686 Hon. Ivor Churchill Guest [May 21, 



million pounds a year — that is exclusive of all exotic woods, such as 

 teak and mahogany. Now on the basis of nine million acres being 

 available at home for the production of such w^ood, and on the 

 assumption — which, according to the evidence, seems to be reason- 

 able — that each acre would produce annually one ton or one load of 

 timber, when the crop came to maturity in eighty years' time, and if 

 proper methods were adopted to assure its continuance, this country 

 would produce about the same amount of wood which it now annually 

 imports ; in other words, exotic products always excepted, it would be- 

 come self -supporting in the matter of its timber supply [slide shown]. 

 I think you will agree with me that this would be a great gain for ob- 

 vious reasons {cf. coal supply and timber props). But there are other 

 and further advantages : thus, if 150,000 acres were afforested annu- 

 ally, which would be about the proper proportion in dealing with a 

 total of nine million acres over the 80-year rotation, our conclusion 

 is that it would afford employment each year for about eighteen 

 thousand men during the winter months, which of course means 

 that very many more would be benefited, seeing that a great number 

 of these people would be married and have children or other depend- 

 ents. Also perhaps about as many more would derive employment 

 indirectly in the incidental and subsidiary occupations connected with 

 forestry. 



I may add here that the Small- Holding movement would certainly 

 also receive a great stimulus. Nowadays there is a considerable 

 amount of loose thinking and talking upon this matter of Small 

 Holdings in England. AVhile most people agree as to their desira- 

 bility, those who have made a study of the subject are well aware 

 that they cannot be made to pay in all our various conditions of soil, 

 climate, and market. Many hold indeed that except on really rich 

 and easily worked land, such as that of the Fen districts, or Avhere 

 particular and highly intensive industries, for example, French 

 gardening, or bulb cultivation, or strawberry-growing, celery raising, 

 and so forth are practised, their success remains problematical ; but 

 in the neighbourhood of great woods this would be almost assured, 

 since such woods must afford a steady source of employment in the 

 winter months, during which the Small Holder's wife and family 

 can generally attend to the requirements of his little farm, while he 

 himself is employed in earning good money in the forest. 



Just now I spoke of the temporary employment which such a scheme 

 of afforestation would furnish, but all employment connected there- 

 with is not included in that term. On the contrary, for every hun- 

 dred acres afforested, permanent work would be provided for one 

 man, which means that if the whole nine million acres Avere ultimately 

 put under trees, that area would provide a living for about ninety- 

 thousand men and their families. Nor is this all, since in the train 

 of the commercial cultivation of woodlands spring up many subsidiary 

 industries ; thus, timber is more profitably converted into useful 



