THE FOREST POLICY OF THE FUTURE. 91 



If it should be considered necessary to make the country safe for 

 a longer period than 3 years, the area to be afforested would have 

 to be correspondingly increased. 



Under a rotation of 80 years for conifers, theoretically one- 

 eightieth of the area should be planted every year, but as the 

 remaining stock of timber has sunk to a very low figure, the Sub- 

 Committee proposed to plant two-thirds of the total area during 

 the first 40 years, leaving one-third for the second half of the first 

 rotation. For hardwoods it is sufficient to afforest at the rate 

 of 1,000 acres annually. It is thus proposed to plant during the 

 first 40 years 1,180,000 acres with conifers and 40,000 acres with 

 hardwoods. It is further pointed out that caution during the 

 early years of the operations is highly desirable, and that, there- 

 fore, the planting during the first 10 years should be reduced from 

 the normal amount of 295,000 acres to 200,000 acres, in addition 

 to pushing on the replanting of areas cleared during the war. 

 What the latter area may be cannot be stated at present, but the 

 Sub-Committee hopes that it will not be less than 50,000 acres. 

 The deficiency of 95,000 acres can be made good in the second 

 period of 10 years. 



Hedgerow timber has not been dealt with by the Sub-Com- 

 mittee. It is closely connected with agriculture and left to that 

 Department to deal with, at any rate for the present. 



In selecting the areas required and available for afforestation 

 it should be understood that, excepting small areas for the 

 production of hardwoods, no land fit or reclaimable for agriculture 

 should be planted. It may even be possible to bring areas which 

 are now too isolated into cultivation in connection with afforesta- 

 tion. The Forest Authority must look to land classed as mountain 

 and heath land, of which the following areas exist : — 



Acros. 



In Great Britain 12,801,974 



Add area of deer forests .... 3,519,678 



16,321,652 

 Deduct land ov^er 1,500 feet elevation con- 

 sidered unplantable .... 3,537,172 



Balance available for selection . . . 12,784,480 



