Section C— BOTANY, BACTERIOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, 



AND FORESTRY. 



President of the Section : C. E. Legat, B.Sc. 



WEDNESDAY. JULY lo. 



. The President delivered the following address : — 

 TIMBER SUPPLIES AND FORESTRY IN THE UNION. 



The Union is almost entirely dependent for its timber sup- 

 plies on importations from abroad. In this respect its position 

 is similar to that of Great Britain. Both countries are very 

 poorly wooded. A recent return shows that the area of wood- 

 land per head of population in the United Kingdom is 0.067 o^ 

 an acre. If the native population is included, the figure is prac- 

 tically the same here, viz.,- 0.07. Calculated on the basis of the 

 white population alone, the South African figure is more favour- 

 able, viz., 0.32 acre. But there is an important difference be- 

 tween the position in Great Britain and here. The woodlands 

 of the United Kingdom are cultivated forests, and as such more 

 productive, and they are comparatively accessible to roads and 

 railways. In South Africa, on the other hand, the forests are 

 wild, and considerable areas are far removed from roads and 

 rail, so that the present direct utility of much of them is very 

 small. 



For the past thirty years or more there has been a growing 

 public opinion in Great Britain that something should be done 

 to place that country in a more independent position in regard 

 to its timber supply. For the five years previous to the outbreak 

 of war the country's timber bill had been on the average about 

 £37,000,000 per annum, and the local production insignificant. 

 Commissions and committees were appointed at intervals to go 

 into the matter, and they made recommendations, but nothing 

 very concrete resulted. Now the war has brought home to the 

 Government and the country most forcibly the unsoundness of 

 the national position in regard to this question. At a time when 

 shipping was most urgently required for other purposes there 

 was no alternative but to earmark a large amount to transport 

 this essential war material, even though it involved reduced 

 rations for the people. During the years 1915 and 1916 the 

 imports of timber absorbed 7.000,000 nett tons of shipping, and 

 cost £74,000,000, or £37,000,000 in excess of the pre-war value. 

 The Prime Minister, in his speech of February, 191 7, on the 

 submarine menace, emphasised that the saving of this tonnage 

 was a vital necessity, and that to effect it, it would be necessary 

 to fall back on the country's own timber resources and to arrange 

 with the French Government for some of their forests to be 

 placed at Great Britain's disposal. 



In view of this state of affairs the appointment of a Forestry 

 Sub-Committee of the Reconstruction Committee " to consider 

 and report upon the best means of conserving and developing 

 the woodland and forestry resources of the United Kingdom 



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