CHAPTER VIII 



AFFORESTATION 



THE afforestation of large areas by the State 

 is ardently advocated as one of the most hopeful 

 methods of reconstruction after the war. It is 

 urged that a considerable amount of timber 

 might, under State management, be grown on 

 waste lands now occupied by a few sheep or 

 by grouse or deer. Further, it is hoped that 

 the afforestation of these waste lands would, 

 in conjunction with a system of small holdings, 

 establish in exceptionally healthy surroundings 

 a population who would work in winter in the 

 woods and in summer on their own holdings. 



Very different opinions have been expressed 

 about the total area of waste lands suitable for 

 planting, 1 and the possibility of creating thriving 

 plantations at an altitude above the 1,000-foot 



1 The Coast Erosion Commission estimated the total area of 

 afforestable land for the United Kingdom at 9,000,000 acres. 

 The Commission of the Forestry Sub-Committee, 1918, estimates 

 the total area of afforestable land in the United Kingdom at 

 between 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 acres. 



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