246 FORESTRY IN FRANCE. 
per acre higher than that of the private forests notwithstanding 
that these latter are, as a rule, on better soil, and are frequently 
grown under other more favourable natural conditions. 
The average all-round rate actually realised in the State forests 
per load of wood of all sorts, including tanning bark, was 14s. 5d. ; 
while that obtained in the communal forests was only 9s. 8d. The 
corresponding rate for the whole of the French forests, including 
those belonging to private proprietors, was 10s. 7d.; so that the 
rate in the State forests exceeded the general average by 37 per 
cent., while that in the communal forests fell to 9 per cent. below 
it. The revenue obtained by the sale of minor produce was 
derived principally from shooting leases and permits. 
It is not an easy matter to determine the capital value of a 
forest, but in 1873 an estimate was made, which put that of the 
State forests at nearly 505 million pounds sterling, which is equi- 
valent to a little over £50 per acre. The gross revenue derived 
from them in that year represented a return of 3°15 per cent., but 
the net profit did not much exceed 2 per cent. on the estimated 
value. The capital value of the communal forests is certainly less 
per acre than that of the State forests, on account of the younger age 
at which the trees are, generally speaking, cut ; and, notwithstanding 
that their revenue is smaller, it is probable that they pay a higher 
rate of interest than the State forests. 
It has been estimated that the relative rates of interest on their 
capital value paid by forests in which the main crop is removed at 
various ages, is something like the following, viz. :— 
Age, : . 25 years, 4 per cent. 
*, 30) 3b os 
iS 10a 3 ne 
” 60 ? 2 2? 
ns 100) 5; 1 56 
: 200 ,, 1 ree 
These figures are intended to give a general idea of the manner 
in which, notwithstanding the increased value of the produce, the 
relative rate of interest declines as the age to which the trees are 
left standing is prolonged. They have no claim to absolute accuracy, 
even as representing the average of French forests, and still less 
can they be assumed to apply to the forests of other countries. 
They serve, however, to explain what has been previously said, 
viz., that on account of the higher rate of interest which coppice, 
