AFFORESTATION 133 



all mention of interest, assume that the cost of 

 the land and of the planting equals 10, that 

 the rotation is eighty years and that the annual 

 returns after eighty years are l 10s., then the 

 final result is that 10 will at the end of eighty 

 years produce an income of l 10s. per annum. 



This conjecture assumes that Scotch fir is 

 planted on very poor land. State afforestation 

 in the United Kingdom on a large scale means, 

 in fact, afforestation in Scotland and the planting 

 mainly of Scotch fir, for the following reasons, 

 viz. the land selected as the site of State afforesta- 

 tion must be suitable for the growth of trees, 

 free from commoners' rights of grazing, not more 

 than, as a maximum, 1,500 feet above sea-level, 

 and must be near water-carriage for the timber 

 and also near land suitable for small holdings. 

 The land to be planted must be in a large block 

 and not capable of being used for profitable com- 

 mercial or agricultural purposes. The effect of 

 all these requirements is that State afforestation 

 must be mainly confined to Scotland, for no- 

 where else can these requirements be satisfied. 

 Also the forest will be mainly a Scotch fir forest, 

 though it may include Douglas fir, spruce, and 

 hardwoods. 



Scotch fir woods, if well managed, may be 



