IV 



TIMBER SUPPLIES DURING THE WAR 



The outbreak of war in Europe brought us face to 

 face with our dependent position as regards timber 

 supplies. The greater part of the pit wood used by 

 the collieries was imported, chiefly from Russia, 

 Scandinavia, and France. The Russian supplies 

 ceased with the closure of the Baltic, and those from 

 France with the caUing of the woodcutters to the 

 Colours. From the very first, therefore, it was 

 realized that the maintenance of adequate supplies 

 of timber in this country for militaty and naval pur- 

 poses — i.e. to enable us to carry on the war — ^would 

 becoihe a matter of difficulty. But the country was 

 very far from realizing in those days hgw anxious 

 a problem the timber one was4o become. Imports 

 from Scandinavia and America, Canada and New- 

 foundland, were maintained for the first two years. 

 With the submarine campaign and the increasing 

 demands made on tonnage, these imports gradually 

 dwindled, until they became practically negligible. 

 From this period we were driven to depend on 

 our home-grown timber, supplemented with such 

 forests as France could place at our disposal. That 

 our ally should have been able to assist us at this 



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