496 SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—K*. 
in the investigation of the uses of timber and minor forest products such as dyes, tans, 
oils, resins, lac and pulp from bamboos. Other useful lines of inquiry are seasoning 
of timber, antiseptic treatment of railway sleeper and other woods, the structure of 
timber and the qualities of timber as regards strength and elasticity. 
Under the head of protection the most important items are the control of damage 
done by insects and fungi, damage which has attained great dimensions in many 
forests in tropical and temperate regions. 
Forest research has been carried out principally in India, and also to a certain 
extent in Great Britain, the Malay States, Canada and elsewhere, and is steadily 
increasing in importance. 
A most important development as regards research and education has taken 
place recently at Oxford, where the Imperial Forestry Institute has been established. 
Although badly hampered in its work by lack of funds, under the admirable guidance 
of Prof. Troup this Institute has already made great progress, and has attained a 
commanding position in the Empire as the centre of forest research, forest education 
and a means of disseminating technical information. 
The training of forest officers of the higher grades for service in the Empire began 
in this country in 1885 at Cooper’s Hill, and after 1900 it was taken up by several 
of the universities in Great Britain, Canada and elsewhere. A committee appointed 
by the Government went fully into the whole matter during the present year and 
expressed the opinion that four years were necessary to train a forest officer. The 
importance of maintaining a supply of properly trained experts cannot be over- 
estimated. 
To sum up, we may say that we have a forest estate of about 2 million square 
miles, that large parts of this have been grossly misused in the past, but that the 
prospect at the present day that the forests will now be properly managed is good 
and that an increasingly valuable asset will be assured for the Empire. 
(2) Sx R. L. Rosiyson, O0.B.E.—Empire Forestry during the past 
Decade. 
(3) Mr. Fraser Story.—The Empire Forests as a Resource. 
Prof. E. P. Srespine.—A fforestation Work in the Plateau Central of France. 
Tuesday, September 29. 
Mr. R. Bourne.—Site as the Basis of Ecological Survey and Forest Practice. 
Attention is to be concentrated on a basic truth, a more general recognition of 
which would help to remove many of the primé facie problems of ecology and forestry 
from the realms of controversy. 
There is evidence from all over the world that the degree to which undisturbed 
natural vegetation, i.e. virgin forest, reflects the habitat conditions, or site, varies 
region by region. In some regions, particularly in hot and dry and frequently in 
cold climates, a map of the dominant species or mixtures is to all intents and purposes 
a site map. The close association of site and natural vegetation is very marked, 
and is best illustrated by air photographs which picture the distribution of dominants 
and the well-defined boundaries of vegetative types, or sub-types. 
In most regions under hot and constantly humid climatic conditions the climate 
is so favourable to the growth of many species that a map of dominant species or 
mixtures only coincides locally with a detailed site map. Quite marked differences 
in soils, aspects, &c., are of small significance in controlling the distribution of species. 
Apart from the general climatic type of a region, distinct vegetative types are clearly 
associated only with extreme edaphic conditions, either exceptionally shallow and 
dry soils, or swampy areas. 
Within more mesophytic and milder climates seasonal variations generally render 
edaphic conditions of considerable significance in the distribution of species. In 
many regions a map of dominant species or mixtures closely resembles a detailed 
site map, but in others coincides only with site-groups, as in hot and humid climates. 
Thus the general truth to be emphasised is the regional association of natural 
vegetative types or sub-types, with site-units or site-groups. If natural forces have 
