One thing they do very well in the North, and there may be many more, is the servicing of farmers and others who wish to plant trees. This came to mind a day or two ago when a neat little folder, about eight inches by six re-appeared among a pile of literature on trees. It contained eight pamphlets, from eight to twelve pages each, well illustrated with line drawings and, covering these themes: Sites for Planting; Choosing the Right Species; Guidance on Planting; Protecting Newly Planted Trees; Weed Control; Managing Small Areas of Trees; Trees and Wildlife and Growing Trees from Seed.
A good deal of artistic imagination has been shown: For example, in demonstrating the relative ability of some common trees to tolerate exposure, they have a sort of graph line descending from the top left hand side of a double-page spread to the lowest point on the bottom of the right hand page with illustrations. It gives you in tables the suitable and unsuitable sites of native broadleaved trees and non-native.
The general quality of the series is strengthened by the number of illustrations. Most of you may think that you don't have to be shown how to dig a hole to plant a tree. But you do. And how to stake a tree, if necessary. And throughout it all, much commonsense. For example: on areas covered with scrub, do not "tidy up" the area by clearing away all the vegetation. Simply clear small areas and plant into these and, in italics: "Don't destroy good wildlife habitats and then plant them with trees.
Many areas are better left alone or only partially planted."
There is a slogan on the front of the folder "The Department of Agriculture assists farmers to combine the production of food with care for the countryside.
Together we can create a better environment for successful farming.
We have had our own Tree Week.
The ENFO office still carries pamphlets on, probably, all these topics. There is one under the typewriter on Native Trees from Seed. There is one on Trees for Gardens, and others carrying the Tree Council of Ireland logo: Comhairle Crann na hEireann. The news is net all gloom and dissension.