324 



THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



Provides em- 

 ployment 



and military 

 material. 



Improved 

 climate. 



private owners, besides being taxed so heavily for succession duty 

 that owners are forced to cut them. England is at a loss of over 

 25 millions annually in forest products ; and not only so, but she 

 has lost the entire capital which a well-stocked forest represents. 

 In other words, if English waste lands were fully afforested, the 

 capital value would be about 200 millions. The capital value of 

 German State forests alone is 900 millions sterling.* 



Further, the loss to the country is enormously greater, if the 

 employment which would be provided in the production of home- 

 grown timber is taken into account. As in Germany, a population 

 of well paid and hardy forest workers would be maintained in the 

 State forests free of cost to the nation, available for military 

 service, equivalent to the entire present British army, which costs 

 the country 30 millions annually, and in peace-time can perform 

 no productive labour, f Thus, if British statesmen were to take 

 up the matter of re-afforesting on the same lines as the State 

 forests of Germany, the money invested by the State (say i million 

 annually for the first thirty-five years, after which the forests would 

 begin to pay) would become a source of certain and ever-increasing 

 profit to the State, and also save the taxpayer vast sums, and solve 

 the great problems of rural population and army organization. 



There is another advantage of having waste lands all over the 

 country planted : that the temperature of well-timbered countries 

 is less subject to extremes of cold in winter, also that the roots of 

 trees dry up swampy land and moisture becomes less excessive, f 

 And, furthermore, that a country which is supplied with belts of 

 timber is in time of war incomparably more easily defended than 

 an open country. And, by having State forests in the neighbour- 

 hood of large towns, the poor people would have the advantage 

 of healthy air and sylvan recreation-grounds within easy reach of 

 their dwellings, which private parks do not afford. 



* See Professor Hutchins' paper ; also ' Manual of Forestry,' by Dr. Schlich. 



t In the 'Manual of Forestry,' Dr. Schlich calculates (page 114) that when 

 the proposed area comes under forest management the State will be employ- 

 ing 100,000 forest labourers, men used to hard out-of-door work. These would 

 form a military reserve worth, for fighting, double the number of factory or 

 town-reared soldiers. Forest industries would employ four times that number. 

 In (jcrmany about 12 per cent, of the population are employed in forest 

 industries. 



+ See experiments made in Germany, by double stations of observation in 

 forest and open land, described in Professor Schlich's ' Manual,' page 32. 



