CO129-568-6 Botanical and Forestry Department- proposed expansion and reorganisation 4-10-1938 - 14-7-1939 — Page 16

TELEPHONES: OXFORD

2931 ADMINISTRATION

3131 GENERAL

15

38/46

Dear Gent,

IMPERIAL FORESTRY INSTITUTE

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

RECEIVEDPark Road, Oxford, 14th July, 1939.

17 JUL 1939

C. O. REGY

16

I must apologize for not having answered earlier

your 53666/38 of 17th April, 1939, about forestry in Hong

Kong. I put it aside to thirk over at a time of great

pressure of work, and it got overlooked.

I agree that it will probably be better to let

the matter rest, though it is fairly obvious that Hong

Kong needs professional advice on forestry. I suggested

Malaya only as the handiest place from which to get it, and

of course the conditions are different. But if one were

to accept the argument that a trained forester with experi-

ence in Malaya was incapable of appreciating conditions

elsewhere, there would not be much justification for a

Colonial Forest Service!

If the Hong Kong Botanical & Forestry Department

make proper use of the standard statistical forms for annual

reports of colonial forest departments, as appears to be

contemplated in their report for 1938, the true situation

should stand out more clearly.

Yours sincerely,

༡༠

Dr. Oliphan 6

G.E.J.Gent, Esq., D.S.O.,0.B.E.,M.C..

Colonial Office,

Downing Street,S.W.1.