220 WOMEN AND FORESTRY 



front where the child's welfare and happiness are con- 

 cerned, came to the rescue at a very early stage, and 

 extraordinarily good work in this, for us an entirely new 

 industry, has been accomplished. But in all cases 

 where wood has been required for the purpose in view, 

 good work was an impossibility. For one thing good 

 seasoned material is a necessity. Such material as 

 was available in the country was quickly absorbed 

 for the important military and naval requirements. 

 We have only an odd 3,000,000 acres of woods in this 

 country, mostly kept up for sporting or ornamental 

 purposes. What these can give has been required for 

 national uses, pitwood for the mines, to mention a 

 necessary article known to us all ; since without it 

 the supply of our household coal would fail us. And 

 we all know how the price of this commodity has 

 jumped up with the enhanced price of this pitwood 

 and for other reasons. 



To give you one instance of a toy which is dependent 

 on wood. Take the ordinary box of bricks. I tried 

 personally last year on more than one occasion, and 

 others tried for me, both in Edinburgh and London, to 

 buy a box of bricks, the ordinary wooden bricks so 

 dear to the heart of the child ; and with which, by the 

 way, it may be kept happily and peacefully quiet on 

 the floor whilst one sits equally peacefully in an easy 

 chair absorbed in paper or book. The old box of 

 wooden bricks, beautifully made of seasoned wood, was 

 not to be had for love or money. The one actually 

 secured was, from the child's point of view, very short 

 weight. The bricks won't stand up, they won't sit 

 down, not flat that is, and one has grown tired of trying 



