188G.] A NATIONAL SCHOOL OF FORESTRY. 735 



Governor of Katal, to the Colonial Secretary, after a somewhat 

 lengthened and accurate digest of my ]^lca for the Creation of a 

 School of Forcsirif in conncdioii ivUh /he Arhoretiivi at Edin- 

 hnrgh : — 



"10. I transmit Dr. Brown's letter and work (Dr. Brown to the 

 Earl of Carnarvon, 13th April 1877; The Schools of Forestry in 

 EuroiK, 1877) ; and I refer to them, and to the proposal he makes, 

 because I consider that the information which he gives and his pro- 

 posals are of considerable importance in themselves, and deserve our 

 attention in this colony, if we would do anything, as I think we 

 ought to do, towards the conservation and cultivation of forests, and 

 towards promoting with that object some knowledge of forestry for 

 the benefit of the colony." 



A commission was subsequently issued to the First Puisne Judge 

 of the Supreme Court, the Surveyor-General, and others, who, under 

 date of March 5, 1880, presented to the Governor a carefully 

 prepared report. In the closing paragraph they say : " The immense 

 interest the subject of Forestry is now assuming, as evinced by the 

 voluminous labours of Dr. J. C. Brown at the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and the incessant applications of Sir J. D. Hooker, of the Eoyal 

 Gardens, Kew, together with the spirit of fervid inquiry throughout 

 the whole of the British Colonies, should impress upon this colony 

 the necessity for intelligent action on the part of its European and 

 native inhabitants, individually as well as collectively, which his 

 Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor has pointed out." 



In a fortniiiht the Lieutenant-Governor issued a brief minute 

 expressive of his interest in the report, noting its suggestions, 

 inclusive of one that the services of some persons skilled in forestry 

 should be obtained. But a dark cloud was gathering over the land. 

 He intimated that time failed him to do so at greater length ; but 

 suggested that the report should be laid before the Executive Council, 

 and that it would probably be found useful to have it printed, which 

 was done. 



Thereafter the colony was for long surrounded with war. War 

 in the north, war in the south, war in the west. War, wars, and 

 rumours of wars, and I suppose nothing further has been done in 

 the matter; but the whole contents of the Blue Book, like the 

 citations which have been given, indicate that a demand is likely 

 to arise ere long in the colonies for trained, educated, and instructed 

 foresters, such as Schools of Forestry may supply. 



The opinion held in the Colonial Office was that if a good School 

 of Forestry should hereafter be established in this country, it was 

 possible that students might be attracted to it from some of the 

 colonial possessions of Her Majesty; but so far as could be judged 



