president's address. 
625 
death he had in contemplation a visit to England in the hope of 
benefiting by the change. Many of his papers on Lepidoptera 
and Coleoptera will be found in our Proceedings. An appreciative 
notice by one of his colleagues, together with a complete list of 
Mr. Olliff's papers, has appeared in the Agricultural Gazette, Vol. 
vii. Part 1 (Jan. 1896). 
The year 1895 is especially memorable by the deaths of Huxley 
and Pasteur, two of the foremost leaders in Science. They 
occupied so prominent a position in the scientific world that their 
loss has been truly felt to be of world-wide importance. In the 
Journals and Magazines of the countries on both sides of the 
Atlantic have been published numerous well-merited eulogies of 
their lives and work, written from very varied standpoints, and in 
many cases based upon special or personal knowledge. As they 
are within reach, and have probably already come under your 
notice, I should be at a disadvantage in any attempt to touch 
further upon themes which have already evoked sympathetic and 
appreciative treatment from those best qualified to speak. 
I propose now to say a few words on the subject of Forestry — 
the importance of which is much underrated. 
Our forests have been left hitherto very much to themselves, 
the idea being that as Nature has looked after them in the past 
so a kind providence will continue to do so in the future. The 
fact is overlooked, however, that with new conditions of settlement 
the chances of shapely young trees growing up to replace those 
removed are reduced to a minimum ; and so, as has occurred in 
other countries, the depletion will go on till sooner or later a 
feeling of alarm arises and the necessity for commencing the work 
of afforestation is recognised, and the task has to be undertaken 
at a much greater cost than if time had not been lost. 
The ignorance of the benefits to be derived from proper manage- 
ment of the forests is very remarkable. We are possessed of 
timber which in strength and durability can vie with the products 
of all the world, and a large revenue could be made out of it. 
Forestry is, as has been happily said by Professor Bailey Balfour, 
