XIV 



SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS 



IN the foregoing pages we have reviewed the history 

 of forestry in this country since the days of the 

 Roman occupation. We have seen that between 

 the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries the old science 

 of British Forestry had its origin, reached the zenith 

 of its utility to the nation, and, for various economic 

 reasons, declined, until by the beginning of the 

 nineteenth century it ceased to be a factor of any 

 importance in the life of the nation. That during 

 the period in which its importance was fully realized 

 it was fostered by the Government of the day, both 

 for the material produced, which was utilized by 

 the population, and for the high-class timber it was 

 necessary to grow to provide for naval requirements. 

 We have seen that there was a great planting 

 revival in the early years of the reign of Charles II, 

 inaugurated by John Evelyn, well known at the 

 period as a member of the Council of the Royal 

 Society, the campaign being initiated owing to the 

 increasing shortage in the supplies of timber required 

 by the Admiralty. It has been shown that the 

 command of the seas, assured in the early part of 

 the nineteenth century, the change in materials 



