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That is one thing that has been done. And then we have been 

 endeavouring during the past year to make a large collection 

 of tree seeds. These seeds have been collected in two or three 

 centres in Scotland, and they have been prepared for sowing. 

 I am not certain whether, perhaps, we have not collected too 

 many seeds, but that is a matter which we shall discover later. 

 Another small activity, which was carried out originally at the 

 suggestion of Colonel Stirling of Keir, is an attempt to find 

 places as foresters for discharged soldiers and sailors who may 

 not be so injured that they cannot undertake forestry work. 

 This organisation is in full swing at present, and I am glad to 

 say we have received numerous offers from proprietors of wood- 

 lands in Scotland to take these men on for a time on trial. 

 We have received ten times as many offers of places as we 

 can find men to put into them. So far all the local Pension 

 Committees in Scotland can only produce a very few men who 

 seem anxious to take up forestry. The objection seems partly 

 to be that they can obtain much larger wages in some other 

 industry, especially in munition work ; but I am hopeful we 

 may be able to find a considerable number who will take up 

 forestry work as a career, and will become useful forestry workers 

 in time. Then we also thought that if a large development is 

 about to take place in the planting of Scotland, it would be 

 desirable to have some men trained as superior workmen, 

 foremen foresters or forest foremen, men who will be capable 

 of supervising the work of other men. We are, therefore, 

 proposing to inaugurate a temporary school for that class of 

 workmen, somewhere in central Scotland. Funds will be made 

 available for this purpose, and Colonel Fothringham of Murthly 

 and the Duke of AthoU have offered us facilities for the training 

 of these men, if the school should be erected in their neighbour- 

 hood. This is for the purpose of training men as working 

 foresters, and we hope that out of the number of discharged 

 soldiers and sailors we might succeed in obtaining a few who 

 show such interest and intelligence that we could safely expend 

 public money in training them to become forest foremen. 

 We have another activity which is giving Dr Borthwick and 

 myself a good deal of trouble, and giving him a good deal of 

 anxiety at the moment, and that is the necessity for clearing 

 and burning the felled areas. I am told by my advisers that 

 it is exceedingly dangerous to leave these felled areas uncleared 



