76 AFFORESTAilOX IN" SCOTLAND. 



cellulose factories near the woods later on, when much larger 

 supplies and more suitable material may become available, it 

 would seem unwise to attempt to make anything like detailed 

 estimates. And the probability is that the pitwood and timber 

 value of the good conifer crops that Scotland can easily produce 

 under proper management, will always be greater than what pulp 

 or cellulose may yield. 



Mechanical or ground wood-pulp could easily be produced 

 locally by utilising the ample water-power to be found on the 

 hillsides; but the impression of the pulp-firms I have consulted 

 is that, even in the future, it may probably be cheaper to buy 

 foreign pulp, as at present. Time alone, however, can prove 

 whether this opinion be correct or not. As regards cellulose- 

 making at some central factory the case may be different, though 

 no useful purpose can be served by making financial forecasts 

 of this sort about timber crops that have as yet not been planted. 

 It may be mentioned, however, that for making paper of the 

 kind used for the daily newspaper press, the materials used are 

 in the proportion of 30 per cent, unbleached sulphite pulp and 

 70 per cent, mechanical pulp: and to produce 100 tons of 

 sulphite pulp about 300 tons of wood are needed (preferably 

 spruce). A paper mill can only pay if it turn out 200 tons of 

 paper weekly, the raw material required for which would be 

 from 400 to 500 tons of wood weekly, or at least 20,000 tons of 

 wood per annum. But, of course, this minimum total quantity 

 for profitable paper-milling could be cut and pulped at several 

 different localities, to supply the central paper mill. 



The amount of labour that cellulose factories would provide 

 can be judged of from the fact that the poles used have to be 

 hand-spokeshaved to remove the bark (loss 8 per cent., against 

 15-16 per cent, if mechanical apparatus used) and all knots 

 punched out, before chipping the wood jirevious to boiling and 

 macerating it with calcium sulphite. 



\T. To SUMMARISE HRIEFLY, without attempting to give 

 detailed forecasts, any extensive afforestation scheme will, 

 besides giving much work in draining and other soil prepara- 

 tion, fencing, rabbit exterminating, nursery-work, planting and 

 tending Csee Chapter IX., Working-Plan), provide new or greatly 

 increased sources of employment throughout the district. 

 There will be much more labour needed for felling, logging, 

 extracting and preparing the timber for market, and in trans- 



