Io6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICUI.TURAL SOCIETY. 



collection of timber being made at Cambridge should, wlven 

 complete, be most interesting, as it will fairly represent the 

 average obtainable at different ages, from different districts and 

 under different silvicultural conditions. The whole of the timber 

 from these sample trees is being taken to Cambridge and, after it 

 has been examined and compared with foreign grades, it will be 

 employed for various experiments in utilisation. 



The measurements taken in the ordinary course of selecting 

 the timber are being published in a series of bulletins which, it is 

 hoped, may ultimately assist in the preparation of yield tables. 

 These bulletins contain full descriptions of each sample plot 

 measured, with tables giving the soil analysis, the yield per acre, 

 details and measurements of the sample trees, stem analyses, 

 and the amount of converted material obtained, etc. The first 

 bulletin on Scots pine at Woburn, Bedfordshire, has appeared ; 

 a second on Scots pine at King's Lynn is in the press; and a 

 third on Corsican pine at Highclere, Hants, is in preparation. 



In the second Progress Report, the influence of the work which 

 Mr Burdon saw in progress during his visit to the United States 

 two years ago is evident, and we are glad to read of the plans 

 being made for experiments on the utilisation of British woods 

 on a semi-commercial scale. Such experiments should be of 

 considerable assistance in extending the use of British timbers. 

 As soon as the School obtains the necessary support to enable the 

 work to be started, it is proposed to test the comparative value of 

 different British woods for sleepers, paving blocks and building 

 timbers, and at the same time the comparative value of different 

 processes of preservation. A small experiment in this direc- 

 tion has been started at the request of the Great Northern 

 Railway Company, who have also spontaneously offered the 

 School facilities for carrying out tests on their line on a much 

 larger scale. Mr Collins, City Engineer for Norwich, has also, 

 with the approval of the City Council, offered similar facilities 

 for testing different woods for paving blocks, and several firms 

 connected with timber preservation have expressed a wish to 

 co-operate in these experiments. The semi-commercial scale on 

 which the work is being planned is seen in the fact that, for each 

 species to be tested, at least 400 to 500 sleepers and 18,000 to 

 20,000 paving blocks will be required, even if only six different 

 processes of preservation are employed. 



Another direction in which the Cambridge School of Forestry is 



