SUMMARY ^ 49 



entirely different, and it was possible to inaugurate 

 a State Forest Department in the Island. Con- 

 siderable purchases of land had been made by 

 August 1914, and three large centres were owned by 

 the State, and were being planted up with funds 

 provided by the Development Commissioners on 

 well-drawn-up and carefully scrutinised schemes. 

 These areas are in Central Wicklow, County Cork 

 (Ballyhoura) , and at Slieve Bloom in Queen's County. 



In this brief analysis an endeavour has been made 

 to present to the reader an impartial account of the 

 result of the four years' work on the forestry problem 

 by the Development Commissioners. The com- 

 parison between these four years^and the preceding 

 twenty-five may be left to his judgment. 



This brings us to the end of our brief survey of 

 nineteen centuries of British forestry, and I will 

 shortly summarize the position as it appears to have 

 stood at the outbreak of war in 1914. 



We have seen that the Government were satisfied 

 with the position in which the country stood so far 

 as timber supplies necessary for its industries were 

 concerned. They consisted of imports it is true, but 

 they were ample, and though these imports were 

 increasing annually (witness the rise by £13,000,000 

 between 1909 and 1913), and the price of timber 

 itself was nearing an inevitable increase, no anxiety 

 on that score had yet made itself felt. So far as the 

 existing condition of the markets were concerned 

 Government was content. 



On the other side of the question they were 

 dubious about afforestation in Britain and its 



