8 



under a regular system of organised treatment for a long 

 period. A forest may be abnormal for one or any of the 

 following reasons : — 



The quantity of material in the capital, as represented 

 by the growing stock, is insufficient or superabund- 

 ant. 

 A complete scale of age-classes does not exist, and there- 

 fore the proportion between the classes is defective. 

 The growth is defective. 



The peculiar constitution of the capital necessary in order that a forest may fur- 

 nish an interrupted supply of material is sufficient of itself to explain why a working- 

 plan is essential for the management of a forest estate, although a farm or industrial 

 enterprise can he perfectly well managed without such a plan. The capital in the 

 case of a forest requires many years to create, while in the case of a manufactory or of 

 a farm the working capital, buildings, implemei.ts, seeds, live-stock, etc., can be pro- 

 cured in a few days or months. There are, however, many other reasons. The ma- 

 terial produced by a forest, viz., wood, is the same as the capital or material that pro- 

 duces it. At the same time this material must be preserved in its growing state for 

 years as it has no value when first produced. The forester is, therefore, liable to 

 reduce his capital unawares. He is even tempted to do so. as he thereby temporarily 

 increases his income without, perhaps, feeling the efiFects for many years. A farmer 

 cannot reduce his capital without immediately experiencing the result- If he makes 

 a mistake in his methods of farming, he can correct it immediately by the expenditure 

 of additional money and labour. A forester can correct his mistakes, if he discovers 

 them at all, only after a long lapse of time. 



THE EXPLOITABLE A(5E. 



Meaning of the term — A forest, like any other undertak- 

 ing, must be managed and woiked, or, as it is called, ex- 

 ploited, with a definite purpose. This purpose may of 

 course be one of a great many, and its realisation is ex- 

 pressed by the term exploitability . 



Thus it may he sought to produce material of a definite kind or size, fuel and small 

 pieces of timber for the neighbouring population, or large trtes of a certain species 

 sal or deodar ; or the object may be to produce the greatest quantity of material ; or 

 again, the financial aspect alone may he considered, and it may be desired to obtain 

 the highest annual money-revenue or the highest rate of interest on the capital (value 

 of the soil, including the money laid out in improvements, and of the growing stock) 

 invested in the forest. In other cases the object may simply be to preserve the trees 

 for the sake of the shelter they afford to the soil, or in view of some other indirect 

 benefits derived from them. 



It is usual to group the various kinds of exploitability into classes, such as qualita- 

 five, quantitative, commercial, etc., but there is no need for these expressions. The 

 purpose with which a forest is managed can be more easily expressed in ordinary 



