the Editor
Letters. -to_. AFFORESTATION OF ABERDARE DISTRICT- - . _ [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] .SIR,—Whenever I visit the Aberdare district I am invariably impressed- by, its potential wealth, I do not mean its
,mineralogical potentialities, for, as far as my knowledge of this side of the matter is concerned, all the workable seams have . surely been exploited. I refer to the exquisite adaptation of thousands of acres of silvicultural land which surround the town. It- is sometimes thought that where the soil is formed
from the carboniferous stratum any. pastoral pursuits, agri- cultural or silvicultural, are almost- unremunerative. An agricultural crop is far more fastidious as -regards soil, but trees, will thrive in soil almost regardless of :geologic origin. ',have observed a crop -of trees doing equally as well in soil derived • from the sandy limelesfs soil of . some parts .of Glamorganshire .as the: rich marly soil of Breconshire. The suggestion -• therefore put forward sometimes, :that the soil of- Aberdare is unsuitable for, forestal purposes, is.. quite
. . . . . .
Even- all that. waste and artificially. formed embankment from Hirwaun to To Cwmdare Road, if scientifically planted, would in a few years become an arboricultural asset, and .in thirtrfive years one of real economic value. .. ...
• • In 1819 I valued .a small plantation of Scotch fir growing in an identical habitat. The results from such. an experiment were most encouraging.. The average volume per tree was 4.25 cubic.feet. . The trees were highly suitable for pitwood....
But better economic results can be obtained by planting the big area of mountain land within reach of Aberdare. The land possesses some very favourable factors.. . There is hardly any above 1,500 feet high, the maximum altitude at which trees can be economically grown in Wales. There was' a period when Mynydd Aberdare was afforested up to 1,200 feet.
Cwmdare Valley is highly congenial for an extensive scheme of planting. Almost. all the land from Crawshay Tower to Nant AnzmanFach is afforestabie. The 'heath land between' pringlolog and Hirwitun should be planted. On the declivities of Mynydd Y Gifig and the huge area PenderYn 'On to the. Beacons there are literally thousands of acres drat could be so transformed by afforestation that the 'fuiiire 'of Aberdare would compare favourably with the rich district of 'Bbersvialde, Ger-Many. The forest MOduets produced by the poPulation of that diStrict find their way hair the markets- of this country every month thrOlignOirt the year The _soil. aspect, gradient, and other factors which constitute in foreltry " kicalities " are more congenial in Aberdare district than in many fOreSt areas Chit I haie obserVed on the Continent. • . . Within reach Of Aberdare I estimate nine thousand acres afforestable land. To-plant thilarea a 'sum of 280,000 would be required.- Litho& casts,' material, Plants, administration lad. incidental .expenses- are included in the amount. In- order to afforest this area in one season about three hundred to three hundred and fifty men would be necessary: The future would Open out splendid oppoitithities the establishrnent of . small • holdings. Afforestation enhances thevalue of the contiguous land: I have knciWri it to raise the valize from 28. 8d: per acre; its Prairie- value; to .ed. per -acre. Afforestation creates small : If the local authorities embarked upon a scheme at relief works, sixty per cent. of the -Cost would be borile- by the Unemployment Grant Committee. The Forestry Commission would also assist to the amount of £2 per acre, or twentY-tivo per_ cent. In fact, any individual or any 'Private body can claim from 2.2 to £4, per acre. The ,Soath Wales _Coalfieldconsumes weekly about thirty7 five thousand tons of pitwood. Much of this timber, which is the maritime pine, is grown on land inferior to the land around. Aberdare, and in situations -infinitely less accessible. If our: mining .valleys had been planted at the time when France afforested the G,irOncles and the Landes districts, the activities and the beauties so familiar in those regions would be none the less the characteristics of the mining villages of Aberdare and South Wales in Several.—I am, - _ • [We are glad to publish this letter written by a "forest
admirer " with wide experience. As we wrote when oar Aberdare Fund was inaugurated, we hope that something of lasting benefit to- the community of Aberdare' and the nation will result :from its inception. The suggestion of a large schemeof afforestation is one which deserves the most careful consideration on the part of the authorities.—Bn. Spectator...I
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