CHAPTER VI 



FINANCE 



A QUESTION that is frequently asked is, " Does 

 timber-planting pay ? " Without an explana- 

 tion of what is meant by the question it is 

 impossible to give a clear answer, and yet the 

 hesitancy to give a clear answer is taken often 

 as an admission that timber-planting does not 

 pay. 



In the financial papers one may occasionally 

 see the expression that at the present rate of 

 interest it does not pay to invest in the ordinary 

 stocks of English Railways. In this context 

 the expression means, Is it not possible to find 

 other investments which are equally safe and 

 yet produce a higher rate of interest ? If the 

 expression is used in this sense about timber- 

 planting the answer must be in the negative. 

 Timber-planting, with the best fortune, can pro- 

 duce only a low interest and it is not a safe 

 investment. The trees are exposed to the vicis- 



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