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wish of the Commissioners that the money at their disposal 

 should be used so as to produce the greatest possible 

 benefit. As regards the question of a survey, the Council 

 had adopted the suggestion made at last Annual Meeting 

 that, as the Government in this country moved slowly, it 

 would be a good thing if the Society were to take up the 

 question of survey on its own account by surveying a 

 sample area in one or more places in Scotland which would 

 bring to light the difficulties of such a survey and also the best 

 methods according to which it might be made. They had devoted 

 a sum of ^loo to the purpose. They were of opinion that 

 the best chance of having it well done was to put it into the 

 hands of some one competent man, who might be willing to 

 devote time to it and to view the subject, with the assistance 

 of expert opinion, as a whole. It was felt that the survey 

 would be of no use if it was a mere return of acreage which 

 might be expected to grow trees, because they knew that the 

 real problem was not merely to plant and to cut, but to 

 dovetail in with other interests which now have a hold upon 

 the ground in this country. Therefore their survey became 

 of an economic character. In this matter the Council felt 

 there was no one to whom they could better turn than Lord 

 Lovat — whose interest in forestry and other parts of economic 

 life in Scotland was well known, and whom he would ask to 

 explain the lines on which he meant to make his survey. 



Lord Lovat said that it was a very intricate subject, and 

 they would not expect a very coherent narrative. He felt that 

 the work would be much better devoted to surveying one single 

 area rather than to add one of those many pious opinions, which 

 had been put forward from time to time as to the total area 

 that could be afforested in Scotland. Some people put the area 

 at two million acres, and others at twelve, and probably every 

 shade of opinion was to be found between these two figures. 

 His idea was to take a block of land of from twenty to thirty 

 thousand acres and see how much of it could be planted with 

 advantage, and how it would affect the other interests of that 

 district. They were apt to forget that forestry was only one 

 of the interests in the country, and they could not expect to 

 turn over vested interests, and agricultural and sporting interests, 

 suddenly without causing considerable commotion, and, in 

 places, putting a large body of the community against them. 



