AGRICULTURE AND BRITISH FORESTRY 75 



mountain-tops and land covered with peat, rock, etc., 

 must be regarded as unproductive, although given in the 

 Agricultural Returns as ' grazed,' while even a larger pro- 

 portion is incapable of growing commercial timber. One- 

 third of the total mountain land may be safely estimated 

 to belong to the former class, while another third is 

 probably too poor and exposed to produce a paying crop 

 of timber. Of the 130,000 acres of mountain land, there- 

 fore, 86,000 may be calculated as qualified to rank as 

 grazing land of some utility, and possessing an average 

 rental value of at least 2s. 6d. per acre, ranging from 

 5s. per acre on the lower slopes to Is. per acre or less 

 on the verge of the barren portions. The gross return 

 from agricultural land is roughly assumed to be four times 

 the rent, and taking this to be approximately correct, 

 a gross return of 10s. per acre, amounting to £43,000, 

 would be obtained from the grazed area. This would prob- 

 ably represent about 20 pounds of mutton per acre, or 

 the increase in dead weight of a sheep during the season. 

 The division of the amount named above between land- 

 lord, labourer, tradesman, rates and taxes, and farmer, is 

 estimated as follows per acre : — 



Landlord, or interest on capital value, . 2s. 



Materials supplied in fencing, shepherding, 



etc., 2s. 



Labour — one man per 400 acres, . . .2s. 6d. 

 Rates, taxes, etc., ..... Is. 



Farmer's profit = interest on working capital, 2s. 6d. 



10s. 



The acquisition of the above area of 130,000 acres for 

 afforestation might be expected to bring about the follow- 

 ing changes in gross yield and distribution of expendi- 

 ture, after a sufficient interval had elapsed to produce a 

 normal return in timber. Of the whole area, one-third is 



