216 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
within such a distance of Edinburgh that they may be able to 
visit it and return on the same day, as is now done by the students, 
who visit woods in the Lothians, Fife, and other places, But it is 
most desirable that the conditions under which we are to work 
should be as varied as possible, and there is no reason why the 
whole area should be situated in a single locality. The wants 
of the Edinburgh students would be met by the provision of a 
model forest situated within easy reach by them, and a second area 
might subsequently be obtained in some other part of Scotland. It 
will not suffice to acquire bare land only, with a view to planting 
it, as this would involve waiting for a long series of years before 
anything but planting, sowing, and the management of young 
crops could be practically dealt with. What we want is to obtain 
control of growing woods, or at any rate of areas which carry a 
large proportion of growing woods, of all ages, and of as many 
species as possible. We should ultimately be able to deal with 
various kinds of soil, and various slopes, altitudes, and exposures 
in two different parts of the country. The examples of forest 
management thus obtained would serve as models or object-lessons 
to all interested in sylviculture, whether as students, forest owners, 
or foresters. 
WoRKING PLAN. 
One of the first matters to be attended to, on acquiring an area 
to be converted into a model forest, would be the construction of a 
working plan, which would lay down once for all the general lines 
of management to be followed, and would prescribe in some detail 
the work to be done during the first few years. Such a plan would 
be preceded by a more or less detailed survey of the growing stock 
on the ground, by observations of the rate of growth of the several 
species, and of the resulting annual increment per acre, present and 
to be expected, under the improved system of management to be 
adopted. This would enable the annual yield to be determined 
with due regard to the existing condition of the stock, and a 
programme of fellings would then be drawn up. Such a plan must 
form the basis of all systematic forest work. Without it, continuity 
of aim cannot be secured, or even hoped for, throughout the life 
of a generation of trees, which may exceed the working lives of 
several successive generations of foresters; neither can there be 
any security that the forest capital will not be drawn upon by 
fellings in excess of the annual production of wood. 
