Great Britain's Afforestation Scheme. 51 



The Commissioners have not overlooked the fact that an 

 extensive area of land could not be transferred from pastoral 

 to forestry occupation without some gradual curtailment of 

 food supplies and displacement of labour. They calculate, how- 

 ever, that the production of meat (principally mutton) woxild 

 only be diminished to the extent of barely 5 per cent., while 

 much of the labour employed in the tending of sheep could be 

 diverted to forestn,^ operations. 



Financing the Project. 



In Part V. of the report the Commissioners deal with the 

 finance of the subject, and give estimates showing the detailed 

 working of two alternative schemes of planting, together with 

 the monetary results which may be anticipated. Taking the 

 larger of these schemes, it is proposed that 9,000,000 acres of 

 land be brought under forest. Evidence was taken regarding the 

 area suitable for afforestation, and it was found that such an 

 area could be made available without materially encroaching 

 upon agricultural land. The Commissioners consider that no 

 less than 6,000,000 acres could be found in Scotland alone. 



Assuming that the forests be established gradually during 

 the next sixty years, 150,000 acres would be planted annually. 

 In the early years the expenditure would be ^90,000. This 

 would increase gradually until at the maximum it would amount 

 to about ;£3 ,000,000. After the fortieth year, however, the 

 forest would become self-supporting, and at maturity a net 

 revenue of over i^l 7,000,000 may be anticipated. At the same 

 time the State would be in possession of property worth 

 ;£562, 000,000, or after allowing for compoimd interest at 3 per 

 cent., about ;^107,000,000 in excess of the total cost involved 

 in its creation. 



The smaller scheme involves the afforestation of 6,000,000 

 acres — 75,000 acres to be planted annually for eighty years. 



The investment would be financed by a loan, the interest 

 on which would be defrayed out of taxation. No scheme of 

 the kind can, of course, be inaugurated without sacrifice on the 

 part of the present day tax payer, but as a set-off against this, 

 there is the consideration that employment is being given to a 

 certain number of persons who might otherwise be a burden on 

 the rates. Furthermore, aft'orestation is a productive invest- 

 ment, creates a new industry, does not compete with private 

 enterprise, and "more than any other apparent remedy will 

 stem the tide of rural depopulation." 



The Commission's Conclusions. 



The following is a synopsis of the principal conclusions 

 reached in the report : — 



