124 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCO'ITISH AKBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



" Here we see the Commissioners in a new light. Hitherto they 

 have been well-wishers to afforestation bound by the restrictions 

 of the Act; now they give us some indication of what might be 

 their constructive policy if they were free to adopt it, and on this 

 constructive attitude I think it may be assumed fairly that they 

 invite our criticism. I will give you their own words from the 

 letter of the Secretary of the Commissioners to Mr Galloway : — 



" ' The Commissioners would be prepared to submit to the legal 

 authorities the question whether the terms of the Act permit of 

 an advance to a Government Department or a Company or 

 Association of persons not trading for profit, for the execution of 

 a rather different scheme, viz., that the Department or Company 

 should itself hold or acquire control of land for afforestation by 

 means of an advance from the Development Fund — the owner 

 of the land and his heirs standing out of the rent of the land 

 (if any) during the afforestation, but receiving an agreed pro- 

 portion of the proceeds of the afforestation as they accrue.' 



" ' The owner of the land and his heirs standing out of the rent 

 (if any).' These are the words : what are we to make of them ? 

 Is this a sparkle of bureaucratic wit, or is it the sober and 

 serious belief of the Commissioners that there exist in Scotland 

 tracts of land which could be profitably afforested yet producing 

 to-day no rent whatever ? 



" If the suggestion is serious, I am afraid it is not likely to find 

 much favour with owners of aflbrestable land. It requires the 

 owner to give the use of his land, to forego his rent, and ofters 

 no inducement beyond an agreed proportion of the eventual 

 return — if any — as the Commissioners might have been expected 

 to say. 



" The Commissioners do not mention the proportion, but the 

 rate has really very little bearing on the proposal ; even if it 

 were 99*9 per cent, few landowners could afiord to accept the 

 terms. 



"The loss to the landowner and his tenants caused by the 

 enclosure for afforestation of the natural wintering belonging to 

 sheep farms and deer forests is entirely ignored by this 

 suggestion. It is true that by a well-devised working-plan this 

 loss could be kept down to the minimum, both by attention to the 

 order of planting of the various blocks, and by opening the first 

 planted blocks as soon as they were safe from damage. Still, 

 even with the most skilful plan a substantial loss of rent during 

 the development period must be anticipated and provided for. 



