March 17, 1892 ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
205 
eligible offered themselves for re-election—viz., Messrs. C. W. Knowles, 
Kiley Scott, E. G. Wheeler and W. Woods ; two other vacancies having 
occurred, making six new members to elect. Six fresh members being 
proposed in addition to the four out-going, a poll by show of hands was 
taken, resulting in the election of Messrs. C. W. Knowles, E. Scott, E. G. 
Wheeler, and W. WooJs with K. J. Chard, and W, P. Thomson. The 
Trustees, Auditor, and Treasurer were thanked for their past services. 
Secretary was also thanked and re-elected for 1892. The disbursements 
of the Society during 1891 in sickness, sums at death and benevolent 
fund, exceeded that of 1890 by £120 9s. 3|d. 
ENGLISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
A MEETING of the Council of this Society was held in the Farmers 
Club Eoom, Newcastle, recently. Mr. Coroner Graham, Durham 
occupied the chair, and amongst those present were — Councillor 
Davidson, South Shields; Mr. W. Fleming. Durham; Mr. W. Fell, 
Hexham ; Mr. B. Cowan, South Shields ; Mr. G. Cooper, Gateshead ; 
Mr. .Jos. Robson, Hexham ; Mr. R. Shipley, Haydon Bridge ; Mr. G. 
Gallie, Ravensworth Castle ; Mr. R. R. Wilson, Swinton, Masham ; Mr. 
J. F. Robinson, Burnopfield, Durham ; Mr. Jos. Graham, Mr. T. Vasey, 
Mr. E. Lincoln, South Shields ; Mr. John Hood, jun., Newcastle; Mr. 
John Balden, jun., Hexham ; Mr. John Davidson (Secretary), Haydon 
Bridge, &c. The minutes of the last Council meeting were read and 
confirmed. 
New Members. 
The following gentlemen were elected members of the Society :— 
Sir Baldwyn Leighton, Loton Bank, Shrewsbury ; Messrs. Bayliss, Jones, 
and Bayliss, Cannon Street, London ; Mr. T. Rothewe, Huddersfield ; 
Mr. A. Shaw, Huddersfield ; Mr. J. Tait, Richmond ; Messrs. Sander 
and Co., West Hartlepool; Mr. W. Clapham, Stockport ; Mr. Ed. Joicey, 
Blenkinsopp Hall, Haltwhistle (life member) ; Mr. P. McAndrew, 
Prudhoe ; Mr. S. C. Rudman, Windlestone; Mr. Aid. Wardle, Mr. Coun¬ 
cillor W. R. Smith, Mr. James M. Smith, and Mr. Thomas Fyall, South 
Shields ; Mr. John Hood, jun., Newcastle. 
The Annual Excursion. 
The Secretary explained, in answer to the Chairman, that at the last 
meeting of the Council it was resolved to add Castle Howard and Masham 
to the list of places which were recommended by the annual meeting 
for selection by the Council as places which might be visited on the 
occasion of the next annual excursion, and he added that he had a letter 
from Lord Masham saying that the members of the Society were per¬ 
fectly at liberty to visit his estate. After some consideration it was 
agreed to recommend to the members of Council, who will vote by 
proxy on the question, the following places :—Castle Howard and 
Masham ; Woomersley Hall, Pontefract ; Frystone and Byrom Hall, 
Ferrybridge. 
County Councils and Waste Lands. 
Mr. B. Cowan read a paper on the necessity of forming a Parlia¬ 
mentary Committee, with the view of promoting legislation giving 
power to County Councils to acquire waste lands for the purposes of 
tree planting. He said that the merest tyro in arboriculture did not 
need to be reminded that trees improved the climate, added to the rain¬ 
fall, clothed the nudity of many a rugged eminence, and made our 
gorges and mountain passes more a'.tractive to the wayfarer and visitor. 
In Northumberland alone there was a great deal of land which could 
never be rendered productive either by farming or spade industry, 
and one was led to think that Nature left them for man to finish and 
adorn. This applied also to waste and boggy land. A fine example of 
what might be accomplished in this way was furnished by the improve¬ 
ments effected by Lord Armstrong at Cragside. Mr. Cowan gave 
statistics as to the woodlands in Northumberland and Durham, and 
made a series of suggestions as to the action which should be taken by 
the Society with the view of having our waste lands, bogs, morasses, 
ravines, and gorges clothed with timber—an operation which would 
provide work for the rural population, and assist in arresting the 
migration from country to town. 
The Chairman suggested that attention should be directed to the 
necessity of forming a school of forestry in England. A great deal of 
care was taken by the Government of this country of the forests in 
India, and now and again they had to send out officers sufficiently 
instructed to look after these extensive forests. But where had these 
gentlemen got their education 1 Why, they were sent abroad to schools 
of forestry in France or Germany to be instructed in that which surely 
could be taught at home. If it was necessary to send our cadets abroad 
to learn their business, he thought it was really about time that such a 
system was brought to an end by the establishment of a school of 
forestry in England. 
The Secretary said he supposed Mr. Cowan included in his definition 
of waste lands not only land that was common land, such as waysides 
or open spaces in the vicinity of towns, but land already in the hands of 
private owners, and that was lying unproductive ? Mr. Cowan replied 
in the affirmative. 
Mr. Robinson took it that Mr. Cowan meant that County Councils 
should have power to purchase from the present proprietors lands which 
were unproductive, and plant them with trees. Supposing that were 
done, to whom was the timber to belong? The Chairman : It will be 
the property of the county, you know, and it will come in aid of the 
rates when the trees grow. Mr. Robinson said he w.ould like to suggest 
that a strong recommendation be sent to the Government, urging them 
to push forward the question of the formation of a Board of Forestry, as 
recommended by the Committee on Forestry, which sat two or three 
years ago. Those who obtained the report of that Committee would 
remember that it decidedly advocated the formation of a Board of 
Forestry, and the English Arboricultural Society was suggested as sending 
delegates to it. 
Mr. Wm. Fell said it was a disgrace to us as a nation that our young 
iren should have had to be sent abroad to learn forestry. They had as 
PIG. 31.— CYPRIPEDIUM CRBON. (Sci page 197.) 
good practical foresters in Northumberland, no doubt, as could be found 
anywhere ; but they had not been educated in the theory of forestry, 
and had not been able, consequently, to pass the examinations necessary 
to obtain the foreign appointments that were worth having. That was 
an unfortunate condition of matters which Mr. Cowan’s paper that day 
would no doubt tend to alleviate if its recommendations were carried 
out. In England only 4 per cent, of land was under forest. It was 
40 per cent, in Russia ; 34 per cent., Sweden ; 29J- per cent., Norway ; 
26 percent., Germany ; 22 per cent., Turkey ; 18 percent., Switzerland; 
14 per cent., Greece ; 7 per cent., Spain ; 7 per cent., Belgium ; 7 per 
cent., Holland ; 4 per cent., Portugal; and 3^ per cent., Denmark. 
The lectures that were being given at Hexham under the auspices of the 
County Council would to a great extent rectify this condition of things. 
These lectures had been attended by fifty-one students, and he thought 
that was a handsome number. He moved a vote of thanks to Mr. 
Cowan for his valuable paper. Mr. Balden seconded the motion, which 
was unanimously agreed to. 
Considerable discussion followed, in which Councillor Davidson, 
Messrs. Balden, Fell, Shipley, and others took part, and ultimately the 
following resolution was unanimously adopted, on the motion of Mr. 
Balden, seconded by Mr. Fell:—“ That it is desirable in the interests of 
forestry to call the attention of the Board of Agriculture to the necessity 
of granting powers to County Councils to acquire suitable lands to be 
set apart for the purposes of reafforestation.” On the motion of Mr. 
Cowan, seconded by Mr. Davidson, the Council were appointed a 
Parliamentary Committee, to take such action as they may deem expe¬ 
dient to carry out the object of the resolution. The next Council 
meeting was fixed to be held at Newcastle .—(^Hexham Herald,^ 
HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 
Grafting Fruit Trees. —Where old, but healthy, though perhaps 
fruitless Apple and Pear trees exist, or those which bear but indifferent 
or inferior varieties of fruit, they should have their branches headel 
