64 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr Harmood-Banner, M.P., and Mr C. H. Scott Plummer, 

 of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, both gave it as 

 their opinion that private owners are not likely to do more 

 for afforestation in the future than in the past, but rather less. 

 Again, a number of speeches and papers seem to make it clear 

 that large corporations, holding extensive tracts of land for 

 public purposes, notably in connection with water-supplies, but 

 also in connection with methods of sewage disposal, are almost 

 necessarily committed to afforestation work of some kind. 



We have given above some facts in regard to the work 

 actually being done by certain corporations, but some of the 

 papers are important in their clear statement of the reasons 

 which make it probable that the necessity for afforestation work 

 will be increasingly recognised by the larger corporations. For 

 instance, Mr Margerison pointed out that an increasing body of 

 expert opinion is in favour of reducing or diminishing agricultural 

 operations on water-catchment areas. This means a considerable 

 loss of revenue to the community unless some other source of 

 profit can be found. That afforestation is likely to be found 

 desirable is further indicated by the fact that such areas are 

 not infrequently, in the case of large towns, within reach of an 

 industrial community where the demand for timber is likely to 

 be great. Again, the actual effect of forest on the collection, 

 conservation, and purity of the water-supply is of great import- 

 ance. It may be said, in brief, that "forests cause an immense 

 reduction in evaporation from the ground and reservoirs ; they 

 promote percolation and filtration through the ground to the 

 shales and consequent water-springs; they reduce the surface- 

 flow of the precipitated rain, and, by promotion of ground 

 percolation towards the shales, promote an increase of spring- 

 water, and at the same time conserve the flood-water and help 

 to let it down more gradually to the reservoirs for times of 

 scarcity ; they prevent or reduce enormous quantities of silt 

 being carried into the reservoirs; and lastly, the balance ot 

 evidence is in favour of the theory that they promote pre- 

 cipitation of moisture" {Report,"^ p. i8). 



The subject of municipal action was discussed by Alderman 

 Burgess, of Liverpool, to a similar effect. On the other 

 hand, Mr G. Trevelyan Lee, the Town-Clerk of Derby, pointed 



' In the Report a line has been omitted, but we are authorised to state that 

 the sentence should read as above. — Hon. Ed. 



