IMPORTANCE OF FORESTY. 169 



measures to be taken towards farthering it, and if so, what 

 these measures should be. The subject may be divided into 

 the following four sections : — 



1. The importance of the forestry problem to the nation. 



2. The measures which should be taken in this country to 



insure the benefits offered by forestry. 



3. The afforestation of surplus lands. 



4. The treatment of some types of British woodlands. 



Section I. — The Importance of Forestry in the United 

 Kingdom. 



1. T)ic ^Estlietic Effect of Forests. 



This is an aspect which plays a great part in the case of 

 most of the woodlands at present existing in this country. 

 Just compare the difference of feeling created, even in the 

 mind of the least sentimental person, on passing through a bare 

 country side without a tree for miles around, and on wandering, 

 especially on a warm summer day, through a country where 

 fields and meadows alternate with inviting woodlands. It 

 is no wonder, therefore, that we find in most parts of this 

 country fine parks and artistically placed woodlands which 

 render Britain so beautiful and attractive. It is a subject 

 which has been repeatedly dealt with, and upon which a good 

 deal more can be said. On the present occasion only the 

 influence which forests have upon the physical and moral 

 development of the people shall be mentioned. By developing 

 a taste for the beauty of landscape, forests greatly contribute 

 towards the peace and contentment of mind of the dwellers 

 in the country and help to counteract the unwholesome fever 

 of emigration to the big towns. 



2. Effect of Forests upon Climate. 



It is well known how beneficially woodlands act in giving 

 protection against strong winds. Indeed, many woods were 

 created so that they might act as shelter belts for the benefit 

 of fields and pastures, as well as for man and beast. An 

 incidental further benefit of such woods consists in the fact 



