140 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



perience of the Sequoia or Wellingtonia ? " " Yes, but it will 

 never be a good plantation tree nor very ornamental ; it tapers so 

 much. It would not cut up advantageously." — " I mean what 

 they call in America Sequoia sempervirens, they find a very useful 

 tree in America ; it is half-brother to the Wellingtonia. Do you 

 grow it?" "No." 



From a proprietor's point of view, Mr Robert Dundas of 

 Arniston, Midlotliian, gave some useful evidence bearing on a 

 Forestry education in connection with the Scottish Universities, 

 stating as follows : — 



" Will you give us your views as to a school of forestry ? " 

 " Well, as to that, there has been a great deal of talk about schools 

 of forestry, but I think the want of them has been much exag- 

 gerated ; I do not think there is the real want that is stated. 

 People go about, and they see woods that are neglected, and it is 

 put down at once to want of scientific knowledge on the part of the 

 foresters, but the fact is that the bulk of the woods we see neglected 

 now-a-days is due to the unremunerative nature of wood growing, 

 and because the owners cannot and will not throw away good money 

 after bad in keeping them in order ; that is really the cause. Then 

 with regard to one or two other points. I think there never was a 

 time when in Scotland, at least (the only part I can speak about), 

 the foresters were such a highly-educated intelligent set of men as 

 they are just now; I think they are thoroughly up to their work. 

 You may give them, of course, a little scientific training on the top 

 of their practical knowledge ; but I do not think there ever was a 

 time when there was a more highly educated and better set of men 

 than the Scottish foresters are just now. Then there is one objec- 

 tion which strikes me at once to what are called the Schools 

 of Forestry, and that is the large expense it would be to the country 

 in establishing them and keeping them up when once they were 

 established. I do not think that a young man would learn his 

 work so well in what would be a school of forestry, as he would as 

 an apprentice under a thoroughly good forester on a well-managed 

 estate. I saw a good deal of that when I was young, because Mr 

 Brown, my forester, of course became very well known all over both 

 England and Scotland, and numbers of lads came to be trained 

 under him and to learn their work. In fact the demand on him to 

 supply foresters was so great that they were, many of them, not 

 quite long enough there who were sent out ; but he turned out a 



