A RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF FORESTRY. 



IN connection with our publicity on the reforestation of National 

 Forests, the acquisition of a demonstration forest and the prospects 

 for a state forest, it might be interesting to learn of the considera- 

 tion which is given to forests and forestry in the war-ridden coun- 

 tries across the sea. Much has been written about the devastated wood- 

 lands of England, but the truth of all such reports is generally dis- 

 counted twenty per cent on account of the war correspondent 's vivid 

 imagination. The College of Forestry is fortunate to be able to receive 

 first hand information upon this subject from a former student, 

 Arthur Bevan, who is now "somewhere in England." Although the 

 school regrets the loss of the many students who have heeded the 

 call of their country, it is pleased to learn that the doctrine of forestry 

 is being preached by one of its most loyal friends in a country where 

 the inhabitants are beginning to appreciate the needs for forest 

 regulation. 



The following extracts from letters received from Mr. Bevan 

 picture conditions in England as they are today, and as they may 

 be in this country a few generations hence unless a forest policy is 

 established and put into practice immediately. 



"Why is it that people will always try to lock the stable door 

 after the horse is gone? The present Government must bitterly 

 regret the past in regard to forestry for the neglect has now almost 

 become criminal. If all the waste land had been planted to trees in 

 the past, there would have been the normal yield, which would have 

 well repaid the government, and a fine reserve for such times of 

 national peril as the present. 



"To save tonnage the importation of timber is to be restricted 

 or forbidden. This will mean the further depletion of the forests, 

 if not their complete destruction, provided the war continues for 

 some time. If there had been state forests, extensive cuttings would 

 have been made with consideration for the future and a great deal 

 would have been conserved to cover the period after the war when 

 tonnage will still be short. It will take years to replace the forests 

 damaged, and in the meanwhile nearly every piece of timber used 

 in this country will have to be imported. That will mean sending 

 capital abroad which without doubt will be needed at home. It 

 would be interesting to know how much the government has spent for 

 timber since the war began ; vast sums no doubt which might have 

 been saved by a little foresight." 



To quote from other information received from England : ' ' People 

 who travel up and down the country by rail may casually think that 

 this is a well-wooded land. If you consider scattered trees in fields, 

 hedges and avenues, it is. But comercially we have the smallest 



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