260 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY 



cerned, of the last twenty years, the greater part of them of 

 the List ten years. The Enghsh Crown woods, in the case 

 of the New Forest, the forests of Dean and Windsor, and 

 one or two others, are practically as old as the Crown of 

 England itself, and certainly older than the existence 

 of Great Britain as a nation. Their present condition 

 enables one, therefore, to gauge fairly accurately the 

 position which forestry has occupied in the State 

 economy of the country, and it must be admitted that 

 it occupies a very low place when compared with State 

 forestry in most parts of Europe. With the exception of 

 the forest of Dean, most English Crown forests were main- 

 tained for hunting purposes, and when the latter pastime 

 changed its character to such an extent as to render 

 them unnecessary, they seem to have been maintained 

 more by tradition and custom than with any definite 

 object in view. The forest of Dean, however, would 

 appear to have been regarded as a source of oak timber 

 for the British navy for several centuries, and one finds 

 there a somewhat better condition of things than in the 

 other forests of the Crown. 



During the last twenty years, thanks largely to the 

 personal interest and efforts of Sir Stafford Howard, a 

 little life has been instilled into the dry bones of State 

 forestry in England, and the movement once started is 

 bound to go on. Of greater interest, perhaps, to the 

 public, although not of much greater importance than 

 the progress above named, is the afforestation of waste 

 lands. This subject has been well ventilated recently, 

 chiefly in connection with the report of the Commission 

 on Coast Erosion. The sylvicultural and economic 

 aspect of this work has already been dealt with ; all that 

 need be discussed here is the agency by which it can be 

 brought about. 



In all countries with a State forest area of any size, 



