PRESIDENT S ADDRESS. 3 



educating ourselves, and learning what we can from our neigh- 

 bours. I hope we shall not be long in the position of having to 

 go and learn from our neighbours, but that we shall have depu- 

 tations from other countries coming to Scotland to see what we 

 can show them. 



This has been a very brief resume of the history of the Society, 

 I have tried to show you that the objects of the Society have 

 always been to further the interests of forestry in Scotland and 

 the education of the forester, and we have got to press these 

 still, so that, by its influence, forestry may be so developed in 

 Scotland that pupils will come to it to learn forestry instead of 

 going to Germany or France or elsewhere, I think we have also 

 forwarded the cause of technical education by publishing annually 

 in our Transactions valuable papers on practical work in various 

 forms. We do not profess to be entirely theoretical. 



We are quite in favour of encouraging practical work. Further, 

 the Society, as stated in the Report, has started a Register of 

 Foresters. It is kept by the Secretary, and I am sure it will be of 

 great advantage if it were more widely known throughout the 

 country. It should tend to bring together the foresters in one 

 place who want situations, and the employers in another who 

 have situations to fill. 



As for the Membership of the Society, I am able to say that, 

 for the first time in our history, we have more than a thousand 

 Members. Our numbers are now 1016. That is very 

 gratifying, and we have to thank all those who have been 

 recruiting recently on behalf of the Society. I hope they will 

 not cease their efforts now, for the larger number our Society 

 represents, the more likely will we be to get our wants attended 

 to by the Treasury and the other Government departments. 



Our position is, I think, a pretty good one. We started, as has 

 been said, with a few Members fifty years ago, and now we 

 have a Membership of over a thousand. That shows a record of 

 success which probably few societies are able to equal. I hope 

 all the Members will spread abroad the objects of the Society, so 

 that people generally, and proprietors of land in particular, may 

 understand that we are convinced that, with proper attention, 

 plantations and woods can be made remunerative. If we can do 

 this, and if we can get a State Forest Area carried out on proper 

 lines — if we can induce Government to take up that question, I 

 think we shall have gone very far towards securing the objects 



