DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME 47 



attention to the afforestation problem — ^the af- 

 forestation problem which, in spite of the dehbera- 

 tions of six committees, had not yet reached the 

 point of planting one tree of the many miUions 

 this country should raise. There was little doubt 

 that at this time the problem bristled with difficul- 

 ties, a number of which the war has since swept 

 away. The solution offered by the Commissioners 

 was briefly as follows : We have seen that the land 

 belonged to private proprietors, either individuals, 

 corporations, water trusts, and so forth. To such 

 individuals and bodies the Commissioners offered 

 to provide money for the afforestation of suitable 

 areas on the understanding that the land should be 

 reserved for forestry on commercial principles for at 

 least one complete rotation. No rent would be 

 paid for the land, but the owner would receive a fair 

 share of the proceeds from the timber grown on the 

 area. The money for planting the land up to a 

 maximum grant of {,$ per acre to be advanced by 

 the Commissioners, the landlord's share of the 

 ultimate proceeds being based on the proportion 

 which the value of the land bore to the estimated 

 capital expenditure required to produce the crop, 

 this being a matter for negotiation between the 

 indvidual proprietor and the Commissioners before 

 the \frork commenced. It would be based on the 

 present rental value of the land, its character and 

 other circumstances affecting the finance of the 

 scheme. Owing to the necessarily great variation 

 in these data, it was not considered possible to draw 

 up any general terms of assistance, but stipulations 



