74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



untold damage by wrong silvicultural treatment, which may 

 unnecessarily expose the forest to many dangers. 



Under the next heading {l>) may be grouped inimical inorganic 

 agencies, such as frost, heat, drought, storm-winds, snow and 

 atmospheric impurities near large industrial works, and fire, 

 especially where railways and frequented roads traverse the 

 forest. 



Under the third heading {c) we can group the dangers 

 threatened by organic agencies, principally fungi and insects. 



The countries which have escaped the most serious forest 

 calamities are those where the prevailing forest conditions 

 approach those of the natural or virgin forest. 



Without rational forest laws the private proprietor and the 

 forester are powerless to prevent certain forms of damage, 

 because preventive and protective measures must be undertaken 

 on a large scale if they are to be really effective. Since diseases 

 and pests may pass from an unskilfully managed area to the 

 detriment of all adjacent forests, it is the duty of the State to see 

 to it that adequate means are provided to secure the main- 

 tenance in a healthy condition of a national asset of such great 

 value and importance. 



Hitherto forest protection on a comprehensive scale has been 

 almost totally neglected in Britain, but the time has now come 

 when such neglect would be most unjustifiable. Not that we 

 have at present extensive forests to protect, but we hope that 

 our forest areas will increase, and as stated above, prevention of 

 damage is much better than the application of remedial measures 

 after the damage has been caused, because remedial measures, 

 in individual cases, are less efitective than prevention and the 

 expense is relatively greater. 



In practice the aim must be to secure a vigorous and healthy 

 stock of trees of a good type, and next to ensure that they are 

 planted in a healthy environment. The use of home-collected 

 seed, and, as far as possible, control of imported seed, will go a 

 long way towards achieving this object. 



Take for example our indigenous Scots pine. This tree has 

 a wide geographical distribution. It occurs over a wider range 

 than any other European coniferous species. This may be 

 explained by its ability to withstand wide extremes of tem- 

 perature, its limited demand for soil and air moisture, together 

 with its great adaptability for growing on poor soils. It occurs 



