Report of Society's Meetings. 171 
Mr. Walker in the same letter once more called atten- 
tion to the question of Forest Conservancy in this colony, 
and expressed a hope that ere long it may meet with the 
attention its importance deserves, and quoted a parapraph 
from the Times newspaper of 18th April, stating that 
at the end of 8 or 10 years, the Pine Forests of Mich- 
igan, Wisconsin and Minnesota will have been so nearly 
exhausted that their produce will cease to be of any 
national importance, and that their destruction has been 
wanton, short-sighted and rapid. 
A letter from Mr. Alexander Reid, dated 22nd 
April, was read, acknowledging the intimation of his 
election as an Honorary member of the Society, and 
stating that he will ever continue to feel a very warm 
interest in the prosperity of the Society. 
A communication was receivedfrom Mr. JOHN GORDON, 
(formerly of plantation Bel Air), dated 15th May, cal- 
ling attention to the advantages likely to be derived from 
Proctor & Company's Steam-digger, and forwarding a 
specification of the prices of the engine and digger com- 
bined, ranging from £470 to £600. — He said : 
"I think such a machine would be of immense benefit to the planter. 
" The general obstacle to its working smoothly would be the banks and 
" ridges of the cane rows ; but in preparing old cultivation for replan- 
" ting, it might, I think, be introduced with great gain. It has been 
" more than once proposed to plant canes on a level surface : and I do 
" not see why it should not be done, for I believe the principle advan- 
tage of re-digging land is derived from getting the canes down into 
" soil from which the potash has not been removed by previous crops, 
" and it is now known that muriate of potash can be easily applied at 
" very small expense." 
On the motion of Honourable WILLIAM RUSSELL, who 
remarked that it was pleasant to find an old colonist 
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