AFFORESTATION 133 



all mention of interest, assume that the cost of 

 the land and of the planting equals £lO, that 

 the rotation is eighty years and that the annual 

 returns after eighty years are £l IO5., then the 

 final result is that £lO will at the end of eighty 

 years produce an income of £l 10s. per annum. 



This conjecture assumes that Scotch fir is 

 planted on very poor land. State afforestation 

 in the United Kingdom on a large scale means, 

 in fact, afforestation in Scotland and the planting 

 mainly of Scotch fir, for the following reasons, 

 viz. the land selected as the site of State afforesta- 

 tion must be suitable for the growth of trees, 

 free from commoners' rights of grazing, not more 

 than, as a maximum, 1,500 feet above sea-level, 

 and must be near water-carriage for the timber 

 and also near land suitable for small holdings. 

 The land to be planted must be in a large block 

 and not capable of being used for profitable com- 

 mercial or agricultural purposes. The effect of 

 all these requirements is that State afforestation 

 must be mainly confined to Scotland, for no- 

 where else can these requirements be satisfied. 

 Also the forest will be mainly a Scotch fir forest, 

 though it may include Douglas fir, spruce, and 

 hardwoods. 



Scotch fir woods, if well managed, may be 



