TRANSACTIONS 



OF THE 



EOYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



9. The Society's Annual Meeting: President's 

 Address and Discussion. 



At the Annual Meeting of the Society, held on 5th February, 

 the Chairman, Sir Andrew Agnew, Bart., said : — " I beg to 

 thank you all very cordially for the high honour you have done 

 me in electing me President of the Society. I look upon it as a 

 very high distinction, and I will do all I can to justify your choice. 

 I own I accept office with a good deal of misgiving when I 

 think of the far more capable men who have held the position 

 before me. I think the Society has been always fortunate in 

 its presidents hitherto. To mention only two or three of my 

 predecessors — Colonel Stirling, Sir John Stirling-Maxwell and 

 Sir Kenneth Mackenzie — 1 feel that these are difficult men to 

 follow, but I hope, and indeed I think I may say, I feel sure 

 that they will be willing to give me the benefit of their 

 experience in any case of difficulty that may arise; and I know 

 that there is always Mr Galloway, who knows the ropes better 

 than any one, to whom I can always turn for friendly and safe 

 counsel. I hope that during the year of office while I occupy 

 this position we shall see some definite advance in the cause in 

 which we are all interested. 



" Forestry is not one of the questions that have been shelved by 

 the war ; on the contrary, the war has brought it into greater 

 prominence than before. It has given the country an opportunity 

 of realising to what an undue extent we have been depending 

 upon foreign supplies, and how very inadequate are our own 

 native timber supplies. As soon as the war began a scarcity of 

 timber began to be felt, and there was some anxiety lest 

 some of our leading industries might be crippled for want 

 of timber. The Government felt obliged to intervene to 

 provide a sufficient amount of pit-wood to keep our collieries 



VOL. XXX. PART II. F 



