10 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 



The value of our imports of timber in 1913 was nearly 

 34,000,000, without reckoning wood pulp, bark and other 

 tanning material, rosin, willow rods, &c., of which wood 

 pulp alone had a declared value of over four and a half 

 millions. Of this huge total we are safe to say that at 

 least ten million loads is represented by wood from Euro- 

 pean countries and Canada for which our climate is equally 

 suited. It is evident therefore that we grow no more than 

 10 per cent, of what we consume of a product that might 

 potentially be produced at home. Thus, our position with 

 regard to timber is even less satisfactory than it is with 

 regard to wheat, of which our home production represents 

 about 18 per cent, of our requirements. 



The war has emphasized many facts, and these, amongst 

 others, that timber is essential to military operations, that, 

 when it is most required, ships cannot be spared to import 

 it, that the maritime activities of the enemy make its 

 transport uncertain, that neutral countries may decide to 

 limit exports, and that the supplies even of allies like 

 Russia cannot be depended on to come to hand. The 

 movement for increased afforestation has undoubtedly 

 gained greatly in force since the outbreak of war, and 

 although the advocates of extension have experienced 

 little but disappointment in the past, it is difficult to 

 believe that the future will continue to show the same 

 inaction. 



An extended scheme of afforestation is bound up with 

 many important considerations. One cannot put land 

 under trees without withdrawing it from some other pur- 

 pose, for there is but little land in this country that is 

 c waste ' in the strict sense of the term, and what little 

 does exist is often situated at such an altitude as to be out 

 of the question for silviculture. But there are wide areas 

 of pastoral land that figure in the returns for Great Britain 

 as ' Mountain and Heath Land used for Grazing ', and in 

 the Irish returns as c Mountain Land ', which is of low 

 productive capacity from the point of view of meat, but 



