DEPUTATION TO THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND, 63 



Mr A. D. Richardson. — " I have been asked to say a few 

 words in connection with education, and the aspect of it which 

 I have to deal with is the education of the practical forester. 

 You, Sir, presided over a meeting yesterday in the Music Hall, 

 at which a very able address was delivered by Mr Hall on 

 this question, and I think if we just read 'working forester' 

 for 'working farmer' in his address, the whole of the ground 

 he traversed practically applies to the forester. At present there 

 is not very much done for the practical forester in the way of 

 technical education. He cannot avail himself of the courses at 

 the colleges and universities because he has not the means. But 

 there is a great demand for education of this sort on the part of 

 working foresters, and these are the men who really have to 

 conduct operations in the country at the present time. I may 

 just mention what has been done in that connection. In, I 

 think, 1889 Professor Somerville gave some lectures in the 

 Royal Botanic Garden to working foresters. In 1892, an 

 excellent organised course of instruction for foresters and 

 gardeners was started there, the Government providing ^150 

 to pay the lecturers. Practically the whole staff of the Garden 

 after that time was composed of young men who were taken in for 

 the purpose of going through this course. One-half of them were 

 gardeners and the other half were foresters, and the course was 

 made, as far as was practicable, suitable to both classes up to a 

 certain point. There were sixteen of each to begin with, and the 

 supply was in excess of the vacancies which were available for 

 them. They did not learn any forestry, but they learned a good 

 ■deal in connection with trees and shrubs. The course extended 

 from two-and-a-half years to three years, and I may say that 

 some of these men are now occupying positions of very great 

 importance in forestry. Mr Annand, who is now lecturer in 

 Newcastle College, was one of them, and a number of head 

 foresters in the country, including the head forester at Scone, 

 and on some of the other larger estates, are men who went 

 through that course. They were paid the ordinary wages of the 

 staff at that time and got their education free. The classes 

 were held at night. Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson also provided 

 for three years a bursary to enable practical foresters to attend 

 classes in the University of Edinburgh. Three men went 

 through these courses, and they also occupy important positions 

 in forestry in Scotland, but, with these exceptions, very little has 



