GERMAN FOREST NOTES. 89 



inhabitants. Owing to cheap forest pasture the head of, mostly 

 underbred and frequently underfed, cattle is, in these localities, 

 almost invariably out of proportion to the holdings; the hay 

 produced is insufficient for the winter feed, and the whole stock 

 of straw is used up as food ; the manuring of the fields has to 

 be provided for : and forest litter is the only thing to fall back 

 upon. 



Much could doubtlessly be done by raising the price of 

 grazing as well as that of litter, and by providing more labour 

 on forest and other Government work, but such measures are 

 intensely opposed by political parties on the warpath for votes. 



15. Supply of Home-grown Telegraph and 

 Telephone Poles. 



The following letter was received, early in last July, by the 

 Society from the Postmaster-General : — 



"General Post Okfice, London, 

 '■'■^thjiily 1914. 



" Sir, 



" In connection with the Telephone Development Scheme 

 which is being actively carried out by the Post Office, the 

 Postmaster-General has recently had to place contracts for 

 the supply of upwards of 100,000 wooden poles in addition to 

 those deliverable (some 65,000) under the annual contracts 

 placed last autumn for the normal needs of the service. 



" Mr Hobhouse has felt the greatest regret that British 

 forestry has had no share in contributing to this supply; and, 

 in his desire to bring the subject once again to the notice of 

 owners of woodlands and forests in the United Kingdom, and of 

 merchants concerned in finding markets for native timber, he 

 seeks the good offices of the press, in the hope that it will 

 co-operate with him to encourage interest in British forestry. 



" Mr Hobhouse is acquainted with the repeated efforts which 

 the Post Office has made in the past to encourage British 

 supplies, and with the very small amount of timber which has 

 been obtained as the result of those endeavours. In particular, 

 attempts were made in 1909 to attract supplies of home-grown 

 timber, but with results deeply disappointing to the then Post- 

 master-General. The annual requirements of the Post Office in 



