32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



sufficient being put in to enable the men to get through the work 

 comfortably, two evenings a week. In connection with the 

 course there was also a good library which the men could use 

 in the evenings — a very useful adjunct to the lectures. The 

 curriculum began with the fundamental sciences, chemistry and 

 general physics, followed by botany, geology, entomology, land 

 surveying and levelling, meteorology, and other subjects. Dr 

 Nisbet and several other eminent men gave some of these 

 lectures. The men were, of course, just paid the ordinary wages 

 of the garden staff, and they got their education gratis. The 

 only objection which can be urged against evening classes is 

 that it is rather hard to try to teach tired men, but there was 

 no indication of that in this case. As a proof that they did 

 utilise the opportunity to the utmost, I may say that two foresters 

 who went through these classes, Mr Annand, of Armstrong 

 College, Newcastle, and Mr Davidson, of Edgerston, who are 

 here to-day, went up for the Highland Society's Diploma in 

 Forestry at the end of the course, and they were the only two 

 students who passed with first-class certificates. There are a 

 number of other foresters in the country — Mr Leven, of Bowmont 

 Forest, Mr Crombie, of Longhirst, Mr Feaks, of Darnaway, 

 Major Scott, of Scone, Mr Finlayson, of Newbattle and Mon- 

 teviot, and Mr M'Millan, of Margam, and others — who passed 

 through that course. 



" I may also say in connection with this that Sir Ronald 

 Munro Ferguson, when he was Hon. Secretary of this Society, 

 gave bursaries to enable practical foresters to take a course at 

 the University. These bursaries lasted for three years, and the 

 men who were selected to take the University course were Mr 

 Crombie, Mr Feaks, and Major Scott. The funds for the course 

 at the Botanic Garden were supplied by the English Board of 

 Agriculture — the Scottish Board was not established then. The 

 Garden itself was under the administration of the Office of 

 Works. Ultimately the grant was transferred to the Office of 

 Works from the Board of Agriculture. It was most unfortunate 

 that, after having been established, that course should have 

 been allowed to lapse. Had it been continued for the twenty- 

 six years since it was started up to this time, the country would 

 have been well supplied with well-trained practical foresters. 



"Quite recently a school for Discharged Soldiers has been 

 started at- Birnam. That is really the first school which has 



