AGRICULTURE AND BRITISH FORESTRY 



63 



The unclassified area consists partly of land occupied by 

 towns, roads, buildings, small areas of waste, garden-land, 

 etc. But in Scotland fully one-half of it exists in the 

 form of deer forests and absolutely barren land, 25 per 

 cent, of the total area coming under that head, while 

 nearly 50 per cent, consists of mountain and heath used 

 for grazing, leaving little more than one-fourth under 

 cultivation. 



In considering the above area in connection with 

 afforestation as a national industry, several important 

 questions present themselves, the chief amongst them 

 being : (1) The comparative values of agriculture and 

 forestry as national industries ; and (2) The possibility, 

 from a political and economic standpoint, of forestry being 

 extended on land not needed for agriculture, or in the 

 event of such land not being forthcoming, at the expense 

 of it. 



The first of these questions is an extremely difficult one 

 to answer, but an attempt has already been made in 

 Chapter ii. to demonstrate the importance of a supply of 

 first-class timber being maintained, together with the 

 probable fact that this supply, in the shape of round 

 timber, can only be forthcoming in the future from 

 British soil. It is equally obvious that the production 

 of corn, beef, and mutton is quite as essential for the 

 sustenance of the nation, whether it be produced at 



