asked the hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, how many acres have already been planted under the Forestry Commission scheme in the county of Carnarvon; what is the number of acres now in course of being planted; and what is the programme of planting for the next five years?

5,144 acres have already been planted by the Forestry Commission in the county of Carnarvon, including 54V in the season recently ended; the programme of planting for the next five years is 2,675 acres.

Do those figures represent the normal development in planting, or are we to understand from the plantings this year that there has been a period of diminution since the present Government took office?

No. This is the normal programme in respect of the planting land which the Forestry Commission have in hand or in sight.

Have not the sums available to the Forestry Commission been materially reduced in the past two years?

Oh, certainly.

Will the hon. and gallant Gentleman say what proportion of acres planted have been replanted and what proportion have been new planting altogether?

I think the whole of these are new planting, so far as the Forestry Commission are concerned. Whether under former owners some portion of them were woodland, I cannot say.