularly, that no reference should be made to their suitability or adaptation for the circumstances in which they are to be placed--be planted at a greater cost than would have sufficed to procure an ample number of the right sort.

The admirer of fine timber will see, in the Duke's Plantations and grounds, some of the most perfectly formed trees that can be conceived of, and that not on a small scale, but to an extent as comprehensive as that truly noble Duke's genius, of whom it may probably be said that he unites, in his mind and person, as many of those qualities which constitute true Nobility, as any Gentleman of his day.

It is not in the power of my feeble pen to show the immense amount of good which has accrued to the immediate neighbourhood, from the employment of the poor in the locality, in carrying on, and in completing, those splendid improvements which His Grace has originated, and which have caused the literal desert to "blossom as the rose": much less can I describe the area of the vast circle, within which the most beneficial effects have been felt, from the influence of the noble Duke's example, while perfecting, as he has done, his various plans for the improvement of his fine estate.

In a book where there is so much to commend, where so many valuable practical directions are given, it cannot but excite regret, to meet with a paragraph so vague and unsatisfactory as the above; for I cannot but remark, that if any planter should adopt the suggestion which is thrown out, it will end in disappointment and loss. It will, in my judgment, generally be best for the planter to select such trees for nurses as are most congenial, and best adapted to the local market; and surely these will not be the Birch, the Beech, the Alder, or the Scotch Fir; none of which are ever found to answer the purpose of nursing the more valuable timber trees, or of securing a fair return for the investment of capital.

It is true that the opinion which I have quoted, is afterwards qualified by the remark, that certain "circumstances connected with the growth of the various species of forest trees, effectually control the planter in his modes of arrangement, &c." but even with this limitation, the planter is liable to be misled, for he is not taught to set a higher value upon the Larch, which may in almost every locality be planted with a much better chance of profit, than the other kinds with which it is ranked, and which ought therefore, if profit be the object, for that reason alone, to be preferred.

In any thing else but planting, the mischief of such a mistake, as producing that which was worthless when produced, would, in a short time, have cured itself; but so little of science, or even of common calculation, have been brought to bear upon the practice of Arboriculture, that, notwithstanding the evidence which is every where to be met with, of serious "loss and disappointment," for want of calculation, these matters go on very much as they "always have done."

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