X9II.] Report op^ THE Development Commissioners. 373 



above purposes should include provision for the creation and 

 maintenance of such staff as may be necessary to give prac- 

 tical advice and assistance to those who desire to undertake 

 afforestation or to develop existing afforested areas. 



It will be gathered that in considering their action in this, 

 as in other directions, the Commissioners have been faced 

 at the outset with the difficulty that the number of trained men 

 in this country capable of directing forestry operations on 

 any large scale is at present very small. Before all else they 

 think it necessary that this difficulty should be overcome. 



Agricultural Research and Education in England and 

 Wales. — The Report then proceeds to describe the negotia- 

 tions which were carried on during the year with a view to 

 the settlement of a general scheme to be administered by the 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries for the organisation of a 

 system to aid and develop agriculture by the provision of 

 technical advice for farmers and by promoting scientific 

 research and experiments in the science, methods, and prac- 

 tice of agriculture. A final conclusion was not reached by 

 the end of the year, but the Commissioners informed the 

 Board that they were willing to contemplate an expenditure 

 of ;^40,ooo per annum for research work alone, apart from 

 advisory and other work. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, however, sug- 

 gested to the Commissioners that certain interim grants should 

 be made through the Board to certain institutions, to enable 

 them to carry on approved lines of investigation during the 

 year 1911-12, at the end of which period it was anticipated 

 that the requirements of agricultural research would be dealt 

 with under the general scheme. The Commissioners stipu- 

 lated that the institutions concerned should be made clearly 

 to understand that the grants were provisional and without 

 prejudice to the general scheme under consideration, and 

 that they would not be renewed in subsequent years, except 

 in so far as the institutions were found eligible for grants 

 under the general scheme. 



The Commissioners then decided to recommend that the 

 following grants, or such proportion as might be required 

 for the financial year, should be paid to the Board for the 

 benefit of the institutions named below, and for the purposes 

 iiulionit'd. 



