ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE MODEL FORESTS FOR SCOTLAND. 22] 
Letter addressed to the Right Honourable W. H. Lone, M.P., 
President of the Board of Agriculture, etc., enclosing copies 
of the foregoing paper :— 
Sir, 
On 23rd October 1895 you were good enough to receive 
a Deputation from the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 
which submitted to you the views of the Society on certain 
matters connected with Forestry in Scotland ; amongst them was 
the desirability of acquiring a State Forest Area for Experimental 
and Educational purposes. 
In compliance with the wishes you expressed on that occa- 
sion, the President of the Society forwarded, in November 1895, 
memoranda by certain Members of the Council, which set forth 
their individual opinions as to what the necessary expenditure by 
the State might be, in connection with the proposed Forest Area. 
But the whole question has recently been fully considered by the 
Society, whose views are embodied in the printed note which we 
are now authorised to submit for your favourable consideration. 
In this note you will find quoted the opinions of distinguished 
foreign experts that the sylvicultural practices prevailing in Scotland 
are open to adverse criticism; it is explained how these practices 
arose, and why it is now a matter of great importance that reforms 
should be introduced; and it is shown to be impossible to hope 
for such reforms unless practical demonstration can be afforded, by 
means of model forests, of the results which improved methods 
lead to, 
After a brief statement as to the nature of the instruction given 
in the State Forest Schools of other countries, and as to the 
provision of practical training-grounds as necessary adjuncts of 
such schools, the opinion is expressed that existing circumstances 
hardly appear to warrant the immediate foundation of an inde- 
pendent school in Scotland, and that the only plan now feasible is 
to improve and develop the courses of instruction in Forestry now 
conducted in Edinburgh, by the provision of a State Forest within 
easy access from the city; such a forest, while serving as a model 
for landed proprietors, agents, and factors throughout the country, 
and as a station of experiment and research, would also be avail- 
able for practical training in connection with these courses. 
It is estimated that a capital expenditure of £40,000, with an 
