Forest Conditions. 31t 
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- 
