THE FOEEST RESOURCES OF THE WORLD. 51 



ANNUAL GROWTH. 



There are no figures regarding the productivity of the forests. It 

 can not, however, be very far from the annual cut. 



CONSUMPTION. 



The 377,249,000 cubic feet which are cut at home are not sufficient 

 to supply the needs of the home industries. Italy is compelled to 

 import, though not to the same extent as England, Germany, France, 

 and Belgium, because its industries are less developed. The average 

 excess of imports of saw-log timber over exports, for a period of five 

 years (1895 to 1899), was 27,023,000 cubic feet, and the yearly excess 

 of imports of cord wood over exports for the same period was about 

 3,031,000 cubic feet. The total consumption of saw-log timber may 

 therefore be taken as 75,548,000 cubic feet, or 2.4 cubic feet per capita. 

 The total consumption of cord wood and wood for charcoal was 330,- 

 000,000 cubic feet, or 10.5 cubic feet per inhabitant. The aggregate 

 consumption per capita is thus nearly 13 cubic feet. 



WOOD PRICES. 



No figures are available regarding the prices of wood. 



THE NETHERLANDS. 

 FOREST AREA. 



In the Netherlands for the last sixty-five years there has been a 

 constant increase in the area of productive land at the expense of the 

 noncultivated and waste land ; thus, in 1 833, fields, pastures, meadows, 

 and forests occupied 63 per cent of the total land area, and the re- 

 maining 37 per cent was swamps, waste land, and roads, while in 

 1898, 72 per cent was under crops, forests, and gardens. In sixty-five 

 years the Dutch have thus transformed 9 per cent of waste and un- 

 productive land into profitable areas. Forests have also increased 

 accordingly; in 1833 the forest area was 417,728 acres, or 5.2 per cent 

 of the land area; in 1881 it was 552,001 acres, or 6.8 per cent of the 

 land area; and in 1889 it was 617,567 acres, or 7.7 per cent of the 

 land area. 



^ The forest area in sixty-five years has increased about 50 per cent. 

 Since the greater part is in the hands of private individuals, this 

 increase must be taken as an indication that forestry is profitable. 

 The per capita forest area is 0.1 acre. 



COMPOSITION. 



By species, the forests are distributed as follows: Two hundred 

 and twelve thousand five hundred acres, or 37.8 per cent, are conifer- 

 ous forests (pine), and 350,572 acres, or 62.2 per cent, are hard woods 

 (chiefly oak). The sprout forest is the prevailing form of manage- 

 ment. The oak sprout forest comprises 91,892 acres, or 16 per cent 

 of the total forest area. 



