Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 218 - February 1966
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.
Missing Shepherd
Commission staff joined in a search for a missing shepherd in Perthshire. Mr A.S. MacNair, District Officer, received the call for help in the evening, preparatory to a search party setting off early the following morning from Glen Finlas. Mr MacNair telephoned the Forester at Achray and Assistant Forester Mr J. Beaton set off with eleven men in a search party with an Inspector of the Dunblane police. An R.A.F. rescue team, a helicopter and other helpers joined in with the search. Sadly, the shepherd was eventually found dead, having fallen for some distance down a precipitous scree.
Obituary
Mr Gilbert Ballance, Assistant Conservator, Woking, has died aged 52.
Retirement
Mr Frank Best, Conservator, North Wales, has retired.
Resignation
Mr D.M. Beaton is leaving the Commission in the Spring.
Presentation
Mr Frank Best, Conservator, North Wales, retirement presentation at the annual dinner of the Conservancy Social Club in Shrewsbury.
Transfers
Mr Tom Farmer, Administration and Finance Officer at Dumfries moves on temporary promotion to Headquarters as Chief Executive Officer.
Mr A.A. Cowan, S.E.O. Forest Management, Headquarters, succeeds Mr Farmer at Dumfries as Administration and Finance Officer.
Mr J. Hogarth, on promotion to S.E.O. moves to Headquarters to replace Mr A.A. Cowan.
Mr K.H.C. Taylor, on promotion to H.E.O. moves to Glasgow to replace Mr Hogarth.
Mr C.D. MacMahon moves to Headquarters as Assistant Chief Engineer to succeed Mr D.M. Beaton who is leaving the Commission.
Badger Watching
Mr D.A. MacCaskill of Inverinan, West Scotland reports on the activities of the recently formed Badger Club. Members have paid 100 separate or combined visits to the setts during the spring, summer and autumn and have now completed their film record.
They followed the cub period until the break up of the families in late July and August. When the families dispersed, it was just as if the animals had all gone away on holiday without leaving any address. The setts remained, but no badgers. Do they live above ground at this period or do they perhaps use single small holes?
On evenings in the summer they followed cubs and adults to the feeding grounds and if the wind was suitable, it was possible to walk within a few yards of them or watch them feed and they were able to catch one of the cubs.
Next summer they will spend the whole night with them to see what area of ground is covered, provisionally, they thought each animal may need up to 100 acres to support it.
Unusual Ash With Single Leaves
There have been many responses to Mr J.P. Davys' report on an ash with single leaves at Chiddingfold, South East England in a recent issue.
Mr A. Faddy, Forester at Salcey, East England writes about seeing a similar specimen in his area six years ago. Apart from the unusual leaf, in every other respect it was a "normal" ash; the leaves were borne single and were larger and more serrated than the leaflets of ash - almost like smaller editions of sweet chestnut leaves. A specimen was sent to Alice Holt Lodge, bringing forth the information that it was a variety of common ash (Frax. Excelsior - Var. Monophylla, sometimes known as Var. Diversifolia). Later, mentioning this matter to an old ex-employee at Salcey, he showed me another specimen which is in fact still extremely difficult to spot among the normal ash.
Mr A.F. Mitchell of Alice Holt Lodge said the Chiddingfold discovery is of great interest, undoubtedly a very rare occurrence in wild ash. He has seen somewhere that its occurrence is probably one in three million ash trees. As a garden or park tree, however, it is occasionally seen and nurseryman bud it from their stock trees on to ordinary ash seedlings. The Commission owns at least one of these at Westonbirt, but it is quite small. There are good specimens on Primrose Hill and in Regent's Park and one of the biggest (77 ft x 8 ft 5 inches) is in Holland Park, all in North London. Kew has a few and Victoria Park, Bath has a big one (65 ft x 8 ft 5 inches). The tallest he has found which exceeds 80 ft is at Forde Abbey and the biggest bole is also in Dorset at Wootton Fitzpaine, 13 ft round. When someone says they must show you their "mystery" tree, you may see anything from an Amelanchier to a Zelkova, but it is more likely to be a single leaf ash than any other tree.
Mr D.F. Marshall, Forester at Swaffham, recalls working at Chiddingfold in 1933 and finding a small specimen of the single leaf. He thought it so unusual that he cut off a leaf specimen and handed it to his instructor on his first day at the Dean School. It was placed in a glass covered case and may still be there.
The One-Needled Pine
Assistant Forester Mr G. Simpson of Allerston Forest, North East England says reference to the one-leaved variety of ash reminds him of the one-needled Scots pine on the Pickering beat of his forest, which differs from its normal surrounding colleagues in that it is not so hardy and suffered severely in the 1959 winter. He asks whether any other forest can boast a one-needled Scots pine.
Rarer still, he believes is the monstrosity known as the so-called "Snake" variety of Sitka spruce on Cropton beat. Dallimore and Jackson give no varieties for Sitka but its 10 foot long tentacle-like branches - cum - stems protrude from a tussock of molinia and intertwine in the neighbouring spruce, giving one the impression of a nest of snakes. Yet another variety of Sitka spruce, similar to virgatata of the Norway spruce is to be found on Pickering beat.
Murder In The Barn
Head Forester W.L. McCavish who is Game Warden in the Border District relays a gruesome story by Keeper B. Graham of Mounces beat, Kielder about the demise in a barn of an owl and a weasel, with the possible involvement of a brown rat.
On Moving House
Forester George Taylor has lived in ten Crown houses in the Forest of Dean. He was born in a Crown house at Pingary Tump near Mitcheldean where his father was a Crown woodman. There followed his residence in Churchill Lodge; Nagshead Lodge; Marians Lodge; Blakeney Hill Lodge; Russells' Lodge; Speech House Walk; Serridge Lodge, near Lydbrook; Reddings Lodge; then back to Speech House Walk in a house in Nagshead Inclosure.
Student of Serious Music
Forest Worker Keith Ferguson of Wauchope Forest was in the winning Jedburgh team in the recent competition organised by Border Television. Thirty Border towns competed for the coveted title of "Cock O' the Border 1966 and Keith Ferguson was the team's expert on serious music.
Inforesta Drama Group Production
The Inforesta Drama Group's Production "The Man Who Came To Dinner" is their seventh production in four years. The play was staged at Duthy Hall, Southwark.
Cast members included Alan Chapman, Shirley Fowler, Lily Pallet, Maurice Gubby, John Alp and Ken Winter.
A Challenge
From the Dean comes the statement that, from the fire tower at Staple Edge, plantations of the following species of trees can be seen: oak, chestnut (sweet), beech, Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, European larch, Japanese larch, Douglas fir, Thuya, Truga, Corsican pine and Scots pine.
Scattered through the woods are also natural groups and isolated specimens of birch, alder, holly and yew.