THE VALUE OF WASTE LAND FOR AFFORESTATION PURPOSES. I61 
The work of sample plot measurement and recording can only 
be properly undertaken by some institution which concerns itself 
with forestry education and investigation. To be of any value, 
they must be made over a fairly wide area, and on a number of 
different estates, and the selection of plots can only be carried 
out satisfactorily by those who have made special study of such 
work, and are able to form an opinion as to the relative merits 
of individual plots. The actual measurements can, of course, be 
made in many instances by those on the spot, but the true 
significance of the figures obtained can only be appreciated 
by those having a fairly extensive acquaintance with the 
woods of the district generally, and able to arrive at reliable 
conclusions. 
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. 
The next question is: Given land of a certain productive 
power, what quantity of timber must it produce to pay rent after 
allowing for the costs of planting and maintenance? This is not 
an easy question to answer, as it depends upon so many points 
which are constantly varying in character, and which render the 
experiences of one district of little or no value in another. The 
initial costs of planting are probably the easiest to estimate, as 
their variations in different districts are not so great, and a general 
average can more easily be struck. Legitimate maintenance 
charges, again, are not difficult to estimate for a large and 
compact area, as it is assumed that economic planting is only 
contemplated when carried out on a large scale. As a matter of 
fact, given the rent of the land, the average annual costs of pro- 
duction can be estimated with tolerable accuracy, and the debtor 
side of the account can be arrived at without difficulty. The 
annual costs may be made up somewhat roughly as follows :— 
Rent of land, 2s. 6d.; rates and taxes, 1s.; interest on planting 
and fencing costs during first 25 years, 4s.; maintenance, 2s. 6d.; 
total, ros. per acre per annum as the annual cost of keeping 
a growing crop on the ground. 
But when one comes to estimate the covering of this cost by 
a given yield of timber, the problem is a difficult one. If timber 
of a given size had a definite and fixed value in the market, it 
would not be a difficult matter to find the number of cubic feet 
necessary to produce the sum required. But, as is well known, 
