passed the recommendation on to the Development Com- 

 missioners. The Development Commissioners, as you heard 

 to-day and have already, I think, heard frequently before, came 

 to the conclusion that the selection of this area was not a proper 

 one, and they informed the Board that they would endeavour to 

 find a suitable place nearer the centre of Scotland than the area 

 in Aberdeenshire. They did select a place — being the area 

 surrounding Loch Ordie in Perthshire — and they also negotiated 

 for, not a purchase of it, but a lease. The general terms of the 

 lease had come before the Board for consideration. The Board, 

 fortified by the views of the Advisory Committee, and supported 

 strongly by the late Dr Nisbet, intimated that, as advised^, they 

 could not approve of the terms proposed for the purposes of 

 forestry demonstration. The Board were of opinion that the 

 area which I have described to you should certainly belong 

 to the State. The proposal of the Development Commissioners 

 was that the area should be leased for a period of years, and at 

 the end of that period certain arrangements would have to be 

 made whereby either a new lease would be entered into or the 

 proprietor of the land would step in again and take over the 

 crops. In the latter event the demonstration area carried on for 

 ICO years or so would revert to the owner of the land, probably 

 upon quite reasonable terms, but the result would be that the 

 continuity of the demonstration would end. The position now 

 is, as far as I can gather, that we shall have to begin again. 

 The Board will have to consider the question afresh, and no 

 doubt they will, as far as possible, take all those interested in 

 afforestation into their confidence. I should now like to refer 

 briefly to one or two other matters connected with forestry. The 

 Development Commissioners have proposed, because they are 

 not allowed to lend money to landlords for planting, to permit 

 the Board to lease land for that purpose, and the terms proposed 

 by the Development Commissioners have been already made 

 public. I would like that these terms should be carefully 

 considered by the Society and the members, and I would be 

 very glad to have any observations or criticisms they might have 

 to make upon them. Local authorities have obtained the 

 privilege of borrowing money from the Development Com- 

 missioners for planting which has been denied to the private 

 landowner ; and it is most hopeful to find that the Mid-Lanark 

 District Committee have actually secured an area of about 



