204 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
fourteenth years, the bark was coarse and inferior in quality, and 
the stems were short and branchy. It also appeared to me that 
many of the stools were too old, and should have been replaced 
by fresh saplings.” 
The above are the opinions of eminent experts of two different 
schools of forestry, and Dr Schlich of Coopers Hill College has 
repeatedly confirmed their views. In the address on Forestry 
Education,! which he delivered to the Society in January 1897, 
he says :— 
“ You are aware that the general drawback, from which forestry 
in this country labours, is the absence of a regular demand for 
home-grown timber. You also know that, until a comparatively 
recent date at any rate, most Government contracts for works 
of construction contained a clause to the effect that. no home- 
grown timber would be allowed to be used. If we take these 
broad facts into consideration, it is easy to perceive that the 
explanation may be condensed into the following two statements :— 
(1) The home-grown timber is, generally speaking, inferior in 
quality to that imported from abroad; (2) it comes into the 
market at irregular intervals and in fluctuating quantities. 
Exceptions exist, but here only the average conditions can be 
considered. ‘These drawbacks can be removed only by improved 
sylvicultural methods, and a systematic management of the forests.” 
Writing on the Timber Supply of the British Isles,? Dr Schlich 
gives as one of two impediments to the afforestation of waste lands 
‘that a more complete knowledge of systematic forestry is required 
by those engaged in the formation and management of woods, 
worked on economic or commercial principles.” 
CAUSES OF THE ExistiInG ConDITIONS. 
Many reasons may be given why we have in the past exposed 
ourselves to criticism of the above nature. We have, within our 
own shores, vast supplies of coal and peat fuel, also of iron, which 
is largely used for purposes of construction, while our islands offer 
remarkable facilities for the importation of timber from abroad. 
Hence the want of a plentiful supply of wood from home sources 
has not yet been seriously felt ; and proprietors of woodlands, many 
of whom have in past years maintained their woods principally as 
1 Transactions, Vol. XV. Part 2. 
* Indian Forester, June 1897. 
