THE FOREST EESOUECES OF THE WORLD. 49 



cubic feet. In addition, some 7,415,100 cubic feet are obtained 

 annually from trees outside of the forest, making the total cut 

 83,204,000 cubic feet. 



ANNUAL GROWTH. 



During recent years Belgium has manifested a strong tendency 

 not only to husband her forests most rationally, but also to increase 

 the forest area. The annual cut may, therefore, be taken as the 

 annual growth. There are no recent figures regarding the produc- 

 tivity. 



CONSUMPTION. 



Home production is unable to satisfy the needs of the country. 

 The consumption of mine timber alone in 1894 was 21,892,210 cubic 

 feet and in 1903 it was 35,310,000 cubic feet. The excess of imports 

 over exports of building timber in 1898 amounted to 36,400,126 cubic 

 feet. The total consumption then amounts to 119,604,126 cubic feet, 

 or 17.7 cubic feet per capita. Of this amount, 72,549,400 cubic feet, 

 or 10.8 cubic feet per capita, consist of saw-log timber; while 

 47,055,000 cubic feet, or 6.9 cubic feet per capita, are cord wood. 



WOOD PRICES. 



The wood prices are ver^r much the same as in Germany. The 

 average price for all kinds, irrespective of species, is something like 

 6 cents per cubic foot in the forest. In Germany, as we have seen, 

 the price of wood in the forest ranges between 5 and 8 cents, while 

 cord wood in Prussia sells at about 3 cents. 



SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 



The figures regarding the forests of Spain and Portugal are ex- 

 tremely conflicting; thus, according to K. van Scherzer,^ the area of 

 Spanish forests in 1885 was 26,098,200 acres, or 20.8 per cent of the 

 total land area; and for Portugal, according to the same source, 

 1,756,000 acres, or 8 per cent of the total land area. According to 

 A. Melard,^ Inspector, Department of Waters and Forests, France, 

 the forest area in Spain may be taken as equal to 16,065,000 acres, 

 and that of Portugal from 1,112,400 to 1,236,600 acres. Taking 

 Melard's figures, it would seem that the forests of Spain occupy 

 13 per cent of the total land area and those of Portugal 5 per cent. 

 According to Scott Keltic,'' the forests of Portugal amounted to only 

 2.9 per cent of the total land area. 



The Spanish Peninsula is a plateau bordered by high mountain 

 terraces. The rivers are unreliable, having neither glaciers nor great 

 lakes at their sources. The rains are very unequally distributed over 

 the different seasons. Drought is often followed by severe floods, 

 and in order to counteract their bad effects Spain and Portugal 

 should be well forested. Both countries, however, are lacking in this 



a Das wirthschaftliche Leben der Volker. 



& Insuffisance de la production de bois d'oeuvre, 



c The Statesman's Yearbook for 1901. 



65826°— Bull. 83—10 4 



