214 TRANSACTIONS OP ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



place, ic must be stated that although the average forest area per 

 head of population in Europe amounts to two acres, the imports 

 of timber show already an excess over the exports amounting to 

 2,620,000 tons a year. That deficiency comes chiefly from 

 Canada and the United States of America, and smaller quantities 

 from Australia, India (nearly all teak timber), the countries 

 round the Gulf of Mexico, the west coast of Africa, and a few 

 other places. 



It is well known that the supplies from outside Europe at the 

 present rate cannot be relied on beyond a limited number of years, 

 since the United States, as time goes on, will require all the 

 timber which Canada can export, under the system hitherto 

 followed in the latter country, where reckless cutting and 

 disastrous forest fires are still the order of the day. Russia, with 

 Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Austria-Hungary, which have so 

 far supplied the rest of Europe, will not be able to maintain the 

 exports of the past, owing partly to the gradual exhaustion of 

 their surplus stocks, and partly to their increasing home require- 

 ments, due to the growth of their population and the development 

 of industries. On the other hand, the requirements of the chief 

 importing countries (excepting France) are rapidly increasing. 

 The imports of the United Kingdom have grown from 3,400,000 

 tons in 1864 to 10,000,000 tons in 1899, or at the average rate of 

 189,000 tons a year. The imports of the latter year were valued 

 at £25,000,000. The average annual value increment of the 

 imports during the years 1890-94 amounted to ,£382,000, and 

 during the period 1895-99 to £771,000. There has been some- 

 what of a check during the South African war, but signs are 

 already discernible that the imports will resume their gradual rise. 



Looking now at Germany, which takes the second place amongst 

 European importing countries, we find that her net imports of 

 timber up to 1864 amounted on an average to 13,000 tons a year. 

 In 1899 they had risen to 4,600,000 tons, or an average annual 

 increase of 131,000 tons. The value of the imports in 1899 came 

 to £14,820,000. 



The Belgian net imports of timber amount now to 1,020,000 

 tons, valued at more than £4,000,000. They have increased 

 during the last thirty-five years on an average at the rate of 

 22,000 tons a year. 



The net imports of France have remained practically stationary 

 during the same period; they amounted to about 1,230,000 tons 



