138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



management. Enough has been written of late in proof of the 

 fact that on suitable land in Scotland timber can be grown not 

 only to yield, at present prices, an adequate return on the out- 

 lay, but probably to yield a handsome profit. The proofs of 

 this apply particularly to the low-rented, light land specially 

 suited for the growth of larch, which includes a large part of the 

 Highlands, where the soil and climate favour that tree. But the 

 careful selection of suitable areas for commercial planting must 

 always be a fundamental condition for ensuring success. For- 

 tunately the subject of silviculture has been taken up in recent 

 years so seriously and scientifically in this country, that there 

 need be no difficulty in obtaining skilled advice as to areas 

 suited for successful commercial planting, having regard to soil, 

 climate and accessibility to market. 



The question of the actual value of the timber seventy or 

 eighty years hence must remain, of course, more or less proble- 

 matical. Unless, however, timber is going to be substantially 

 superseded by some other material, there seems no ground for 

 doubt that, having regard to the steady diminution of the supplies 

 of timber within easy reach throughout the world, the demand 

 must continue to be at least as great as at present — indeed, 

 the serious fear is that the demand will far outrun the supply, at 

 least for all kinds of fir wood. But even though reasonable profit 

 may be regarded as well assured, what security can be given 

 to the State that it will receive its full share of this, and that it 

 will not all go into the proprietor's pocket ? The proposal has 

 been made that the State should buy out the proprietors of 

 suitable land for planting, and we are often told that there are 

 plenty of estates in Scotland which can be purchased at a fair 

 price, like Inverliever on Loch Awe, which the Government bought 

 recently to form a forestry station. But is the country prepared 

 to sink large sums in buying land for planting, and would it be 

 likely to be able to buy land suited for planting without also 

 encumbering itself with farms, mansion-houses and shootings 

 which it could not use to profit? Moreover, we may be sure 

 that at the best the money the Treasury would agree to give 

 would be limited, and the more spent in buying land, the less 

 there would be left for the direct purpose of creating a silvi- 

 cultural industry. This condition drives us back to consider the 

 possibility of devising methods of applying the money so that 

 it be expended for planting purposes alone. 



