IMPROVED BRITISH FORESTRY 335 



The second of the three causes is the minor 

 matter of the rating of woodlands. Formerly, 

 before the duty was taken off foreign imports 

 of timber, the British woodlands paid no rating. 

 The law regarding the rating of woods is that 

 the value of the land shall be taken at what the 

 soil might be worth in its unimproved condition 

 as agricultural land ; but, in practice, a much 

 higher assessment is often made on what is more 

 or less of an agricultural basis. In one instance, 

 in the case of woods on an estate in Gloucester- 

 shire about thirteen years ago, the assessment was 

 submitted to arbitration, with the result that it 

 was reduced from ^1591 to ^916, accepted by 

 the complainer; yet the arbitrator recorded his 

 opinion that the reduced assessment was still 

 too high. Even if the rating were altogether 

 abolished, the loss would not be much felt by 

 the Treasury in view of the vastly greater 

 benefits that would accrue to the country by 

 growing timber and affording more employment 

 to the rural population. Or, at any rate, the pay- 

 ment of the rates might be made deferable till the 

 crops are mature and about to be felled and utilised. 



A third cause, especially important in conifer 



