Plantations. Crown Woods under the Technical Supervision of the Forestry Commissioners. Area planted (acres). Year ended 30th September, 1923. Species planted, including beating up (thousands). The figures relative to areas and species stated in the tables on pp. 16-17 are exclusive of 1,180 acres planted in the Crown Woods which came under the technical supervision of the Commissioners and are shown separately on p. 18. Nurseries. The total area under nurseries at 30 September, 1923, was 441 acres stocked with 133 million seedlings and 43 million transplants. Comparative figures for the three years 1921-1923 are given in the following table. Supply of Seed.-Larch, Norway spruce, Corsican pine, Scots pine, Beech and Oak yielded abundant crops in the Autumn of 1922, while Douglas fir, Japanese larch and Chestnut failed entirely. The Commissioners, however, had carried over from the previous year sufficient stocks of Douglas fir seed to meet their own requirements, and, to a great extent, those of seed merchants and private individuals. The Sitka spruce crop was a complete failure in British Columbia but it is understood to have been fairly good in the United States; no seed of this species was purchased as sufficient supplies were in storage. In addition to Douglas fir and Sitka spruce, large supplies of larch, Norway spruce, Corsican pine and Scots pine seed were stored in air-tight glass carboys and in all cases were found to have lost but little of their germinative capacity when tested in the Spring of 1923. Sales of seed to nurserymen and private individuals in this country and to Dominion Governments amounted to 2,677 lbs. Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack, President of the American Tree Association, presented 468 lbs. of Sitka spruce seed to the Commissioners, who desire to take this opportunity of recording their appreciation of his very generous gift. Sub-head F, Advances for Afforestation Purposes: Of the total expenditure, £6,543 was in respect of overhead Sub-head G, Education: Expenditure, £11,792. Details of expenditure and income are given in Table G below. Apprentices' Schools: Expenditure, Gross £7,577; Net £6,319. -The demand for trained men varies with a number of factors of which the most important is the rate at which the Commissioners' own planting programme is expanding. For the Net Expenditure. moment the annual planting programme remains steady and it was decided during the year to close one of the three schools, namely that at Chopwell. The present schools in operation are Parkend (Forest of Dean) and Beaufort (Inverness-shire). Fortyfive men received training at these schools during the year. The men, three in number, at Chopwell who had completed their first year of training were transferred to Parkend to finish their course. Grants to Universities and Colleges: Expenditure, £2,598.— The following Universities and Colleges were in receipt of grants during the year :-Oxford University; Cambridge University; University College of North Wales, Bangor; Armstrong College, University of Durham; North of Scotland College of Agriculture. The various Universities provide degree and diploma courses in forestry. Forestry courses are also available for students who are studying allied subjects such as Agriculture and Estate Management. The number of students who were studying forestry for degree and diploma examinations was 112. The forestry courses associated with Agriculture and Estate Management were attended by 136 students. The number of forestry degrees granted during the year was 41, while 48 candidates gained forestry diplomas. Sub-head H, Research and Experiment: Gross Expenditure, Details of expenditure are stated in Table H below:- Research and experimental work, as a whole, has progressed sieadily. |