THE CONFERENCE AND DINNER. 191 



very difficult for me in the future to understand why a native of 

 your country is so proud of ' Bonnie Scotland.'" 



Lord Lovat said : — " When I was asked to speak at this 

 Conference, I had not the least idea that I should be in the 

 unfortunate position of being the first speaker. I had hoped 

 we might have had at this, probably the most important Con- 

 ference of foresters that has ever been held under the aegis of 

 the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, a statement, at all 

 events, if not a policy of goodwill from either the Secretary of 

 State for Scotland or the Chairman of the Board of Agriculture. 

 No doubt, the Secretary of State for Scotland is not able to be 

 with us on this occasion, but I must say I do very much regret 

 that we have not the honour of hearing to-day a statement 

 from the Chairman of the Board of Agriculture. I would like, 

 in the few remarks I propose to make, to point out exactly 

 to the foreign representatives what is the inner meaning of 

 this Jubilee of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. I 

 think I could define it in a word by saying that it means sixty 

 years of private endeavour and sixty years of organised inactivity 

 on the part of the State. On the subject of private enterprise, I 

 will only say that you gentlemen must be aware, as you have no 

 doubt been told by every practical forester, many of whom have 

 been round on tour with you, that the work you have seen, 

 which I hope you consider is good work, has been done by 

 private enterprise and by private enterprise only. Forestry, 

 like all institutions which require continuity run by private 

 enterprise, suffers from the intermittent expenditure which has 

 to be made over the various woods which you have seen. 

 There cannot be a single mature wood that you have visited 

 which in course of its growth upwards has not passed through 

 some period when the estate may have been embarrassed, or 

 the proprietor has been in his minority, or when there has 

 been some other reason why silviculture has not been given 

 the attention it required. We have no laws in this country 

 by which the State aids afforestation in return for a certain 

 measure of control, and, therefore, everything is done just 

 according as each individual wishes. The result is most un- 

 fortunate for forestry generally. The million acres of woods are 

 in some places like the woods in my neighbourhood which John 

 Grant Thomson was asked to admire, and regarding which he 

 said — 'They're nae woods.' That is so much for private enter- 



