28 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



come hither from all parts of the United Kingdom to take 

 practical lessons in their art"' {Quarterly Review, 1855, p. 457). 



As the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee of 

 1887 were neither acted on nor any longer met the case, the 

 Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society in 1901 memorialised the 

 President of the Board of Agriculture with regard to the improve- 

 ment of British Forestry, and in February 1902 a Departmental 

 Committee was appointed " to inquire into and report as to the 

 present position and future prospects of Forestry, and the plant- 

 ing and management of woodlands in Great Britain, and to 

 consider whether any measures might with advantage be taken, 

 either by the provision of further educational facilities, or other- 

 wise, for their promotion and encouragement." This Committee's 

 Report is published in the Society's Transactions, 1903. It 

 '■'■ endorsed the conclusions of the Select Committee of 1885-87 as 

 regards the neglected condition of Forestry in Great Britain, the 

 possibility of improvement, and the necessity for the provision of 

 better means of education," and recorded the opinion " that the 

 yield of our woodlands can be materially improved admits of no 

 doubt, and the evidence before us unanimously favours immediate 

 and effective provision for bringing systematised instruction 

 within the reach of owners, agents, foresters, and woodmen. 

 This has been on all sides emphasised as the first requisite in 

 any project for the improvement of forestry, and consequently 

 stands out as the cardinal point of our recommendations." These 

 recommendations were summarised as follows :— (a;) That two 

 areas for practical demonstration be acquired, the one in England 

 and the other in Scotland, of not less than 2000 acres, if possible, 

 nor over 10,000 acres in each case, {b) That additional facilities 

 for instruction be afforded, by the appointment of a lecturer on 

 forestry in connection with each of the Universities of Cambridge 

 and Oxford, and that example plots ... be provided in con- 

 nection with each of these centres and with Edinburgh, {c) That 

 a good grounding in forestry form an integral part of the 

 curriculum of the colleges providing instruction in agriculture in 

 Great Britain ; and that short courses of instruction, suitable for 

 the requirements of young foresters, be also provided there. 

 {d) That provision be made for the education of foresters and 

 woodmen by employing students to work in both the demonstra- 

 tion forests. ((?) That lectures be given, under the auspices of 

 the County Councils, in neighbourhoods where there is a con- 



