72 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



capable of producing good timber, cannot be afforested 

 and maintained economically by the State, especially in 

 a country in which fencing is an indispensable and heavy 

 item of expenditure. To obtain large areas of a thou- 

 sand or more acres in one block and of the exact type of 

 land required for strictly economic forestry, is almost 

 impossible in Great Britain. If chosen within the zone 

 of fertile land the block will invariably contain some of 

 the latter, while if selected well above the cultivable por- 

 tion a certain proportion of barren land, too poor and ex- 

 posed to grow timber profitably, must be included. There 

 may, of course, be exceptions to this statement, but a 

 careful examination of mountain land will confirm the 

 accuracy of it in a general way. 



One important result of this intermixture of good and 

 bad soils is the necessity of some change taking place in 

 the system of farming, or the planting of valuable land in 

 districts in which large areas are bought for afforestation. 

 Either the farmer must adapt himself to a more limited 

 area of mountain land, and follow methods which prevail 

 in lowland districts, or the purchase of plantable land 

 will involve the inclusion of a certain proportion of rich 

 pasture or arable in addition to the poorer quality usually 

 associated with afforestation. In the latter case, forestry 

 can be carried on under more favourable conditions, but 

 the expenses of purchase are greatly increased, for the 

 tenant or occupier must practically be bought out of his 

 holding, and be paid, directly or indirectly, for dis- 

 turbance. This process, however, can only proceed to a 

 limited extent, and very gradually at the best. Any 

 wholesale clearance of mountain farms would be resented 

 on political, if not on economic grounds, unless negotia- 

 tions were conducted on voluntary lines only. In some 

 cases the occupier of a poor mountain farm would 

 willingly give up possession on reasonable terms, but 



