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ENGLISH TIMBER AND UNDERWOOD. 



A GREAT deal has been written in favour of new methods of 

 producing timber. It seems to be at least equally important 

 to advocate new methods of utilising and marketing existing 

 supplies of English timber and underwood, and to remedy 

 what is universally admitted to be an unsatisfactory state of 

 affairs. Nothing has retarded forestry in England more than 

 the poor price obtained for the output. It is hopeless to 

 expect enthusiastic effort to improve our woodlands until 

 landowners are assured of remunerative prices for the produce 

 they are advised to grow. Therefore, the most pressing matter 

 to-day in regard to English timber and underwood is to show 

 how proper markets can be assured and proper prices obtained. 

 The policy of " practice with science " has done wonders for 

 agriculture, and the failure to adopt this policy in the pro- 

 duction and, especially, in the marketing of English timber 

 and underwood is responsible for many of our present troubles. 



Since the larger issues of general policy are often obscured 

 by relatively unimportant details, it is advisable to treat the 

 matter broadly and to speak in general terms, which must not 

 be applied too strictly to individual districts. The important 

 connection between production and marketing being so often 

 overlooked, one may well deal first with the question of 

 marketing. 



Few people realise the anomalies that exist in regard 

 to the marketing of English timber and underwood. It is 

 impossible to give here more than one or two illustrations, but 

 these could be multiplied indefinitely. Despite iron, wire and 

 other substitutes, the consumption of wood is ever increasing, 

 and our imports alone of wood and timber for 1912 reached 

 a total value of 28,351,315^. Yet, with so enormous a con- 

 sumption, we do not find proper markets for our native 

 supplies of timber, which are infinitesimal in comparison. 

 That our failure so to do is not solely a question of price must 

 be apparent to any one who analyses the prices of much of the 

 foreign timber, or who studies the quotations in the various 

 trade publications. 



Take any given timber — oak, for instance. Although we 

 all know that iron has replaced wood for shipbuilding, few 

 apparently realise that the consumption of all classes of oak 

 timber in this country probably was never greater than it is at 

 the present moment. Furthermore, good as were the prices 

 obtained for oak timber in the days of wooden shipbuilding, it 

 is doubtful if the prices paid for good oak by the consumer 



