98 FORESTRY IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



10 lb. per acre a year, and, in the case of deer forest land, at 2 lb. 

 annually per acre. This would cause a loss of about 0*4 per 

 cent, of the total meat requirements of the country. The with- 

 drawal of 1,770,000 acres would be gradual and spread over a 

 period of 80 years, thus causing a sacrifice so diminutive that it 

 cannot be considered when compared with the object in view 

 of making the country seK-supporting in timber in an emergency 

 like that of the recent war. 



10. The Promotion of Silviculture. 



The Sub-Committee has made proposals under a variety of 

 heads, which will, in this place, only be mentioned shortly. 



Surveys are necessary towards the institution of schemes of 

 afforestation. Some progress has already been made with the 

 inspection and classification of uncultivated lands, but the work 

 requires speeding up, and it should ultimately be extended to 

 include all woods. 



The Office of Woods and the Board of Agriculture have sown 

 considerable quantities of seed, and lined out the resulting seed- 

 lings in extensive nurseries. This w^ork is to be steadily con- 

 tinued, so that operations can now be commenced and gradually 

 extended as indicated above. 



For carrying out the scheme proposed by the Sub-Committee, 

 three classes of officials will be required, forest officers, foresters, 

 and foremen. Some men of the first class are available ; addi- 

 tional men will pass through a special forestry course at one of the 

 recognised universities, and their practical training should be 

 given a distinctly British bias, to which visits to instructive 

 continental forests should be added. The Sub-Committee points 

 out that there are at present more schools of forestry of the 

 university type than are necessary to train all the officers required 

 for the British Empire, and that this involves a great waste of 

 money ; hence, the Forest Authority should select one or perhaps 

 two, of the best schools for the instruction of their cadets and 

 assist them in making the instruction as complete and suitable as 

 possible. For the purpose of practical instruction, the Forest of 

 Dean, the High Meadow Woods and the Tintern Crown Woods 

 are rapidly becoming good demonstration areas. Others will be 

 added as the work proceeds. After all, the best demonstration 



