30 THE FACTORS OF FOREST PRODUCTION. 



agriculture, on the other hand, returns are received within a 

 year or so from starting. 



(3) Owing to the delay in returns, the expenses incurred in 

 starting forests are accumulating with compound interest until 

 they are recouped by returns, and, as a result, forestry does not 

 yield a high interest on the invested capital. In a general way 

 it may be said that agriculture is more remunerative on good land 

 and forestry on inferior land. The latter may, on financial 

 grounds, be called " forest land." Foresters distinguish between 

 absolute and relative forest land. By the former is understood 

 land which is absolutely unfit for profitable cultivation with field 

 crops or where forest must be maintained for the benefit of the 

 community as a whole ; relative forest land means land of better 

 quality which would yield better results under forest than under 

 field crops. The limit between the two is not easy to determine, 

 nor is it a fixture, as it may change with altered conditions. 



(4) The weather, natural phenomena, animals, fire and other 

 sources of danger threaten the produce of the land. In the case 

 of field crops the produce of only one or a few years at a time is 

 exposed to such danger, but in forests the whole of the growing 

 stock, that is to say, an accumulation of many years' produce, is 

 liable to be affected. On the other hand, a forest crop is, as a rule, 

 less susceptible to damage than the more tender field crops. The 

 greatest dangers of a forest crop are those from fire, insects, fungi, 

 storms, snow and rime. Damage by these agencies can, however, 

 be kept within narrow limits by careful management. 



(5) Timber and fuel are bulky articles which do not bear 

 transport overland to the same extent as the more valuable 

 classes of field crops ; hence, forest produce must be grown within 

 a limited distance from the place of consumption, unless water 

 carriage is available. 



(6) The danger of trenching on capital is much greater in the 

 case of forestry than in other industries, because the more valuable 

 part of the capital consists of the growing stock, that is to say, 

 material of the same class as that of which the legitimate annual 

 yield consists. An unscrupulous or ignorant forester can consume 

 a considerable part of the capital in the shape of annual incomes 

 without detection or even without becoming aware of it ; hence, 

 the importance of a reliable and competent staff. In this respect, 



