202 ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NOVEMBER 6, 1877. 



greater authority. I can myself, from my practical observation as 

 a sportsman, confirm all that has been said as to this in Western 

 India ; and who can say that the terrible famine which is now 

 devastating some of the fairest provinces of that country, may not 

 be directly traceable to the improvidence of man in denuding the 

 country of its natural vegetation, and so altering all the climatic 

 arrangements of nature 1 This is a large and important question, 

 into which I have neither the time nor the scientific knowledge 

 to enter, but it all points clearly to what I have been already 

 advocating, namely, the necessity for the establishment of schools 

 of forestry, whereby skilled men may be produced for the service 

 of Government in this most vitally important work. 



In conclusion, I can only say that it has given me great 

 pleasure to attend here to-day, and to testify by my presence the 

 great and enduring interest which I take in this Society, and in 

 all that pertains to the enchanting science with which it deals. 

 I can use no other word to describe adequately my feeling for the 

 woodlands — the charm, the rest, the solace, which they bring to 

 mind and body, and the pleasant and varied occupation which 

 they give. As Bacon says in his essay " Of Gardens," I would say 

 of the woods : " They were first planted by God Almighty, and 

 indeed they bestow the purest of human pleasures, without which 

 buildings and palaces are but gross handiworks ; " and not only 

 in our own and in more modem times, but in all ages, we find 

 poets, philosophers, statesmen, young and old, all vying with each 

 other in describing these pure delights. Cicero says, " Num 

 igitur eorum senectus miserabilis fait qui in cultione oblectabant, 

 mea quidem sententia haud scio an ulla vita beatior esse possit ; " 

 and again, " Nee setas impedit quo minus arborum colendi studia 

 teneamus usque at ultimum tempus senectutis." Fortified by 

 this classical support to the dignity and delight of our science, I 

 conclude by saying how much honoured I feel by your choosing 

 me as your President, and how much I regret that the pressure 

 of other duties must call me away. 



