1885. J TJIE SCOTTISH ARBOPJCULTURAL SOCIETY. 295 



Council purchased the beautiful Arboretum for a sum of £20,000. 

 Donations had also been received from various Governments for the 

 foundation here of a forestr}^ museum. In all respects, therefore, 

 Edinburgh was the place in which such a school should be estab- 

 lished. Many years ago Sir Eobert Christison urged the importance 

 of the subject; Professor Balfour called attention to it in 1876 ; 

 Mr. Hutchison spoke of it in 1877 ; and before going out to Madras, 

 the Eight Hon. W. P. xldam bore testimony to the extreme import- 

 ance of the subject. Mr. Adam left his LIS. on the subject with 

 him, and he (the Chairman) read it the other day to the Committee 

 of inquiry of the House of Commons. It proved most effective. 

 The Marquis of Lothian had also spoken very effectively in favour 

 of the proposed institution. For the establishment and endowment 

 of a school of forestry, with museum attached, a sum of £10,000 

 would be required. A sum of £800 had been intimated to the 

 Forest School Committee. That was certainly a small sum, but it 

 was a commencement.^ And he trusted that, with this commence- 

 ment, matters would proceed rapidly towards the complete attainment 

 of the important object they had in view. 



On the motion of Mr. John Methven, a vote of thanks was 

 accorded to Dr. Cleghorn, both for liis remarks and for the activity 

 and zeal he had shown, not only in regard to the science of forestry, 

 but also to the proposed establishment of a school of forestry. 



STATE OF FUNDS. 



Mr. John M'Lareu, jun., reported on the state of the Society's 

 finances. The income for the year amounted to £348, 9s., expendi- 

 ture £308, Is. 9d., leaving a balance of £40, 7s. 3d. The income 

 included £100 drawn from the capital account, and was otherwise 

 derived principally from annual subscriptions. The expenditure 

 was chiefly for prizes, salaries, and accounts paid. The total funds 

 now amounted to £405, 2s. lOd. The report was adopted on the 

 motion of Mr. Dunn. A recommendation by the Council that £50 

 should be set apart towards the establishment of a school of forestry 

 was adopted on the motion of Mr. Hutchison of Carlowrie. 



PRIZE ESSAYS. 



The Chairman reported for the judges on the competitive essays, 

 the number of which, he said, was much below the average, because, 

 with other reasons, several of their former competitors had been 

 occupied in writing essays for the late International Forestry 

 Exhibition. For an essay on " The Douglas Spruce," giving a 

 ^ See our advertising columns for Committee's appeal. 



