22 DIRECT UTILITY OF FORESTS. 



//. Lahniir required in Foroftlnj. 



Forests require labour in a great variety of ways which 

 may be brought under the following three headings : — 



(1.) General administration, formation, tending, harvesting, 

 etc., or work done in the forests. 



(2.) Transport of produce. 



(3.) Industries which depend on forests for their prime 

 material. 



(1.) General Administration. — The quantity of labour 

 required in forests differs considerably according to circum- 

 stances, the quantity and value of the produce and the 

 consequent intensity of management. Great difficulty is 

 experienced in obtaining accurate statistics on this point, 

 but five days' work annually for every acre of land under 

 forest may be accepted as an approximate estimate all round. 

 From the available data it has been calculated that in the 

 forests of Germany* about i;8,000,000 are paid annually for 

 administration, formation, preservation, road making, cutting 

 of wood and collection of minor forest produce, on which 

 about 200,000 families exist, or about 1,000,000 people. This 

 estimate refers to forests which are already in existence, and 

 in which fencing is done only in very rare instances. When 

 new forests are created, additional labour is required at 

 the outset. Nevertheless, it is beyond doubt that forests 

 require only about one-tenth to one-twentieth of the labour 

 necessary for land under field crops. Consequently, the 

 conversion of fields into forests is accompanied by a 

 reduction of work. On the other hand, the conversion of 

 grazing lands, such as the British mountain and heath 

 lands, into forests is followed by a considerable increase 

 of work. 



(2.) Tra)isport of Produce. — Owing to the bulky nature 

 of wood, its transport forms a business of considerable 

 magnitude. Timber and firewood are carried by water, 

 whenever practicable, but also extensively overland. Under 



* Data from other countries are at present not available. 



