132 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



be that one proprietor might be willing, but perhaps his successor 

 might object to it, so that you would require to have a school that 

 would be independent of any one individual." — " Do you mean to 

 say that the woods would have to be independent V " The school 

 would have to be independent," — " There 'are no woods in the 

 possession of Government which are sufficiently well managed or 

 extensive to allow that instruction V " Not unless Government 

 wouldassist in getting a tract of land as I suggested before for 

 experiment." " You think it would not be practicable to work the 

 thing in Scotland in any of the existing woods on account of the 

 difficulty you have suggested 1" "I do not think it would be." — 

 " Have you had some experience of English woods as well as of 

 Scottish woods 1" "I have been in the Government woods in 

 England." — " Do you consider that the same rules of forestry, look- 

 ing at the difierence of climate and other differences between England 

 and Scotland, would apply to England and Scotland, the same 

 system of management of woods?" "I do not think it would 

 apply to the South of England." — " You mentioned the interesting 

 fact that when you cut down Scots fir that birch came up instead ? " 

 "Yes." — "By a sort of natural succession?" "Yes." — "Have 

 not you found the same thing in England, that when you cut down 

 an old wood some other kind of trees grow in its stead 1" "I 

 have not had sufficient experience." 



" You know all Scotland pretty well, do you ? " " Except the 

 south-east." — " Has there been an increase in planting in Scotland, 

 or a decrease, of late years'? " " Until within the last two or three 

 years there was a large increase." — " You mean that in the last 

 two or three years there has been a decrease? " "There has been 

 a decrease." — " To what do you attribute it chiefly?" "To bad 

 times, and the difficulty in getting farmers to allow their land to be 

 planted. Farmers are very unwilling to part with the land, the 

 times are so hard upon them." — " I should have thought that 

 farmers would be rather glad to get rid of a good deal of their 

 land ? " Unfortunately it is often the best bit of grazing that is 

 taken for planting." 



" Have you regular apprentices under you, men regularly appren- 

 ticed for so many years 1" " Well, not by any regular form of 

 writing, but they come with the understanding that they will re- 

 main for two years or three years, and they look forward to getting 

 something better out of it." — "Then if there was a School of 

 Forestry, these men who had been with you for two or three years 



