REPORT OF GENERAL MEETING. 19 



for ourselves, as well as for the railway companies, there is an 

 immense field for the utilisation of home-grown oak. It is a 

 matter of quality and price ; whether the members of this 

 Association can supply an equal article at an equal price. If 

 that is possible, there is an immense field for all the pit-wood 

 and all the oak which you can see your way to grow in 

 Scotland." 



Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart. — "May I ask Mr Carlow if he has 

 had any experience in the use of home-grown Japanese larch ? " 



Mr Carlow. — " I think not." 



In the absence of Colonel Stirling (the author), Mr Galloway 

 then read the following paper on " Afforestation in Relation to 

 Deer Forests and Sheep Farms " : — " The great bulk of the 

 land for afforestation in Scotland must come from one of the 

 three following sources : — 



1. Deer forests. 



2. Sheep farms. 



3. Summer grazings. 



" Of these the second category is the largest, and contains 

 relatively to its size the highest proportion of ground suitable 

 for the growth of timber. Unfortunately the difficulties in this 

 case are the greatest, because there is a limit to the amount of 

 ground which can be enclosed against sheep without destroying 

 the wintering value of any farm, and therefore making necessary 

 the removal of the sheep stock in winter. It is not intended 

 to enter here upon the relative national economic importance 

 of timber as compared to mutton and wool. It is assumed 

 that at the present time, and for some years to come, nothing 

 can be done which would tend to lessen the home production 

 of mutton and wool. 



" Therefore it may be convenient to look, in the first instance, 

 to the contribution of afforestable land to be made by the two 

 remaining categories. It may be said at once that the contribu- 

 tion to be made by summer grazings is not very important. 

 They lie, as a rule, at such a height that only a very small part 

 of them could be planted profitably, and it is probable that their 

 chief value will be in connection with adjoining deer forests and 

 sheep farms, where some extension of planting may be made 

 conveniently on adjacent summer grazings. 



"Therentsof summer grazings are very low, and no appreciable 



