ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 3, 1875. 9 



I hope that this may be removed by the indefatigable exertions of 

 our Lord Provost, so that this addition may be made to the Botanic 

 Garden, and may be supported by an annual Government grant. 



The following is the proposal made in a recent document entitled 

 The Edinburgh Municipal Police Amendment Act : — " That the 

 Magistrates and Council be empowered to acquire by agreement, 

 or, failing such agreement, compulsorily, under the Lands' Clauses 

 Consolidation (Scotland^ Acts, for the purpose of enlarging the 

 Royal Botanic Garden in Inverleith Row, all or so much of the 

 lands of Inverleith, situated to the west of the said Royal Botanic 

 Garden, as may be considered necessary." 



I may here express my obligations to Lord Provost Ealshaw, 

 the Duke of Buccleuch, the Lord Justice - General, the Right 

 Honourable "W. P. Adam, M.P., Sir James Elphinstone, Sir 

 Robert Christison, and Dr Lyon Playfair, for the warm interest 

 they have taken in the matter. 



The grounds now proposed to be incorporated with the Botanic 

 Garden are well situated, have a varied surface, a fine exposure, 

 and are enclosed to a considerable extent. 



Our Society has supported the scheme, and last year memorial- 

 ised Government on the subject. The matter is an urgent one, 

 and will be again brought under the notice of Government ; and 

 I hope that the Members of our Society who are also Members 

 of Parliament, will give their support. 



Sir - Robert Christison, in his opening address to the Botanical 

 Society last session, entered fully into the importance of acquiring 

 the Inverleith grounds for an Arboretum. The address is pub- 

 lished in the Transactions of the Society for 1875. 



Various important publications on Arboriculture have been 

 recently issued ; among others, I may mention a work by Messrs 

 Dupont and De la Grye, on the " Physiology, Culture, Productive 

 Quality, Industrial, and Commercial Uses of Indigenous European 

 and Foreign Woods," which contains ample details on all these 

 subjects. The work is drawn up by a naval architect and a con- 

 servator of forests. It is hoped that it may be translated into 

 English. The authors commence with the physiology of plants, and 

 make remarks on the effects of climate, elevation, moisture, and 

 dryness on the cultivation of trees. Next, they treat of cultiva- 

 tion in a commercial point of view. The forest statistics of various 

 countries are then noticed : and remarks are made on the workinar 

 of forests and the production of charcoal ; on the quality of timber 



