THE PLANTING OF WASTE LAND FOR PROFIT. 273 
(5) Zhe risk of fire caused by sparks from railway engines is a 
serious matter on dry land planted with pines and firs, which 
has been partly provided for in the Railway Fires Act, 1905, 
that comes into force on January 1, 1908.!_ But the claim for 
damage is, by sect. 1 (3), limited to £100 in the case of any 
action for damage, and this seems inadequate, while the 
provisions made for the prevention of fire might easily be 
rendered much more effective by some such additional section 
as the following :— 
For the purpose of preventing or diminishing the risk of fire in a plantation, 
wood, orchard, or nursery, the owner may submit to the Board of Agriculture 
a proposal for the fire-protection of the same by means of reasonably necessary 
precautions, together with an.estimate of the cost thereof, and on this being 
approved and sanctioned the Board may pass orders for the payment by the 
railway company, on the completion of the work, of a reasonable share of the 
actual cost, not exceeding a maximun of one-half of the estimate sanctioned or 
of one-half of the actual expenditure incurred, whichever may be the less in 
amount. 
5. How should Waste Land be Planted for Profit?—Certainly, 
in as large and compact blocks as may be possible, because 
timber-crops grow better in large masses than in small woods; 
there is better shelter from wind, and a smaller proportion of 
wind-swept fringe; the circulation of soil-moisture is more 
equable; there is economy in the first cost of outer boundaries 
(if required) and fencing, and annually in supervision, for one 
forester can far more easily supervise four or five compact 
blocks, aggregating 2000 to 3000 acres, than he can exercise 
proper supervision over half of that acreage if scattered about. 
in smaller blocks of 100 or 150 acres. And, of course, those 
tracts should first be dealt with which are within fairly easy 
reach of places likely to prove good centres for the future sale 
of wood. 
Considering the present condition and the future prospects 
of the timber-market, there can be very little doubt that in 
plantations made for profit the main crops will be formed for 
the most part of coniferous trees. Our soil and climate are 
well suited for their growth; they can be grown on poorer 
land, and attain marketable dimensions sooner than hardwood- 
crops, which means that they can be grown without locking 
up so much capital in timber; they have a readier sale 
1 See also 7vansactions for 1906, Vol. XIX. Part I., page 73. 
