Imports. 369 



mainly wood manufactures, must be offset. This 

 makes England the largest wood importer in the world, 

 Germany coming next, and the amount paid to other 

 countries exceeds the value of her pig iron output. 

 Nearly 90 per cent, of the import is coniferous material, 

 from Sweden, Russia and Canada. The home product, 

 mostly oak ties, mineprops, etc., satisfies about one- 

 sixth of the consumption. In addition to timber and 

 lumber, over 10 million dollars of wood pulp, and 60 

 million dollars of by-products are imported. The 

 total wood consumption per capita is between 12 

 and 14 cubic feet, half of what it was 50 years ago. 



Pine is the only native conifer of timber value, and 

 oak is the most important native deciduous tree, 

 found mostly in coppice or in old, overmature, strag- 

 gling pasture woods. Compact larger forest areas 

 are entirely absent, but there are many small planta- 

 tions and parks. For, while Englishmen have not 

 been foresters, they have been active treeplanters, 

 and the mild climate has permitted the introduction 

 of many exotics, especially American conifers. Most 

 of these plantings have been for park and game pur- 

 poses. The most noted forest plantations are found 

 in Scotland, among them the larch plantations of the 

 Duke of Athole (begun in 1728), of at one time over 

 10,000 acres, the ducal woodlands now covering 

 over 20,000 acres; the pinery of 25,000 acres, belonging 

 to the Countess of Sealfield, the best managed forest 

 property, partly in natural regeneration, and others. 

 But these plantations too are mostly widely spaced 

 and trimmed, hence not producing timber of much' 



