Forest Conditions. 311 



about 48 million acres. Notably in Scotland, exten- 

 sive heaths and moors of many hundred square miles, 

 in the Northern Highlands and the Grampian moun- 

 tains — well wooded in olden times, the woods having 

 been eradicated supposedly for strategic reasons — 

 are now without farms or forests, and are mainly 

 used for shooting preserves. In the last thirty years, 

 the land under tillage has continuously decreased, 

 and now represents less than 25 percent of the whole 

 land area, grasslands occupying 38 percent. 



The agricultural land as well as the mountain and 

 heath lands, are to the largest extent owned by large 

 proprietors (in 1876, 11,000 persons owned 72 percent 

 of the total area of the British Islands). With the 

 exception of 67,000 acres of crownlands, the entire 

 forest area is owned privately, there being no com- 

 munal ownership, except that the municipality of 

 London owns a forest area (Epping Forest) devoted 

 to pleasure, and the Water Board of Liverpool has 

 begun to plant some of its catchment basins. 



Practically the entire wood supply is imported, 

 and the rate of importation is rapidly" increasing. 

 While in 1864 it was 3.4 million tons, in 1892, 7.8 

 million tons worth 92 million dollars, in 1899, 10 

 million tons and 125 million dollars, in 1902 it had 

 grown to 138 million dollars. This makes England 

 the largest wood importer in the world, Germany 

 coming next, and the amount paid to other countries 

 exceeds the value of her pig iron output. Nearly 90 

 percent of the import is coniferous material, from 

 Sweden, Russia and Canada. The home product, 

 mostly oak ties, mineprops, etc., satisfies about one- 



