TRANSACTIONS 



OF THE 



EOYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



II. The Society's Annual Meeting: Discussion on the 

 Report of the Forestry Sub-Committee, at the 

 Meeting held on 20th February last. 



Sir Andrew Agnew, in opening a discussion on the Report 

 of the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruction Committee, 

 said : — " I have been asked to open this discussion on national 

 afforestation, and I do so with very great pleasure, because we 

 have at last got something definite to discuss. The Report 

 of the Sub-Committee of the Reconstruction Committee is a 

 very valuable and important document. It is very valuable 

 because it makes out such a clear and convincing case for 

 afforestation, and it is important because it seems to bring 

 us a good deal nearer to the goal at which our Society has 

 been aiming for so long. We have had inquiries before by 

 Royal Commissions and Departmental Committees, and they all 

 recommended that something should be done, but this is the 

 first time that a body of competent men have been requested 

 by the Government to prepare a definite and practical scheme. 

 I hope we may assume that, having asked them to do this, they 

 are prepared to adopt the scheme which the Committee propose, 

 if not in its entirety at any rate in its main features. If this 

 is done we shall at last have seen a long-standing reproach 

 in a fair way to being removed. 



" I think it is gratifying to us here to note how closely the 

 views of the Committee correspond with those of our own 

 Society. When the Committee were considering their report, 

 they asked us to send a statement of our views with regard to 

 national afforestation. We sent those views in a Memorandum 

 which was prepared by the Council, and was subsequently 

 endorsed by the General Meeting of this Society, and it is 



VOL. XXXII. PART II. I 



