Annual report Speymouth Forest 1952
The reports are courtesy of Moray and Aberdeenshire Forest District, Huntly.
This is one of a series of annual reports written by Head Forester R A (Bob) Allison and describes the year’s work on the forest under a listed set of headings. Each forest would send their report to the District Office who would then compile a report for the whole District this then forwarded to the Conservancy or Directorate Office. This series of reports which have been unearthed, run to 1965, but although a number of intervening years are missing they do give a strong flavour of the annual work programmes; a unique insight into the issues and problems as well as the highlights of managing a forest over a period of fifteen years.
This year’s report is quite short and to the point but it gives a bit more detail on labour costs for various jobs. The labour force is again varied in numbers between winter and summer with 50 men and boys in the summer bolstered by 45 men (from the salmon fisheries) in the winter. Supervisor numbers are the same but the two ex school gangers had been promoted and one transferred out with another ganger taken in – no names mentioned this time.
Thinning by Riddoch and Jones are mentioned, total volume at 209,000 cu ft; as well as the felling of scrub (not sure what this could be – birch?) and road lines by Riddochs, MacLennan and forest staff of 54,000 cu ft.
Ploughing at 679 acres at 7/10 per acre some on ‘round the clock system’ whatever that is?
Planting and manuring 842 acres at 58/- per acre.
Lifting 492,000 seedlings at 4/3 per 1000
Lifting 477,000 transplants at 4/7 per 1000
Seed collection of 584 bushels of cones at 8/10 per bushel
Seed extraction of 516 lbs of see at 11/- per lb
The forest nursery must have been quite large and well equipped to collect and extract seed from cones.
Can anyone say where the Speymouth Forest nursery was located?
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports, Northeast Scotland