NATIONAL AFFORESTATION 



siderably under 3s. per acre, while, on the 

 other hand, I am quite convinced that any 

 land which does not bring in at least three 

 times that amount for grazing or agricultural 

 purposes would be more profitably employed 

 in carrying a crop of timber. It is, perhaps, 

 unfortunate that much of these waste lands 

 is private property, the owners of which, even 

 could they afford it, have little inclination to 

 sink, for a period of, say, twenty-five years, 

 the necessary capital required to be expended 

 on the formation of woods and plantations. 



Under such conditions the question naturally 

 arises, What is the most feasible way to over- 

 come the difficulty ? In answer, and without 

 the slightest hesitation, I would say that 

 suitable waste lands at the rate of 40,000 

 acres should be planted annually for a period 

 of, say, twenty -five years. Such lands could, 

 in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, be 

 gradually and cheaply acquired where the 

 owner himself was unwilling to plant, and in 

 Ireland vast tracts of bog-land would be 

 willingly handed over at the present time 



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