Latest Kintail Industry - Luibeneorn's Spruce Tree Mines - 1000 Plants From One Peat Bog
The image is courtesy of www.ambaile.org.uk and is one of Duncan Macpherson’s photographs. Several forestry stories have been attributed to this image with varying versions of events. However it was only when reading the History of Glenshiel Forest, written by David Seal and part of a portfolio of such histories for a number of Forestry Commission forests, the most authentic sounding version has emerged. It appears that this protest took place around 1928. It would be surprising if this was not noted in some local newspapers at the time but so far these have not come to hand.
Below are some extracts from the History of Glenshiel Forest.
CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS (Sir Roy Robinson)
“Mr Seal has compiled a careful record.
Glenshiel has been the most troublesome and most unsatisfactory of all the properties with which the Commission has had to deal. The original object was to make an experiment in taking over the plantable land only in a deer forest. Crofters were heavily involved and it was hoped that In return for steady employment end better houses the crofters would be prepared to surrender any rights they had in the land to be planted,
The total area acquired in 1924 and 1926 was 6,324 acres, of which 4,778 acres were assessed as plantable; and the feu duty was Ł904. The feu charter was complicated by various considerations which did not work out in favour of the Commission.
The scheme went wrong in its three main aspects right from the start, The fuar was unable to implement his obligations in full, there was serious trouble with crofters (and one in particular) and their sheep, the technical work was poorly conceived and in part at least badly executed.”
DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS (Henry Beresford Peirse)
“The difficulties of site were added to by heavy grazing in the westerly plantation by crofters’ sheep. No mention is made of the long story of the dispute with crofter McRae who claimed grazing rights in one or more of the enclosures - perhaps it is best forgotten. The dispute was settled, not by any process of the law but by sending a Gaelic-speaking forester, C. Macdonald, to Glenshiel, who quickly established friendly relations with McRae.”
Extract from 1951 Forest History by David Seal
“(d) Annual Rate of Planting
As may be seen from the table on page 10 above, planting proceeded steadily at the rate of some 150 acres per annum from 1925 to 1931, except for 1928, dropping to some 50 acres per annum from 1931 to 1934.
The planting of only two acres in 1928 was due to sheep getting into the enclosure, and to very serious friction between the Commission and the local crofters at this stage. It was about this time that a photograph in post card form of the "Latest Kintail Industry - Luibeneorn Spruce Tree Mines - 1000 plants from one peat bog" was published by a Kyle photographer to embarrass the Commission. These plants were probably buried during planting, or beating up, and showed up slack supervision by a foreman who left under a cloud at the time.”
Any further comments, information and the names of some of the participants would be very welcome.
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