Edilorial Notes. 309 



of the Ciuveninieiit aiid the aiitliuiities of tlie University ut' Edinburgh. 

 The vit;d importance of the subject to the Avelfare of the country and 

 our coL3]ues urgently demands that the establishment of a British 

 School of I'orestry be no longer delayed'; and, under all the circum- 

 stances, the present is a fitting opportunity for starting such an insti- 

 tution on a suitable and satisfactory basis. The extent of the ground 

 ut Inverleith precludes any idea of teaching practical forestry %vithin 

 its bounds ; but for the teaching of scientiiic forestry it is peculiarly 

 well adapted, and from its central position and close proximity to 

 such a famed seat of learning as Edinburgh, it possess(?s more real 

 advantages and available resources than any other similar site in the 

 country. An institution for the technical and scientific education of 

 foresters can be established there at a comparatively trifling cost, and 

 conducted with the highest efficiency at a less annual expenditure 

 than would be possible in any other university city in the United King- 

 dom. Undoubtedly learning, like everything else now-a-days, cannot 

 be had for nothing, and education in its best form deserves the highest 

 remuneration, and must be properly paid for if w^e are to derive the 

 greatest benefits from it; but owing to the great educational facilities 

 afforded by Edinburgh, which have been already so forcibly pointed 

 out in our pages by Dr. Croumbie Brown, and the acknowledged 

 eminence and talent of its professional staff, we consider that for 

 tliorougli efficiency, high quality of education, and comparative 

 economy, Edinburgh stands prominently ahead of all other likely 

 places for the establishment of such an institution. 



A properly e(|uipped School of Forestry, with its head -quarters or 

 nucleus at Inverleith, under the direct management of the Govern- 

 ment, or the Edinl)urgli Universitv authorities, would afford all the 

 means required or necessary for our foresters acquiring a thorough 

 technical and scientific knowledge of their profession, and enable 

 them to successfully compete with the students of the Continental 

 Eorest Schools for Indian and other forestal appointments, 



Eor the present, the irradiccd part of forestry is well taught, and 

 systematically practised, by able and intelligent foresters in most 

 parts of the United Kingdom, under some of whom the students of 

 the Eorest School could learn, in the best possible manner, all the 

 points of practical forestry which cannot be efficiently taught on a 

 limited area of ground like Inverleith, which ought to be wholly 

 devoted to the growth of specimen trees, shrubs, &c., for educational 

 purposes or for landscape effect. There is, thus, no pressing necessity 

 for a great expenditure of money in purchasing or leasing a large 

 extent of land or forest for the practical teaching of forestry, in imi- 

 tation of the Eorest Schools on the Continent. Instruction in 

 practical forestry may be safely left for the time in the hands of 



