112 ENGLISH WOODLANDS 



published under the title, Science and the Nation, 1 

 with the object of making clear the position of 

 research as a factor in national prosperity. One 

 of the essays deals with forestry. The writer 

 admits by implication, that hitherto science 

 (whatever may be meant by this term) has done 

 nothing for forestry, but he is hopeful about the 

 benefits which the student in his laboratory may 

 in the future give to foresters. After a mention 

 of the appalling injuries done to German forests 

 by disease and destructive insects, he suggests 

 that science will be useful in finding means to 

 combat these pests; and further, that science 

 might provide useful knowledge about seeds 

 and the establishment of hybrids. 



The writers who advocate science in forestry 

 are also optimistic about the advantages of State 

 afforestation and the profits to be derived from 

 planting. They have one common fault: they 

 urge, perhaps not unfairly, the facts which in 

 their opinion support their argument, but they 

 ignore or press very lightly the difficulties which 

 meet English owners, such as the heavy annual 

 expenses of rates and taxes, the burden of death 



1 Science and the Nation, with an Introduction by the Right 

 Hon. Lord Moulton, edited by A. C. Seward, Master of Downing 

 College, Cambridge. At the University Press, 1917. 



