January 28, 1909J 



NA JURE 



S/i 



acres annually for sixty years, a third of this area 

 to be worked on a forty years' rotation, and two-thirds 

 on an eighty years' rotation. The value of the pro- 

 perty in possession of the State at the end of the 

 lotiition would be 562,075,000/., or 106,993,000/. in 

 excess of the sum involved in its creation, and, allow- 

 inff 3 per cent, compound interest on the initial capital 

 expended, the annual revenue would be 17,411,000/. 

 Secondly, the smaller scheme provides for the afforesta- 

 tion of 6,000,000 acres to be planted at the rate of 

 75,000 acres annually for eighty years. The value of 

 the property at the end of that time would be 

 320,000,000/., or 60,944,000/. in excess of the cost of 

 production, and would yield henceforth an annual 

 return of 10,000,000/. 



These figures, it should be mentioned, are based on 

 average estimates of the cost of freehold and planting, 

 as well as the returns from thinnings and final fell- 

 ings. The experts and witnesses examined by the 

 commission were unanimous in their opinion tliat the 

 soil and climate of Britain are eminently well suited 

 for the growth of trees and forests. That a shortage 

 exists in the world's supply of timber is a fact which 

 every day makes more apparent. The evidence placed 

 before the commissioners shows that within the last 

 decade the price of timber has increased 30 to 50 per 

 cent., while the quality has decreased. No doubt 

 many substitutes have been invented, but this has not 

 decreased the consumption of timber, and in spite of 

 those many substitutes there are indications that the 

 consumption of timber is increasing. Mention is 

 made in the report of many places where afforestation 

 has been properly conducted in this country, and has 

 yielded handsome returns on the outlay. For this and 

 m;my other reasons too numerous to quote, the com- 

 missioners are satisfied that " with due regard to sound 

 principles and economic management, timber-growing 

 has in this country proved profitable," and that 

 " success in the future with improved methods should 

 be generally assured." 



.So far, the report thus shows that at present a vast 

 area of what should be valuable productive land in 

 this country is lying practically unproductive, and, if 

 afforestation were started on the lines of the scheme 

 proposed, this land would give employment to 18,000 

 labourers during the planting season. But forestry 

 on such a large scale is bound to improve and en- 

 courage subsidiary industries, and even give rise to 

 new ones which depend upon timber for their raw- 

 material. These industries, it is estimated, would 

 absorb an amount of labour equal to that of one man 

 for every eighteen acres of forest, while evidence has 

 been placed before the commissioners that such land 

 as is at present utilised provides employment for one 

 man on 1000 to 2000 acres. This naturally opens 

 up the question as to the possibility of providing work 

 for the unemployed. 



The commissioners have made exhaustive inquiries 

 in this direction, and find that for certain kinds of 

 labour involved in afforestation the unemployed have 

 been used with satisfactory results. There is no doubt 

 that the requisite number of labourers could be 

 obtained from the ranks of the unemployed. A great 

 deal depends, however, upon the physical fitness of 

 the labourers so obtained. The commissioners believe 

 that, with a judicious selection and probably a short 

 period of training, many of the unemployed would be 

 quite capable of engaging in the work of planting. It 

 is a difficult question to decide whether the unem- 

 ployed are suitable for such work. In this connection 

 two problems are involved, viz. provision for the 

 maintenance of our future timber supplies, and the 

 relief of the unemployed. Undoubtedly the presen*^ 



NO. 2048, VOL. 70] 



needs of the unemployed arc urgent, but the main- 

 tenance of our future timber supplies is equally im- 

 portant, and although the present generation sees the 

 distress caused by unemployment, this would become 

 worse in the next generation should our timber 

 supplies run short. 



The whole success of atfoiestation depends upon the 

 skill and care with which the forests are established. 

 To dig a hole and plant a tree may seem quite 

 simple, but it nevertheless requires a considerabk- 

 amount of skill. Bad planting has been the ruination 

 in many cases of what should have been at present 

 fine forests. If the unemployed are to be utilised at 

 all, they would have to be subject to a considerable 

 amount of supervision by skilled, practical foresters, 

 and it is not very clear from the report how these 

 trained foresters are to be procured. No doubt there 

 are a good many such men in the country at the 

 present time, but not sufficient to supervise the work 

 of afforestation on such a scale as the commissioners 

 propose. Manual labour is no doubt essential, but the 

 success of the future forests will depend upon the 

 skill with which such labour is directed towards the 

 achievement of the object in view. It must also be 

 kept in mind that a general survey of the country is 

 necessary as a preliminary operation in order that the 

 areas suitable for afforestation may be mapped out 

 and located. After this work would naturally come a 

 detailed survey of the different areas to determine 

 many essential and important matters, such as the 

 suitability of the area for the growth of certain 

 trees, and the preparation of working plans or 

 schemes of management. This work could only be 

 entrusted to well-trained experts. It must be remem- 

 bered that initial mistakes in sylviculture are not 

 only difficult to remedy, but that their effects last 

 over a long series of years — possibly a whole 

 rotation. 



In estimating the expense of carrying out a scheme 

 such as they propose, the commissioners seem to have 

 made very litlli' |ir(i\ision for the maintenance of a^ 

 properly traiiit I lunst staff apart from those engaged 

 in manual labour, .\ltliough it is quite certain that 

 our soil and climate are capable of producing high- 

 class timber, still we have yet a great deal to learn 

 about sylviculture in this country. Comparisons with 

 Germany are useful, but even in Germany local con- 

 ditions have ■ to be studied, and suitable systems of 

 sylviculture and management adopted. 



In their report the commissioners state that they 

 have been reminded that "on the Continent large 

 areas of woodland are periodically overrun by destruc- 

 tive insects, whose depredations entail large loss, 

 whereas the most troublesome of these pests are 

 practically unknown in this country." This is very 

 optimistic. We have already a fair share of those 

 insect pests, and, should we ever have large areas 

 of woodlands like the Germans, there is very little 

 doubt but that we shall also have the insects and other 

 attendant evils, such as fungi. These, however, could 

 be kept in check provided proper scientific protective 

 measures are adopted in time. 



On p. 41 of the report it is stated that " the 

 afforestation of suitable lands in the United Kingdom, 

 if undertaken on an adequate scale and in accordance 

 with well-recognised scientific principles, should prove 

 at present prices a sound and remunerative invest- 

 ment." It is suggested that, if Parliament should 

 determine to carry out the recommendations proposed, 

 the scheme should be administered by commissioners 

 specially appointed for that purpose. But between 

 those administrators and the working staff comes a 

 gap which can only be filled b)- the man who knows. 



