THE VALUE OF WASTE LAND FOR AFFORESTATION PURPOSES. 157 
absolutely preclude the possibility of tree-growth, hardly a 
locality can be found which will not grow something or other. 
But financial considerations compel us not only to limit ourselves 
to species which have a recognised position in the timber-trade, 
but also to those which can produce the required quantity of 
timber in a given time. Such species will probably be found 
very few in number. Spruce, Scots and Corsican pines, larch 
and, to a limited extent, Douglas fir among the conifers, and 
beech, birch, sycamore, and a little oak and ash, among broad- 
leaved trees, are probably all that can be grown on a commercial 
basis on ordinary hill land. Of these, spruce and pines are the 
only species which can be depended upon on a large scale at 
high elevations, and as trees for which a regular market exists. 
Larch, of course, pays better than any where it succeeds, but its 
success is too problematical to allow great dependence to be 
placed upon it, while Douglas fir requires conditions of an ex- 
ceptional nature for its success. The demand for most of the 
broad-leaved trees is too limited for extensive planting of them 
to be entertained, even supposing that they can be grown on 
much of the land we are considering. It seems probable, how- 
ever, that beech might be more extensively grown up to 1000 
feet or so than it has been in the past, not only for the sake of 
its timber, but owing to its favourable effect upon soil fertility, 
and its power of resisting wind. Both birch and sycamore are 
hardy enough for most localities, but it is doubtful if their 
growth would pay on a large scale, while oak and ash could 
only have a very limited existence at the best. 
To stand on comparatively secure ground, therefore, we must 
regard spruce and pines as the mainstay of our hill timber-crops, 
leaving the others to come in as soil, situation and local markets 
may occur to render their cultivation advisable. As regards 
spruce, I am aware that it is an every-day experience that it 
cannot be given away even when grown. But facts which apply 
to small, isolated lots, many of which consist of trees which 
would produce tears in an American lumber camp, or cause a 
hardware manufacturer to extend his works, may not necessarily 
apply to large areas of properly grown timber, and it is not 
necessary to regard this species as hopeless because it has been 
abused hitherto. 
Taking these two species, then, as those for which the‘suit- 
ability of a locality must be judged, the method of assessment 
