Supplement to "Nature" October ii, 1906 



inettin^ of the club, and since published as a supple- 

 ment in the National Review, on " The Principles of 

 Constructive Economics as Applied to the Mainten- 

 ance of Empire," which appears first in the volume, 

 describes the club's raison d'etre. Conscious purpose 

 and effective action of the State itself are to take the 

 place of laisser {aire. What follows is a re-statement 

 of Mr. Chamberlain's proposals and an estiinate of 

 their effects upon national development and Imperial 

 unity. So far he is clear enough, but his argument- 

 alive methods are not convincing. He discards the 

 u>c ol statistics, since they do not rouse enthusiasm, 

 and since "no cause was ever carried by figures." 

 Enthusiasm without knowledge is dangerous, and the 

 cause which Mr. Garvin advocates can hardly be 

 carried without figures. Consequently, his recapitu- 

 lation of the familiar assertions concerning the de- 

 cline of British industries carry little weight. Mr. 

 Garvin, indeed, admits the general prosperity of this 

 country, but considers it the result of our exceptional 

 natural resources. Elsewhere he attributes the pros- 

 perity of Germany and .America to their tariffs, not 

 (so far as can be gathered from this paper) to their 

 natural resources. He also makes a bold attack upon 

 the " fall;u-v " th.'it exports balance im]3orts, but 

 arfjues fruni the point of view of supply, leaving 

 (leni'anj uul of consideration. 



.Mr. H. W. Wilson, in " Tariff Reform and National 

 Defence," makes a strong plea for efficiency in the 

 services, and especially for the increased superiority 

 of our naval power. He regards Tariff Reform as 

 the only possible means of raising the required 

 revenue. He adds two valuable tables illustrating the 

 naval expenditure and strength of the chief Powers. 



In " Imperi.-il Preference and the Cost of Food," 

 Sir Vincent Caillard maintains that preference will 

 not raise prices, apparently because the foreign pro- 

 ducer can defeat the preference given. Sir John A. 

 Cockburn deals with "The Evolution of Empire"; 

 Mr. H. A. Gwynne with " The Proper Distribution 

 of the Population of the Empire," in the course of 

 which he makes some startling suggestions for 

 encouraging emigration to the colonies by State 

 action; and Mr. John W. Hills, in "Colonial Prefer- 

 ence in the Past," summarises the history of the " old 

 colonial system," without, however, noticing its effect 

 upon the loss of the .\merican colonies. 



J. H. S. 



IMPERIAL FOREST POLICY. 



MaiiKal (if I'orestry. Vol. i. Forest Policy in the 

 British Empire. By Dr. W. Schlich,' F.R.S. 

 Third edition, revised and enlarged. Pp. ix-l-246. 

 (London : Bradbury, Agnew- and Co., Ltd.) Price 

 (Ls. net. 



T X the present edition Prof. .Schlich has made some 

 -^ important additions which add considerably to 

 the value of the volume. The volume is divided into 

 three parts, viz. jjart i., the utility of forests; part ii., 

 the Slate in relation to forestry; and part iii., forestry 

 in the British Empire. 



NO. 1928, VOL. 74] 



In part i. the direct and indirect utility of forests 

 are coiisidiTed, and the author has stated in a very 

 clear and crl^l:i-^e manner the great importance of 

 forests Id man. Sometimes people are too apt to 

 estimate the iilility of forests according to the money 

 value of the timber grown, and to forget the 

 important and beneficial influence which proper 

 afforestation confers on the soil, the climate, and the 

 whole sister industr\ of agriculture. The indirect 

 utility of forests is of importance, not only to the 

 proprietor and agriculturist, but to the entire State, 

 and is one of those questions of general interest which 

 has been almost wholly neglected in the past. The 

 author deserves great credit for bringing this matter 

 so prominently into notice. 



The duty of the State in relation to forestry forms 

 the subject-matter of part ii., and here the author 

 is entirely at home with a subject to which he has 

 given much time and thought, and on which he is a 

 recognised authority. The extent to which the .State 

 should go in maintaining, or assisting in the m.ainten- 

 ance of, forests is carefully considered from a 

 thoroughly practical point of view. 



In part iii. the wider question of forestry in the 

 British Empire is dealt with in a very masterly 

 fashion. .\s a result of his long experience and wide 

 knowledge, the author is well able to deal with this 

 subject. Space forbids our entering into details, but 

 we are quite certain that but few people realise the 

 enormous amount of revenue which is at present 

 lying dormant or actually lost to the Empire through 

 the deplorable inattention that is given to many of 

 our colonial forests. India is, of course, a notable 

 exception, and the success which has attended proper 

 forest policy in that part of the Empire should stimu- 

 late other colonies to follow the good example. This, 

 however, they seem slow to do. Nevertheless, there 

 are signs of awakening interest, for example, in 

 Canad.-i. M.anv of our colonial forests have suffered 

 severely at the hands of settlers through pure lack of 

 knowledge. It is quite possible to use the forest 

 without abusing it, and to cut timber in such a way 

 that the forest will continue to give a sustained, if 

 not increasing, yield; but this implies a proper know- 

 ledge of forestry, and here the author makes out a 

 strong case for improved educational facilities, the 

 end results of which would be increased revenue and 

 benefits from our forests at home and in all parts of 

 the British Empire. 



.As an example of what may be done in this direc- 

 tion. Prof. Schlich shows (p. 106) how, principally 

 through the exertions of one man, namely. Dr. 

 Brandis, " the greater portion of the Lower Burmah 

 teak forests was saved, forests which now yield an 

 average annual net revenue of 23 million rupees." 



The volume contains many well-chosen photographs 

 to illustrate the different points mentioned in the 

 text, as well as a rainfall map of India. .\ useful 

 appendix dealing with forestry in the L'nited .Stales 

 is also included in the book. The author is to be 

 congratul.ited on the production of a work which is 

 of true importance from a nation.al point of view. 



810 



