In answer, and without the slightest hesitation, I would say that the State should acquire and plant suitable waste lands at the rate of 40,000 acres annually for a period of twenty-five years. Such lands could, in England, Scotland and Wales, be gradually and cheaply acquired by the State, while in Ireland there are vast tracts of peat bog which their owners would willingly hand over to the Government at the present time at a small cost per acre. Taking the British Isles as a whole, the cost of procuring suitable lands would be at an annual rental of about 3_s._ per acre, or 40_s._ per acre for purchase. On the Gwydyr Estate, Carnarvonshire, 7,412 acres of land, described as rough grazing and sheep walk, were lately sold by public auction for £15,670, or at the rate of £2 2_s._ 3_d._ per acre. I have little faith either in the State advancing money to landed proprietors towards afforesting, or in municipalities coming to the front as planters of woodlands. The State would be the best custodian of forest property for the simple reason that the State only can readily acquire the needed land in sufficient quantity and on the best terms, and I am fully convinced that plantations formed under Government supervision will, in an economic sense at least, be far more successful than those planted either by private persons or public bodies. Again, the continuity of ownership under such a scheme, together with the ample resources guaranteed by State control, would both largely contribute towards a successful issue in such an undertaking. The difficulty of housing and providing for the workmen employed in afforesting out-of-the-way lands has been brought to my notice, but from personal experience of similar work in Scotland and Wales I anticipate little difficulty in that way. In these cases, where a good deal of the work was carried out by contract, the workmen gladly walked to and from the adjoining villages each day, often a distance of three or four miles, bringing their midday meal with them, which was heated or cooked on the ground. Then, as the plantations increase in age and size, and sawmills are required, the ever-increasing industry so created will cause hamlets to spring up in the wooded regions, just as we find is the case in mining and quarrying districts.