THE UTILISATION OF LAND UNSUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. 7 



First, land unsuitable for agricultural purposes, but suitable for 

 the production of timber. Second, choice of situations for plant- 

 ing. Third, kinds of trees to plant, and how to plant and tend such 

 plantations. Fourth, prospects of remuneration from planting 

 poor lands. 



I. First, then, land unsuitable for agriculture, but suitable for 

 the production of timber, I take to mean poor, sandy, and gravelly 

 soils, mountain sides, glens and ravines inaccessible to the plough, 

 sand-hills near the coast— perhaps the most worthless of any — poor 

 peaty wastes, and suchlike. That there are vast tracts of land of 

 this description in the British Isles which would grow timber well 

 there is no question ; but still, even such tracts are worth a small 

 rent per acre for some purpose, and to turn them to better 

 account in the production of timber can, I believe, only be done 

 under certain conditions. First of all arises under this head 

 the question, Who are the parties most likely to benefit by the 

 extensive planting of waste lands ? The answer is, Those who 

 can afford to plant on the most extensive scale ; and the State 

 and the large landed proprietors are the parties who can do that 

 best. It is a fact that the comparatively small extent of our 

 British plantations, and their isolated and patchy distribution 

 everywhere, greatly obstruct their profitable management. The 

 almost universal custom is to sell home-grown timber in the 

 rough, either standing or felled, and in this state it is removed 

 by the middleman or the consumer, but in either case to the 

 loss of the vendor, because the bark (with the exception of peeled 

 oak) and all the waste and refuse have to be removed with it, 

 and its removal paid for, which payment comes out of the 

 price in the wood. The cost of the removal of timber in the 

 rough to the consumer often costs half, or more than half, of the 

 delivered price. Very often it costs from 2d. to £d. per cubic 

 foot to haul and remove the timber to the nearest railway 

 station, and perhaps as much again has to be paid for railway 

 transit after that. As 50,000 cubic feet is not an uncommon 

 quantity of timber to sell in one year from one estate, it may, 

 therefore, be reckoned how much is spent in haulage, a large 

 portion of which might be saved by converting, or partly 

 converting, the timber in the wood where it fell, if the extent of 

 the supply and its continuity made it worth the user's while to 

 bring his appliances to the wood instead of hauling the trees 



