IMPROVED BRITISH FORESTRY 335 
The second of the three causes is the minor 
matter of the rating of woodlands. Formerly, 
before the duty was taken off foreign imports 
of timber, the British woodlands paid no rating. 
The law regarding the rating of woods is that 
the value of the land shall be taken at what the 
soil might be worth in its unimproved condition 
as agricultural land; but, in practice, a much 
higher assessment is often made on what is more 
or less of an agricultural basis. In one instance, 
in the case of woods on an estate in Gloucester- 
shire about thirteen years ago, the assessment was 
submitted to arbitration, with the result that it 
was reduced from £1591 to £916, accepted by 
the complainer; yet the arbitrator recorded his 
opinion that the reduced assessment was still 
too high. Even if the rating were altogether 
abolished, the loss would not be much felt by 
the Treasury in view of the vastly greater 
benefits that would accrue to the country by 
growing timber and affording more employment 
to the rural population. Or, at any rate, the pay- 
ment of the rates might be made deferable till the 
crops are mature and about to be felled and utilised. 
A third cause, especially important in conifer 
