for timber production. The acquisitions to the end of the Forest Year, 1923, are compared in the table above with the proposals of the Acland Report.

(A) STATE FORESTS.

Planting Programme.

Conifers. The progress made towards the realisation of the area laid down by the Acland Report is shown in the table below. The area actually planted during the year was 9,807 acres compared with 10,000 acres under the Acland programme, while the total to the end of the year was 27,725 acres compared with 20,000 acres.

Broad-leaved Species.-The Commissioners had laid down no definite programme at the time the necessity for effecting economies arose. The areas planted with hardwoods are :—

Acres.

8890

(+ Jioi: .(-)

Total. The total area planted or sown during the year under 8919eport was 10,463 acres.

893.9+ 1) ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PRIVATE OWNERS. -The area proposed to be afforested or replanted by Local Authorities and private owners for the ten-year period was H0,000 acres, or an average of 11,000 acres per annum.

Owing to the restrictions imposed on State aid by the Forestry Act, 1919, no progress was inade during 1919-20 and 1920-21, but

by means of the monies placed at the disposal of the Commissioners for the relief of unemployment a beginning was made on a large scale in 1921-22. The work accomplished in this way is as follows:

This table shows the areas in respect of which grants have been paid. Recipients of grants for "preparation for planting" undertook to plant up without payment of a further grant. The area planted will consequently exceed 31,000 acres.

The Commissioners also took over two schemes from the Development Commissioners of which one, dealing with some 390 acres, has since been abandoned. The area planted, additional to that covered by unemployment relief schemes, has amounted Acres.

to:

The restrictive conditions attaching to grants for planting have now been removed by the Forestry (Transfer of Woods) Act, 1923, and it is hoped that apart from unemployment grants, satisfactory progress will be made with this side of the Commissioners' activities.

Education and Research.

There have been no changes in this branch of the Commissioners' work except in respect of the Apprentices' Schools. The number of schools was reduced from three to two towards the end of the year as it was found that two schools were sufficient to train the number of men required for the Commissioners' forests and to meet outside demands.

The Crown Woods.

Under the Forestry (Transfer of Woods) Act, 1923, provision has now been made to transfer to the Commissioners the main forest properties under the Commissioners of Woods. The total area to be transferred will amount to approximately 120,000 acres of which some 60,000 acres are under timber or young plantations. Good progress has been made in arranging the necessary formalities and the transfers are to take effect from April 1st, 1924.

Owing to the heavy depletion during the war the Crown forests and woods are at the present time being worked at a loss and it is estimated that, temporarily at least, the transfer will throw on to the Forestry Fund a net burden of approximately £10,000 per

annum.

47505

A 2

Ireland.

During the year final adjustments were made with the Governments of the Free State and Northern Ireland. The assets and liabilities represented by the Commissioners' forest properties in Ireland were transferred to the respective Governments and the sum of £9,446, representing the Irish share of the Forestry Fund, was shared between them.

Gifts to the Commission of Land and Money.

The Commissioners, who are empowered under Section 8 (3) of the Forestry Act, 1919, to accept gifts made for any of the purposes of the Act, desire to express their gratitude to the following donors:-Mr. C. H. Brassey for 826 acres of land at Apethorpe, Northants; Viscount Ullswater for 200 acres at Tunstall, Suffolk; Mr. Walter Boynton for 135 acres at Iken, Suffolk; and an anonymous donor for £131 which has been expended on replanting a woodland area felled during the War.

The British Empire Forestry Conference and the Imperial Economic Conference.

The Commissioners were represented at the British Empire Forestry Conference which was held under the auspices of the Dominion and Provincial Governments in Canada last summer and presided over by Lord Lovat. The Resolutions of the Conference were subsequently presented by the Commissioners to the Imperial Economic Conference which accepted and recommended them to the various Governments concerned.

47505

OPERATIONS-FOREST YEAR 1922-23.

The Forestry Fund.

The position of the Forestry Fund at September 30th, 1923, and at the same date in previous years is shown in Table I.

Table I.-Forestry Fund Account.

Receipts and payments by Parliamentary Heads of Accounts are shown in Table II. All the expenditure heads with the exception of Sub-head K, Special Services, show reductions as compared with the previous year, while receipts show an increase of £16,192; the net expenditure being £230,879 in 1923 against £373,887 in 1922.

Sub-head K includes the sum of £9,446 paid to the Irish Governments as their share of the Forestry Fund.

Table II.-Payments and Receipts by Parliamentary Heads of Account.

B.

D.

E.

F. G. H.

Z.

Commissioners'

Charges.

Education. ?

Services.

(1) (2)

1920... 25,156 577 1,825 4,829 66,550

1921... 71,925 1,256 3,880 10,207 208,630 352 9,222 3,340 9,557

1922... 51,459 4,454 5,242 7,614 201,139 51,050 10,386 2,686 63,395 1,006 1923... 38,050 2,137 2,439 4,722 156,965 30,790 8,717 2,308 15,151 10,336 271,615 Total 186,590 8,424 13,386 27,372 633,284 82,192 32,872 9,872 89,680 12,000 1,095,672 106,658 989,014

A 3

Table IIa.—Expenditure and Income Classified by Objects.

89

35,264 180,946

3

10,741

35,264 225,288
3 10,864

(13) | (14) (15) | (16)| (17)

(18)

44,342
123

Grand Total

...

211,978 207,803 4,175 763,565 99,304 48,570 27,243 144,580 35,938 1,123,375 102,633 3,185 26,516 577 500 290 133,701 989,674