TRANSACTIONS 
OF THE 
ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
IV. Address delivered at the Forty-first Annual Meeting, 6th 
August 1894. By Joun Meruven, Vice-President of. the 
Society. 
GENTLEMEN,—In virtue of the honourable office I hold as senior 
Vice-President of the Society, I have been called upon, at short 
notice, to occupy this Chair and to address you to-day, in the 
unavoidable absence of the President, Mr Munro Ferguson of 
Raith and Novar, who greatly regrets that his official duties 
prevent him being with us on this occasion. It was only a few 
days ago that I received intimation that I might have to preside 
over this meeting, and deliver the Annual Address which you 
are accustomed to look for from the occupant of this Chair, and 
therefore I hope you will pardon me if I take up very little of 
your time in addressing to you the few short remarks I have to 
make on topics of interest to Foresters and Forestry. 
At the risk of being accused of speaking from a selfish view of 
the question as an interested party, I do think the time is near at 
hand when the Government of this country must face the solving 
of the Forestry question from a national point of view, and devise 
some practicable scheme by which the waste lands of the country 
can be utilised to the best advantage, by planting of forests or 
otherwise. Government after Government, both Conservative and 
Liberal, have declared with the greatest frankness that “the 
Science of Forestry has been much neglected in this country.” 
This remark I quote from the circular letter issued over ten 
years ago, by the late Earl Granville, to the representatives of 
foreign countries, and the British, Indian, and Colonial Govern- 
ments, asking them to contribute specimens to the Forestry 
VOL, XIV. PART II. D 
