224 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Dominions is evidence that they are realising that the Dominions 

 must be established on a permanent Vjasis, that our industries 

 and our development must not be haphazard and based on the 

 exigencies of the moment, but that we must lay clear and 

 far-sighted plans that look to the future and that will make for 

 the development of our own countries, and, making for the 

 development of our own countries, will make for the develop- 

 ment of the Empire. There are two things that perhaps have 

 struck me particularly in coming to Scotland and seeing 

 the situation in regard to forestry here. One of them I 

 referred to particularly this afternoon, and that is the different 

 attitude taken by the Government towards forestry in our 

 country to that which at present is apparently taken towards it 

 in Scotland. In our country the Government has made the 

 first move, and it has found some difficulty in getting private 

 persons to follow its lead. In this country, the order seems to 

 be reversed. For instance, we find that here it is the private 

 person who is making experiments in regard to species of trees 

 suitable for growing in Scotland. In Canada it was the Govern- 

 ment that took up that work, and in fact, if the Government 

 had not experimented quite thoroughly with different species of 

 trees, in the Western Provinces, before they took up tree planting 

 on farms under the supervision of the branch I represent, 

 we would not have had the knowledge to make that enterprise 

 the success it has been. I know Scotsmen are modest and do 

 not like to have themselves or their fellow countrymen praised 

 up too much, but I may say that branch of the work is practi- 

 cally in the hands of Scotsmen from the chief downwards. 

 Another thing which has struck me in connection with the view 

 taken here is the fact that you are counting on forestry to 

 increase the population in the country. The difficulty that we 

 run up against in Canada is the fact that when we wanted to 

 hold land for forestry purposes we were almost denounced, 

 in fact, were denounced sometimes, or at least it felt a good 

 deal like that when they 'got talking' of trying to prevent 

 population by taking lands for forestry that ought to be used 

 for agricultural development. It has been very interesting to 

 me in going about Scotland to see the situation and talk to 

 members of your Society and understand their views of the 

 situation, that development of forestry does not mean decreasing 

 the population but increasing the population and prosperity in 



