ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 4, 1874. 201 



Gloucester, though all these writers speak of jet as found in England, 

 and are full in their enumeration of the mineral products of the 

 island."* 



Planting was not general in Britain till the end of the seventeenth 

 century, when the introduction of exotic trees was facilitated by 

 the interchange of plants by means of botanic gardens, which in 

 that century were established in various countries. The Botanic 

 Gardens at Oxford and Chelsea, the oldest in England, were in ex- 

 istence in the middle of the seventeenth century, and the Edinburgh 

 Botanic Garden was founded nearly two hundred years ago, though 

 it was only in 1822 that it was established in its present site. 

 Evelyn's " Sylva," which appeared in 1664, gave a great stimulus to 

 arboriculture, and there is no doubt that the ornamental plantations 

 in which Britain surpasses all other countries, are in some measure 

 the result of his labours in this direction. 



During the general war at the beginning of this century, the price 

 of timber became very high, owing to the greatly increased demand, 

 and the difficulty, from the unsettled state of affairs, of obtaining 

 supplies. Under the expectation that such prices were to continue, 

 planting was by very many in Britain ardently undertaken and 

 carried out. It has, however, long been evident that capital in- 

 vested in this way does not yield an early return ; hence the rage for 

 planting merely with a view to profit has declined, but there is a 

 greatly increasing taste for the planting of parks and pleasure 

 grounds, and for the introduction of trees and shrubs from foreign 

 countries. 



The rapid growth of the timber trade in the last decade might be 

 illustrated from official records : while our hedgerows have been 

 stubbed out and our strips of planting disappear, often unwisely, to 

 make way for cereal crops and rearing of stock, foreign timber, now 

 so essential to our constructive requirements, has been extensively 

 imported from many quarters. 



The Board of Trade returns show how great and increasing is the 

 annual importation of timber, and that the production within our 

 own island is comparatively insignificant. The supplies on our 

 East Coast are obtained from Norway, Sweden, and the Baltic 

 ports, while the wants of our western market are met with timber 

 from the great continent of America. 



The following table shows the total imports and their estimated 

 value during the last three years : — 



* See also Evelyn's Diary, ii. 25, 26. 



