XII 



STATE OWNED VERSUS PRIVATELY OWNED FORESTS 



THE brief survey made of the history of the forests 

 of this country will have shown that we have no 

 state forests in Great Britain if we omit the areas 

 acquired within the last decade in Ireland. The 

 only woods not privately owned in Britain are the 

 Crown woods, such as the Forest of Dean, New 

 Forest, and so forth. 



On the continent of Europe the State in a varying 

 degree possesses a certain proportion of the forests 

 of the country. In France, for instance, the State 

 owns 12% of the forests, 20% are communal forests, 

 under State management, and the remainder are 

 private forests. In Russia the major part of the 

 enormous forest area in the country belongs to the 

 State, including, since the abdication of the Roman- 

 offs, the very extensive Appanage, or Imperial forests. 



In this country, then, this question of afforestation 

 starts from the basis of an entire absence of State- 

 owned woods or land capable of growing commercial 

 forests. The land is practically all privately owned, 

 and is so tied up in a variety of ways as to render 

 its acquisition by purchase a difficult and expensive 

 business under the existing laws. 



148 



