4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of the State-aided educational and research work in forestry 

 should be centred. The Commissioners think that such an 

 area may be found among the existing Crown woods, in which 

 case the heavy cost of acquiring a privately-owned forest would 

 be avoided. At the end of the year this question inter alia 

 was being considered by a Committee of the Board of 

 Agriculture and Fisheries, on which the Development Com- 

 mission was represented by Sir S. Eardley-Wilmot. 



In Scotland the Commissioners have recommended consider- 

 able grants for the assistance of the Forestry School at 

 Edinburgh ; they trust that in administering them the 

 University and the East of Scotland College of Agriculture 

 will work in the spirit of harmony and co-operation which the 

 Commissioners have endeavoured to help in promoting. But 

 the main outstanding requirement of Scotch forestry education, 

 as of English, is a demonstration area. The Commissioners 

 stated last year their general views on this question, and 

 explained that it was being considered in detail by a 

 Committee appointed by the Secretary for Scotland. They 

 have not yet received the definite proposals which the newly 

 established Board of Agriculture for Scotland will no doubt 

 formulate on considering the Committee's report. 



Meanwhile the Commissioners see no reason why local 

 authorities should not be assisted by loans on easy terms to 

 afforest suitable land under their control, such as water 

 catchment areas. They have already received a few schemes ; 

 but desiring to encourage local activity in this direction, they 

 have recently issued a public notice, and drawn to it the 

 special attention of some of the authorities who are known 

 to control land not under wood. If this invitation produces a 

 satisfactory response from the authorities, they hope that it may 

 prove possible, at a comparatively small cost to the State, to 

 add considerably to the afforested areas of the country, and, 

 incidentally, to gain experience which may be of value to the 

 State, to local authorities, and to private owners. 



(ii.) England and Wales. 



In the previous report, it was stated that the Commissioners 

 had received at the close of their first year a memorandum from 

 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries outlining a comprehensive 

 scheme of forestry for England and Wales, and that they were 



