GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 



France and Belgium widely wrecked by shell 

 fire, Eussia in its present unsettled condition, 

 and American supplies fast vanishing, we can 

 no longer depend on the liberal supplies to 

 which in pre-war days we were accustomed. 

 Germany cannot help us, for in the year before 

 the war the value of her own imports ex- 

 ceeded 14,000,000. 



It may be said by some that the timber of 

 our foreign possessions will partly fill up the 

 gap , but such is by no means the case . Indian 

 timber and that of the great African forests, 

 though for special purposes and as ornamental 

 woods they are invaluable, are hardwoods, 

 and, as a rule, unsuited to our wants. The 

 South American forests are on a par with those 

 of India and Africa, while both China and 

 Japan require more timber than they possess. 



The war has taught us a lesson, and we 

 must profit by the teaching; for never before 

 has so much timber been used in trench war- 

 fare or as an adjunct to actual fighting. To 

 this end the country was stripped from north 

 to south of its best timber, and at the same 



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