36 Mr. Arthur Deane on 



to come will never have to rely on foreign timber for structural 

 purposes. 



Afforestation in the United Kingdom is no new idea. It 

 was advocated for many years before the war by pioneers in 

 forestry like Sir Wm. Schlich, the late Prof. W. E. Fisher, 

 Mr. A. C. Forbes, and many others. Had they been listened to, 

 British Forests would have been producing to-day a much larger 

 yield. We are fortunate in having in Ireland under the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Mr. Forbes, who was a Member of the 

 Forestry Sub-Committee appointed by the Ministry of Recon- 

 struction. Just before the war the total yield in the United 

 Kingdom was less than 15 cubic feet per acre per annum, but 

 under a proper forest policy it would have yielded about three 

 times that amount. This small percentage in British woodlands 

 is partly due to their being too open and the soil covered with 

 injurious surface growth, and if these woodlands are to yield a 

 greater return and a better product in a shorter time, they must, 

 like the continental forests, be placed under proper scientific 

 planning and economic management and not left to Nature. 



Arboriculture is the art of growing trees singly, or in groups, 

 to preserve them for aesthetic purposes ; direct financial gain is 

 not considered. Apart from their ornamental effect, trees make 

 the air fitter to breathe by taking from it the impure carbon 

 dioxide and increasing the supply of oxygen, and for this reason 

 they should be planted more than they are in congested neigh- 

 bourhoods of towns. Many of our city trees show signs of having 

 Ix'eu placed on a very meagre ration, which does not agree with 

 them. The very tips of tree roots are in direct communication 

 with the uppermost leaves of the foliage, and if roots do not 

 get sufficient air to breathe, they cannot .perform their proper 

 functions and lead a healthy life. They need, too, an occasional 

 pick-me-up in the form of nitrate, potash, and phosphate, 

 especially the first-named, for they have not the fallen leaves to 

 keep the soil in condition as in a forest. Many of them badly 

 need serious surgical operations, which should be performed 



