138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



XT. The Annual Excursion in 1899 to Beaufort, Dunrobin, 

 Dornoch, and Skibo. 



The Twenty-second Annual Excursion of the Society took place 

 on Wednesday, 2nd, Thursday, 3rd, and Friday, 4th August 1899, 

 to Beaufort (Inverness-shire), Dunrobin, Dornoch, and Skibo 

 (Sutherlandshire). The President, the Earl of Mansfield, and 

 Mr R. C. Munro Ferguson, M.P., Hon. Secretary, were of the 

 company, which numbered in all over a hundred ; and as the 

 weather was of a favourable character, the Excursion was of a 

 very successful nature. 



The Station Hotel, Inverness, was the rendezvous, and thither 

 the bulk of the members travelled from Edinburgh on Tuesday 

 afternoon, after the general meeting. Next morning they pro- 

 ceeded to Beauly, where they were met by Lord Lovat and the 

 Hon. Henry Fraser, Mr J. T. Garrioch, factor on the estate, Mr 

 Daniel Dewar, wood manager, and other officials, and at once 

 drove off for Beaufort Castle, which is situated in the midst of a 

 beautiful counti'y, charmingly wooded, and of great agricultural 

 value. Lord Lovat, who had previously given an invitation to 

 the Society to inspect the woodlands, laid the members still 

 further under obligations by most kindly acting as leader for 

 the day. 



The grandfather of the present Lord Lovat — the Right Hon. 

 Thomas Alexander Fraser, in whose person the title of baron was 

 again revived — was a most intelligent and enthusiastic arbori- 

 culturist. During his long tenure of the estates, 10,000 acres 

 were planted with Scots pine and larch, and by him also the 

 system of natural regeneration, known then chiefly in India and 

 the Continent, was introduced into the woods, and was practised 

 with a success which is still the admiration of practical foresters. 



For more than a quarter of a century the Lovat woods have 

 been skilfully managed by Mr D. Dewar, now one of the oldest 

 members of the Society; and it may be noted that during the last 

 thirty-five years there have been some 2500 acres planted, and, 

 with the exception of one wood, not less than 3000 trees have 

 been set out per acre. 



In preparing the programme for the day at Lovat, Mr Dewar, 

 in conjunction with Lord Lovat, had in view to make the visit 

 not only a pleasure for the moment, but also instructive and 

 interesting to the members. In particular, he wished to have the 



