REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM 33 



should the production of large timber constitute the 

 main function of the forest policy of Great Britain, when 

 pit wood, pulp wood, etc., form such a large proportion 

 of the national and industrial requirements ? ' This 

 question has already been partly answered, but the most 

 convincing part of the answer may be found when the 

 geographical position of the British Isles is considered, in 

 connection with that of the areas from which pit and 

 pulp wood are now obtained, and the condition of the 

 timber stock on these areas. At the present time, the 

 forest belts of Northern Europe and Canada supply 

 practically all of these forms of timber, both of which 

 are within a few days' sail of the British Isles. The 

 transit facilities for obtaining timber from these two 

 regions are as good, if not better, than those existing 

 for a railway journey of 100 miles within the British 

 area, and it is difficult to see how a combination of 

 sledging, floating, and sea carriage, when applied to 

 enormous quantities of timber, can become much dearer 

 per ton to consuming centres than that of smaller 

 quantities of timber from inland situations in Britain. 

 A leading Scottish timber merchant recently stated that 

 timber could be delivered in Aberdeen from St. Peters- 

 burg, 400 miles distant, at the same cost as from Deeside, 

 40 miles distant. If these transport conditions remain as 

 at present, the question becomes one of continued supply 

 more than anything else. Spruce probably forms 90 per 

 cent, of the pulp wood, and 75 per cent, of the pit wood 

 used in Britain, and also forms the bulk of the forest 

 growth in the timbered areas of Europe and Canada. 

 As already stated, about 500,000,000 acres are under this 

 class of forest north of the 55th degree of latitude in 

 Northern Europe, while within the same or slightly lower 

 latitudes in Canada it is estimated that some 60,000,000 

 acres of forest, chiefly composed of spruce and pine, exist 



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