i8o TIMBER SUPPLIES AND THE WAR 



be briefly touched upon here, for it scarcely comes 

 within the purview of matters herein considered. I 

 allude to the labour supply. To work the woods in 

 the country will almost certainly require a supply of 

 imported labour, and provision will have to be made 

 for the housing of such labour. Even so, this labour, 

 or much of it, will not be satisfactory for the present 

 emergency, which demands good and rapid work. At 

 the present moment we probably have as fine a supply 

 of well-trained forest labour as has ever been in exist- 

 ence in this country. It is to be found amongst the 

 German prisoners.^ One- twelfth of the population of 

 the German Empire is said to be connected in one 

 way or another with the working of the German forests. 

 There must be, accordingly, at the present moment 

 amongst our prisoners men who are first-rate forestry 

 labourers. It would appear possible that in this 

 emergency some use could be made of these men, their 

 services being remunerated. In thinning operations 

 trained hands would be invaluable. 



^ Also to a certain extent amongst the Belgian refugees. 



