DISCUSSION ON FORESTRY ADMINISTRATION AND EDUCATION. 5 



upon schemes in contemplation before they are actually 

 adopted.' I think most members of the Society will agree 

 that this Society, if it has not the right to consider the scheme 

 or schemes, ought, at any rate as a matter of courtesy, to 

 have some say in the matter. This Society, as you all know, 

 is the oldest forestry society in the United Kingdom, and it has 

 done more, I think, to advance forestry than any of the others. 

 The sister agricultural society, the Highland and Agricultural 

 Society, has also done a great deal for forestry in the past, and 

 it is largely due to the Highland and Agricultural Society that 

 we have so much timber in the country, because even before 

 this Society was in existence the Highland and Agricultural 

 Society was encouraging forestry in Scotland. I think that 

 both these societies ought to have some say in the matter, 

 but I think the members of the Cabinet should, before adopting 

 any scheme, at least entertain the views of the members of this 

 Society, especially as it is the leading forestry society in the 

 country. I have much pleasure in laying this resolution before 

 you." 



Mr Robert Allan, Polkemmet. — " I have much pleasure in 

 seconding this resolution which has been put so ably before 

 you by Mr Richardson. I am very glad that Mr Richardson 

 has made it quite clear that there is nothing antagonistic 

 between our Society and the agricultural societies. I think 

 agriculturists woke up one morning with the idea that the 

 whole of the land in Scotland was going to be planted with 

 trees, and they immediately made up their minds to send a 

 deputation to the Board of Agriculture to protest against this. 

 I spoke to one member of that deputation and asked what it 

 really meant. ' Oh,' he said, ' it is just trees, overhanging 

 branches, spoiling crops which ought to grow food for the 

 people.' I said, ' If that is all, that does not concern our 

 Society, because that is not forestry at all.' So that was his 

 idea as to the work of this Society. With reference to the 

 Control Board that we want, we have had seven or eight years 

 of the Board of Agriculture and they have done nothing. 

 At the meeting when our Society accepted a resolution to have 

 a Central Board for the United Kingdom the view was put 

 forward, like the parable in Scripture, that we should allow 

 the tree to grow another year or two, that we should dung it 

 and put it in good order, and we might expect fruit in a short 



