South Airican Forestry. 355 



succession of t;lacial ami senii-lnipical periods liave never lieen cut 

 off from the greal forest region of the North. L'p to comparative! \ 

 recent times England was rich in forests. Cccsar found Oak and 

 Beech in the South. Scotch-pine in the North and nearly the whole 

 country a vast forest. There was still good forest when William the 

 Conqueror came, but he had to resort to. perha])S necessarily, severe 

 measures, to ol)tain the compact area in the South — the " New 

 Fore.st." What finally destroyed the forest wealth of England was 

 the confiscation of the rich Church forests in the time of Henry VHI. 

 At that time the nobler were powerful, the people and the national 

 sentiment of modern times were weak. Nearly all the confiscated 

 Church forests went to the nobles, and shared the eventual fate of 

 all private forests; that is to say, gradual destruction. On the Conti- 

 nent of Europe the rich Church forests were not confiscated until the 

 troublous times of the French Revolution at the l)eginning of 1800. 

 When taken from the Church which had preserved them intact for 

 centuries, thev were given, not to the nobles as in England, but to 

 the people of the country. Hence we see the curious contrast of 

 to-day, no National Fore.sts and no Scientific Forestrv in England ; 

 on the Continent of Europe great and increasing forest wealth. The 

 forests of Germany occupy one quarter of its total surface and their 

 ca])italized value is reckoned at 900 million i)Ounds sterling. Great 

 Britain and Ireland in Forestry occupy the lowest position among the 

 States of Europe, being one per cent, worse off than Portugal : — 



Percent a !L!,c of Woodlands. 



Kiissia in Kurojx- ... ... .. 36 



Austria ... ... ... ... 30/ Scicntihcallv 



Germany ... ... ... ... jb conserved 



Switzerland ... ... ... ... it) and 



France ... ... ... ... 17^ permanent. 



Portuiial ... ... ... ... 5 



,- . X, ■. ■ 1111 I Parks, small 



dreat Britain and IrclaiKi ... ... 4. '. ,., , ,. 



^ I t^lantations, etc. 



The axerage jiroportion of p^)rest on the Continent of Europe 

 is calculated at 2t;.', per cent. 



FORES'IRV IN IHE BRITISH ISLES. 



In no particular is the insular isolation of England seen more 

 than in the matter of forests. To-day England is paying in round 

 numbers twenty million pounds sterling yearly for timber that could 

 be produced twice or perhaps thrice over within the limits of the 

 British Isles if the ancient forests were restored. When we consi<ler 

 that, in the more settled time before the late Boer war. the total cost 

 of the Army was ^34.000 and of the National debt ^25.000 it will lie 

 seen that this forest question in England is the great question of the 

 future. It must come prominenth' torward in the near future in 



