The development of British forestry

Front matter

rom lie (2CONEC of th e

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Preface

THE title of this volume was not chosen with any reference to a recently appointed Commission, but because the author believed that British Forestry, after lying almost dormant for about 500 years, was really developing at last. It is,as a matter of fact, a question of development or disappearance. The State is beginning to recognise the absolute necessity for action being taken on afforestation, and the private owner is at last realising that the continued existence of timber-yielding woodland is impossible without the skill and attention of the forester.

The questions for each party to decide at the present moment are: Upon what lines shall development proceed ? Are the experiences and sacrifices of the past to be ignored? Is the still small voice of the practical man to be unheeded in the din of discussions on impossible schemes? And are further sums of money and valuable time to be spent on useless inquiries or wasteful experiments ?

An attempt has been made to present a general review of the whole problem of afforestation as it must appear to the landowner and the practical forester. Both the specialist and enthusiast are apt to forget that the productive land of Great Britain was practically absorbed by or allotted to its various owners a century or two ago, and anything left over is of much the same value as the leavings and scrap-heaps of other industries. The Roman proverb, ‘Ha nihilo nihil fit, applies to timber-growing as much as to anything else, although, judging from statevi vi THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH FORESTRY ments frequently made, the only essential feature of timber-growing land would appear to be its worthlessness for any other purpose.

Afforestation means, if it means anything, not so much the addition of a fresh asset to the existing wealth of the nation, as the readjustment of the balance between forestry and agriculture which was practically destroyed in or soon after the Middle Ages. That such a readjustment is desirable, if not absolutely necessary, is the confirmed opinion of all who have taken the trouble to look into facts. The only doubtful features are the methods which should be employed, and these are discussed in the following pages. Chapter vi. may be regarded as a slight digression from the main subject, the value of which the reader must judge for himself.

Fete O98 i

Contents

CHAP.

I. SOME NATIONAL ASPECTS OF FORESTRY

II. THE FOREST REQUIREMENTS OF THE UNITED KING-

Chapter I Some National Aspects Of Forestry

So far as we can learn from history and reason by analogy, the entire land surface of the globe, with certain exceptions, was originally covered with forest growth. These exceptions were, without going too closely into details, the arctic and antarctic circles, land lying above certain elevations on mountains and tablelands, and territories parched and dried up by heat and drought during the greater part of the year. Within the frigid zones, and at high elevations, insufficient warmth; within the torrid zones, insufficient moisture, are the two main factors respectively in accounting for the absence of forests, and in one guise or another these factors will be found responsible for the more limited failure of timber trees elsewhere. But while it appears to be a general law of nature that forests shall be the ultimate stage in the various evolutions of vegetative types, it is by no means certain that they have existed in their ordinary form as timber forest under every combination of climate, surface, and situation which may be found throughout the globe. In tracts of country with cold and dry winters, or hot and dry summers, many areas may be found which either do not appear to have carried more than a scanty forest growth at any time, or which only exhibit a stunted form of it usually known as , 7

‘scrub or brush’ forest. In this particular form, species, which under favourable conditions grow into tall and bulky timber trees, assume a shrubby or stunted habit, and while performing a definite and useful function in the economy of nature, fail to acquire that size and value which are usually regarded as their natural characters. Poor or swampy soils, rocky surfaces, land exposed to strong sea winds, cold air currents, and climates with low summer temperatures or rainfalls, usually possess a large proportion of their forest areas in the form of scrub, and from a purely economic point of view, such forest must be distinguished from the more normal type, which produces timber and other products of considerable commercial value.

The above facts force one to the conclusion that the total forest area, whether of the world in general, or of a country or nation in particular, is of less importance as a national asset than the surface covered with productive forest, and taking a more or less important part in the political economy of a nation or civilisation generally. This productive timber forest may possess a commercial value, or it may not. In thinly populated countries, a large area of timber forest may yield an excessive supply of wood, which reduces its market value to the mere cost of exploitation or marketing. Under such conditions, which prevailed within the last hundred years or so in North America, Russia, Sweden, etc., a large forest area can only be considered an advantage when its timber can be marketed outside the country, and there exchanged for commodities of greater use and value to the community, The possibility of obtaining a profitable outside market depends very largely upon a comparative scarcity elsewhere, .

~~ and facilities for cheap transit to a consuming centre.

Timber being produced so abundantly under perfectly natural conditions throughout the greater part of the

Photo. by Mr. Robert Low.

I. NATURAL ASH AND OAK WOOD IN SOUTH OF IRELAND.

2. NATURAL OAK AND HOLLY. IRELAND.

world, it is evident that a deficiency in any country must be attributed either to a dense population, or to the balance of nature, which provides for the more or less regular reproduction of animal and vegetable life, having been disturbed. In the former case, it is conceivable that a country possessing large and expanding industries may demand more timber than the natural forests of the country can produce. Great Britain, at the present time, is undoubtedly a case in point; for, assuming that the old natural forests of the country were restored, it would be impossible for them to meet the existing consumption of timber which is now going on, and leave a sufficient area outside their boundaries to furnish food for the people. But a far more frequent cause of a country experiencing a deficiency of timber may be found in a disturbance of the true balance of nature. This, apart from exceptional cases, invariably follows the advent of civilisation, or civilised men. When primitive races alone occupy a forest country, and live chiefly by hunting wild animals and fishing, the normal growth of the forest is sufficient to make good any loss occasioned by felling, grazing, or browsing of herbivorous animals, etc., and the general perpetuation of the woodland area is more or less spontaneous. An advance in civilisation, however, brings in its train many changes which adversely affect the natural forest. In the first place, the rudiments of sanitation and medical science on the one hand, and humanitarian principles on the other, lead to an increase in population, which was impossible in the days of intertribal warfare, uncertain means of subsistence, and the various fatalities incidental to a savage life. But the most potent factor of any as regards forest destruction is the gradual transition of a tribe from a hunting to a pastoral life, owing to the domestication of cattle, sheep, and goats, as wild game decreases, and the savage hand and eye lose their cunning in the chase. So long as the population keeps within narrow limits, is settled rather than nomadic in its habits, and cattle or swine predominate over sheep and goats, forest destruction proceeds locally rather than generally, the tendency being to restrict the grazing of cattle to the neighbourhood of the settlements, owing to the greater security there afforded from beasts of prey and theft, while swine are rather beneficial than otherwise to the perpetuation of the forest. Pastoral tribes, on the other hand, moving their flocks of sheep and goats from place to place as pasturage becomes temporarily scarce or exhausted, quickly devastate a country, especially under climatic conditions which permit grazing throughout the year, or are productive of summer drought, which latter compels animals to browse rather than graze for their subsistence.

The first stage in the process of permanent deforestation accompanies the cultivation or enclosure of the surface, but before this has proceeded to any great extent, the forests have usually been thinned out to a park-like condition of grass, scrub, and veteran timber tree, picturesque and attractive enough to the ordinary inhabitant, no doubt, but of little commercial value. No succession of young trees exists to take the place of those felled or blown down by wind, the surface becomes hard or covered with grass and rubbish, while wind removes the humus and decaying vegetable matter which formerly preserved the moisture and fertility of the soil. On steep slopes the result of this deforestation 1s invariably bad, and frequently disastrous, leading to the erosion of the surface soil, the rapid flooding of rivers, and in mountainous countries, to landslips and laying bare of rocky surfaces.

The above sketch, brief as it is, may be said to be fairly typical of the course of events which have taken place throughout the civilised world. As regards Europe in particular, one has only to examine the existing state of affairs connected with forests in various countries, and it is not difficult to find results which could only have been brought about in the manner described. In Southern and Central Europe large forest areas are only found in the mountains, where the climatic conditions resemble those of the cold temperate regions farther north. The more mountainous the character of the surface, the more favourable are the conditions for the natural preservation of the forests. In some cases, this may be facilitated by better climatic conditions, such as a heavier rainfall and lower temperature, but the chief reason must be looked for in the more scanty population, the reduced tendency to cultivate or enclose the surface, the absence of winter grazing, and, in various ways, the greater degree in which the balance of nature has been maintained. In Northern Europe forests cannot exist on mountain ranges above a comparatively low altitude, and the larger natural forest areas are chiefly in the lowlands. Here the climatic conditions resemble in many respects those of the mountain ranges farther south, especially as regards winter temperatures. The severe winters of Russia, Sweden, Norway, etc., in conjunction with a comparatively thin population in many parts of them, have had much to do with the preservation of the natural forests. A snowcovered surface during the greater part of the winter renders the grazing of farm live-stock impossible, and limits the number of cattle, sheep, or goats to that which can be preserved by artificial housing and feeding. Summer grazing; when vegetation is in full activity, is less destructive to forest growth than that proceeding throughout the winter, when a deficiency in grass must be made good by browsing on woody growth. Possibly the prolonged survival of the wolf, the greatest natural enemy of sheep, goats, and other domestic animals, in the great forests of Northern Europe, has also assisted in forest preservation until recent years, when excessive felling for export purposes may have nullified this and other natural advantages.

Applying the above statements and generalities to individual countries, one is able to connect them more or less closely with the present forest areas found in different states. The early civilisation of Greece and Italy, and the commercial development of Spain and Portugal, have left their mark in reduced and attenuated forests, treeless plains, and a general deficiency in forest production as compared with countries farther north. In the Balkan States mountain ranges have preserved large forest areas still, but lack of systematic management is doing much to destroy them. Parts of Hungary are comparatively destitute of forests where grazing on the plains has gone on in the past unchecked, while the mountains to the south and east are still heavily timbered. In France and Germany such mountain and hill ranges as the Pyrenees, Vosges, Black Forest, Harz Mountains, Thuringerwald, and various others still show a heavily wooded surface, while the intervening plains and valleys have been devoted more to agriculture and other industries. Still more prominent in this respect is the great Alpine mass of mountains having its centre in Switzerland, and occupying portions of Bavaria, Austria and Italy. On the great plain which stretches across North Germany from the North Sea to Poland, natural forests are scarce south of the 55th degree of latitude, while north of this the influence of a colder winter climate begins to assert its influence. ‘I'he influence of climates with mild winters upon forest destruction is, perhaps, more clearly seen when the countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel, and North Sea are considered in comparison with the

4. OLD OAK FOREST IN MOUNTAIN VALLEY.

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Pay i remainder of Europe. The western sea-board of France, the British Isles, Flanders, Holland, Schleswig-Holstein, and Denmark are practically the most poorly wooded portions of Europe, and this deficiency was more clearly marked one or two centuries ago than at the present time. In few of the countries comprised in this area did the percentage of forest to total area at that period exceed 5 per cent., although artificial plantations during the last century have raised the area considerably in one or two instances. That this low proportion of woodland is, or was, not altogether due to proximity to the ocean is proved by the remuins or evidences of old forests in early periods, which were subsequently destroyed in the manner indicated, viz., by dense populations and continuous grazing, subsequently assisted by wind and sand drifts. Exceptions as regards the former cause may be inet with here and there, but very few as regards the latter. The two most striking instances, Great Britain and Ireland, which possess less than 5 per cent. of forest, are also the most westerly, and taking their latitude into account, remarkable for their mild winters.

On the other hand, the most heavily wooded countries in Europe are Northern Russia and Finland, Sweden, and Norway in the north, all characterised by long cold winters, and the Balkan States, Bavaria, Austria-Hungary, etc., in the south, possessing large areas of mountain land with similar winter climates. Theconnection between natural forestsand mountains is, however, brought out more clearly when the provinces or districts ef a country are examined. In the German Empire, for instance, the Grand Duchy of Baden, kingdoms of Wiirtemberg and Bavaria, Thuringia, etc., have over 80 per cent. of land under forest respectively ; and the larger proportion of the surface in each is occupied by mountains. In Oldenburg, on the other hand, forests cover 10 per cent.; in Hamburg, 4°3 per cent.; and in

Bremen, 0-2 per cent., all lying in the North German plain, and bordering on the North Sea. In Belgium, the provinces of Luxembourg and Namur, containmg much mountain land in the Ardennes, possess one-half of the entire forest area of the country, while Flanders is practically treeless. In Holland, the provinces bordering the North Sea possess less than 3 per cent. of forest; Limburg, on the Belgian frontier, 17 per cent. These marked differences in the wooded condition of the maritime parts of Europe to-day can scarcely be a coincidence, but must bear some relation to the physical and climatic conditions prevailing in each, and the manner in which the surface has been utilised during many generations. Exceptions there may be in many districts, but it will usually be found that they are due to special conditions which have retarded the grazier or the agriculturist, apart from those due directly to great increases in population on limited areas.

As distinct from what may be termed the natural cause of forest destruction, may be mentioned the more rapid process brought about by the utilisation of the timber at a faster rate than it can be renewed by annual increment and regeneration. The causes already described lead in time to the disappearance of the forests, and their conversion into arable and pasture. The utilisation or destruction of the timber, on the other hand, does not necessarily imply that the woodland is permanently destroyed, provided sufficient seed trees are left for its natural regeneration. As a matter of fact, the two processes often go on simultaneously, and while grazing is preventing the natural regeneration of the forest, the stock of standing timber is being reduced by man for firewood, building, and other purposes. In early periods, forest utilisation was doubtless conducted on a small scale, and had much less effect upon the process of denudation than grazing. As settlements increased in number and size, the more extensive became the clearing round about them, until a time arrived when woodland would be valued for the sake of the timber trees it contained, rather than for the grazing its surface afforded for domestic animals. Even here it is possible to differentiate between the value placed upon the timber, and that of the fruit or mast borne by the trees. As late as the eleventh or twelfth centuries, forests in England and many parts of the Continent of Europe were chiefly valued as feeders of swine, deer, etc., and it does not appear that the timber alone was considered of much consequence.

By the thirteenth century, however, there is much evidence that the natural supply of timber in many parts of Kurope was not greater than the demand for it. It is, at any rate, about this period that regulations and laws for the preservation of the forests other than those connected with the chase, began to appear. In some cases, as in Switzerland, the object of these laws may have been as much the preservation of the forests as safeguards against avalanches and landslips, as producers of timber, but apart from these instances, a supply of firewood and building timber was undoubtedly the object in view. Thorold Rogers, Pearson, and other antiquarians and historians inform us that timber and firewood in England had reached a fairly high price about this period, possibly as much on account of bad roads for removing it from a distance, as on account of its actual scarcity. Rogers states, for instance, that underwood in the years 1266 to 1888 realised as much as ten shillings or twelve shillings per acre in various counties of England. He remarks! that ‘Wood was of high relative value in the Middle Ages just as it was in Germany. Pearson,? referring to the same period, states, ‘Lastly, woods were so essential to existence that it was an object with all proprietors to possess them and keep them.’

1 History of Agriculture. 2 Historical Maps.

The earliest attempts to maintain the balance between supply and demand were in the direction of grazing restrictions, and the prohibition—in communal forests, the manorial wastes, and other forms into which the natural forests had resolved themselves—of indiscriminate cutting for firewood and timber. The number of cattle were either limited, or certain areas of forest closed to grazing altogether for definite periods, so as to allow natural regeneration to proceed, while firewood was usually restricted to dead, damaged, or suppressed trees or windfalls. This may be termed the ‘preservative’ age of forest management, in which an endeavour was made to restore or maintain the natural order of things without going to the trouble and expense of artificial methods, and was probably fairly extensively in force throughout Central Europe from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries.

As population increased, and with it the need for larger areas being cultivated or meadowed for the food supply of men and animals, the mere restriction of grazing and fuel rights was found to be inadequate. Without enclosure, absolute safeguards against forest destruction were difficult to uphold, and as the area of natural forest gradually decreased, the demands made upon the remainder were all the greater. By the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries it appears to have been clearly recognised that the maintenance of an adequate timber supply could only be ensured by the partial or temporary enclosure, or closing, of the forests or woodlands against grazing, and the artificial sowing or replanting of the ground. This was the period which saw the commencement of our modern system of sylviculture on regenerative or cultural principles, and may be said to mark a distinct stage in the history of forest development and utilisation in Europe. Down to this period the tendency had been to leave forest production more or less in the hands of nature, merely

NATIONAL ASPECTS OF FORESTRY UE checking abuse or wilful damage by laws and regulations which were possibly not very strictly observed.

This reduction of the natural forest area was, however, obviously imperative, for had it not taken place the improvement or cultivation of the land for agricultural or grazing purposes would have been impossible. But there is good reason to suppose that it went too far in many countries before remedial measures were introduced. A case in point may be found in the British Isles, in which timber-growing for purely economic purposes may be said to have been practically unknown at any time, except on a very diminutive scale. This has been brought about by several causes, but the most important of them have doubtless been, first, the great increase in the population of the country during the last two centuries; second, the development of industries on the one hand, and the breeding of live-stock on the other, which have tended to throw the importance of forestry into the background; and third, the facilities which have existed during the past century for the importation of cheap timber from other countries. Which of these factors has operated most powerfully it is difficult to say, but the fact remains that a forest, in the ordinary sense of the word, and apart from one or two instances, does not now exist in the British Isles. The fertile parts of Great Britain and Ireland to-day present a land surface covered with small holdings, parks, pleasure - grounds, groves, villages, towns, and cities, between which no room exists for such forests as can be found on the Continent of Kurope. Spaces of similar extent in Britain can only be found on the bare hills and mountains, and the question of timber growing on these is one more for the future than the past or present.

For the absence of British forests on a continental scale we must blame partly the alienation of land from the State or corporate bodies, and its acquirement by private individuals, and partly the neglect of forestry development in the rural economy of the country two centuries back, due to the causes already mentioned. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, large areas of forest lands, more or less covered with timber, remained in the hands of the State, Crown, Church, or communes, in many European countries, or possibilities existed of resuming possession of them on easy terms. The forests of monastic institutions, ecclesiastical properties, communal lands, etc., were supervised in some form or other with a view to their preservation and systematic administration, and far more economic ideas prevailed with regard to the management of private woodlands than was the case with similar areas in Britain, or even those in the hands of the Crown. From the time of Henry vu. to that of Charles Iz. a period of about two hundred years, a process of transferring the forests from the Crown to the private individual went on in England and other parts of Britain, partly by grants to courtiers and favourites, partly by sale for the purpose of raising money, while the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 went a long way towards reducing the stock of woodland in the hands of corporate bodies, until the time came when a mere fragment of forest land remained in other than private hands. The timber on the large areas of manorial wastes or ‘commons’ was also gradually destroyed by grazing, felling, etc., until these wastes, which were originally forests, consisted of little but open pastures by the time they were enclosed by various Acts of Parliament. While this destructive process was going on here, the more advanced nationalities abroad, such as France, Switzerland, the German States, etc., were inaugurating a system of scientific forestry which gradually extended from the state, church, and communal forests to the private woods, and resulted in a definite recognition of the fact that forests were the heritage of the nation, producers of one of the chief necessities of industrial development, and could not be neglected or destroyed at the whim or pleasure of the individuals who happened to possess them for the time being.

If the above premises are correct, it follows that the value of forests in any country must vary with the density of population, the character of the soil, and the extent to which timber can be imported from abroad at a cheap or a cheaper price than it can be produced at home. Food is a more important commodity in any country than timber, and fuel comes very near it as a necessity of life. A thickly populated country, therefore, with a soil or soils adapted for food production, and an abundant supply of coal, would naturally regard agriculture as a more important branch of rural economy than forestry. The ease with which timber could be imported from abroad would also tend to put home forestry at a discount, and it is not difficult to find excuses for the unconcern with which forest destruction in England, and the mining and manufacturing parts of Scotland and Wales, has been regarded for the last century or two by the general public. Less excuse, however, can be found, perhaps, for its neglect in the north of Scotland, North Wales, or Ireland, in all of which large areas exist unfitted for tillage by reason of soil and climate. But even here extensive grazing has utilised the land in some measure for centuries back, and it cannot be said to be entirely wasted.

In a thinly populated country, with a soil and climate unfitted for agriculture or grazing, and in which fuel can only be supplied from forests, the importance of the latter in the political economy of the country is much greater, especially when the surplus production can be disposed of in a profitable market. The same may be said of a country almost entirely depending for its timber upon home supplies, owing to costs of transit raising the value of imported timber to a prohibitive price. Instances of the former can be found in Scandinavia, and parts of Russia, and of the latter in many parts of Central Europe, in which timber can only be introduced by long railway or canal journeys. It may be the case however, in countries which have only recently acquired a civilised population, that forests are a disadvantage rather than a gain until they have been reduced to their proper proportions. Fifty or more years ago this was probably the case in parts of North America, but at the present day this state of affairs can only be found in a few remote parts of the world, such as portions of South America and Central Africa, in which a tropical climate stimulates forest growth to an extraordinary degree. In Europe, North America, and many other parts of the world the time has now arrived for a definite decision to be made as to the area which must be maintained under forest to supply timber and firewood, and provide suitable social, physical, and economic conditions for the development of every civilised country.

The question as to what percentage of forest to total land surface constitutes an adequate area in any country is difficult to determine, even when all the conditions and circumstances are known. Up to the present, a world’s timber famine has not occurred, although it has been predicted at one time or another for the last two centuries, while trees for shelter, ornament, soil protection, etc., are adequately maintained in most countries of Kurope at the present time. For certain purposes timber is indispensable; for others, substitutes can be found for it, and any serious scarcity, causing a rise in price above a certain limit, would be met by a reduced consumption. How far the consumption of timber could be reduced in a prosperous country without interfering with its industries is an

Photo. by Mr. R. W. Welch. 5. NATURAL SCRUB OF ASH, HOLLY, ETC. KILLARNEY.

6. BEECH POLLARDS.

important question. Five hundred years ago houses in most parts of Europe were built almost entirely of wood. At a later period stone and brick entered into their construction to as great an extent as timber. At the present time the builder uses steel, iron, concrete, and other materials to such an extent that it is doubtful if a modern city house of six or eight storeys, or a ‘sky-scraper’ of twelve or fourteen, consumes much more wood in its erection than a manor house or hall of three hundred years back. In shipbuilding much the same change of raw materials has taken place, not to mention other industries of minor importance. Wood pulp, pit props, mining timber, street paving, etc., use enormous quantities of timber, it is true, but for all of these purposes small timber, which can be produced in the course of half a century, can be used, and it is difficult to say what quantity of this class is standing in Scandinavia, European Russia, or Canada, leaving out of account the production of other countries. Countries with numerous and well-developed industries, such as Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium, consume much more timber than purely agricultural countries like Denmark, Holland, or Ireland, or those in which small industries, associated more or less with agriculture are carried on, such as France, Switzerland, Austria, etc. As a matter of fact agricultural, or mainly agricultural countries, are, or ought to be, practically self-supporting in the way of timber, partly because the consumption per head is low, but chiefly because the population has a tendency to remain stationary owing to the surplus emigrating to countries of an industrial nature, or to thinly populated regions out of Europe. Exceptions to this rule may be found where a long period of neglect has reduced the forest area to a low ebb, but even here the imports are, so far as can be ascertained, very small.