Bin Forest (Huntly) nursery forms
The Bin Forest did have a small nursery for a number of years before WWII. One of the main advantages of a local nursery was the ability to lift the young trees directly from the nursery lines and plant them on the hill almost immediately and in a very fresh condition. Significant numbers of trees would still have to be shipped in from larger local nurseries set up by the Forestry Commission for the purpose. Some of the nurseries were located at Seaton in Aberdeen and Newton west of Elgin.
As nursery space in the Bin Forest was limited and normally young one or two year old seedlings would be shipped in from the larger nurseries and these were lined out as transplants to grow on for another year or so.
The first form show in the PDF (link below) is NR 1 (2 sheets ) which details seedlings grown from seed in the nursery. In 1931 only Beech was sown and 6.5 thousand beech seedlings raised. There are no records for the follow on years except for 1940-1945 when nil seedlings were grown.
The next form is NR2 (Years 1929 to 1946) details the numbers, age and species of young trees lined out in the nursery and the numbers used in the forest from first and second years lined out beds. Sometimes compartment number destination is noted as well as the percentage yield of used trees against the original numbers lined out.
The third series of forms is the NR4 (Years 1939 to 1946) is a movement record for young trees lifted from and imported into or exported from the nursery. Note the range of nurseries from where the young trees have been imported – Craibstone, Altonside, Newton, Inchnacardoch, Benmore, Findon and Dornoch (some considerable distances!) and trees exported to Durris and Clashindarroch forests.
The last form NR3 (one composite form only) shows the utilisation of the nursery ground over the years from 1928 until 1947 when the nursery was closed down due to heavy damage to planting stock by cockchafer larvae. The nursery appears to have been regularly cropped in rotation to maintain fertility and the total area used described as 11,087sq yards dropping down to 3,264 square yards in later years (less than 3 acres down to under 1 acre).
Forms on PDF – link below this text