182 FORESTRY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 



It will be observed that 63 per cent, are used for crops and 

 grass, 4 per cent, are woodlands, 20 per cent, mountain and 

 heath land and 13 per cent, other lands. The latter include, 

 in the case of Ireland, 1,121,111 acres of turf bog and 428,662 

 acres of marsh. 



The area of woodlands, 4 per cent, of the total area, is 

 smaller than that of any other European country except 

 Denmark. Again, only some 67,000 acres, equal to 21 per cent, 

 of the British woodlands, belong to the State, or rather the 

 Crown, a percentage which is smaller than in the case of any 

 other European State. In France the percentage is 11, in 

 Norway 12, in Austria-Hungary 12, in Sweden 20, in Ger- 

 many 33, and in Russia 60. The area under forest per head 

 of population is — 



In the United Kingdom 



In France . 



In Germany 



In Austria-Hungary . 



In Eussia . 



In Sweden 



In Norway 



0*1 acres. 



0-6 „ 



0-6 „ 



1-1 „ 



6-1 „ 



9-1 „ 



9-9 „ 



Considering all these matters, there can be no doubt that 

 an effort must be made to increase the area under timber in 

 this country. Even apart from the 9,792,392 acres of so-called 

 other lands, about which it is difficult to obtain detailed infor- 

 mation, we have over fifteen million acres of mountain and 

 heath land to select from. A large proportion of these lands 

 are used for light grazing and as shooting grounds, but as stated 

 above, the average rental value is not more than a shilling an 

 acre. Even the best of them rarely give more than half-a- 

 crown, while there are millions of acres in Scotland and Ireland 

 which give only a few pence a year i^er acre or nothing at all. 

 A large proportion of these lands could be made more 

 remunerative than they are at present, even allowing com- 

 pound interest on all outlay. 



