OUR WOODLANDS. 23 



also been introduced into Ireland from and after an Act of 

 1634. But the growing demand for timber throughout the 

 world's greatest industrial countries, and the simultaneous rapid 

 exhaustion of the hitherto cheap and easily obtainable supplies, 

 have again recently revived the interest in timber-growing in 

 Britain ; and the modern system of Forestry upon sylviculture^, 

 rather than arboricultural lines, that has of recent years been 

 gaining ground in the United Kingdom, is mainly the adaptation 

 of such Continental and especially German methods as seem 

 suited to our very different economic conditions. 



(3) The third period, from 1866 onwards. After the Civil 

 War ended in 1867 the population and the commerce of the 

 United States of America began to increase rapidly; and 

 shortly afterwards similar developments commenced in Germany, 

 after the formation of the German Empire in 1871. Up till 

 then Britain was by far the greatest industrial country in the 

 world, and could easily get all the timber it wanted from 

 America, Norway and Sweden, Russia, &c. But now the 

 United States and Germany need far larger quantities of wood 

 and timber than they produce, and are our competitors for 

 the surplus supplies of the great wood-providing countries, such 

 as Canada and Russia. But even in these still well-wooded 

 countries less timber is available than formerly, and the cost 

 of extraction is greater, so that prices have risen greatly and 

 have constantly an upward tendency. Hence it now seems 

 very important that Britain should endeavour to adapt some 

 well-considered national scheme of timber-planting, in order to 

 secure the steady supply of at least a part of her annual 

 requirements in timber and other wood in years to come. The 

 United Kingdom only contains about 3,030,000 acres of wood- 

 lands ; and for the most part these are ornamental or mainly 

 for shelter and sport, and have not, of recent years at any rate, 

 been worked upon commercial lines. Then, too, the market has 

 changed with regard to what was habitually grown for the home 



