118 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH AEBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



distance of each other, it might." — " Do you think it is advisable 

 and necessary to teach young fellows of the rank of foresters on 

 small properties, botany and elaborate things of that kind. Do you 

 think they would be much better for itl" " They require to know 

 as much of botany as would enable them to distinguish one plant 

 from another." " That is a very simple matter. You would not 

 be prepared to recommend a long course of botany?" *' No, I do 

 not mean that." 



" I believe you said the management of the Scottish forests 

 might be much better than it is now]" "Yes." — "In what 

 respect 1 Where does the deficiency now lie in the management 

 of the Scottish forests] " " The deficiency lies in this, that if it is 

 left to the forester, he often does not know when to begin to thin, 

 or when to plant, and what to do in other matters. Some men in 

 charge of woods prune live branches off resinous trees." — " That 

 bad management is in consequence of the ignorance of those who 

 manage it ] " " To a certain extent." — " You said something about 

 factors. Is it not the fact that most of the factorships on small 

 properties are held by lawyers of the neighbouring towns ] " " On 

 very small properties, but now I think resident factors are becom- 

 ing more the rule in Perthshire." — " You cannot expect town 

 lawyers to know much about planting]" "No, I do not think 

 they pretend to." — " You think the better plan would be to have 

 resident men who would superintend these matters ] " " Yes." 



" Do you think the low price of trees just now is more due to 

 the gale of 1879 or to foreign competition ] " "I think it is more 

 due to the depression of trade. If the coal and iron trades were as 

 prosperous as we have seen them, our thinnings and our home wood 

 would sell much better." — " The market, you say, was thoroughly 

 glutted in 1879]" "Yes." — "Is it beginning to recover from 

 that]" " Not very much yet." — " Was not the market glutted by 

 the great gale of 1881 ]" "There was a succession of gales from 

 1879 to 1883 or 1884."—" There was a gale in 1881 ] " "I am 

 not certain, but I believe that altogether in four or five gales, there 

 were 200,000 trees blown down on the Duke's estate. 1879 was 

 the worst gale we had." 



" Could you say whether the great plantations on the Duke of 

 Atholo's property and elsewhere have had any effect on the 

 climate ]" "I think they have ; they shelter the low ground very 

 much." — " Have they affected the rainfall at all ] " "I do not 

 think there was any record kept of the rainfall before." — "A 



