THE SYSTEMATIC AFFORESTATION OF GREAT BRITAIN. 279 



accessibility of the land for timber removal and nearness to consuming 

 centres. 



Taking the agricultural returns as a basis for the area of waste 

 lands in the British Isles, we find that a fair division would be as 

 follows : — 



Both the Scotch and Welsh collieries consume a vast amount of 

 timber, less so those in England and Ireland, so that in allotting the 

 area of land for afforestation this important point has been kept in 

 view. Accessibility of the woodland and convenience for removal 

 of the timber by rail, road, or water have also been considered in 

 conjunction with the existing area of waste land. 



The next, and a most important point, is the rate at which tree- 

 planting should proceed. The Forestry Sub-Committee recom- 

 mended that the area should be planted in a period of eighty years, 

 1,180,000 acres being dealt with during the next forty years. Now, 

 in the opinion of those competent to judge, not only is the area to 

 be afforested too small, but the period over which the planting is 

 extended too long to be of any practical value in the way of meeting 

 our wants in the near future in the matter of timber supplies. By 

 this arrangement only 250,000 acres would be planted during the 

 first ten years, and as the whole planting scheme is spread over 

 eighty years, fully one-half of the proceeds of the enterprise would not 

 be available for use for at least a century to come. 



In order, therefore, to meet our early requirements, the largest 

 possible area should be afforested at once or during the next ten years 

 and the whole planting scheme reduced from eighty to twenty-five 

 years. By spreading the work over a period of twenty-five years, 

 we find that in England 20,000 acres would be planted each year, 

 Scotland 28,000, Wales 12,000, and Ireland fully 10,000 acres. The 

 Government should find no difficulty in carrying out these propositions, 

 a statement that is based on the fact that 20,000 acres of heath and 

 mountain land were planted by the owner of the Seafield estate in 

 Scotland, while other private individuals, as well as several corpora- 

 tions and water works, have been most successful in afforesting 

 large areas of unprofitable mountain land that were far removed 

 from both road and rail. 



Temporary buildings for the accommodation of the numerous 

 workmen to be employed must be provided ; but with large numbers 

 of soldiers' huts and canteens on hand, the Government will find no 

 difficulty in dealing with the housing problem. 



Laying out the boundaries. — In laying out plantation boundaries 



Scotland 

 England 

 Wales 

 Ireland 



800,000 acres. 

 400,000 „ 

 300,000 ,, 

 270,000 „ 



Total 



. 1,770,000 acres. 



