90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
well as for the particular benefit of his professional brethren. Of 
the nineteen Members who formed the first Committee, or Council 
of the Society in 1854, over which Mr Brown presided, only the 
name of one Member, Mr James Rutherford, Agent on the Kirk- 
leatham Estate, Yorkshire, appears now, after the lapse of forty 
years, on the roll of Membership. 
In the course of that long period many changes have taken place, 
and much improvement has been initiated in every branch of 
British Forestry. The literature, which previous to the advent 
of “The Forester” was of a very elementary type, has been 
advancing with rapid strides, especially within the last decade, 
until Forestry has now become a fertile subject for literary efforts, 
and scarcely a week passes in which something original, or trans- 
lated from foreign languages, does not appear for the edification 
of the public and the benefit of Forestry. These, as a rule, deal 
with some speciality, or a particular section of the wide field 
occupied by Forestry in its fullest sense; and Brown’s “Forester” 
continues to be the most comprehensive and complete among 
British works for the guidance of the Forester in every branch 
and detail of his profession. 
The revision and bringing up to date, in accordance with the 
advanced knowledge of the times, of such an important work, has 
been skilfully performed by Dr John Nisbet of the Indian Forest 
Service. His intimate knowledge of European Forest literature, 
and his practical experience at home and abroad, have been made 
good use of in revising and compiling the materials for this, the 
sixth edition of Dr Brown’s work, which through his able treat- 
ment has been brought completely abreast of the popular methods 
and practice of the day. All that was of any practical service 
in the present knowledge of the science and technics of forestry has 
been retained, while much valuable information has been added, 
particularly in regard to the more recent improvements and 
advances made in British Forestry, and the best of the econo- 
mical methods of Sylviculture practised on the Continent. As a 
standard book of reference on Forestry subjects, “The Forester” 
thus still maintains its position in British literature. 
