Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 70 – October 1953
The scanned images of the Slasher were produced by and courtesy of the Forest Research Data and Information Team staff based at Roslin, where some of the original copies are located. The Forestry England Information Knowledge Management Team and New Forest Heritage made available copies of The Slasher from their collections. Brian Mahony of the FC Retirement Association devised and coordinates the Slasher Project and has been instrumental in locating many missing editions and coordinating the searches to locate all the earlier publication numbers.
The content summary below was again very kindly compiled by Diane Birkett, Bedfordshire. See PDF attachment link below the text summary to view the full document. A total of over 420 issues or publications were produced between January 1948 and the final publication in 2010.
Tribute to Our Late Chairman - Cairn Unveiled at Kielder
A convoy of vehicles set out recently from Whickhope Lodge, in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, on a five mile drive through the plantations to Whickhope Nick, a vantage point some 1,200 feet above sea level, on the south side of the forest. There the unveiling took place of a cairn, erected as a memorial to our late Chairman, Lord Robinson. Lord Radnor, our Chairman, paid a fitting tribute to the late Lord Robinson's career in forestry and drew aside from the cairn the Australian and Commission flags.
The Conservator for North East England, Mr C.A. Connell, described the views to be seen from the site of the cairn, all of which had been well loved by Lord Robinson and are to be kept permanently visible.
A plaque on the cairn gives the name and title of Lord Robinson and also bears the following words: 'His ashes are scattered in this forest, which owes its existence to his energy and vision'.
Lord Robinson surveyed the land on which Kielder Forest was to be formed; he watched the first trees being planted at Kielder, he felled the first tree to be cut and in May of last year, opened Kielder Village, one of several forest communities which are to be established in the area.
The relatives attending the unveiling ceremony were Lady Robinson and the Hon. Mrs T. Richey, a daughter of Lord Robinson. Others present included Mr E. McCarthy, Deputy High Commissioner for Australia; Sir Richard Cotterell; Professor J. Walton, Mr Stanley C. Longhurst (Forestry Commissioners); Major Charles Mitchell (member of the National Forestry Committee for England); Mr A.H. Gosling, our Director General; Sir Henry Beresford-Peirse, Deputy Director General; Mr O.J. Sangar, Director, England; Mr A.H.H. Ross, Director, Scotland; Mr A.P. Long, Director, Wales; Mr H.A. Turner, Secretary; Mr J.R. Thom, Mr J.P. Mackie Whyte and Mr G.J.L. Batters, Conservators; Sir William Taylor, formerly Director General, Forestry Commission; and Mr William Johnstone, Principal of the Central School of Arts and Crafts, which was responsible for the design of the cairn.
Queen Elizabeth Forest - The Naming of Buriton
To mark the Coronation, Buriton has been re-named Queen Elizabeth Forest, the ceremony being performed by His Grace the Duke of Wellington, Lieutenant of the County of Southampton, who unveiled a name-plate and planted a tree. A further ceremony was performed by our Chairman, Lord Radnor, who used a slasher to cut a tape and so open a forest thoroughfare to be known as The Queen's Drive. A tree was planted by Major C.M. Floyd, Vice President of the Royal Forestry Society of England and Wales.
The guests were received by Lt. Col. Sir Richard Cotterell, Chairman of the National Committee for England, and after the ceremonies, they were transported over The Queen's Drive, which is about three miles long with impressive views of the forest. Buriton Forest, now Queen Elizabeth Forest, is situated on the South Downs some two miles from Petersfield, Hampshire, and covers about 1,700 acres, of which more than 1,400 acres are under plantations. It was started by the Commission in 1928 and is typical of a number of forests in South East England which have a high amenity value, with mixed conifers and hardwoods, but the object is to develop it into a forest of pure beech. The Queen's Drive, which lies on the west side of the forest, covers a bridle road which emerges on to a ride of mown grass, this being one of a number of rides which are maintained, not only to reduce the fire risk but to help retain the pleasant character of the downland. From The Queen's Drive, there is a good view of some of the plantations of beech, with their larch and pine nurses, and those species, with some old beech and whitebeam, combine to make a pleasing blend of colour. The Drive passes over the top of the down at one of the highest points in Hampshire, from which, on a clear day, the Isle of Wight, some 24 miles away, can be seen.
Fire in a Forest Village - Houses Destroyed at Dalavich
Two houses were destroyed in a disastrous fire which occurred at Dalavich, the new forest village on Loch Awe-side, in Argyllshire. The outbreak is believed to have occurred in a downstairs room of a house occupied by Mr J. Symington, a forest worker, and his family. Mr Symington found the kitchenette ablaze and raced upstairs to warn his wife, who was in a bedroom with a year-old child. The fire spread rapidly and it was impossible for the family to return to the lower floor, with the result that the child had to be dropped from the bedroom window into the arms of a neighbour and Mr and Mrs Symington had to leap to the ground.
Mrs. Symington was taken to hospital, suffering from severe burns to the head and hands. The couple lost all their possessions. The occupants of the house next door, Mr and Mrs Johnson, were able to remove most of their furniture and household effects before their home was gutted. The fire was fought with a motor pump, brought across Loch Awe by boat under the local emergency forest fire plan, and with equipment from Inverinan Forest, pending the arrival of the Oban Fire Brigade.
Thinning Six Years After Planting - This Should Be a Record!
Following the claim in January's Slasher by Forester Close, of Blengdale, Ennerdale Forest, Cumberland, that a thinning of Japanese larch there, when only nine years old, must surely be a record, Mr G.D. Rouse, Chief Education Officer, answers the 'challenge' with a reference to a Douglas fir plot at Clumbers Enclosure in the New Forest. There, in 1940, some small clearings were made by removing mature Scots pine growing amid oak. These were planted in 1941 with sturdy young Douglas, two-plus-two transplants, spaced five feet apart. In this sheltered spot, on fairly fertile soil of Headon Beds clay, very rapid growth resulted. Sample trees measured in 1946 had an average height of 20 feet, and their shoot growth that season exceed five feet!
In 1947, the first thinning was made by removing alternate rows of trees; this yielded 215 hoppus feet to the acre, six years after planting. In 1948, a second thinning was made by removing alternate trees from remaining rows; this yielded 110 hoppus feet per acre, and in that season the average height growth was only three and a half feet. The plot is being managed on the Craib system of very heavy early thinnings, and in 1949 a few more trees were taken out to give a stocking of 520 trees per acre at eight years old.
The third general thinning was made in 1952, when the crop was 11 years old, and yielded 248 hoppus feet to the acre. This reduced the main crop to 310 trees per acre, with a standing volume of 422 feet. Total production to that date was 1,021 hoppus feet per acre. The trees that remain average 28 feet in height and four inches in breast-height quarter-girth, with a volume of 1.36 hoppus feet each; the tallest of them has averaged three feet a year in height growth, and is now 36 feet tall.
We think this record of three thinnings at eleven years old will take a lot of beating. District Officer H.L. Edlin, who planted the trees, and District Officer R.H. Kendall, who now has charge of them, kindly supplied the foregoing details.
Burial Urn 3,000 Years Old - Find at Coed Clwyd
Members of the Flintshire Historical Society who recently carried out excavations on the site of a cairn in Coed Clwyd Forest, on the Clwydian Range, in Denbighshire, found an earthenware burial urn nearly 3,000 years old. The urn, which has a diameter of eight inches and is 10½ inches deep, contained human bones, charcoal, some soil and a flint scraper.
During the excavations, a quantity of Roman coins was also found. Earlier, a similar, but smaller, and badly broken urn was found in the same locality. It is currently under repair in the Chester Museum.
The Big Oak Tree
The census report on hedgerow and park timber and woods under five acres mentions the largest tree measured in the course of the survey was an oak, growing in Kent, which had a volume of 457 cubic feet. The tree can be seen in Chevening Park, near Kemsing, Sevenoaks. The census was carried out on a sample basis, so it should be remembered that the volume of this oak may not be a record.
Tree Grows From a Wall
At Goytre Forest, in the South Wales Conservancy, a Scots pine is growing from a garden wall. The wall, built with old lime mortar, is about five and a half feet thick. The tree grows from an inch gap between two stones. It is three feet high and is believed to be about 60 years odd. The root cannot be seen.
An even more unusual occurrence is reported by Forester R.P. Woollard, of Swanton, East England. "We have a plant of an unknown species", he says, "growing out of the sitting room wall from about two feet from the floor. It is now about three feet high, and still growing. We are waiting for it to flower before cutting it down. Incidentally, the wall was recently papered, but the plant pushed through three layers and split the paper several inches."
Other news from East England is of a poplar, felled at Cranwich, which was thought to have been planted in 1805. A danger to users of the nearby highway, it was appropriately enough brought to the ground near Trafalgar Day. The main log was found to contain 587 cubic feet of timber. A similar tree in the same locality contained a beehive and a substantial amount of honey.
The Commission Tie
The Forestry Commission tie is obtainable from Messrs. C.H. Munday, Ltd., of 7, Irving Street, Leicester Square, London, W.C.2 and is still made in three materials: rayon reppo (smooth weave rayon) at 7s. 6d.; rayon non-crease, 9s. 6d.; all silk reppo, 15s.
Tennis Tournament
The Tennis Tournament arranged by the Headquarters Sports and Social Club took place recently at the Civil Service Sports Ground, Chiswick. Winners were: - Ladies' singles, Miss E. Tebbitt; Men's singles, Mr P. Brook; Ladies' doubles, Miss B. Landimore and Miss Tebbit; Men's doubles, Mr E. Brown and Mr R. Beagley. Mixed doubles (drawn partners), Miss J. Priest and Mr Beagley; Mixed doubles (partners selected), Miss E. Innes and Mr E. Brown. Prizes were distributed by Mrs Beagley.
Newcomers
Clerical Officer Miss J.E. Rutledge to E(E);
Clerical Officer K.J. Pratt to E(E);
Clerical Officer F.L. Druiett to H.Q.;
Clerical Officer Miss A.P. Wyatt to SW(E).
Transfers
Divisional Officer H.V.S. Dier from Glasgow to Aberdeen.
District Officer A. Rix from Rothbury, NE(E) to Ripon, NE(E).
Forester J. Hamilton from Achaglachgach, W(S) to Glenbranter, W(S);
Forester K.H.C. Trodd from Arundel, SE(E) to Gravetye, SE(E);
Forester E.J.D. Wilkinson from Information Section to Research, Alice Holt Lodge;
Forester W.O. Armstrong from Mabie, S(S) to Glentrool, S(S).
Foreman A. Maxwell from Ae, S(S) to Mabie, S(S);
Foreman R. McGeorge from Research, Mabie, to Greskine, S(S).
Executive Officer B.A. Hamilton from Chester to Lightmoor Depot.
Presentations
On the occasion of his transfer Mr Dier was presented with a table lighter and cigarettes by colleagues and friends in the West Conservancy, Scotland, in which he has had 16 years' service.
Marriages
Recently married in Neath were District Officer W.C. Wilkins, South Wales Conservancy, and Miss Angela Drew.
Mr K. Hughes, Clerical Officer at Cardiff, and Miss Florice Lempriere were married.
Miss D. Smith, Clerical Officer at York, and Mr R. Simpson were married.
Births
A son was born to District Officer E.J.M. Davies, of Aberystwyth and Mrs Davies.
A son was born to District Officer J.P. Newton, of South West England and Mrs Newton.
A daughter, Susan, was born to ex-School Ganger G. Davies, of Pembrey Forest, South Wales and Mrs Davies.
Retired
Head Forester Robert Fraser, who started Dovey Forest, now regarded as one of the finest of our units in Wales, has retired after a career in forestry that commenced in 1901.
The occasion was marked by a large gathering in the local school at Aberangell, presided over by District Officer P.W. Morgan, who reminded the company that when Mr Fraser arrived at Dovey 27 years ago, the land was bare of trees. Mr F.C. Best, Conservator, North Wales, said posterity would respect, and take pride in, the plantations formed by Mr Fraser. Mr John Evans, Senior Forest Worker at Bovey, with 26 years in the forest, said the Forestry Commission came to Aberangell 'as a godsend' during the years of unemployment and depression. He and many other workers had reason to thank Mr Fraser for the tolerance and kindness he had always displayed. Amongst other gifts, Foreman David Evans, on behalf of the supervisory staff of the forest, handed Mr Fraser a walking stick, made by Mr E.H. Pughe, and Mr D.B. Jones, another Senior Forest Worker, handed the gift of an oak biscuit barrel and fruit bowl to Mrs Fraser. Mr H.C. Bell, who has now taken charge at Dovey, also spoke, and the "Rhos" male voice party rendered some enjoyable items.
Forester B.V. James, who has been in charge of Pembrey Forest, South Wales, since 1947 has retired. He was employed in State forestry for 46 years, having joined the Office of Woods in 1907. Most of his service was in the Forest of Dean. Mr W.D. Russell, Conservator, South Wales presented him with a clock.
Please see the PDF link below to read the newsletter