THE FINANCIAL ASPECT OF AFFORESTATION. 103 



15. The Financial Aspect of Afforestation. 



Although the main object of afforestation is to make the 

 country safe in case of an emergency, the Sub-Committee consi- 

 dered it desirable to deal shortly with the financial aspect of the 

 undertaking. 



The profit or loss of afforestation is, naturally, represented by 

 the difference between the returns and the costs of producing them. 

 The latter consist of the interest on the value of the land, the cost 

 of planting, and the expenses incurred in tending the woods while 

 growing. The receipts depend on the quantity and quality of the 

 timber and other produce valued as standing in the forest, in 

 other words, the market value minus the cost of cutting and 

 preparing it for the market. The items of receipts and expenses 

 occur at various times spread over a whole rotation ; hence the 

 calculation of profit or loss must be made for one and the same 

 moment, and compound interest must be allowed for all items, 

 income as well as outgoings. The best time to make the 

 calculation is at the commencement of the rotation when, it is 

 assumed, the soil has been acquired. In the case of new planta- 

 tions, the value of the soil and the cost of planting can be ascer- 

 tained with fair accuracy, but all other items of receipts and 

 expenditure are more or less problematic ; they can be estimated 

 only on the basis of past experience. The difficulty of the 

 forester is much reduced if he has at his disposal suitable yield 

 tables, which represent averages for the several soil classes and 

 species. The data in such tables are generally given for fully 

 stocked areas. 



The Sub-Committee adopted the following method * of 

 calculation : — The Cost value of the soil, Sc, is ascertained 

 in the year o, when operations are commenced. This value 

 is placed equal to the Expectation value of the soil, Se, 

 calculated for the year, o, from all receipts and expenses, 

 giving the following equation : 



Yr + Ta X hof-' -f T6 X 1- Oj)'-" + . . . 

 g^ ^ . . . -f Ty X 1-0/-" — c X hop' e_ 



l-o^-l ^'^^ 



* The Method wa3 evolved and published by the author of this book, in 

 1904, in a pamplilet entitled " Forestry in the United Kingdom." 



