AFFORESTATION OF BARREN LAND. II 



It may be urged that even on an advantageous showing there 

 does not seem to be much profit in any such scheme, but I 

 would point out that this is a scheme for the formation of new 

 forest areas, and cannot be expected to yield the returns of an 

 old-estabHshed forest. 



Once the forest area is formed its continuance is by no means 

 an expensive matter, and it should be capable of producing a 

 satisfactory net revenue in all time coming. 



I have not gone into any of the national or indirect gains, 

 important as these are, but have endeavoured, as far as possible, 

 to treat the subject from an economic and financial point of 

 view. I have no doubt these suggestions will be strongly 

 criticised, but I have put them forward with this very object, and 

 I shall welcome, and shall be glad to reply to any criticism 

 which may assist in formulating any workable scheme for the 

 afforestation of the bare land in these islands, of which, every one 

 must agree, we have much too large an area. 



3. Home-grown Pit-wood, 



ISy Sir Kennktii Mackknzie, Bart. 



One of the outcomes of the war may be the recognition by 

 the British mining industry of the possibility of its demands 

 for pit-props being met by the use of home-grown timber. It 

 would therefore appear- desirable for producers to consider 

 whether they can meet such a demand and the best method 

 of maintaining a supply. 



In the past practically the only marketable product of 

 British woodlands has been mature timber. This means a 

 rotation of at the least sixty years, so that no individual lives 

 to market the crop he has planted — a fact which has greatly 

 retarded afforestation. While mature timber will still be in 

 demand, and in all probability maintain its value, it seems 

 quite possible by careful selection of site and genus to grow 

 a crop of pit-wood which will give a good return in fifteen to 

 eighteen years. The advantage of the short rotation to the 

 grower is so obvious that no comment is needed, and its 

 advantage to the nation by reducing payments to other countries 

 for foreign wood is equally apparent. 



