REPLANTING OF CLEARED AREAS. 95 



of such recreation grounds should be encouraged by local authori- 

 ties and the Forest Authority of the country. 



Assistance given to Private Proprietors. — Although it is essential 

 that a certain proportion of the forests should be the property of 

 the State as a safeguard in the case of an emergency, the afforesta- 

 tion by private landowners is really of the first importance in the 

 case of Great Britain. The Sub-Committee paid, therefore, 

 special attention to the question of giving suitable assistance to 

 private landowners, to induce them to plant. After careful 

 consideration, the Sub-Committee decided to offer a contribution 

 of about half the cost of planting, that is to say, £2 in the case of 

 conifer plantations, and up to £4 in the case of hardwood planta- 

 tions, per acre. These were appropriate rates before the war, 

 but they have been upset, at any rate temporarily, by the 

 enormous increase in the cost of labour and the rate of interest 

 at present obtainable from safe investments. That interest has 

 risen to 6 per cent, against about half the amount before the war. 

 Under these circumstances, not much progress in planting by 

 private landowners can be expected just at present, and until 

 the cost of labour and rate of interest have once more approached 

 normal conditions. 



Instead of a contribution to the cost of planting, the assistance 

 may take other forms, such as loans at a somewhat reduced rate 

 of interest, relief from public burdens and taxes during the early 

 years of the forest's existence, &c. In all these cases the total 

 value of concession should not exceed the sums of £2 and £4 

 respectively given above. 



The grant of assistance would, of course, be conditional to a 

 certain control by the Forest Authority, such as the selection of 

 the land to be planted, approval of the working plan, and an 

 undertaking that the wood is maintained for a minimum number 

 of years, say 30, so that the State may derive some benefit from 

 the planting. 



7. Replanting of Areas cleared during the War. 



The replanting of areas cleared or devastated during the war is 

 of the greatest importance. The area felled during the war is 

 at present estimated at about 300,000 acres, and the Sub-Com- 

 mittee considered the question of compulsory replanting by the 



