130 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



about 40,000,000. So that with any luck, if we get our land 

 transactions carried through and the seedlings are not hurt by 

 the frost, we hope to get a good deal of land planted in the course 

 of the next few years. The beginnings of forestry are slower than 

 the beginnings of many other businesses. Then as regards 

 schools, we started a school of forestry at Birnam for apprentices. 

 It was started particularly under the auspices of the Employment 

 Ministry, and all the men who went there it was insisted must 

 be more or less disabled soldiers, so that limited our choice of 

 men very much indeed. But we hope there are not going to be 

 any more disabled soldiers for a very long time, and when they 

 have been trained their places in the school will be available for 

 forestry apprentices who have not been soldiers and not disabled. 

 It is intended to start several more of these schools of 

 practical forestry, so that it will be possible for young men who 

 wish to advance in forestry to get training facilities at these 

 training centres without very great difficulty. The men working 

 at Birnam have turned out very well, and have done very good 

 work. 



" Among the activities of the Commission, as settled by the Act 

 of Parliament, are various ways of getting planting started. The 

 State will acquire a certain amount of land by purchase, feu, or 

 lease, or in some other way, for planting to form State forests. 

 The larger the blocks the better, but there are also schemes 

 under consideration to encourage private proprietors to do a 

 certain amount of planting. The fact is the principal aim of the 

 Forestry Act is to get trees planted and timber produced in this 

 country, whether by State forests or private individuals, and there 

 are certain forms of encouragement such as proceeds-sharing 

 schemes, loans, or grants, but unfortunately when the Forestry 

 Reconstruction Committee made their report all the estimates 

 were based on pre-war prices of plants, and labour and materials 

 of all kinds. We all know that these prices are now quite out 

 of date, and the amount of money voted will not go nearly so 

 far as it was hoped when the report of the Forestry Recon- 

 struction Sub-Committee was drawn up. All that can be done 

 is to try to get the very best results from the money available, 

 some ^3,500,000, which is to be spread over ten years. It does 

 not leave a very large amount for helping or encouraging the 

 private planter. But none the less we hope private planting will 

 go on, and, owing to the higher prices timber is fetching at 



