S77 UC-NRLF B 3 fiME Forestry. Mam Library BRITISH FORESTRY PAST AND FUTURE A PAPER READ BEFORE THE WORSHIPFUL COMPACT OF CARPENTERS ON APRIL 4, 1917 BY WILLIAM SOMERVILLE, M.A., D.Sc. SIBTHORPIAN PROFESSOR OF RURAL ECONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY Price Sixpence net BRITISH FORESTRY PAST AND FUTURE BRITISH landowners have always taken much interest in tree planting, but it has been the tree (arboriculture) rather than the wood (silviculture) that has been the object of their attention. Enthusiasm reached a high pitch in the second quarter of last century, when it found expression in the form of organized expeditions, chiefly to North America, though partly also to China and Japan, for the purpose of introducing species whose merits had attracted the atten- tion of travellers. Almost continuously from 1823 to 1834 David Douglas was engaged in collecting seeds for the Horticultural Society, to be followed, under the same auspices, by Theodor Hertweg and Robert Fortune. The latter worked in China, a country which has recently received much attention from Wilson, Ward, and Farrer. In 1850 an association dispatched John Jeffrey to collect in the region west of the Rocky Mountains, and the minutes of this body, preserved at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, are eloquent of the interest with which the results of the expedition were awaited. These definitely organized expeditions, supplemented by the work of private collectors, resulted in the introduction to this country of most of the exotic trees, chiefly conifers, which now adorn our parks and woodlands. Many species have no more than a botanical and aesthetic interest, but some are of great commercial value, notably the Douglas fir, which, although it has some limitations, is capable of yielding results in this country much beyond those of any other single species. In the laying out of ornamental plantations, and in the management of individual trees, British landlords and foresters are unsurpassed. But it is not too much to say that until the closing decade of last century they had only : 2; BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE the most elementary acquaintance with the methods of rational systematic forestry, whose object is the production from a given area of the maximum amount of timber of the highest quality, due regard being had to a consistent rela- tionship between the cost of production and the value of the produce. The main defect of British management has taken the form of having the woods too open, that is to say the growing stock has been so low as to be incapable of furnishing a normal return of timber, and therefore a full soil rental. A full return can no more be looked for from an under-stocked forest than from an under-stocked farm. Various causes have been at work to produce this result. The oak has played an important part in British forestry in the past, and the timber that was wanted for the ribs and knees of ships could best be furnished by trees that had been allotted ample room to develop large outstretch- ing limbs. In the west and north of England, and in Scot- land, larch is the tree which has been the chief object of the forester's attention. This species is intolerant of shade and crowding, and fine clean stems are produced in compara- tively open woods. The ash is another tree with precisely similar requirements, and English ash timber has no equal for many important purposes. It has been alleged, and with the allegation I entirely agree, that, valuable as these trees are, they have had a detrimental effect on British silviculture. It is they and especially oak and larch that have set the standard of the management of our wood- lands. It has been argued that what has been good for oak and larch cannot be bad for beech, spruce, silver fir, and other species of inferior value, with the consequence that a rule-of -thumb system of silviculture has prevailed which has resulted in the production of good timber from light- demanding species, and bad timber from the opposite group. Other causes have been at work to keep our woods too thin. With very few exceptions landlords in the past have had their woods managed with an eye to s^ort. The situa- tion of the plantation, the species of trees, the extent and BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 3 time of thinning and felling, have all been regulated more or less in the interests of game. All kinds of wild animals prefer an open type of woodland, where the trees have low-reaching branches, and where sunny spots are frequent. Moreover, they prefer a hundred acres in ten patches rather than in one, and none knows better than the game-keeper how this kind of subdivision helps to fill the bag, and there- fore to please his master. But open woods are quite incom- patible with the production of either quantity or quality in timber. Moreover, game, and especially ground game, does not need to be very abundant to make natural re- generation impossible, and this method of renewal of a woodland plays an important part in rational forest manage- ment. Apart, however, from this aspect of the case, rabbits and hares are most destructive to young trees, and will soon upset the best-laid schemes, or, alternatively, render neces- sary a heavy outlay on protective measures, and it is not to be forgotten that 2 per acre spent on netting means, at 4 per cent., a charge against the woods at the end of eighty years of 46. British silviculture has also suffered in the past from a desire to add interest and variety to woodlands by mixing together a large number of species. Within limits, but these limits are very narrow, it is often desirable to plant two or more species on a given area, but whenever one gets beyond two, or at most three species, one adds greatly to the difficulties and cost of management. In any case, to be successful a mixture must be composed on definite principles one species, deep-rooted, to protect the other against gales, or one, a shade-bearer, to conserve the factors of fertility for the benefit of its light-crowned associate but the only principle that can be traced in the mixtures of last century is the principle of variety. Other factors tending to make British forestry unpro- fitable in the past were the smallness and irregularity of the supplies of timber, which tmis drove even local builders to imported material, till home-grown wood ceased to count 4 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE even for the commonest kind of country structures. Timber has been felled, and the market supplied, as much at the whim or from the financial necessities of the owner, as from considerations of sound forestry, with the result that much timber has been left standing till it was decayed, and long past the time when the increment of the woodlands could furnish a reasonable return on the capital represented by the growing stock. The market for home-grown timber has also suffered from the absence of any considerable areas of State forests in this country. Where they exist abroad they are found to have a steadying effect on markets, as their supplies of timber can be depended on to come forward with regularity. More- over the State is in a superior position, as compared with the individual, to feed the market with heavy timber, a class of material essential to certain industries, but one which is less profitable than smaller dimensions. Lastly, there falls to be mentioned a factor which, in its broad aspects, has had more to do with retarding British forestry than any, namely lack of facilities for education. The Indian Forest School was started at Cooper's Hill in 1885, and in 1889 the University of Edinburgh inaugurated the first Lectureship in Forestry which was primarily de- signed to meet British conditions. More recently additional centres of forestry instruction have been established, while other forms of education, in its wider sense, have taken the shape of the Quarterly Journal of Forestry, and of organized excursions to Continental countries. The neglect of sound silvicultural principles, brought about by the causes enumerated, resulted in the production of timber of inferior quality. The stems lacked height and had too much taper, while the wood was open in the grain, contained too much inferior spring wood, lacked durability, and was full of knots. While there are exceptions to this indictment notably oak, ash, and larch, to a lesser extent also Scots pine there is no doubt that the low esteem in which British timber has been held has been justified. But BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 5 the soil and climate have had nothing to do with this result, which would have occurred in any country under similar conditions of management. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century it was recog- nized that all was not well with British forestry, and in 1885 a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to ascertain ' Whether by the establishment of a Forest School, or otherwise, our woodlands could be made more remunerative.' This Committee, after being twice re- appointed, reported in 1887, recommending (a) the estab- lishment of forest schools in England, Scotland, and (pro- bably) Ireland, (b) the creation of a Board to organize instruction, (c) the holding of examinations, and (d) the publication of an official syllabus and text book. No imme- diate action was taken on the Report, though more recently effect has been given to the first two recommendations. In 1902 a Board of Agriculture Departmental Committee was set up ' To inquire into and report as to the present position and future prospects of forestry, and the planting and management of woodlands in Great Britain, and to consider whether any measures might with advantage be taken, either by the provision of further educational facilities, or otherwise, for their promotion and encourage- ment.' This Committee reported in the same year and recommended the establishment of demonstration areas in England and Scotland, Forestry Lectureships in Oxford and Cambridge, example plots near these centres and Edinburgh, provision of instruction in forestry at agri- cultural colleges, short courses and local lectures for foresters, technical advice for woodland owners, modifica- tion of the estate duty on timber, repetition by the Board of Agriculture of their inquiry as to the area and character of woodlands, and the planting of municipal water-catchment areas. Most of these recommendations have been given effect to. In 1907 a Committee was appointed by the Vice- President of the Department of Agriculture and Tech- 6 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE nical Instruction for Ireland to report on the condition of forestry, the preservation and extension of existing wood- lands, and the financial and other provisions necessary to secure a comprehensive scheme of afforestation in Ireland. The Report recommended the afforestation of 700,000 acres, and a start has been made, but the rate of progress is very slow little more than 1,000 acres of fresh land having been planted in the past ten years, which is much less than the area deforested during the period. In 1908 the problem of unemployment was pressing, and the Government decided to enlarge the terms of reference to the Royal Commission on Coast Erosion, charging them to report c Whether in connection with reclaimed lands or otherwise, it is desirable to make an experiment in afforestation as a means of increasing employ- ment during periods of depression in the labour market, and if so by what authority and under what conditions such experiment should be conducted.' The Commission reported in January 1909, and recommended the affores- tation of 150,000 acres annually up to an aggregate of 9,000,000 acres. The recommendations have not been given effect to. In 1911 the Secretary for Scotland nominated a Depart- mental Committee ' to report on the selection of a suitable location for a Demonstration Forest Area in Scotland . . . and on any further steps . . . which . . . should be taken with a view to promoting silviculture in Scotland.' The Committee reported in the same year, recommending (1) a demonstration forest of at least 4,000 acres situated in a district suitable for afforestation, (2) one university centre providing the highest form of forestry education, with local instruction for working foresters, (3) a limited number of trial State forests, (4) a survey to determine the extent of aff ores table land, (5) the appointment of advising forest officers, (6) State loans to private land- owners, the interest to accumulate until the crop is realized, [BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 7 (7) amendment of the law affecting the taxation of wood- lands to estate and succession duties. Some action has been taken only in respect of Nos. 2, 5, and 7. In 1912 the President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries appointed an Advisory Committee in regard to (1) a forest survey, (2) experiments in silviculture and forestal demonstration areas, and (3) the instruction of woodmen. The Committee reported in the autumn of the same year, recommending a survey of seven selected dis- tricts of England, the creation of experimental forests of not less than 5,000 acres each in these seven districts, the creation of a demonstration forest, the inauguration of laboratory research and forestry experiments, and pro- vision for the training of skilled woodmen. As a result the demonstration forest (Forest of Dean) has been started, laboratory research has been set a-going at certain centres, and a beginning has been made with the limited survey. These many official inquiries, the outcome of outside pressure, show unmistakably that there exists in this country a strong body of public opinion in favour of the improvement of existing woodlands, and the extension of afforestation. Those who have been in close touch with the subject during the past twenty-five years gladly admit that in certain quarters a considerable improvement has been effected in the management of private woodlands. Certain owners of extensive woodlands have fully realized the unsatisfactory conditions that have hitherto prevailed and have set themselves with intelligent enthusiasm to reform their systems of management. Foresters have learned much from the authoritative manuals that have appeared of recent years, from lectures and meetings, from articles in technical transactions and periodicals, and, per- haps not least, from organized excursions to the Continent. But there has been practically no afforestation of fresh land, and what little has taken place has been more than cancelled by the curtailment of the area of previously 8 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE existing woodlands, a curtailment which, as the accom- panying table shows, has been general in the three main divisions of the kingdom between 1905 and 1913 (1914 for Scotland). England and Wales Scotland Ireland Wooded Area (acres). Decrease. Percentage of Woodland. 1905. 1913. 15,766 16,289 5,124 1913. 1,899,834 868,409 302,933 1,884,068 852,120 297,809 5-07 4-46 1-46 Total . 3,071,176 3,033,997 37,179 3-96 The proportion of woodland in the United Kingdom, under 4 per cent., is lower than that of any European country. Denmark and Holland come nearest with 7 to 8 per cent., then follow Belgium, France, and Spain with 17 to 18 per cent., Germany and Hungary with 25 to 27 per cent., Austria with 32 per cent., and Russia and Sweden with 40 to 45 per cent. Under the Census of Production Act, 1906, a return was called for of the production of timber in Great Britain, for the 12 months ending June 1908. This showed sales, or fellings for sale, of 14,845,000 cubic feet, of a value of 598,000, to which is to be added other classes of wood (pit props, small thinnings, cord wood, &c.) sold or used at home, bringing the estimated total up to 800,000. For the same period 904,667 trees weighing 261,855 tons, were returned as being felled in Ireland. Taking 30 cubic feet, quarter-girth measure, to the ton, it would appear that the normal annual timber output of the United King- dom is about a million tons, of a pre-war value of a million sterling. Since 1883, in decennial periods, our imports of c Wood and Timber ' have been as follows : BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 9 ^ I 0 00 CO b- rH rH CO b- CO rH CO O CO (M CO t> O ocf 00 b- CO OJ co" w S os SOS b CO (M O -^ 00 5 (N 05 l> rH 00 >O *> CO ^^ ^ *^ O O5 N i> U5 CO rf rH CO ^ i> rH 00 * 00 rH CO CO CO CO CO rH CO 00 t S rH (N 05 b- fc t- ^V CO CO rH J CO CO US (N CO b* O rH rH b W W5 *$! >O rH Tf< rH CO CO^CO^COrH iO^b- rH 1 ^ r-T O 00 rH (M CO (M CO (M rH CO rH sA? - 00 3 o 3 10 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE The value of our imports of timber in 1913 was nearly 34,000,000, without reckoning wood pulp, bark and other tanning material, rosin, willow rods, &c., of which wood pulp alone had a declared value of over four and a half millions. Of this huge total we are safe to say that at least ten million loads is represented by wood from Euro- pean countries and Canada for which our climate is equally suited. It is evident therefore that we grow no more than 10 per cent, of what we consume of a product that might potentially be produced at home. Thus, our position with regard to timber is even less satisfactory than it is with regard to wheat, of which our home production represents about 18 per cent, of our requirements. The war has emphasized many facts, and these, amongst others, that timber is essential to military operations, that, when it is most required, ships cannot be spared to import it, that the maritime activities of the enemy make its transport uncertain, that neutral countries may decide to limit exports, and that the supplies even of allies like Russia cannot be depended on to come to hand. The movement for increased afforestation has undoubtedly gained greatly in force since the outbreak of war, and although the advocates of extension have experienced little but disappointment in the past, it is difficult to believe that the future will continue to show the same inaction. An extended scheme of afforestation is bound up with many important considerations. One cannot put land under trees without withdrawing it from some other pur- pose, for there is but little land in this country that is c waste ' in the strict sense of the term, and what little does exist is often situated at such an altitude as to be out of the question for silviculture. But there are wide areas of pastoral land that figure in the returns for Great Britain as ' Mountain and Heath Land used for Grazing ', and in the Irish returns as c Mountain Land ', which is of low productive capacity from the point of view of meat, but BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE 11 much of which is well qualified to grow timber. There are also the deer forests and land reserved for game, some of which lies above the limits of tree growth, but much of which is plantable. The following figures are extracted from the returns of 1913, except as regards deer forests, which are from two House of Commons returns of 1908 : Acres. England .... 2,467,000 4 Mountain and Heath Land used for grazing ' Wales . 1,338,266 Scotland .... 9,117,906 Ireland .... 3,050,266 4 Mountain land ' Deer Forests and Land devoted to sport in Scotland . . 3,519,678 Total .... 19,493,116 While trees grow successfully above 1,500 feet in some parts of the country it is generally agreed that any land above this limit may, for practical purposes, be ruled out of a scheme of extended afforestation. Nor, indeed, is it contended that trees can always grow at points below this altitude. At the request of the Royal Commission on Coast Erosion the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries prepared an estimate of the area of land in Great Britain above the 1,500 feet contour line, with the following result : In England .... 549,335 acres In Wales 345,308 In Scotland .... 2,642,529 Total .... 3,537,172 No estimate was made for Ireland, but as this is a country of low elevation we are certainly estimating liberally if we assume a total of four million acres for the United Kingdom. This therefore leaves us with about fifteen and a half million acres of rough hill and mountain pasture below 1,500 feet. At the initiation of a scheme of national afforestation it is of comparatively little importance to attempt to estimate what percentage of this area is adapted for the growth of trees. The Royal Commission on Coast Erosion came to the 12 BRITISH FORESTRY, PAST AND FUTURE conclusion that nine million acres could, with advantage, be afforested, while Sir John Stirling Maxwell thinks that six million acres more fitly represents the case. 1 Of this, at least, there can be no doubt that our wooded area of some three million acres could with advantage be doubled, which would bring our percentage of forest land up to 8 per cent., and place us on a level with Denmark and Holland, though still leaving us far behind other European countries. With improved management an aggregate of six million acres should give us an annual increment of about six million tons of timber, which, although far short of our requirements, is a great advance on the million tons or so that we at present annually produce. When that stage has been reached it will be time enough to consider the question of further extension. A question that at once occurs, in considering suggestions for extended afforestation, is the effect it would have on the food supply. While, in a sense, food is more vital than timber, the experiences of the past two years have shown that much is gained by limiting imports to concentrated substances, such as meat, and producing bulky materials, like timber, at home. The land which it is suggested should be afforested contributes only meat to the food supplies of the nation. It is grazed by mountain breeds of sheep, of which the best pastoral farms never carry more than one to the acre, and most of them much less. Much of it is rented at 3d. and 4