REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 227 



lation of the interest or yield to be annually produced by it and 

 thus to become available for realisation. 



For the purpose of expounding these various matters, Sir 

 William Schlich divides his manual into three main sections 

 or parts, dealing respectively with Forest Mensuration^ Forest 

 Valuation, and the Preparation of Working- Plans. The last part 

 includes both the theory on which the science is based (the 

 foundations of Forest Management), and the practical appli 

 cation of that theory (the actual preparation of the working- 

 plan). The first part. Forest Mensuration, deals with the 

 determination of the dimensions, volume, age and increment of 

 single trees and of whole woods : information which is indis- 

 pensable to the scientific forester for the calculation of the 

 material standing on a given area, the yield which a wood can 

 give, and the value of single trees and whole woods or forests. 

 In other words, it is information which enables the owner to 

 determine the full value of his forest capital or growing stock, 

 and the interest in produce, or the " yield " at his disposal. But 

 the portion of this subject which will more strongly appeal 

 to our readers, especially in view of coming events, is that which 

 deals with the preparation of " Yield Tables " ; that is to say, of 

 tabular statements which give the course of the development 

 of a wood from early youth up to a certain age, either from year 

 to year, or for intervals of a certain number of years. " The 

 data contained in such tables enable the forester to determine 

 the quantity of timber and firewood produced on lands of vary- 

 ing yield capacity, upon the supposition that the progress of the 

 wood has not suffered from any extraneous interference. Hence, 

 they serve to determine the yield which may be expected, and 

 to gauge the financial results of the industry if the land is 

 planted with one or the other species." 



There can be no question in our minds, that at the present 

 time " the most urgent need of British forestry is the collection 

 of statistics, by means of which the financial results of the 

 industry can be estimated " ; and in the chapter dealing with 

 Yield Tables the kind of statistics required, and the manner in 

 which these can best be collected, are most clearly set forth. 

 Unfortunately, such tables can be prepared with any degree of 

 accuracy only for woods which are practically fully stocked, 

 taking into consideration the species, quality of locality, and 

 the adopted method of treatment ; and as woods which comply 



