2 ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 3, 1875. 



the recommendation of Mr Brown, appointed in 1853 to the sur- 

 veyorship of the Chopwell Woods, which office became vacant 

 about that time. At Chopwell he carried out plans, previously 

 suggested by Mr Brown, and he did so to the entire satisfaction of 

 the Crown. His work there is well known to all foresters, and 

 need not be dwelt upon. He was the founder of this Society, and 

 took a deep interest in its proceedings and its prosperity. He 

 died suddenly from heart-disease, leaving a widow and five chil- 

 dren. 



Our Society has now fully attained its majority — having existed 

 twenty-one years — and the number of its Members has largely 

 increased. Good work has been done by associating together 

 Scottish arboriculturists and others interested in forestry, by holding 

 an annual meeting for the reading of papers and for discussion, as 

 well as by the publication of " Transactions," which now amount 

 to seven volumes, and embrace papers on many important ques- 

 tions connected with the cultivation and preservation of forests. 

 The reputation of the Society has been widely extended, and we 

 have Members from all parts of the United Kingdom, as well as 

 from foreign countries. 



Many landowners have joined our ranks, and I trust that 

 ere long we shall number on our list a larger number of pro- 

 prietors in Scotland. The subject of forestry is of great import- 

 ance, whether we regard the landscape, the climate, or the re- 

 sources and productions of a country. Our object is to encourage 

 this department, to see that our foresters are properly instructed ; 

 that our woods are judiciously managed ; and that thus the pro- 

 sperity of our country is advanced. 



The effects of trees on the climate of a country were long ago 

 noticed by Humboldt, who showed that, by the rash cutting down 

 of trees and the denudation of countries, the water supply of large 

 districts had been seriously injured, and the character of the 

 climate changed for the worse, while, at the same time, the means 

 of procuring timber and fuel were destroyed. The great function 

 of the leaves of trees is the evolution of oxygen gas, by means of 

 which the purity of the atmosphere is maintained. This function 

 of plants is antagonistic in its results to animal respiration, for 

 while the latter takes oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it 

 by carbonic acid, the former remove carbonic acid, fix carbon, and 

 give out oxygen. The processes of respiration and combustion 

 are pouring into the atmosphere a large quantity of carbonic acid 



