Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 193 - January 1964
The digitisation of the Slasher was undertaken by, and images courtesy of, the Forest Research Knowledge and Information Management staff based at both the Northern Research Station in Roslin, Scotland and Alice Holt in Surrey, where the original copies are currently located.
The content summary below was very kindly compiled by Diane Birkett, Bedfordshire. See PDF attachment link below the text to view the full document. A total of over 400 issues were produced between 1948 and the final issue in 2010.
New Year Honours List
Mr Frank Best, Conservator in North Wales since April 1947 has been awarded an O.B.E.
Miss Janet Sticks, Higher Executive Officer in the Office of Director, Scotland has been awarded an M.B.E.
Mr Rowland Bultitude, Forester at Dartmoor has been awarded the British Empire Medal.
Major D.J. Brodie, a member of the Commission's Scottish Committee has been awarded an O.B.E.
Lord Norton, an official of the Country Landowners' Association has been awarded an O.B.E.
Sir Henry Beresford Peirse, the Commission's Director General was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Forestry Society of England, Wales and Northern Ireland at the Naval and Military Club. Earl Waldegrave, Mr N.D.G. James and the Duke of Abercorn were among the guests.
Other recipients of the award were Mr W.R. Day, Pathologist at the Forestry Institute, Oxford; Mr A.D.C. Le Sueur, expert on planting and preservation of ornamental trees; Sir Eric Savill, Director of Forestry for the Crown Estate Commissioners and founder of the Savill Gardens in Windsor Park woodlands and Mr David Stewart, former member of the Commission's staff who became Chief Forest Officer for Northern Ireland.
Retirements
Head Forester E.T. Jones of Ystwyth Forest, North Wales who commenced with the Commission as a Forest Worker in 1925 has retired.
Forester T.N. Browne has retired after being in charge of Taf Fechan Forest, South Wales since 1956.
Management of Wild Life
Mr P.F. Garthwaite, Divisional Officer on the staff of Director, England, has been given general responsibility for co-ordinating and developing Commission policies and practices in wild life conservation and control throughout the three (field) Directorates.
The Northerwood Club
Mr D.A. Mithen, District Officer in the New Forest and Mr E.H. Bradford, Chief Executive Officer at Headquarters have been elected to the Northerwood Club committee.
The Story of an Ancient Tree
A fascinating story concerns a tree that turned to stone. The tree trunk, ten feet high and six inches thick was found standing in a garden in Edinburgh and had apparently changed to reddish brown rock.
Examination of a specimen led to the following probable explanation. Around two hundred and fifty million years ago, the land where Edinburgh now stands supported a forest of trees like overgrown horsetail plants. One of these, a Sigillaria, grew beside a lake, and when an earthquake altered the water level, it sank to the bottom, still upright and intact. Rivers washed sand around it and mineral grains slowly replaced the wood cells, preserving the outline of its bark and tissues in fine-textured stone. Over the centuries, the sand around it was changed by vast pressures into rock. Some time during the last century, quarry men hewed this out for the creamy-grey sandstone so widely used for the building of the modern city of Edinburgh. Then this tree trunk came to light, to be set up as a curio in a suburban garden. The rocks concerned are roughly the same age as the coal seams, which are themselves the debris of prehistoric forests. The Maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, which survived in China, is the only tree we would recognise from those ancient woodlands.
Unrecorded Plant Discovered
Sir William Taylor, former Director General of the Commission comments on the retirement of Head Forester G.W. Hollis. In addition to his pioneer labours at Pembrey, he discovered a small, red flowered plant, previously unrecorded in Britain. The seed appeared to have come from America, possibly with packing material with United States Army supplies during the first world war.
Gold Awards
H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh awarded "Gold Awards" to A.S. Hemsley and P.F. Whitley, Junior Forest Workers at Challock Forest, South East England. They received their awards at Buckingham Palace under the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, for passing various tests over a period of two years as members of the 1st Battalion The Buffs A.C.F.
Obituary
Mr W.M. Lawson, Forester at Glenloy, North Scotland Conservancy has died at the age of 40.
The Evening Primrose
Alan Mitchel of Alice Holt Lodge, found a rosette of Evening Primrose in his new shrubbery at home. He tells the following warning tale.
Normally I would have ejected it with a force which would have carried it well into my neighbour’s territory, for it can be a pernicious weed on the sandhills where we garden. My wife likes this scourge, and in a moment of weakness I left it and told her about it. It had to stay in the shrubbery. It grew fast and was soon the size of a large bicycle wheel.
My brooding over unfortunate accidents with the hoe changed to a horrible fascination as it began to dominate the shrubs. By the time it flowered it had the shape, stem and branching of a well-grown Wellingtonia (Sequoidendion giganteum) but was, of course, smaller. On several days it opened more than a hundred flowers. The dangers of seed distribution made me plan to fell it before dispersal began. This I did, and, when trimming out the log I made the following inventory: height 6 ft 6 ins; girth (at 0 ft.) 3 ins; branches 52; flowers 1,790; seeds per flower capsule approx. 160 (mean). It thus appears that, single handed, at one blow, I saved this part of Surrey from a potential 286,000 leafy bicycle-wheels, which at four foot spacing, would have smothered 140 acres.
Promotions: From District Officer II to District Officer I
Mr J.A. Goodlet, W (S)
Mr T.C. Mitchell, NW (E)
Mr M.H. Orrom, NW (E)
Mr D.B. Paterson, N (S)
Mr D. Small, E (E)
Mr J.B. Teasdale, D (W)
Promotion: From Executive Officer to Higher Executive Officer
Mr V.M. Collins, D (E)
Promotions: From Clerical Officer to Executive Officer
Miss C.M. Davies, NW (E)
Mr R.P. Beagley, SE (E)
Mr D.P. Masterton, W (S)
Mr J.R. Price, N (W)
Transfers: District Officers
Mr J.D. Cameron from Salisbury, SW (E) to Neath, S (W)
Mr A. Morrison from Inverness, D (S) to Fort William, N (S)
Mr I.A.D. Grant from Dornock, N (S) to Inverness
Transfer: Head Forester
Mr W.J. Nicolson from Kirroughtree, S (S) to Newton Nursery, E (S)
Transfers: Foresters
Mr C.J. Roberts from Talybont, S (W) to Brechfa, S (W)
Mr J.P. O'Mara from Creskine to Moffat Water, S (S)
Mr T.G.G. Fryer from Brechfa, S (W) to Rheola, S (W)
Mr D.F.D. Black from Loch Ard, W (S) to Garadhban, W (S)
Mr R. Bultitude from Dartmoor, SW (E) to Molton Woods, SW (E)
Mr R.G. Braine from Wareham, SW (E) to Dartmoor
Mr H.W. Burnie from Bardney, E (E) to Bernwood, E (E)
Mr G. Roberts from Bernwood to Hazelborough, E (E)
Mr H.F. Clarke from Molton to Pershore, SW (E)
Mr W.R. Rae from Cairn Edward, S (S) to Glenbreck, S (S)
Mr R. McGeorge from Dalbeattie, S (S) to Selm Muir, S (S)
Mr J.W. Parker from Aldewood, E (E) to Thetford, E (E)
Mr J.T. Webster from Thetford to Aldewood, E (E)
Mr G.W. Blake from Glenduror, W (S) to Ardgartan, W (S)
Mr F.R. Cowie from Ardgartan to Loch Ard
Mr C.W. Hart from Inverliever, W (S) to Glenduror
Mr R.J. Gladman from Wareham to Thetford
Mr J.A. Hendrie from Thetford to Wareham
Mr C. Brookes from Penningham, S (S) to Cairn Edward
Transfers: Assistant Foresters
Mr T.L. Rainey from Glentress, S (S) to Ae, S (S)
Mr M.D. Oxnard from Irfon, S (W) to Glasfynydd, S (W)
Mr H.C. Hilton from Brechfa, S (W) to Talybont, S (W)
Mr G.E. Smith from Alice Holt to Brandon, E (E)
Mr B.H. Ballard from Working Plans, D (E) to Queen Elizabeth, SE (E)
Mr D.M. Price from Talybont to Brechfa
Mr J. Everard from Tidenham, Dean to Loch Carron Work Study, D (Res.)
Mr P.F. Fergusson from Glenbranter, W (S) to Saddell, W (S)
Mr D.J. Lyons from Glenfinart, W (S) to Glenrickard, W (S)
Mr J.T.H. Murray from Saddell to Glenbranter
Mr G. Bruce from Working Plans, D (E) to Working Plans, D (W)
Mr M.J. Young from Management HQ to St Gwynno, S (W)
Transfer: Assistant Engineer (Civil)
Mr V.O. Jameson from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury, N (W)
Transfers: Superintendents of Works
Mr E.G. Bradbeer from Parkend, Dean to Lyndhurst, New
Mr H. Redford from Glenduror, (T) to Llanidloes, N (W)
Transfers: Clerical Officers
Mr R.S. Elliott from Dumfries, S (S) to Edinburgh HQ
Mr J.F. McSorley from Edinburgh to Dumfries
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