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this estate was burdened very heavily because it had not only 

 to pay its usual mortgages, but to suffer a large decrease on the 

 rents of the let shootings ; the woods carried off that and 

 maintained the estate the whole time. The woods have also 

 enabled me to continue what I may call my other duties to the 

 estate, building, even in these times, and looking after it 

 generally and paying higher wages. It is rough on the woods, 

 and also in some ways on me, but after all it has been the 

 saving of the estate, and for that reason I do advise everybody 

 who has got large estates to be cheerful so far as planting is 

 concerned, and do what he can in that way. I am certainly 

 not going back on it. I would rather leave the estate and live 

 somewhere else and continue planting, because I have still faith 

 in that estate and in planting. At the present moment I have 

 arranged so that I shall be able to plant in normal years 

 something like 400 acres a year, which I think is quite good for 

 any proprietor. The Duke of Buccleuch was rather frightened 

 that if we joined hands with our friends in the south we might 

 get swallowed up, and warned us to be careful. I can only say 

 that so long as I am President of this Society, and our friends 

 further south attempt to swallow us up, they will very quickly 

 emulate the whale that swallowed Jonah, and that we shall 

 remain what we are — the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society." 



Mr Charles Buchanan was elected a Vice-President, Dr 

 Borthwick was re-appointed Hon. Editor, and the following were 

 elected members of the Council:— Sir Andrew Agnew, Bt., 

 John W. M'Hattie, W. H. Massie, John Scrimgeour, and Harry 

 G. Younger of Benmore. 



The Secretary and Treasurer, the Auditor, the Hon. Consulting 

 Scientists, and the Local Secretaries, were re-elected. 



Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, Bart. — "I propose that Lord 

 Novar be elected Honorary Secretary. As you will remember 

 I have held that office since he went abroad, and all the time 

 I have held it, I have felt how very much less well I was able 

 to fill it than he had done before. Lord Novar has now 

 returned in full vigour and with a great addition to his 

 experience since he has filled the office of Governor-General 

 of Australia, and I think if he would be willing to accept, that 

 it would be an immense advantage if he could return to his 

 old office as Honorary Secretary. I have also a motive for 

 making this proposal, and that is, that I have the honour 



