REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON FORESTRY. 353 
the conclusion that all over the country there is a great deal of 
waste by ignorant planting and subsequent ill-management?” 
“JT should be afraid to give a precise answer in a few words to 
that. In my opinion, the best forest management of any area is 
that which is most in accordance with the wish and desire of the 
owner of that forest. Now the intentions and the wishes of 
owners of woodlands in England are often peculiar. One man 
may simply desire to produce beautiful trees ; another may desire 
to produce timber of a certain class; a third may desire to pro- 
duce the greatest possible quantity of timber that can be obtained 
from a certain area. Another may desire the highest annual 
return in money ; another may wish to have the highest possible 
interest upon the invested capital ; and another may make it 
subservient to shooting purposes. Those are all different aims 
and objects ; and I maintain that the man who manages the 
forest most in accordance with the intentions of the owner is the 
best forester.” 
“The ultimate profit of woodlands depends very much, does it 
not, upon the way they are originally planted ; whether the trees 
are suitable to the soil and the situation?” ‘ Very much 
indeed.”—-“ Do you think that there is a considerable want of 
men in England who are capable of advising owners of land as to 
that matter?” ‘I think there are a good many wood-managers 
in England and Scotland who are very well able to manage their 
business properly if permitted to do so.”—‘“ The usual men who 
advise owners in England are land agents, and, as a rule, those 
gentlemen have but small opportunities of acquiring a knowledge 
of forestry ; do you think it would be a great advantage generally 
that they should have an opportunity of obtaining a certain 
amount of knowledge of forestry, and the management of wood- 
lands?” ‘I should think that would certainly act very bene- 
ficially.”—“‘ And there would be no difficulty in making arrange- 
ments for that knowledge being given to land agents and others 
of that class if there were a forest school attached to Cooper's 
Hill?” ‘It would require special arrangements for gentlemen of 
that class.” Do you think those arrangements could be made ?” 
“Yes, they could be made.” 
“You stated that it might be well to send students to the 
Highland forests to study planting there; that would indicate 
your belief that the woodlands are sufficiently well managed to 
make them available for instruction?” “I would take the 
