FORESTRY AT HOME AND ABROAD. 59 



Street does not know what forestry is, nor does he realise the 

 enormous benefits which afforestation can confer. 



In Scotland we have land in abundance suitable for tree- 

 growth. The reports by Royal Commissions and inquiries 

 otherwise made prove this statement to be an established fact, 

 and, what is more, no one disputes it. This land, therefore, 

 must be regarded as an undeveloped natural resource, but still 

 no systematic attempt has as yet been made to take stock of 

 its potential value as a national asset. Further, all are agreed 

 that we have the men trained in scientific and practical forestry 

 whose co-operation is necessary in making a survey of our 

 plantable land. We have, therefore, at the present moment 

 the land and the men capable of developing it. The first step 

 in that development must be a flying survey of the whole 

 country on the basis of the Glen Mor model. This view is 

 strongly supported and backed up by the best brains in the 

 country, but, unfortunately, no definite move has as yet been 

 made to set in motion the machinery necessary for the making 

 of such a survey, and still the puzzling question. Why this 

 delay ? remains unanswered. 



We hear of schemes for forestry education, the provision of 

 expert advice for foresters and forest proprietors, the establish- 

 ment of demonstration areas, and the promotion of forest and 

 allied industries. These are undoubtedly all very excellent 

 things in themselves, but it would surely seem reasonable 

 to expect that in view of further developments we should 

 find out without delay the full extent to which afforestation 

 is possible in Scotland. If this were once known definitely, 

 then those in authority and responsible for the economic 

 development of the country would be able to embark on 

 forestry development schemes with a definite knowledge of the 

 extent and value of the final results to which those schemes 

 would lead. As the parts of an engine must be designed in 

 proportion to each other and properly balanced, so must the 

 organisation for forestry development be arranged and the 

 subsequent operations carried out in their proper sequence. 



The following paragraph, taken from the Canadiati Forestry 

 /ournal, applies to the position of forestry in Canada ^ : — 



" In taking stock of the forestry position, it is seen that 

 there has been a good deal of activity along certain lines with 



^ Canadian Forestry Journal, vol. ix.. No. lO, p. 145. 



