Forest Record of Ordiequish Forest, Morayshire
Record Book courtesy of Forestry Commission Moray and Aberdeenshire Forest District, Huntly.
This is one of a few Forest Record Books that have survived since this system of recording the details of the forest work in each new forest was changed after the early 1950s. Two copies of the book were maintained one at the forest and the other by the District Officer but in reality both were maintained by the District Office as it was only they who had a typist. It is likely the forester had to provide a written summary for the DO to work off.
The hard back cover had a sophisticated and durable locking system to retain the loose leaf pages as they were added when each year’s work was completed. The pages came in several categories R3 – Staff Record; R4 – Annual summary of Operations; R6 Silvicultural Notes by Year; R7 – Plantation History. Looking over the forms and also the print run details on their bottom edge this system of recording work was only initiated in 1935 and ended circa 1953. No doubt these forms were themselves summarised by Division, Country and Nationally. The form R1 still survives today as the annual planting record and always had its own folder.
The Divisional Officers covering this part of the Conservancy are named in the Record as J F Annand 1927, R G Forbes 1933, H M Steven 1937, F Scott 1938 and Acting Div Officer and L A Newton 1939.
The District Officers named are A Warren 1937, I Stewart 1938, I Gllespie 1939 - 46 when the record ends. It would appear that several District Officer names are missing from the early years.
The Foresters/Foremen are named as J McEwan 1927, A Warren 1929, J Clark 1935 -1946 when the record ends. Within this list the name J McEwan is of interest as he was Grade 1 Forester as was A Warren who was promoted in situ to ‘H’ (Head Forester?) in 1929 and appears as a District Officer in 1937.
The forest operations record and history describes a modest early planting and protection programme starting in 1927. It mentions pines planted with semicircular spades in 1928 and that the spruces were planted on turfs in the drained areas later referred to as mounding. In 1933 some areas were ‘slagged’ at the rate of two ounces per tree and in 1938 numerous older trees were ‘firmed’ following gales and also after heavy snowfall.
By 1936 the forest had been all planted up and was on a care and maintenance basis until the end of the record in 1946.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports, Northeast Scotland