Download Full PDF - 15.78 MB - The Society of Irish Foresters

38The vote of thanks to the speaker was proposed by Mr. H. M.Fitzpatrick, who expressed the Society's appreciation of the great honourdone to it by Mr. Cameron who had come specially from Rome toaddress us. Mr. Cameron's previous visit had been on the ForestryMission to Ireland for F.A.O. and his report was at present beingconsidered by the Government. He hoped the report would be adoptedand would form the basis of Irish forest policy.Referring to Appendix I of 'the report Mr. Fitzpatrick said theFaustmann formula was not applicable to Irish forestry. Its use in thereport was to justify an increase in the ceiling price for land forafforestation, and as such it was a telling argument and one which mightbe expected to appeal to the Central Bank directors. But this was notthe way for a nation to consider the position. We cannot exist withouttrees; a country without trees was like a house without furniture, butlet us furnish it as best we can in accordance with our means.Mr. McElligott, seconding the vote of thanks, said that in the mainState forestry seemed to be concentrated in Leinster and the better classlands and he made a plea for the development of the waste areas of theWest. He also expressed the hope that the Government would nowdefine a forest policy as the first important step. But then as forestrywas essentially a long term investment it was generally put on the longfinger. This, he said, was a very poor approach indeed, a million acresof forest would mean as much to us as coal does to England.=