FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS 11 



better yearly rentals ; but if the soil and situation were 

 Quality III. or IV., the yearly rentals yielded would be much 

 less, and any losses sustained would be much greater. And 

 therefore, when contemplating afforestation, it is most 

 important to accurately gauge the quality of the soil and 

 situation. 



In this connection it may be stated that there is very 

 little land which can be classed as Quality I. for any of the 

 valuable trees, except the Pines, which is not already profit- 

 ably employed for farming or otherwise. 



There are of course vast areas of " waste lands " in Great 

 Britain ; but these, for the most part, are only suitable for 

 the growth of coniferous trees, and must generally be 

 classed as Quality II., or III., or IV. The total area of waste 

 lands in this country which is at all suitable for tree growth, 

 is purely a matter of conjecture. One writer 1 suggests 

 about 2j million acres in Great Britain, and f of a million 

 acres in Ireland. But whatever the amount may be, any 

 attempt at afforestation of waste lands on any large scale, 

 must, if the present prices which are obtainable for timber 

 remain unaltered, result in a colossal failure, unless indeed 

 money can be borrowed at a very much lower rate of interest 

 than is at present possible. Financed at 3 per cent, or 3^ 

 per cent, interest, such schemes can never pay with trees 

 such as Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, Silver Fir, Weymouth 

 Pine, Beech, or Oak. 



However, there are certain areas of waste land, especially 

 on the northern aspects, which may often be profitably 

 planted with Douglas Fir, Larch, Poplars, or Ash. Indeed, 

 the Douglas Fir, along perhaps with Sitka Spruce or Thuya 

 gigantea, may prove most valuable for planting extensively 

 on waste lands, and will, in all probability, often render 

 advisable the afforestation of land which could otherwise 

 only be afforested at a great monetary loss. 



But, of the utility of these trees on the poorer classes of 

 land, it is as yet too soon to speak ; though it is certain 

 that, unless indeed the atmosphere be continually very 

 1 Nisbet, in the Forester ; vol. i., p. 95. 



