THE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AND FORESTRY. 7 



the Commissioners agreed that forest gardens would be an 

 advantage to each of the educational institutions, they considered 

 that, as a rule, an area of thirty acres would suffice in each case. 

 They failed to see the need for demonstration plantations at the 

 teaching centres, as such plantations provide no practical basis 

 for the investigation of forest questions, and whatever need 

 there may be for inquiries of this nature would be sufficiently 

 met at a central demonstration area. 



(e) Buildings for Institutions. — As regards financial assistance 

 for new buildings at the educational centres, the Commissioners 

 decided that they would prefer to consider each case on its 

 merits rather than assent to a general principle that 50 per cent, 

 of the cost should be met by the Development Fund. 



(f) State Demonstration Forests. — The Commissioners concurred 

 with the Board as to the necessity for demonstration forests, 

 which they would prefer to see confined to one central area. In 

 view of the importance of this question they suggested, following 

 the precedent of Scotland, the appointment of a committee to 

 ascertain the most suitable localities for demonstration forests, 

 and to report, inter alia., on the respective advantages of 

 adapting for these purposes existing Crown woodlands, or 

 leasing or purchasing an area from local authorities or private 

 owners. 



(g) Minor Forestry Experiments. — The value of a system of 

 sample plots was recognised by the Commissioners, but they 

 thought that the educational advantages of such experiments 

 would be more fully utilised if the control of the plots were 

 vested in one or more of the five educational centres. In the 

 event of the Board being able to arrange for such control, the 

 Commissioners were prepared to recommend a grant of;j^iooo 

 for the preparation and upkeep of sample plots. 



(h) Salaries and Expenses of Staff. — The Commissioners 

 suggested that the question of any considerable grant to the 

 Board for this purpose should be deferred until forestry 

 development in England and Wales is placed on more definite 

 lines, and its scope becomes more apparent than at present. 

 Meanwhile they were prepared to deal with an estimate of the 

 additional administrative expenditure involved in carrying out 

 the above proposals, to which they are willing to give 

 immediate approval. 



The expenditure required to carry into effect the proposals 

 outlined above was estimated at ;^29oo for the remainder of 

 the financial year 1911-12: and on the 13th October the 

 Commissioners recommended the Treasury to make a grant to 

 the Board up to this amount. They added that they were 

 prepared, on application near the beginning of each financial 

 year, to recommend further advances to the Board on the same 

 lines; but they wished it to be understood that at the present 

 stage the expenditure recommended was purely provisional, and 



