484 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



own colonies and dependencies, and is, generally speaking, for 

 materials we cannot grow. The remaining 21 millions' worth 

 comes from foreign countries. It is this large sum annually sent 

 out of the country which causes us anxiety, more especially when 

 we are in a position to be able to produce the major part of it, 

 thereby benefiting our own people, and assuring us of a supply 

 within our own borders in times of trouble. The area of the 

 United Kingdom is about 71 million acres in extent: of this area, 

 about 26 million acres are practically waste, or are producing less 

 than an average of 2s. per annum per acre. Of these 26 million 

 acres, 1 2 million are capable of producing pine timber equal to any 

 at present imported, and of a value, when in full bearing, of at 

 least 18 million pounds sterling. Notwithstanding this large 

 extent of practically idle land, we have only 3,038,848 acres under 

 wood— England 1,665,741, Wales 181,610, Scotland 878,765, 

 Isle of Man 826, Channel Islands 43, and Ireland 311,863. This 

 is an extremely poor account for Great Britain. I said a minute 

 ago that the area under timber was diminishing. In this I shall 

 confine my remarks to Scotland. In 1812 we had an area under 

 timber of 907,695 acres, in 1872 we had 734,488, in 1880 we had 

 811,703, in 1894 946,453, and per the latest return 878,765, or 

 over 67,000 acres of a deficit. This is a very large deficit. What 

 is the remedy for this state of things ? I reply, that it can only be 

 remedied by Government. You are entitled to ask me how could 

 the Government do it without a mandate from the people. I 

 would reply (1) by subsidising owners to the extent of the cost of 

 the plants, either by supplying the plants direct, or paying for 

 them after the plantation had been formed in accordance with any 

 specification issued by the Board of Agriculture ; (2) issuing loans 

 at low deferred interest ; and (3) taking the land compulsorily, 

 paying for the same either by a capital sum or by an annual rent 

 or feu-duty, leaving it in the option of the owner to redeem the 

 land and crop upon payment of outlays, with modified interest to 

 date. The machinery for carrying out the work might be the 

 County Councils, advised by experts from any or all of the 

 National Societies. In the Highlands, the Congested Districts 

 Board. I shall be told, and quite correctly, too, that by a whole- 

 sale extension of plantations, our supply of mutton would thereby 

 be diminished. I admit that to a certain extent that is true ; but 

 when we consider that it takes about four acres of this same land 

 to feed one sheep, our apparent loss would be turned into a huge 



