86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



From the above tables several points will be noticed. Firstly, 

 from a purely financial point of view it will be seen that the 

 pine is nearly five times as advantageous as the beech. But 

 the difference in the length of rotation must not be forgotten. 

 One hundred and ninety years for beech is a very long rotation 

 and overreaches the culmination point of the mean annual 

 increment by many years, whereas probably the maximum 

 mean annual increment of the pine about coincides with the 

 rotation. 



Further, it should be noted that if the rate of interest were 

 increased it would affect the financial return of the beech more 

 adversely than the pine, but if the rotation of the beech were 

 somewhat reduced the financial aspect of the crop would 

 improve. It must, however, be remembered that beech is a 

 crop which requires a considerable period in which to carry 

 out the process of natural regeneration, and the length of the 

 rotation must inevitably be longer than is necessary for 

 pine. 



Secondly, from the point of view of national economy, 

 beech, on this long rotation, means a very much larger quantity 

 of timber stored per acre, which has the advantage of providing 

 a large reserve which may be called upon in times of emergency 

 such as war. However, it is necessary to offset against this 

 the lower general utility of beech-wood as compared with pine 

 wood for military purposes. 



It must also be noted that the pine is, year in year out, 

 producing more timber per acre (in the proportion of about 

 seven to six), and is consequently employing more labour in its 

 felling, conversion and working-up. 



Still another point in this connection must be borne in mind, 

 and it is one to which the French Forest Authorities attach 

 considerable importance. Beech-wood forms the raw material 

 of certain industries, and therefore, as its import in large 

 quantities would be difficult and costly, it is esssential that 

 it should be produced at home. Pine, on the other hand, 

 can, in normal times, be imported easily and in large quantities 

 at a moderate price, and consequently, it is argued, that it is 

 not such an essential species for home production as beech. 

 This is probably quite true, but the argument does not wholly 

 apply, as a great deal more beech timber is produced in northern 

 France than is absorbed in those industries for which the wood 



