FORESTRY. 1039 



Sweet peas and their cultivation for home and exhibition, C. H. Curtis 

 (London, 190S, pp. 90, pi. 1, figs. i}). — A popular treatise dealing with the his- 

 tory and development of sweet peas and their cnltivation for garden decoration, 

 home use, and exhibition. 



FORESTRY. 



Second report of the Royal Commission appointed to enquire into and to 

 report on certain questions affecting coast erosion, the reclamation of tidal 

 lands, and afforestation in the United Kingdom (Ilmj. Coin. Coast Erosion 

 and Afforest. [Ot. Brit.^ Rpt., 2 (1909), pt. J, pp. X+.',8).—A Koyal Commis- 

 sion was appointed in July, 3900, to inquire as to the encroachment of the sea 

 on various parts of the I'nitod Kingdom and to report on the best means of 

 preventing this encroachment, and the reclamation of tidal lands. Subsequently 

 the commission was directed to determine the advisability of establishing 

 afforestation experiments on these waste lands as a means of increasing em- 

 ployment during periods of depression in the labor market. 



Tliis report deals with the afforestation ]ihase alone. Section 1 discusses 

 the present unsati.sfactory condition of British woodlands, the causes thereof, 

 the nattiral conditions in the United Kingdom favorable to the growth of trees, 

 and instances of successful results of British forestry. Some lessons are 

 drawn from German methods and results, and considerable data from various 

 sources are given relative to the scarcity of timber, and rise of price. 



The succeeding sections of the report discuss in detail unemployed labor 

 in relation to afforestation, the nature and extent of lands suitable for this 

 work, administration, finance, sni a summary of the principal conclusions and 

 recommendat ions. 



The commissioners conclude that the soil and climate in the islands are 

 favorable to the production of high-class timber if scientific methods of affores- 

 tation be pursued, and that silviculture should prove a safe and remunerative 

 investment. The amount of land suitable for afforestation not now under 

 timber is estimated at about 9,000,000 acres, somewhat irregularly distributed 

 throughout the United Kingdom. It is recommended that a special board of 

 commissioners be appointed to carry out a national scheme of afforestation 

 for this land. The annual sum required for the full scheme as outlined is 

 £2,000.(jOn, the interest on the loan to be defrayed by taxation. It is calcu- 

 lated that the net deficit will be £90,000 in the first year and will rise progres- 

 sively to £3,131,250 in the fortieth year, after which period the forest will 

 become more than self-supporting. The net revenue from the forest after 

 SO years, based upon present prices, is estimated at £17..500,000. The best ro- 

 tation to secure sustained timber yields requires 150,000 acres to be afforested 

 annually. This will provide temporary employment to 18,000 men during the 

 winter months, and iiermanent emi)loyment to 1 man per each 100 acres affor- 

 ested, in addition to a large number employed in the incidental and subsidiary 

 occuiiatioiis cniincfted with f<ir<'stry. 



Investigations of the N. C. Geological and Economic Survey relating to 

 forestry problems along the North Carolina banks, J. II. Tkatt (Jour. JJHsIki 

 Mitchell .Set. .S'oc, 2'i (1908), So. ',, pp. U-j-l.iS). — The author describes the 

 conditions along the North Carolina banks and presents a report of a brief 

 examination of the banks made by J. F. Boiul of the Forest Service of this 

 I)e|iartment. The report includes a discussion of the damage being done by 

 ilrifting sands on the ar<'as e'lnni'ied and suggests a definite l)lan by which 

 these lands can Ite protected. 



S5G70— No. 11—09 4 



