62 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



times, and possesses a very similar history to that of the 

 English commons until the last two or three centuries. 

 The absence of a forest policy, or any measures for the 

 preservation of the natural timber in Britain constituted the 

 only important difference between them, and, doubtless, 

 led to the final absorption of commons, and forests by the 

 cultivated and enclosed areas adjoining or surrounding 

 them. This fact has to be constantly faced by advo- 

 cates of State afforestation on economic lines, and any un- 

 biassed comparison between the State forestry of France, 

 Germany, etc., so far as its financial aspects are concerned, 

 and the possibilities of a similar system being built up 

 in Britain invariably brings out this point as a difficulty 

 of considerable magnitude. 



Closely associated with the conversion of open or 

 common land into enclosed farms and holdings has been 

 the rapid rise in population during the nineteenth century. 

 In 1801 the population of England, Wales, and Scotland 

 did not much exceed 10,000,000, of which nearly 9,000,000 

 were in England and Wales. With an area in the latter 

 countries of about 37,000,000 acres, this represented an 

 average density of 160 head per square mile. In Scotland 

 a population of 1,608,000 on 1.9,000,000 acres represented 

 54 head per square mile. In 1901 the population had 

 more than quadrupled itself in England and Wales, and 

 increased by 1,250,000 in Scotland, giving a population 

 in the former of nearly 1 person to the acre, and about 

 100 to the square mile in the latter. Apart from the 

 commercial development of agriculture during the century, 

 therefore, the increase in population Avould alone necessi- 

 tate the utilisation of all available land capable of cultiva- 

 tion or the raising of live-stock. 



The present division of the land in Great Britain is, 

 according to the Agricultural Statistics for 1900, as 

 follows : — 



