Proceedings of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, 1918-1919. 



11th March, 1979. 



TREES— THE CHARACTERS, STRUCTURE, AND 

 PROPERTIES OF WOOD, WITH NOTES ON 

 FORESTRY AND AFFORESTATION. 



Illustrated by Specimens and Lantern Slides. 



By Arthur Deane, 



Curator, Belfast Municipal Museum. 



(Abstract.) 



One of the many things the war has done for us is to raise 

 our regard for timber. Its cheapness and plentifulness in i)ast 

 years rather blinded ns to its value. It has taken the war with 

 its resultant forest destruction and transport problems to open 

 our eyes to the necessity of considering our timber supply in 

 the future in a very different manner from what we have done in 

 the past. 



In 1913 Russia supplied us with almost half our total 

 imports of timber, followed by supplies from Sweden, France, 

 and Canada, and there will be a great demand for timber from 

 the allies for reconstruction purposes, while our enemies will have 

 an accumulated timber wealth. We are not likely to return to 

 pre-war conditions, and we cannot afford to rely upon the possible 

 excess of timber from foreign countries for our industries. In 

 Ireland alone there will be an increased consumption of timber 

 for many years to come, and yet there is no reason why the 

 country should not, in the future, be largely self-supporting in 

 this direction, even if new wood using industries spring up, which 

 is probable if areas become afforested. But if forestry in Ireland 

 is to be successful, it must, from the initial stages, be attempted 

 on sound business and scientific principles with a long look ahead 

 policy, and approached with such patriotism that the generations 



