78 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1918. 
do it collectively, and ask a landowner in the neighbourhood to plant an acre. 
That would be increasing sylviculture, and it would be a sort of advertisement 
of High Forestry. He should like to support the motion even if it were to 
be modified in the carrying out. 
Tue PRESIDENT, before Sir Charles Bathurst left, expressed the thanks of 
the Conference to him for leaving his ‘ sweet’ duties in order to give them 
an address. 
Sir Cuartes BarHurst said that it was a real pleasure to him and a real 
recreation from his ‘ sweetmeats.’ 
Mr. Marx Syxes (Manchester Microscopical Society), speaking on Arbor 
Day, said he did not think it was practical as proposed. Where were they 
going to get the land, and from whom were they going to get the permission 
to plant a tree? He did not see how that Conference could pledge its societies 
or the societies their members. What was wanted was, that the subject should 
be taken up by the landowners and by the Government; by all the people 
who had large tracts of land. There should be a systematic laying out of large 
plots, and a proper system of planting trees suitable to the ground in which 
they were planted : trees both of commercial and food value. This should be 
done chiefly by the landed proprietors. They came into properties; it cost 
nothing to plant trees; the seeds were there in thousands and millions. Land 
which has borne a forest is land best. suited to bear another. There was nothing 
better than leaves from the trees for the ground; and the ground was already 
prepared for a future forest. 
Mr. Hopxtyson thought one objection was already met by his reservation 
‘to the best of their ability.’ 
Mr. Ducuesne, who felt very much flattered by the length and interest of 
the discussion, could not agree with Mr. Sykes that there was no cost in planting 
trees; they found it very costly. From his experience of the forests of Canada, 
also, he could assure them that it was not correct that new forests sprang up 
from the old forests. He had been all over the Continent, and in every country 
their first aim was to get natural production from the seeds. Unfortunately 
grass and weeds grew up so fast that they smothered the seedlings. Therefore 
they had to raise trees in the nursery and plant them out. 
He vas particularly interested in wood-pulp, but there were so many points 
to deal with, and he had dealt with wood-pulp in a paper read in the early 
part of the year. Spruce (white deal) could be grown for wood-pulp. 
Replying; to Mr. Whitaker, who had protested against being urged to do one 
thing from one quarter and another from another, and as if each thing should 
be our sole business in life, Mr. Duchesne said that their suggestions as to 
afforestation did not conflict with any of those for food production, whether 
it were cereals or fruit. What they suggested was not that the whole of our 
supply should be grown: it was quite impossible. Obviously, we could not 
grow mahogany, though there is no other country in the world that can produce 
so many varieties successfully. But we must create reserves, so that in an 
emergency we could draw on them as an insurance. The Prime Minister had 
spoken of the immense quantity of tonnage taken up in the transport of timber 
to this country. 
As to Arbor Day, he was in favour of anything that would encourage 
interest and educate the people in the country—the children particularly. He 
supported Arbor Day because he thought it would do a great deal to encourage 
forestry. 
His great wish was that those men sent from thé lumber camps in Canada 
to fell the timber in this country and France, should go back to their cwn 
country and take an interest in forestry as well as in lumber. 
As to agriculture, he had been connected with it all his life, and was as 
keen as anyone on it, and he quite agreed with Mr. Whitaker as to the 
extension of fruit industries in this country, particularly in the growing of 
apples and such fruit with discretion. 
One speaker had referred to John Evelyn and William Cobbett. He had 
for a text in his last paper an extract from John Evelyn’s book, which was 
