Forest Preservation 55 



ploiter who grasps all for himself, or longs to see every- 

 thing used during his own lifetime. The true forester 

 works for posterity. At best we cannot hand on the 

 magnificent forests we received from nature, but let us 

 bequeath something more than denuded hills and blackened 

 trunks. 



The proportion of the area of any country which could 

 be profitably left in forest is worthy of careful consideration. 

 It is evident that there is a limit somewhere, although it 

 is not possible to state it in exact terms, for it is always a 

 relative matter. Land which is valuable for cultivation 

 need not be devoted to forests, but we must be careful not 

 to devote to other purposes land which should properly 

 be forest. A good forest is much more valuable than poor 

 farms. A knowledge of the area devoted to the growth 

 of trees in European countries where conditions have 

 reached a somewhat permanent basis will help us here. 



Belgium is perhaps the best European example of manu- 

 facturing industry combined with intensive cultivation 

 of the soil. Before the war its population was more than 

 650 to the square mile. The artisans working in the cities 

 lived long distances out in the suburbs, going to and from 

 their homes by a system of radial railways. Every foot 

 was carefully cultivated and yet 18 per cent of its area 

 was devoted to permanent forests. France was about 

 20 per cent, Sweden about 66 per cent, Germany about 

 25 per cent, and Austria about 30 per cent forest. These 

 figures, of course, all apply to conditions before the war. 

 They show that for a country to be able to support per- 



