42 



It is certainly the Society's duty to point out that, even in 

 the period of retrenchment which must follow the huge expenditure 

 on the war, the claims of afforestation as a necessary develop- 

 ment of the country's resources will be as strong as ever. 



" Had a State scheme of afforestation been in existence it 

 would have been able to provide employment for a number of 

 discharged soldiers, subject to careful selection of suitable men. 

 Even now a well-planned scheme will be a good investment 

 for the State ; and though at the present moment it might be 

 difficult to find sufficient labour, owing to the great number of 

 men who have enlisted from the district most suitable for 

 afforestation, after the war employment is likely to be scarce in 

 the Highlands. The large rents, until recently, paid for deer 

 forests and grouse shootings, and the considerable amount of 

 employment depending upon them, will be reduced or disappear 

 for a longer or shorter time. It cannot be expected that the 

 demand for such luxuries will rise quickly to the old level after 

 the end of this devastating war, and the consequent loss will be 

 serious, not only on account of the reduction of local employment, 

 which will hardly be felt during the war, but also on account of 

 the disappearance of rateable values, which must already affect 

 local authorities. 



" In short, war conditions only emphasise the soundness of the 

 Society's contention that afforestation is the chief means of 

 improving the economic state of the Highlands." 



The President then went on to say that although the Resolu- 

 tion as framed did not specifically ask for the formation of a 

 separate department of the Board with a separate grant, that was 

 still the devoted policy of the Society, as expressed in previous 

 resolutions. 



Mr George Fraser, Factor, Dalzell, wrote pointing out that 

 it might not be possible to have Small Holdings in conjunction 

 with every forestry scheme, that the difficulty of housing would 

 be an important element in every scheme, and that housing as 

 well as forestry ought to be fostered as a national question. 



Mr Jambs Kav, Rothesay, wrote suggesting that Local 

 Authorities might do more than they had done in the way of 

 afforestation by forming plantations on the catchment areas of 

 their water supplies. 



Mr J. F. Annand, Adviser in Forestry^ Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 

 also wrote strongly supporting the resolution and pointing out 



