PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES OF FORESTRY 47 



that it is evident that a property which is not well-wooded 

 is not altogether desirable, and that woods, apart altogether 

 from the market value of the timber they may contain, have 

 an aesthetic value which cannot be ignored by the most 

 prosaic individual. Unfortunately for the landowner, the 

 general public find it only too convenient to ignore them, 

 although they are not averse to enjoy the benefits to be 

 derived from a well-wooded country. 



But the proprietor probably reaps the most benefit from 

 the increased sporting value of a well - wooded estate. 

 Shooting rents, although they seldom exceed 5s. per acre, 

 are comparatively high when the agricultural value of poor 

 grazing land, upon which most modern plantations are made, 

 is considered, and their value is probably not less when the 

 proprietor keeps the shooting in his own hands. Apart from 

 the timber-growing value of the land, therefore, its sporting 

 value when stocked with trees is an item which cannot be 

 ignored in dealing with the total returns obtained, and it is 

 probable that many proprietors are quite satisfied if their 

 woods simply pay for their maintenance, so long as they are 

 available for the preserving of pheasants. 



It is obvious, therefore, that the average planter of poor 

 land is not exacting in the way of pecuniary returns. He 

 certainly does not look for them during his own lifetime, 

 and it is only with the idea of satisfying himself that he is 

 making a sound and profitable investment that he takes the 

 trouble to inquire into the financial aspects of estate forestry. 

 As 3 per cent, has been mentioned as the interest on outlay 

 which is sufficient to recoup an estate for the cost of forest 

 planting, the question simply amounts to this : Will the 

 returns obtained from ordinary forest crops enable a sum 

 which represents the value of land and cost of planting and 

 maintenance, accumulating at 3 per cent, compound interest 

 for a period of fifty or sixty years, to be repaid ? In answer- 

 ing this question, it must not be forgotten that a reasonable 

 allowance must be made for the benefits in the way of 

 landscape effect and the sporting value of woods already 

 referred to. These benefits ought to be worth at least 1 per 

 cent, of the 3 per cent, mentioned ; and if the landowner 

 who plants land worth less than 5s. per acre for agri- 



