2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



schemes are cases for support by loan. From the later portion 

 of this Report, it will be seen that far the greater portion of 

 the expenditure from the Fund will be advanced by way of 

 grant — necessarily, since the purposes to which the Com- 

 missioners have decided to allocate it are those of instruction, 

 organisation and research. But it will also be seen that in 

 the comparatively few cases where applications have been made 

 for assistance to schemes expected ultimately to give a direct 

 return, the Commissioners have held to the principle of loans. 



They have not overlooked the question of the general state 

 and prospects of employment, as affecting advances from the 

 Development Fund. They are able again to congratulate 

 themselves that these are at present good, and the advances 

 made during the year are not such as to involve any large 

 employment of labour at a very early date. In the important 

 matter of afforestation they have stipulated that detailed schemes 

 should provide for varying the extent of the operations in 

 relation to the state of the labour market. 



In their previous Report they stated that they propose to 

 ensure, so far as it lies in their power, that the Fund shall 

 not go into the pockets of private individuals. The Act 

 itself gives no authority to make grants or loans either 

 to individuals or to companies or associations of persons 

 trading for profit. But the effect of this restriction is that 

 sometimes the most direct way and simple method of giving 

 effect to the purposes named in the Act is closed to the 

 Commissioners. Afforestation might be sensibly assisted if it 

 were open to them to recommend loans directly to private 

 owners. 



The existing law, however, prohibits the direct support of 

 this kind of scheme from the Development Fund ; and the 

 Commissioners recognise the difficulties and dangers which 

 Parliament had in mind when laying down this prohibition. 



There is one further distinction which the Commissioners 

 have tried to observe in their recommendations : but it is not 

 one, they fear, which will commend itself in all quarters. The 

 main purpose of the Development Fund is the development of 

 certain industries, particularly agriculture (including forestry) 

 and fisheries — which they understand to mean, principally, an 

 increase in the production of those industries. Since the money 

 available is limited, this object is not always identical with the 



