UTILISATION OF K.XISTINC. WOODLAND PRODUCE. 77 



porting it to its place of consumption ; while new industries, 

 such as wood-distillation, will have to be created locally to 

 clear the natural birch and old stub-grown oak woods before 

 the soil can be suitably prepared for planting. In this respect 

 a reference may here well be made to the Memorandum issued, 

 on 14th February 191 1, by the Management Committee of the 

 General Federation of Trade Unions in the United Kingdom, 

 in which it was urged that — 



" To absorb surplus labour, an appeal is made for 

 afforestation. The employment furnished by the present uses 

 — mostly sheep-farming — to which the land is devoted may 

 be taken, it is stated, to average one man per 1000 acres. 

 This does not represent one-tenth of the permanent 

 employment afforded by the maintenance of a similar area 

 under forest. A special advantage of forestry in relation to 

 labour is that it offers new sources of employment. The 

 labour connected with timber and timber products imported 

 into the country is performed abroad ; the labour incidental to 

 home-grown timber would be performed in the country, and 

 would afford maintenance for many thousands of families." 



What the actual labour bill in extensive forests amounts to 

 can be well judged of from the returns published regarding the 

 Prussian State forests. With a total area of about 7,000,000 acres, 

 they yielded, in 1904, over 412,000,000 cubic feet of wood, 

 equal to a fall of about 65 cubic feet per acre actually stocked ; 

 and of this more than one-half was used as timber, and nearly 

 one-half as fuel. The gross income was over ^5,854,400, 



THE EXPENDITURE ;?^2, 755,230 (OR AVERAGING 7s. 10?,d. PER 



acre), and the net income ^3,099,107, showing a net revenue 

 of 9s, yd. per acre actually culturable. During the year 32,000 

 acres were naturally regenerated, sown, or planted at a cost 

 of ;^43,5oo ; and employment was given to 156,772 hands 



FOR A TOTAL OF 10,479,589 DAYS. 



