40 THE AFFORESTATION OF SURPLUS LAND. 



kingdom of Saxony. That country possesses 428,000 acres 

 of State forests, which occupy good, bad, and indifferent land, 

 less of the first and more of the others. The forests are 

 chiefly found in the hills, where they go up to 3,000 feet above 

 sea level. The systematic management of the forests was 

 commenced rather more than 100 years ago, and authentic 

 records are available from the year 1817 up to the present. 

 They show that the outturn in 1817 was 61 cubic feet of wood 

 (timber and firewood) per acre, and 92 cubic feet in 1893, 

 representing an increase of 50 per cent. The average stock 

 per acre standing in the forests rose from 2,173 cubic feet in 

 1844 to 2,658 cubic feet in 1893, or an increase of 22 per 

 cent. This shows that the forests were worked in a con- 

 servative mariner. The net returns, after paying for all 

 possible items of expenditure, were as follows : 



s. 



During the period 1817 26 = 4 per acre and year. 



182736 = 4-2 



M 1837-46 = 4-7 



184756 = 6-8 ' 



185763 = 10-0 



,, ,, ,, 1864 73 = 14'8 ,, ,, ,, ,, 



187483 = 17'5 



188493 - 18-5 M 



In the year . . 1900 = 22'5 ,, 



This represents an increase of 463 per cent, in the net receipts 

 per acre. No doubt the price of wood also rose, from 2*1 pence 

 in 1817 to 4*5 pence in 1900, equal to an increase of 114 per 

 cent., or about one-fourth of the increase of the net receipts, 

 which is thus due chiefly to improved management. These 

 are .-data referring to the whole of the Saxon State forests, 

 and not to any case specially picked out. There are 

 forests in the Saxon hills which give double the above- 

 mentioned net revenue, growing on land which is not worth 



