REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON FORESTRY. 149 
You want to show that the things which are taught in the lecture- 
room actually take place in the forest. It is no use to tell a man 
that beech makes a suitable nursery for oak, unless you show him 
under what conditions it is so, and what precautions must be taken 
when you mix beech with oak to keep the beech from getting above 
the oak, and so on.” 
Mr W. T. Turtsetton Dyer, C.M.G., F.R.S., Assistant Director 
(now Director) of the Royal Gardens, Kew, was next called in, and, 
in the course of his examination, stated as follows :— 
“You have paid great attention to the management of forests 
and woodlands?” ‘* My attention has been drawn to the general 
subject of forestry from the fact that Kew performs to a large 
extent the part of a botanical authority to the Government, and a 
number of questions affecting botanical work of different kinds are 
referred to Kew, which it is my special business to attend to. 
Amongst these, of course, from time to time, are questions relating 
to forestry, and although I have not myself, like the last witness, 
Colonel Pearson, any practical knowledge of the management of 
forests, I have been compelled, of course, to look into the subject, 
but more especially with regard to the colonies rather than with 
regard to this country.” 
“Would you be prepared to state now to the Committee what 
you would yourself suggest in order to improve the present state of 
affairs, or if the Committee were to ask leave to sit during the next 
session would you prefer to wait till then to give us your views in 
any further detail as to what plan it would be advisable to adopt 
in this country?” “ For my part I do not profess to have sufficient 
practical acquaintance with the details of the subject to be willing to 
undertake to elaborate a scheme ; but the Committee has been so 
well supplied with technical advice from the evidence they have heard 
from Dr Cleghorn and Colonel Pearson, that I should only be too 
glad in any way I could to support their suggestions. But what 
strikes me is that the reasonable way to proceed, if it could be 
done, is to make the demand for India a kind of nucleus of a 
school, because that is a constant quantity; it must go on. We 
are practically going to undertake in this country the education of 
a number of foresters for India, and it appears to me to be a pity 
that where you have an inevitable centre of forest education you 
should not utilise it in the second place for the education of such 
gentlemen as wish to undertake colonial service ; and thirdly, for 
