i6 



land cover a much larger area that those which I have 

 mentioned. 



"The Commission are in close touch with the Board of 

 Agriculture for Scotland, Two joint schemes — at Borgie in 

 Sutherland, and Glentress in Peeblesshire — are actually in 

 operation, and the Board are in process of formulating a scheme 

 of small-holdings on one of the forests of the Commission at 

 Auchterawe. More schemes of the kind are in sight. On the 

 other hand, the Commission are assisting the Board by planting 

 for them areas of woodland that come into their hands in 

 Forfarshire and other counties. 



" With regard to grants Lord Lovat asked me particularly 

 to mention that although the Commission had devoted most of 

 its time in the first year to getting planting under way, the 

 percentage of private woods in this country is something like 

 97 out of ICG, and the Commission never forgets the importance 

 of encouraging private planting. It is a matter to which they 

 propose to devote a great deal of time, and it is one to which 

 they must proceed slowly in consultation with the Consultative 

 Committee, and with such bodies as this Society, and one in 

 which also they are of course bound by the provisions of the 

 Act under which the Commission is set up. However, I may 

 mention — and Lord Lovat asked me to mention — that those 

 conditions are not necessarily final, and that as a matter of 

 fact more than one point in them is already under discussion 

 with the Government with a view to modification of the terms. 



" With regard to nurseries, the position up to now has been 

 that nurseries have been treated in the United Kingdom pretty 

 much as a whole, and of course the existence of Crown woods 

 in England made the establishment of nurseries there an easier 

 matter than here. But nurseries have also been established in 

 Scotland, and now i8o acres of nursery ground have been 

 acquired for that purpose, although all is not available this 

 season. 



"Lord Lovat asked me to mention that the members of 

 the Society could be a great help to the Commission in regard 

 to the collection of seed, and especially Scots pine seed, which 

 during recent years has been so very scarce. They might be 

 of great use both by telling us where there are good crops 

 available and also by helping in the collection. Those who 

 are inclined to help should communicate with Mr Sutherland. 



