FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS 15 



resisting properties, should be largely used for all 

 internal boarding in house building e.g. boards for 

 flooring, lining, sarking, etc. Hence an increase in 

 the price of the timber may be anticipated. 

 Considerations which point to the Inadvisability of 

 General Afforestation Schemes in this Country : 



(1) The present forest area in Europe is far greater 



than is necessary to supply the amount of timber 

 annually required in Europe ; and a small advance 

 in present prices would enable the timber on immense 

 areas to be profitably marketed. The same result 

 would follow if increased facilities for transport were 

 provided in districts from which it is impossible, at 

 present, to profitably export timber. 



And moreover, apart from such industries as the 

 manufacture of wood pulp, a woodland area of } of 

 an acre, of average quality, per head of population 

 will easily provide enough timber for all domestic 

 requirements the requirements of Great Britain are 

 about one-half of this amount and, on the basis of 

 f of an acre per head of population, the forest area 

 of Europe, exclusive of Russia and Finland, is 

 more than sufficient. Furthermore, the forest area 

 of Russia and Finland shows a surplus of 400 

 million acres of forest land, after deducting f of an 

 acre per head of population of these countries ; how- 

 ever, much of this forest in Russia and Finland is 

 practically worthless, and must always remain in- 

 accessible. 



(2) The forest area of Canada, producing, or capable of 



producing, good marketable timber, is about 300 

 million acres. This area, if properly managed and 

 exploited, could perpetually supply, according to 



battens of the floors of hop oasts. It is greatly to be desired that the 

 model bye-laws of the Local Government Board, and also the bye-laws 

 of the Local Authorities of all big towns and cities, should specify the 

 compulsory utilisation of Poplar wood, in preference to Deal and Fir, for 

 use, wherever possible, in building construction. 



