FORESTRY IN SOME OK ITS ECONOMIC ASPECTS. I 29 



himself had extended his woodlands by 12,000 acres.^ But 

 afforestation can never appeal to the individual as a purely 

 commercial undertaking. This, it seems to me, is inherent in 

 the circumstances of the case, for when a scheme of planting is 

 comtemplated the landowner has to face two considerations, 

 either of which may make him pause, and both of which will 

 almost certainly make him stop. In the first place, the necessary 

 land has to be withdrawn from some other form of utilisation, 

 and this means the loss of immediate income. In the second 

 place, capital has to be found for the silvicultural operations, and 

 this must be accompanied by suspension of interest, or it must 

 entail the payment of interest on borrowed capital. The 

 individual may be quite convinced of the soundness of the 

 investment, and of the ultimately remunerative character of the 

 undertaking, but present necessities are much more potent than 

 future advantages, and especially is this the case where the 

 advantages are quite certain to be reaped by some other 

 individual. In the case of the State, however, the matter 

 appears in an entirely different light. An undertaking whose 

 returns may be deferred for even a century need not deter her 

 from taking action. A century, where an individual is concerned, 

 is overwhelming ; a century in the life of a nation is insignificant. 

 To what depths of pessimism must a nation have descended if 

 it dare not postulate an existence of a hundred years ! In 

 point of fact, a crop of certain kinds of timber may be reaped in 

 half this time, but even this restricted period has no attraction 

 for the individual. On account, therefore, of the necessarily 

 deferred character of the returns of forestry, the State is pre- 

 eminently qualified to undertake the work. But on other grounds 

 also the State makes an excellent forester. Continuity of 

 management, comprehensive working-plans, and maintenance 

 of supplies at a steady level can only be satisfactorily secured 

 in State forests. Whether large extension of afforestation in 

 this country is desirable or not is open to argument, but if the 

 desirability of such extension be admitted, the conclusion, it 

 seems to me, cannot be avoided, that the. State alone can 

 accomplish the result." 



' Q. 625. 



