HINTS ON THE TRAINING OF FORESTERS. 445 



of such men who are fit to be factors, for the perfervidum 

 ingeniuru Scotorum is well developed in this class. 



On leaving school at fourteen, a boy is best suited for nursery 

 work, which he should thoroughly master. He should accept of 

 any good opening in a home nursery, or in one of the great 

 commercial establishments. Besides this, he should gather ex- 

 perience in winter-planting, carting, and in light jobs pertaining 

 to the upkeep of an estate. Meanwhile, he should always keep 

 up his reading — a habit which, once dropped, is difficult to re- 

 cover. Amongst the books a boy should take to, as soon as he 

 has mastered the various primers and class books and is fit for 

 serious reading, are — Darwin's " Elements of Botany," Schlich's 

 "Manual of Forestry," Grigor's "Arboriculture," Michie's 

 " Larch," Dr Ormerod's " Injurious Insects and Methods of Pre- 

 vention," Cooke and Berkeley's "Fungi," "Elements of Sylvicul- 

 ture," by G. Bagneri, Colonel Bailey's papers on Forestry, Nicol's 

 " Planters' Calendar," by Edward Sang, Nisbet's " Studies in 

 Forestry," and the "Transactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricul- 

 tural Society." These are some of the works, at any rate, to which 

 many foresters readily give their attention when they come within 

 their reach. 



To stimulate a desire for reading and study, the lad's mind 

 should be directed, by his employers and parents alike, towards 

 finding out the reasons of things — why the Scots firs are liable to 

 lose some of their newest shoots, and why these firs, when freshly 

 planted, are gnawed, or, a few years later, are peeled? why larch 

 blister and bleed, whilst ash and beech break out into lumps 1 

 and why poplars break over 1 He should notice the provisions of 

 nature for the reproduction of plants, and the opportunities for 

 co-operation open to man ; what the different forest products are 

 used for, and what they are worth. Should he leave home, let 

 him lodge with a forester's family. Wages should be a secondary 

 object, for the great thing at this stage is to learn. As the lad 

 progresses, he should take evening classes in engineering, because, 

 as he gets on in life, he may have to deal with traction engines, 

 sawing benches, steam cranes, and other mechanical appliances. 

 He should know something of architecture and carpentry, and he 

 should work steidily at his botany, entomology, physical geo- 

 graphy, and geology. Towards the end of his teens he should get 

 into a bothy on the best managed estate on which he can find 

 employment; again not troubling about pay, but weighing care- 



