VIII 



WHAT AFFORESTATION WILL DO FOR THE NATION 



WHAT are the other benefits which the introduction 

 of commercial forestry in this country is going to 

 give you ? They have been alluded to briefly in 

 passing in the preceding pages. A short summary 

 of the more important will be of interest. 



You will see I use the term "commercial" 

 forestry. During the nineteenth century the 

 significance of the expression was almost lost sight 

 of. We possessed a considerable knowledge of 

 arboriculture and horticulture, as the beautiful 

 parks and policies existing on estates throughout 

 the country well evidence. We also knew how to 

 plant shelter belts and clumps to afford shelter 

 to the fields and stock of the agriculturist. But 

 the existence of the main woods of the country 

 served principally for sporting purposes. They 

 were neither planted nor managed on a commercial 

 basis, and the expenditure lavished on them was 

 only to be justified if the financial and other ad- 

 vantages derived from their maintenance were 

 looked for in other directions (sport, amenity, and 

 so forth) than the purely commercial one of the 

 production of timber. 



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