The Forester's Guide and Profitable Planter

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: far less to reap any profit from them. This is all very true; but does the present generation owe posterity nothing ? Is the present proprietor justified in scourging the estate, by cutting and not planting, in the same manner as a tenant would do who is left to the freedom of his own will, and who,...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: far less to reap any profit from them. This is all very true; but does the present generation owe posterity nothing ? Is the present proprietor justified in scourging the estate, by cutting and not planting, in the same manner as a tenant would do who is left to the freedom of his own will, and who, towards the end of his lease, scourges and scourges the ground, till he leaves his whole farm not worth one shilling per acre ? We certainly owe our posterity much as well as our country; and the proprietor who plants the waste lands on his estate, serves his posterity more, besides beautifying the country, than the proprietor who adds as many acres of land to his estate by purchase, ?as has been already shown. But the most difficult of all objections to planting in some, and, indeed, in too many cases, is still to be overcome; that is, on entailed estates. Have we not often seen trees, that have been the work of ages in rearing, cut down without the least regret, and the estate at once disfigured and disgraced ? As to the merits or demerits of entails I have nothing to do: but would it not be advisable for the present proprietor of an entailed estate, to consult with the apparent heir of entail, and let him pay at a fair valuation for whatever is planted for the improvement of the estate, as also for some of the old timber to remain on the estate, ratherthan allow it to be cut down; and thus keep up the respectable look of the place. There is, I believe, a society now formed for taking into consideration entails and entailed estates, which is to give relief in certain cases, of the nature of which I am not sufficiently informed. I hope, however, that the planting and preservation of trees will be attended to. I am also of opinion that government would do much good to all concern...