THE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AND FORESTRY. 5 



communicating with the Board on the subject. Under the scheme 

 submitted grants would be required from the Development Fund, 

 amounting during the next few years to about ;^2oo,ooo. The 

 principal objects of the scheme were a national forest survey of 

 England and Wales, experiments in existing woodlands (with the 

 co-operation of the Royal English Arboricultural Society), the 

 provision of experimental forests in different parts of the country, 

 and grants to five existing teaching centres. 



The Commissioners have already set forth their general views 

 on the policy to be adopted for the development of forestry. 

 On considering the Board's application in the light of those 

 principles, they thought that it would probably save time and 

 trouble if the questions raised were discussed personally between 

 representatives of the Board and of the Commissioners. An 

 interview took place between the Secretary to the Board and 

 Sir S. Eardley-Wilmot, Chairman of the Commissioners' Forestry 

 Committee ; and the Commissioners subsequently intimated 

 that they would be prepared, on receiving the details of the 

 expenditure proposed during the next two years, to recommend 

 a grant to the Board. At the same time, they asked that the 

 Board should have regard to the opinions at which the 

 Commissioners had arrived on the advice of their Forestry 

 Committee, viz. : — 



(a) That education, research, demonstration and survey are 

 all part of one scheme for the furtherance of forestry as 

 a national industry ; a general survey not being an 

 essential preliminary to that scheme but merely a part 

 of the whole. 

 (d) That the value of a system of sample plots is recognised, 

 but that the supervision of these experiments would be 

 more efficiently carried out if entrusted to the subsidised 

 institutions rather than to private societies. 



(c) That the proposal for the early purchase of a demonstra- 



tion area, to be used also as a centre for research, 

 is approved, but that further similar purchases should 

 be contingent on the progress made in State forestry. 



(d) That the Commissioners agree with the policy of provid- 



ing advisory officers at local centres, whose duties will 



be not only to advise individuals but to give instruction 



in elementary forestry, and also with the proposals to 



encourage provision for the higher technical education 



at one or at the most two centres ; but research should 



be principally centred at the demonstration areas. 



In the middle of July, the Commissioners received from the 



Board an estimate of the sum required for the development of 



forestry in England and Wales during the period from the ist 



October 191 1 to 31st March 19 14. The estimate amounted in 



all to ;^95,ooo, of which ^^20, 150 was required for grants to 



institutions for such purposes as advisory work, instruction, 



