AFFORESTATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 619 



quality soils which will produce a serviceable quality of the 

 spruce, or two or three needle pine, timber so much in demand 

 throughout the civilised world. For it is the ever-increasing 

 demand and diminishing supply of these timbers, and not of 

 the more valuable hardwoods, v/hich makes the question of 

 afforestation so pressing. It is a question of the quantity 

 of serviceable timber and not one of the quality alone. In this 

 lies the economic justification for afforestation and not in the 

 value of selected crops grown under exceptional conditions, the 

 success of which often does not bear proper financial analysis ; 

 nor is there justification to be found in the growing of excep- 

 tionally fine trees on soil which is arable, for this does not 

 properly come within the sphere of economic forestry, which 

 begins where agriculture ends. In now considering the land 

 economically available for afforestation it is to be regretted that 

 there is little more to go upon than the above-quoted agricultural 

 statistics. In 1902 it was recommended by the Forestry Com- 

 mittee that a survey should be undertaken to ascertain what 

 area of land might more suitably be employed for growing 

 forests than for its present purpose ; but the recommendation 

 has not been carried into effect. Since the question of the 

 employment of labour has to be taken into account, and it 

 must be emphasised that it is not intended that afforestation 

 should be undertaken at the expense of agriculture, it is 

 better entirely to exclude from consideration the area now 

 under crops, though it is doubtful whether some of the poorer 

 village land would not yield better returns under forests. 

 The area of mountain and heath land alone is that on which 

 an estimate can be based except when it is definitely known 

 that suitable areas are included under the heading of " other 

 lands." 



In Great Britain there are 13,074,115 acres of mountain and 

 heath land, the rental value of which may safely be assumed 

 not to exceed 15. per acre on an average. Besides this there are 

 3)537)172 acres of deer "forest," or lands exclusively devoted to 

 sport, so that after deducting 3,519,678 acres on account of exces- 

 sive elevation, there remain in round figures 13,000,000 acres as 

 possibly available for afforestation. 



Now the opinions expressed by different authorities as to the 

 area economically suitable for planting differ very widely, as is 

 natural where such large figures are dealt with. Sir W. Schlich, 



