Nov. 1885.] EDITORIAL NOTES. 407 



Note, — The Puhlishers regret that owing to changes in the Editorship, 

 etc. of " Forestry," the present niimler has hccn delayed some 

 dags hegond the usual time of issue. 



Editorial Kotes. 



In the September ninnber of the Indian Forester we notice the 

 " Brandis Prize for Sylviculture," which has been founded by the 

 great Indian forester to encourage a closer study of the subject, A 

 sum of £200 has been invested at 4i per cent., and the interest on 

 this sum " will be given annually for the best English essay on any 

 subject connected with Indian Sylviculture by any past or present 

 reiTular student of the Dehra Doon Forest School, or of anv other 

 Forest School in India." Here is a chance for Indian Forestry 

 students to distinguish themselves. 



A Strange Objection to the Proposed School for Forestry. — 

 It is argued by some, we observe in the discussion on this subject 

 that is being carried on elsewhere, that such a school would be apt 

 to have the effect of turning out the pupils all of a pattern as if 

 made to order. This might perhaps be the case if the individual 

 capacity and other peculiarities of the different students counted for 

 uothius in the forming of the ultimate results of tuition. If the 

 students were all of one standard of intelligence and capacity, and 

 were all endowed with the same nervous and physical peculiarities, 

 uniformity or a pattern-like similarity of result might be expected at 

 the end of the course of tuition. But where is this uniformity of 

 the raw material to be found ? is it abundant or is it rare ? In any 

 case, would not the selection of it from the mass of diverse individual 

 humanity for the sole purpose of turning out a race of uniformly 

 qualified foresters be an impossible task ? The objection is 

 frivolous and ridiculous in the extreme. Why should uniformity 

 and a pattern-like result be anticipated from the teaching of the 

 proposed School for Forestry any more than from that of any other 

 school. If it is held by those who urge this objection, that 

 uniformity of attainment is the result of all tuition, — and they must 

 in consistency do so, else their particular objection to a School for 

 Forestry is absurd, — we must leave them to account for the immense 

 diversity of individual achievement that is effected by professional 

 and commercial men in their subsequent career, but who have been 

 trained in the same school. 



