It will readily be seen that I refer to the new Poor Law and to the Corn Laws; the former of which throws the poor man almost exclusively on his own resources. To provide him therefore with healthful employment, at such a time, and under such circumstances, will tend more than any thing else can do, to lessen the difficulty and danger of the transition from the old to the new law, and to mitigate the perhaps necessary severity of the provisions of the latter.
Before I proceed any further I would state, that I shall not attempt any thing like a systematic course, nor shall I confine myself to a scientific arrangement of my subjects: nor again, shall I trouble myself about the technical names of the several Trees which I may have to mention: nor, lastly, is it my intention to aim at elegance of composition. I do not write to establish a literary reputation, well knowing that to such an object I am unequal, and that if it were otherwise, there is a want of adaptation in my subject; but I wish to be understood as addressing myself to those who, not being themselves practically acquainted with the subjects here treated of, are not unwilling to listen to the opinions which I have formed, and profit by the experience which I have derived from close and extensive observation, while myself actually employed in the details of management, connected alike with the Timber and Coppice of ancient Woods, with the planting and subsequent treatment of Plantations and with Hedge-Row Timber.
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.
There will be many, doubtless, who will dissent from some of my opinions. They will have a good and sufficient cause to do so, if they adjudge them to be erroneous: they have just as much right to hold their opinions as I have to hold mine, but I wish it to be always remembered by those who may read the following pages, that every conclusion to which I have been brought, and every inference that I have drawn, has had its origin in actual experience.
To practical men, and more particularly still, to such practical men as are like myself—to use a homely phrase—more at home in a Wood or Plantation than any where else—I need not make more than a general reference to what they daily see, in proof of the “mismanagement” which I intend to show, but as to the Proprietors it surely must be otherwise. They cannot, one would suppose, be at all aware of the fact, that one part, and that a most interesting and valuable part, of their property, is so mismanaged as to call loudly for an immediate remedy! I affirm, however, without hesitation, that while Agriculture has made rapid strides in the march of improvement, and while that first of all improvements in Agriculture, Draining—(although as yet but very imperfectly understood, and, in a very serious number of cases, very ill done)—has been extensively attended to—while the adaptation of Manures (although science has yet much to do, and much to teach us, on this point) has been carried to such an extent, as is unparalleled in any age, and almost in any country but our own; and withal so successfully, as to turn barren and hitherto sterile Wastes, Forests, and Moors, into productive occupations—while such an extraordinary degree of ingenuity has been applied to the invention and practical working of different implements, as to render the operations of husbandry comparatively simple and easy—and while yet once more, the attention which has been paid to the breeding and rearing of the various kinds of Stock, has raised them to a pitch of excellence which our forefathers never contemplated, and which scarcely leaves any room for further effort—while all this proves, I say, that the large landed Proprietors of this country, stimulated and assisted by the skill of the man of science, and by the enterprize and persevering efforts of the Tenant Farmer, have paid almost adequate attention to one part of their estates, it is equally undeniable that the present condition of a large proportion of the Woods, Hedge-Rows, and Plantations, furnishes proof of the grossest neglect, and a perfectly unaccountable want of attention. To point out wherein this neglect consists, and to prove this want of attention, will be the object of the following “Remarks.”
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.”