96 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
to create such a Chair, if things were well arranged in the world. 
The State is already supposed to equip the Scottish Universities; 
and I cannot say that I think any Scottish University is properly 
equipped where Forestry is not taught. Therefore it is my private 
opinien that the State ought to supply a Forestry Chair, or 
perhaps more than one Chair of Forestry in the Universities of 
Scotland; and I think we shall have to see to it—without trying 
to propagate any Separatist sentiment—that Scottish arboriculture, 
so far as it is supervised by the State, shall be supervised by some 
Scottish Department, er some department of the Secretary for 
Scotland’s office, which will make it a purely Scottish branch of 
the administration. JI think we should profit by this in more 
than one way. In the matter of Crown lands, for example, the 
State has sold a quarter of a million sterling of Crown lands 
in Scotland, and the money has been invested in London ground- 
rents. That is no good tous. If the meney had been invested 
in plantatiens in Scotland, that would have been te the great good 
of the country. 
I have alluded te “blow downs.” Let me just say this about 
them. I do not think that these “blow downs” need necessarily be 
a loss to the grower of timber. Suppose we take the value of the 
“blow” last year. I suppose if the value of the woed blown be 
taken at half a million sterling, that would be accepted as a fair 
estimate. Well, take it that our imperts are £16,000,000 or 
£18,000,@00; it is only a fortnight’s or three weeks’ supply of 
timber, That should net disturb the market very much. I had a 
good many trees blown dewn at Raith by the first gale; and we had 
them lotted and seld—the sale brought about £700@—within four 
weeks after the blow occurred. I do not think the depreciation 
of price was more than 10 or 15 per cent. I am at present 
cutting up a large lot of blewn timber in Ross-shire, and I hope 
we may be able to give some figures applying te it. Then there 
is another point. I think much might be done to improve the 
timber trade by reduced railway tariffs for the carriage of home 
timber. It would pay better to grow timber if the railway 
service was better. That service is well enough laid out for the 
large towns; but it is net so well laid out as it might be fer the 
country districts. There is a great want ef communicatien in 
many districts well fitted for growing trees; and I think that 
anything connected with the extension of the railway system and 
with railway rates should have a good deal of interest for us. 
