PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 141 
his wickedness, he is one of our items of food supply, and 
therefore we cannot suggest his extermination. 
A remedy, or a via media, is not easy to suggest, but I think 
the time has come when some attempt should be made to keep 
him in control, that is to say, that he should be ruthlessly 
trapped down all over the country except in particular areas on 
every property, into which he should be wire-netted or retained in 
some other manner, 7 the proprietor desires to keep him at all. 
It seems to me very wrong that one man should want to keep 
his ground clear of rabbits and find it impossible to do so 
because his neighbour across the dyke maintains them in 
quantities entirely uncontrolled. I think that if certain areas 
were set apart for rabbits, and the killing of rabbits outside 
all such areas were rendered free, we should very soon have 
them carefully kept under control, and we should not see much 
of them outside the reserved areas—at any rate, not enough to 
cause the need for wire-netting for any cultural defence. I don’t 
know that this idea will smile upon some people, but it is the 
only solution of the difficulty which has struck me, and if you 
think it worth considering we might, at some future meeting, 
hold a discussion on the subject, and so arrive at the general 
opinion of members, when we might be able, as a Society, 
to formulate some action to mitigate the evil. 
The other idea I want to suggest may be of more interest to 
that large section of our members which comprises the nursery- 
men and seedsmen. It is about seeds. We hear a great deal 
about the germinating qualities and the purity of seeds. These 
are very important matters in their way, but I venture to think 
that neither of them in all cases gives us the true value of the 
seed. What is wanted is seed from parents that will give the 
most vigorous and strong growing plants, and the point I wish 
to raise is, do we get seedlings of this type from seed taken from 
trees that are young, middle-aged, or old? I know that at home 
we try to collect seed from the largest and oldest trees which are 
still apparently in full vigour, but I just wonder whether these are 
the trees that produce seed from which the most vigorous type of 
young plant will spring? As a matter of fact, in the case of 
humanity and the animal world, the strongest and most vigorous 
progeny is obtained by the mating of healthy parents on the 
young side of middle life. I am sure that information on this 
subject would be of great interest if it could be given to us. 
