April 20, 191 1] 



NATURE 



247 



DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY.^ 



THE work on the development of British forestry 

 by Mr. A. C. Forbes, Chief Forestry Inspector 

 to the department of Agriculture for Ireland, will be 

 welcomed by all interested in the question of afforesta- 



FiG. I. — Two-storied Beech Wood, Chiltern Hills. From " The Development of British Forestrj'. 



tion. The author deals with his subject in a lucid 

 and convincing manner. To add to the interest of 

 the book, a large number of excellent photographs 

 illustrating' the various types of tree-growth in dif- 

 ferent soils and localities has been included. These 

 alone form a remarkable and instruc- 

 tive photographic survey of the forest 

 conditions not only within the British 

 Empire, but also to some extent on 

 the Continent. 



The opening chapter deals with the 

 national aspects of forestry, and here 

 Mr. Forbes has gone to the very 

 foundation of the subject from his- 

 torical and geographical points of 

 view. The following chapter deals 

 with the forest requirements of the 

 United Kingdom. It is pointed out 

 that, in comparison with other coun- 

 tries, we have the lowest percentage 

 of total land-surface under woodland, 

 with the hig'hest consumption of im- 

 ported wood per head of population. 

 The writer calculates that, in addition 

 to the three million acres already 

 iiiKii-r 



home in agriculture and forestry. This is a most 

 valuable chapter, and shows how the area under trees 

 may be extended without unduly disturbing- the agri- 

 cultural value and produce of the country. Chapters 

 iv. and v. deal respectively with climate and tree- 

 growth, and soil and surface conditions in the British 

 Isles; while chapter vi., on the need 

 for improved methods and practice in 

 British forestry shows how vast im- 

 provement could be made in our 

 existing woodlands by the adoption 

 of more scientific and up-to-date 

 methods. Chapter vii., on the 

 economic value of the British forest 

 flora, gives a very valuable and in- 

 teresting account of the sylvicultural 

 characteristic of the trees generally 

 cultivated in Britain. No one is 

 better able to deal with the financial 

 aspects of British forestry than Mr. 

 Forbes, and chapter viii., which 

 treats of this subject, should prove of 

 the greatest interest to all planters. 



The final chapter entitled "The 

 State and Private Ownership of 

 Woods " comes as a fitting termina- 

 tion to a work on the development 

 of British forestry. It is here 

 pointed out how the State, and the 

 State alone, can brings about the 

 much-needed improvement in af- 

 forestation of the country. The 

 author, however, clearly points out 

 that the cooperation of the individual 

 is necessarv if we are to achieve permanent and all- 

 round improvements. In his own words: — "The co- 

 operation of the individual is as necessary in national 

 forestrv as in the creation and development of indus- 

 tries, and the idea that the State can entirely take 



Uiulc 

 Ir.l.t 



troes, we should require to 



neither four million acres or so 



forests, giving a total of at 



•n million acres, equal to 



;il)oiil 10 |ii i- rent, of the land-surface 

 The liiiili'i production, forest laws, 

 ;mil Ion >! area of other countries are 

 larofuUv considered in forming an 

 ( -^tim.itc of the requirements of the '*' 

 Inii.d l\iiii;(loin. Chapter iii. is on 

 tlio ri'hilion ol agriculture to forestr\- 

 and licic ilir author shows him~;i'lf to 



I lie Development of Hriti^l' 

 I ondon : E. Arnold, igio. i 

 ' I ^lish Woodlands and their ' . i 

 (London : Meth\ien and Co., Ltd., n.d.) I'licc 1=,.,. iict. 



Seleition Felling in Chiltern Hills Beech Wo:)d. From "The Development of British Forestry.' 



olonnuMit, 

 i-iu.alh' at 



L 



NO. 2164, VOL. 86] 



the placf of the individual wood-owner is equally 

 absurd as the idea that the latter can succeed with- 

 out tlic assistance of the State." 



.All ihioi:-h this exrellent luiok the author is 

 luodriah ill ills views and logical in his reasoning. 

 Conclusions arc arrived at onK ifitr very careful 



