is * ASS Hayy gee ak ba A ato ntnd «Of Fo ne Pte y meta Sp ror tee > cece ee. Pere his Teed im eR pment LIBRARY NEW v~ L GaRREE LIBRARY NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN i j ie 1 : ee f \ ‘ \ vi { 7 j a - i | { , t 7 i ¢ ' 7 ’ j i Ss { i . j j 7 a Ae OAL 4 Sr) a © Le ees oe , ‘i vt wa oP ; a A , i i ai 7 rs lnoe " } yi in a] a } mk f ; Ps ; ‘ . a a ue i i i! il i | 1 a ak " m i if x A 8 AC es 1 N be Ly we ae 1 ai Poo CORAL na SOT hi aa tat i iy in R AT. ST ao A i 00 Vb i Oe ae OS . Pe Pete A ia A ge ‘4 Che yim dh HG Lit) oman tip ap a ae ae LN uhaates iio Ol TONS = 5 ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. A. W. BORTHWICK, D.Sc. HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S8.S.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER. VOL XOX: EDINBURGH: PRINEE D FOR VHRR, SOCIET Y. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 102 L (LIBRARY NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN cs eis | aes: KHAO AaRArE Ramey rye ee, a wae if, bod py Fi ji Bw v ad pr i 5 ( ; Ve vy Ve Nah ae ’ abel li)? Ar b te ee ae ce 4 it Ie ee SET ft. ewe Gk ies rays, 2 amivuTd st ALS 0) 1a Car iH vi. CONTENTS: The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements 0 OW A 10. II. or views expressed by the authors of papers. . Discussion on Planting Distances : 5 : ; . Planting Distance for Douglas Fir. By Brig.-Gen. Stirling of Keir . On Planting Distances for Conifers. By Mark L. Anderson, o.C., B.Se. . Planting Distances. By the Honorary Editor . Finance in Estate Forestry. By John D. Sutherland, (Cops sow! B . Forestry Commission . British Empire Forestry Conference. By F. R. S. Balfour Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hobart-Hampden . . Unfavourable Influence of too many Stems on the Soil Moisture in the case of Pine Soils of poor quality : Note regarding a Sitka Spruce Tree at Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire . F - . . = ° Treatment of Forest Seed-beds with Disinfectants to prevent Damping-off. By James Kay . : > Notes and Queries:—A Newly-recorded Disease on Japanese Larch, caused by Phomopsis Pseudotsugae—The Museum of British Forestry at Kew—Planting Distance for Douglas Fir—The Diseases of the Douglas Fir—Effect of Pruning Green Branches from Larch—Effect of Pruning Green Branches from Spruce—Incidental Costs of Forestry— Abies Menziesii at Keilour, Perthshire—Will Thuya gigantea become a Timber of Value for Commercial Purposes ? . Reviews and Notices of Books:— Studies in French Forestry. By Theodore S. Woolsey, Jun., with two chapters by William B. Greely. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1920 PAGE 7O 73 34 12. 13. 14. I5. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21: 22. 23: 24. 25. 26. CONTENTS. Timber Technicalities. Compiled by Edwin Haynes, Editor of The Timber Trades Journal. London and New York: William Rider & Son, Ltd. Price 6s. net - Forest Management. By A. B. Recknagel and John Bentley. Pp. xili+269. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1919. Price 13s. 6d. . ° ° ° . : The Practice of Silviculture. By Ralph C. Hawley. Pp. Xi1+352. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1921. Price 22s. Forest Products: Their Manufacture and Use. By Prof. N. C. Brown. Pp. xix+471. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1919. Price 21s. net ; - : é - - The Harvest of Japan. By C. Bogue Luffman. T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., London and Edinburgh. 12s. 6d. net Obituary :—Mr Andrew Boa The Empire Forestry Association Forestry as a Means of Relieving Unemployment The Advantages of Shelter-Belts. By J. P. F. Bell, F.R.S.E. Soil Conditions affecting the Prevalence of Fomes annosus [Trametes radiciperda]. By M. L. Anderson Japanese Larch (Larix /epto/epis) and the New Disease. By George Leven : ; 5 ; Notes on the Trees and Shrubs of the Departments of Savoie, Haute Savoie and Isere. By F. R. S. Balfour Report of the Annual Excursion (with Plates) Experiments on the Storage of Seeds of Forest Trees Branch-growth of Douglas Fir. By M. L. Anderson Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hobart-Hampden Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. Richardson : : ; : Petawawa Experiment Forest Station. By James Kay The Silviculture of Indian Trees. By Sir George Waitt, M. BM, eee. o., C.l.&., LED; : ; : Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. By George U. Macdonald . Estate Nursery and Plantation Competitions PAGE 85 86 go 93 95 96 97 IOI 106 II2 118 121 125 137 144 148 157 167 174 179 182 CONTENTS. Notes and Queries:—Protective and Preventive Measures in Forestry—Tree-Growth in 1921—Armi/laria mellea as a Potato Disease—An Overhead Saw for Estate Work (with Plate)—Notes on Scots Pine—Edinburgh Meeting of British Association : F ‘ : : Reviews and Notices of Books :—The Historical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry. By M. C. Delany. Benn Brothers. Pp. 62,3 maps. Price 4s. 6d. net ° ; Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No. 2, 1921. Price 1s. A Short Manual of Forest Management. By H. Jackson, M.A. Pp. vii+68. Cambridge University Press. Price 7s. 6d. net - : : : ; Obituary :— The Earl of Ducie Proceedings of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 1921, with Appendices. PAGE 185 190 IQI 192 193 Tak a | i orl Iyetle nyprteirl fates? ee wien Wahi 4 (db Perea or b> dtl) #ave ene bicjn heeaeri UA “ose 12.97 Gat, Yaris aa” 1 Sa AD de Lar, . “= ge t Fes 7) Gg » ‘ ‘4 Py f é 6 1 "7 P } e aj 2 . o- |" ism “ if Mee “ ’ vie yo) leq hee | : ‘ 1" TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL | | SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. | NOM |) SOK, Vi PAE Ok: September 1921. : A. W. BORTHWICK, D.Sc, HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, 8.8.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER. AAA A Arr EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR, THE SOCIETY, SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET, a. ADVERTISEMENTS. KEITH & Co. (JOHN MENZIES & CO., LTD.) ADVERTISING AGENTS G CASTLE STREET EDINBURGH (Advertising Agents to H.M. Government for Public Departments in Scotland) ADVERTISEMENTS of every kind are received for insertion in the Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Publications throughout the United Kingdom. Notices of Sequestration, Dissolution of Partnership, Entail, etc., ete., for the Edinburgh and London Gazettes, are given special care and attention. Legal Notices, Heirs Wanted, and all other Advertisements, are inserted in the Colonial and Foreign Newspapers. Small Advertisements, such as Situations, Houses, and Apart- ments, Articles Wanted and For Sale, etc., etc., can be addressed to a No. at Keith & Co.’s Office, 6 Castle Street, Edinburgh, where the replies will be retained until called for, or, if desired, forwarded by Post. Parties in the country will find this a very convenient method of giving publicity to their requirements. A SPECIALTY is made of ESTATE and AGRICULTURAL ADVERTISEMENTS, such as FARMS, MANSION HOUSES, etc, to LET, ESTATES for SALE, SALES OF TIMBER, AGRICULTURAL SHOWS, ete. LAW and ESTATE AGENTS, FACTORS, TOWN CLERKS, CLERKS TO EDUCATION AUTHORITIES, and _ other Officials may, with confidence, place their advertisements in the hands of the Firm. One Copy of an Advertisement is sufficient to send for any number of newspapers; and the convenience of having only one advertising account instead of a number of advertising accounts is also a great saving of time and trouble. Addressing of Envelopes with Accuracy and Despatch. Telegrams—'‘‘PROMOTE,” EDINBURGH. Telephone No, 316. * ADVERTISEMENTS. DOUGLAS & FOULIS BOOKSELLERS ayp LIBRARIANS RS STANDARD WORKS ON FORESTRY Kept in Stock. An extensive Stock of New Books in all Classes of Literature at the usual Discount Prices also Books for Presentation in handsome Bindings Catalogues of Surplus Library Books at greatly Reduced Prices issued at intervals. Gratis and Post Free to any Address g CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 138 GEORGE SQUARE, EDINBURGH. The College is one of the Central Institutions administered by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, and is intended to provide for Agricultural Education and Research in the Central and South-Eastern Counties. SESSION—OCTOBER TO JUNE. DAY CLASSES. The Day Classes provide a full course of instruction in Agriculture and the Allied Sciences, and qualify for the Degrees of B.Sc. in Agriculture and in Forestry of the University of Edinburgh, the College Diploma in Agriculture, the College Certificate in Horticulture, and for other Examinations and Certificates in the Science and Practice of Agriculture. SHORT COURSES. Short Courses in Agriculture and Forestry, intended for those engaged in practical work, are held at the College annually. EVENING CLASSES. Evening Classes are held in the following subjects :— Winter Session—Agriculture, Chemistry, Veterinary Science, Forestry, Horticulture, Botany, Beekeeping, and Farm and Garden Pests, Summer Session—Field Botany and Practical Beekeeping. Particulars of Classes and Fees and information as to Bursaries tenable at the College will be found in the Calendar, which may be obtained from the Secretary— THOMAS BLACKBURN, 13 George Square, Edinburgh. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established 1842. FOREST TREES Large Stocks of Seedling, and Transplanted True Native SCOTS FIR, MENZIES, DOUCLAS, NORWAY SPRUCE, Etc. All grown from carefully selected seed, in an open and exposed situation, thoroughly hardy, and well furnished with abundance of fibrous roots. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Specimen Ornamental Trees for Lawns and Avenues. Trees and Shrubs for Seaside Planting. Plants for Game Coverts, Underwood and Hedges. Special Quotations for Large Quantities. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES AND SAMPLES ON APPLICATION. W. SMITH & SON, LIMITED, Nurserymen, ABERDEEN, N.B. HILLIER & SONS, WINCHESTER. HARDY TREES & PLANTS in Great Variety. Fruit Trees, Rose Trees. NEW & RARE CONIFERS, SHRUBS, TREES, &c., Including many recently collected in China, etc. For Rail Truck loads, we quote to buyers’ Station. WEST HILL NURSERIES, 350 ft. and 475 ft. altitude. Descriptive Priced Catalogues on application. ““ TRANSACTIONS” WANTED Vol. I. Parts1, 2, and 3 Vor IX; Part 2 Ll. », 2and 3(inone cover) » XII. rye | meV lie ri ie LW ‘Ae iW », 2 (2 parts only) 5) VIII. sored > Woe » Land 2 (2 parts only) Apply to THE SECRETARY, 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH FOR SALE A set complete, with exception of Part 1, of Vol. IV. Apply to MR WM. DAVIDSON. CAMPTOWN, JEDBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS, Telegrams: Telephones: ‘“ROBINSONS, GLASGOW.” WESTERN 3063, 4 Lines. ROBINSON, DUNN « CO, Timber Importers, Partick Sawmills, GLASGOW. Sawing, Planing, and Moulding Mills at PARTICK and TEMPLE. TIMBER PRESERVING WORKS AT TEMPLE. CREOSOTING AND ‘B.M.” PROCESSES. REAFFORESTATION One of the most urgent needs of the present is the Restocking of the Large Areas of Woodland cleared in recent years. The value to the Nation of a Home Timber Supply has been amply proved during the War. Forest Trees Deciduous Shrubs —_ Evergreen Shrubs Fruit Trees Ornamental Trees _ Roses SAMSONS, LIMITED, The Nurseries, KILMARNOCK Established 1759 Catalogues Post Free on demand Telephone No. 7 JAMES JONES & SONS, LTD., LARBERT SAWMILLS, All kinds of HOME TIMBER in the Round or Sawn-up, SUITABLE FOR RAILWAYS, SHIPBUILDERS, COLLIERIES, CONTRACTORS, COACHBUILDERS, CARTWRIGHTS, &c. &c. ADVERTISEMENTS. TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT MACKENZIE & MONGUR LIMITED HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS ALSO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AND IRONFOUNDERS. Registered Office and Works, BALCARRES STREET, EDINBURGH Iron Foundry .. nf a .. SLATEFORD ROAD, EDINBURGH LONDON .. af ts : = & .. 8 CAMDEN ROAD, N.W.1 GLASGOW .. 36 by mi? = = 121 ST VINCENT STREET HOTHOUSES HEATING ELECTRIC LIGHTING IRON FOUNDING SURVEYS MADE. ESTIMATES AND PLANS SUPPLIED. ADVERTISEMENTS. Special Value FOR Planting Season SITKA SPRUCE, ———— ne DOUGLAS SPRUCE 1921 (Oregon variety), THUJA GIGANTEA, LARCH, Japanese, eas i LARCH, Tyrolese & Scotch, hardy, healthy, SCOTS FIR, True Native, well-grown plants. NORWAY SPRUCE &ec., &c. Inquiries Solicited. Samples and Special Prices on demand. Special List of Tree Seeds & Seedlings published in January. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & COMPANY, NURSERYMEN TO THE KING, A BE R DE E N x By eee TESTED SEEDS. SELECTED SEED POTATOES. Duke of York. Midlothian Early. Sharpe’s Express. Epicure. Eclipse. Rhoderick Dhu. Majestic. K. of K. Victory. Ally. Great Scot. Kerr’s Pink. Tinwald Perfection. Edzell Blue. British Queen. Factor. Dargill Early. Arran Comrade. King George V. ECGs, etc: TESTED VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SEEDS. Dutch Bulbs. Roses. Fruit Trees. Catalogues Free. TILLIE, WHYTE & CO., Seed Growers, 12 MELBOURNE PLACE, EDINBURGH. Established 1837. ADVERTISEMENTS. ADAM WILSON & SONS, Ltd. Home Cimber Merchants and Saw Millers TROON And also at AUCHINLECK & DAILLY, AYRSHIRE Every Description of Round and Cut up Home Timber supplied for Collieries, Cartwrights, Coachbuilders, Boatbuilders, etc. A. & G. PATERSON, LIMITED ESTABLISHED 1824 Buyers of Scottish Forests Scotch-Wood Sawmills at ST ROLLOX, GLASGOW, ABERDEEN, BANCHORY MONYMUSH, INVERGORDON, Etc. ALL SIZES OF WELL-SEASONED LARCH FENCING ALWAYS IN STOCK Contractors to H.M. Government for Telegraph Poles, Sleepers, and other Home and Foreign Wood Specialties Larch and Fir Pitwood; Mining Poles; Papered Cloth Boards Boxwood of all Sizes; Headings PPP IMPORTERS of SWEDISH and RUSSIAN STAVES, BATTENS, Etc. NOW READY. ‘Forestry for Woodmen’”’ By C. 0. HANSON. ae Ge 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. — 6/ 6 Obtainable through any Bookseller from 6/ 6 HUMPHREY MILFORD, Oxtord University Press, LONDON, E.C. 4. ADVERTISEMENTS, Telegrams— “Stronghold, Edinburgh.” Phone No. 2104 Central. Nursery Stocks Fruit Trees and Bushes—in bearing condition Roses—H.P.’s and Teas, Climbers and Standards Herbaceous and Alpine Piants Forest Trees—Hedge Plants Ornamental Shrubs FARM SEEDS—Grasses, Clovers, Turnips GARDEN SEEDS Vegetables and Flowers GARDEN TOOLS—MANURES, Etc. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES ON APPLICATION STEWART 8 CO. (3 South St Andrew Street EDINBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS. Every description of Estate Work, Laying out Grounds, Avenues TENNIS COURTS BOWLING GREENS ROCK GARDENS etc. CONSTRUCTED OR RE-MADE Specialists in RUSTIC FURNITURE FOR THE GARDEN Artistic and Durable Summer Houses, Seats, Chairs, Tables, Porches, Bridges, Gates, Arches, Vases, Etc. Up-to-date Designs and First-class Workmanship Guaranteed Enquiries Solicited. Estimates and Designs on Application. MAXWELL M. HART 162 BUCHANAN STREET, GLASGOW - and Transplants). | LARCH, COMMON AND JAPANESE. SCOTS, AUSTRIAN AND CORSICAN PINES. DOUGLAS, SITKA AND NORWAY SPRUCES, HARDWOODS, ETC. Large Stocks of well-grown Plants with abundance of fibrous roots. ESTIMATES AND SAMPLES FREE ON APPLICATION. Please state your requirements— T. & W. CHRISTIE, Forest Tree Growers, FORRES, Morayshire. ADVERTISEMENTS DICKSONS & CO., The Royal Nurserymen, Established nearly 200 years. EDINBURGH Specialists in Seedling and Transplanted FOREST TREES. FRUIT TREES. « ROSES, Etc. + (EEE BS A (ee Pe Address for Telegrams: ‘‘Dicksons, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 1066. CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. Section of Royal Nurseries, Craigmillar, showing several millions of young Forest Trees. Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society MEMORANDUM regarding the Objects and Work of the Society. Institution. HE Society was founded sixty-seven years ago with the object of advancing Forestry in all its branches. During that period it has expended in the interest of Forestry a sum of over £27,400, including about 600 towards the expense of founding the Chair of Forestry in the University of Edinburgh. Membership. Any person interested in Forestry and desirous of promot- ing the objects of the Society is eligible for membership. Lines of Effort. The work of the Society in the past has been carried on mainly along educational lines, by holding meetings for dis- cussions, lectures, etc.; by publishing TZyansactions, which contain all the most recent and most important information relating to Forestry; by interviewing Ministers and pressing the claims of Forestry on successive Governments; by making silvicultural Excursions at home and abroad; by organising Exhibitions of Forestry throughout the country; by granting medals and prizes for Essays; and by affording to Members, through its Honorary Scientists, gratuitous advice on subjects relating to Forestry. Education. In recent years progress has been made in providing facilities for education, but the various courses of instruction could be much improved and added to, and a State Demonstration Forest has not yet been provided. A Degree and Diploma in Forestry for Forest Officers can be obtained at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a Diploma in Forestry for practical foresters at the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow, but meantime no Diploma is obtainable at the Agri- cultural Colleges at Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Schools of Practical Forestry have now been opened by the Government at Birnam and Beauly, and others are promised in suitable centres. Suitability of Conditions for Afforestation. All the experts—both home and foreign—agree that the soil and climate of Scotland are eminently suited to tree-growth, and are capable of producing timber of such quality and in such quantity as would make the country, to a very consider- able extent, independent of foreign supplies. Woodland Area and Its Value. Previous to the war, the woodland area of Scotland—due solely to private enterprise—was only 868,000 acres. Of the whole land area of the United Kingdom only 4 % was woodland, being the lowest percentage in Europe with the exception of Portugal. Smalland unimportant as this area appeared to be, it was found of inestimable value in connection with the war. The growing stock of mature timber is nearly exhausted, and it is imperative that it be replaced and greatly added to if national safety in the future is to be assured. The care of the young plantations which have survived the war is also of the greatest importance. Imports. The annual value of the imports of timber and timber products into the British Isles previous to the war was about 440,000,000, and about 80 or go per cent. of timber imported was coniferous. A considerable proportion of this might be grown in this country, where huge tracts of land could be more economically occupied in growing trees than as at present, and healthy occupation thereby provided for a much larger rural population, of whom a proportion would be small- holders, reaping the benefits of both forestry and agriculture. Agreement as to Need of Afforestation. All parties are agreed that it is the urgent duty of the State to undertake Afforestation on a large scale, either directly or indirectly in co-operation with landowners, to whom every encouragement should be provided by means of loans and grants, adjustment of taxation, etc. The Society’s views on the Development of Afforestation were asked by the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruc- tion Committee, and the statement prepared by the Council and adopted by the Society was subsequently printed as an Appendix to the Sub-Committee’s Report, which was issued in the beginning of 1918. An Interim Forest Authority was set up soon afterwards with a grant of £100,000 to make preliminary arrangements for Afforestation, and a Forestry Bill was sub- sequently introduced into Parliament to give effect to the recommendations of the Reconstruction Sub-Committee. Some anxiety was expressed in regard to local control under a Central Authority for the United Kingdom, but the Council received ample assurance that the policy of the Government and of the Forest Authority is to arrange that all the executive and administrative work shall be done, so far as Scotland is concerned, under the control of Scottish Officers with Headquarters in Edinburgh. The Bill became law as the Forestry Act, rg19, in August of that year, and came into operation on 1st September following. The Forestry Commission has now been appointed and has begun operations. In these circumstances it is very important that this Society should be in a position to assist effectively in directing schemes along right lines. The membership already includes a great number of men who are recognised authorities on Forestry, but it is desirable that it should include every one in Scotland who is engaged in producing, converting, or utilising timber, or who is otherwise interested in the subject, so that the influence and usefulness of the Society may be further increased. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S.S.C.,, 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, Secretary and Treasurer. EDINBURGH, 1921. Royat Scottish Arboricutturat Society I desire to become a member of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. Designation, Degrees, etc., Candidate's < Address, | WEES RG rae OLA Th lees BULA TALE ope a ee eee \ Signature, . Signature, . Proposer’ s Address, (CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP, see Over, CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP (excerpted from the Laws). III. Any person interested in Forestry, and desirous of pro- moting the objects of the Society, is eligible for election as an Ordinary Member in one of the following Classes :— I. Proprietors the valuation of whose land exceeds £500 per annum, and others, subscribing annually : . One Guinea. 2. Proprietors the valuation of whose land does not exceed 4500 per annum, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Merchants, and others, subscribing annually . . -Half-a-Guinea, 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land-Stewards, Tenant Farmers, and others, subscribing annually - . Six Shillings. 4. Assistant-Foresters, Assistant-Gardeners, and ethane subscribing annually . : . Four Shillings. IV. Subscriptions are due on the Ist of January in each year, and shall be payable in advance. A new Member's Subscription is due on the day of election unless otherwise provided, and he shall not be enrolled until he has paid his first Subscription. V. Members in arrear shall not receive the Zransactions, and shall not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Society. Any Member whose Annual Subscription remains unpaid for two years shall cease to be a Member of the Society, and no such Member shall be eligible for re-election till his arrears have been paid up. VI. Any eligible person may become a Zz/e Member of the Society, on payment, according to class, of the following sums :— 1. Large Proprietors of land, and others, : - . £610 10 6 z. Small Proprietors, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Mer- chants, and others, * 5: SiO 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land- Stewarts Tenant oe one others, . - 3 63n0 VII. Any Ordinary Member of ieee Bs aad 3, who has paid Five Annual Subscriptions, may become a Zzfe Member on payment of Two-thirds of the sum payable by a ew Life Member. XII. Every Proposal for Membership shall be made in writing, and shall be signed by two Members of the Society as Proposer and Seconder, and delivered to the Secretary to be laid before the Council, which shall accept or otherwise deal with each Proposal as it may deem best in the interest of the Society. The Proposer and Seconder shall be responsible for payment of the new Member’s first Subscription. The Council shall have power to decide the Class under which any Candidate for Membership shall be placed. 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH. CONTENTS. The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements SS co sr aw 10 EE. or views expressed by the authors of papers. . Discussion on Planting Distances . Planting Distance for Douglas Fir. By Brig.-Gen. Stirling of Keir . On Planting Distances for Conifers. By Mark L. Anderson, M.G., B:Sc. . Planting Distances. By the Honorary Editor . Finance in Estate Forestry. By John D. Sutherland, ek, 9. L. . Forestry Commission . British Empire Forestry Conference. By F. R. S. Balfour . Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hobart-Hampden . . Unfavourable Influence of too many Stems on the Soil Moisture in the case of Pine Soils of poor quality Note regarding a Sitka Spruce Tree at Fonthill ae Wiltshire : : 3 : : Treatment of Forest Seed-beds with Disinfectants to prevent Damping-off. By James Kay Notes and Queries: -A Newly-recorded Disease on Japanese Larch, caused by Phomopsis Pseudotsugae—The Museum of British Forestry at Kew—Planting Distance for Douglas Fir—The Diseases of the Douglas Fir—Effect of Pruning Green Branches from Larch—Effect of Pruning Green Branches from Spruce—Incidental Costs of Forestry— Abies Menziesii at Keilour, Perthshire—Will Thuya gigantea become a Timber of Value for Commercial Purposes? Reviews and Notices of Books:—Studies in French Forestry. By Theodore S. Woolsey, Jun., with two chapters by William B. Greely. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1920 Timber Technicalities. Compiled by Edwin Haynes, Editor of The Timber Trades Journal. London and New York: William Rider & Son, Ltd. Price 6s, net. PAGE 7O 84 85 CONTEN'S. Forest Management. By A. B. Recknagel and John Bentley. Pp. xiii+269. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1919. Price 13s. 6d. ; : ; ; : The Practice of Silviculture. By Ralph C. Hawley. Pp. xi+352. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd.,1921. Price 22s. Forest Products: Their Manufacture and Use. By Prof. N. C. Brown. Pp. xix+471. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. London: -Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1919. Price 21s. net... . : ; : : : The Harvest of Japan. By C. Bogue Luffman. T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., London and Edinburgh. 12s. 6d. net. Obituary :—Mr Andrew Boa. Proceedings of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 1920, with Appendices. PAGE 86 go 93 95 96 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCTETY. I. Discussion on Planting Distances. At the Annual Meeting of the Society, held on rzth February last, a discussion took place on this subject, which was opened by the following paper by Mr Geo. Leven. Mr Leven said :—‘ Notwithstanding the motto of this Society, the problem of planting distances involves far more than the ‘sticking in of a tree’ at a stereotyped distance from its neighbour. The whole science and practice of silviculture hinges on this initial operation. “The history of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society is the history of forestry in Scotland, as far as the matter under discussion to-day is concerned, and I may be allowed to focus your minds on the conditions as they existed when this Society was instituted. Arboriculture was much in evidence; open- grown woods abounded everywhere, due, probably, not so much to wide planting as to over-thinning. “Force of circumstances, in the shape of foreign competition and the increased cost of labour, led to a falling off of thinning in the more remote areas. More recently a gradual change was brought about through the influence of forestry lecturers trained in continental schools. The excursions of this Society abroad brought about a marked change in ideas. Close planting was perhaps carried to an extreme for a period, but I might add incidentally that probably some of the ‘neglected’ woods, in an arboricultural sense, gave the best returns, both materially and financially, during the period of the late war. ‘Reaction seems to have set in, and while little more than a tacit understanding exists, it is evident that the problem of how to keep down the initial outlay on plantations to a minimum is exercising the minds of many. How far the reduction of the number of plants used on a given area may be carried, is a VOL. XXXV. PART I. A ae 2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. momentous question, in regard to which opinions differ greatly. Recent tendencies seem to favour wider planting distances, as witness the article by Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart in vol. xxxiv., part 2, page 141, of the Zvransactions. ‘“We have been hearing a great deal lately about ‘ increased production,’ and the growing of two blades of grass where only one grew before. It probably would not be possible to accomplish the latter aim with trees, but I am sure we all deplore the large number of uneconomic areas that exist in this country. To put it in a tangible form, in the production of timber it is up to us either to bring about ‘a more economical production of the same quantity on a given area, or an increased production on the same area.’ Whatever we may differ on, I feel sure we are all agreed that ‘increased production’ is the desideratum. How is it to be brought about? Will wider planting do it? I confess I have my doubts. “So few reliable British data, outside the Bulletin recently issued by the Forestry Commission, are available, that I might be allowed to quote from Schlich’s Manual of Forestry. In 1906 —fifteen years ago—he wrote in the preface to the third edition: ‘Attempts have been made to teach British as opposed to continental forestry. Before this can successfully be done, we must set to work and collect statistics derived from home experience. When we have accomplished this, we can proceed and write economic British forestry. Until then it would be unwise to reject the experience gained elsewhere, even if it is derived from foreign sources.’ In the text of the work many pungent remarks bear on the subject on hand, but one quotation must suffice. Jnzer alia, in the course of a paragraph dealing with the superior quality of some British-grown hardwoods, he says: ‘ As regards Scots pine and spruce, frequently an inferior quality has been produced, because the trees were given too much growing space and in consequence laid on too broad annual rings.’ I am afraid we must admit that there is a good deal of truth in what Schlich says on the subject, even if we are not prepared to accept his planting distances. “It is desirable to have an object in view at all times, but decidedly so in forestry matters, and as far as humanly possible, the length of the rotation should be fixed before the planting distance is decided on. So many factors have to be taken into account before a final decision can be made, that it has DISCUSSION ON PLANTING DISTANCES. 3 been well said that ‘he who plants trees must look on the outcome of his labours with the eye of faith.’ “ As just stated the factors are so numerous that we can only briefly deal with the most outstanding. “ Rainfall plays no unimportant part in tree-growth, and while we occasionally hear of the ‘moist, insular climate of Great Britain,’ there are areas in this country where the paucity of air- and soil-moisture checks growth. Certain areas are more or less subjected to periods when the east wind prevails, with an almost complete absence of precipitation. Seasonal rainfall calls for soil protection to conserve moisture, and as the rate of tree-growth increases rapidly when once proper canopy is formed, it is evident, I think, that dry areas demand closer planting in order that normal density may be attained at the earliest possible period. Soil, in spite of ideas to the contrary, exercises a certain influence on tree-growth. Beyond the mineral nutrients contained in the soil, the physical properties have to be considered. For example, light sandy soils that become readily heated call for a closer planting distance than would be advisable in the case of clay. “The sterile condition (as far as tree-growth is concerned) of many new areas, compared with that of areas where replanting is being done, points to the importance of producing canopy at the earliest possible time. Once a soil becomes a ‘forest soil’ or a ‘made soil’ there might probably be some reason for maintaining that the soil, geologically speaking, does not influence growth. It is customary to speak of an average soil, and that may mean anything or nothing! One may give it as an average soil for a certain species, one for a certain district, another for a certain altitude, etc. This leads to the mention of such factors as elevation, exposure, aspect, and slope, but while all these influence tree-growth to a greater or lesser degree, time will not allow of more than the commonplace that, generally speaking, the greater the altitude the closer the planting should be. *T need hardly remind you that the attempts that have been made to place trees in the categories of fast and s/ow growing, shade-bearing and light-demanding species, are based on rather slender data, and are only relative terms when tested by the above factors. Age is a decisive factor in these capacities. ‘The questions of form-factor (taper) and branch-formation 4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. (or suppression) are inextricably linked together. Taking spruce as an example, in a low rainfall area where gross branch- growth has resulted from wide spacing, it will be found that branches above a certain diameter persist, even when dead, right through a rotation. The same holds good, to a certain degree, with most conifers. Form-factor is influenced by the same conditions, but while it is probable that heavy stocking gives the best final results, it is evident that we require reliable data collected in this country before we can dogmatise on planting distances for any species of tree. “In conclusion, I might be allowed to refer to a concrete example, well known to most of you—the Douglas plantation at Taymount, Perthshire. I have known this plantation since 1887, when it was about 27 years old, and am familiar with its early history. The Douglasiz were planted at 12 feet apart, and filled in with European larch to 6 feet apart. The conditions were so favourable to the Dowug/asii that the thin- foliaged larch made no impression in the way of suppressing branch-formation, with the result that, on the removal of the larch that were at an early stage wholly suppressed, pruning of the gross branches of the remaining crop had to be resorted to. At the time of pruning the form-factor was very low, ze. the taper was very pronounced. As the crowns developed and good canopy was produced, a decided improvement in the form- factor took place, but recent measurement shows that it is on the down grade, being little better than 0°3. “One swallow does not make summer, and what I have been permitted to draw your attention to may go for little, but I feel that we are all agreed that careful investigation of the conditions that obtain in this country is necessary before we make a radical change in our planting distances. Professor E. P. Stebbing said :—‘“ The question of planting distances is connected with the development of a clean stem. Even with pruning, unless undertaken very early, you would be by no means sure of getting clean planks when you cut up your timber, and therefore to get clean timber such as that which comes from Norway, and Sweden, and Russia, you must have close planting. The question seems to resolve itself really into a matter of supply and demand, because if the demand for timber is going to be great in the future, and the supply is going to fall short, we shall have to satisfy ourselves with an DISCUSSION ON PLANTING DISTANCES. 5 inferior article, and that is perhaps one reason for the suggestion of planting Douglas fir at a wider spacing. If we confine our- selves to the question of planting distances, in the case of spruce you can see plantations of spruce with a considerable taper on them in this country, the trees retaining their branches almost to the ground up to pit-wood size and beyond. You see the same thing in a lesser degree in Scots pine woods, and if you compare that class of young timber, pit-wood, with what you can see in the natural forests of Sweden, and Norway, and Russia, it is obvious that it cannot compete with the clean material from these countries in the markets. British material of this kind was saleable during the war, but that was exceptional. There is a very interesting spruce plot in the Forest of Dean planted 2 ft. 6 ins. by 2 ft. 6 ins. The plantation is, I think, 12 years old now, and it is clean up to 6 or 8 feet. The branches died while they were quite small. That little plot of spruce is a very good object lesson of how to produce clean material, but of course the expense of planting at that distance now a days makes it practically prohibitive. But Douglas fir is the more interesting problem, because from observations that have been made the Douglas seems to be a curious tree, owing to the fact that growth in plantations of this species is very irregular; in other words, you may have a few trees showing three and four times the diameter of the other — trees in the plantation in a comparatively few years after it is formed. There is a very interesting object lesson in Gloucester- shire of this particular point, and in my view it may be connected with the question of spacing. The plantation in question occupies a little corner, and contains about 4oo trees. It was made in rgor-2, and last year there were three trees in it which had a height of 58 to 60 feet, with a corresponding girth. There were about five others which measured in height somewhere about 45 feet, but the greater proportion of the trees were very small. The growth, in other words, in that little plot was extraordinarily irregular, and in examining a fair number of young Douglas fir plantations in different parts of the country, I have observed that this curious irregularity in growth is often very marked. Of course it may be said that it is possibly because the larger trees are in different soil, and therefore develop much more rapidly than others. This - explanation does not satisfy me. In the tropics the first thing 6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. a home-trained man has to do is to revise his notions of spacing when forming plantations. In this country, although a temperate one, Douglas grows much faster in youth than in its own home. May it not prove necessary, therefore, to treat it as one treats tropical species in their own home, and space it wider at the start—say 7 feet? If you take only these two species, spruce and Douglas fir (larch need not be considered here), for the production in a short space of time of a large amount of pit-wood and timber, which will compete favourably with the material imported from abroad, there are two questions, I think, bound up with this question of spacing. To get spruce (or Scots pine) pit-wood clean I think you would have to maintain close planting, unless you pruned very early; or, better still, formed the plantation by sowing. In Douglas I believe wider spacing is indicated. The timber will not be as clean perhaps, but it will be utilisable, and by the time the crops mature, so far as can be foreseen, the world’s demands are likely to absorb all available supplies.” Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart said :—“If anything I have written has produced Mr Leven’s notes it has had a useful result, but I should like to point out that he did not recognise that what I was writing about was entirely confined to the quicker-growing conifers. I think he will agree that these new quicker-growing conifers do grow if not twice as fast almost twice as fast as the older conifers. I do not think that is an exaggerated statement. Well, isn’t it common-sense that what is dense for one kind that grows at nearly 50 per cent. rate may be too dense for what grows at nearly 100 per cent.? Mr Leven did not touch on that aspect of the question, but as he has spoken generally of all kinds I would like to say that the forestry department on all private estates in the future will be understaffed, is understaffed now owing to the great expense of operations. That increases not only the difficulty and expense of putting in a great number of plants where you might do with fewer, but it also will be a very great difficulty when you come to thin. Now if you have got many forestry estates throughout the country which are understaffed, how are you going to deal with the problem of thinning before these thinnings have got any marketable value ? They will probably be entirely neglected. In that same Bulletin that Mr Leven quoted from, Bulletin No. 3, there is a sentence which states that the woods of Scotland and England DISCUSSION ON PLANTING DISTANCES. | are already in an unhealthy condition owing to the amount of branches that have not been burned. If you are going to carry on a system which will make it impossible to clear out the thinnings that are not marketable, you are not going to do anything to alleviate this unhealthy condition, and you may increase it. That is a very important consideration. I am not so foolish as to underrate anything that we have learned from that great German school of forestry, but I would like to suggest that the German system is not entirely a safe guide for us. We have to leave thinnings in the woods, owing to the impossibility of maintaining a_ sufficient staff in wood management. In Germany the difficulty is to prevent them being taken out of the wood. People come for them. Here our difficulty is to get anybody at all to look at our branches or litter suitable for firewood. If we burn them it is a very expensive and a very slow process, and I do not see how we are going to do that with any regularity in the future, with our management understaffed. Therefore, I maintain we should try and do with the minimum amount of plants and so have fewer suppressed trees to deal with. I am not sure, speaking on the general question of distance planting, that it is such a very great revolution after all to suggest that we should extend our distances, because the very woods that our Chairman has alluded to as having been so useful in this war were, I have heard it stated, planted 6 feet apart 150 years ago. The Chairman: ‘ Larch.” Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart: ‘Quite so. I have endeavoured to take careful notes in Wiltshire and in Scotland on the Japanese larch and the Douglas fir, and to a certain extent the Sitka spruce, and what I maintain is that our experience of their growth has altered the planting distances for those particular trees. I confine myself to that.” The Chairman: ‘If it may be a little worse for the tree I rather hope it will be a little better for the pocket, and after all, planting is a commercial business. I also agree that it is very difficult always to assimilate the views of the forester, the factors, and the proprietors. One is essentially in one sense out for the tree, the other is out for what pays, and the third is trying to keep a steady hold between the two. I have really not had time to go into the subject fully, but I find the only tree which is suitable for planting far apart is the Douglas fir. 8 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. At present in our part of the world experience seems to show that generally speaking planting as far as 7 feet apart brings out the best result. With that we have to take into considera- tion snow and various other matters. The planting distance of the old plantations was 6 feet. It was later reduced to 34 feet, but this was not a success, and we are now back to 6 or 7 feet, and the reason for the longer distance is the shortage of plants combined with an endeavour to re-establish the woods without loss of time. So far as pit-props are concerned, the railway freights place the home-grown product at a dis- advantage. We are trying to do away with unnecessary thinning. . “ Among the rapid-growing conifers is the hybrid-larch. The only trouble that we have with this tree is that if you plant it with Douglas fir the latter gets smothered. We are planting Douglas 6 feet apart, because it grows so fast that it deals with its own pruning. There are trees of hybrid larch 15 or 16 years old, I should think, between 4o or 60 feet now. We have now got to the second generation of them, and it will be worth making a separate report on them when we are in a position to do so. The Sitka spruce we are planting at 34 feet and the Norway spruce at 34 feet, because at this distance they clean themselves. Those are the distances at which we are also planting the Scots pine, but we have to thin it. Our real difficulty with the Scots pine is snow damage, if we plant it too far apart, and even if we plant it too close the same difficulty arises when we begin to thin, but there is no doubt that Scots pine must be thinned early, otherwise the whole plantation gets smashed up with snow.” Mr Charles Buchanan moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Chairman. PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DOUGLAS FIR. 9 2. Planting Distance for Douglas Fir. By Brig.-General STIRLING of Keir. Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart has raised a question of great practical interest in his observations on the planting of the quicker-growing conifers, printed in the Zyansactions of the Society for November 1920. Most planters who have experience of mixtures of Douglas fir and Sitka spruce with slower-growing conifers will support Sir Hugh’s contention that the formation of such plantations is in fact a waste of time and money. Sooner or later, according to the distance apart of the fast-growing species, the Douglas fir or Sitka spruce secure to themselves all the growing space, and suppress the slower-growing trees, generally before they have any value as thinnings, and without their having had any appreciable effect in suppressing the side branches of the dominant trees. The result after fifteen to thirty years of growth may approach very nearly to what it might have been if all the slow-growing individuals had been left out of the mixture, and if the fast-growing species had been planted at 8 to 10 feet or more apart. These plantations have generally failed to realise the expectations of the planter, but at least they have provided a useful lesson. Before discussing the best planting distance for Douglas fir, it is necessary to define clearly the object with which the plantation is to be made, whether for the production of the maximum bulk of pit-wood which can be grown on a short rotation, or for the maximum return of timber of high technical quality. Sir Hugh, in suggesting that Douglas fir should be planted 7 feet apart, makes it clear that the object in his mind is the production of pit-wood to be cut at a very early age, fifteen to eighteen years after planting. The distance recommended has an obvious advantage at the present cost of planting—it is economical, and with good luck almost every plant may survive to form part of the crop of pit-wood. With only 889 plants to the acre to begin with, the young plantation cannot afford many blanks, and the beating up must be attended to early if the replants are to have much chance of living to form part of the crop. IO TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. It is to be hoped that Sir Hugh’s advice will lead to experiments in wide planting at distances from 6 feet to 8 feet ; it is only by practical experiment that the best distance for any locality can be found. It will take very much longer to find out the answer to the other part of the question—what is the best planting distance for the production of timber of the best quality? At the present time, the private individual may well be inclined to say—‘‘ Give me the largest possible bulk at the shortest possible rotation and let the Forestry Commission produce timber of the best quality a hundred years hence if it can.” But the very fact that short rotations are so attractive may tend in future to increase the price of mature timber of high quality. We do not know the exact conditions under which the magnificent stands of Douglas fir have grown up on the Pacific Coast of North America. But we know this, that the very finest stands are to be found on deep fertile soil, which we in this country should never think of putting under timber. We can only guess at the early history of the natural forests. Nature sows trees as thickly as we do corn, so thickly that sometimes on poor soil the result at the end of a hundred years or more is a thicket of weakly stems not worth cutting down (see Mr Kay’s interesting article on the Jack pines in the November number of the Zvansactions, and Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart’s quotation from Mr Gifford Pinchot). But nature is not always a bungler, and natural forests are capable of producing the very finest of timber, in sizes with which economic forestry cannot compete. No true comparison is possible between the most densely stocked young plantation and the young crop resulting from a successful natural seeding. The thickest planting likely to be made is at 3 feet apart, or 4840 plants to the acre regularly distributed, against ten, twenty, or thirty times that number of seedling trees irregularly distributed. The initial development of the plantation will be quick and that of the seedling growth will be relatively slow, and yet active competition’ between individuals in the plantation will not begin till the fifth or sixth year after planting, while some of the seedlings will have been in competition from the moment of germination, and the suppression of the weaklings will begin at a very early age. PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DOUGLAS FIR. Il It is interesting to see what the lumber-men of the Pacific Coast have to say as to the quality of naturally-grown Douglas fir timber. Mr Elwes, in Elwes and Henry’s Zyvees of Great Britain, tells us that a distinction is drawn in the saw-mill trade between two qualities of Douglas fir timber, known respectively as red and yellow fir. He tells us that the yellow fir is of much better quality than the red, and the difference is due entirely to the conditions under which the timber is grown. He quotes from Professor Sheldon as follows:—‘‘The rapid growth of Oregon fir in the open produces red fir, and the subsequent growth when the trees begin to crowd each other produces yellow fir. Trees grown in dense clumps, crowded all their life, produce solid yellow fir.” Mr Elwes tells us further that in examining the stumps of mature trees having a diameter of 6 to 8 feet, he found that the annual rings in the earlier period of growth numbered five or six to the inch of radius, and as many as twenty to the inch in the later stages. Now to compare this information with our own experience in Scotland, it is not uncommon to find trees standing singly on good soil making much more rapid increase in diameter, so that only two or three rings and sometimes less than two will cover an inch of radius. But when we come to examine plantations made at 3 feet apart, we shall not find anything like such a rapid increase in diameter: at 12 years planted the average diameter! including bark at 1} feet from the ground is 4} inches, giving about 5% rings to the inch of radius. So far as it is possible to judge at such an early age, this result seems to come near to the rate of growth in the natural forest described by Mr Elwes. At twelve years after planting the plantation is well into the thicket stage of growth, the height-growth of the thicket is rapid, and probably quite equal to that of trees of the same age standing singly. But it is evident that the diameter increment is already affected by the density of the crop, and from what we know of the tree in its native country it is probable that the quality of the timber in process of formation is already better than that of trees grown in the open. Some support for this conjecture is to be found in Bulletin 1 These figures are taken from a plantation made in 1909. Suppressed stems and those which must soon become suppressed are excluded in calculating the average diameter. I2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. No. 3 of the Forestry Commission, on the Rate of Growth of Conifers in the British Isles, which gives us an interesting table of the mean height-growth and volume production of Douglas fir up to fifty years of age. The trees in the older plantations are said to taper rapidly and have a low form- factor. The authors, who did admirable work in the collection of statistics under the Office of Woods and Interim Forest Authority, suggest that the explanation of the low form-factor is to be found in the previous history of the older plantations of Douglas fir, most of them having been mixed with other species which have been suppressed, or having been planted at wide distances 10 to 15 feet apart. They add that some of the younger plantations, planted pure at distances of 4 to 6 feet, show a higher form-factor. The authors do not seem to have measured a sample plot planted at a less distance than 4 feet apart: it is possible that closer planting might give even better results. A great deal remains to be learnt as to the age at which thinnings should commence in close plantations of Douglas fir. On good soils the process of elimination of the weaker trees has already begun at ten years after planting, and so long as this process goes on energetically there may be no reason, for the forester to interfere, unless for the removal of dead stems. On less good soils it is quite possible that there may be over- crowding at ten to twelve years after planting. With regard to the suppression of side branches, Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart tells us, as the result of fifteen years’ experience, that the planting of Douglas fir at 3 feet apart does not prevent and only partially restrains branch growth, and that if clean boles are required hand pruning must be undertaken. The branches are naturally wiry, and do not become brittle so soon after they are dead as do those of larch and many deciduous trees. But it is doubtful whether they differ much in this respect from the branches of spruce and many other conifers. Certainly we should not expect a thicket of spruce to begin cleaning itself at fifteen years after planting. In a plantation of 2-yr. 1-yr. Douglas fir at 3 feet apart the side branches may begin to interfere with one another five or six years after planting, the lower tiers die off quickly between the seventh and the fifteenth years, but in the fifteenth year none of them will have been dead for more than seven or PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DOUGLAS FIR. 13 eight years, and most of them for less than seven years. But the branches will be much shorter and weaker than they would have been if the trees had been planted further apart, and close pruning of the trees likely to form part of the mature crop will not be difficult or expensive. It is interesting to compare the experience of a distinguished French forester ; M. Hickel, in a recent number of the Azd/etin de la Société Dendrologique de France, tells us that the optimum develop- ment of Douglas fir is obtained in woods of even age and even height. He comments on the persistence of the side branches after they are dead, and tells us that the natural cleaning of the stem only begins at the age of forty years. He adds that there is nothing to prevent us from pruning off the dead branches, as the cicatrisation of wounds is very rapid. An examination of a plantation of Douglas fir made in the spring of 1911 gave the following results in May r1g2r at the beginning of the summer growth :— The plantation was made with 2-yr. 1-yr. plants at a distance of 3 feet apart—estimated not measured: in 1g2r, a careful measurement of the distance apart of thirty-two trees gave extremes. of 3 ft. 4 ins. and 2 ft, t in. and a mean of 2 ft. 10 ins. The distances were measured from centre to centre of the trees on a level, not along the ground line, which has a considerable slope. The number of tiers of branches which have lost their leaves owing to shade varies from four to six; in a few cases the short branches of the lowest tier are already dry and brittle, but as a rule none of the branches are dry, and they could not be pruned at present without risk of bleeding and damage to the timber. The length of the suppressed branches of the third and fourth tiers averages over 3 ft. 6 ins., with a maximum of 5 ft. 2 ins. The height-growth of the plantation is good. Shoots of 3 feet and upwards have been usual in the last few years, and the better poles average over 20 feet in height. Even with such close planting as rather less than 3 feet apart, the suppression of side branches has not gone very far at the end of ten years, and the average length of the suppressed branches is a good deal more than the planting distance. It seems probable, therefore, that the wider planting distances now usual will lead to a much greater development of the lower I4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. tiers of side branches, and to considerable delay in the time at which pruning will become possible. The best planting distance for the production of fine timber can only be learnt by experiment, and many years must elapse before the experiments can be put to the decisive test of the felling of mature crops. As soon as the experimental plots are ready for a first thinning, different methods of thinning can be tried, so that it would be desirable to have two or three series of plots in each experiment. It is suggested that there should be six plots in each series, each of one-tenth of an acre, planted at distances of 3 feet, 3 ft. 6 ims., 4 feet, 4 ft. 6 ins. 5 feet, and 5 ft. 6 ins. If it is desired to make experiments at wider distances for the production of pit-wood, another series of five plots will be necessary,! and it will be best to keep these entirely separate from the plots intended for experiments in timber production. It is to be hoped that both series of experiments may be tried in many different districts. There is no doubt that the repetition of identical experiments under different conditions of soil, shelter, altitude and rainfall would be of great value to the Forestry Commission, and it is hoped that the District Officers would be willing to give general supervision to the experiments. The alarming attacks of fungus disease described by Dr Malcolm Wilson in the November number of the Zyramnsactions may cause us to reconsider the question of to what extent Douglas fir can be planted safely without some mixture of other species. Mr M. G. Grainger gave in 1916 the following estimate of the percentage of different species in the forests of British Columbia :— Douglas fir : : : 28 Thuya 5 : . 21 Sitka and other spruce. ; 19 Western hemlock . : : 18 Silver firs . ; ; ‘ 8 Larix occidentalis : ; I Other species 5 Ioo 1 At distances of 6 feet, 6 ft. 6 ins., 7 feet, 7 ft. 6 ins., and 8 feet. PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DOUGLAS FIR. 15 The estimate covers a very wide area and does not indicate how far any one species may predominate in a particular part of the area, but even where the Douglas fir is strongly predominant it seems to be generally associated with one or more other species. The worst fault of Douglas fir in its early years as a pure crop in this country is a certain tendency towards weakness of root-system, which makes it liable to be swung by the wind and to go down with heavy snow; perhaps no tree is more sensitive to any injury to its root-system, and less able to make good the damage caused by bad nursery work and bad methods of planting. The young plants may be growing rapidly with every appearance of health and vigour, but if the roots have been turned to one side in the nursery or by careless notching, the tree is very likely to go down before the wind or beneath the snow between the tenth and the twenty-fifth year. Even with the best of nursery work and planting, it is doubtful whether the Douglas fir has so much hold on the ground in the earlier stages of its growth as have Sitka spruce, Thuya, Western hemlock, and Adies grandis. The last alone, perhaps, is quite equal to the Douglas fir in the rapidity of its height-growth, and even so its early developmemt is rather slower; the others will succeed in groups and patches, if not as single stems. Where the soil is too moist for Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and Zfuya will take its place. There is great need for experiment in the formation of mixed woods of Douglas fir and other fast-growing conifers; we have to find out the combination of species which will best resist wind and snow, and we have also to find out to what extent the formation of mixed woods can safeguard the Douglas fir from the risk of extensive damage by fungus disease. 16 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 3. On Planting Distances for Conifers. By Mark L. ANDERSON, M.C., B.Sc. To determine the most suitable spacing at which to plant young trees in the formation of woods, has been a matter of some difficulty to foresters, not only in this but in other countries. At the moment it is a very vexed question, and, if the policy of narrow spacing has its advocates, the policy of wider spacing has no lack of staunch adherents. It is the purpose of this article to endeavour to show what are the effects of narrow and wide planting intervals on the development of woods, and to point out the advantages and disadvantages of both methods. Much of the information has been culled from continental literature dealing with the subject. The writer, however, claims to possess a fair knowledge of young woods and plantations of all the commoner species in many parts of Scotland. The effects of different planting intervals can be dealt with from two aspects, namely, the silvicultural side and the financial or business side. It is proposed to deal with the silvicultural side first, since it is the more important and carries more weight with the forester. Tue SILVICULTURAL ASPECT. The life-history of a wood may be divided into four periods, namely, (1) The period of formation, from the planting or sowing of the wood up to the closing of the canopy; (2) the period of competition, from the closing of the canopy up to the time when only those trees which are to form the final crop remain; (3) the period of diameter-growth and reproduction; (4) The period of decay. In well-managed woods, the last period should never occur, since the end of the rotation will usually fall due in the middle of the third period. In some cases when trees are grown on short rotations for pit-wood, even the third period may not be reached. So far, there are few, if any, advocates for a planting distance of 10 feet by 10 feet or over. The main controversy rages round the question of whether planting distances of 3 feet square, or thereby, are better than distances of 8 feet square, or thereby. In this article, distances of 3 feet square up to 54 feet square are termed “close,” while those from 6 feet square up to 8 feet square are referred to as ‘‘ open.” ON PLANTING DISTANCES FOR CONIFERS. 2 | The planting distance has a direct effect on the develop- ment of the wood during the period of formation, and, to a less extent, during the period of competition, after the canopy has closed. It should be clearly understood that the period of competition is the most important time in the life-history of the plantation, and it is during this period that the wood is either made, by careful attention, or marred, by neglect and bad forestry. It is during this period that the forester has it in his power to mould the growth of the trees to his will by judicious thinning and care. There is need for careful discrimination between the effects of bad tending of a wood after the canopy has closed, and the effects of the original planting distance. It is very doubtful, for example, if the planting distance, unless it be so excessive that the canopy does not close for a long period of years, has _any direct effect on the ultimate form of the stems. With spruce on good soil, Schiffel gives the following results :— Planted at 3 feet by 3 feet, the canopy closed in the ninth year ; planted at 6 feet by 6 feet, the canopy closed in the twelfth year, and at 64 feet by 6} feet, it closed in the fourteenth year. No figures are given for wider distances, but we can assume, in view of the increasing rapidity of growth, that, planted at 8 feet by 8 feet, the canopy would close in the twentieth year. On poorer soils, a longer period would be necessary. It is not claimed that all species would close so rapidly, but it is claimed that the much faster-growing species, like Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and Japanese larch, would close at least as rapidly and probably much more so. What are the direct effects of planting distance on the woods up to the closing of the canopy? (1) The shorter the planting distance the sooner does the canopy close, but for most species, at any distance up to 8 feet, closing has taken place before the twenty-fifth year, making allowance for poorer sites. (2) Asa result of this, the closer the canopy the sooner does humus accumulate and improve the soil conditions. (3) Also, the exclusion of light by the branches kills off the ground vegetation. (4) The ground is more rapidly protected from drying out in dry and exposed localities. (5) A few failures in the original planting can be ignored if the distance has been close. A gap is more serious in the widely-spaced plantation. (6) The closer the planting the smaller the development of side branches. VOL. XXXV. PART I. B 18 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Dealing with these results so far, we can say that close planting is preferable :— (a) On poor soil, where humus production is hastened by the heavier leaf-fall, and where failures are likely to be most frequent. (4) On ground with a heavy vegetation. (c) Where smaller plants or more slowly-growing species are used, (d) Where the production of branch-free material is of the utmost importance. Open planting is permissible :— (a2) On more fertile soils. (6) Where the vegetation is not heavy. (c) When larger plants or more rapidly-growing species are used, (d) Where very clean, branch-free stems are not absolutely essential. Silviculturally, therefore, during the period of formation, it would appear that close planting is more advantageous, on poorer soils especially. Let us now consider the effects of planting distance in that period of the history of a wood after the canopy has closed. 1. The competition between individuals begins earlier, and is more severe in the more closely-planted wood. The degree of competition also varies according to species, e¢.g., Scots pine, Douglas fir, larch, and Japanese larch soon sort themselves out into stem-classes. Those trees which either have greater individual strength, or have been more fortunate in their treatment during the planting operation, or have been lucky in the site selected for them, shoot ahead, and year by year increase their advantage at the expense of the less fortunate trees. Other species, and especially Norway and Sitka spruce, do not thus sort themselves out, except perhaps on ground of a very variable nature, but all the trees grow up together, hold each other back, and have a detrimental effect on the whole wood. 2. After a definite period, the number of dead and dying stems in the more closely-planted wood, is considerably higher than in the open plantation. This is of great importance pathologically, and in the case of larch, the general health of ON PLANTING DISTANCES FOR CONIFERS. 19 the whole wood is without doubt affected. Probably the same is true of pine and other species. The following series of figures, the accuracy of which is vouched for, may prove interesting. Plots were staked off in young woods which had never been touched since their formation. The acreage of the plots was measured, the planting distance ascertained, and the actual number of living trees counted. The considerable number of dying trees present were counted among the living. . Number year J AGE Planting = Number |Per cent.|/Per cent. Species Age Distance A cep Alive Dead Alves Feet earch? =. : 20 3) by 13 4840 1630 65 35 Saas 25 x ae a ed ae") 1930 60 40 Scots pine . 27 34 5, 34 | 3556 1255 65 35 ooo: . 30 aa 5 4840 1495 70 30 Spruce. 27 3» 3 | 4840 | 2065 55 45 Douglas fir. 20 Beek aS 4840 1710 65 35 = ee : 20 Be ie WS 4840 1890 60 40 1" pe : 22 aes, 28 4840 1610 65 35 5a ah LIA 18 34 5, 3% | 3556 1580 | 55 45 je 19 Gte 5.6 1210 1020 IO go Japanese larch 12 3 5 34 1~4150 2300 45 55 ao in 18 ces, 4840 1410 70 30 From the above, it will be seen that :— 3. With certain species, after a certain time, the tendency is for the number of trees remaining alive on the area, to approximate whether the planting distance be 3 feet by 3 feet or 6 feet square. After a still further period of time, the number of trees will be practically the same, whether the planting distance was 3 feet square or 8 feet square, and this is especially the case with wide-branching and rapid-growing trees like Douglas fir and Japanese larch. Moreover, there are examples of Sitka spruce planted at 9 feet square, where the canopy has closed before the twentieth year. 4. Open conditions stimulate the growth of all common coniferous species, excepting pine. in its early stages. The result of experiments with spruce by Schiffel in Austria shows that the volume-increment of timber is greater in the open stand, and that the total volume at twenty-five years is very little less than in the close stand. Some writers state that the ultimate volume of timber in the open stand is even greater than in the close wood. With pine the opposite may be the case, 20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. but not always. With most species, both height-growth and diameter-growth are greater per tree in the open wood. Although not yet generally accepted, this has been experimentally proved. That dense planting forces trees to greater height-growth is a fallacy. Mutual shelter from exposure, afforded by the growing of trees in company as opposed to growing isolated trees in the open, is quite another matter and does influence height-growth, simply by reducing the exposure. It is very remarkable, in close- grown woods of some species, how the dominant trees put on girth while the suppressed trees practically stand still. In a Douglas wood trees were girthed in 1919 and again in 1920, and the increase in the smaller trees was quite immeasurable. On the other hand, some of the dominant trees had put on more than an inch in girth. 5. The root-formation is much greater in the more open woods, owing to the greater amount of ground space available. As a direct result of this :— 6. Thinning is more difficult in the closely-grown woods, and ~ damage by wind and snow more frequent. This is a serious consideration in this country. For species like spruce and Douglas fir sufficient root-room makes all the difference, and many examples show that they are wind-firm with sufficient space, but in extreme danger when densely grown. Over- crowding of roots is also pathologically important, and certainly encourages root-fungi. This is very noticeable in pine woods at the present time. 7. The carrying out of cleaning and thinning operations is more difficult in the closely-grown wood. ‘This becomes a very serious problem with Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. 8. The greater amount of dead branches and brushwood in the closely-grown wood increases the danger from fire, g. It is claimed that in the open wood aeration of the soil is better, and that the soil changes go on more rapidly, with a beneficial effect on the growth. This affords an excellent example of how difficult it is to distinguish between the effects of thinning and those of original planting distance. In the period of formation it has been urged that the accumulation of humus is an advantage, yet here it is now stated that the aeration of the soil is better and that the soil changes go on more rapidly. This, also, is claimed as an advantage. The two statements require to be reconciled. In the early life of ON PLANTING DISTANCES FOR CONIFERS. 21 the close wood, the accumulation of organic material in the soil goes on. Unless this can be utilised later on in life by the wood, its accumulation has little value. It can only be fully utilised by the free admission of oxygen, which enables the soil bacteria to break up the organic compounds into food available to the trees. This admission of oxygen is secured by thinning, so that it is only indirectly that it can be claimed as an advantage of open planting. At any rate in a wood, closely grown but left unthinned, the disadvantage lies in the fact that the stores of food in the humus are not used. Rather are they dissipated and lost after the wood is clear felled. In open woods, both in early life and after, accumulation and decomposition go on simultaneously with benefit to the trees. The ideal state of affairs is accumulation of humus in early youth under a close canopy, and decomposition in the later stages under a more open canopy. 10. The crowns are much larger in the open woods, and the light is utilised to the fullest extent. The leaf-fall is also heavier. r1. In too close stands an over-production of raw-humus may have a detrimental effect on the soil conditions. After what has been said above, it is only necessary to point out that this is due, amongst other things, to a deficiency of air. As a result bacterial action is slow or wanting. 12. As arule, the more densely grown the wood the smaller are the lower branches. The importance of this is apt to be exaggerated with certain species. The more robust individuals, for example, in a closely-grown Japanese larch or Douglas fir plantation, usually possess large lower branches. It is an undoubted fact, however, that these branches are much less in Norway spruce and Sitka spruce, and that, as a result, the timber in the first cut is cleaner and more free of large knots. Climatic conditions, as explained below, have probably a most important influence on branch production. 13. The number of thinnings available for removal from the closely-grown plantation is greater than from the openly-spaced wood. At the same time there is also a greater choice of stems for the final crop. In the second period, the advantages would seem to be more with the more widely-spaced woods. Planting at distances of 3 feet to 4 feet produces a quite unnecessarily intense struggle 22 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. for existence, with the remarkable result that, on good and moderately good soils with all species, as much as 50 per cent. of the original trees are dead before the twentieth year. In some cases it may be as high as 70 per cent. With planting at 6 feet square, with Douglas fir at least, only about ro per cent. are lost, yet this in itself is interesting as it indicates that even at that distance there is a certain amount of competition. Danger from snow, wind, insects, fungi, and fire is less in the more open wood, and thinning is not sorisky. The volume of timber in the open wood is at least as great as in the close wood, the average size of the logs being larger. Soil conditions are better. As arguments for close planting on the other hand, we have, first, a small improvement in the timber, probably confined to the first cut from the butt. With those species which yield small thinnings of value, provided the wood is reasonably accessible, a useful early return is possible. It is also important to recognise that most of the advantages of open spacing can be obtained by early and careful thinning m a close wood, and that there is considerable choice of stems.. The neglect of proper attention to closely-grown plantations in the period of competition, effectively wipes out all the advantages gained by this method of planting during the period of formation. THE FINANCIAL ASPECT. We now come to deal with the financial side of the question, and will begin with the period of formation. 1. The closer the planting, the larger the number of plants and the greater their cost. 2. The greater the number of plants, the greater the costs of planting—the time question coming into play. 3. The closer the distance, the less urgent is the need for beating up. It should be noted, however, that, the proportion of failures presumably being the same, the number of failures increases with a decrease in the planting distance. 4. With wider planting distances a smaller staff is required, which results in a saving of expense. There is no need to point out that from a financial point of view a very great saving is made by adopting open spacing, and this is especially important with expensive species. High costs at the beginning of the rotation are most undesirable. ON PLANTING DISTANCES FOR CONIFERS. 23 What proprietor then would willingly plant 4500 Japanese larch or Douglas fir to the acre, when he knows for-certain that in fifteen years at least half of these will be dead, having yielded little if any return? A saving of 50 per cent. in plants, without appreciably affecting the ultimate crop, it is surely impossible to ignore. Coming now to the next period, after the canopy has closed :— 1. With open planting, cleaning out of dead trees is dispensed with. : 2, There is a more favourable rate of interest with open planting, because the increase in increment is on a smaller capital. (Scots pine excepted.) 3. With most species, owing to more rapid growth and to the timber reaching a greater size at an earlier age, a shorter rotation is possible. 4. A smaller staff is necessary for tending the open woods. 5. In close planting, with some species the expense of remov- ing the lower branches is less. 6. With species yielding small thinnings of value, such as larch, a very useful early, monetary return is secured with close planting—financially, the earlier the better. This only applies to easily accessible districts. 7. With certain species the value of the timber as pit-wood is increased by close planting to some extent. For big timber the improvement is of little consequence, provided that care is taken to remove the dead branches in open woods by early pruning. SUMMARY. From a purely silvicultural standpoint, close spacing is better owing to the benefits to timber and to soil, and also to the fact that by natural selection the stronger individuals survive. It also leaves the forester considerable choice when he comes to thin the woods. Unless the wood is grown on a very short rotation, say thirty years, solely for pit-wood, close planting must always be followed by an opening out of the crop, because for all species except pine, an open position gives greater volume without increasing the taper. Nevertheless, spacing up to 5 feet for pine and up to 8 feet for Douglas fir, Japanese larch, and Sitka spruce, is permissible, since the canopy will close within a reasonable time. It is, therefore, from the financial viewpoint, 24. TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, thoroughly sound, when expenses are a matter of considerable importance, to plant at the wider intervals. In a twenty-five- year old plantation it is wellnigh impossible to tell from the appearance of the standing trees alone, whether it was originally planted with wide intervals or whether it had been closely planted and judiciously thinned. Any silvicultural differences brought about by the close spacing are eliminated by that time. It is interesting to note the present feeling on the Continent and in America upon this subject. In the northern part of Scandinavia, owing to the problem of expense and labour, pine is being planted at intervals of 5 to 54 feet; spruce and silver fir at 54 to 64 feet. This, too, under conditions which are not the most favourable but are nearly comparable to those prevailing in the East of Scotland, both as regards climate and soil. Jolyet, in France, considers a closer spacing than 6 feet undesirable. In Germany, Schwappach recommends up to 6 feet for Douglas fir, but also advocates an early and severe thinning leaving only 400 stems per acre at thirty years. In Austria, Schiffel advises for Norway spruce on the best soils, a distance of 6} feet. In America, Toumey states that 6 feet by 6 feet is “‘the most acceptable for most species under most conditions,” while the spacing adopted in the National Forests is from 6 to 9 feet. A Bohemian authority advocates for Norway spruce a distance of 5 to 6 feet. In fact, the general trend of recognised authorities who have arrived at their decisions by experiment and not simply by conjecture, is towards wider spacing, and there is little doubt that in these days of general poverty it is a move in the right direction. Before drawing to a close, attention might be drawn to a somewhat irrelevant matter, though one not entirely unconnected with the question of planting distance, namely, that stem-form and freedom from heavy branches are not entirely dependent upon the density of woods, but to a large extent on climatic and soil conditions. The superior stem-form of Scots pine in Scotland compared with that of the same tree in England, is very noticeable, as pointed out in Bulletin No. 3 of the Forestry Commission, and there seems good reason to suppose that this is due to the difference in climatic and soil conditions. Branches are thinner and crowns narrower and more slender, with the result that a larger number of trees can be grown to the acre. In the Baltic States, where conditions are still more ON PLANTING DISTANCES FOR CONIFERS. 25 severe, these differences are accentuated. In connection with this, a well-known continental authority states that poverty of the soil brings about a mis-relation between the increment and leaf-apparatus. In other words, the work of assimilation is limited by the amount of mineral matter suitable for plant uses in the soil. Thus the trees require less foliage, and a reduction in branches and crowns is the result. An improvement in stem- form also results, while closer stocking is possible. A casual inspection of the yield-tables in Bulletin No. 3, for Scots pine and spruce, shows how the form-factor increases on the poorer sites. It is doubtful if we can hope to compete against the clean, slowly-grown pit-timber with narrow annual-rings, imported from Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic States, with regard to its quality, since these stems are being cut from old virgin forest. As soon as these woods are depleted and the foreign timber-grower has to consider the question of length of rotation, home growers will have a better chance. There may then be a future for the growing of pit-wood on long rotations on the poorest sites. There are large areas of ground in Scotland which would grow timber of Baltic quality, but the length of rotation necessary, before market size is attained, prevents profitable planting. 4. Planting Distances. By the HONORARY EDITOR. Distances vary with conditions, such as (1) light-demanding species; (2) shade-tolerating species; (3) rate of growth; (4) quality of soil; (5) size and age of plants; (6) surface vegeta- tion; (7) rotation (timber or pit-wood); (8) local market for small thinnings. These and other important points must be considered in laying down a crop, and it would be unwise to risk spoiling the future returns by departing from sound silvi- cultural principles when laying the foundation. At the same time forestry is an industry, and must be run on economic lines, and every shilling saved at the outset represents a relatively substantial sum at the end of a long rotation. Hence economy with efficiency should be the guiding principle, more so now than ever. Economy may be effected in various ways, such as staff and 26 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. labour, cheap and rubbishy planting material, method of planting, e.g. notching where pitting should be adopted, cheap and therefore poor type of seed from which the plants are raised. The cost of the labour involved in the preparation of nursery ground, the formation and sowing of seed-beds, the lifting, assorting, and transference of seedlings to the transplant lines, the protection and tending of both seedlings and transplants together with the rent of the ground, represent the difference between the cost of the seed and the value of the transplants produced. The value of the transplants ready for planting in the forest may easily be fifteen times that of the seed. Therefore the use of cheap seed of an unsuitable type of tree or of poor germinative quality, would be false economy when we consider the subsequent outlay necessary, not only to produce planting material but to bring that material to timber dimensions. The present time finds us up against new conditions: a greatly accelerated planting programme and a limited amount of planting material and seed. We must make the best of both and exercise due economy combined with efficiency, and true economy lies in a saving of planting material and labour. Planting density therefore requires to be carefully considered. It may be pointed out at once that the number of plants and the cost of planting varies inversely with the square of the planting distance. At 3 feet 4840 plants are required, while at 6 feet only one quarter of that number, or 1210 plants are required. Now with material and labour limited and dear, it is evidently worth while paying special attention to the cost of an operation which is so delicately adjusted as to vary in multiples of the differences of distances. With abundant plants and labour at a comparatively low rate of cost, and a desire for immediate effect in establishment of cover for amenity and game, our system of close planting has developed, with also a certain amount of misconception of what is understood to be the practice on the Continent. We must keep in mind that continental foresters in speaking of planting distances are frequently referring to the planting of young and therefore small seedlings. These they put in in close spacing in the light sandy tracts of places like Nuremberg, which many members of this Society have seen. But when the continental forester is dealing with transplants, he speaks of distances like (1°3 to 1°5 m.) 44 to 5 feet in the case of PLANTING DISTANCES. 27 silver fir and spruce, and it is to be noted that both of these species are shade-bearers. In a recently issued book entitled Studies tn French Forestry, by Theodore S. Woolsey, which is a most interesting and authoritative work, the author says on p. 125, under the heading of Planting —“ As a rule the French favour much wider spacing than do the Germans. Bartet even suggests spacing spruce 64 feet apart owing to its superficial root-system and in order to _ give the crown a chance for development. In Germany the average distance for spacing spruce is usually 4 feet and sometimes closer. The French rule is never less than 3°3 feet and never more than 10 feet. Intolerant species like maritime pine can be spaced wider apart than a tolerant species such as fir; and as a general rule, rapidly-growing species can be spaced wider than species that are slow growing during the seedling and sapling stages. Ordinarily the spacing is 5 to 64 feet. It is certainly apparent, without going into further detail, that the French system is more in accordance with American practice, namely, wide spacing and comparatively few trees per acre, as contrasted with the close spacing in Germany.” The following quotation is from Nisbet’s Forester, vol. 1., p. 409 :— “Torey remarks (Waldhau in Handbuch, etc., p. 491): ‘In general one has more and more given up very close planting, because apart from heavy costs, it too soon leads to unsatisfactory development of the individual plant, while a good medium distance brings early enough canopy and ensures conservation of soil productivity. But the number of plants per acre must not be reduced too far, and in most cases it should not be below 1600 to 2000 per acre,’ 7.c. about 4} to 5 feet apart at most, and he adds—‘On the average 34 by 34 feet is somewhat close, and 4 by 4 can be called the mean average.’” In France planting is on the whole wider than in Germany. Thus Boppé et Jolyet (Zes Foréts, p. 395) remark that— To quote specific figures we recommend for all kinds of trees a distance of 5 feet between plants, in lines 6} feet apart, or at least 5 feet in squares,” F. F. Moon and N. C. Brown in their Evements of Forestry, 1914, state, p. 117—‘‘The ordinary planting space is 6 feet each way for economic planting, which requires 1210 trees to the acre.” 28 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The planting density must be arranged according to the productive factors of the locality. It would be folly to attempt to crowd more trees in per acre than are reasonably likely to be able to maintain a fair rate of growth and volume production at all stages of development. Taking different soils, sites, and exposures along with light- demanding and shade-tolerating species, fast and slow growers, the time taken for a plantation to become established, ze. to establish canopy, may vary from 6 to 10 years on the average. There should be time and room for root development as well as for that of stem and branch, and too close crowding, especially with transplants which have all received the same nursery treatment, and which are all equally strong and well matched in the struggle for existence, is simply a method of reducing the all-round subsequent vitality of the plantation. It further leads to the cutting of early and valueless thinnings, which means more expense. The aim should be to plant in such a way that merely ordinary cleaning operations will suffice, until the first thinnings which will yield marketable material fall due. This aims at effecting economy in plants and labour at the commencement of operations, and this leads to further economy or saving in the avoidance of early thinning out of useless material. The maximum use is thus made of the young trees which have cost money to rear in the nursery and to plant in the forest, or, put the other way, too close planting means a waste of plants and extra cost in tending and thinning in the earliest stages of over-crowded plantations. Early close crowding and suppression means greater risk of damage by insect and fungus attack, and a greater subsequent danger from snow-break and wind, unless thinnings are begun early and carried out carefully at frequent intervals. Close planting will not completely solve the problem of stem cleaning in the case of spruce and Douglas fir in this climate. Experience and investigation have shown that the growth ot conifers is quicker in our insular climate, at least up to the pole stage, than on the Continent. This has an important bearing on the time taken to form canopy after planting, and the quicker the growth the less the need for close planting. Hence under the conditions of growth in this country even wider spacing than that practised on the Continent is indicated. FINANCE IN ESTATE FORESTRY. 29 5. Finance in Estate Forestry. By JOHN D. SUTHERLAND, C.B.E., F.S.I. In planting more than in any other utilisation of land it is of supreme importance to embark upon a planting-plan covering a period of years. Where planting is contemplated definite decisions should be taken regarding — 1. The land to be utilised. 2. The area to be planted annually. 3. The number of years during which the work is to be carried out. 4. The species to be used. All must depend upon financial circumstances, but on the average estate it is not necessary to entertain large schemes, and whether the expenditure is to be #50 or £500 annually the important point is a determination to complete the plan. It is better to undertake a moderate area and to carry out planting steadfastly than to attempt extensive operations and find that the burden becomes prohibitive. This course usually results in the abandonment of the project. Planting in a regular systematic manner is so important in any proper scheme of estate manage- ment, that everyone in possession of heritable property should consider whether it would not be proper to make it a condition of succession to their estates that any planting-plan in operation should be carried out to its conclusion. Afforestation ought not to be undertaken as an interesting or as a pleasure-giving project only, it should be a real part of the systematic management of an estate. Trees give protection from wind and storm, and as shelter will improve the value of agricultural and pastoral land. They are required for all kinds of farm purposes ; they enhance the amenity of every place, and the planting of them may not infrequently occupy the time of permanent employees which otherwise is lost. When the planting-plan is arranged, it is desirable to decide whether the plants to be used are to be reared on the estate or to be brought from outside. In referring to this subject, it is specially desired to remove any misunderstanding about the position of nurserymen. ‘Trade nurseries are a proper and useful sphere of commerce, and in the past, as in the future, the produce of them will be in demand. But the Trade require a, less uncertain market than the market which has hitherto 30 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. existed. Orders placed one, two or more years in advance, which would be rendered possible by a planting-plan, would enable nurserymen to quote lower prices. In recent years these have been, upon the whole, high, but they had to be charged, not to procure an undue profit so much as to make good losses caused through the destruction of unsold stocks. The grain or the vegetable grower has a fairly certain clientele. The nurseryman’s market is precarious in respect that his stock after a few years becomes useless and the demand, in the past erratic and uncertain, often arrived when he was unprepared. More forethought and the adoption of planting-plans would make co-operation possible as between the nurserymen and their customers. It is, however, urged that the planter, with the ordinary estate organisation, should rear his own plants, not solely on the ground of minimising losses of material in transit or the saving of freight, but especially on account of the assured advantage of securing acclimatised plants. This is important. There is, however, the further personal satisfaction of ascertaining the progress of the living tree from seed-bed to forest—a satisfaction which should be just as real as the pleasure of observing the gradual development of a flower garden from season to season. Transport of plants in relation to cost is of some consequence. Without any elaboration of figures it is found that the carriage by passenger train far exceeds that by goods train. Taking the railway charges in Scotland over different hauls varying from 45 to 258 miles, the average cost of conveying two-year seedlings by goods rate is 2$d., and by passenger rate 74d. per 1000. ‘Transplants, on the other hand, average just about 3s. 8d. per 1000 by the former, and gs. 7d. per 1000 by the latter. The points to be remembered in this connection are (1) conveyance by goods instead of passenger rates, and (2) the advantage of buying 2-year seedling plants. At 5 per cent. compound interest “5 is slightly more than doubled in 15 years, in 25 years it becomes £17, in 40 years 435, 4S., and in 60 years £093, 8s. An annual rent, inclusive of rates and taxes, of say 2s. 6d. for each acre, becomes approximately £2, 14s. at 15 years, £6 at 25 years, £15 at 40 years, and £44, 4s. at 60 years. These are facts which must always be borne in mind. While the records of growth increment, which will be referred to later, are believed to be FINANCE IN ESTATE FORESTRY. 31 sufficient to make plantations remunerative, it is absolutely essential to economic success that the utmost care should be taken to keep down to the lowest possible figure all capital expenditure as well as all recurring annual outlays in maintenance and protection. In dealing with the finance of forestry in this paper, the subject is treated upon a small scale, and the unit of an annual planting scheme of 1o acres has been chosen because it is within the range of the large majority of proprietors. It can be adapted to any larger area by a simple process of multiplica- tion, but with this difference that when it is increased by roo per cent. or more it may safely be reckoned that a saving of from ro to 20 per cent. per acre can be effected over the whole. This saving follows on the development of the operation. The figures are believed to be reliable and are based upon present-day costs, which are high, and it is expected that they will gradually diminish before many years pass. It will frequently happen that land to be planted is already enclosed, and if this is the case the outlays in respect of enclosures will be wholly or partially removed. The existence of enclosure fences is of the utmost importance, for the repair of them will generally be less expensive than the construction of new fences. NuRSERY Cost, In considering the establishment of a nursery there should seldom be difficulty in finding an area suitable for the purpose. If the planting-plan is a small one it will be possible to form the seed-beds in a garden. The area required for an annual ro-acre planting scheme is only 320 square feet for broad-cast sowing, or 470 square feet if the sowing is in drills, which latter ‘method can, from experience, be recommended. If cones cannot be collected locally seed is always procurable by purchase, and notwithstanding the sale prices of last year, it should henceforward be bought at an average overhead cost of 20s. per lb. Over a varying yield, according to species, of from 4000 to 20,000 2-year seedlings, it will be found that 24 lbs. of seed should produce more than sufficient transplants for 10 acres. To prepare, tend and weed these beds for two years will involve an outlay of £2, 10s. If protection is necessary, which is not always the case, the boarding and covering, plus labour, may be £1, 15s. If the yield is 25,000 32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOITTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. seedlings, the lifting and sizing of them will increase the expenditure by £1, 5s., and for contingencies it will be safe to allow £1. The total cost, therefore, of 25,000 2-year seedlings should not be more that #9, which amount is equivalent to just about 7s. per rooo. If the seedlings are to be lined out they will occupy about one-seventeenth of an acre. If they are left in the lines for two years the expenditure on preparation of ground, transplanting, weeding, lifting and sizing, ought not to exceed £4. There may be losses in the plants of from 10 to 20 per cent., but taking one year with another there should be at least 20,000 (probably 25,000) healthy plants ready for the hill at an overhead cost of £13, or 13s. per 1000. In this calculation no value is included for the ground or for fencing, necessary or not as the case may be, but if an addition of 2s. per 1000 is added to the cost of 13s., making 15s. in all, that should be enough to meet all outgoings over a succession of years. During recent years those who have studied the subject, and upon whose advice reliance may be placed, have come to the conclusion that it is not everywhere necessary to use transplants, and there are large areas where 2-year seedlings will suffice. Where this is possible, usually on ground where the herbage is not heavy and strong, the seedling plants will be available for the hill at 7s. per 1000 and transplants at 15s. per 1000. It has been further proved that it is not silviculturally sound to space the young trees at the close distances hitherto customary, but that they may be placed at from 4} to 6 feet apart or in some cases more widely, and making allowance for the different species to be planted, it should generally be sufficient if 2000 plants are produced for each acre, ze. for both planting and for beating up when this is necessary.! PREPARATION OF PLANTING GROUND. The preparation of the planting ground is important, but excluding the treatment of exploited areas covered with branches and debris, provision for the removal of which should have been made when the exploited crop was felled, any planting ground 1 Plants required per acre at 4 ft. 6 ins. : : 2484 ” FF) igs” os . . 2012 93 9 5 ” 6 3° - = 1663 o? 29 6 te) ° 39 r > 1397 FINANCE IN ESTATE FORESTRY. 33 in ordinary condition should be prepared by draining and a general clearing up at an expenditure not exceeding 5s. per acre. It is not reasonable to debit a new plantation with the expense of clearing “slash.” Asa general rule new roads need not be formed. All that is essential is that rides and fire-breaks are designed in every plantation and that they should be properly defined by well-driven stakes which will remain in the ground, and left unplanted. FENCING. The subject of enclosure follows as the next item of expense, and for small areas it is the most serious charge. Where a fence is necessary, and if the enclosure is, for example, a square of 10 acres, a six-wire stob fence should be erected inclusive of material for about 1s. 3d. per yard or a total of £55 for 880 yards, which would add the sum of 45, ros. per acre: but upon an expanding planting-plan a square area of 20 acres only requires a fence of 1244 yards, a square of 4o acres can be enclosed with a fence of 1760 yards, or only double the length of the enclosure for the 1o-acre block. An effective fence with posts 30 feet apart and 5 droppers of wood (2 ins. by 14 ins.) spaced between can be constructed for r1d. ‘per yard. If protection against rabbits is necessary, the additional cost of netting of proper mesh and gauge should be 6d. per yard. Democritus, an ardent enthusiast of the kitchen garden, declared that it was unwise to enclose a garden, because the profit would not compensate for a stone wall, and so it is to-day in the enclosure of plantations. In fencing the utmost economy should be exercised. Ideal finish or best quality posts are not essential if tar or creosote are applied, and instead of erecting wood or iron gates, any roadway openings should be closed with light wood hurdles hung by hooks to the posts. PLANTING. The operation of planting is one in which considerable ex- perience has been obtained during recent years. The cost has varied materially under the influence of bad weather and of uncertain or unskilled labour, but given ordinary conditions existing in the normal country district, an acre can be planted with 2000 plants, inclusive of beating up, at an average cost of from 30s. to 35s. per acre. It is believed that the work can VOL, XXXV. PART I. re 34 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, be well done for less by good management. If seedling plants can be used the cost will be materially less. These amounts should include the conveyance of the plants from the nursery © to the plantation. To summarise, therefore, the capital cost of the 1o-acre project— Preparation, to acres at 55. ; ; , fa aoe 20,000 plants, seed-bed to ground, at 15s. per 1000 : : 15 Oo 3d Fencing, if required, on an expanding plan for 40 acres 1760 yards at 1s. 3d., one-fourth theréof. *. : 5 ; : ; : 27 TO 7 Planting, 10 acres at 30s. F : : : 15 S6uue Total £60 0 o or £6 per acre. This estimate contemplates a plantation where every cost is incurred except rabbit netting. It is a high capital charge, but it can usually be reduced upon any estate where enclosures are already erected, and always where a planting-plan is arranged to cover several years’ consecutive operations. The figures have been worked out, because during the last two years much misunderstanding has arisen through inaccurate calcula- tions of the cost of planting or of re-planting. The Forestry Commission has engaged upon an investigation of tree-growth throughout the United Kingdom, the results of which have been published in Bulletins Nos. 1 and 3. The yield in the recorded measurements of typical woods are divided into different classes, and it is not at the moment possible, until the work is further developed, to take the maximum or the minimum increments as typical of any particular locality. The existing figures, however, when examined, disclose a mean annual increment of the average quantity classes of four species at different ages to be as follows :— 1. Douglas . : . 172 cubic ft., quarter-girth 2. Norway spruce Tes As _ 3. Scots pine : 4 BS _ ds 4. European larch ELLTO Pe bs FINANCE IN ESTATE FORESTRY. 35 If there is an equal distribution of these species over a given area, the average mean annual increment is slightly over 112 cubic feet (Q. G.). It is better to under, rather than over, estimate when calculating any prospective return, and in order to make allowance for every ordinary contingency it will be safe to take an annual increment of only 80 cubic feet, which, is 28°5 per cent. less than the above-quoted average. On this basis the product of an acre over a 60-year rotation would be 4800 cubic feet; over a 50-year rotation it would be 4000 cubic feet. At an overhead price of 1s. per cubic foot the 60-year crop will be worth £240 and the 50-year crop £200. At an initial cost of £6 per acre, and adding to it an annual upkeep, rental, and tax contribution of 5s. per acre, both accumulated at 5 per cent. compound interest, the actual total cost on a 60-year rotation is £200, 8s., and on the 50-year rotation £121, 2s. The margin for reduction in the selling value of the crop of 60 years is £39, 12s., and in the crop of 50 years is £78, 18s. If the crop is disposed of at 1s. per cubic foot, these margins represent a profit over and above 5 per cent. compound interest on the investment. Over so long a period many unforeseen occurrences may arise to alter the conditions as they appear at the present time, but any close observer must appreciate that the demand for timber will be maintained, that interest on money must fall, and that the cost of both labour and material will be less as the upheaval of war subsides. These factors are all in favour of the planter who now enters upon a proper planting-plan and carries it out perseveringly over a number of years. ‘There would appear to be no reason to look upon well-directed afforestation as an unprofitable investment for the owners who desire, as the great majority of them do, to maintain their properties in a creditable and satisfactory condition for their heirs or successors. In planting, as in every other undertaking, mistakes should be avoided. The tree once planted must have congenial environment if it is to produce a return sufficient for the establishment of it. Soil, climatic conditions, and species are all elements underlying success or failure. While it is not the object here to suggest any particular species or to make recommendations with regard to the selection of soil for them, it is urged that increased attention should be given to the propagation of Norway and Sitka spruce and Douglas fir. 36 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Among broad-leaved trees poplar will be found a rapid and profitable producer if the proper species is chosen, and it has the great advantage, for recently felled areas, of immunity from insect pests which would attack coniferous plants; but advice upon planting schemes and upon any other matters relating to afforestation can now be readily obtained from the technical officers of the Forestry Commission, who are authorised to give assistance in this direction. 6. Forestry Commission. The first Annual Report of the Forestry Commission! for the year ending 30th September 1920, has been issued by the Forestry Commissioners. The Commission entered upon its duties on the 29th November 1919, when the 1919-20 planting season was already well begun, but thanks to the activities of the Interim Forest Authority, which was set up under the chairmanship of Mr F. D. Acland, to make certain preliminary arrangements for developing forestry in the United Kingdom, steps had been taken to secure seed and nursery ground to ensure that an adequate supply of plants should be available when required. The Interim Authority had no powers to hold land, but areas for forestry schemes were located and preliminary surveys made, and this, together with a supply of suitable plants, enabled the Forestry Commission to begin planting operations without loss of time. The Commission have to plant 150,000 acres during the ten-year period to which the block grant of £3,500,000 applies. This fund has also to bear the establishment as well as the incidental charges of the Forestry Commission. The original programme, as laid down in the Report of the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruction Committee, provided for no planting at all in the first year of the Com- mission’s existence, the suggestion being to begin with 3300 acres in the second year, proceeding in arithmetical progression to 30,000 in the tenth year. However, as stated, the Com- mission happily found it possible to make quicker progress 1 First Annual Report of the Forestry Commission, printed and published by H.M. Stationery Office. To be purchased through any bookseller, or directly from H.M. Stationery Office, 23 Forth Street, Edinburgh. Price gd. net. FORESTRY COMMISSION. 37 than was anticipated. A table is given in the Report showing the revised planting programme for the first five years. Tables are also given showing the acquisition of land up to 3oth September 1920, and the extent and kind of plantations and species planted during that year. A Forestry Commission map of Great Britain and Ireland is attached, which indicates the location and nature of the different schemes in various parts of the countries concerned. The total area planted in the year covered by the Report amounted to 1595 acres, of which 1474 acres were placed under coniferous, and 121 acres under broad- leaved, species. The total addition to the woodland area of the United Kingdom was 1034} acres, the remaining plantations being on the sites of felled woods. The number of plants used in making these plantations was 3,433,000, of which 36 per cent. were Scots and Corsican pines and 37 per cent. Norway and Sitka spruces. A note at the beginning of the Report states that the Commission are now in possession of 103,100 acres of land, of which 68,100 acres are classified as plantable. The total area now planted by the Commission approximates 8000 acres, and the nursery stocks have been increased to meet the approved planting programme. The policy of the Commission is to plant as much land as possible in the earlier years, in order to relieve the heavy undertakings and burdens towards the end of the first decade. Planting operations have been spread over as many centres as possible, in order that valuable local experience might be gained by the local officers as to the best methods of procedure. A perusal of the Report brings out the fact that the Commission are fully aware of the necessity of private co-operation in re- establishing and extending Britain’s woodland areas. The forest policy adopted by Parliament depends not only on the establishment of State forests, but also on the maintenance and improved management of the existing 3,000,000 acres of privately and corporately owned woodlands. To this end the Commission are assisting, to the limit of their statutory powers, in the education and training of foresters in universities, colleges, and woodmen’s schools, also by the provision of expert advice and the offer of grants and proceeds-sharing schemes. Research and experimental work is being carried out with a view to lessening the cost of establishment and maintenance of woodlands, and it is proposed to continue the 38 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, issue of bulletins and leaflets on subjects of interest to private planters. Good progress has been made with flying surveys of un- cultivated land on the lines so successfully inaugurated by this Society in 1911. During the year, 260,000 acres in England and Wales, and 385,000 acres in Scotland were surveyed. The total area now reported on is about 2,000,000 acres. The information thus obtained is proving of great value to the Commission in regulating their forest policy. It has repeatedly been shown that the putting of forest land to its best economic use, under trees, will not appreciably diminish the food production of the country, since such lands contribute but a small percentage of the total. The Report states that if the whole 1,770,000 acres, as projected in the Acland Report, were to be afforested, the reduction in the meat-yield in Great Britain and Ireland would only be 0’7 per cent. or (including imports) 04 per cent. of the current con- sumption, while the full reduction would only take effect sixty or eighty years hence. Further, the reduction in the grazing area during the first decade will be trifling, because the grazing land set free for sheep in deer forests (after the planting ground has been taken for afforestation) will, to a great extent, make good the area taken from sheep farms. With an intelligent policy of land settlement many acres of derelict arable land on areas suitable for afforestation can be brought into cultivation, and even a few acres of such land under potatoes will make good, in point of bulk at least, the food produced by many hundred acres under hill pasture.! When the Forestry Bill was drafted, the financial recommenda- tions were based on information available in 1916, but since then the cost of materials and labour have increased so that the Forestry Commission have no light task in carrying out practically the full programme on something more like pre- war figures than present-day costs, but owing to the untiring work of the Assistant Commissioners, and in no small degree to the patriotism of individual landowners, some of the best planting land in the kingdom has been acquired at rates well below the original estimates. The drain on the forestry fund 1 The food supply of the country is at present diminishing more rapidly under the spread of bracken than would ever be the case if the whole afforestation programme were carried out. FORESTRY COMMISSION. 39 has also been reduced by increasing materially the proportion of leased to purchased land. The various stages in the evolution of British forestry are dealt with at the beginning of the Report, namely, the period of Destruction, the period of Private Enterprise, the period of Enquiry, and the period of State Action. Statistics gathered during the period of enquiry showed that the imports of timber had increased five-fold between 1850 and rgro, and the annual consumption per head had, during the same period, increased from 3} cubic feet to 11 cubic feet. The ratio of home timber had declined, and in 1914 amounted to barely 10 per cent. of the supply, and the price of imported timber had risen steadily during the thirty years before the war while the quality had declined. The experience gained during the war demonstrated, as nothing else could have done, the absolute necessity of main- taining a supply of growing timber within the country adequate to make us independent of imported timber at least for a consecutive period of three years, should occasion arise. In 1913 the quantities of timber and grain imported were about equal and headed the list of imports. In 1916, when food was very scarce, it was found impossible to release the smallest fraction of the shipping required to carry the timber essential for the operations of war abroad and at home. In support of the policy based on National Insurance in time of peace and in time of war three strong arguments are given, namely :— 1. The timber consumed in Great Britain and by the British Army in France between the years 1915-20 cost the country at least £190,000,000 more than a similar amount of wood would have cost at 1909-13 prices. In the year 1920 the nation imported approximately one-tenth less wood and pulp than in 1914, and paid over £80,000,000 more for their purchase. There is no reason to suppose that the average annual demands for timber for house construction, delayed repairs and industrial developments will be less in the next decade than they were during the five years immediately preceding the war. If this is the case, and the price of timber does not fall much below a figure midway between the 1913 and 1920 prices, we shall have to pay for the whole of the period 40 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 1915-30 anything between £400,000,000 and 600,000,000 more for our timber than we should have had to pay for a similar amount at 1909-13 prices. It is not argued that if the planting programme now adopted had been completed before the war the price of timber would not have risen. It can, however, be definitely stated that, had these additional woods been in existence, they would have competed with Scandinavia and Finland and tended to keep the prices of softwoods at a lower level.! 2. Labour for planting, maintenance and conversion accounts for some 80 to go per cent. of the cost of forestry operations. It is argued that, even with the present high cost of establishing plantations, State forestry is one of the soundest, if not the soundest, method of giving rural employment, lowering adverse trade balances, and insuring that the best use shall be made of shipping facilities in time of war and national emergency. 3. Within reasonable and easily ascertainable limits, timber stores itself in the woods and, unlike other commodities, increases in quantity during the period of storage. The Forestry Commission have two definite objectives in view. The first or immediate objective is a ten-year scheme based on a block grant. This leads to the second or ultimate objective, which is the creation in Great Britain and Ireland of reserves of standing timber sufficient to meet the essential requirements of the nation over a limited period of three years in time of war or national emergency. The Forestry Commission have not only to aid in the promotion of home forestry: they are further charged by the Forestry Act to make or aid in making such enquiries as they think necessary for the purpose of securing an adequate supply of timber in the United Kingdom and promoting the production of timber in His Majesty’s dominions. The Commission lost no time in inviting the various Governments of the Empire to send delegates to the British Empire Forestry Conference which was held in July 1920.” The constitution and activities of the Consultative Committees ' In 1920, for instance, home-grown railway sleepers cost 3s. each less than imported sleepers. This item alone (which during State control of railways falls directly on the Treasury) represents a possible annual saving of £ 500,000. * See Report of British Forestry Conference, p. 42. FORESTRY COMMISSION. 4!I for England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, established by His Majesty the King by order in Council on the 2oth of March 1920, are set out at the end of the Report. A perusal of the Report, especially the opening sections, cannot fail, we believe, to convince even the most sceptical, if any such still exist, that a national forest policy is essential to our everyday existence and requirements, and that without such a policy the future prosperity and safety of the nation would be endangered. The Report is worthy of careful study which it will well repay, and no one interested in forestry should miss reading it if he would keep abreast of the times. The rapid progress already made on sound lines by the Forestry Commission inspires the hope that, although late in starting, British State Forestry will in the shortest time possible rank equal to that of the more advanced countries of Europe. The world is short of timber and the shortage cannot be made good faster than the trees will grow. We have every reason to believe that tree-growth in this country, with our great advantages in suitable soil, climate, and fast-growing species, will give us supplies of timber sooner than it will be possible to obtain increased supplies from other countries, and therefore, now is the time to press forward with all available means and energy in re-establishing and increasing our wood- land areas, and this, as a perusal of the Report will show, the Forestry Commission are strenuously endeavouring to accomplish. 42 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 7. British Empire Forestry Conference. By F. R. S. BALFour. That a British Empire Forestry Conference sat in London in July 1920 is known to everyone who takes an interest in the subject of forestry, but the resolutions which were then agreed upon by delegates sent from all parts of the Empire, who met at the invitation of our own British Forestry Commission, deserve wider recognition than perhaps they have yet received. It is remarkable that such unanimity on many controversial subjects was reached among men representing such diverse conditions as obtain in tropical countries like the Malay States and East and West Africa on the one hand, and the provinces of Canada on the other. Within the limits of a short article it is impossible to do more than summarise the very important recommendations that were made as the result of the exhaustive discussions that took place during the several days that the conclave lasted. The exchange of views and the dissemination of information among the delegates and associate delegates cannot fail to bear lasting fruit. Lord Lovat and the other Forestry Commissioners were indeed fortunate to be able to play a leading part in a conference of such immense importance so early in their own corporate life, and are to be congratulated on the admitted great success of this initial Forestry Conference of the Empire. The first Resolution urged upon the several Governments was that they adopt forthwith a definite forest policy to be administered by a properly constituted and adequate forest service. All the delegates had made statements as to the forestry policy at present in force in their countries. To British India belonged the honour of claiming that her Government was first in the field in setting an example to the rest of the * Empire in the development of forestry ‘‘on systematic lines based on scientific principles,” to quote the words of that doyen of British foresters, Sir William Schlich, who took part in the conference and to whom all foresters, but especially those of India, owe such an incalculable debt. The steps that many Governments have now taken to conserve the forests that are left to them and to promote their extension have been somewhat belated. It is only in recent years that Canada, whose BRITISH EMPIRE FORESTRY CONFERENCE. 43 timber resources were regarded as illimitable and inexhaustible, has set up authorities to safeguard the forests, by prevention of improper exploitation, by taking all possible means for diminish- ing the fires, often deliberately started in former days, which have caused such incredible damage in the forest lands of the Eastern provinces and of British Columbia, and by training men in the science of forestry. The Government of the United States, though now so fully alive to the need of the conservation of their forests, and who possess a splendidly organised and efficient forest service directed from Washington, waited till 1902 before they took any steps to set their house in order or appreciate the great heritage they possessed. The present writer remembers a long conversation he had one afternoon in California in the summer of 1903 with Mr Gifford Pinchot, into whose able hands the organisation of the United States Forestry Department had been placed by the President. He told me that the people of America had, through generations of pioneers, come to regard the trees as their enemies that must be destroyed to allow of the farmer with his plough, his flocks and his herds, to settle on the land. Who knows that had it not been for the heavy timber of Western Oregon and Washington, regarded at the time as utterly worthless, the British representatives on the International Boundary Com- mission of 1846 would not have been more insistent than they were in claiming a line of demarcation some degrees south of the 49° boundary then drawn between Canada and the United States? The second Resolution emphasised the fact that the primary importance of “the foundation of a stable forest policy for the Empire and for its component parts must be the collection, co- ordination,and dissemination of facts as to the existing state of the forests and the current and prospective demands on them,” A carefully prepared annexure was added with suggested tables designed to arrive at uniform statistics based on surveys to be made by standardised methods in all parts of the Empire. The detailed objects of such a survey are to afford reliable informa- tion on many subjects of which the principal are as to forest area, the proportion of such areas owned by the State, the pro- ‘portion of accessible and merchantable timber lands, annual timber increment, annual timber utilisation, particulars of forest industries, exports and imports of timber, and enumeration of 44 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. species with especial regard to the differentiation of hardwoods from softwoods. It is hoped that by the date of the next Empire conference, which it is expected will be held in Canada in 1923, information under the above heads will be much more available and accurate than it isnow. Indeed the discussions and statements of delegates from many parts of the Empire showed that such data are at the present time either entirely lacking or, in nearly all other cases, exceedingly fragmentary. One of the first activities of the Forestry Commission in this country is to secure reliable information, based on a survey of our own woods, as to the timber of various classes left after the ravages made upon our meagre woodlands by the war; also accurate estimates of the areas of land already cleared and suitable for timber crops. The methods to be adopted for such surveys are, it is understood, at the present time under the earnest consideration of the Commissioners. The third Resolution expressed the great desirability that the several Governments should secure, by Act or Ordinance, a continuity of forest policy, to the end that forest lands be reserved to the State for proper development and management, and thus render it for all time impossible that forests be alienated in the reckless fashion that obtained, for example, on both sides of the International Boundary of the Pacific Coast up to very recent times. The Governments are urged to provide adequate funds for the maintenance of their Forest Services, and to grant to their forest officers a status in the Civil Service commensurate with the supreme importance of their functions. The example of continental countries, where forestry has for many generations been a subject of State concern, may well be followed in this respect. It was also insisted that the appointments of Chief Forest Officers be from those most highly qualified for the posts; the suggestion was ~ clearly that the subject of forestry should be removed entirely from the arena of politics, which in these democratic days has, in some countries, too often determined the appointments in this service. The last paragraph of the resolution suggests that officers should be appointed, in all cases where there have been previously no such appointments, whose special function would be to advise the respective Governments on the general lines of forest policy and to execute the surveys recommended in the second resolution. BRITISH EMPIRE FORESTRY CONFERENCE, 45 The fourth Resolution stated how desirable it is that the Forest Authority in each part of the Empire should be in the closest touch with the lumbering and manufacturing interests. In the discussions in the early part of the conference, it was brought out that too often the Forest Authority has been regarded with suspicion and hostility by private interests connected with the timber industry—more especially, and quite naturally, by those whose only concern is the acquisition of timber lands and their wholesale exploitation. It is, perhaps, only to be expected that those who have invested immense sums in the timber business should be apt to resent any interference with their operations by the State, whose view must of necessity be a far longer one than that limited by the life of a company. At the same time, the general interests of the timber industry as a whole in any country would gain enor- mously by the co-operation and guidance of a State Authority in whom confidence was reposed. The fifth Resolution stated that the duty of the Forest Authority in every country was the encouragement of education and publicity, in order to secure the co-operation of the public towards the aims in view. Nowhere more thoroughly and successfully than in Germany has this policy been adopted. Even in the elementary schools in woodland districts admirable instruction is given and diagrams and leaflets are available on subjects connected with forestry, with the result that the ignorance of the subject general in our own country is in marked contrast with the intelligent interest in forestry matters possessed by most German peasants in such districts as Thuringia and the Black Forest. The British Forestry Commission has adopted already the admirable practice of publishing bulletins and leaflets dealing with detailed questions of great interest and value to tree-growers, following the example set by the United States Forestry Authorities, whose periodical publications have for several years dealt exhaustively with such subjects as fungoid diseases of trees, insect pests, distribution of tree species, and nursery practice. It was recognised by the conference that one of the most important functions of Forest Authorities is the dissemination of informa- tion in a form “that will create general public interest through the populations within their borders.” The propaganda work of the Canadian Forestry Association, with its large member- 46 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ship, was referred to by Mr E. H. Finlayson in his very able report of the forestry work of the Dominion of Canada. In the United Kingdom a worthy part has been played in the same direction by the forestry societies, whose publications, however, do not reach a wider public than their own membership. Resolution No. 6 recommended to Governments of the Empire the encouragement of tree planting by the distribution of plants gratuitously or at cost price. Delegates from South Africa and Australia had spoken cogently of the great advantages that had accrued from the introduction of exotic species which flourish as well in their land of adoption as in their native habitat. We, in Great Britain, would be poor indeed had we been dependent for our softwood on our one native commercially valuable conifer, the Scots pine. Resolution No. 7 dealt with the vexed question of Terminology, and proposed that the “‘ standardisation of forest terminology” and the ‘correct identification of timbers and standardisation of their trade names” be dealt with by the Forestry Bureau for the Empire which resolution No. 1o proposes shall be set up. Users of wood know of the great confusion which arises from the same trade name being applied to timbers—having perhaps some superficial resemblance, but different not only in species, but often in genus, and sometimes originating in countries where the genus denoted does not occur. The same confusion is, perhaps, even worse confounded in the United States, and should the Bureau arrive at agreement among all English- speaking peoples as to their timber nomenclature, a lasting benefit would result. The eighth Resolution commended to the early consideration of the respective Governments the scheme for research work adopted by the Committee which had been appointed ad hoc. The scheme is an elaborate and carefully considered treatise bringing out many aspects of the paramount importance of this work, and should be read in its entirety. It urged that the fundamental responsibility lay with Governments for the proper organisation and carrying out of scientific inquiry into the especial forestry problems which concern them; that efficient reseatch work can only be performed by highly-trained men qualified by a taste for the work and ‘“‘unhampered by routine or administrative duties,” and that their salary and status should be such as to attract the right type of men. The objects of BRITISH EMPIRE FORESTRY CONFERENCE. 47 research were divided into the two main heads of (1) growing of forest crops; (2) the utilisation of timber and other forest products. These objects are to be regarded both from the general and local aspects and conducted from one centre in the case of the former, and on the spot in the case of the latter. The inter-relation of the two main branches of research must be recognised by co-ordination in their conduct and administra- tion, though they are not necessarily carried out in the same place. The advantage to the research worker of taking a share in purely educational work on his own subject was emphasised. It was further argued that the results of scientific investigations should be applied to the practice of forestry in its branches, and the results noted and recorded ; that the State should make use of all suitable agencies for research either through its own forestry officers or the Universities or other educational institu- tions. The principal problems to be dealt with in both branches of research for the different countries were enumerated, and the efforts of each Government shortly described. British India has possessed a Forest Research Institute at Dehra Dun since 1906, which has been recently enlarged, and where investigations appropriate to the»forestry and timber products of India are scientifically carried out. Resolution No. 9 adopted and largely embodied the report of the Education Committee. The chief recommendations of which were that— 1. One principal institution for education of forest officers be set up in the United Kingdom. Lord Lovat in his opening address had dealt with forestry education in this country as he found it when the Commission was appointed, and had compared the centralised system of France with the eight or nine educational centres in Great Britain. In France the Forest School of Nancy provides training for all the forest officers in the country, where the posts to be filled annually are many times more numerous than the few openings for such men that have been available here. 2. That students for this institution be chosen from among men who had taken an Honours Degree in Natural Science at any University. 48 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 3. That specialised courses be arranged for students from all parts of the Empire, and that Governments should facilitate the taking of such courses by their officers. 4. That a department for research into all matters connected with the formation and protection of forests be associated with the Central Educational Institution. 5. That all existing provision by Universities and Colleges be encouraged for the instruction in forestry matters of those not intending to become forest officers under the Crown. An important addendum was to the effect that educational establishments should be set up for woodmen other than those intended for forest officers. Nowhere is the need for such greater than in the United Kingdom, where the demand for fully trained working foresters we hope may be a growing one, and where the opportunities such men have had in the past have been far too few. The Education Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Clinton and consisting of delegates from East Africa, Quebec, South Africa, and India, presented a report which is printed as an annexure to the resolution and which is, perhaps, the most interesting document ‘contained in all the. 300 pages of the Proceedings of the conference. Their main recommendation of a Central Forestry Training Establishment in the United Kingdom for officers destined for any of the forest services of the Empire was largely based on the experience of the Government of India, who absorb at least 4o per cent. of all the trained men turned out by existing educational centres in this country. The views of the Committee were undecided as to whether the Central Educational Institution proposed should be at one of our Universities or an independent establishment free from University control; many cogent arguments were urged pro and con, The Committee were agreed that the body to lay down and organise the course of study should be selected from qualified representatives of all the Governments concerned, and that the various Governments should contribute each its quota towards the cost. It was estimated that the present requirements for trained officers would be met by fifty students annually, and thus with the proposed two years’ course one hundred students would be BRITISH EMPIRE FORESTRY CONFERENCE. 49 in residence at one time. It was recognised by the Committee that the cost of such an institution could only be met if it was designed to fulfil the needs of India and the Colonies, and thus enjoy their fullest support. The tenth Resolution expressed the approval by the conference of the setting up of an Imperial Forestry Bureau, as recom- mended by the Committee appointed to deal with this question. The Committee used as a guide the charter and report of the Imperial Mineral Resources Bureau, which sits under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Redmayne; and, following the example of that institution, it was proposed to incorporate the Forestry Bureau by Royal Charter. It was definitely decided that the Forestry Bureau should be an independent entity, and not form part of the proposed Imperial Agricultural Bureau. The suggested objects of the Bureau are manifold, and were classified as follows :— 1. To collect, co-ordinate, and disseminate information as to all matters incidental to the subject of forestry. 2. To ascertain the scope of existing agencies and so to avoid overlapping. 3. To devise means for assistance and improvement of existing agencies. 4. To supplement these for cheanines of information required by the Bureau. 5. To advise on the development of the Empire’s timber resources, that they may be the better made available for national defence and the purposes of industry and commerce. The powers and constitution of the Bureau were exhaustively dealt with, and it was further suggested that the financial burden, estimated at £ 10,000 a year, should be borne by the— United Kingdom : ; ‘ . 25 per cent, British India. ; : : Toe Bars Self-governing Dominions . 5. ae Crown Colonies and Protectorates . 25 ,, The last and eleventh Resolution expressed the conviction of those attending this first Empire Forestry Conference of the desirability of its repetition. It was decided that the next conference should take place in 1923, to be convened in Canada if the Dominion Government consents. VOL. XXXV. PART I. D 5° TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, The above is little more than a paraphrased short résumé of the text of the resolutions and the annexures to them, but if it induces readers to purchase the Proceedings of the conference from the Government printers (price 7s. 6d.) and study them for themselves, it has not been written in vain. The aphorism ligna non verba was used by more than one speaker, and we were reminded that till the appointment of the Forestry Com- mission for the United Kingdom in rgrg there had been no lack of verba in the welter of Commissions of Inquiry, Departmental Committees, and other wordy official methods of shelving the whole subject of British Forestry in this country. Now that a Forestry Commission is in being, /égva at last will get a chance. The conference synchronised with the Empire Timber Exhibition, where delegates were able to see timbers in the rough and manufactured state from nearly every part of the Empire, many of the species having been prepared for the market for the first time. 8. Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hopart-HAMPDEN. I.—In view of recent events some account of Haguenau, the most famous forest in Alsace, may be of interest. The area is 13,699 hectares (a hectare is practically 24 acres), and the forest lies in the plain, midway between the Vosges and the Rhine, in one block. If we add the other Government and Communal forests which touch Haguenau we have a solid block of 18,700 hectares. The Bienwald, a little to the north, is much like Haguenau in all respects. Thus there are some big forests there—in fact the wooded area of Alsace-Lorraine is 440,594 hectares (about 1,101,450 acres), but this is 6000 hectares less than it was in 1870, the Germans having made extensive expropriations for military purposes. The peculiarity of the forest of Haguenau is that it is shared between the Government and the town of Haguenau—equally, except that the town pays for the cost of protection, The forest is extremely ancient. The first mention of it is in the eleventh century. The town appears to have been very tenacious of its rights in the forest, and to have contested them with the sovereign CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 51 power for centuries till fourteen years before the Peace of Westphalia, when Haguenau placed itself under the protection of France. (The Peace of Westphalia was in 1648, and it was then that Alsace was joined to France.) This voluntary act of the town seems to have greatly pleased Louis XIV, for when the old question of rights in the forest again arose he deliberately gave the town the half share it holds to-day, which was very much more than can have been expected. The forest stands about 40 metres (130 feet) above sea-level, and is in many parts marshy, which may be partly the reason it escaped destruction in the middle of a populated country. The surface soil is partly sand and partly clay, and often the two mixed, while beneath is an impermeable blue clay, a metre (34 feet) down on an average. In the north of the forest oil has been found in valuable quantity under this blue clay. Tiles and pottery are made from this clay. The wetness of the forest is a considerable difficulty, and weed growth is strong. The Germans, who classify soils in five classes, placed 43 % in the second, and 57 ‘° in the third category. The French had a system of drains, but these were badly kept up by the Germans. The climate is hot in summer, and frosts are harmful in the lower parts, and particularly in that they spoil the flowering of the oak and beech, so that heavy seed years of these species are rare, Great damage is done by storms from the west. The Germans seem to have reduced this damage by prescribing fellings from east to west and north to south, and by reducing the size of the felling areas in one and the same place. The rainfall is 35 inches. Among enemies of the forest are roebuck, rabbits (only a few), hares, pigs, and black game; also cock- chafers, hy/obius, and other insects; also Fomes annosus, “rouge du pin,” and some other fungi; and, finally, fires, which occur annually among the pine. In this last connection we may note the use made of telephones for protective purposes. The species consist of, roughly, 50 % Scots pine, 30 % oak (both kinds), 8 % hornbeam, 6 % beech, and 6 ¥ other species. The Scots pine has long been here, as its stumps are found more than a metre below the clay. Our author says that Haguenau is the south-west limit of the natural habitat of the plains Scots pine. This species is said to be mature at 120 years, when it is go to roo feet high, with a diameter of 2 feet at chest-height. The stems are often badly shaped (perhaps by reason of the 52 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. heavy snowfall) but of excellent quality. The tree seeds abundantly every three years, and every year to some extent. Hence it is somewhat invasive, nor does it confine itself to the sandy soils, merely avoiding those that are very marshy. The oak reaches 80 to roo feet in height, with a diameter of 2} feet at chest-height, in 150 years. It thrives for several centuries. It seeds partially every seven years, but heavily only very oc- casionally—say once in fifty years. Its wood is of high quality, and famous. In earlier days it went to the building of Dutch ships. The Germans used the beech as an understage among the oak and pine. The ash seeds freely, and is of unusually good quality. The forest is well served by lines of export. There are three railways running through it, and.two others along the borders, There are three stations in the forest, and twelve others within 4 kilometres (24 miles) of the boundary. There are three main roads and many lesser roads in the forest, but heavy timber can only with difficulty be moved on any but metalled roads, and metal can only be obtained at a distance of 60 kilometres (37 miles). The prescriptive rights which burden the forest are not, with one exception, onerous, and even the exception is of doubtful legality. This is the removal of litter—about three-quarters of it dead leaves, the rest being fern, heather, and moss. It was estimated recently that some 1800 cartloads a year were being removed, not only by neighbouring communes, but by villages as much as 1o kilometres (61 miles) from the forest. The outer parts of the wooded area have thus often a perfectly hard, bare soil, and that this practice has been most pernicious is shown by certain estimates of the soil quality made by the Germans. Thus in 1874 6 % of the area was considered to be first class, but only 1 ¥ in 1913; 60 % second class in 1874, against 42 % in 1913; and 34 ¥ third class in 1874, against 57 % in 1913. Formerly in a good acorn year the town of Haguenau was accustomed to buy a number of pigs, and, after fattening them in the forest, to sell them at a profit of several tens of thousands of francs. The acorns were, in those early days, considered more important than anything else, and the chief swineherd of Haguenau was an important person in the town. He used to appear officially, with his trumpet, at the Christmas midnight mass in the church, and after the elevation of the Host he CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 53 sounded the customary call which every morning announced the departure of the herd for the forest. “It was”—to quote our author—‘‘a souvenir of the night of Bethlehem, when the shepherds were the first to salute the birth of the Saviour.” At the present time the whole forest is in the charge of one officer who has twenty-eight subordinates, most of whom hold beats, and live in forest lodges, to which are attached 3 hectares of free land—a valuable concession. All real forest conservancy dates from the famous “ Ordon- nance” of 1669, but this did not get properly to work till 1695. The first forest officer was a gentleman named Perreaud, and the charge of the forest actually remained in this man’s family till 1783. One famous officer of Haguenau was Clément de Grandprey, whose name will be known to some of us; he was there from 1854-1870. ‘The first attempt at regular working was, as said, in 1695, when an immense coupe (felling area) of about 350 acres in one place was made. It is interesting to hear that to this day there are pillars, marked with the fleur de lys and the rose of Haguenau, indicating the bounds of this coupe. These huge felling areas, following each other in sequence, were continued for a few years, after which they were made smaller and more numerous, and were scattered. Originally about eight stems were reserved per acre, but this was increased later to thirty-two. At first no cleanings or thinnings were made. The result was a sort of coppice-with-standards, but the Scots pine increased. There was heavy felling during the first empire for financial reasons. The first real working-plan was made in 1845, and it will be interesting for those of us who were at Nancy to hear that Nanquette was engaged on this work in a junior capacity. It took three years to complete this plan. There were twenty-five working-sections of high-forest, and five of coppice (though only over some 2200 acres) in the wetter parts. This coppice was on a 35-year rotation. The high-forest had rotations of 160 to 180 years for the oak, 120 for the beech, and r1o to 120 for the pine, according to the quality of the soil. As the oak and beech must have been together their different rotations probably caused some difficulty, since the method of treatment was the Uniform Method. The possibility was fixed at 3:97 cubic metres per hectare (about 56 cubic feet per acre) per annum for the high- forest. 54 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. This plan ran till 1870, and left good results. There were some weaknesses in it, such as the excessive number of working- sections, and the failure to resort sufficiently to artificial restock- ing where natural regeneration was unsuccessful, but on the whole it was good. During the last thirty years (up to 1918) the revenue, both gross and net, has increased about 150 %. It was, on the mean of the years 1915-18, gross 2,048,000 frs., and net 1,642,000 frs., or 120 frs. per hectare (48s. an acre), this last on the net revenue. ‘Three million francs were expected for 1919. With regard to the Scots pine, the method employed latterly by the Germans for regeneration has been sowing in strips 16 inches wide and the strips 5 feet apart. The strips were pecked up for about a foot deep in autumn, and then rolled smooth in the following spring before sowing. Failures were planted. Thus the Germans gave up natural regeneration among the Scots pine, though one would think nothing would be easier in the sandy soil of Haguenau. They said that if they opened the cover the result was weeds, and that young Scots pine regeneration would not stand the heat, while if there was regeneration without felling the trees the young regeneration would not stand the cover. Nevertheless they had actually in hand at the time they left an experimental area in which they had cleared bands of forest 40 metres (130 feet) wide, alternat- ing with uncut bands of the same width, in order to see the result. This was in fact magnificent, and the regeneration had been greatly aided by the removal of the stumps, bushes and moss on the cleared bands by people who did the clearing free of cost in return for the litter they removed. The idea was to regenerate naturally the strips first cleared, and when it came to cutting the strips left standing to plant, since there would be no seed-bearers at hand in their case. This would have been unnecessary really, as a note farther down will show. After some cleanings the first thinning among the pine comes at twenty years. Thereafter the prescription is two thinnings every twenty years, removing 10 to 20 cub. metres per hectare (140 to 280 cub. feet per acre) up to the fortieth year, then between the fortieth and sixtieth years 30 to 4o cub. metres (425 to 565 cub. feet per acre), and after that 50 to 60 cub. metres (705 to 850 cub. feet). In practice the thinnings came closer, but with the same outturn, on the principle of frequent but cautious CONTINENTAL NOTES — FRANCE, 55 thinnings. This is a sound principle, but the French writer states that actually the crops look too close, and appear to be suffer- ing from it. They underplant the pine with beech to enrich the soil, to keep down the weed growth, and to mitigate fires. This understage (1760 plants to the acre—so it is stated) will be cut at the same time as the pine, and experience shows that the financial return from this undercrop pays well. It is, however, only put in thirty to sixty years after the pine. About twenty-five special stems per hectare are kept standing beyond the final felling (at 120 years). About half of these die, but the other half grow well, so far as they have been able to tell, from immediately after the final felling of the crop till the new crop has reached the pole stage, when their rate of growth falls off. There are specimens of 200 years in good form. With regard to the oak, originally the French trusted to natural regeneration, and did not sufficiently fill up failures by planting. They succeeded well at times: this with the help of pigs to make a good seed-bed. The Germans for a time tried natural regeneration, but feared to open the cover because of the weeds, and seemed to expect natural seedlings of oak to stand the cover for some five years. This did not happen gener- ally, but there was sometimes success with oak sowings on prepared ground under the cover. But planting is now the rule. The thinnings begin at 30 years, and recur every 8 or 10 years. They produce rather less outturn than in the case of the pine. In the course of these thinnings the idea is to choose special stems which are to be carried through to the end of the rotation. The special isolated stems are left every 6 or 8 metres, and, as the writer remarks, they might with advantage be marked with a ring of paint, so that at each thinning they could be picked up at once. The isolation of these stems is not of course excessive, and comes to pass gradually. The idea is only to choose these stems when the crop has reached some fifty years. As with the pine, an understage of beech is introduced. When the oak is sixty years old they bring in 7000 beech per hectare. This is 2800 to the acre, and how they find room for it one wonders, but this is what is stated. The Germans (who when they first came cut the larger oaks 56 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. heavily) have tried leaving a certain number of special stems beyond the final felling, as in the case of the pine. The result has been very bad, as the stems, suddenly laid bare, became covered with epicormic branches and died off, in spite of pruning. One new thing was introduced during the war, namely, the tapping of the Scots pine for resin, which is not generally con- sidered a paying proposition. Whortleberries are collected in Haguenau to an extraordinary extent, and quite free, by all and sundry. The value of this was estimated to be 120,000 frs. before the war, during the war 880,000 frs., and now 350,000 frs. They go far afield—to Holland, and even to England. Why should not this minor forest product bring in a revenue to the owners of the forest ? II.—A correspondent in the Revue des Eaux et Foréts, taking for text the strip fellings in Haguenau mentioned above, suggests a scheme for arranging the strips which would allow of regenerating the whole of an area naturally, and thereby avoiding any planting. He supposes, as an example, a rotation of sixty years, and arranges his strips in six groups. The following diagram shows the order of the fellings. It will be seen that there is always a strip of seed-bearing trees alongside a cleared strip. First Group Second Group |} Third Group | etc.!| 2 | 8 a | 13 14) |/etes||| 3) 1 "Oy || Le jete: Direction of the <— Fourth Group Fifth Group Sixth Group prevailing wind | lta etc, | 16 Jetc.|| 5 Il | 17 jetc.|| 6 | 12 | 18 The above plan might be of use among ourselves when we have to deal with Scots pine on sandy or gravelly soil, where natural regeneration is easy. But assistance by the removal of heather, etc., in the cleared strips will always be highly advantageous. Later on, when the Scots pine crops are older, the underplanting with beech will sometimes, in a sandy soil, as much as double the growth of the Scots pine, according to M. C. Morel, who has CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 57 a learned article in the Revwe on the amount of water required by this species. He shows that the amount is relatively small, and explains the fact that in spite of this the tree will not always find sufficient moisture in the soil by reminding us that a sandy soil has small retentive power and that the fallen needles improve the physical condition of the soil but little. A heavy rainfall before the buds are open is no good; if the water has drained away by June the activity of the leaves ceases, and no wood is formed. One can see how the addition of the beech leaves to the soil and to the cover would affect things. Thus it is that in the forests of the central plateau of France you may pass from a pure pine forest into another pine forest where the growth is twice as good, but where there is a beech undergrowth. IlI.—For very many years the Forest Service in France has been engaged in converting their coppice woods into high- forest, but even now there is a very large area under coppice. Private proprietors have been still more backward, for they have feared the loss of revenue that was thought to be unavoidable as long as the method adopted for the conversion was the one taught in the nineteenth century. This was as follows:—The area was divided up into periodic blocks, which were to be converted successively in the number of years of the rotation fixed for the new high-forest. This rotation might be, say, 120 to 150 years, and not until this long time had passed would the whole area have become high-forest. If the coppice contained numerous standards the first periodic block was regenerated at once, or rather it was started when the coppice had reached thirty or forty years of age, so that if the rotation of the coppice had been less than this they had to wait the requisite number of years. This delay was in order to bring the coppice to such an age that, when cut, it would not reshoot vigorously from the stool. Even so there must have been a lot of trouble with coppice shoots when they tried to regenerate from seed. Meanwhile the second periodic block was withdrawn from coppice felling and allowed to grow on, but was thinned in such manner as to prepare the place for being regenerated during the second period by high-forest methods. The remaining periodic blocks continued as coppice-with- standards till their turn arrived for treatment as above. 58 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. M. Aubert now describes how, in the forests of West France, they have abandoned this slow method of conversion, and simply allowed the coppice to grow tall, making the last felling under the coppice treatment one in which the number of standards left is very considerable, involving the retention of a large number of stems grown from coppice shoots. The point is that this area is not at this moment regenerated ; it is left as pole forest. The money return from this, last coppice felling is of course poor, but in a few years the crop will have grown sufficiently to need a thinning, and M. Aubert quotes figures to show that the temporary loss is very quickly changed into a gain. The old foresters thought it was necessary to get rid of the coppice-grown forest entirely, and only begin the new high-forest after the former was cleared away; it was deemed impossible ever to obtain a proper forest, capable of attaining maturity, from coppice-grown trees. But M. Aubert draws attention to the fact that stems of this origin, which have reached considerable dimensions, are constantly to be met with. Thus in these particular forests they have adopted, apparently with great success, a method of conversion into high-forest which leaps right across the slow initial stages of the classic method, and starts them, as it were, well forward in the rotation of the new high-forest system. It is necessary, when doing this, to get rid of the large-crowned, short-boled old standards of the coppice regime, which, if left, are a source of embarrassment, and which, being incapable of increasing their height-growth, are rapidly passed by the younger stems standing around them. Even supposing it to be true that coppice-grown trees cannot live to the rotation of high-forest, and will begin to go off relatively early, there would still be no objection to such stems being allowed to grow forward as long as they profitably may under a high-forest treatment. If they will not grow more than, say, eighty years (counting from the year they sprang from the stool), and cannot reach the 120-150 years of the rotation, why then this first coppice-grown high-forest can close its first rotation at eighty years. IV. M. Huffel gives in the Revue des Eaux et Forétts an account of the very careful experiments made in Switzerland by Engler on the effects of forest on water-flow. The place where these experiments are taking place (for they are still in progress) O_O CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 59 is in the Emmenthal, some 30 to 4o kilometres (19-25 miles) east of Berne. There are two valleys, each surrounded by ridges forming nearly closed horseshoes, and down each flows a stream. The two basins face the same way, south-west ; and the soil is similar. The basin called the Sperbelgraben is 56 hectares in extent (11 hectares between goo and rooo metres altitude, 26 between 1000 and 1100, and 19 between r1oo and 1200). The other basin, the Rappengrabli, contains 70 hectares (1 between 980 and rooo metres, 23 between 1000 and 1100, and 46 between 1100 and 1260). The slopes of the “ thalweg”’ (the main ravine) are, on the average, 20 7/ in the Sperbelgraben, and 17°5 “in the Rappengrabli. The two basins are thus very similar, but the side slopes of the former (which is the more wooded) are somewhat steeper than those of the latter (with little forest), so that topographically the Sperbelgraben favours water-flow more than the other. The Sperbelgraben has 97 ¥% of its area forest (silver fir 6, spruce 2, beech 2—300 stems to the acre), 24 / pasture, and /O 1 ¥% nurseries. The Rappengrabli has 35 % forest (spruce), 29 % heather with some scrub, 34 % grassland, and 2 7 cultivation. Very elaborate and careful arrangements are made for measuring the flow of the streams—before, during, and after rain. Observations are taken at periods of thaw, of short and torrential showers, of prolonged rainfall, and of drought. In forest soils water sinks in and flows underground; on ground bare of trees it rushes off the surface. The rush is at its maximum on grassy slopes. The influence of the forest on the regime of the waters is chiefly due to the permeability and porosity of its soil. Engler states, however, that it is not the fact, as is generally supposed, that the flow of water is chiefly checked by the great hygroscopicity of the covering of dead leaves and mosses. This, of course, does absorb a great deal, but once saturated it forms a quasi-impermeable mat over which the water flows away. In spite of this, if the soil is not frozen or previously saturated, a sudden thaw results in flood far less in forest than elsewhere, and the flow of the stream below is much less affected. The point which is not quite clear in M. Huffel’s otherwise admirably lucid article is how, if after the dead covering of the soil is saturated it shuts off the percolation, the soil beneath can take up, as it is said to do, 60 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. such a great quantity of water. It looks as if the saturation point is not reached for a long time, and that much water passes through the dead covering and mosses before they become saturated. In sudden rainstorms the flow per second of the stream in the wooded basin is a third, or at most a half, of that in the poorly wooded basin. The difference would certainly be greater were it not for the steeper slopes of the former, and also were the latter basin not partially wooded. When the rains are prolonged, if the preceding period has been dry the effect of the forest is great in retarding the flow, but otherwise it is not. However, in any case, a wooded area does not become cut up as much as a bare soil, and the water does not carry away detritus—so that though a forest cannot always stop an inunda- tion it can do much to prevent damage in steep country. During drought the stream in the wooded basin never ceases to flow, whereas the other stream may be quite dry for months together. The following table, compiled from the observations of thirteen years (1903-1915), 1s very significant :— Daily Flow in cubtc metres of the Streams per square kilometre of each Basin. Wooded Basin Basin Poorly Wooded Minimum Maximum | Minimum Maximum March . ' . 1,577, 9,766 | 1,303. | 16,099 April . ; F 671 18,428 427 24,272 | May . ‘ : 376 22,798 130 46,491 | 1 ne eng eo 374 30,150 | 53 46,428 ally ot Ae lein'|/. oSaGs aaleia gels bes 42,073 August Bye id 276 28,574 | 5 29,249 September . = 265 20°22 ual a 28,887 October abd 308 13,223 “9 19,398 November . veel B80) Miesieest 86 41,227 December . : 1,637 14,184 | 286 26,593 For those who can read German, and can face 625 pages, we may note that Engler’s book is called Untersuchungen tiber den Einfluss des Waldes auf den Stand der Gewisser, and that it is published by Beer, at Zurich. CONTINENTAL NOTES—-FRANCE. 61 V. As there are many who like to make a library of forest books, and who can read French, it may be well to give the names of the books which have been favourably reviewed in the magazines from which the present notes have been compiled. Such are :— Pratique raisonnée de la sylviculture, by Bizot de Fonteny, Conservator of Forests; published by Berger-Levrault, 5-7 Rue des Beaux Arts, Paris, 15 frs. Economie Foresticre, vols. i. and ii., second edition, by G. Huffel, Deputy Director at the Forest School of Nancy; published by the Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique, 26 Rue Jacob, Paris, 35 frs. These volumes concern the drier parts of forestry (such as forest statistics, or timber measuring, etc.), and the second edition of those parts of his book which concern silviculture proper is not yet out. Eléments de Sylviculture, by Count Félix Goblet d’Alviella. Marcel Riviere et Cie., 31 Rue Jacob, Paris, 2 vols., 24 frs. This author is a Belgian. Les Arbres, by L. Chancerel, Conservator of Forests, 3 vols., of which the first is published by Berger-Levrault, and the other two at the Librairie Gauthier-Villars, 56 Quai des Grands Augustins, Paris. 9. Unfavourable Influence of too many Stems on the Soil Moisture in the case of Pine soils of poor quality. Professor Dr Albert, in the Zettschrift fur Forst und Jagdwesen, 1915, p. 241, gives the result of an experiment carried out by the soil division of the Forestry Research Organisation of the Eberswalde Forest Academy. Dr Tschermak makes the following remarks on this investiga- tion in Centralblatt fur das gesamte Forstwesen, 1/2 Heft, Jan.—Feb. 1920, p. 47 :— “Forest soil study, called by Ramann ‘the sister of Agricul- tural Chemistry,’ has not as yet received much encouragement, hence exact investigations concerning the influence of silvicul- tural management on the soil are specially welcome. ; ‘* Albert’s investigation was carried out to determine, in exact figures, if possible, the influence of early thinning on the soil. 62 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, As experimental areas twenty- to twenty-five-year old pine thickets (ze. approaching the pole stage) were selected in the Eberswalde State forest. These grew on very uniform soil on a perfectly flat area (diluvial valley sand). For the object in view there were chosen a fully-stocked and undisturbed (de. unthinned) area, and two similarly stocked areas, which were then thinned. In the one case the thinned-out material was removed; in the other case the thinnings were left as a twig and branch covering of the forest floor. In these three contiguous areas soil tests were made from three different places in each area every week during two periods of vegetation (1912 and 1913). The soil samples were taken from an upper layer 20 cm. (7°8 inches), and also from a deeper layer 40 cm. (15°7 inches), and the water-content investigated. The results in both years of the investigation were similar, and showed that the reduction in the number of stems had in itself an appreciable and lasting influence on the increase in the water- content of the soil. Still more favourable was the effect of the thinning combined with the twig and branch covering of the soil, in that it had a considerable effect in raising the water- content of the soil, which is apparently to be explained by the reduction in evaporation from the surface covered with branches. The increase in soil moisture was not confined to the upper layers only, but was distinctly marked in the deeper layers also. In the thinned area covered with branches the water-content of the upper layer was, for example, in the experimental year 1912, 8:07 per cent., while for the unthinned area it was only 6°31; for the experimental year 1913, similarly the figures were 6°24 per cent. and 4°42 per cent. respectively. In such light sandy soils an increase in the water-content cannot fail to have a beneficial influence. The early thinning of pine woods approaching the pole stage of growth and the leaving of the practically valueless thinnings on the ground is an extremely rational operation, which will benefit both the soil and the trees. The poorer the soil the greater the need for this treatment. This treatment is especially suitable for all woods formed on hitherto waste land or deteriorated agricultural land. The author was able to conclude definitely in many localities that by the timely adoption of this method of treatment, the failure, in groups, of pine approaching the pole stage, which otherwise seems unavoidable on such kinds of soil, can be entirely prevented. The author PINE SOILS OF POOR QUALITY, 63 was able to gain complete evidence of this in a forest territory where this system had been in operation for decades. Consequent ill effects from insect attack or fire danger have, according to the author, not been observed. If the thinning is done in late autumn the brush will have become so saturated with water during the winter that the danger from fire is very much reduced, even in the case of extended dry periods in spring. On the other hand the author recommends, and rightly _so, that for safety a cleared strip about ro-12 yards wide should be formed along much frequented roads. ‘If this precaution is observed (especially by the side of railway lines), together with thinning in late autumn, which reduces the insect danger, then the system recommended by the author is reasonably safe, and is of unquestionable value as regards the water-content of poor sandy soils. Cieslar (in the Centralblatt fur dis gasamte Forstwesen, 1893, s. 24) has also shown that the effect of a soil covering, even with dry plant remains, is extremely favourable, and that the covering (of nursery beds) with moss (of not more than at most 2 inches in depth) has at least the same effect as weeding, spraying with water, and loosening of the soil combined.” A. W. B. 10. Note regarding a Sitka Spruce Tree at Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire. On 20th December 1920, the Editor received the following communication from Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart :-— “The head forester, Mr Garrett, recently discovered two Sitka spruce trees growing in the woods on the above estate under forest conditions. I girthed one, at breast-height, to be 114 inches, and the other 964 inches. “T knew that these trees must have been, with other kinds of exotic conifers, grown from seed brought over by my uncle, the late Lord Stalbridge, in 1860. As these trees had out- grown their neighbours (silver fir and common spruce) in height and girth within sixty years, I thought it would be be worth while to obtain permission from my mother to have one felled. I then communicated with one of the Forestry Commissioners, Mr Robinson, who was much interested. At 64 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, his request Professor Percy Groom (of the Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington) sent down a member of his staff who took the requisite measurements. He also took away a few sawn lengths, and afterwards asked for the whole tree to be sent to the Timber Research Depart- ment, at Poplar, to undergo mechanical tests, and also for examination into structure and rate of growth. ‘* Professor Groom writes as follows :— “<«Though the timber has unfortunately been grown too rapidly for use in aeroplanes, whatever its strength and elastic values may be, it is nevertheless very interesting. Such timber - will be of use for all the structural purposes for which Baltic white deal (Norway spruce) is used ; also for wood pulp.’” In reply to a recent enquiry Professor Percy Groom has kindly sent the following notes on the further examination of the tree by his assistant, Mr F. M. Oliphant, of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research :— ‘‘ EXAMINATION OF SITKA SPRUCE FROM FONTHILL ABBEY, TisBuRY, WILTSHIRE. “The ‘North side’ wood in which the tree was growing consists of mixed hardwoods and softwoods—Scots pine, silver fir, Sitka spruce (3), oak, birch, holly, etc. Time did not allow of an estimate respecting the proportion of each species. The geological formation is greensand and the soil is very stony, covered by a thick layer of humus. Brackeff grows abundantly in all open places. The wood has a general north-east aspect, and occupies the slope and high ground running up from the valley. The sample was taken from the plantation at the summit of the slope well inside the wood where the exposure is nil. The elevation is approximately 450 feet. “Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart has kindly given the following particulars of the history of the wood :— ‘“*¢ All the exotic conifers, which are about 60 years old, at Fonthill Abbey, were raised from seed brought home by the late Lord Stalbridge, then Lord Richard Grosvenor, from his travels abroad in 1860. “¢«The property then belonged to his father, the second Marquis of Westminster, and the seedlings are believed to have been raised at Eaton Hall, Chester, and conveyed as young plants to Fonthill Abbey. All these trees raised from the 1860 SITKA SPRUCE TREE AT FONTHILL ABBEY. 65 seed must presumably have been planted about 1864. Most of the importations were planted in specially selected places as specimen trees, but it is known that extensive planting was in progress at that time, and some of the Sitka seedlings must have been, by accident or design, planted out along with other kinds of young trees.’ “The age of the sample tree by count of annual rings was 56 years, and by record 60 years. “The sample tree, 108 ft. ro ins. in height, 24} ins. quarter- girth at breast-height, was felled on 13th December 1920, and on the day following was cross-cut into 20 feet lengths for transport to London. Disks, 3 inches thick, were cut off at 4o, 60, and 80 feet up the trunk for immediate examination in the laboratory. The logs in the round were sent to Messrs W. W. Howard’s timber mill at Canning town, arriving on 24th January rg21, and on 3rd February were converted into 3-inch planks. A few of these were set aside to season naturally, and to provide samples for mechanical tests, while the remainder were loaded into the kilns for artificial seasoning, which was started on 15th February. “The sample tree was open-grown, and heavily branched above 4o feet, but was markedly straight and _ cylindrical. Only the basal 20 feet appeared clean on the outside. On opening up the log at the mill, the centre was found to be very knotty and the timber contained many small dead knots. As is usual with this species, resin galls were observed, but these were few and all of small size. The wood was very wet and resinous, with wide annual rings, and the condition of the butt was sound. “The top leading shoots measured 1g inches in length. Measurements. Quarter-girth, O.B., breast-height, to nearest }-inch 241 ins. Total height 2 ; : 108 ft. ro ins. Timber height (3-inch sieskabes) ; ; Lo2° ft) 71 ins. Quarter-girth, O.B., mid-timber height ; 17 ins. Length of clean bole 2 2o.it. Cubic contents, O.B., to timber height . 7206.8. enh Merchantable Gauci : . 168:11.8 cubs ft Converted, 3-inch planks, cut to size ; 129.9.0 cub. ft. (approximate) VOL. XXXV. PART I. E 66 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Diameter and Annual Rings. Height eben ee id Ue AT oe ua | At base 38 ins. a 56 Fes ahae A sInG: eh a 44 SAS nS ys 22°35 00S. | 2075 ess 36 » 635 3. 17°986 ,, | 17°197;, 29 i as O3cna 1 in. 10°215 ,, 9'688 ,, 17 Pe eLO2h Ul Is: 3 ins. : me Width of Annual Rings (Inches). . A , Height Minimum | Maximum Beronmate Radius Number’ ied § per inch 40 feet 5/32 33/64 1/6-1/2 10°875 ins. 3.3 60 ,, 11/64 9/16 1/6-1/2 8°508_,, 35 80 ,, 13/64 | 27/64 1/5-3/7 4344 5, 3'5 “The proportion of summer-wood to spring-wood was approximately 13°4 % and 86°6 ¥ respectively. ‘Specific gravity based on oven-dry weights and volumes :— Range: ‘26-34. Average ‘31. Percentage of Bark. AP eet Hiss Thickness = °315 in. An) 60 ft. = 8°48 i ” = "395 ” iMtSote rere 7, Me = aba (Average for bark allowance =8 %.) “The moisture percentage in the green condition from numerous readings taken at the mill along diameters at five different heights of the tree varied as follows :— Sapwood, 125 %-220 7% | Heartwood, 57 4-928 / ‘“‘ After the drums used in the laboratory investigation had been stored for one month, the following observations were taken along a radius of the drum at qo feet : — Sapwood Heartwood Outer Middle Inner i227, . |- 30°87 25°4 % 49°8 % “The distribution and variation of the moisture-content of deciduous-leaved trees have been the subject of investigations SITKA SPRUCE TREE AT FONTHILL ABBEY. 67 by Professor W. A. Craib, M.A., Lecturer in Forest Botany in the University of Edinburgh, now Professor of Botany in the University of Aberdeen, the results being recorded in his paper, ‘“The Regional Spread of Moisture in the Wood of Trees.” ! Professor Craib found that in a December-felled deciduous tree the centre was the richest in moisture. In the present sample, a conifer, felled in December, the maximum percentage of moisture lay in the band of sapwood, and was more than double that in the wettest portion of the heartwood. The maximum percentage of moisture for the heartwood alone lay at the centre, agreeing to that extent with Professor Craib’s result for a December-felled broad-leaved tree. ‘Tt is difficult to know whether to describe this Sitka spruce as possessing a coloured heartwood or no. In the tree fresh felled, there was easily apparent a sharply-defined, narrow band of extremely wet sapwood, dingy white in colour, in marked contrast to the brighter inner wood (which may be termed the ripe wood). This outer, wet band gradually loses distinctness on drying, and the timber throughout assumes a pinkish tint, deeper in the centre and dying away to the circumference. In the majority of planks of the sample, no exact distinction into sapwood and heartwood can be made with the naked eye. In some cases, however, the deepening in colour does stop abruptly at the sapwood, the ripe wood being a pronounced pink colour, while the sapwood is duller and paler. This applies both to the artificially and naturally dried timber. “While the drums in the laboratory were green, the wet band of sapwood was attacked by a mould (Ceratostome/la pilifera) which stopped short at the ripe wood. In this case the sapwood is distinguishable owing to the ‘blueing’ caused by the fungus. ‘The proportion of sapwood to ripe wood at various heights was as follows, the figures representing the average of measure- ments along the longest and shortest radii at each height :— | Number WeeNumibert | oh an tare of Height Sapwood of Annual | Heartwood |} of Annual Rioe Win “ | Rings Rings Ripe Wop 40 feet I‘9 in. ite) 8°9 ins. 26 82°4 % 60)? 55 2°425 ins. 8 6°19 ins. 21 71°85 hs AON. ‘97 ins. 4 3°87 ins. 13 800 % 1 Craib, in Notes, Roy. Bot. Gard. Edin., xi. p. 1 (1918), 68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ‘““As regards the quality of the timber, the tree appeared to have had too much room throughout life ; its timber was rough, even in the basal portion of the log. In addition to the large splay knots at the edges of the planks, the wood contained an undue proportion of knots in the centre, together with many small dead knots, here and there. Apart from other considera- tions, the timber is too rough for any class of fine joinery. “The fast rate of growth exemplified in the maximum width of half an inch to one annual ring, with an average of three annual rings to the inch radius, has produced a coarse-grained timber of woolly, uneven texture, difficult to work up. “ At the moment there is little market for this class of timber, and it is doubtful whether more than 1s. 6d. a foot cube at the mill could be obtained for the log, flatted and cut to size. Normally, it would be sold for packing-cases or for rough inside carpentry ; or for any of the purposes for which ordinary white deal of rough quality would be used. From a special enquirer, and in view of the good width at the butt, it might eventually fetch 2s. 6d. a foot cube. “Though no definite conclusion can be drawn from the examination of one tree from a single site, the uses of the home-grown Sitka spruce would appear to be in the direction of wood-pulp, pit-props, and rough timber for estate purposes, rather than big timber. It is extensively used in British Columbia for wood-pulp. “‘With regard to the strength values, ea eee Percy Groom remarks as follows: ‘Careful mechanical tests on the wood have not yet been conducted, as samples seasoned in divers ‘ways are being kept in order to attain the same degree of moistness. Judging by the specific gravities of this truly light wood, the ultimate stress in compression of well-seasoned perfectly cut wood probably ranges between slightly less than 3000, and slightly more than 4ooo lbs. per square inch. The latter value represents the minimum for Sitka spruce used in aeroplanes. ’ “From observations of a number of plantations of Sitka spruce of varying ages, the side branches of this tree appear to be extremely persistent, which applies in greater degree, also, to Douglas fir and Japanese larch, under the climatic conditions of this country. It seems doubtful whether even the closest planting of these species will have the effect of te ll SITKA SPRUCE TREE AT FONTHILL ABBEY. 69 producing clean timber, apart from the requirements of these species as to root-room. The very fast rate of growth tends to produce a coarse timber. “ The following particulars of comparative timber production for trees growing about 50 or 60 yards from the sample Sitka spruce are given in a report by Mr Hugh Garrett, head forester at Fonthill Abbey :— eeexee Heicht True Girth at Cubic Contents peice els Half Height (Approx.) } — Sa = | ] Sitka spruce . ’ 110 feet 55 inches 172 cub. feet Silver fr ; , 88 ,, BA as Cer ac Common spruce pal 88 ,, AS" 155 So ey “«The cubic contents are based on total height of trees. These trees are standing at distances of 23 to 24 feet apart.’ “The Sitka spruce of Western North America produces a very different class of timber to that of the home-grown sample under examination. It is slower-grown and therefore more compact and easier to work up. The annual rings, being narrow, have a greater proportion of the denser autumn wood, with a corresponding increase in specific gravity and strength of the timber. In colour, the timber is a much deeper rose- colour than that of the English sample.! “In ten samples taken at random from the timber of British Columbian Sitka spruce, the average number of annual rings to the inch radius was 47, 8, 12, 20°5, 17°5, 7°8, 14, 10, 6 and I5 respectively, while the approximate proportion of spring- wood to autumn-wood in three samples was as follows :— Annual Rings Spring Wood Autumn Wood per inch radius per cent. per cent. 8 8I 19 12 73°4 26°7 15 73°7 26°3 1 In all trees, including conifers, the rate of growth and the technical qualities of the timber vary according to whether the tree is growing within or outside its optimum conditions. Among European conifers the same laws operate as with this Western American species, and we must still seek to find in Great Britain the soil, climate and silvicultural treatment which will most nearly approximate to the optimum conditions for slower growth combined with greater strength, so that the Sitka spruce may yield the best results..—HON. Ep. 7O TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. “The following remarks are taken from the U.S.A. Forest Service Bulletin, dated May 1917, Mores bearing on the use of spruce in airplane construction, ‘«* For use in airplanes the Sitka spruce combines the qualities of lightness, great strength and stiffness per unit Kirc with a considerable degree of toughness. “* Very rapid growth is usually productive of inferior material ; the optimum quality has been found in timber showing 15 annual rings per inch radius. ‘There is no material difference in strength, either towards increase or decrease, in timber showing more annual rings per inch radius than this, while timber which shows less than 8-10 is usually weaker and lighter. ‘««Spruces follow the general law that strength increases with the increase in specific gravity. Excellent material is obtained from clear timber when the specific gravity (based on oven-dry weight and volume) is *36. When green, clear wood with this specific gravity would seldom run below 4500 lbs. per square inch in modulus of rupture, or below 2000 Ibs. per square inch in maximum crushing strength along the grain. Drying to the condition of aeroplane stock would increase these figures to about 8000 and 4oo0 lbs. per square inch respectivel¥.’” 11. Treatment of Forest Seed-beds with Disinfectants to prevent Damping-off. By JAMEs Kay, Ordinary commercial sulphuric acid appears the cheapest and most effective preventive of damping-off. Both heat and for- maldehyde, the means usually recommended for disinfecting greenhouses and truck soils, proved less reliable as well as expensive. In all disinfection of seed-beds by chemicals, the quantity of the disinfectant used per unit area of soil surface seems to be the important variable. The disinfectant must be dissolved in sufficient water to permit its distribution through the soil to a depth of several inches, but within certain limits the concentration of the solution as applied does not appear to be an important factor, for watering the beds frequently during the germination TREATMENT OF FOREST SEED-BEDS. 71 period prevents surface concentration, and in practice has been found entirely to prevent injury to the seedlings. The seed-beds should be watered frequently from the time seed is sown until a few days after germination, when the root tips have penetrated half an inch into the soil. The beds are watered daily in ordinary weather, every other day in dull or rainy weather, and twice daily when the maximum temperature exceeds 80 degrees Fahr. Sort TREATMENT FOR HEAvy SOILS. 1. Sulphuric Acid: ;%, fluid ounce per sq. foot of bed, dissolved in from 1 to 2 pints of water per sq. foot of bed, and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 2. Same treatment as (1), but use + ounce acid per sq. foot. 3. Copper Sulphate: } avoirdupois ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 4. Same treatment as (3), but use ,% ounce per sq. foot. 5. Zinc Chloride: 4 ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 6. Formaldehyde: 4} fluid ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied 10 days before the seed is sown. Keep the beds covered with paper or light shade frames during these 10 days. Do not spade up formaldehyde beds after treatment; if necessary to cover the seed with. soil from outside the plot which has not been treated, use sub-soil just dug up from at least 1 foot below the surface. 7. Same treatment as (6), but apply the treatment only 3 days before sowing, and do not cover with paper. 8, Air-slaked Lime: } ounce per sq. foot, applied dry and raked into upper 3 inches of soil before sowing the seed. (If hydrated lime is used 2 ounce per sq. foot will be sufficient). Immediately after seed is sown and covered apply «3 ounce of sulphuric acid per sq. foot dissolved in water. In dissolving disinfectants for heavy soils use sufficient water to make from 1 to 2 pints of solution per sq. foot; 1 pint is generally sufficient when the soil is wet. ‘ 72 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. TREATMENT OF SANDY SOILS. 1. Sulphuric Acid: 3 ounce (fluid) per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 2. Same treatment as plot (1), but ;%, ounce per sq. foot. 3. Copper Sulphate: 1 ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 4. Same treatment as (3), but } ounce per sq. foot. 5. Zinc Chloride: 8; ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied at once after the seed is sown and covered. 6. Formaldehyde: ;5, ounce per sq. foot, dissolved in water and applied ro days before seed is sown, 7. Same treatment as for (6), but apply only 3 days before sowing seed and do not cover. 8. Air-slaked Lime: 2 ounce per sq. foot, applied dry and raked into the upper 3 inches of soil just before sowing. (If hydrated lime is used °3 ounce per sq. foot will be sufficient.) Immediately after the seed is sown and covered apply + fluid ounce of sulphuric acid per sq. foot dissolved in water. In dissolving disinfectants for sandy soils use sufficient water to make from 1 to r4 pint of solution per sq. foot; 1 to 14 pint should be used if the soil is dry, 1 pint is sufficient if the soil is already wet. In practice the best results have been obtained by the use of sulphuric acid. It is cheap and easily applied, but the acid (concentrated) should be handled with care owing to its corrosive action. The acid can be prepared in bulk and spread over the beds by means of an ordinary garden watering-can with a medium-sized rose ; the can may be protected with a coating of melted paraffin wax. On the Cooking Lake Forest Reserve Nursery, east of Edmonton, Alberta, and on the Cypress Hills Forest Reserve Nursery, the application not only prevented ‘‘damping-off” but it kept the treated beds free from weeds. The acid caused a marked increase in size of the seedlings. Only pine beds were treated. a EES NOTES AND QUERIES. 73 NOTES AND QUERIES. A NEWLY-RECORDED DISEASE ON JAPANESE LARCH, CAUSED BY PHOMOPSIS PSEUDOTSUGAE. On 11th August Mr George Leven, Bowmont Forest, wrote to say that he had observed certain symptoms of disease on dominated stems in a Japanese larch plantation last autumn. At that time it did not seem to be of a serious nature, but continued observations had now convinced him that the matter was really serious, as a larger number of stems than had been observed during the earlier part of the growing season were now showing patches of sunken cortex, and during the last week or two the outflow of resin made these more conspicuous. From his knowledge of Phomopsis on the Douglas fir, he was of opinion that the present symptoms shown by the Japanese larch were due to the same cause. Similar symptoms of disease had been pointed out to the members of the Society on their recent visit to Yorkshire. The matter appeared to be one which required immediate investigation. Without loss of time a specimen was obtained from Mr Leven, and this was submittted to Dr M. Wilson at the Royal Botanic Garden, who reports as follows, under date 23rd August 1921 :— “ Report on Specimen of Japanese Larch. —The specimen forwarded by Mr George Leven consists of about 6 feet of the trunk of a Japanese larch 2-2} inches in diameter, and showing twelve annual rings at the lower end. It is attacked by a fungus which appears to be identical with Phomopsis Pseudotsugae. **Two depressed areas are present on the bark, one near the base and the other towards the upper end. These, which are darker in colour than the normal bark, are elliptical in form and measure 10-11 inches in length and about 5 inches across ; they therefore extend about three-quarters of the distance round the stem. The boundaries of these areas are marked by the exudation of considerable quantities of resin. There is a large number of small black fructifications on the depressed areas; these emerge through small slits in the bark which are elongated in a direction at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the stem. The fructifications, which are up to 1 mm. in diameter, are of 74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, the usual Phomopsis type; they consist of pycnidia which are partially divided up by incomplete septa and possess a short, rather wide neck with a terminal opening. The spores are borne on distinct sporophores and measure 7-8 x 3-4 p. “The depressed appearance is due to the non-development of the xylem in the infected areas during the present year. In these the cambial cells are discoloured and partly dis- integrated ; the phloem and cortex appear to be still living, but are devoid of starch and are permeated in all directions by hyphae. The infected tissue is limited by a layer of periderm, and beyond this the cambium is normal and has developed a zone of secondary xylem during the present year. The phloem and cortex in the healthy tissue are normal, and the cells of the latter are packed with starch. *. “This is the first record of Phomopsis Pseudotsugae on Larix leptolepis, and it is a fact not only of scientific interest but of great practical importance. Opportunity may be taken.here to record the occurrence of this fungus on a third host. It was found during May of this year on the dead leading shoots of young trees of Zsuga albertiana in Fifeshire. It is noteworthy that both on the Japanese larch and on Zsuga albertiana the spores agree exactly, both in shape and size, with those of the fungus on the Douglas fir, and hence differ markedly from those of Phomopsis abietina on the Adies pectinata described by Hartig. “It is proposed to give a further account of the fungus on these two new hosts as soon as additional material is available.” THE MuSEUM OF BRITISH FORESTRY AT KEw. A suggestion has been made that a short account of the Forestry Museum in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, would be of interest to readers of the Zvansacttons of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, therefore the following notes have been prepared. The Museum is the outcome of a wish expressed by H.M. King Edward VII., and it occupies a building which was formerly the residence of H.R.H. The Duke of Cambridge. It is situated about three minutes walk from the main entrance to the gardens, and was opened to the public in rgto, although at that time in its infancy and containing few exhibits. There eee NOTES AND QUERIES. 75 are two floors, divided into six main rooms, with a long corridor and some additional accommodation. As far as possible each of the rooms is devoted to a distinct object. Thus one of the three on the ground floor is designed for students of forest botany. It is fitted up with wall ‘and table cases, and in them are arranged, in botanical sequence, hand specimens of wood, fruits, seeds, photographs of specimen trees and other objects. Cones and seeds of numerous conifers hardy in the British Isles are well represented. The two other rooms and the corridor on the ground floor are given up mainly to planks and sections of trunks of trees, one room containing chiefly hardwoods, the other conifers. Most of the planks have been cut from average- sized rather than extra large trees, and they are shown in. lengths’ of 5 or 7 feet, the width of the tree, including bark, and 3 inches thick. The trunk sections are 5 feet long, cut longi- tudinally to show the tangential surface. Transverse sections are cut-6 inches thick. Some difficulty was experienced in the early days in getting transverse sections to withstand the dry condition of the rooms without cracking. At the present time a saw cut from the outside to the centre of each transverse section is made whilst the wood is green. Contraction due to drying opens the timber at this point, but general cracking is avoided. Some of the planks shown are from ornamental trees, hence they are more knotty than planks from forest-grown trees of similar species would be. When selecting large timber specimens for museum purposes, it is not advisable to choose sections from dead trees, or from trees that have been allowed to lie for some considerable time after being felled. Such timber is often infested with boring beetles, and if introduced into a building becomes the source of much worry and annoyance. A good deal of worry has been caused in the Kew Museum in this way. An idea of the extent of the wood collection may be gathered from the fact that upwards of 200 species of trees grown in the British Isles are represented by large or small sections of timber. There are also numerous photographs of woodland scenery in these rooms and in the corridor. The rooms on the upper floor are devoted to diseases, articles manufactured from home-grown woods, and tools and models of machinery. The disease room contains specimens of the principal insect and fungus enemies of trees in the British Isles, with numerous examples of galls and other minor injuries. 76 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. There are also specimens of abnormal growths, sections of trees injured by animals, pruning and grafting specimens, etc. In another room are numerous articles manufactured from ash, oak, beech, birch, elm, sycamore, sweet chestnut, horse chestnut, hornbeam, Scots pine and other standard woods. Industries such as brush-making, the manufacture of bobbins and cotton reels, sports requisites, and basket ware are repre- sented by special exhibits, many items being shown in different stages of manufacture. This room is used a good deal for informal demonstrative purposes by teachers from the various handicraft centres under the London County Council. In the third room on this floor are various tools and models of machinery used in forestry operations and in the manipulation of timber, together with numerous photographs. As it is desired to make the museum as complete as_ possible, new specimens and photographs are always acceptable. In the past members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society have been very generous in presenting exhibits, and numerous specimens have come from Scotland. W.Do™ PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DOUGLAS Fir. Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart, Bart., has been good enough to send us the following extract from a letter he received in March of the present year, from Sir Henry Hoare, Bart., Stourhead, Wiltshire :— “‘T have planted Douglas fir largely here, and by far my best plantation is spaced at 8 feet. This plantation is seventeen years old, and Mr Hanson, Divisional Officer for the West of England, and Mr Hugh Murray, C.I.E., C.B.E., Assistant Forestry Commissioner for England, were much impressed and delighted with it. Both agreed that this seemed the correct distance on first-rate soil, and sheltered situation to plant Douglas. I have another plantation at 9 feet, and this has put on bulk very fast, but is rougher and not so good. I had a plantation of Douglas fir planted at 4 feet distance, but in a snowfall two years ago I lost some 40,000 trees, which came down on the top of one another in patches of } to 4 an acre. Their roots showed that being planted so close and forced up they had not developed sufficient root anchorage to support NOTES AND QUERIES. 77 the trees. By planting at 4 feet distance one has later to spend a lot of money and skilled attention in early thinning, which is now very costly, and is often neglected as the thinnings are valueless, except for pea and bean rods. On less good ground I should plant Douglas fir at 6 or 7 feet, but certainly no closer. None of my Douglas at 8 or g feet were hurt by the snow.” THE DISEASES OF THE DouGLas Fir. Since the publication of the paper on Phomopsis Pseudotsugae in the last number of the Zransactions (vol. xxxiv., pt. 2, p. 145), my attention has been drawn to two previous records which had been overlooked and which very probably refer to this species. In the report of the Honorary Consulting Cryptogamist published in the Zvamsactions, vol. xv., 1896-98, p. 190, Prof. Somerville records the occurrence of a minute fungus ‘almost certainly Phoma pithya, Sacc.,” on a young Douglas fir about 4 feet high sent by Mr George Leven from St Quinox, Ayr. Mr Leven remarks on the unhealthy colour and the compressed appearance of the affected part, which occurred about half way up the tree. The part above the wound was dying, while the lower part was fairly healthy. In a note on Phoma pithya in the same number of the Transactions (p. 319), Mr Leven makes some remarks on the damage caused by the diseases of the Douglas fir which, in view of later developments, have a peculiar interest and are of great importance. He writes, “We have planted a large number of Douglas fir each of the last three seasons, and fully 1o per cent. of them have been cleared out because of fungoid disease. If there is much of this in this country (and there may be more than we are aware of) something might be done now to stamp it out; and even if it may be classed amongst the interesting observations just now, thirty years hence it may prove a widespread calamity.” The second record is by Chas. O. Farquharson (‘ Tree Diseases due to Fungi, additional Scottish Records in rgto-11,” Annals of Scottish Natural History, 1911, p. 240). This author states “ Phoma pithya, Sacc., is found commonly in Aberdeen- 78 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. shire, but cannot as yet be said to be a serious pest. The Phoma is generally on the leader shoots of the young plants, and it is difficult to say whether frost may not be the original cause of death. In one locality (Drumtochty) it was observed lower down the stems of the plants, about six years old, where the pycnidia were developed abundantly on sunken patches of reddish colour as if the part had _ been scorched.” From the above notes it may be concluded that Phomopsis Pseudotsugae has been present in the country for a considerable number of years. Judging from the small number of records, however, it appears that at first the disease was not widespread, and it is only within the last ten to twelve years that accounts of its occurrence in various localities have been received. There is little doubt that the actual damage done by the disease has also increased recently, and that this cannot be altogether accounted for by the increased area now under Douglas fir. These views have recently received confirmation by the discovery of the disease in various localities in England. In a note published in the Gardeners’ Chronicle (vol. 1xix., No. 1778, 22nd Jan. 1921, p. 45), Mrs N. L. Alcock records the disease from Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Berkshire, and here the effects appear to be very similar to those observed in Scotland. The author emphasises the destructive nature of the disease and states that it is causing serious loss in the Douglas fir plantations in England. Investigations on the life-history of Phomopsis Pseudotsugae, and its effect on the Douglas fir are being continued, and it is proposed to publish an account of these, together with additional notes on the distribution of the disease, in the next number of the Zransactions. The occurrence of ASotrytis Douglasit on the Douglas fir was recorded by both Messrs Leven and Farquharson in the notes referred to above, and this disease is described as common in England by Mrs Alcock. Aotrytts Douglasit is widespread in Scotland, and care should be taken to distinguish its effects from those produced by Phomopsts. I wish to thank Messrs George Leven and P. Leslie for drawing my attention to the above records. Matcotm WILSON. rs, NOTES AND QUERIES. 79 Errect OF PRUNING GREEN BRANCHES FROM LARCH. About sixty to seventy years ago pruning of green branches was performed in a larch wood 25~—35 years old. The trees had been planted far apart and at the time of the operation the branches were large. After pruning many of the trees bled, and for six or seven years afterwards growth was not so rapid as it had been. Later on the development of the wood was excellent and, although it suffered somewhat in various storms, it was sold during the war for considerably over 4120 per acre. A small part was felled several years before 1914. The earlier history of the wood was well known to the older inhabitants of the locality. I have recently had proof of the truth of their statements, being able to observe the remains of the pruned branches after the trees were cut at the mill. In addition patches of decayed wood, often of considerable size, were found in their vicinity and in some cases, at least, originated in the pruned part. With sleepers, etc., the exact point of attack was not easy to discover, The merchant who bought the first small lot suffered very much in this respect, and it was not uncommon for him to find that what should have been the most useful part of the trees was almost useless. The decay was more harmful than the ordinary root rot or “‘ pumping,” since in this case the butt end was sound and one could not control cross-cutting, so as to avoid the decayed parts. Unpruned trees were quite sound in every case. The last lot sold was latterly sent off as shore poles. This effect of pruning larch is quite common knowledge, but I am convinced that the operation is even yet carried out at times when it should not be. It would be interesting to have a record of other observations on this, as well as on the pruning of other conifers, particularly Douglas fir. et EFFECT OF PRUNING GREEN BRANCHES FROM SPRUCE. In connection with the above note, attention may be drawn to a short article in the Centralblatt fd. gesamte Forstwesen for March-April, 1921, based upon Lakari’s observations on the effects of pruning green spruce branches in Finland. The age of the wood pruned is not stated, but the operation was under- taken with the object first of obtaining green branches for 80 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. bedding (WVadelstreu), also to get clean stems and so raise the value of the timber, to improve the pasturage by diminishing shade, and to improve the appearance of the wood. The pruning was done with a saw and was carried out with much care. Usually the trees were pruned to half their height, but sometimes higher, and the work was usually carried out in what in Finland is late winter, ze. the end of March and the beginning of April; occasionally autumn was the period selected. The results proved disastrous. The cut branches remained plainly visible on the surface of the trees even after 15-20 years. An intense outflow of resin occurred in every case, and in almost all the trees more or less extensive decay was apparent after felling. In regard to height-growth after pruning no uniform diminution was observable, but the measurements suggest that this was unfavourably affected, if not suddenly, in the years following the pruning. Increase in girth, on the other hand, was immediately diminished, attaining in the years following pruning only 30-50 per cent. of that previously reached. The diminution was not uniform, being relatively greater at the base than further up, so that the form of the stems was improved. In this relatively greater increment above, the pruned trees resembled suppressed and shaded trees in an ordinary forest, while in unpruned dominant trees increment is greater towards the base and diminishes upwards. In the pruned trees the increment near the base was usually only one- third to two-fifths of that before pruning, or in the best cases a little over one-half. Mass increment diminished in con- sequence of pruning to about one-half of that previously attained. Even 12-18 years after pruning, the mass of the branches in relation to the mass of the stem remained less than before. Decay affected both the points pruned and also the parts of the stem which had grown after the pruning. The writer of the note regards these results of Lakari’s as showing that the pruning of green branches in spruce is wholly injurious and should be avoided. On the other hand he considers that experience, alike in Austria and elsewhere, proves that the pruning of dead branches increases the return from spruce woods, provided the operation is carried out only in the case of the best stems. Otherwise the increased value of the timber may be more than counterbalanced by the cost of the operation. The pruning should be carried out in woods NOTES AND QUERIES. 81 aged 35-40 years, and the best period is at the end of winter, immediately before growth begins. This means that bleeding occurs nearly at once and soon ceases. Though pruning with the help of a ladder is more costly than when mechanical contrivances are used from the ground, he considers it preferable as giving better results. In the spruce pruning up to a height of 1ro-12 metres (approximately 11-13 yds.) is sufficient. INCIDENTAL CosTs OF FORESTRY. Col. E. D. Malcolm, C.B., of Poltalloch, sends the following note in regard to these :— * Soon after I began to think about forestry from a financial point of view, I recognised that with regard to my own estate, and therefore possibly with regard to many others, that the accounts of forestry were not kept separate from the other accounts of the estate, which I held to be a mistake. Other things have intervened since then, the war, etc., and it was not till recently that I got a true account of the incidental expenses of forestry. That is tosay, not the pay of the labourers on the work but of the incidental outlays, such as rates, taxes, horses, axes, saws, horse-shoeing, etc., etc. I have recently got these figures, which I call incidental accounts, and I find that on my property they come to £650 for the year. These expenses, which I believe have never been considered separately, cannot be repaid to the estate until the crop is cut, and they are not incidental to the wild woods of foreign lands from which we are supplied. So it is evident that our native woods are placed at a most serious disadvantage against the wild woods of foreign lands. “TI suggest that to remedy this a tax should be levied on imported woods and distributed, more or less, fro rata amongst those at home who are paying taxes upon the woods they grow. “TI understand that at the present moment there is rather a notion that landowners should drop the idea of growing timber and go in for pit-wood only. I humbly suggest that in forty or fifty years’ time that will be found a grievous mistake. Real timber will always be wanted for building houses, if for nothing else.” VOL. XXXV. PART I. F 82 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ABIES MENZIESII AT KEILOUR, PERTHSHIRE. A tree of this species which was blown down in a gale on the 20th December 1920, was one of the oldest (if not the oldest) planted out in Scotland, Thomas Bishop, who was Land Steward to Colonel Smythe of Methven (to whom Keilour then belonged) says in his (Votes on Plantation at Methven, under date of roth April 1834: ‘‘ Added to the pinetum this day one Pinus Menztesii 3 years old, got from Mr S. Murray, probably the first that has yet been planted out in any Muir in Great Britain.” He notes that he measured it in 1848, when it was 18 ft. 6 ins. high, and 21 ins. in girth at the bottom. It was measured again in 1883, by Peter Whitton, then gardener at Methven, who notes that at 1 foot from the ground it was 6 feet in circumference, and at 5 feet up, 4 ft. 10 ins., and that it was 65 feet high. Its measurements after it was blown down, taken by Mr Coupar, Land Steward, Balgowan, are as follows:—Girth at ground, 21 feet; girth at 3 feet, 16 ft. 6 ins.; girth at 5 feet, 15 feet; height, 1034 feet; total cubic contents, 468 cubic feet. All these measurements were taken over bark. This tree is not mentioned in the Report of the Conifer Conference of 1891, where there are several mentioned that are now probably larger, though none, so far as I can see, older. Davip M. SMYTHE. WILL THUYA GIGANTEA BECOME A TIMBER OF VALUE FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES ? The reason of this query is the outcome of a discussion I had with my employer a few days ago on the merits of Zhuya gigantea, and on the question whether it is advisable to con- tinue to plant it, as a forest tree, to any great extent. I have under my charge several young plantations, consisting of a mixture of larch, ZZuya, and beech, the two last named to be left as the permanent crop. These plantations range from six to ten years of age, growing on a deep-red soil, which was arable land previous to planting, and are sheltered on three sides, but exposed to the north. All are in an exceedingly flourishing and healthy condition, and are making a growth which one might ee NOTES AND QUERIES. 83 consider abnormal. One plantation of ro acres, planted in the spring of 1912, has already an average height of 16 feet; the larch having a circumference of 1o ins. 4 ft. from the ground. The Zhuyas, where they have had room to get away, are equally good. I am having a light thinning taken out, and the larches stripped of dead branches to give the Zhuyas space to get away, and I am quite confident they will then keep pace with the larch in future. Although there are several good specimen trees of Zhuya on this estate, of timber dimensions, I have not yet had the experience of cutting up the timber, and will be very interested to have any information from any members who have manu- factured it, as to what uses it is best suited for, and if it has a future as a commercial timber. WILLIAM FYFE. 84 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. Studies in French Forestry. By Tueopore S, Woo sey, Jun., with two chapters by WiiLt1am B. GREELY. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. 1920. This is one of the most valuable additions to forestry literature in the English language which has recently appeared. The author had already, in 1912, collected most of his material, but administrative work in the United States Forest Service and service in the Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., during the war, prevented earlier publication. There is much in common relative to the economic needs for a forest policy in all countries, and those countries which are less advanced in this direction can benefit by studying the past and present forestry administration and practice in countries, such as France, where for generations the important role played by the forest in national prosperity and safety has been deeply impressed on the minds of the people. Valuable lessons can be learned by studying the catastrophes and evil effects which have, in the past, followed in the track of intentional or unintentional destruction of the forest. Such results, with abundant evidence, are clearly set forth by the author. On the other hand, the incalculable benefits to the French nation brought about by the wise and rational afforesta- tion of otherwise unproductive tracts of country reads almost like a romance. : The French methods of silviculture, management and utilisa- tion are fully described, and the student could not have a better text-book. A very clear botanical description of the characteristics of each of the important species of trees and shrubs of the French forests is given in one of the appendices. The forest regions and their corresponding types of forest and species are interestingly dealt with. The regions are subdivided into zones on a climatic and ecological basis. Mr Woolsey has brought together a wonderful amount of information concerning every phase of forestry in France. The forester cannot afford to miss reading this book, and it is also worthy of serious study and consideration by the economist and statesman. REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 85 In the opening sentences of chapter i., written by Mr W. B. Greeley, he says—‘“ Not alone in its technical practice does the forestry of France offer much of interest and value to Americans. In the attitude of the French people towards their forests, in the historical and legislative development of their forest policy, in their public forest enterprise, and in the economic situation in France, as regards the supply and use of timber, the United States may glean a deal that is suggestive and illuminating.” The contrast between France and Britain is less than that between new and old world conditions, as exemplified by France and America, and if we substitute Britons for Americans and Great Britain for the United States in the above-quoted sentences, they would apply with equal if not greater significance. In collecting the material and presenting this work in the English language, the authors have done a great service to their own country and, at the same time, an equal service to ours. In chapter xii, an interesting account is given of the organisation, equipment, and work of the American Forest Engineers in France during the war. Timber in modern war- fare is a subject about which much could be written, but it would be difficult to find anything more interesting than that which has been written by one who can speak from first-hand experience and observation. Mr Woolsey was the executive member of the Inter-allied War Timber Committee, and he warmly acknowledges the co-operation and help of General Lord Lovat and Colonel J. D. Sutherland, Director and Assistant Director of the Forestry Directorate of the British Expeditionary Force. The book is well illustrated with excellent and _ typical photographs and diagrams, and there is also a good index. Timber Technicalities. Compiled by Epwin Haynes, Editor of The Timber Trades Journal. London and New York: William Rider & Son, Ltd. Price 6s. net. This is a very handy and useful book in dictionary form. It is a regular mine of information, and as such it cannot fail to be welcomed by all those interested in the production, transport, conversion, and utilisation of wood. Nowhere else 86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. can one find so easily and readily a clear and concise definition of the technical terms as applied to timber in every stage of its production and consumption. An explanation of the terms as applied to wood in the growing tree and in its manufactured forms is given. This applies to both home and foreign timber. The terms used in the mahogany and hardwood industries, in the saw-mill and wood-working trades, in architecture and building construction, have been carefully considered and the meaning of each explained. The book should also prove a useful help to all those engaged in the numerous arts and crafts in which converted timber is used. A number of useful appendices is added, such as a list of contractions and abbreviations in use in commerce; the gain in freight on planed wood; the actual measurements compared with the nominal; approximate weight per cubic foot of various woods; the official weight of American hardwood lumber; and a glossary of terms in English, Swedish, French, German, and Spanish. Forest Management. By A. B. RECKNAGEL and JOHN BENTLEY. Pp. xili+269. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1919. Price 13s. 6d. In a recent issue of the Zvansactions there appeared a review of the Zheory and Practice of Working-Plans by Recknagel, to which the present work on forest Management by Recknagel and Bentley may be regarded as a companion volume. The work on Forest Management, as the title implies, is wider in scope than the treatise on working-plans and embraces the whole field of forest management, a section of the book being devoted to each of the subjects included in this branch of forestry, viz.: Forest Mensuration, Forest Organisation, Forest Finance, and Forest Administration. ‘The authors have been markedly successful in their efforts to bring out the mutual relationships of these divisions of forest management, and the different sections fit into the general plan of the book in such a way as to provide a coherent and well-balanced review of the whole subject. The book is intended chiefly for the layman timber owner and for junior students in the Universities, and has special reference to American conditions, although the REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 87 theories dealt with are in many cases equally applicable to British forests, and the book will undoubtedly rank as a valuable contribution to what the authors describe as the ever-growing English literature in forestry. . The authors define forest mensuration as that branch of forestry which deals with the volume of stands, trees, logs, and other timber products, and with the study and yield of trees. The units of measure that may be employed are: the board foot, cord, cubic foot, standard, linear foot, or sometimes in the case of poles, posts, railway ties—the piece. The contents of a log in board feet may be expressed by log scales based on empirical data or by mathematical formulae such as the formula—(o.7854 D?x Hx 12)+144 board feet, which expresses the board foot contents of a cylindrical log when no allowance is made for slabs, kerf, or other losses. The instruments commonly used in measuring standing trees are calipers and hypsometers of various descriptions. The authors recommend the use of the Biltmore stick—a graduated rule, the graduations of which indicate the diameter of the tree at the point measured when the rule is held tangentially to the tree—for general work not requiring extreme accuracy, in preference to the calipers. By taking advantage of various mathematical formulae for the frustrum of solids, and considering the tree not as a whole but as composed of several parts or sections, stump, logs, tops, the contents of felled trees can be computed very accurately. When the tree is measured as a whole and not in sections, Schiffel’s or Pressler’s formula enables the volume to be ascertained with considerable accuracy. Volume-tables are very frequently used in the United States and in Canada for ascertaining the volume of standing trees, and the authors’ description of volume-tables in chapter vii. describes clearly how they are constructed and utilised. A volume-table is defined as a tabular statement showing for a given species the average contents of trees of different sizes. Volume-tables may be made for any unit of volume: board feet, cords, standards, cubic feet and so forth. The tables may be based on diameter only, or as is more usually the case, on diameter and height—the total height or the merchant- able height. They may also be based on diameter and number of logs of standard length or on diameter and tree-class. The usual custom in constructing volume-tables is to follow the 88 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. tree-felling crews in a lumbering operation, and to use the trees cut down by these crews, always observing before the tree is cut down whether or not it appears to be normal and obtaining the diameter breast-height measurement while it is yet standing. The tables can only be expected to give satis- factory results when applied to a large number of trees. Volume- tables should, where possible, be checked by studies at the saw- mills, which include first, scaling logs which have been marked serially in the woods, and secondly, following them through the mill to see what they can actually produce. If the work can be done for about one hundred entire trees of different size classes, a fairly accurate check on the volume-tables is obtained. In measuring the contents of sample plots as a preliminary to the construction of yield-tables or ascertaining the contents of larger areas, the authors advocate the use of the mean sample- tree method or volume-curve method, and ina later chapter (page 116) they would seem to indicate that the former method is the one generally favoured in the United States. Other methods they regard as being largely of academic interest. In the volume-curve method, which, owing to its simplicity, seems to have many points in its favour, the trees are tallied by species and diameter classes. Then, according to the number of trees and their range in sizes, five to seven trees distributed so as to represent some of the smaller diameter classes, some of the larger diameter classes, and some of the intermediate diameter classes are selected. The trees are felled and measured and their volumes plotted, and from the curves so derived the volume- tables may be obtained of the trees of any diameter class. In applying the method of stem analysis to a large number of trees, the following method is approved of by the authors, because of its being simpler in application, and likely to be more generally useful than the laborious methods hitherto used :— ‘‘A large number of diameter growths are taken at specified heights above the ground on trees (in woods of different ages) belonging to the same crown classes, from which curves are drawn to show the aggregate growth in diameter by decades at each of the specified heights. From these curves the dimensions of an ideal tree, the average of the class are determined, and the volume of the ideal tree obtained.” REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 89 Methods of ascertaining the increment in pure, even-aged forests, in uneven-aged, and in mixed forests are treated by the authors very comprehensively. In pure, even-aged forests, the type of forest most frequently used for investigations of this kind in Britain, the following is an outline of the procedure advocated :— ‘“‘The increment in pure, even-aged forests, is best studied by laying out a large number of plots and measuring the trees thereon. From these measurements, yield-tables are constructed from which the increment can be obtained. If, in the selection of the stands, wide ranges in age and quality of site have been observed, maximum and minimum curves can be drawn, and, depending on the large number of site qualities to be recognised, inter- mediate curves can be interpolated which will harmonise with the maximum and minimum curves, and also make the breadth of bands equal for any given age.” Three chapters, xii. to xv., are devoted to the subject of Forest Organisation, that branch of the subject which concerns itself with the organisation of a forest property for management and its maintenance, ordering in time and place the most advantageous use of the property with the ultimate aim of securing the sustained yield. The normal forest is a standard with which to compare an actual forest in bringing out its deficiencies for sustained yield-management ; the conception of an ideally regulated or organised forest. The term ‘‘normal” is used in the sense of conforming to a standard rule or principle —a model. Such a forest does not actually exist. The normal growing stock may be obtained (1) from yield- tables ; (2) by formula. In the determination of NV from yield- tables constructed by measurements of fully stocked stands, the formula used is :NV=N(atd4e+...2) where N = number of years separating each age-class (step of the yield-tables, Say ten years), and a, 4, ¢,...m volume per acre given in the table for each age-class. NV may also be expressed by the formula— NV == where + = rotation, 7 = mean annual increment, or more correctly by the formula NV =cri where c, a constant, is first 90 ‘TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, determined from normal yield-tables by using the formula NV=N(atd+c+...%), 2 Other subjects coming within the purview of this branch of Forest Management are silvicultural methods, the various kinds of rotations, determination of the cut, and the working- plan document, of which simplicity and brevity should be the keynotes. In one of the several appendices to the book a useful outline is provided for forest description. The last two sections of the book on Finance and Administra- tion are less applicable to British conditions than the preceding sections, but are also deserving of careful study. The Practice of Silviculture. By RatpH C. HAWLEY. Pp. xi+ 352. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd, 1921. Price 22s. In recent years we have been indebted to the staff of Yale University Forestry School for a series of admirable text books on forestry, and this volume is a valuable addition to their number. In the opening chapter, the author defines silviculture as the art of producing and tending a forest, or the application of the knowledge of Silvics (forest ecology) in the treatment of a forest, and indicates how he proposes dealing with the subject. ‘The field of silviculture divides itself logically into three parts defined as (1) treatment of the stand during the period of regeneration or establishment; (2) treatment of the stand during that portion of the rotation not included in the period of regeneration: a consideration of intermediate cuttings ; (3) protection of the stand against injuries of many kinds.” ‘The more important of these are fire, insects, fungi, animals, and wind. This subject leads into various specialised fields such as fire protection, entomology, pathology, and zoology. The second chapter is introductory to a study of the first of these main subdivisions, and a detailed treatment of what are described as the standard reproduction methods, the author using this term in preference to the synonymous expression “silvicutural system.” ‘‘Many different reproduction methods have been developed, but they can be reduced on analysis to a few standard methods which are applicable in principle the REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. gI ‘world over. In practice, however, the details of applying a standard method may vary for every species, forest region, and owner.” The methods may be recognised in the field in various ways, and the author adopts the following classification :—High- Forest Methods: Clear-cutting method, Seed-tree method, Shelterwood method. Coppice Forest Methods: Coppice methods, Coppice-with-standard methods. In chapters iii.-viii. the reproduction methods are treated exhaustively in a way which may be used for the purpose of illustrating one of the chief features of the book—the methodical arrangement of the subject matter. Each method is assigned a chapter by itself, and is comprehensively dealt with under the following headings :—Definition, Form of Forest Produced, Details of the Method, Modifications of the Method, Advantages and Disadvantages of the Method, Application of the Method. Such a mode of treatment, if used by a writer with a less thorough grasp of the principles of scientific exposition than the author can obviously lay claim to, would be apt to become tedious. The reader in the present instance is, however, but slightly conscious of the means adopted by the author to ensure that each of the methods shall have been subjected to the same searching process of examination, while each of the points raised is clearly and lucidly treated. A few passages from the chapters on the clear-cutting and selection methods will bring out these points, and at the same time serve to convey some impressions of the author’s style, which is appropriately enough in the circumstances, somewhat didactic. CLEAR-CUTTING METHOD. “ Details of the Method.—The two different ways of securing reproduction each require separate consideration in discussing the details of the clear-cutting method.” “ Clear-cutting with Artificial Reproduction.—In this simple method the stand is cut clear, and reproduced by sowing or planting.” “ Clear-cutting with Natural Reproduction.—The stand is cut clear and reproduction springs up naturally on the clear area. The seed from which the new stand originates comes from three sources: (a) trees standing outside, usually adjacent to the area cleared ; (4) seed stored on the duff ; (c) seeds stored on the trees removed in the clear-cutting.” 92 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ‘“* Modifications of the Clear-cutting Method.—Modifications in- application of the method, outside of changes in details, which are expected of each species and locality, affect principally the portion of the stand which is cut clear at one time. Depending upon whether the timber is removed in one or more operations, and upon the relative size, shape, and locality of the portions cut in a single operation, the clear-cutting method may be classified as:—clear-cutting the whole stand, clear-cutting in strips, clear-cutting in patches.” THE SELECTION METHOD. “ According to the principle of the selection method, the oldest or largest trees in a stand are chosen for cutting and the remainder left. In theory the oldest age-class is cut each year, the next oldest removed in the following year and so on indefinitely. In practice, certain changes in this theory are demanded from both the logical and silvicultural standpoints. The annual working of the whole area to secure a small cut per acre makes logging relatively expensive. Seed trees do not produce seed every year, and seedlings have difficulty in becoming firmly established when the area is cut over each year. To avoid these difficulties, what is known as a cutting cycle is established. Under this scheme, the entire forest area is not cut over each year, but it is divided into certain distinct stands. The cutting in a given area is restricted to one of these stands, and cuttings in successive years progress from one stand to another, finally returning to the first.” “« Application of the Selection Method.—\n European countries the selection method finds favour principally for use on sites where a protection forest is needed. Switzerland has a higher percentage of protection forests than have other countries. Her statistics indicate that 35 per cent. of the total forest areas and two-thirds of the forests in the Alpine district are handled under the selection method.” . “ Over-maturity of timber and too great a preponderance of the older age-classes present great difficulties to the immediate use of selection in many forests, where eventually it may be the most desirable method. Besides its general employment on protection sites which will come in time, the selection method should be favoured by farmers holding small areas of woodland, and by owners with whom aesthetic motive is prominent. The REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 93 latter class is increasing (in America) and already holds large areas in the aggregate.” The period which intervenes between the time of establish- ment and the reproduction period receives similarly exhaustive treatment. Intermediate cuttings are classified under the headings :—Thinning, Improvement cutting, Salvage cutting, Severance cutting, Pruning. In discussing the methods of making thinnings the author says :— “Crown classes furnish the principal basis for cutting or leaving a tree, and the relative position of the crown of each tree must be observed with respect to its associates. The highest production as a result of thinning can be secured by leaving the largest number of trees per acre consistent with rapid growth of the individual.” No forester will dispute the soundness of these views, but the idea that the basal area at breast-height, which is easily measured, should be substituted as an expression for the total crown spread is not likely to meet with general acceptance. The concluding chapters are devoted to Methods of Controlling Cuttings, Slash Disposal, and Forest Protection. The simple diagrams used throughout the book to illustrate the text are excellent. A list of references is given at the end of each chapter, and the terminology used is explained in an appendix. The author does not claim originality for the greater part of the work. ‘The presentation of the subject is from the standpoint of the teacher, and the arrangement and discussion are shaped in a manner to which it is believed will be clear to the student.” The book will, however, repay careful study by all classes of foresters. Forest Products: Their Manufacture and Use. By Prof. N. C. Brown. Pp. xix+471. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman, & Hall, Litd., 1919. Price 21S.,.net. The author of this work is Professor of Forest Utilisation at the New York State College of Forestry, Syracuse University, and he was appointed also as Trade Commissioner, United States Timber Trade Commission, to Europe. His qualifications 94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, for writing a book on forest products are high, and the material he presents is of enhanced value since much of it was collected by the author during a ten years’ investigation and inspection of operations in different parts of America. The book treats not of lumbering in America, but of the major products of trees mainly obtained outside that industry. It deals with materials such as wood-pulp, veneers, slack and tight cooperage, naval stores, wood distillation, box timbers, cross-ties, poles, mine timbers, excelsior, maple syrup, rubber, dyewoods, and cork. Elaborate detail is not gone into on any one of these, and the book is not one that would provide for the wants of the worker in the more highly specialised trades such as paper-making. Itis intended rather to be a good book of reference to which the forestry student may turn. The difficulties that had to be overcome by the author in his efforts to compress and curtail the material available can readily be imagined, and we must admit that he has succeeded remarkably well in his task. He has included enough detail to make the main require- ments of each particular industry clear to the reader, without going to the excess that would either obscure the information given or demand still further explanation. The book is written mainly with American conditions in mind, and while many of the hardier trees mentioned grow in this country they are not all to be found in any quantity. Nor have we the large blocks of forest of any species that are demanded for the most successful commercial undertaking of many operations mentioned. One can, however, grasp the methods given, and by adapting them to our conditions it is possible that some materials now wasted or put to indifferent uses might become more profitable subjects. The author gives particulars of the operators employed in the various undertakings, and the outturn from different types of plant. This is a useful part of the book, and from it might be calculated the approximate costs and returns under conditions prevailing at any time and place where wages and prices of materials are known. We are of the opinion that the book would have lost nothing if wage rates and prices generally had been left out of consideration. While the author has drawn largely on his own investigations, he has not been without the help of prominent operators in the different trades, and the up-to-date literature has been kept REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 95 in mind. A fair, but by no means exhaustive, bibliography is appended to each chapter. The book is well illustrated and interesting to read and is one which will prove useful to the forest practitioner, the user of forest products, and the forestry student. Professor Brown has promised further works on this important subject of utilisa- tion, and we look forward with interest to their publication. J. M. M. The Harvest of Japan. By C. Bocur Lurrman. T.C.& E.C. Jack, Ltd., London and Edinburgh. ras, 6d. net. This work is described by the author as a book of travel, with some account of the trees, gardens, agriculture, peasantry, and rural requirements of Japan. He claims that while it holds some facts of interest and value for Japanese statesmen, students, and publicists at home and abroad, it incidentally should have value for tree-lovers, gardeners, artists in landscape, students of design, and naturalists in varying fields, not so much for what it describes as for what it suggests and offers to them. It may also, he says, inform and amuse the general reader. We heartily endorse these claims. The book consists of twenty chapters, two of which are devoted to the gardens and two to the ‘“‘ Little Trees.” While the author asserts that timber is not the precious and indispensable thing some people would have us believe, he would reserve the best natural forest areas of each region. The beauty of wood is recognised everywhere in Japan, and fine shapes in decorative work are used not only in good houses but even in the poorest and meanest villages. He appraises Japan at a high agricultural value, and declares that the country is capable of producing twenty times as much as it does at present, with the same number of hands and no greater outlay. He was astonished to find that the vast bulk of the country is in a state of nature, and that there is room for three or four times the population without crowding. If the land available was put to profitable use, the native field open for settlement and development is vast beyond the conception of the Japanese. ‘‘ Land development is by far the most important subject confronting Japan: for whatever the value and prospects of trade ; whatever the value of timber used at home, exported, or regarded as a decorative feature and asset of the landscape; 96 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. whatever the value of water-yielding power, domestic and irrigation supplies—their combined value is as nothing com- pared to the enormous wealth returnable from depasturing flocks and herds, and establishing communities of active workers at high altitudes—an essential factor to the improvement of the race.” He goes on to say that the Japanese should encourage white people to settle in their country, as they are quite incap- able themselves meantime of directing their own agriculture. Japan has neglected her land. The book should not be overlooked by any one who is fond of tales of travel or has any interest in Japan. CBT Oo A RY. Mr ANDREW Boa. We regret to notice the death of Mr Andrew Boa, who was among the oldest members of the Society, which he joined at anearly age. Mr Boa was agent to the Right Hon. W. H. Smith, and afterwards to the Hon. W. F. D. Smith (now Viscount Hambleden), on their Thurlow and Suffolk estates in Suffolk, until the sale of the estates in 1906. He was then in charge of Small Holdings under the Wiltshire County Council until his health gave way, his death taking place in March of the present year. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL | SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. WAG cK VS BAR Pah December 1921, A. W. BORTHWICK, D.Sc., HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, &.8.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. N Y O RK Price to Non-Members, 3/-iN i yT AN** BOO DEN ip oem mr ADVERTISEMENTS. KEITH & Co. (JOHN MENZIES & CO., LTD.) ADVERTISING AGENTS G CASTLE STREET EDINBURGH (Advertising Agents to H.M. Government for Public Departments in Scotland) ADVERTISEMENTS of every kind are received for insertion in the Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Publications throughout the United Kingdom. Notices of Sequestration, Dissolution of Partnership, Entail, etc., ete., for the Edinburgh and London Gazettes, are given special care and attention. Legal Notices, Heirs Wanted, and all other Advertisements, are inserted in the Colonial and Foreign Newspapers. Small Advertisements, such as Situations, Houses, and Apart- ments, Articles Wanted and For Sale, etc., etc., can be addressed to a No. at Keith & Uo.’s Office, 6 Castle Street, Edinburgh, where the replies will be retained until called for, or, if desired, forwarded by Post. Parties in the country will find this a very convenient method of giving publicity to their requirements. A SPECIALTY is made of ESTATE and AGRICULTURAL ADVERTISEMENTS, such as FARMS, MANSION HOUSES, ete., to LET, ESTATES for SALE, SALES OF TIMBER, AGRICULTURAL SHOWS, ete. LAW and ESTATE AGENTS, FACTORS, TOWN CLERKS, CLERKS TO EDUCATION AUTHORITIES, and other Officials may, with confidence, place their advertisements in the hands of the Firm. One Copy of an Advertisement is sufficient to send for any number of newspapers; and the convenience of having only one advertising account instead of a number of advertising accounts is also a great saving of time and trouble. Addressing of Envelopes with Accuracy and Despatch. Telegrams—‘‘PROMOTE,”’ EDINBURGH. Telephone No. 316. * ADVERTISEMENTS, AMERICAN TREE SEEDS FOR NURSERY AND FORESTRY PLANTING We offer a complete list of all valuable North American Tree Seeds of superior germination, purity and growth. Seeds can be supplied which are collected in any range or latitude specified. Our over half-a-century’s experience in exporting Tree Seeds all over the world will insure complete satisfaction. Write for Prices and Information THE D. HILL CO., BOX 606, DUNDEE, ILL., U.S.A. Import Tree Seedsimnen Export EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 138 GEORGE SQUARE, EDINBURGH. The College is one of the Central Institutions administered by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, and is intended to provide for Agricultural Education and Research in the Central and South-Eastern Counties. SESSION—OCTOBER TO JUNE. DAY CLASSES. The Day Classes provide a full course of instruction in Agriculture and the Allied Sciences, and qualify for the Degrees of B.Sc. in Agriculture and in Forestry of the University of Edinburgh, the College Diploma in Agriculture, the College Certificate in Horticulture, and for other Examinations and Certificates in the Science and Practice of Agriculture. SHORT COURSES. Short Courses in Agriculture and Forestry, intended for those engaged in practical work, are held at the College annually. EVENING CLASSES. Evening Classes are held in the following subjects :— Winter Session— Agriculture, Chemistry, Veterinary Science, Forestry, Horticulture, Botany, Beekeeping, and Farm and Garden Pests, Summer Session—Field Botany and Practical Beekeeping. Particulars of Classes and Fees and information as to Bursaries tenable at the College will be found in the Calendar, which may be obtained from the Secretary— THOMAS BLACKBURN, 18 George Square, Edinburgh. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established 1842. FOREST TREES Large Stocks of Seedling, and Transplanted True Native SCOTS FIR, MENZIES, DOUCLAS, NORWAY SPRUCE, Etc. Ali grown from carefully selected seed, in an open and exposed situation, thoroughly hardy, and’ well furnished with abundance of fibrous roots. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Specimen Ornamental Trees for Lawns and Avenues. Trees and Shrubs for Seaside Planting. Plants for Game Coverts, Underwood and Hedges. Special Quotations for Large Quantities. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES AND SAMPLES ON APPLICATION. W. SMITH & SON, LIMITED, Nurserymen, ABERDEEN, N.B. HILLIER & SONS, wiINCHESTER. HARDY TREES & PLANTS in Great Variety. Fruit Trees, Rose Trees. NEW & RARE CONIFERS, SHRUBS, TREES, &c., Including many recently collected in China, ete. For Rail Truck loads, we quote to buyers’ Station. WEST HILL NURSERIES, 350 ft. and 475 ft. altitude. Descriptive Priced Catalogues on application. FOREST TREES Specialities—Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, Larch (Japanese and Tyrolese), Douglas Fir, Common Silver Fir, Corsican Pine, Weymouth Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Cluster Pine, Banks’ Canary Island Pine, etc. SEED OF ALL TREES, SHRUBS, FRUIT TREES, AND GRASSES. Special List of Tree Seeds, etc., published in January. Catalogues in English sent free. AUGUSTE GAMBS, (Cree Scedsman, HAGUENAU (Alsace), FRANCE. Seedsman to the Forestry Department. Established 1860. ADVERTISEMENTS. Telegrams: Telephones: ‘“ROBINSONS, GLASGOW.” WESTERN 3063, 4 Lines. ROBINSON, DUNN « GO, Timber Importers, Partick Sawmills, GLASGOW. Sawing, Planing, and Moulding Mills at PARTICK and TEMPLE. TIMBER PRESERVING WORKS AT TEMPLE. CREOSOTING AND ‘“B.M.” PROCESSES. REAFFORESTATION One of the most urgent needs of the present is the Restocking of the Large Areas of Woodland cleared in recent years. The value to the Nation of a Home Timber Supply has been amply proved during the War. Forest Trees Deciduous Shrubs Evergreen Shrubs Fruit Trees Ornamental Trees Roses SAMSONS, LIMITED, The Nurseries, KILMARNOCK Established 1759 Catalogues Post Free on demand Telephone No. 7 JAMES JONES & SONS, LTD., LARBERT SAWMILLS, j= LARBERT, Bee All kinds of HOME TIMBER in the Round or Sawn-up, SUITABLE FOR RAILWAYS, SHIPBUILDERS, COLLIERIES, CONTRACTORS, COACHBUILDERS, CARTWRIGHTS, &c. &c. ADVERTISEMENTS. BY APPOINTMENT MACKENZIE & MONCUR LIMITED TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS ALSO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AND IRONFOUNDERS. Registered Office and Works, BALCARRES STREET, EDINBURGH Iron Foundry... ..__..._... SLATEFORD ROAD, EDINBURGH LONDON. ee _.... 8 CAMDEN ROAD, N.W.1 GLASGOW... Se A my 121 ST VINCENT STREET HOTHOUSES HEATING ELECTRIC LIGHTING IRON FOUNDING SURVEYS MADE. ESTIMATES AND PLANS SUPPLIED. ADVERTISEMENTS. Special Value FOR Planting Season SITKA SPRUCE, —— DOUGLAS SPRUCE 1922 (Oregon variety), THUJA GIGANTEA, LARCH, Japanese, COPAY ogy Wat hardy, healthy, SCOTS FIR, True Native, well-grown plants. NORWAY SPRUCE &c., &c. Inquiries Solicited. Samples and Special Prices on demand. Special List of Tree Seeds & Seedlings published in January. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & COMPANY, NURSERYMEN TO THE KING, A BE R DE E N a By Appointment TESTED SEEDS. SELECTED SEED POTATOES. Duke of York. Midlothian Early. Sharpe’s Express. Epicure. Eclipse. Rhoderick Dhu. Majestic. K. of K. Victory. Ally. Great Scot. Kerr’s Pink. Tinwald Perfection. Edzell Blue. British Queen. Factor. Dargill Early. Arran Comrade. King George V. Ete:, etc: TESTED VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SEEDS. Dutch Bulbs. Roses. Fruit Trees. Catalogues Free. TILLIE, WHYTE & CO., Seed Growers, 12 MELBOURNE PLACE, EDINBURGH. Established 1837. ADVERTISEMENTS, ADAM WILSON & SONS, Ltd. Home Cimber Merchants and Saw Millers TROON And also at AUCHINLECK & DAILLY, AYRSHIRE Every Description of Round and Cut up Home Timber supplied for Collieries, Cartwrights, Coachbuilders, Boatbuilders, etc. A. & G. PATERSON, LIMITED ESTABLISHED 1824 Buyers of Scottish Forests Scotch-Wood Sawmills at ST ROLLOX, GLASGOW, ABERDEEN, BANCHORY MONYMUSKH, INVERGORDON, Etc. ALL SIzES OF WELL-SEASONED LARCH FENCING ALWAYS IN STOCK Contractors to H.M. Government for Telegraph Poles, Sleepers, and other Home and Foreign Wood Specialties Larch and Fir Pitwood; Mining Poles; Papered Cloth Boards Boxwood of all Sizes; Headings PPP IMPORTERS of SWEDISH and RUSSIAN STAVES, BATTENS, Etc. NOW READY. ‘‘Forestry for Woodmen’”’ By C. O. HANSON. PRICE PRICE 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. 6/ 6 Obtainable through any Bookseller from 6/ 6 HUMPHREY MILFORD, Oxrtord University Press, LONDON, E.C. 4. ADVERTISEMENTS. Phone No. 2104 Central. Telegrams— “Stronghold, Edinburgh.” Nursery Stocks Fruit Trees and Bushes— in bearing condition Roses—H.P.’s and Teas, Climbers and Standards Herbaceous and Alpine Plants Forest Trees—Hedge Plants Ornamental Shrubs FARM SEEDS—Grasses, Clovers, Turnips GARDEN SEEDS—Vegetables and Flowers GARDEN TOOLS—MANURES, Etc. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES ON APPLICATION STEWART 8 CO. 13 South St Andrew Street EDINBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS. pa iedavialion’of Estate Work; Laying aiik ean ities TENNIS COURTS BOWLING GREENS ROCK GARDENS etc. CONSTRUCTED OR RE-MADE Specialists in RUSTIC FURNITURE FOR THE GARDEN Artistic and Durable Summer Houses, Seats, Chairs, Tables, Porches, Bridges, Gates, Arches, Vases, Etc. Up-to-date Designs and First-class Workmanship Guaranteed Enquiries Solicited. Estimates and Designs on Application. MAXWELL M. HART 162 BUCHANAN STREET, GLASGOW : Forest Trees (Seedlings and Transplants). LARCH, COMMON AND JAPANESE. SCOTS, AUSTRIAN AND CORSICAN PINES. DOUCLAS, SITKA AND NORWAY SPRUCES, HARDWOODS, ETC. Large Stocks of well- grown Plants with abundance of fibrous roots. ESTIMATES AND SAMPLES FREE ON APPLICATION. Please state your requirements— T. & W. CHRISTIE, Forest Tree Growers, FORRES, Morayshire. ADVERTISEMENTS. DICKSONS & CO., The Royal Nurserymen, renee aAGAe lad EDINBURGH Specialists in Seedling and Transplanted FOREST TREES. FRUIT TREES. « ROSES, Etc. +» Pi Wa te ae RCE ee Address for Telegrams: ‘‘Dicksons, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 1066. CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. Section of Royal Nurseries, Craigmillar, showing several millions of young Forest Trees. Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society MEMORANDUM regarding the Objects and Work of the Society. Institution. HE Society was founded sixty-seven years ago with the object of advancing Forestry in all its branches. During that period it has expended in the interest of Forestry a sum of over £27,400, including about £600 towards the expense of founding the Chair of Forestry in the University of Edinburgh. Membership. Any person interested in Forestry and desirous of promot- ing the objects of the Society is eligible for membership. Lines of Effort. The work of the Society in the past has been carried on mainly along educational lines, by holding meetings for dis- cussions, lectures, etc.; by publishing Zvansactions, which contain all the most recent and most important information relating to Forestry; by interviewing Ministers and pressing the claims of Forestry on successive Governments; by making silvicultural Excursions at home and abroad; by organising Exhibitions of Forestry throughout the country; by granting medals and prizes for Essays; and by affording to Members, through its Honorary Scientists, gratuitous advice on subjects relating to Forestry. Education, In recent years progress has been made in providing facilities for education, but the various courses of instruction could be much improved and added to, and a State Demonstration Forest has not yet been provided. A Degree and Diploma in Forestry for Forest Officers can be obtained at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a Diploma in Forestry for practical foresters at the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow, but meantime no Diploma is obtainable at the Agri- cultural Colleges at Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Schools of Practical Forestry have been opened by the Government at Birnam and Beauly, and others have been promised. Suitability of Conditions for Afforestation. All the experts—both home and foreign—agree that the soil and climate of Scotland are eminently suited to tree-growth, and are capable of producing timber of such quality and in such quantity as would make the country, to a very consider- able extent, independent of foreign supplies. Woodland Area and Its Value. Previous to the war, the woodland area of Scotland—due solely to private enterprise—was only 868,000 acres. Of the whole land area of the United Kingdom only 4 % was woodland, being the lowest percentage in Europe with the exception of Portugal. Smalland unimportant as this area appeared to be, it was found of inestimable value in connection with the war. The growing stock of mature timber is nearly exhausted, and it is imperative that it be replaced and greatly added to if national safety in the future is to be assured. The care of the young plantations which have survived the war is also of the greatest importance. Imports. The annual value of the imports of timber and timber products into the British Isles previous to the war was about 440,000,000, and about 80 or go per cent. of timber imported was coniferous. A considerable proportion of this might be grown in this country, where huge tracts of land could be more economically occupied in growing trees than as at present, and healthy occupation thereby provided for a much larger rural population, of whom a proportion would be small- holders, reaping the benefits of both forestry and agriculture. Agreement as to Need of Afforestation. All parties are agreed that it is the urgent duty of the State to undertake Afforestation on a large scale, either directly or indirectly in co-operation with landowners, to whom every encouragement should be provided by means of loans and grants, adjustment of taxation, etc. The Society’s views on the Development of Afforestation were asked by the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruc- tion Committee, and the statement prepared by the Council and adopted by the Society was subsequently printed as an Appendix to the Sub-Committee’s Report, which was issued in the beginning of 1918. An Interim Forest Authority was set up soon afterwards with a grant of £100,000 to make preliminary arrangements for Afforestation, and a Forestry Bill was sub- sequently introduced into Parliament to give effect to the recommendations of the Reconstruction Sub-Committee. Some anxiety was expressed in regard to local control under a Central Authority for the United Kingdom, but the Council received ample assurance that the policy of the Government and of the Forest Authority is to arrange that all the executive and administrative work shall be done, so far as Scotland is concerned, under the control of Scottish Officers with Headquarters in Edinburgh. The Bill became law as the Forestry Act, rgrg, in August of that year, and came into operation on rst September following. The Forestry Commission has been appointed and has begun operations. In these circumstances it is very important that this Society should be in a position to assist effectively in directing schemes along right lines. The membership already includes a great number of men who are recognised authorities on Forestry, but it is desirable that it should include every one in Scotland who is engaged in producing, converting, or utilising timber, or who is otherwise interested in the subject, so that the influence and usefulness of the Society may be further increased. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S.S.C., $ RUTLAND SQUARE, Secretary and Treasurer. EDINBURGH, 1921. Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society I desire to become a member of the Royal Scottesh Arboricultural Society. ( Full Name, Designation, | Degrees, etc., Candidate's 4 Address, | Life, or Ordinary Member, \ Signature, . Signature, . Proposer’ s Address, c . Signature, . Seconder’s - Address, [CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP, see Over. CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP (excerpted from the Laws). III. Any person interested in Forestry, and desirous of pro- moting the objects of the Society, is eligible for election as an Ordinary Member in one of the following Classes :— 1. Proprietors the valuation of whose land exceeds £500 per annum, and others, subscribing annually : . One Guinea. 2. Proprietors the valuation of whose land does not exceed 4500 per annum, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Merchants, and others, subscribing annually . . Halt-a-Guinea, 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land-Stewards, Tenant Farmers, and others, subscribing annually 2 : . Six Shillings. 4. Assistant-Foresters, Assistant-Gardeners, and others, subscribing annually . - . Four Shillings. IV. Subscriptions are due on the lst of January in each year, and shall be payable in advance. A new Member's Subscription is due on the day of election unless otherwise provided, and he shall not be enrolled until he has paid his first Subscription. VY. Members in arrear shall not receive the Zvansactions, and shall not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Society. Any Member whose Annual Subscription remains unpaid for two years shall cease to be a Member of the Society, and no such Member shall be eligible for re-election till his arrears have been paid up. VI. Any eligible person may become a Zzye Member of the Society, on payment, according to class, of the following sums :— 1. Large Proprietors of land, and others, : : . £10 10 Oo 2. Small Proprietors, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Mer- chants, and others, 5 A 5. Sue 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land- alone Tat mae and others, ‘ 31 320 VII. Any Ordinary tregee of Giantess I, 2, and 3, who has paid Five Annual Subscriptions, may become a Zzfe Member on payment of Two-thirds of the sum payable by a mew Life Member. XII. Every Proposal for Membership shall be made in writing, and shall be signed by two Members of the Society as Proposer and Seconder, and delivered to the Secretary to be laid before the Council, which shall accept or otherwise deal with each Proposal as it may deem best in the interest of the Society. The Proposer and Seconder shall be responsible for payment of the new Member's first Subscription. The Council shall have power to decide the Class under which any Candidate for Membership shall be placed. 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH. CONT EN ES. The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. = 26. or views expressed by the authors of papers. The Empire Forestry Association Forestry as a Means of Relieving Unemployment The Advantages of Shelter-Belts. By J. P. F. Bell, F.R.S.E. Soil Conditions affecting the Prevalence of Fomes annosus [Trametes radiciperda|. By M. L. Anderson Japanese Larch (Larix /epto/epis) and the New Disease. By George Leven : ; : ; Notes on the Trees and Shrubs of the Departments of Savoie, Haute Savoie and Isere. By F. R. S. Balfour . Report of the Annual Excursion (with Plates) . . Experiments on the Storage of Seeds of Forest Trees . Branch-growth of Douglas Fir. By M. L. Anderson . Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hobart-Hampden . Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. Richardson . Petawawa Experiment Forest Station. By James Kay . The Silviculture of Indian Trees. By Sir George Watt, aE, CM. E.L:s;, CLE. LLD: Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. By George U. Macdonald Estate Nursery and Plantation Competitions Notes and Queries :—Protective and Preventive Measures in Forestry—Tree-Growth in 1921—Armi/llaria mellea as a Potato Disease—An Overhead Saw for Estate Work (with Plate)—Notes on Scots Pine—Edinburgh Meeting of British Association . : d : : PAGE 97 IOI 106 112 185 CONTENTS, Reviews and Notices of Books :—The Historical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry. By M. C. Delany. Benn Brothers. Pp, 62,3 maps. Price 4s. 6d. net Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No. 2, 1921. Price ts, A Short Manual of Forest Management. By H. Jackson, M.A. Pp. vii+68. Cambridge University Press, Price 7s. 6d. net : ; : ' : : : Obituary :—-The Earl of Ducie . PAGE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 12. The Empire Forestry Association. The Empire Forestry Association was incorporated by Royal Charter on 1st November 1921. The first meeting was held at the Guildhall, London, on the 16th day of that month, under the chairmanship of Alderman and Sheriff De Courcey Moore. Viscount Novar, chairman of the Governing Council of the Association, said the Association owed its origin to a resolution passed by the Imperial Forestry Conference in 1920.! Its object was to federate in one central organisation voluntary associations, corporate bodies, and individuals engaged or interested in the growth, marketing, and utilisation of timber throughout the British Empire. ‘The effectiveness of such an Association would be a new link of Empire. The Association had support from Departments of State throughout the Empire, as well as from the Colonial Office. It was unnecessary to emphasise what could be achieved by the initiative and effort of private individuals and voluntary bodies. At the same time, it must be admitted that in no industry could the Government more hopefully participate than in forestry, but the individual could most usefully co-operate. This Association could be the useful intermediary between those agencies. Within one great voluntary organisation such as this, every society and depart- ment could pool its knowledge, make notes of methods, and make use of the information and experience of others. The quickening of interest in forestry, and a general advance in 1 Cf. Transactions, vol. xxxv., part I, D. 42. VOL. XXXV. PART II. G 98 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, the knowledge of it, would be best secured by the co-operation of those who had intimate experience of local policy and conditions in all British lands. It was such persons who would be members of this Association. Silviculture was the most perennially wealth-producing and employment-giving industry. It could be carried on in all parts of the world, and it involved no destruction of capital. Yet it was the Cinderella among industries. Less money and science had been devoted to its development than to any other industry. The forest record of the British race was a poor one. We had destroyed the timber of every continent into which we had entered. In this country pioneers in forestry had suffered from lack of sources of information, and had to learn by costly experiment and failure. The English and Scottish Arboricultural Societies had, however, spread much enlightenment, and we have now a safe lead and can avoid the pitfalls which confronted the early pioneers. But these societies could not extend their influence to other countries, and though there were excellent scientific institutions in the Dominions, their work was probably unheard of except where it was carried on. Now that there was a prospect of much public and other money being expended on forestry, it was imperative that all available knowledge should be made accessible to the world. It was in order to render knowledge accessible, and to stimulate research and experiment, that this Association had been created. A good deal of spade work had already been done; affiliation with national and local societies was far advanced. ‘The first number of the journal of the Association, which was to be the medium of exchange of information, would shortly be issued. A committee appointed by the Timber Trades Association was co-operating with this society, and the committee expected assistance from the Imperial College of Science and Technology and other bodies. The cost of the Association for salaries, expenses, etc., worked out at £1500 a year, and they enjoyed the free use of the knowledge of many eminent men. Their confident anticipation was that this inaugural meeting would attract support from all tree-growers and those who dealt with the utilisation of timber, as well as those who desired to promote the development of a great source of wealth and employment in every part of His Majesty’s dominions. THE EMPIRE FORESTRY ASSOCIATION, 99 Mr E. F. L. Wood, Under-Secretary for the Colonies, said that the Colonial Office was fully alive to the value of the work which that Association would do, and of the immense importance of its labours. Mr Churchill was entirely with them in this matter, and had within the past few weeks refused to permit the cutting down of forestry staffs in two West African Colonies. The resources of the Empire in connection with forestry were almost staggering, and he mentioned that in Canada there were available 250 million acres of timber fit for sawing. In the Crown Colonies and Protectorates there were 400,000 square miles of timber suitable for sawing. Owing to the consumption of timber in the war, they had been brought in sight of a timber famine. He was a heartfelt believer in the policy of doing everything in their power to develop the use of Empire-grown timber within the Empire. Lord Lovat, Chairman of the Forestry Commission, moved the following resolution :—‘‘ That in the opinion of this meeting a determined effort is needed to secure the early extension in all countries of the British Empire of a constructive forest policy, whereby the natural sylvan resources of the Empire may be scientifically conserved and prudently exploited for the mutual benefit of the British Commonwealth of nations; and, further, that this meeting recommends as eminently deserving of public interest and support the newly inaugurated Empire Forestry Association, which is pledged to supplement the normal activities of official departments and bureaux by constant education of public opinion in the matter of forest problems and policy, by steady endeavours to stimulate the wider utilisation of the many valuable commercial timbers of the Dominions, Colonies, and Protectorates, and by the promotion of mutual friendship and co-operation between forest experts in all parts of the British Empire.” In doing so Lord Lovat traced the way in which this Associa- tion had grown out of the Imperial Forestry Conference, and said that there were a great many lines of work which a private association could carry on and which a State Department could not. One might divide the industry into two parts—the con- servation of forestry and the utilisation of the products. Con- servation included forest law, forest policy of the State, silvi- culture, the preparation of land, the production of the crop, the question of research and education, and other subjects. Con- IO0O0 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. servation would for the most part be the work of State Depart- ments, but a body like this Association could do the work which no State Department could do in the way of aggressive pro- paganda. It was only by a policy of that kind, covering the whole area of the Empire, that they could hope to get forestry looked at from every point of view. This Association could do much publicity work, and it could put the information derived from the research and experimental work of local forestry bodies into language easily understood, and into a form which could be readily grasped by those interested in the subject. One of the most important works of the Association would be the linking up of all the forestry and arboricultural associations throughout the Empire. On the utilisation side there was an even wider field for this Association. Utilisation covered transport, logging, merchandising, and the final commercial transactions. The Association’s Imperial Forestry Bureau would act as a clearing- house for information as to products and tests. They could link up commercial information for the benefit of the producer, and they could do that infinitely better than any Government Department could. The field of action was extremely wide. To see the work through funds must be provided, and he urged the need of financial support. The resolution was adopted. FORESTRY AS A MEANS OF RELIEVING UNEMPLOYMENT. IOI 13. Forestry as a Means of Relieving Unemployment. The Forestry Commission are acting in conjunction with the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Unemployment Committee of the Cabinet, in providing work on State forest areas and in assisting corporate bodies and woodland owners, by means. of grants, to undertake forestry operations which will provide ‘work in the neighbourhood of centres of unemployment. The fund thus allocated, in the form of grants, will be distributed in the form of wages to those employed on the specified opera- tions for which a grant may be obtained. The grants from the Unemployment Fund are primarily and solely intended for the relief of unemployment, and will not by any means cover the whole costs of the operations specified. It should, therefore, be clearly understood, that these grants are not for the encouragement of forestry, but for the relief of the unemployed. The scheme has, however, been devised with such care that the result of the work done by the unemployed will be of lasting benefit to the nation. The Forestry Scheme for the relief of unemployment is explained by Lord Lovat in the following letter :— 5th November 1921. Sir,—May I be permitted, through the medium of your columns, to make an appeal to woodland owners to assist the Forestry Commission in utilising to the best advantage the sum of £250,000 recently allotted to forestry from the Unemployment Fund. Landowners and. corporate bodies interested in forestry can aid in the relief of unemployment in the following ways :— 1. By availing themselves of the grants set out below, and undertaking forestry operations themselves. 2. By leasing (in Scotland feuing) land to the Forestry Commission in the neighbourhood of centres of un- employment. 3. By either clearing scrub areas themselves or placing such areas at the disposal of the Local Authorities. The Forestry Sub-Committee of the Unemployment Committee I02 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of the Cabinet have decided on the following grants to corporate bodies and woodland owners :— (i.) A free grant of a fixed sum for every acre planted this season by Local Authorities. (This grant will corre- spond approximately with the 60 per cent. grant to the Local Authorities’ labour bill allowed out of the fund of the Unemployment Grants Committee.) (ii.) A free grant of £3 for every acre prepared and planted by private individuals during this planting season, or, alternatively, up to £3 per acre for land prepared for planting this season, but planted at some subsequent date. (iii.) A free grant of £2 per acre for all approved scrub- clearing schemes, whether the scrub be cleared by the Local Authority to provide work for the unemployed or by the owner to provide land for planting. In asking woodland owners to undertake forestry operations, I am well aware that £3 represents only a small part of the cost of preparing and planting an acre of land; further, that many proprietors who would otherwise wish to plant are prevented from doing so by the crushing burden of local and imperial taxation. I believe, however, that many landowners wish to replant the land cleared during the war, when the opportunity offers, and I submit that the present time is one in which they can do so with the greatest advantage to the State and themselves. The importance to the State of the immediate re-afforestation of cleared areas cannot be gainsaid. The reserves of standing commercial timber in Great Britain have never been lower than they are to-day. Unemployment is acute in many rural districts, and unless there is an improvement in agricultural prices in the near future, it will have a tendency to increase rather than diminish. From the point of view of the woodland owners, it is important to note that the £3 grant per acre for preparing and planting land, with the additional grant of £2 per acre given in the case where standing scrub has been removed (a maximum grant of #5 in all), is a free grant available during the next six months, not a conditional loan offered under the Forestry Act, 1919, Section 3 (3) (@). FORESTRY AS A MEANS OF RELIEVING UNEMPLOYMENT. 103 The regulations under which the grants will be paid will be simple, sufficient only to ensure that the money voted goes to relieve genuine unemployment, that a proper proportion of ex-service men is employed, that a fair wage is: paid, and that the work undertaken is carried out. Acquisition of Land.—To carry out that portion of the State planting programme which is financed by the Unemployment Fund, it will be necessary to acquire land in the vicinity of centres of unemployment. The Forestry Commission will, there- fore, be obliged if owners in possession of land suitably situated for this purpose will offer the same for leasing or feuing at reasonable rates. It is not the intention of the Forestry Commission to carry out planting operations on areas acquired with urban labour. A certain proportion of the preparatory work, however, such as draining, burning of lop and top, clearing of scrub, road-making, etc., can be carried out by men with no training in agriculture or forestry. Scrub Areas.—Many tens of thousands of acres of the best planting land in Great Britain are covered with overgrown coppice—scrub-oak, birch, etc., which have little commercial value except as firewood. An appeal is made to woodland owners of Great Britain either to clear these areas themselves or make them over to the Local Authorities to draw the grant, sell the produce, and so expend in relief of unemployment, at little cost to the ratepayers, some £4 to £8 for every acre dealt with. All communications on the subject of grants, information about land for planting, or scrub-clearing schemes, should be addressed, for England and Wales, to the Assistant Commissioner for England and Wales, Forestry Commission, 1 Whitehall, London, S.W.1; for Scotland, to the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland, Forestry Commission, 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. The Commission’s Forestry Staff will be fully employed in the next six months with the administration and execution of the State forestry programme, which includes the planting of over 30 million plants this year, and the lining out of 50 million plants for the year following. The staff are, therefore, not in a position in all cases to give advice to landowners on technical points. Landowners are advised to refer to the Royal English I04 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Arboricultural Society and the English Forestry Association; to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society and the Landowners Co-operative Forestry Society.—I am, etc., Lovat, Chairman, Forestry Commission. It is satisfactory to be able to record that the scheme has been taken up with enthusiasm, and that the response to the Government’s proposals has been very satisfactory. Not only have municipal councils, local authorities, and landowners welcomed the scheme, but the nursery trade have very materially assisted by making a substantial reduction in the cost of plants for the current year. In the following letter Lord Lovat has brought the progress in the movement of forestry unemployment schemes up to date :— 5th December 1921. StrR,—In a recent letter I outlined certain schemes of afforestation by municipal councils, local authorities, and landowners, for which grants were available for works under- taken and finished before 31st May of next year. The response to the proposals of the Government has, I am glad to say, been very satisfactory, and many schemes for planting, preparation, and scrub clearing are already in operation, or about to begin, which will provide occupation for a substantial number of unemployed. From the beginning the Forestry Commission anticipated that the success of the planting proposals would largely depend upon the quantities of plants available this year, and upon the prices at which these could be purchased. With a view to obtaining the necessary information the Commission arranged for conferences with the Nursery Trade Associations in England and Scotland, and as a result it is apparent that there are considerable quantities of plants and seedlings, and the nursery trade have agreed to reduce substantially the prices at which their members will dispose of their supplies. While the stock of transplants is limited, there is an ample stock of seedlings. A list of the prices agreed upon between the Nursery Trade Associations and the Commission is annexed, from which it will be seen that a substantial reduction has been made in the prices of transplants as compared with those FORESTRY AS A MEANS OF RELIEVING UNEMPLOYMENT. 105 current last year, while the prices for seedlings have been reduced to practically a pre-war basis. If any applicants for grants require a supply of either transplants or seedlings, they should communicate with the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland at 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. The Commission desire to record their appreciation of the manner in which the trade*have responded in this matter, and would desire to urge that intending planters should consider the question of their requirements for season 1922-23. If the trade is now invited to tender and can fix contracts ahead, it will be possible to obtain more advantageous prices than if the contracts for these supplies are deferred until next year.— Iam; etc., ' Lovat. PRICES AND PROBABLE QUANTITIES OF NURSERY STOCK AVAILABLE. Kind Price Kind Price Scots fir— Sed: Larch (Japanese)— s, d. I-year 50 Oo 2-year 7216 2-year 8 o 6 ins. to 12 ins, 60 Oo I-year I-year 12 6 Douglas fir— 2-year I-year 22 6 1-year r2) 76 2-year 2-year 35 0 2-year 20 0 Austrian pine— I-year I-year 35) "0 I-year “unhe 2-year I-year 40 Oo 2-year 6 0 I2ins.to18ins. 60 o Larch (European)— Norway spruce— I-year LO |i I-year 5 9 2-year 20 0 2-year 7 /6 Gms! tor 2) ins: -35).e Sitka spruce— I2ins.to18ins. 50 o 2-year 10 0 The above prices do not include packing or carriage. 106 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 14. The Advantages of Shelter-Belts. By J. P. F. Bet, F.R.S.E. FORESTRY AND AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. The Government grant! of £250,000 with the view of reducing unemployment in rural districts, and at the same time assisting landowners to replant areas where trees were cut down during the war, is one which must commend itself to all classes con- nected with the land. In these days of excessive local and imperial taxation many landlords are scarcely in a position to undertake planting on an extensive scale, but the grant of £3 per acre, and under certain conditions up to £5 per acre, should act as an inducement to plant every acre possible during the six months that the grant is available. By adopting the enterprise, unemployment will be appreciably reduced, especially amongst ex-service men, and the resultant benefits to landowners, tenant farmers, and the country generally, can scarcely be exaggerated. There is a world of truth in Scott’s historic dictum, ‘‘ Aye be stickin’ in a tree,” and this policy, generally prosecuted, would eventually attain excellent results. It is amazing what an amount of prejudice exists between farmers on the one hand and foresters, or forestry advisers, on the other; it is often held that their interests are antagonistic, but on careful investigation they are really not so when both sides unite scientifically and practically to attain results that are mutually satisfactory and beneficial. Old prejudices die hard, but the younger and better trained men on both sides will eventually win, and the sooner the better in the interests of the country generally. The regulations under which grants will be paid are set out in full in Lord Lovat’s letter on p. 103. This letter shows clearly that they are simple, and only designed to ensure that the objects of the grant be carried out adequately. The grants themselves offer considerable opportunity to those who are desirous of extending the area of their woodlands, but are hampered by the present high cost of the necessary operations. It may be suggested that one form which planting might take, to the great advantage of the agricultural community as a whole, would be the planting of shelter-belts on farm lands. 1 For details see p. 101. THRE ADVANTAGES OF SHELTER-BELTS. 107 ADVANTAGES OF SHELTER-BELTS TO STOCK. There are many districts in the Lammermoors where the planting of suitable shelter-belts would prove of enormous benefit to agriculturists, and to sheep farmers especially. In many parts of Berwickshire, particularly in the Merse, there are good shelter-belts on level wind-swept plains, the excellent results of which are apparent in the earliness of the grass in proximity to them. All flockmasters appreciate the advantages of early grass for ewes and lambs in the spring, and the shelter the trees afford is incalculable. The early growth of grass in close proximity to plantations is more apparent in early spring than later during summer, and that is just the time when it is most wanted. Generally, on land sheltered by plantations from the severe north and east winds, the early development of grass is most apparent; grass will be quite fresh and green 40 to 60 yards down the side of such shelter-belts, the width depending on the height and density of the trees. But the other effects of shelter-belts to stock, especially to ewes and lambs during spring, are also great. With suitable and frequent shelter-belts there would be fewer cases of ‘“udder-clap” amongst ewes, and fewer cases of ‘‘joint-ill” amongst lambs, whilst, because of the more easily maintained natural temperature, sheep would be more healthy generally and would develop to maturity more rapidly, which in these days of reduced prices is an economic proposition which cannot be ignored. It is quite impossible to reduce to figures the actual financial benefits derived from suitable shelter-belts, but in the matter of sheep on exposed uplands hundreds of pounds may be saved in a single snowstorm in a single night. Most flockmasters and shepherds of experience will corroborate this statement. On rough grassland possessing frequent shelter-belts cattle could graze out during winter, with a little hay thrown down during snow, and, indeed, they will thrive better than when confined in courts. The economy of such treatment is too obvious to require argument. When an estate is well intersected with shelter-strips it virtually means that it has been removed to a lower, warmer altitude; there is increased warmth and moisture, and both stock and crops correspondingly benefit; this is so obvious 108 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to the casual observer that undue insistence on the fact appears unnecessary. FORMATION OF SHELTER-BELTS. The formation of shelter-belts will naturally depend on the lie and contour of the land, but planting strips too narrow should be avoided because they require to be of a fair width in order that the trees may shelter each other against prevailing winds. It is an advantage to make each hundred yards of the line alternately convex and concave, for by this method shelter can be procured practically from three directions. On hill land the irregular outline will cause no inconvenience, whilst on arable land the line may be practically straight, depending, of course, on existing fences, water-courses, and the general contour of the land. Where, on specially exposed heights, it is necessary to plant considerable areas, apart from simple shelter-strips, it may be wise to lay the areas off in the formation of the letters L or T, and the boundaries and general contour of the land will determine which is preferable, with the idea of procuring the greatest amount of shelter from the greatest number of directions. In cases where inside plantations are required, apart from boundaries of farms and estates, it is advantageous to plant them in squares in the centre of wind-swept areas, for by this method shelter is obtained from all directions. Shelter-belts must be interpreted by farmers as diametrically opposed to lines of hardwood trees in hedgerows; these latter possess no practical value as shelter, unless to protect stock from the scorching sun during hot weather, and they are a considerable nuisance on arable land. Crops do not grow under them, and the roots and lower lateral branches are frequently seriously in the way of cultivation. It is true they possess a certain ornamental effect, but this ought not to be considered for a moment against practical utility. KIND OF TREES TO PLANT. As conifers grow most rapidly, and provide most shelter, the species best adapted to the particular altitude and soil, whether inland or on the seaboard, should be selected. It is an excellent plan to have a margin of beech trees planted round the outside THE ADVANTAGES OF SHELTER-BELTS. 10g of shelter-belts, and the margin may be broader on the side exposed to prevailing winds. Not only have they the effect of breaking gales against the conifers, but they also enhance the appearance of plantations generally. Where the idea is to provide shelter, as against the ete of marketable timber, lateral growth should be encouraged, and suitable thinning will be necessary as the trees develop, because fairly thick planting is generally essential in the first instance. Where a methodical system of shelter-belt planting is carried out over a wide district, climatic conditions are appreciably modified, the result being, as formerly mentioned, that stock will thrive and feed better, and crops of all kinds will materially benefit; in fact, the climatic conditions greatly modify the prevailing surface atmosphere, and a corresponding improve- ment is the all-round result. METHODS OF PLANTING. m Two systems of planting—pitting and notching—are available. A more rapid development of the trees will result from pitting, but the system is expensive and laborious, and the trees are also more liable to be shaken by gales of wind. Notching is much more rapid, and proves quite satisfactory in ordinary circumstances. Care is necessary in order to have the slit turf firmly trodden down against the roots of the trees, so that no vacuum may be left in which the roots are suspended. It is quite impossible to lay down definite instructions in the matter of planting, so much depends upon the soil, subsoil, character of the surface, size of the plants, etc. On sloping ground the planter should always insert the notching-iron, or spade, facing downhill, and he will thus be better able to make the slits vertical. Notches made out of the perpendicular necessarily incline the plants to lean according to the angle of the slits, and they do not grow so well as when planted vertically. Care must be taken to see that the roots of the plants are not doubled up before treading; this is simply averted by slightly raising the plant in drawing it to the centre of the slit, and again depressing it before treading. Where pits are dug ona slope the soil should be thrown to the low side, the plants pressed vertically against the low solid side, and the soil packed in from the top; they will thus IIO TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. remain firm and withstand severe gales from all directions. It is a good plan to inspect plantings after severe gales and heavy falls of snow in order to adjust any plants that may have been displaced. FENCING AND DRAINAGE. In the matter of fences stone walls are by far the best enclosures, as they break the wind for a considerable distance inwards; but in these days of high prices, both for labour and material, the cost is prohibitive. Planting hedges of thorn and beech is out of the question, as both require a long time and much labour before they are capable of turning stock. Wire may probably be found to be the least costly, and it is more enduring than timber in the form of posts and rails. All posts should be creosoted and the wire coal-tarred every five years, which will materially aid the preservation of the fence. Where land is water-logged it will be necessary to surface drain it, and the system of drainage will depend on the general contour of the land. Drains may be about 2 feet wide and about 15 inches deep, with a gradual slope inwards from the surface to the bottom. The distance apart must be governed by the condition of the land. The drains should be arranged to empty themselves into the main drain at an angle in the direction of the natural flow of the water, and they will thus run longer before silting up. Where the main drain catches two sides of a slope the drains from either side should enter alternately, and the main drain will thus remain much longer in a serviceable condition. ‘Tile draining, in these days of high costs for labour and material, is prohibitive, and unless the system is laid very deep the pipes soon become filled by root-fibre and become useless. On damp land, surface or open draining will generally be found to meet all ordinary requirements, GROUND GAME. Where ground game is abundant it will be necessary to run wire-netting round plantations for the protection of the trees. In order to prevent the entrance of rabbits, the netting must be let into the ground to a depth of about 6 inches, and the rabbits will thus be prevented from scraping underneath it; the netting should slope slightly outwards. THE ADVANTAGES OF SHELTER-BELTS. III Young trees cannot thrive where ground game is abundant, and unless trees are thoroughly protected planting is in vain. But it is greatly to the interest of both landlords and tenants to keep rabbits well killed down; when numerous they do an enormous amount of damage, and, in these days when every acre should produce to its utmost capacity, it is highly necessary to keep rabbits absolutely in check. It is not only what they eat but what they foul, and it is well known by practical stockmen that where grass is tainted by rabbits sheep never do well. The policy of the Government, in seeking to reduce unemployment, and at the same time encourage the planting of suitable shelter-belts, is a wise and beneficial one; and it is sincerely to be hoped that it will be prosecuted on an extensive scale, and thus add generally to the tranquillity of the people and the productivity of the whole country, because, by extensive shelter-belt planting, both stock and crops can be materially increased. After all, agriculture, with which forestry can be economically combined, is the oldest and most important industry in the country, employing more capital and labour than any other, and if it can be rendered more successful, it follows naturally that other and minor industries will also prosper. II2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 15. Soil Conditions affecting the Prevalence of Fomes annosus [Trametes radiciperda]. By M. L. ANDERSON. Fomes annosus ranks with larch canker as one of the most serious fungoid diseases with which the forester has to deal. The fungus is wide-spread, but appears to occur most commonly in the drier parts of the country, towards the east and north- east. In the wetter districts to the west, another root fungus, Agaricus melleus, becomes more important. Homes annosus attacks the roots of coniferous trees and causes a form of heart-rot and root-rot which is well known to every forester and wood-cutter, although he may not have associated the rot with the fungus. There has always been a good deal of doubt as to the cause of heart-rot, more especially since, in most cases, evidence of fungal attack is not obvious. Hartig states that the attack takes place through the collar, but this is not strictly true as an inspection of many stems, newly cut over at the base, shows a wide ring of clean, healthy wood all round, through which no entrance could have been effected. The attack, as stated in a recent leaflet, No. 5, on conifer heart-rot, issued by the Forestry Commission, takes place through.the roots and passes up into the stem. The same leaflet gives a description of the fungus and its distinguishing features. Having had Fomes annosus under observation for some time in different parts of Scotland, the writer proposes to make a few suggestions, rather from the silvicultural than from the mycological point of view, as to the reasons for the frequent occurrence of the fungus, which is in reality a very serious pest. The fungus seems to produce fructifications but rarely on sandy, open soils. On stiff clayey soils, on the other hand, the white sporophores are usually conspicuous. Since these are often the only external indication of the occurrence of the fungus, the impression may be got that it is most common on stiff soils. Such, however, is not the case, and it occurs with at least equal frequency on light soils. It would appear that the texture of the soil has a great influence upon the mode of attack of the fungus. When it is remembered that mere contact of the hyphae with a weakened rootlet is alone THE PREVALENCE OF FOMES ANNOSUS. ES necessary to cause infection, it will be seen that in open porous soils, a slight movement on the part of the fungus secures a new victim. From all accounts, the hyphae are able to move for short distances through open soil. Such is not the case in impermeable soils where the fungus may be tied down to one tree and is then forced to produce spores. The importance of this fact is obvious. The fungus may exist for years and be overlooked in a plantation, doing considerable damage underground, without the need for producing the white sporophores. This may also account for the fact that there is still an unwillingness to connect heart-rot and root-rot with Fomes annosus. Like most other fungi, Homes annosus must originally have fulfilled some definite task in the scheme of things. From the method of its attack, it appears to have at first confined itself to dead material, such as old roots, stumps, fallen stems and branches. It may also have attacked old trees, gaining an entrance through a decayed root or wound and living upon the dead tissue of the wood inside the stems and roots. It seems, in fact, to have been originally purely saprophytic, confining itself entirely to lifeless material. If trees were still grown on ground suited to their requirements, such a state of affairs would doubtless continue to exist and, indeed, assuming that the woods were carefully cleared of dead materials and all stumps extracted, the fungus would soon become of very rare occurrence. Such, however, is not by any means the case. So many new species of trees have been introduced and planted indiscriminately here, there, and everywhere, without the slightest consideration as to their soil requirements; so great has been the demand for rapid-growing conifers to replace the slower hardwoods; that, of necessity, a great number of woods have been planted in altogether unsuitable conditions, with the result that trees have grown weakly and enfeebled and become an easy prey to fungi and other pests. These fungi, naturally saprophytic, have gained a footing in the weakened or dead tissue of even young trees, and have ultimately become more or less parasitic in habit. Trees will not be attacked by fiomes annosus unless they have first been rendered easy of attack, owing to damage of some kind to the roots underground. When we can discover what agency it is in the soil which first attacks the roots and so renders them open to further damage VOL. XXXV. PART II. H 114 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. by root fungi, then we shall be able to frame measures to cope with the latter. It is interesting to note that Fomes annosus seldom, if ever, attacks living and healthy hardwoods, even when grown along with badly damaged conifers under similar conditions. This seems to point to some special protective tissue in the roots of hardwoods, resisting the destructive agency in the soil, which so acts upon the roots of conifers as to render them open to attack. I venture to suggest that this injurious factor in the soil is acidity or sourness which may be due to several causes, and that the ferments or enzymes of the fungus are unable to attack the roots of conifers unless these have first been weakened by soil acids. The roots of hardwoods are so well protected that the combined action of both acid and ferment does not destroy them. Most Scottish soils are acidic by nature, but there are degrees of acidity, and some coniferous species appear to resist the action of acids better than others. Of the numerous woods in which I have encountered heart-rot, I can remember none in which the presence of the fungus could not be explained by excess of soil acids, either due to the nature of the soil or to an over-accumulation of humus. There are other facts which seem to support this conten- tion :— 1. Fomes annosus is very common all over the country where a second crop of conifers follows a first, especially where the soil is of an impermeable nature. This may be due to the humus of the first crop being un- decomposed and rendering the soil sour. 2. Heart-rot is frequent in first plantations on old agricultural ground. On such ground the subsoil drainage conditions are usually very bad, tending to acidity in the upper layer. 3. Hardwoods replace conifers naturally on the Boulder tills all over the country. These clays, owing to poor drainage, are usually of an acid nature. Spruce and larch are confined naturally to well-drained soils formed from the decay of rock “in situ” where the easily soluble bases are most concentrated. These species are always at their best in this country on similar types of soil. THE PREVALENCE OF FOMES ANNOSUS. I1t5 4. Douglas fir in America and Scots pine in this country occur naturally on glacial sands and gravels where both species utilise mycorrhiza to a large extent. Although the soils are frequently acidic, it is sug- gested that the symbiosis enables the trees to with- stand the acids. Both species are at times badly attacked on the more fertile clays and clay-loams. In such badly aerated localities, which are unfavour- able to the mycorrhiza, they would have to rely more on their own root-hairs, so that they would probably be more easily damaged by the soil acids.! 5. On soils of a more or less impermeable nature, it is quite common to find that groups of trees around old stumps of a former crop, are badly attacked. This seems to be due, not merely to infection coming from the old stumps but also to a local acidity in the soil caused by the decay of these stumps. The nature of the soil, too, hinders the removal of the acids. 6. On all types of soil, where there is an over-accumulation of dead vegetable matter, the fungus is likely to be present. This is especially the case on soils from acid igneous rocks, such as granite, where the bases have been leached out, as in the glacial sand and gravels of north-east Scotland. There the Scots pine seems to be less liable to attack than larch or spruce, especially on poorer soils where it might have the assistance of mycorrhiza. 7. It is very striking how heart-rot seems to appear in young and middle-aged woods some time after the canopy has been closed. There is no doubt that the practice of very close planting, combined with a policy of no thinning, has resulted in an excess of raw humus, rendering the soil sour and so damaging the rootlets and paving the way for attack by the fungus. Although the economic damage done is of the greatest importance, there is a silvicultural aspect which is equally important. In many young woods, especially where there is 1 Scots pine is very often attacked in this country, but the great production of resin at the collar confines the decay to the roots. Thus groups of Scots pine may be seen quite dead, although the parts above ground all appear to be free from disease. The roots, however, have been destroyed by root fungi. 116 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. excessive crowding and the crop is a second one, it is very common to come across single trees and groups of trees, often beside old stumps, which have been blown over by the wind, or laid by snow. The wind and snow, however, are not the primary causes of the damage. It is due to the decay of the roots from fungal attack. Douglas fir is especially liable to such damage, and in nearly every instance a careful inspection of the roots of a windfall will reveal the presence of Homes annosus fructifications. Attempts at eradication are hopeless in a growing wood, With this particular species, prevention is better than cure. The most obvious way of dealing with it lies in the proper selection of species. Assuming that the above theory, that soil acidity is the primary cause of the attack, is correct, it would have an important bearing upon silvicultural practice. It suggests the following general rules, which, however, would necessarily have to be modified for economic reasons :— 1. Always remove stumps and other dead material from an area before planting. 2. Burn off bracken, heather, blaeberry, etc., from an area before planting. These plants tend to form an accumulation of raw humus, especially on dry sandy soils. 3. Some test of the soil acidity should be made. If the soil is basic, neutral, or slightly acid, planting of conifers could be safely carried out, with due regard to species. Most, if not all of these soils will be found to be either residual or of that type, and are well suited for larch, Japanese larch, spruce, Douglas fir, and other species. 4. If the soil is strongly acid, this may be due to excess of raw humus. It might be left for a number of years to allow of decomposition of the humus. This state of affairs is frequently the result of clear felling a wood which has been grown as dense as possible. 5. Ifthe soil is naturally strongly acid and sour, such as usually exists over Boulder tills, either pure hardwood or a very large percentage of hardwood, is probably best. It would not be wrong, however, to substitute Scots pine, which grows very well on some Boulder tills, while certain firs, notably Adies grandis, give good promise under these conditions. The neglect of hardwoods is THE PREVALENCE OF FOMES ANNOSUS. Ly very remarkable in general forestry practice in this country. It is a mistaken policy. Apart from their ability to resist the root fungus, they also tend to counteract soil acidity. Again, who is able to forecast the demands of future generations ? 6. When the soil is so poor as to be quite unsuited to hardwoods, as on peat or on very unfertile soils, it is probably best to plant Scots pine and to leave the trees to make the best of things. The possibilities of birch should not be overlooked. Some attention to the above rules would certainly restrict the attacking power of Fomes annosus. Something may be attempted to mitigate the damage in a growing wood. If the attack is very severe, the best plan is to let in the air by a heavy thinning—which at the same time strengthens the individual trees—so that the accumulated humic acid of the upper soil layers may be removed by oxidation. In the case of slight attacks, a light thinning of the weakest trees would be beneficial. If thinning does no good, the wood should be clear felled and planted with suitable trees. A _ short rotation of hardwood might even be advisable. It seems that the fungus only lives in the upper soil layers into which the spores may be carried by rabbits and other animals, or washed by rainwater from the bases of the stand- ing trees. It is in the upper soil layers where the greatest concentration of acid takes place, and where the greatest damage to the rootlets probably occurs. It is thus important to be able to tell whether the acid accumulation in the soil is excessive or not. It will be seen that such an accumulation is in great measure dependent on the density of the canopy, so that a careful study of crop density in relation to root diseases caused by fungi is indicated as important. 118 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 16. Japanese Larch (Larix leptolepis) and the New Disease. By GEORGE LEVEN. To the casual observer the individual trees of a species, in a well-grown plantation, are more or less alike, but to the trained observer and the forester, it has long been a common- place that no two trees are exactly the same. That this condition obtains in the case of the Japanese larch, when grown under silvicultural conditions, is undoubted. Observations, extending over a period of ten years, have indeed led the writer to the conclusion that very great dissimilarity exists in this species as generally grown in this country, and that while the present condition of our knowledge, as regards its variations, would not justify our speaking of “varieties,” it might be admissible to speak of “types,” not so much from a forester’s or timber merchant’s point of view, as in regard to some of their outstanding characteristics. Under present conditions in this country, where our observations are more or less confined to immature specimens, it would be imprudent to dogmatise, but, broadly speaking, it is evident that there are at least three well-defined types, which may, for simplicity of definition, be termed the “ fissure-barked,” the ‘“ flake-barked,” and the “smooth-barked.” It is at once evident, on examining a series of trees, that this forms a very tentative classification, as individual stems may be met with that would be difficult to place in their right class. This may be due to various influences that need not be considered here. In practically every area that the writer has examined the fissure-barked type predominates It has a certain resemblance to the typical European larch, so far as the bark is concerned, with a more or less well-defined longitudinal ridge and fissure alternating. The thickness of the “cork” portion of the bark is naturally greater than is the case with either of the other two types, and the cork is persistent, #.e. does not scale off. The fissured bark is fairly evident at an early age, and of course is more pronounced towards the bottom of the stem and on the opener-grown specimens. ‘This, probably, is the quickest growing of the three types, but it is inclined to gross branch-formation and to a rambling growth in the case JAPANESE LARCH AND THE NEW DISEASE. 12 ie) of the leading shoots, with a resultant wavy stem-growth. It is, further, inclined to form secondary branches between the annual whorls (on the stem), and an abundance of twigs on the main branches. It produces a fairly dense foliage, the leaves being of a normal length, of a thinnish texture, and of a light green colour. It is probably too early yet to say much about the technical form of the stem, but it seems, at present, to occupy a position only secondary to the flake-barked type. The flake-barked type, while not so abundant as the former, forms quite a distinctive feature in many areas. The flakes or plates that characterise this type have a certain resemblance to the plates that form on some sycamores and Scots pines. The size and shape of these vary, some being orbicular and an inch or more across, while others are oblong and vary in size according to the age of the tree. These plates are exfoliated, naturally, to a certain extent, but undoubtedly the process is hastened by insectivorous birds in their search for sustenance. The cork portion of the bark is thus thinner than in the case of the fissure- barked type, but it is apparently quite an efficient protective covering. This characteristic is in evidence quite early in the life of the tree, and extends, in many cases, well up into the crowns. The branch-formation is much opener than is the case in the former type, the main branches spread well out, and there is an almost entire absence of secondary branches and twigs. A great proportion of the foliage in this type is produced from the spur shoots of the main branches, and these spurs do not readily elongate into twigs. ‘The leaves are thicker, if shorter, and have more of the typical Japanese larch ‘‘ bloom ” about them, being darker green in colour. The technical form of the stem, as suggested above, is evidently superior, as in most specimens it is of a definite upright habit. This is due, probably, to a certain extent, to its being less liable to lose its main leader. The smooth-barked type is apparently not so common as either of the others, but it forms a fair proportion of the crop. It might be said to include specimens of varying degrees of smoothness and also of colouring. It is evident that the cork cambium is not deep-seated, and that very little in the shape of “‘dead” bark is produced. Although smooth bark is apparent on numbers of the suppressed stems, it is by no means confined to this class, and can be found among the dominated and I20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the dominant, if not among the pre-dominant. Nevertheless, this type is probably of slower growth than the others, both in height and girth. It does not produce a gross growth of main branches, but forms a fairly dense crown by means of secondary branches and twigs. The foliage has a resemblance to that on the fissure-barked type, and is fairly abundant. While its stem-form is fairly good in a silvicultural sense, its position in regard to the other types is doubtful at the moment. While the above are a few of the salient characteristics of the types, this by no means exhausts the list of differences, and the writer believes that there is a field here for botanical and silvicultural research. As the tree is a recent introduction, it is probably too early yet to speak of what has been inherited and what acquired, so that under the circumstances it might add considerably to our knowledge of the species, if we knew definitely if some such types are recognisable in the tree’s native habitat. Entering the field of speculation, one would be inclined to say that the types enumerated protect their cambium layers from various forms of injury, each by different processes that need not be further discussed here. Some species of Aphidae, probably Chermes Jaricis, has been more or less common on the Japanese larch in recent years, and observations tend to lead to the conclusion that it is most prevalent on the smooth-barked type, as would naturally be expected. The connection between insect injury and the new disease is in the realm of analogy as yet, but if the recently recorded fungus (Phomopsis sp.) proves to be a wound parasite, injury of some sort must be pre-supposed. The side shoots of the branches are subject to attack by the insect Avgyresthia | laevigatella, with the result that they die back to the point of attack. The first observation of what in all probability was this fungus, by the writer, about four years ago, was on a shoot which had been damaged by Argyresthia, and of course the form must have been saprophytic. The immunity of the flake-barked type, up to the present, may prove to be a matter of great silvicultural importance, as, while no specimen of this type showing symptoms of the disease has come under the writer’s notice, numerous stems of each of the other two types, badly affected by the disease, have had to be removed. JAPANESE LARCH AND THE NEW DISEASE. 121 The report that a similar disease exists in Yorkshire, would point to the need for a careful inspection of all areas planted with this species. The further fact that a form of the fungus has been observed, in profusion, on the branches and tops some time after their separation from the stems is, to say the least, very disconcerting. 17. Notes on the Trees and Shrubs of the Depart- ments of Savoie, Haute Savoie and Isére. By F. R. S. BALFour. The densely-wooded valleys of that highland country are of special interest, as almost all the species of trees and shrubs indigenous to Central Europe are to be found there. In the streets, gardens and squares of the principal towns, such as Chambery, Aix-les-Bains and Annecy many exotic trees grow to greater perfection than in the most favoured parts of Great Britain. At Chambéry I saw the finest maiden-hair tree (Salisburia adiantifolia) 1 know of in Europe, larger even than the examples in the old Botanic Garden of Montpelier in Provence. It grows behind the old citadel, and is a female tree which last summer was covered with fruit. Specially fine specimens of Paulownia, Catalpa, Gleditschia, Sophora, Ailanthus, Tilia argentea, Acer negundo, Chinese persimmon, Morus alba, and others of the more uncommon broad-leaved species are also to be seen. There are many remarkable avenues of planes, notably that at the north end of the Lake of Annecy, and near Annecy an avenue of walnuts. By the way, why is it that in Great Britain, so far as I am aware, there are no walnut avenues, despite the many merits of the tree? I saw FPaulownias at Chambéry and Brides-les- Bains of great size, and so laden with fruits that branches had been broken off by their weight. In England the tree only produces its handsome purple flowers in the best climates of the south, and that only after a mild winter, as it sets its flower buds in the previous autumn. In Savoy, Sophora japonica is the most beautiful of planted trees, and is often completely covered with its creamy blossoms, beloved of bees; Az/anthus glandulosa also flowers and sets seed freely. Roadside avenues 122 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of Gleditschia triacanthos and of the silver-leaved lime (7Zt/a argentea) are frequent. The latter, the habitat of which is south-east Europe, I noticed had suffered more in Savoy from the drought of last summer than the two native species, T. platyphyllos and T. parvifolia. The black walnut of North America (/uglans nigra) is occasionally planted, and at Moutiers I noticed a fine specimen planted in the middle of the town. The nettle-tree or “micoculier de Provence” (Ce/¢is australis) is planted occasionally; at Annecy by the side of the lake it was bearing its small black fruits profusely. I know of no trees of it in England, and the other member of the genus, Celtis occidentalis, from eastern North America, is a very rare tree with us. The fields and lower hillsides are dotted with walnuts, the wood of which is used throughout the country for the making of better-class furniture; the shop fronts and their variously panelled shutters are invariably of walnut, often of considerable antiquity. I found that it commanded a higher price than the wood of “cerisier” and ‘‘merisier,” though these are much in request for such articles as the small tables of restaurants and shop counters. So far as I can find out “cerisier” is the name given loosely to the timber of cultivated cherries, and “ merisier ” to that of the wild gean (Prunus Avium), though I think the latter name is also applied to the woods of P. Mahaleb and P. Padus. J found in Savoy, as in other paris of France, that the material used for such special purposes as joiners’ adjustable “plough” planes and_ sash-fellisters, where great hardness, rigidity and closeness of grain are required, is the wood of ‘‘sorbier” (Sorbus domestica) ; 1 wonder why this admirable tree is so seldom planted in Britain. “Jack,” “Trying” and hand-planes as used in Savoy are most commonly made from pearwood and evergreen oak (Quercus i/ex), though the latter is not native in the district. Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) is not thought so highly of as oak for furniture-making or other purposes, but is regarded as valuable timber. Trees of this species are not grown so frequently as on the Italian side of the Alps, and I saw none that would compare with the great sweet chestnuts of England. As one ascends from the valleys to 1500 feet and over, in all parts of Savoy, pedunculate oak forms the scrub forest growth, often mixed with and gradually giving place to hornbeam. TREES AND SHRUBS OF SAVOIE. 123 During the drought of last summer these species became so withered on much of the shallower soil overlying the limestone that I fear they have been killed outright. Walnut and Rodinia, though of course not natives, may be seen coming up from natural regeneration in many of the lower woodlands. Higher still the natural woods are so varied in the number of species they contain, and, in the case of certain forests, such as those of the valleys of the Grande Chartreuse, the timber itself is so superb, as to recall the wonderful and fast-diminishing virgin forests of Arkansas. Of the broad-leaved species I saw in these valleys beech, ash, lime (Z7da platyphyllos), sycamore and wych elm were the finest, while, except for the yew, the only conifers were silver fir and spruce. The last two are felled carefully and peeled before being hauled out of incredibly difficult and inaccessible places. At the roadside they are loaded, six or eight to the timber wagon, generally drawn by a string of five to six mules, and taken down to the nearest railway. Each stem is from 75 feet upwards long, and has less taper than any timber I have seen except in western America. The woods are largely owned by the peasants, though there are extensive state and communal forests; in consequence, the peasantry of the better timbered districts are exceedingly well off, and are only partly dependent on their tillage. Of the rarer trees I saw in the woods of Savoy two maples, neither of which is in common cultivation in this country, were frequent, these being Acer opalus and A. monspessulanum. ‘The grey alder (Alnus incana) is commoner in the woodlands than our own alder (4. g/utinosa), though both are general in the river valleys. The white-beam (Sorbus aria) is thoroughly at home on the limestone of Savoy, but the rowan (,S. aucuparia) I did not often see. The two limes, Zia platyphyllos and T. parvifolia, our only British species, Norway maple, field maple, commonly used for vine-posts, and aspen-poplar all occur frequently. Tree-willows of many species, accompanied doubtless by many natural hybrids, flourish by the streams. The most distinct is Sax incana, often wrongly but not unnaturally called S. vosmarinifolia. The dwarf-creeping willows, S. reticulata, S. herbacea, S. repens and S. retusa may be found among the rocks above timber-level. Birch of the warty-twigged weeping form (Betula verrucosa) is frequent but I24 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. local; at a distance it is often difficult to distinguish its white stems from those of the aspen (Populus tremula). The woolly-twigged birch (B. pudescens) and intermediate forms also doubtless occur, though I did not see them. Of the smaller trees the following are universal—hawthorn, hazel, “Scotch” laburnum (Z. alpinum), Prunus Mahaleb, blackthorn (P. spinosa), the wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana), Guelder rose (V. ofudus). The commonest shrubs are dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), privet (Ligustrum vulgare), common elder (Sambucus nigra), and scarlet-berried elder (.S. vacemosa), a shrub which has become our worst forest weed in Tweeddale, though it is not a native of Great Britain. On the hillsides below the denser woodlands juniper and box mix with the scrub oak and, like it, were often dead or moribund this summer. In the higher valleys of the Isere and Doron, which take their rise in the Alpine range of the Vanoise, larch woods cling to the rocks at timber-level of 6000-7500 feet. Scots pine is usually at a somewhat lower altitude, and, though Pinus Cembra occurs, I saw none but scattered trees. Much of the larch appeared to be of great age, though I saw no really large trees. From many of the mountains of Savoy Pinus montana appears to be absent; further south, in Dauphiny, I believe the erect form (P. uancinata) is found. In the higher country the Alpine alder (A. zridis) flourishes as a bush on the margins of the woods, often mingled with the two Alpine rhododendrons (Rh. hirsutum and Rh. ferrugineum). Several shrubs, seldom seen in British gardens, abound in the sub-alpine regions; two shrubby honeysuckles (Lomicera coerulea and L. alpigera), the former with purple fruit and the latter with its scarlet cherry-like fruits are common; neither has flowers of much merit. Cononeaster vulgaris, whose native habitat in Great Britain is confined to the Great Orme’s Head, its near relative Cotoneaster tomentosa, Rosa alpina, R. rubrifoua, Rhamnus alpina, and, at about 5000 feet, Rubus saxatifis which bears its scarlet fruit in great profusion and replaces the raspberry (&. zdaews), common at lower altitudes; these are perhaps the shrubs best worth mentioning, though I know my list is incomplete. In the valleys among river boulders the common barberry (Berderis vulgaris) and sea buckthorn (Aippohaé rhamnoides) are laden in August with their berries, and “‘Old Man’s Beard” (Clematis vitalba) festoons the underwood. TREES AND SHRUBS OF SAVOIE. 125 It is curious that while on the western side of the Little St Bernard Pass pure spruce forms the timber-level at nearly 7000 feet, on the eastern or Italian side of the pass larch is the only tree to be seen at the corresponding altitude. Larch, however, is usually absent from calcareous rock formations, while spruce is found on both calcareous and granitic rocks, and the great line of demarcation between the two is in this region. To those who delight in Alpine plants Savoy offers, perhaps, the best field in Europe. The limestone mountains at the head of the Val d’Isére are particularly rich in gentians, saxifrages, sedums and many other Alpine genera. 18. Report of the Annual Excursion. (With Plates.) The thirty-ninth Annual Excursion of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society was held in Yorkshire in the first week of August 1921, and sixty members were present on one or more days. On this occasion the whole of the party were able to be accommodated under one roof at the Hotel Metropole, Leeds. It consisted of the following, the names being arranged in alphabetical order :—Stephen Ballard, Colwall, Malvern; James Baxter, Benarth, Conway; F. Austin Bensted, Sittingbourne ; C. W. Berry, Glenstriven; Thomas Bryden, Ayr; Charles Buchanan, Penicuik (Convener of Committee); F. H. Burrows, Little Tinton, Kent; H. M. Cadell, of Grange, Linlithgow ; J. M. Cadell, Foxhall, Kirkliston; G. R. Christie, Fochabers ; James Clyne, Banchory; R. W. Cowper, Sittingbourne; Henry Dalziel, Invermay ; Miss De C. Lewthwaite Dewar, Glasgow ; Jas. T. S. Doughty, Ayton; J. C. F. Dunbar, Crathes; Edwin C. Duthie, Aberdeen ; J. Edwards, Castle Kennedy ; John T. Ellis, Fossoway; Mrs Ellis, Fossoway; H. Filmer, Sittingbourne ; Alex. J. Finlayson, Newbattle; Geo. D. Forbes, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh; Robert Forbes, Kennet; C. P. Galloway, Edinburgh ; Geo. Galloway, Wellbank, Dundee; Robert Galloway, Edinburgh (Secretary and Treasurer); Geo. G. Shirra Gibb, Old Boon, Lauder; Dr Robert Shirra Gibb, Boon, Lauder; E. C. Gilbert, Hexham; George Halliday, Rothesay; George 126 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Halliday, jun., Rothesay; Gavin Hamilton, Lesmahagow; James H. Hamilton, Lesmahagow ; Thos. Kerr, Glasgow ; Thos. Greenshields Leadbetter, Spital Tower, Denholm; A. P. Long, Forestry Commission, York; S. MacBean, Needwood Forest, Derby ; John M‘Donald, Ardgoil, Lochgoilhead ; J. W. Mackay, Aberdeen ; Jas. M‘Laren, Castle Mains, Douglas; Alex. M‘Rae, Dundrum, Co. Tipperary; John Maughan, Jervaulx Abbey ; T. Monies, Leeds; Alex. Morgan, Crieff; Mrs Morgan, Crieff ; Viscount Novar, of Raith (Hox. Secretary); George Robertson, Monreith, Wigtownshire; Alex. Rule, Huntly; Wm. Scott, Douglas Castle Estate ; Chas. Simpson, Wemyss Castle Gardens ; Allan Smith, Dunira, Comrie; Jas. A. Somervail, Hoselaw, Kelso; Adam Spiers, Edinburgh; Dr J. W. Stewart, Glasgow ; Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, Bt. of Pollok; Walter C. Stunt, Lorenden, Faversham; James Terris, Dullamuir, Blairadam ; Jas. Whitton, Parks Department, Glasgow ( Vice-President) ; Albert Wilson, Derwent, Sheffield. The estates visited were Jervaulx Abbey, Bolton Abbey, Washburn Valley Catchment Area, Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey. Each of these provided objects of great historical and architectural interest in addition to its attraction from an arbori- cultural and silvicultural point of view, and the scenery passed through gave ample compensation for the long journeys by motor charabanc. Astonishment was frequently expressed at the splendid appearance of wheat, oats, barley, and other crops. The wheat attracted particular attention by its regularity and fine deep red colour, and as there was much speculation as to its identity, it may be stated here that in this part of Yorkshire Webb’s Standard Red is the general favourite, and is much liked by millers for its good milling qualities. Many other varieties have found favour the last year or two, including Webb’s Universal, Little Joss, Swedish Iron. JERVAULX ABBEY ESTATE. The first day’s excursion was to the Jervaulx Abbey Estate, owned by Mr W. L. Christie. As. it is a journey of some 45 miles by road from Leeds an early start was necessary. Members were roused at 6 a.m. to find a dark sky and heavy rain falling, and it was still raining at 7.15 when, in accordance witn the programme, the party set out in two motor charabancs. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 127 The route lay through Harewood, Harrogate, Ripon, and Masham, crossing the valleys of the Wharfe and Nidd and entering the valley of the Yore, which from Jervaulx upwards is known as Wensleydale. During the drive the weather fortunately cleared. On arrival at Ellingstring at 10.30 a.m. the party were welcomed on behalf of Mr Christie by Mr John Maughan, P.A.S.I., the resident agent, who proved an excellent guide. He shared this duty with Mr James M‘Laren and Mr J. W. Mackay, both of whom had been successively in charge of the woods while acting as Mr Maughan’s assistant. Owing to the shortness of the time available it was only possible to visit some of the woods on the southern part of the estate, most of which form part of a regeneration scheme for old woodland. This area, which extends to about 380 acres, lies along the northern slope of a ridge of hills which forms the southern boundary of Wensleydale. The altitude varies from 675 feet to over 1150 feet above sea-level, and although portions of the area are much exposed it is on the whole fairly well protected by the slope from the prevailing south-west winds. The average annual rainfall is about 40 inches. The soil varies from a more or less thin sand with peat on the high ground, to clays and sandy loams on the slopes with light loams on the lower ground. The whole rests principally on the millstone grit, which outcrops to the north, but the lower ground contains bands of shales and limestone of lower carboniferous age. Planting originally commenced in 1815, the species used being Scots pine, larch, spruce, oak, ash, beech, and elm. In 1896 a plan was drawn up for the systematic clearing and replanting of the whole of the area, when the three conifers mentioned were used. In more recent years the species employed have included Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, Japanese larch, and Corsican pine, and it is noticeable how well the latter species have established themselves. A new scheme for the systematic management of this area was entered in the Royal Show competitions in 1920, and secured a silver medal. During the war 123 acres of mature timber were cleared, the greater part of which will be replanted, while 4o acres of new ground will be added. The first woods seen were those known as the East and West Belts, lying at an altitude of about rooo feet, on a shallow 128 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. sandy loam. These woods are very open and exposed, but contain some excellent larch and Scots pine, measuring up to 60 feet and 55 feet high respectively, at an age of 80 to go years. A series of pure blocks of Scots pine, Corsican pine, Norway spruce, and European larch from 21 to 23 years of age, growing in Grey Yaud, gave opportunities for comparison. Ten years ago the larch seemed hopelessly diseased, and it was decided to thin vigorously. The trees have responded to the treatment and are now doing fairly well. The Scots pine were badly damaged by heavy clinging snow at 15 years old, but the Corsican pine and spruce were not affected. The next compartment seen was a series of pure blocks of Japanese larch, Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, and Corsican pine, aged g years, on Witton Fell. All are doing well, the elevation being from 87 to 1050 feet. In view of the difficulty of raising healthy crops of pure larch, Lower Limekiln Bank was planted in the spring of 1913 with alternate lines of larch grown from Scottish seed and Corsican pine, 44 feet apart. At present the larch is growing well, but in case of its being attacked badly by canker, there will still be a sufficient crop of Corsican pine. A part of East Hills plantation, consisting of pure Japanese larch, 19 years old, which was awarded a first prize in the Royal Show competitions in 1912, provoked considerable discussion. Many of the trees are now showing patches of dead bark about the size of the palm of the hand, which are most plentiful on the lower part of the stem where the branches have been cut off. On removing the dead bark an oval patch of bare wood is seen, which is apparently being rapidly occluded. There is no flow or deposit of resin as in the ordinary larch canker, and no fungal outgrowths are visible. The dead patches of bark remain attached at their edges to the living bark, and are being thrust outwards in line with the occluding tissue. The attack was first noticed in the summer of 1916, and is referred to in the September 1921 number of the Transactions of the Society as being probably due to the fungus Phomopsis Pseudotsugae. Further investigations are being made, and no doubt a fuller report will be given in the Transactions in due course. Blaeberry Bank, comprising pure blocks of Japanese larch, REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 129 Oregon Douglas, and Sitka spruce, all planted in the spring of 1914, is showing good growth. Sixteen-acre plantation, which was next seen, consists in the northern part of mixed conifers and in the southern part of a mixture of hardwoods and conifers, planted in 1899-1901 at 4 ft. 6 ins. apart, on a light loam of good quality at 800 to 850 feet elevation. Many of the hardwoods were killed by rabbits, but there are still a considerable number of long clean ash, sycamore, and oak, which are now requiring more room in order to encourage diameter increment. A part of Thirsting Castle plantation was replanted with pure blocks of Oregon and Colorado Douglas and Sitka spruce in 1910. These now measure 27, 12, and 28 feet respectively, which shows the inferiority of the Colorado variety of Douglas fir as compared with the Oregon. Some very fine old larch and hardwoods were seen in Thirsting Castle, Lamb Hill, and Lea Gill. Two big larch growing near together in Thirsting Castle are estimated to contain 360 cubic feet of timber, quarter-girth measurement, under bark. The ruins of Jervaulx Abbey, a Cistercian foundation dating back to 1156, were also visited, and the Rev. Canon George W. Garrod, vicar of East Witton, gave an explanatory address and pointed out the more interesting features. The party were entertained to tea in the Abbey grounds, after which, on the motion of Viscount Novar of Raith, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr W. L. Christie for his kindness in inviting and entertaining the party, to Mr Maughan for conducting it, and to the Rev. Canon Garrod and all who had helped in any way. Mr Maughan, in reply, regretted the absence from home of Mr Christie owing to a previous engagement. It is not often that such a variety of conifers, including some of the newer introductions, can be seen growing side by side under silvicultural conditions, and the party returned to Leeds thoroughly satisfied with the first day’s outing. Botton ABBEY ESTATE. Wednesday was spent in a visit to Bolton Abbey and woods, the property of His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. The journey from Leeds, as on the previous day, was made by VOL. XXXV. PART II. I 130 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. motor charabanc, the route chosen being by Otley and along the valley of the Wharfe through Burley-in-Wharfedale and Ilkley. On arrival within the precincts of the Abbey the party were received by the agent, Mr A. Downs, and the head forester, Mr W. Harbottle. Mr Downs kindly conducted the party through the Abbey, a part of which is still used as the parish church. The party then went to the Strid (said to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon “stryth,” meaning “a tumult”), where for a distance of about fifty yards the river Wharfe flows through a deep gorge in the rocks which it is possible to jump across. This is the scene described in Wordsworth’s poem ‘The Force of Prayer,” which tells how the Abbey was founded by Lady Alice Romilly as a monument to her only son, the “ Boy of Egremond,” who was drowned while jumping across the Strid in an attempt to save the life of his favourite hound, as the legend runs. The area of woods on the estate is about 1600 acres, of which 1000 acres are conifers. The Wharfe here runs from north-west to south-east, and most of the woods are on the eastern slopes of the valley. They range in elevation from 400 to 1250 feet, hardwoods being on the lower and conifers on the higher ground. ‘The prevailing wind is south-west, but on the whole the plantations are fairly well sheltered by the surrounding hills. The average annual rainfall is 36 inches. The rock is mostly sandstone, giving rise to a sandy loam. The lower slopes have a fair depth of soil, but the rock outcrops at higher elevations. The conifer plantations vary in age from 5 to 55 years, and consisted at the time of planting of a mixture of larch, Scots pine, and spruce. Larch has not been a success on the higher ground, where it has died off, leaving a rather thin crop of Scots pine, especially in the plantations from 20 to 4o years of age. In the younger woods a larger proportion of Scots pine has been used, and they are doing well. Of the hardwoods the sycamore takes first place, followed in order by beech, ash, oak, and elm. The plan has always been to plant hardwoods without nurses 6 or 7 feet apart and all pitted. Existing plantations of this class range up to 30 years of age, and are all doing well. Very little thinning has been done and the trees are straight in the stem and clean, and there is a good crop on the ground. The following JPN hie? 45% [To face p. 130. PLATE II. : S| : * 2 mS ? an a weastle-on-Tyne é N A.L. Hitchin, / [ Photo by) ESTATE N ABBEY LARCH ON BOLTO REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. I31 particulars of some of these plantations are furnished by Mr Harbottle :— Average Planting Average Quarter-girth | } Distance Age Height ie } Pa = | Breast-Height over Bark | : Feet | Years Feet Inche High Labwood— iy (aia rd aay | Sycamore and Beech : 7 Bah Site, | 42 Ash, Sycamore and Beech 6 26 30. 4 Springs Wood— Sycamore and Beech : 7 27 35 44 The nursery extends to 2} acres, and contains some excellent material, hardwoods being much in evidence. The party was photographed outside the forester’s house, which overlooks the nursery (Plate I.). After rejoining the motors the drive was continued past Barden Tower, a ruin dating from the time of Henry VII. which now embodies a farm-house, and past several blocks of mixed woods to Burnsall, where an excellent lunch was provided at the “ Red Lion.” The Wharfe was crossed at Burnsall Bridge, and the return journey made by the eastern side of the valley, the plantations on Barden Fell being visited on the way. These extend to about 475 acres, and are chiefly of Scots pine and larch, of various ages. The elevation varies from 600 to 1000 feet. On the greater part of the area Scots pine has taken the lead, the reason for which was not very evident. In some places there were patches of larch of excellent form and good height. One plot, the subject of a beautiful photograph by Mr Hitchin (Plate II.), extends to about 6 acres. It is at an elevation of about 550 feet, the average height of the trees being 73 feet at 55 years of age, which is equivalent to larch quality Class II. in the Forestry Commission’s yield-tables. Some very fine hardwoods, especially beech and ash, were seen on the way to the Pavilion, where tea was served. The finest beech seen was in Strid Wood, and had a beautiful cylindrical trunk which measured 42 feet up to the first branch and 284 inches quarter-girth at 5 feet from the ground. After tea, on the motion of Mr James Whitton, a hearty vote of thanks was given to the Duke of Devonshire for his kindness I32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. in inviting the members of the Society to visit his estate, and to Mr Downs and Mr Harbottle for showing them round. The return journey to Leeds was made by Guiseley and Kirkstall Abbey. WaSHBURN VALLEY CATCHMENT AREA. On Thursday, 5th August, the afforestation area of the city of Leeds, situated in the valley of the Washburn, about eight miles west of Harrogate, was visited. The party were accompanied by Mr C. G. Henzell, M.I.C.E., waterworks engineer, and Mr A. Pope, head forester. The route taken was via Harrogate. The catchment area extends to about 17,000 acres, of which the city owns nearly 11,000 acres, including several large houses and a large number of small farms, mostly under grass. As the leases of the farms fall in the land is taken over for planting, with the object of conserving the rainfall and ensuring the perfect purity of the water. The ground inspected was in the neighbourhood of the Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs, which were formed by building two large dams across the bed of the river, and supply Leeds with water. The compensation reservoir at Lindley Wood, which is about a mile farther down the river, was not visited. The area consists chiefly of gentle slopes at elevations vary- ing from 1390 to 449 feet at Fewston and Swinsty to 299 feet at Lindley Wood, the main aspects being south-west and north-east. The average annual rainfall is about 39 inches. The underlying rock is millstone grit with intermediate shales, and the mountain limestone is touched on the north. The soil is generally a sandy loam with clay on the lower portions and northern slopes, and light and dry on the southern slopes, with peat at the higher elevations; but there are many local variations. Planting was commenced in October 1905. From 1906 to 1909 it was assisted by grants from the Local Government Board as relief work for Leeds unemployed. As only men registered at the “‘ Unemployment Bureau” could be employed and paid from these grants this plan proved unsuccessful, as unemployed workmen of the best class would not register their names at the Bureau. Many men sent out were physically incapable of hard work, others had been on relief REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 133 work winter after winter, and the Waterworks Committee were forced to the conclusion that many did not want regular work. ‘They were of all trades, but very few were accustomed to outdoor work, and numbers had never previously handled a spade or any tool used in planting. The men were housed in wooden huts, were allowed to go home for week-ends, and had certain privileges as to travelling time, but out of 181 men sent out in the winter of 1908-9 only sixteen worked for sixteen weeks, the full time allotted. In spite of close super- vision it was impossible to get good work out of the men, and on account of heavy losses the planting proved very uneconomical. Since 1909 the work has been done by a small permanent staff, with extra help during the planting season. Owing to the strong growth of grass on the lower-lying land, tenants are encouraged to take off one or two agricultural crops before giving up the land. If this has not been done the land is ploughed before planting, if fairly level and free from large stones ; or a thin skin of grass is pared off with the plough and turned back on either side, forming a shallow furrow clear of grass. The trees are planted either by vertical notching with a half-worn No.2 garden spade, or in holes made with a semi- circular spade. On rocky land and moorland the surface peat and heather is pared off with mattocks, and the soil stirred in patches about a foot square before planting with spades. Getting the soil into good mechanical condition is considered of more importance than the method used in planting. Two- and three-year-old plants are sometimes used on clean land, but the plants generally used are 2-year 2-year, as with the larger plants less grass cutting is required. On the moors there are extensive areas with many “ winter” springs causing water to run over the surface, and on these portions the old L system of notching is found hard to beat, as it is important to loosen the soil as little as possible. Otherwise water accumulates and stagnates round the roots, and when it dries up in the spring many roots are found to be rotten. On wet land turfs about 20 inches square are turned up, and the trees planted in holes made with a pointed vertical notching spade through the centre of each turf. The plantations at the south end of the area were inspected before lunch, which was kindly provided by the Leeds 134 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Corporation at Swinsty Hall, now used as the forester’s house. It is a charming old country house built between the years 1575 and 1590, and contains some fine Elizabethan oak panelling. The stained window panes bear the date 1627. After lunch the circuit of the reservoirs was completed, and a number of other plantations inspected, also the nursery. The latter is situated at Gill’s Beck, at an elevation of 600 feet, and extends to about 6 acres. The aspect is north-east. Here most of the plants used on the area are raised. Hardwood seeds are collected in the neighbourhood and sown in bands g inches wide and 15 inches apart, the drills being made with the hoe after digging over. Conifer seeds are sown in raised beds 3 feet 6 inches wide, with weeding aileys 18 inches wide. Narrow drills are made across the beds with marking boards, and the seeds are sown by hand. Seedlings are generally lined out at 2 years old, and allowed to stand in the lines for one or two years before planting out. Black Italian poplar is planted out as 2-year rooted cuttings. On vacant ground vetches are grown and dug in for green manure. At present the beds are being summer fallowed, as they become vacant, in order to clear the land of couch grass and sorrel, which have spread during the war. Up to the present about tooo acres have been afforested. The general idea is to grow hardwoods for the final crop on the rich grass land and conifers on the moorland. MHard- woods, principally oak and beech, are planted either pure or with larch and Scots pine as nurses. When planted with nurses the hardwoods may be in lines 16 feet by 4 feet, as in Primrose Cottage Plantation, East, filled in with larch nurses at 4 feet apart; or, as in the west end of this plantation, beech is planted at 8 feet apart and filled in with Japanese larch to 4 feet. In either case hardwoods form only a quarter of the plants used, as shown in the following diagram :— OO ere BSE Lees a Dee lee i) i). eee By db eee Ly eee jy. aS J © — Oak; 1) = bareh: B = Beech; J = Jap. larch. But one would expect a better balanced crown from the second than from the first method of planting. The earlier plantations were planted at 3 to 34 feet, which had increased Pxuate III. ‘TIV]] DVUD “tI ‘ON NOLLVINVId ‘VaUY LNANHOLVD NYONHHSVAA [To face p. 134. PuaTE IV. Ys © sa i= a > : ne Sig ts a ay oS SYCAMORE AT STUDLEY ROYAL. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 135 to 4 feet in 1913-14. This still seems a very liberal allowance of trees per acre, according to post-war ideas, but it must be remembered that there is here a very strong growth of grasses, and trees generally stand about three years before putting on much growth. Ash, sycamore, and elm are doing well in suitable situations. Black Italian poplar is being planted on wet land. On the higher ground Scots pine is generally used amongst heather, Sitka spruce amongst grass and in wet places, and Corsican pine amongst bracken. European larch is doing well on rocky soil, but where clay forms the subsoil Japanese larch is preferred. With the exception of European larch, which in certain sites had been badly damaged by frost and apfis, the plantations seen were remarkably healthy and free from insect and other pests. As the district is subject to strong south-westerly winds shelter-belts of birch, beech, sycamore, etc., are planted on windward sides. Fire-belts are planted along each side of every public road or track—z2 yards wide on much frequented tracks and 11 yards wide on those less frequently used. On the moors birch is the species used, and it is planted at 34 feet apart; on the low- lying grassland chiefly a mixture of sycamore or beech and birch; and in the more sheltered places pure groups of hardwoods. Conifers are used for planting near the water’s edge, as leaves of hardwoods falling into the reservoirs are apt to encourage the growth of algae, which interfere with the working of the filtering beds. During the last two seasons there have been serious out- breaks of the pine sawfly on the Scots pine. These have been combated where the trees were not too large by holding a bucket under the infested twig and giving the twig a sharp tap with a small stick, when the caterpillars fall off into the bucket. They were afterwards buried in holes and covered with 2 feet of soil. About 6 acres of trees, varying from 9g to 15 feet high, were sprayed with a solution of 1 lb. of Paris green to 150 gallons of water per acre, applied by means of Four Oaks and knapsack sprayers. The attack is becoming less severe each year. Tea was provided at Fewston Grange, again by the kind- 136 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ness of the Corporation, after which, on the motion of Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the Leeds Corporation, Mr Henzell, and Mr Pope, for the highly interesting and instructive day they had provided. STUDLEY ROYAL AND FOUNTAINS ABBEY. On Friday, the last day of the tour, the party proceeded by motor charabancs via Wetherby, Boroughbridge, and Ripon to Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey, the property of the Most Hon. The Marquess of Ripon. Owing to tyre trouble, the second charabanc was held up near Leeds for a considerable time, until another could be sent to the relief of its passengers. The leading charabanc waited for some time at Skelton in the hope of the second arriving, and during this interval a visit was paid to Skelton Church, which is beautifully situated in the park of Newby Hall. The members were welcomed to Studley on behalf of the Marquess of Ripon by Mr Oswald H. Wade, the resident agent, who conducted them through the extensive park and pointed out the objects of interest, including many trees of majestic proportions and venerable age (Plate IV.). Special mention must be made of a number of Spanish chestnut trees growing in a sheltered valley. The best, though not the largest, tree measures 112 feet high and 20 feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground. The stump of a _ blown tree showed extensive ring or cup shake, which is so common in chestnut trees grown in this country. There were also some magnificent oak, sycamore, elm, and two Scots pine, with beautifully clean stems girthing about 11 feet at 5 feet from the ground. A fine log of Norway spruce from a tree blown down last December was also seen. The tree was estimated to be about 250 years old, and contained 302 cubic feet of useful timber. A count of the annual rings at 8 feet from the base of the tree showed forty-two rings in the last inch of growth. Other trees noted were a silver fir, an exceptionally large tulip tree, specimens of white and black American spruce, Seguota sempervirens, and some remarkably long and clean ash, beech, and sycamore. Mr Wade exhibited a book containing a large number of original drawings of trees prepared in 1837 for Loudon’s Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum. Some of these REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. Re trees, notably a large elm and oak, can still be easily recognised, even after the lapse of over eighty years. The ruins of Fountains Abbey, the most complete of the Cistercian abbeys in Yorkshire, were next visited. The great cloister, 300 feet long and 40 feet wide, is unique in extent and style, and is in a remarkably good state of preservation. A very fine cedar of Lebanon grows in the cloister court. To the west of the ruins still stands the English yew under which the monks lived before the building of the Abbey in the middle of the twelfth century, and which must have been a large tree even at that time to serve such a purpose. Before leaving the grounds the members were entertained to tea, and a vote of thanks was passed to the Marquess of Ripon for entertaining the party, and to Mr Wade for his kindness in conducting them round. A vote of thanks was also given to Mr A. P. Long, Divisional Forest Officer for the Northern Counties, for his able and cordial assistance throughout the tour and in making the preliminary arrangements. The evening was spent in song and story, and thus an excursion of exceptional interest was brought to a successful close. ‘The arrangements throughout were excellent, and were carried through without a hitch, for which the special thanks of the Society are due to Mr Charles Buchanan, Convener of Committee, and Mr Robert Galloway, S.S.C., the secretary and treasurer. J. W. Mackay. I9. Experiments on the Storage of Seeds of Forest Trees.! As far back as the sixteenth century the method of preserving oak and beech mast in sand was known? and practised. The artificial formation of woods which was first adopted in the fourteenth century in Germany led to investigations being made regarding methods of storing seed. Most of these methods have been forgotten, like so much experience in the practice of forestry. Others have been handed down by tradition to succeeding generations. W. G. Moser in his Fundamentals 1 Translated from an article by Dr E. Zederbauer, in the A/iteclung aus den forstlichen Versuchswesen Osterreichs, Vienna, 1910. 2 Schwappach, A., Forstgeschichte in Lorey’s Handbuch der Forstwissen- schaft, 4 B, 547. 138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of Forest Economy, 1757, page 486, gives precise instructions as to the storage of coniferous and deciduous tree seed mixed with sand and sawdust and placed where they will not become too dry. Gruben agreed that this was a good method. These and other similar methods of storage are to be found frequently in the literature. I would like to mention the experiments on the storage of acorns by A. Cieslar (Centralblatt fiir das gesamle Forstwesen, 1896), and also the recent publication of Haack, ‘‘ Pine seed, several years storage without diminishing the germination percentage” (Zeztschrift fiir Forst- und Jagdwesen, July 1909), without in any way regarding other work that has been done as of no importance. The places for storage chosen in nearly all these experiments were similar, e.g. cellars, floored rooms, etc. The difference in specified storage places in different localities, even in one and the same house, lead to different results under apparently similar conditions. In carrying out the experiments here described and in those which will be published later, I was guided by the following consideration :—Under what natural conditions (factors) is the seed stored until time for germination arrives, and what life processes are active in the resting seed? The answer to the second question, especially, and its application, is fundamental and decisive in the selection of a rational method of storage. The seed and fruit of our forest trees ripen in summer and autumn, A small number of trees—willows, elms, birches, and poplars—tripen their seed in May or June. The fall of the fruit and the escape of the seed are spread over the whole year. In March and April the larches and firs have shed their seed of the previous year, and the willows and poplars begin to shed their already ripened seed. The seed-fall in the case of most other trees takes place in the autumn when it is ripe, ze. from September to December. Only a few trees—ash, spruce, larch, Scots pine, Austrian pine, and usually the mountain pine and fobinta—do not shed their fruit and seed till spring. The seed and fruit of the oak, Spanish chestnut, beech, horn- beam, sycamore, lime, cherry, walnut, alder, Silver fir, Cembran pine and juniper, fall to the ground after ripening and lie there over winter exposed to moisture and low temperature. The seed of the spruce, larch, Scots pine, Austrian pine and mountain pine pass the winter in the cone protected from EXPERIMENTS ON STORAGE OF SEEDS. 139 excessive moisture, but equally exposed to low temperatures, The same holds more or less for the fruit of the ash and Robinia. What vital processes are active in the resting seed? Seed and fruit must be regarded as living organisms; they respire and transpire. Respiration is a process of destructive metabolism ; the changes involved in the breaking down of the organic sub- stances result finally in the liberation of carbon dioxide and water. Respiration is principally affected by temperature. It increases with the temperature until an optimum is reached and then decreases. Transpiration is also influenced by temperature, and also to a considerable extent, as may easily be understood, by the humidity of the air. It is known that a low temperature reduces the activity of respiration and transpiration, and thereby reduces the process of destructive metabolism. This fact is of great importance in adjusting suitable conditions for seed storage. In nature’s store-house, low temperatures prevail (winter temperature). These temperatures are not constant but vary above and below freezing-point. There is also a relatively high percentage of soil and air moisture. Nature sows lavishly, hence in spite of losses caused by animals and unsuitable germinating beds, there is always enough seed to provide for regeneration. The extravagance in which nature seems to indulge is not permissible in artificial sowing. If the seed is to be stored over winter until a suitable time for germination arrives, then the first consideration is the provision of suitable storage conditions, and in selecting these conditions we must take nature as the guide. Only by this means, together with our knowledge of the physiological activities of the seed, can we arrive at the most advantageous method of storing seed in small or large quantities. It was quite apparent that it was necessary to investigate the influence on the seed of the two factors, temperature and moisture. With this object in view I arranged the first set of experiments to simulate natural conditions as nearly as possible. I also made provision for control experiments. The outstanding conclusion appears to be in favour of a cool store (room) or ice cellar (as also mentioned by Haack in his above cited work) for seed storage on a large scale.! 1In the U.S.A. cold storage is provided for fruit. In these stores the temperature is kept at about 33° to 35°5°. I40 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. EXPERIMENT. Table I. gives kind of store-house and the principal external controlling factors at work during the period of storage. Table J. No. of The Seed was exposed to the following Description of the place Experiment factors during Storage of Storage Ia Temperature above and below | Wooden shed open to one freezing-point (roughly 14°—50° side. Seeds were hung Fahr.). Air moisture fairly high. up in tulle sacks. 1d Temperature above and below |A very airy loft. Seed freezing-point (roughly 14°-50°). suspended in small tulle Air moisture fairly high. sacks, 2a Temperature just above freezing- | Cellar. Seed suspended point (about 39-50°). Air in small tulle sacks. moisture high. 26 Temperature above freezing-point | An unheated room. (about 46°-54°). Air moisture low. 2¢ Temperature above freezing-point | A heated room. (50°-68°). Air moisture very low (dry). 3a Temperature below and above | Sown ina nursery bed. freezing-point (roughly 14°-50°). Soil moisture. 30 Temperature below and above | In an earthenware vessel freezing- point (roughly 14°-50°). mixed with sand, and Soil moisture. sunk in the soil covered with moss. 3¢ Temperature below and above | A loft. Mixed with sand freezing-point (about 23°-50°). in a vessel and kept Moisture per cent. approximat- moist. ing to that of the soil. 4a Temperature above freezing-point | Cellar. In an earthenware (roughly 39°-50°). Moisture vessel mixed with sand per cent. approximating to that and kept moist. of the soil. 40 Temperature above freezing-point | An unheated room. In (roughly 46°-50°). Moisture an earthenware vessel per cent. approximating to that mixed with sand and of the soil. kept moist. All seed and fruit, so far as they had not been sown in autumn, were sown out in drills in a nursery bed in spring to test the germination percentage. In the case of each species the same quantity of seed was used and was from the same province, hence the results arrived at are comparable. Table II. contains, in a convenient form, the results after sowing of the various seed samples. EXPERIMENTS ON STORAGE OF SEEDS. 14! Table IT. eee of . ; Storage uantity SPECIES according i gt Senos He Seed Experiment numbers used in Table I. Grams Abies pectinata 1d 100 7.12.1905 26 100 7.12.1905 3a 100 7.12.1905 26 75 II. 12.1906 3a 75 II.12.1906 Picea excelsa 1d 75 7.12.1905 26 75 7.12.1905 3a Gi 7.12.1905 Ia 40 14.12.1906 20 40 7.11.1906 2c 40 7.11.1906 3a 40 7.11.1906 Larix europaea Ia IO | II.12.1906 16 ife) II. 12.1906 26 10 II. 12.1906 2c 10 II.12.1906 3a IO | I1.12.1906 Pinus silvestris Ia 30 II. 12.1906 1d 30 II. 12.1906 2a 30 II. 12.1906 2c 30 11.12.1906 3a 30 II. 12.1906 Pinus Peuke Ia 400 12.12.1906 26 400 12.12.1906 36 | 400 12.12.1906 40 400 12.12.1906 Fagus silvatica Ia 150 4.12.1906 16 150 4. 12.1906 2a 150 4.12. 1906 2b 150 4.12. 1906 2c 150 4.12.1906 3a 150 4. 12.1906 30 150 4.12. 1906 36 150 4.12. 1906 4a 150 4.12. 1906 40 150 4. 12.1906 Quercus Cerris la 100 | 30.10.1906 2a 100 | 30.10.1906 26 100 | 30.10.1906 2¢ 100 | 30,10. 1906 3a 100 | 30.10.1906 3¢ 100 | 30.10.1906 4a 100 | 30.10.1906 4 100 | 30.10.1906 Date. when Sown 2.5. 1906 2.5. 1906 7.12.1905 22.4. 1907 11.12.1906 2.5.1906 2.5.1906 7.12.1905 2.5. 1907 2.5.1907 2. 5.1907 7. 11.1906 2.5. 1907 2.5. 1907 2.5. 1907 2.5.1907 11.12.1906 2.5.1907 2.5.1907 2.5.1907 2.5.1907 II.12.1906 23.4.1907 23.4. 1907 23.4. 1907 23.4. 1907 20. 4.1907 20.4. 1907 20.4. 1907 20.4. 1907 20. 4.1907 4.12.1906 20.4.1907 20.4. 1907 20. 4.1907 20.4. 1907 4.1907 4.1907 .4. 1907 4.1907 11.1906 4.4. 1907 | | | No. of Germinated eeds Destroyed by mice fo) tnd 3 fo) fo) 25 Oo 87 germin-| ated in sand 64 142 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. aethod of , Storage uantity SPECIES “according F of eed Date when Genie Loma Seed Experiment Sown Seeds numbers used in Table I.) es aie Ia 100 7.11. 1906 3.4. 1907 18 ha 16 100 7.11.1906 | 3.4.1907 26 2a 100 7.11.1906 | 3.4.1907 37 2b 100 7.11.1906 3.4.1907 19 2c 100 7.11.1906 3.4. 1907 13 3a 100 7.11.1906 | 9.11.1906 72 ease 100 7.11.1906 3.4. 1907 70 4a 100 7.11.1906 ; 3.4.1907 60 46 | 100 Fld TOO! || 3A. L007, 14 Aesculus Hippocastanum Ia 100 | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 fo) 1d IOO | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 fe) 2a I0O | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 29 2b 100 29. 10. 1906 3.4.1907 O 26 100 29. 10. 1906 3.4.1907 fe) 3a 100 | 29.10.1906 | 9.11.1906 90 36 I00 | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 79 ac 100 | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 10 4a I0O | 29.10.1906 | 3.4.1907 88 46 100 29. 10.1906 3.4. 1907 77 Of the conifers mentioned Adzes pectinata and Pinus Peuke cast their seed in autumn. During the winter it lies on the ground partly covered with needles or leaves. It is exposed to low temperatures (frost) and the soil moisture, or it may be covered by snow. Respiration and transpiration are reduced under these external factors. Methods of storage which simulate the natural hibernation and expose the seed to similar factors, like those in experiments 3a and 34, give the best results, while a low moisture percentage and temperature just above freezing-point give bad results. Picea excelsa, Pinus silvestris, and Larix europaea cast their seed in late winter or spring. The factor which in the case of Abies and Pinus Peuke gave the best results, namely soil moisture, in this case gave the worst (Experiment No. 3a). Low tempera- tures havea beneficial effect on the seed of the three species named, but not in combination with soil moisture. On the other hand, air moisture in combination with low temperature exerts a greater or smaller beneficial influence on the preservation of the germination percentage, although a room temperature in the case of Pinus stlvestris does not reduce the power of germination. Of broad-leaved trees only those which cast their seed in autumn come under consideration. It should be noted that EXPERIMENTS ON STORAGE OF SEEDS. 143 seeds especially rich in stored food and with thin outer coats are very sensitive to a low moisture percentage (Nos. 20, 2c, 3c), such as Quercus Cerris, Aesculus Hippocastanum. ‘Thick-shelled nuts like those of /ug/ans nigra survive such methods of storing, although with a great loss of germination percentage. An exception difficult to understand is seen in the case of Fagus stlvatica, but I suspect an experimental error, so the experiment is being repeated. If we examine the results obtained by A. Cieslar with the storage of acorns, keeping in mind the place of storage and the controlling factors, we find that a low temperature and a high moisture percentage, such as is found at the soil surface covered with moss, on the soil surface mixed with sand and covered, in pits mixed with sand or earth, in spring water, on the surface of the ground covered with dry needles, preserves the germination percentage best, while the temperature and the moisture conditions in a dry cellar or even in a heated room have an injurious influence on the power of germination, Storage in air-tight vessels, in the case of coniferous seed such as Scots pine, Austrian pine, and spruce, has the best influence on the retention of vitality and power of germination. Haack has shown conclusively, in a work published in rgoo9, that storage in air-tight vessels together with low temperature gives the best results in the case of Scots pine seed. This can be explained by the fact that the respiration and transpiration of the seed are reduced, owing to the low temperature, and desiccation is also prevented by the absence of air currents. The storage of seed in air-tight vessels in an ice cellar gives, according to Haack, the best results. Low temperatures and high air or soil humidity are factors which act favourably in natural and artificial storage. The influence of these in reducing or preventing respiration and transpiration must be regarded as the most important con- sideration in the storage of seed. 144 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 20. Branch-growth of Douglas Fir. By M. L. ANDERSON. Examination of a number of Douglas fir plantations will at once bring out the fact that the growth and size of the branches varies considerably in different localities. ‘There seem to be very few actual data available which would help one to a knowledge of the reasons for this variation. We hear it said that the branch-growth depends upon the planting distance or that it is dependent upon the locality factors, but the collection of figures which would help to solve this problem to some extent ought not to be a difficult matter. It is undoubtedly a point of great interest because of its bearing upon timber quality, thinnings and planting distances. The result of a few measure- ments made recently in two Douglas fir woods on Novar Estate, Ross-shire, may prove interesting. The first wood, A, on the right bank of the River Glass, one mile west of Evanton Bridge, stands at an altitude of about 250 feet. The slope is fairly steep and the aspect is north or north-west. Where the measurements were made the wood is well sheltered. The soil is a deep, friable reddish sandy-loam over Old Red Sandstone conglomerate, and is apparently formed from a sandy glacial deposit. It is free from gravel and boulders, at least in the upper 12 inches. The drainage is, by nature, excellent. The second wood, B, lies in the Novar experimental area, about one mile north-west of Evanton Bridge over the Glass and one mile north-east of Wood A. The altitude is about 250 feet, the slope negligible and the aspect, if anything, south- east. The part of the wood in which measurements were made is also well sheltered. The soil is a reddish loam about 1 to 2 feet deep over a layer of white sand of varying depth, over boulder clay from an Old Red Sandstone formation. It is a heavier and probably more fertile soil, but less porous than in Wood A. Rounded stones and small boulders occur. The subsoil is essentially different in nature to that of the first wood and is more retentive of moisture. As far as can be seen, the two woods, growing one mile BRANCH-GROWTH OF DOUGLAS FIR. 145 apart, are similarly situated except with regard to soil, aspect, and degree of slope. Both woods appear in good health and in every way normal. Wood A was planted in 1898 and is now 23 years old. The planting distance was apparently about 44 feet by 44 feet. Wood B was planted in 1903 and is now 18 years old. The planting distance was intended to be 34 feet by 34 feet. For comparative purposes, the planting distances were arrived at by actual measurement. In each wood six trees were taken at random over a range of girth at breast-height as follows :— Wood A—12 144 164 19 214 264 inches true girth. Wood B—r12 144 163 18 214 254 ? The branches of two whorls, namely the one above and the one below breast-height, were pruned off close to the stem from each tree. All these branches were measured, but only the five largest in each whorl were considered. ‘The following particulars were noted :— (a) Total length of branch to the nearest half-inch. Douglas fir is very suitable for this experiment as its branches are so persistent that, in nearly every case, even the slender tips are present. Only in Wood B was there any sign of decay in the branch tips. (6) Diameter of branch at base to the nearest ;/,th of an inch. In many cases the basal area was eliptical, but the smallest diameter was always taken. (c) Number of years the branches remained alive. This was readily ascertained, as the annual growth in each branch was easily discernible. In addition to branch measurements, the annual height-growth of the stems between the whorls pruned off was measured, together with the growth of the previous year and of that following—a total of three measurements. This gives a useful indication of the relative growth of the tree while the branches were functioning. Horizontal measurements were also taken from the base of each tree dealt with to the several nearest neighbours, so that the average planting distance for that tree could be found. The following are the results secured, being the averages VOL. XXXV. PART II. K 146 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of ten branches in each tree and of the three internodes * measured :— Diameter in Length in Age in Planting |, Distance | Girth Inches Inches Years Distance [between ee at = 3 ft. 33 i i one B A | B A B A | B A | B Ins 7 Ft Ft Ins. | Ins. IZ) | 10/32} 07/32 35: || 62 | OF | 42 | 4) 4 | I3> ee 14% | 11/32 | 20/32) 41 744) 72| 48] 4.) 4 | 4 23 16% | 10/32 | 17/32| 393 | 63 | 74) 53 | 43] 33 | 11 29 ieee | Sty eal | sae ASM | eins 9 i 5 16 es. 19 fe EQYB PA, cdo || Se, Be 42 : Ayal oe 25 21% | 13/32 | 16/32| 504 | 60k) 7 | 5 42 | 4 14 | 25 254 | 16/32)|_ -.. O30 -c. 8 pe 4 | ... 15. eee 264 etapa) 2.8 | ak En, OT Cake sa 32 | | s er Average] 12/32 | 18/32) 46 | 67 74) 5 44 | 4 13 26 The average annual growth of the branches works out at the following :— In Wood A—6 ins. in length and 4/8oths of an inch in diam. In Wood B—15 Sela: 9/8oths 99 This difference corresponds closely with the difference in height-growth of the stems, and points to a relationship. Thus we see that, despite a slightly closer planting distance, the branch-growth of Wood B is very much stronger than that of Wood A, which not only has a wider planting distance but is on a steeper slope where there is more room for branch development. Again, the rate of growth of the branches of Wood A is less than half that of Wood B, appearing to be in some way related to the rate of growth of the wood. It would seem that the rate of growth of the branches really depends, in the first place, upon the factors of the locality, and is very slightly, if at all, influenced by planting distance It would be difficult to say which factor is important in this case, but the writer inclines to think, from other observations made, that it is the soil differences which have most influence. A north aspect on a steep slope must, however, have certain disadvantages of lighting. The most interesting point, perhaps, is that the length of life of the branches in the two woods differs by two or three BRANCH-GROWTH OF DOUGLAS FIR. 147 years. In the wood of more rapid growth the branches die off in five years as opposed to seven or eight years in the slower-growing wood. Nevertheless in these five years the branches of the former wood reach a much larger size than those in the latter wood reach in seven. To state generally, therefore, that branch development varies with the planting distance is somewhat misleading. What is probably more correct is that within a given quality-class, z.¢. where the rate of growth is similar, the closer the planting distance, the shorter the life of the branches, and consequently the smaller their development. Such a distinction may seem trivial, but in any experimental investigation into branch development, by means of a series of plots, such as Brig.-General Stirling of Keir suggested in the first part of this volume, it is very essential that the area selected should be of uniform quality throughout, or that the various plots should be carefully duplicated over the area, so as to average out any differences which are not obvious on examination. Also, each quality-class must have its series of plots. Experience shows that ground in Scotland is remarkably variable, and it is extremely difficult to obtain even one acre of quite uniform quality anywhere. A carefully carried out experiment would probably show that the rate of growth remains constant throughout the whole area for all distances, but that there will be differences in size, due to the different lengths of life of the branches in the various plots. The length of life is itself dependent upon the time when the canopy closes, which is in turn influenced by the rate of growth of the branches. There are thus complications arising, and the need for definite information is all the greater. 148 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 21. Continental Notes—France. By A. G. HoBart-HAMPDEN. I.—One might think that the apparent awakening of the soil, and the germination of seeds, at the end of winter was merely due to the increase of temperature, but M. Auguste Lumiere shows, in the Comptes Rendus of the French Academy of Sciences, that germination can be brought about, even in winter, without change of temperature by washing the soil with sterilised water, thus removing substances which prevent germination. He attributes great importance, in regard to this phenomenon of the sterility of the soil, to the action of the products of disintegration coming from the dead leaves and the débris of annual plants, and also substances rejected by roots. These products of disintegration contain reducing bodies (corps réducteurs) which oppose all germination. Germination needs intense oxidation, and the dead leaves, etc., absorb the avail- able oxygen, while the soil remains sterile until the atmospheric oxygen, having penetrated, either directly or in rain, has completely oxidised the reducing substances. This explains the utility of digging, which brings to the surface the lower layers of the soil, which are impregnated with these sterilising agents, and thus completely paralyses them. This would be the scientific explanation of the difficulty experienced by the silver fir in establishing itself in a beech wood, or by the spruce in regenerating itself on its own needle-covered soil. Thus it is important, we are told, not to replant immediately the area of clear-felled conifer woods—to wait two, three, or four years is not a loss of time. This is not quite the same thing as in the case of sowing, when much oxygen is required for germina- tion, but in practice things appear to work out in the same way with planting. The remark may be offered that possibly the burning of the soil surface when this is feasible, previous to sowing (or even perhaps planting) would help a great deal. As to the effect of digging, the writer of these Notes can quote a remarkable example. Many years ago he tried the experiment of digging an irregular patch, in the Bhinga Forest in Oudh, below some Sal (.S/orea) seed-bearers, just at the break of the rains, when the Sal seed falls. The result was a profuse crop of seedlings just where the digging had been done, while CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 149 outside it not one seedling germinated. The seedlings extended right up to the irregular edge of the dug area, and stopped precisely at that line. II.—In the Moyenne Ardenne, in Belgium, there were some spruce plantations among heath, dating from 1896, They grew very badly, but in 1908 the heath was cut and the ground was scratched and sown with broom, and also treated with basic phosphate. The growth of the spruce was immediately, and very greatly, improved. Other experiments made elsewhere show it to be probable that the phosphate was not the cause (or at least the main cause) of the improvement, but further observations will be made on this point. M. Pierre Buffault, also, quotes a case in the Dordogne where a plantation of spruce and hornbeam was made, and at the same time the ground was sown, not with broom, but with gorse. Both being papilionaceous plants would act similarly so far as the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen is concerned. The plantation was made in 1goo, and since the gorse over half the area has been periodically cut for litter. In 1913 both the spruce and the hornbeam in the untouched part were growing grandly, and were from 5 to 7 metres high, over an impenetrable thicket of gorse. (One gathers that the planting was wide, or the gorse would have died out.) In the part where the gorse was cut the spruce were only from 1} to I metre in height. In the Landes also broom and gorse favourably affect the growth of the pines. I myself, some years ago, cleared away a quantity of gorse which had invaded a broad avenue between two woods, and found a thriving crop of oak, with birch, lime, and other species. But the success of this crop was not, I am inclined to think, only due to the presence of a papilionaceous plant; it may have been connected with the shelter provided by the gorse. III.—The late M. Broilliard used to say that in order to decide whether a fungus was edible or poisonous his method, when he came across a variety that was new to him, was to nibble a little bit and then wait and see if he suffered. If he did not the next time he met that fungus he ate a larger bit, and thus eventually decided the point. However, it is advisable 150 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to add that a poisonous fungus does not always declare itself for a considerable number of hours, and, moreover, the results of making a mistake in this connection are so excessively unpleasant that M. Broilliard’s plan cannot really be recommended. The story merely illustrates the fact that there are no certain rules whereby to recognise a safe fungus. This is the moral of an article on fungi by H. A. in the Bulletin de Franche Comte et Belfort. When the spore begins to grow it forms a network of filaments (mycelium) out of sight, whether underground or under the surface of wood, green or dry. In passing, it may be mentioned, that one may occasionally see a tree, of whatever size, wither away without apparent cause for a long time until one day, perhaps a year later, the fungus shows itself on the outside of the bark. This hidden period may be one of days, weeks, months, or years. There are fungi (like the truffle) which never appear above the surface. When the sporophore does appear it grows fast as arule. In the ordinary umbrella- shaped kinds, the part in sight consists of an upright stem (s/zfe) supporting a flattened, curved, or bell-shaped crown, of which the upper side is merely a protective case (the pz/eus), while the under side (gz//s) carries the spores. At first this under side is covered with a veil extending from the edges of the pileus to the stipe, but eventually it tears away, and either disappears or remains as a ragged fringe, or ring, round the stipe. Some- times another similar fringe is found at the base of the stipe. This is the remains of the wolva, which originally covered the whole of the above-ground fungus, till it was torn through. As stated above, there are no rules to show whether a fungus is edible or not. Thus it is quite untrue to say, as some do, that a ring shows a safe mushroom—some poisonous and some edible ones have a ring. To say that a fungus which does not change colour when broken is a good one, is an error; there are good ones that change colour, and also bad ones which do not. Another mistake is to suppose that a silver spoon, or a gold ring, does not turn black when placed in a receptacle in which an edible fungus is being cooked. One sometimes hears the mistaken notion that if a white onion, without its outer sheath, is put into a cooking pot in which is a poisonous fungus the onion will turn blue or brown, but CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. I51 that it remains white if the fungus is harmless. It is wrong, too, to say that a good fungus smells nice (like fresh flour), and a bad one nasty. Though generally one that smells disagreeable is poisonous, the converse is not true. Some fungi, of which the principle is muscarine, do not, as a rule, kill you, though they make you very ill. There are worse fungi, which poison with /faldine, destroying the blood corpuscles, and recovery is rare. No one can master this subject except under the guidance of a perfect connoisseur who can point out the distinctive characteristics of each kind, and one should study only a few kinds at a time. But there is no doubt that there are great possibilities with edible fungi. Before the war they used to cultivate them in the environs of Paris, in dark galleries among old quarries, to such an extent that the dazly out-turn was estimated at 25,000 kilogrammes (between 24 and 25 tons). IV.—A society in Switzerland has created a national park of 34,300 acres in the Canton of Grisons, at the east end of the country. It lies between 1370 and 3178 metres altitude, and is forest-clad in the lower and middle parts, above which are snow peaks. With some difficulty all occupants, grazing, etc., have been bought out. In earlier days the forests were a good deal exploited, but henceforth they will remain completely untouched, even the considerable accumulation of débris due to storms and avalanches being left alone. This may lead to insect invasions, but it is hoped that the shortness of the period of vegetation in this high land will save the forests from ruin. In any case the entomologists will have a happy time, for it is an interesting feature of this undertaking that there is attached to it a commission of scientists, whose business it is to study nature here in an untrammelled state under its various heads. The forests consist of mountain pine and the form known as torch pine, which extend from the lowest point to the limit of tree-growth; the Scots pine (var. Agadenszs) in the lower ground facing south, this pine having here a columnar habit; larch; spruce; P. Cembra; and birch. The fauna consists of chamois, roebuck, red deer, fox, and hare. The park is reached through Coire by Zernez or Tarasp, and there is rail communication to these points. I52 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. V.—The Cevennes mountains form a high barrier on the west side of the Rhone valley, and also face the Mediterranean. The rivers which rise in these mountains flow either towards the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, and are very liable to sudden and very high floods. For example, the Ardéche will rise Io to 15 metres in from ro to 12 hours. In 1890 the flow of this river reached 7500 cubic metres a second, or 3000 times its minimum flow. M. Chaudey, basing himself on an erudite publication by Professor Maurice Pardé, considers the question whether these sudden cloud-bursts and floods can at all be prevented by the action of man. Can the clouds be made to deliver up their rain in a longer period of time, so that the water may pass off more gradually, and therefore cause less damage? Or can the rain when it reaches the earth be checked and passed off more slowly? The seriousness of the question may be understood when it is stated that these cloud-bursts have been known actually to produce 31 inches of rain in 24 hours. Their occurrence, which is usually in early autumn, is ascribed to the fact that after a period of drought, when the atmosphere becomes charged with heated vapour, the wind blowing from’ the south-east (that is, from the Mediterranean) drives this vapour against the bare (that is, unwooded) summit and flank of the Cevennes, these mountains having been just previously cooled by north winds. Bare areas become more rapidly heated, and also more rapidly cooled, than wooded areas. A wooded area keeps the air above it cooler, and also nearer the point of saturation, than does a bare area, so that it takes less cooling in the former case to precipitate the rain, and accordingly the clouds empty themselves on more numerous occasions, less falling at a time. A wooded area is always moister than a bare one, and as it is on its humidity that the temperature of a soil depends, and as, further, water is a five-times worse conductor of heat than bare ground, a wooded country will have a more equable temperature than an unwooded one. Thus a wooded country is likely prima facie to receive its rain in numerous, relatively small showers, instead of in sudden, heavy downpours. And when the water does come down a wooded country will pass it off to the rivers much more gradually than bare country. The CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 153 action of forest in this connection is too well known to need elaboration. M. Chaudey maintains that a comparison of the Lente plateau (which is on the east side of the Rhone valley, and free from cloud-bursts) with the Ardéche country (where these cloud-bursts occur) goes to prove the use of afforestation for the purpose in view. The two places seem suitable for comparison, being only 4o kilometres (25 miles) apart and similar as to latitude, altitude, etc. Lente is wooded to the extent of 38 % ; Ardéche, 17 %. He produces rainfall tables, showing the monthly distribution and the number of rainy days per annum upon which he lays stress, but to my mind these tables do not really prove his contention. Nevertheless the considerations above set out remain, and these do seem to show that it is likely that afforestation would act as a palliative (no more is claimed) against dangerous floods. As an interesting example of the importance attributed—and I think certainly rightly attributed—to the keeping clothed with forest and grass hills whence watercourses flow, we may mention the Siwalik Range in the Saharanpur District of the United Provinces in India. This range of hills lies in a straight line, for sixty miles, between the Ganges and Jumna rivers. From the points where the rivers leave the Siwaliks two very important canals take off, one from each river, and run in a converging direction, while from the very steep and raviny Siwaliks emerge numerous watercourses, fanning out in such a way as to cross the canals. These watercourses are dry for the greater part of the year, but when the rains come they become raging torrents, so that they are a great danger to the canal works. It is, therefore, considered to be very important to prevent fires in the Siwalik hills, VI.—M. Champsaur recommends Ades Pinsapo as a species to plant in the Mediterranean region of France. It is a native of the mountains of south Spain. It is hardy, transplants easily, grows in all soils, even rocky soils, has a close cover, owing probably to its persistent branches, resists drought and snow, and by reason of its stiff needles is proof against browsing. According to Nisbet the value of its timber is about that of silver fir. In the region concerned it seeds freely, and the seedlings have been very successfully transplanted into the plantations. 154 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, There are already several pure plantations of Adzes Pinsapo in that country, at elevations from goo to 1500 feet, growing well on various aspects and on various soils. The author specially mentions two plantations of this species near one of the tribu- taries of the Aude river, and of this river it is significantly said that it was originally very torrential, but is now nearly regular as a consequence of the plantations made in its basin during the last fifty years. VII.—One reads a great deal more in French forestry journals about the classic Methods of Treatment, and working-plans built on them, than one does at home. This is natural, no doubt, for the state and communal forests and those of public establishments are by law all governed by them, and these constitute a much larger proportion of the whole wooded area of the country than is the case with us. Nevertheless we too have plenty of areas under formed forest—that is, forest proper, as against mere plantations not yet grown to maturity—and it is suggested that all such areas might with advantage be worked under a carefully thought-out scheme, from which no deviations should be allowed without a thoroughly good reason. Other- wise there are bound to be constant changes of policy, which is a thing fatal to the proper working of woodlands. ‘The necessary self-control is doubtless trying, but is amply worth while. It is, however, a curious fact that until one has got accustomed to one’s working-plan one constantly fails to carry out the prescriptions (prescriptions that have been laid down after long and careful study), and even the most glaring deviations somehow do not strike one unless some plan is adopted of bringing them clearly to one’s attention. For this reason a working-plan ought always to contain a tabular statement showing, for each year, the exact spot where the prescribed operations are to be carried out, and, each year, a control form should be written up, showing, on the left, the prescriptions laid down for the year, and, on the right, the things actually done. If one is strict with oneself in this matter, instead of working haphazard, the improvement in results will be found to be quite surprising. Of course heavy cutting, without a scheme, may give very pleasing financial results for a time, but if the amount cut exceeds the “ possibility” (that is, the total amount of wood added in a year to the whole area, assuming the forest normal) CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE, 155 our wood capital will have been encroached upon and the after results will be painful. An owner as a rule probably waits until he thinks, or his woodman tells him (if he has not strong views on the matter himself) that there is some mature timber ready before he sells, and this is a safeguard, but unless the true point of maturity has been carefully worked out there is risk. For there are markets, as that for chair-legs, which can use immature timber, and if immature timber is removed there will be a loss of material—more could have been made of the forest. These reflections are induced by a perusal of a long article by the late M. Emil Mer, in which he states that in the higher Vosges the prescription of possibility 4y volume has been applied in too doctrinaire a manner, and has led to uncultural action. The forests concerned are worked under the Uniform method (or the method of Successive Fellings with Thinnings). In the usual way a rotation was fixed within which to substitute a new crop naturally regenerated from the old. The rotation was divided into periods, and the forest divided into a similar number of periodic blocks. The blocks were to be regenerated successively by the removal of the old stock in the corresponding periods. To that extent it is a case of possibility 4y avea, but when taking up a periodic block for regeneration possibility by volume is prescribed. The block has to be cleared and a new crop substituted within the period, and the annual yield must be constant. Here, and this is the usual case, difficulties came in, for in the later periodic blocks there were often mature and over-mature stems which ought to have been removed (as a part of the possibility), whereas in fact the operator was preoccupied with the block under regeneration, and the annual quota of cubic feet was taken from it. The mature stems elsewhere were left, and even thinnings urgently required by ‘the crop in other blocks were omitted. French foresters are, in fact, much perturbed these days by the difficulty of working the Uniform method with a prescribed volume possibility, and a number of compromises have been suggested for avoiding cultural errors without omitting the absolutely essential guarantee against overcutting. For example, there are the Quartier bleu plan and Duchaufour’s method. Under the Quartier bleu system, if it is found that in other periodic blocks there are areas more urgently needing regenera- 156 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. tion than in the block actually prescribed for regeneration, those areas may be substituted. But this must necessarily introduce extreme confusion, and especially, one imagines, in the export arrangements of the future. The Uniform method, of which the object is to induce a regular gradation of ages throughout the forest, has a great deal to recommend it, but it is undeniable that its introduction connotes many sacrifices (as, for example, the removal of immature stems, which is often necessary), and, so far, French foresters do not seem to have arrived at a good way of avoiding them. M. Mer, however, was altogether against the Uniform method in the higher Vosges, where natural regeneration is difficult. His idea was that the forest should be divided into a few (say ten) compartments, one to be worked each year. The immature parts would be thinned as necessary according to cultural rules, while the mature timber was felled. Maturity would depend on a fixed diameter instead of age. The “rapport soutenu,” the regular sustained yield, should not hamper the operator, for this has been a fetish of the old teachers, greatly hindering true cultural action. So long as there is an annual supply of timber of some sort an exactly equal annual out-turn is not necessary. It will be seen that there is no “possibility” in M. Mer’s method, but that there is a safeguard against over-cutting in the prescription which forbids the removal of stems of less than a given diameter, except for a cultural reason, such as the relief of congestion in crowded immature parts. Although material is removed in a thinning its very removal results in an increase of growth in the stems left. Though a rigidly exact equal out-turn is not necessary some sort of annual supply to the trade is undoubtedly an advantage. Some wood-owners believe it to be best to sell at intervals of years, and to wait for years of a good market, but in my humble opinion that has its drawbacks. It is apt to result in one’s wood being bought by speculators, who are often a nuisance, and may leave one with bad debts. On the other hand, if you havea steady (even if restricted) annual sale, whatever the market, you build up a regular clientéle of buyers, who come to look to you for their daily bread, quickly understand that to fall foul of you is not paying, and learn to obey your rules, and so do not cause damage, smash the young growth, and so forth. Such a policy CONTINENTAL NOTES—-FRANCE. 157 leads, too, to the settlement in your neighbourhood of wood- working and wood-buying people. Although the Uniform method has many notable advantages over Selection, the immense length of time needed for its intro- duction, and the many difficulties experienced in the course of the conversion from the irregular to the regular type of wood (and most woods are irregular), make it impossible for ordinary people. But may not M. Mer’s plan be profitably followed here, that is to say, a form of Selection worked on cultural rules but with a guarantee against over-cutting in a fixed diameter repre- senting maturity? I would, however, make the attempt to get the crop into such a condition that stems of a size are more or less together in masses, so as to avoid some of the drawbacks of ordinary Selection. The fixing of the dimension to correspond to maturity would be the biggest difficulty, but it is so important that it would be worth some trouble. Except for this the difficulties would not be great. 22. Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. RICHARDSON. I—THE MIDDLE AGES. No one has yet seriously attempted the history of British woodlands. ‘There exist historical accounts of several individual forests, e.g. Fisher’s Forest of Hssex ; Turton’s Forest of Pickering ; Furley’s Weald of Kent; and some popular account of English forests in general, of which the latest and best is that by J. C. Cox, The Royal Forests of England, in “The Antiquary’s Books” series, while a list of works on Scottish forests is given in the Zransactions, xxvi. 29 ff. But all these books are more largely concerned with forest law and the chase than timber: for the most part the economic aspect of woodlands, the aspect which, throughout history, has been of the first importance, has been dealt with only in brief and scamped chapters in treatises and reports concerned with the science and art of growing and converting timber. Since the writers and compilers of these latter works appear to have had little of the equipment requisite for historical studies, it is not strange that there should have grown up a history which, it 158 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. may be suggested, is, if not exactly legendary, yet at some removes distant from the truth. Nisbet’s introductory chapters to the Forester and Our Forests and Woodlands are based to some extent on original and good secondary authorities: but his work is uncritical, and he is capable of remarkable in- consistencies and errors. Dr J. Ritchie’s chapter on forests in his recent book (1,1 pp. 304 ff.) is admirable within its limits: but this book stands practically alone among recent works, which seem all to adopt, without examination, Nisbet’s account and the traditional stories of English forests. An adequate presentation of forest history would require much more space and far more research than the following remarks claim, and their object is rather to raise doubts than to resolve any problem. It is something to the good if it is recognised that there are doubts to settle and problems to explore. In forestry there is no help but to take long views, and before it is possible to do so with any certainty it is necessary to get as exact an historical perspective as possible. This is, in some measure, realised, and it is a point of honour to begin with the Roman occupation. Actually there is very little to say about the forests of Britain in Roman times: apart from some few contemporary notices of doubtful accuracy—such as that of Caesar (2, v. 12, § 5), who tells us that “there is timber of all kinds, as in Gaul, save the beech and the fir” (cf. 3, pp. 661-2) —we are left to conjectures which can be built up from references to agriculture and mining, from archaeological remains and inscriptions. But we do know that before the Roman dominion collapsed, the island to the south of the wall was completely Romanised, and that the country south of York and east of modern Wales was, superficially at any rate, at a comparatively high stage of civilisation, that it had metal (4, pp. 20 ff., 38) and textile industries and exported corn? (5, pp. 26, 76 ff.). Whatever the legionaries may have done in the way of forest clearing for military purposes (see references in 6, pp. 308 ff.) can have been but of relatively little importance beside the progress of cultivation and mining, and it seems sometimes to be forgotten that troops cannot go endlessly 1 The numbers refer to the Bibliography at the end of the paper. 2 As to the cultivation of corn before the Roman conquest, see 3, pp. 252 ff., 267, 357. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 159 cutting down timber without disposing of it in some way, that firing is an uncertain method of destruction, and that forests will spring up again unless their growth is checked by the plough, or grazing, or some alteration in soil conditions.! Upon a settled and civilised Romano-British people descended the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes from the east, the Scots from the west, the Picts from the north, and when finally the light of history is cast once more upon this island, the barbaric Teutonic invaders are in possession of the south-east of Britain, from the Firth of Forth to the English Channel, and the culture of the rest of Britain is in ruins. It is doubtless easy to exaggerate the difference between the civilisation of the Roman-Briton and the Saxon, Angle, or Jute who took his place or became his lord, but the difference was substantial, and there can be little doubt that the change from Roman order —imperfect as that may have been in the fourth, and still more in the fifth century—to the state of constant war waged by the invaders against the Britons and between themselves was a change very much the worse for agriculture and industry. It is possible that cultivated land lapsed into waste and woodland: certainly mines were closed and forgotten, not to be reopened for many a long year (4, 21 4, c). It seems an inevitable consequence that for a period the population dwindled: it can have recovered but slowly. We may doubt whether it was larger at the conquest of the Norman than at the coming of the Anglo-Saxon. The populous character of the country was remarked by Caesar (2, v. 12, § 3): “ Hominum est infinita multitudo.” And as Haverfield (5, p. 26) says within the Romanised area “ were towns and villages and country-houses and farms, a large population, and a developed and orderly life.” These considerations have an important bearing upon forest history, for in the light of them we must question the easy assumption that the wooded area declined between the fifth and the eleventh centuries. We may concede at once that during a period longer than from this present year to the beginning of the Wars of the Roses, woods were felled and wastes cleared at certain times and in certain places: but we must assume the reverse process to have been in operation also. What mediaeval warfare might mean in the way of 1 See 1, pp. 308 ff. Dr Ritchie seems, however, to be willing to admit too great an influence to felling and burning by troops, pp. 317, 318. 160 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. devastation we may learn by such well-known incidents as the laying waste of Yorkshire by the Conqueror, and of the districts near the Border at a later period. The story of the first is told in detail by Freeman (7, iv. 288 ff.), while Vinogradoff (8, pp. 294 ff.) may be consulted for results of harrying here and elsewhere. The effect of Border warfare again leaves its mark on the tax assessments of Edward JI. and Edward III. In the Diocese of Carlisle (14a, pp. 331 ff.), church after church “non taxatur quia totaliter destructa.” Similarly under Lancashire (144, pp. 35 ff.), entry after entry reads in some such terms as ‘‘ Et jacent in eadem parochia .. . terre steriles et inculte propter destructionem ibi factam per Scottos.” As we go back into the dimmer past we may be sure that war, war from which no part of the land was long free, was no less terrible and no less wasting (9, i. 26 ff.). It may be that Romano-British agriculture was carried on at a higher standard than it ever attained again until the later Middle Ages. The evidence from classical authors is conflicting and obscure. There appears to be no doubt that under the late Republic a yield of wheat at the rate of ten times the seed was common in Sicily and other parts of Italy. Subsequently in Italy proper there seems to have been a sharp decline. The evidence is collected by Dickson (10, ii. g2 ff.). We cannot, however, safely apply any of it to the distant provinces. For until long after the eleventh century the standard of production in Britain was very low (11, pp. 378, 438; 12, i. 38 ff, 50 ff.): but no suggestion of a diminution of the productiveness of corn crops, which might point to a larger area of arable and a smaller area of woodland in the eleventh century than the fifth, seems yet to have been advanced. If we turn to positive evidence on the state of the woodlands in the early Middle Ages, we find that we have no reason to weaken in the opinion that they were on the whole conserved, and that the suggestion not infrequently made that timber was little valued is untenable. Before the end of the seventh century there were put together the laws of Ine, king of Wessex: we must not imagine that they represent any legislative change, but rather the reduction to writing (perhaps with some added precision) of customs long observed by the West Saxons. For our immediate purpose they are of value in that certain SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 161 of Ine’s laws dealt with the forest. If a man burns a single tree in the forest, he is fined sixty shillings, for “fire is a thief”: if a man goes into the forest and cuts down trees, he is fined thirty shillings for the first tree felled and so on up to ninety shillings, but no more, for “the axe is a tell-tale” (cap. 43 in 13a, pp. 108, 10g). Further, if anyone cuts down a tree under which thirty swine could take shelter, he is to pay a fine of thirty shillings (13a, cap. 44). Two centuries later, under Alfred, the law appears to have been modified: “If a man burn or hew another man’s wood without leave, let him pay for every great tree with five shillings, and afterwards for each, let there be ever so many, with fivepence—and a fine of thirty shillings” (14, cap. 12; 7did. Pp. 56, 57; 15, p- 176). These laws tell us two things: that timber is property of value, partly because it affords pannage for swine, and that it is carefully preserved. Again, if we turn to Domesday, two centuries later still, the deductions we must draw are the same: woods of no value (for they existed then as now) were exceptional: the rights to timber and to pasture were jealously regarded and carefully preserved (8, pp. 289 ff.). One thing to be noted, essarts—clearings in the forest for agriculture—are rarely mentioned in Domesday (8, pp. 284 ff.): this may be mere chance; but no one, it is clear, can point to Domesday as evidence of any rapid denudation of the woodlands in pre-conquest days. Domesday does, however, give us evidence, our earliest evidence, of Norman forest law and the reverse of the process of settlement. There was a forest law before the Conqueror, but it seems to have respected private rights and not to have borne harshly upon cultivators(134). Although we must reject as a fable the legendary devastation wrought by William in creating the New Forest (16, i. 411 ff.; 17, xvi. 427 ff.), there is no doubt that Norman forest law was detrimental to agriculture. It operated not so much by giving arable over to wood and waste, as by rendering proper cultivation impossible: forests were “a vantage ground from which privileged animals carried out their inroads against the cultivated districts” (8, pp. 297-8). And here we may repeat what has been not infrequently stated, but more often forgotten, that a mediaeval forest was land subject to forest law. ‘Wide stretches of the island belonged to the forest, private estates as well as royal demesne, VOL. XXXV. PART II. L 162 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. much pasture, meadow, and arable land as well as wood, heath, and waste, many a farm and many a village” (13d, p. 1). Forest was not necessarily woodland and woodland was not necessarily forest. And while there is some presumptive evidence that forest law operated in restraint of the destruction of timber, the evidence will not carry us very far. The justices who enforced the Assize of the Forest of 1184 inflicted many fines ‘‘pro wasto bosci,” “pro quercubus succisis,” etc. (19). Private persons were just as jealous of the destruction of their woods as any royal officer in the king’s forests (18, pp. 87-8, 98; 19): and the great woodlands of the Weald which remained to supply fuel for the iron industry until the eighteenth century were, in Kent at least, so far as is known, never subject to forest law (see Furley’s Weald of Kent, i. p. 371 and 21, i. p. 471-2). In point of fact there is no evidence that forest law did effect any serious check upon the destruction of woodland, in the face of the gradual increase of population and consequent pressure of agriculture and industry. The innumerable fines for essarts as well as for waste (that is, the felling of timber in private woods within a forest beyond what was considered necessary by the royal forester), which fill the Pzpe Rolls that record the proceedings of the justices in Henry II.’s later years, are sufficient evidence of the process actually in operation.! The population of England may have doubled between the end of the eleventh? and the beginning of the fourteenth century, possibly more than doubled: it was probably no larger and may have been rather smaller at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The increased population had to be fed, and imports of corn being “exceptional and sporadic” (23a, p. 1or),* the only means were an extension of the arable or higher farming. The gradual relaxation of the forest laws doubtless benefited agriculture to some extent from the thirteenth century onwards 1 Cf. Dialogus de Scaccario (Oxford Edition), pp. 102 ff.; Charter of the Forest, c. 4 (releasing landowners from payments for purprestures, wastes, and essarts) and c. 14 (especially reference to ‘‘mercatores [qui] veniunt per licentiam suam [sc. forestarii] in ballivam suam ad buscam, meremum, corticem vel carbonem emendum, et alias ducendum ad vendendum ubi voluerint”’). 2 For an estimate see II, p. 437. 3 For a summary of the discussion see 22, 1. 331-2. 4 In the fifteenth century the trade appears to be growing (zéz@., pp. 101, 271 ff.): but throughout the period the exports were at least as considerable as the imports (zézd., pp. 110 ff., 281 ff.). SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 163 (24, pp. xciil. ff.), and it is clear that in that century there was a conscious movement towards improved farming,! although there seems to be no evidence that its effect was at all general.” There was probably on the whole a rise in the standard of comfort (22, i. 293 ff.3), and what is of importance for our present purpose a greater demand for timber for building purposes (22, i. 387, 439 ff. For details of timber used in building in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, see St Paul’s MSS. Nos. 1074, 1462-3, 1796; 25, pp. 12, 20, 50). On the other hand, from the thirteenth century onwards coal was increasingly used as fuel, at first principally for industrial purposes—lime- burning and smith-work (4, p. 26)—but later for domestic purposes by those who could not afford wood. Peat and turf (26, pp. xiii. ff.) were cut and burned where these fuels could be procured, and the latter certainly was imported into London (27, E, p. 66). Timber was imported in quantity from overseas. The evidence is clear in the thirteenth century * and abundant in ie -iourteenth (27, E, pi 65, F; 174529; te 45°30, 1: TSG; 25, p. 50, No. 1796): it is slight for the twelfth (194, 32 Hen. II., pp. xxi., 116, 199), but it would appear that the foreign timber trade had already begun in the eleventh century.° Both hardwood and softwood were imported (27, E, p. 65). Although we do not possess for Scotland such evidence as exists for England whereon to base estimates of population (baffling as the interpretation of that evidence is when numbers are demanded), it is likely that in the Lowlands the development both of population and the demands of the population were parallel. We have evidence of the early use of coal and turf (31, p. 26), and the import of timber from overseas, the trade 1 Walter of Henley’s Ausbandry dates from this century: it became immediately popular, Cf. 11, p. 397. 2 See 12, i. 38 ff., 50 ff. for evidence for fourteenth century. Cunningham suggests a set-back in the fifteenth century, 22, p. 331, n. 4: but see zdzd., PP. 407, 447 ff. 3 The evidence for the fifteenth century is difficult to interpret: there may have been, locally at all events, a temporary set-back (22, i. pp. 386 ff., 439 ff. ). 4 **Fstland” boards were used in connection with Edward I.’s campaign against Scotland at the end of the century: Lzber Quotidianus Contrarotula- torts Garderobae, p. 119. In 1292 we find a German merchant suing in the London Mayor’s Court for a sum due in respect of a hundred boards sold at Lynn, 28, 109, No. 1. > Billingsgate tolls: ‘‘ De navi plena lignorum unum lignum ad teloneum ”: (234, p- 154): 164 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. being an established one in the sixteenth century (32, il. PP. 373, 499, 544): but it is remarkable that the shortage of timber was almost certainly felt earlier in Scotland than in England. The resources of the Highlands were, at any rate for the most part, unavailable. The Lowlands were in fact far more removed economically and socially from the Highlands than from the southern kingdom: the terms in which the discovery of timber in the Highlands was hailed so late as 1609 might have been used with equal propriety of a discovery of some precious commodity in the New World (32, iv. p. 408: “Forsamekle as it hes pleasit god to discover . . . certane wodis in the heylandis,” etc.). While we must guard against exaggerating the actual denudation of the country in the fifteenth century, and statutes are not always the best of evidence of economic conditions (cf. 1, p. 312), there appears to be no doubt that in the south of Scotland the timber shortage was acute, although it might be hyperbolical to say, as indeed was said with authority, “The wod of Scotland is uterlie distroyit” (32, ii. 251). Despite the statute of 1457 which required tenants to plant woods and trees (32, ii. 51), and that of 1503 which increased the penalty for felling or burning timber (32, li. 251), nothing effective was done and the country remained as deficient in woodlands as ever, a wonder to the foreign traveller who came visiting the more settled parts of the country, as for example, Sir Anthony Welldon (31, pp. 96 ff.). Not perhaps to every traveller, for Nicander Nucius of Corcyra, who visited England and Scotland (the latter as an enemy) in 1545-6,! apparently noticed no difference between the two countries. ‘The whole island,” he says, ‘‘is diversified with fruitful hills and plains, and abounds with marshes and well-timbered oak- forests: it has, moreover, woods and lakes near the sea” (33, p- 18). The last not very intelligible reference spoils in some measure the rest of the picture; but this traveller from the isles of Greece is worth quoting because, however banal his descriptions of the scenes he visited, it does enforce the truth that due allowance must be given to the point of view of the witness whose evidence is under examination. To other foreign eyes, England in the fifteenth century was no longer well wooded. The Débat des Héraulx states the ~ 1 In an account of operations in 1544 the Scots are stated to have fled into the woods about Jedburgh (34, p. 49). e SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 165 view, of a cultivated Frenchman writing about 1460. Says the Herald of France: “To say the truth, more hewn timber can be had in France for ten crowns than you can have in England for fifty. It is also the fact that, in consequence of the high price of wood, you are obliged to warm yourselves and cook your food with coal, which you would not do if wood were cheap ” (35, Pp- 51-2). He says again: “Also by reason of the great extent of cultivation, there are hardly any woods, but the people warm themselves with coal which they dig up from the ground” (35, p. 62). Allowance must be made here for gross exaggeration in a comparison instituted to display French superiority, and it would be unwise to use the passage as a picture of the conditions which the English statute of 1483 was devised to remedy. ‘This statute, to which undue prominence has been given by Dr Nisbet and subsequent writers, was, in truth, but of limited scope, intended to remove the necessity for applying for licence to enclose coppice or seedlings for a period longer than three years, or at the utmost to redress a grievance of a comparatively small number of landowners, as appears clear from the phraseology of the statute. That it was in any way effective in increasing timber supplies there appears to be no evidence. It is probably true that in certain localities, par- ticularly near the larger towns throughout Britain, the supply of wood-fuel was a matter of some difficulty. Coal could not be used for smelting (4, p. 26), and was disliked as domestic fuel! It is possible that suitable ships timber was not easily accessible and was highly priced as compared with certain foreign countries,? and there is some evidence that native timber may have been preferred to foreign for building purposes.? But yet in view of what is known of timber supplies in later 1 Tn 1282 it was agreed by the Mayor and citizens of London that they would not ‘‘suffer those which shall dwell in the said shopps [by St Paul’s] to burne any seacooles in the same, or such other thinges which doe stinke”’ (25, p. 51, No. 1802). 2 ** A ship which may be built in France for a thousand or twelve hundred crowns would cost more than two thousand nobles in England” (35, p- 52). 3 «*Englyssh bordes ” were specified in a building contract in 1 Henry V. (25, p- 32, No. 329). On the other hand, we may find ‘‘ Estland” or “*Estricchebord” specified in 1369 and 1410: 7d2d., pp. 20, No. 1462, 50, No. 1796. é 166 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. centuries, it would be hasty to conclude that there was any general shortage of timber in the fifteenth century, or that such deficiencies as existed were more than local. To the story of those later centuries, which serve to throw the Middle Ages in perspective, some further remarks will be devoted. BIBLIOGRAPHY. . Ritchie, Znjféuence of Man on Animal Life in Scotland. . Caesar, De Bello Gallico. . Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain. . Salzmann, Lxglish Industries of the Middle Ages. Haverfield, Romanization of Roman Britain. . Hunter’s Edition of Evelyn’s Sylva (1812). . Freeman, orman Conquest. Vinogradoff, Lnglish Society in Eleventh Century. g. Creighton, History of Epidemics. to. Dickson, Husbandry of the Ancients. 11. Maitland, Domesday Book and Beyond. 12. Rogers, History of Agriculture. 13. Liebermann (a) Gesetze der Angelsachsen. (2) Ueber Pseudo-Cnuts Constitutiones de Foresta. 14. (a) Taxatio Ecclestastica Papae Nicholat. (6) Movarum Inqutsttiones. 15. Earle’s Translation in A/fred the Great (ed. Bowker). 16. Round,in Victoria County History, Hampshire. 17. Baring, in English Historical Review. 18. Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis. 19. Pipe Rolls (a) 31 Henry Il. (6) 32 Henry II. 20. Purley, Weald of Kent. 21. Cox, Victoria County History, Kent. 22. Cunningham, Growth of English Industry: 23. Gras (a) English Corn Market. (6) Early English Customs System. 24. Turner, Select Pleas of the Forest. 25. Hist. MSS. Commn. IX. Report. 26. Neilson, Terrier of Fleet. 27. Calender Letter Book of the City of London. 28. P.R.O. Chancery Miscellanea, 109, No. 1. 29. Studer, Oak Book of Southampton. Oy an BW N ® SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 167 30. Gross, Gild Merchant. 31. Hume Brown, Zarly Travellers in Scotland. 32. Acts of Parliament of Scotland. 33. Dravels of Nicander Nucius (Camden Society). 34. Pollard, Zudor Tracts. 35. Débat des Héraulx, Pyne’s translation in England and France in the Fifteenth Century. 23. Petawawa Experiment Forest Station. By JAMES Kay. The experiment station of Petawawa was established in 1918 under the auspices of the “ Honorary Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.” The work to a certain extent is similar to that of the Swedish Forest Experiment Station which, since its foundation in 1902, has given considerable time to the establishment and revision of permanent sample plots on forest types and stands of different ages. These are of two kinds: ‘‘ Detached Plots,” which were during the first ‘two-year periods” lightly thinned, but later more heavily, or which were from the start thinned heavily either from above or from under; and “Serial Plots,” laid out bordering on each other in the same stand and thinned according to different strength and different methods. The objects of the experiments are :— (1) To ascertain what influence thinnings have on the incre- ment of the whole stand and the different stem classes, or the individual trees ; (2) To show when the increment of the stand begins to decline, and when the growth of the individual tree reaches it climax ; (3) To study the effect of thinning on the condition and character of soil and ground cover. The sample plots were a little less than an acre in extent, and square or rectangular in form. It was difficult to get an exact acre representative of average conditions, but the sample plots or their different sections should not be less than half an acre in extent. Belts 15 to 45 feet wide are laid out surrounding the 168 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. sample plots. These belts are thinned in the same manner as the plots, but the felled trees are not estimated. The corner of the sample areas are marked by posts about 3°5 feet high, to show the bearings of the boundaries of the plot, and ditches about 10 feet long are dug from the corner posts. The corners of the surrounding belts are also marked by posts, and these outer boundaries are distinguished by white paint marks on the trees. The number of the sample plot is painted on one of the larger trees. A number is stamped on all trees in the plot. When the stand is very dense or contains dead trees, a thinning or cleaning is generally made before the trees are numbered: the removed trees are tallied and the tree-class symbol marked on each stem, the remaining trees are numbered and marked with a cross. They are callipered parallel to the cross and at right angles thereto. The measure- ments D.B.H. in feet and tenths of inches are tallied and the tree-class noted, and the trees which are to be removed at the first thinning are blazed. All data are entered in field books, one book being used for each sample plot. The information obtained is copied into a second book, which is always kept as a permanent record at the head office of the Forest Experiment Station. To these records are also attached field maps and such graphic representation regarding the plots as curves for heights, form- factors, volume or basal areas. The field books contain forms for the description of the plot, such as the tallying of the trees and the analysis of the trees which are removed by the thinnings or which are cut out as test trees. It is not sufficient, however, to know the distribu- tion of the diameter-classes and tree-classes only. The exact place in the stand of each tree should also be known, therefore a very accurate map is made of the sample plot. Only in this way will it be possible to calculate the advantage or disadvantages of leaving trees of a certain nature at the thinning. Furthermore, it will be possible to study the spreading of fungoid disease in the stand, and to make many other valuable observations for future use as to the results of thinnings by different methods. After blazing the trees to be taken out in the first thinnings and numbering the remaining trees, stakes are placed on the PETAWAWA EXPERIMENT FOREST STATION. 169 boundaries of the plot at every 30 feet or, if the stand is very dense, at every 15 feet. Strings are then stretched between the opposite stakes, and if the plot is very dense a line is staked across it. In this way the plot is divided into squares with sides of 15 or 30 feet. The mapping is done on cross-section paper to a scale of 1/100 for the permanent or 1/200 for temporary plots. The exact position of the trees which are blazed for removal, as well as of the remaining trees, is shown on the map. The number of trees is noted on the map as well as the diameter at breast-height (D.B.H.), 4°5 feet, and the tree-class of the blazed trees. Then the final map is prepared in the office, the trees being drawn to scale. If the plot is drawn to a scale of 1/200 the scale showing the D.B.H. of the trees is 1/100, and when the scale of the map is 1/100 the scale used for the trees is 1/25. A different colour is used for each species. Circles are used to show the tree, a heavy circle indicating that the trees are to be removed. When the plots have been mapped as described above, the blazed trees are removed and the actual volume obtained by accurate measurements. Any of the felled trees which are considered to be good representatives of the remaining stand are recorded as sample trees. In addition a suitable number of sample trees is selected in the stand but outside the sample plot. About 30 to 4o trees are generally required to obtain a satisfactory curve for height, form-factor, or volume. The sample plots are laid out in unthinned stands as well as in stands which have been previously thinned. As a rule stands of full density are selected. (Sample plots for experi- menting in young forests should, if possible, be laid out in unthinned stands, but in forests over fifty years of age, it is best to establish the plots in stands from which abnormal trees have been previously removed.) TREE-GROUPS AND GRADES OF THINNING. Since the thinning work of the experiment station should be conducted on a plan that will secure uniformity of the thinning and demonstrate the objective purpose thereby, it is advisable that the trees be classified into well-defined classes, especially at an experiment station such as the Petawawa Experiment Station, where the thinning experiments must often be made by different persons. Owing to the extent of the country and its I70 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. varying conditions, the number of sample plots is so large that the thinnings cannot all be carried out under the immediate supervision of one officer. When revising old thinnings, uni- formity in the carrying out of the work and a true apprehension of previous thinnings are easily obtained if the trees are definitely classified. The changes which the trees have undergone between the revisions can be recorded in a more complete manner by transferring the trees to a new tree-class than by the registration of the increases of dimension only. The system of classification is based on the position of the height of the trees in the stand and on the condition and character of the crowns and, in lesser degree, the stems. It is fairly easy to distinguish in the stand certain levels to which the heights of the trees reach. These levels are called ‘Crown Strata,” and are grouped as follows :— I. Crown Stratum of the Dominant Trees :—Consisting of dominant trees, the largest in the stand. II. Crown Stratum of the Co-Dominate Trees :—Including trees of somewhat less height, less developed crown, and often smaller diameter than in Group I. III. Crown Stratum of the Dominated Trees :—Composed of trees reaching about two-thirds of the height of the trees in Group I,, the top shoots being generally short. IV. Crown Stratum of the Under-Stand :—The trees reaching a height of 50 to 60 ¥ of the height of the trees in Group I.; this group includes the suppressed trees and isolated trees of the same height in gaps. In assigning the trees to the different crown strata the undergrowth (u) and the standards (0) are not included, as these two groups, strictly speaking, do not belong to the actual stand. In the undergrowth may be included trees of other species and younger age (usually more than forty years younger) than those composing the actual stand. When the undergrowth reaches half the height of the trees in Group I., it is assigned to the stand and put in the proper group. Standards are such trees as are at least forty years older and usually taller and larger than the stand proper. Every crown stratum is then divided into tree-classes based on PETAWAWA EXPERIMENT FOREST STATION. I7I the development of the crowns and stems. Should the crowns and the stems be xormally developed no other symbol is added to the figure indicating the crown stratum. If, however, crown or stem is not faultless a letter symbol is added. The tree-classes are as follows :— (a) Trees with well-developed crowns and stems. (4) Trees suppressed on one side, that is, trees which are developed only on half of the circumference. (c) Fast-growing trees with large branches (trees of the better “ wolf type ”). (zd) Crooked and branchy trees, or trees of otherwise faulty growth (trees of the poorer ‘‘ wolf type”). (e) Trees with compressed crowns, or trees the crowns of which have been damaged by the crowns of surrounding trees. (/) Trees damaged by fungi, insects, etc. (g) Dead, broken, or much snowbent trees. The grades of thinnings are defined as follows :— Cleaning: Removing dead, dying, or much snowbent trees, melee, It.g; III. 2; 1V. 2. “Thinning from under” French (éclaircie par le bas). German (neider-durch forstung). Swedish (laggallring). 1. Light low thinning. Removal of dead, dying, snow-damaged, diseased, and suppressed trees, and also the most harmful “wolves,” z.e. tree-classes (g), (/), (e) and (@), and all group IV. 2. Heavy low thinning. Removal of tree-classes (4) to (g) of groups I. and II., and all of groups III. and IV. 3. Very heavy low thinning. Removal of tree-classes (4) to (g) of group I. and all groups II., III.,and IV. In addition a few of the trees of Class I. may be removed. In larger gaps a few trees belonging to tree-groups II. and III. may be spared. I72 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. “'Thinnings from above,” French (éclaircie par le haut). German (hochdurch-forstung). Swedish (krongalling). 1. ‘ Light crown thinning.” Removal of tree-classes (/) and (g) in all groups, tree- classes (4) to (e) in group II., and (¢) to (e) of group I. 2. ‘Heavy crown thinning.” Removal of tree-classes (4) to (g) in groups I. and II. 3. ‘* Very heavy crown thinning.” Removal of tree-classes (f) to (g) in groups I. and II., and in addition a few trees of tree-class (a) when the stand is dense. In “Thinning from above,” it is also permissible to remove all or a portion of the trees in tree-classes (4) to (e) in groups III. and IV., so long as a sufficient number of well-formed trees are left for the protection of the ground. In mixed coniferous forests where it is advisable to maintain the undergrowth and perhaps the ‘‘ understand” of suppressed trees, the two systems, ‘‘ Thinning from above” and ‘“ Thinning from under,” meet more or less. This classification is considered best adapted to thinnings in pure pine or spruce forests. In mixed forests, Heck’s system (free thinning) is often the most practical one. According to Heck the thinning should cover all tree-classes, each tree being judged as to its value in the stand. The object of the system is to favour the best trees through their isolation in the dominant stand. The system of classification described above may be, however, used to great advantage in recording the removal of trees at the thinning. The progress on the question of thinnings in Europe may be summed up as follows :— Different main systems have been established and developed independently of each other in various European countries. It is only in later years that these systems have been made generally known outside the boundaries of the country of their origin, and more or less amalgamated with systems in use in other countries. PETAWAWA EXPERIMENT FOREST STATION, ETS The thinning from under is a German method. During the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, cleanings and light thinning from under were the only methods which were considered advisable, and only in the latter part of the last century did advocates of “heavier thinnings” from under appear. The protection of the ground by preserving suppressed trees with healthy crowns was first advocated by V. Salisc and Kraft. Kraft’s system therefore approaches a light crown thinning. In France, on the other hand, a system of light crown thinning has been practised for a long time. As early as about 1550, Tristan de Rostaing ordered thinnings among the dominating tree-classes. The present French system of thinning from above (éclazrcte par le haut) was first mentioned by Varenne de Fenille in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Independently of the two different French and German methods, Denmark introduced a more free, economical and ground-protecting method of thinning, which bore a certain resemblance to the French method. The two main systems— “thinning from under or low thinning ” and thinning from above or “crown thinning”—were both included in the programme of the International Federation of Forest Experiment Stations in 1903. The system of heavy low thinning was then made less rigid by permitting the removal of fast- growing trees with large branches and “ wolf trees.” In Sweden a light low thinning was for many years considered as the only satisfactory system. Only a few of the best-managed private estates practised a heavy low thinning. Of late years, however, an interest in heavier low thinning as well as crown thinning has been awakened. This is especially due to the efforts of Wallmo, Barthels, and Ernst Anderson. The crown thinnings are most suitable in mixed coniferous stands and in uneven-aged stands, low thinnings give the best results in pure and even-aged stands. 174 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 24. The Silviculture of Indian Trees. By Sir Grorce; Warr, M.B., CM.,:F.L.S., C.LE, LL.D: The Indian Forest Department may be said to have started from very humble beginnings. A few officers were picked out from other branches of the public service and entrusted with the organisation of a forest department. They were successful. The department they formed has since so expanded that to-day it may be said that one-fourth of the areas of India and Burma are under its direct control. A Forest Research Institution, and also a College, have been established at Dehra Dun, in the United Provinces, where courses of study and research have been arranged as follows :— (az) Silviculture; (4) Forest Botany; (c) Forest Economic Products; (d) Forest Zoology; and (e) Forest Chemistry. Experts are also specially engaged to carry out investigations into subjects of economic and commercial importance, such as the supply from the forests of paper half-stuffs, or the provision of useful tanning materials. The practical results of Forest Research are, from time to time, published in the form of bulletins, memoirs and records, so that the public are placed in full possession of all the discoveries made. Since the date when Sir Joseph Hooker completed his immense undertaking, The Flora of British India, there have been published local floras of practically every province of India as also an extensive series of forest floras, so that the literature of the forests of India has made great progress, and I think we are justified in includ- ing Professor R. S. Troup’s great work,! which has just appeared, among the publications of the Forest Department of India and of its Research Institution. The Silviculture of Indian Trees is a truly monumental work, the appearance of which must be regarded as marking a new era in Indian forestry. For years to come it will remain the standard that every student of Indian forestry must constantly consult and amplify by further investigations. It is a mine of personal exploration and of most painstaking research. It is, therefore, in no spirit of cavilling with minor details that I 1 The Silviculture of Indian Trees, by R. S. Troup, M.A., C.I.E., in three volumes, published under the authority of His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India in Council, by the Clarendon Press of Oxford. Price, £5, 5s. THE SILVICULTURE OF INDIAN TREES. 175 venture to express opinions here and there adverse to those held by Professor Troup. He by no means claims finality, however, but, on the contrary, is if anything too humble when he affirms that his work should be regarded as nothing more than an attempt to pave the way, or ‘‘in other words as merely a founda- tion on which a more substantial edifice may be gradually built by future workers.” The Professor thinks exception may be taken to the inclusion of botanical descriptions and drawings of the seedlings of so very many species. They have been most carefully and exquisitely rendered—the drawing and colouring doing great credit to the artists of the Research Institution. But to be quite frank, I personally think too much attention relatively has been paid to that subject. It surely would have sufficed to give a few standards, and in the text to have discussed departures from these, but of course a large number of seedlings would still have had to be described, since many of them manifest silvicultural points of great value. It was, however, most unfortunate that the Professor did not realise long before he came to deal with the oaks and pines that full-page coloured plates, of at least all the more important species, was absolutely essential to the full realisation of the scheme of silviculture he desired to inculcate. It is true that Brandis, and a few other writers on Indian trees, give illustrations, but these are both unsatisfactory and too scattered to be of practical value to the forest officer. I think it would have been preferable had all the full-page illustrations been removed from the text and placed in a special volume by themselves. The practical forest officer might then have carried the pictures with him, and compared these with the living plants. Besides which a volume of plates that may be opened out separately, while the text is being read, is a great convenience, in place of having to handle a bulky volume and turn backwards and forwards, to see the pictures alluded to. And, I may add, it might in that case have been possible to issue the text in a smaller more portable volume or volumes. But I hasten to say that I regard the superb series of full- page photographs of the forests as a revelation. They bring before the observer a perfect panorama of Indian jungle plant life, never before approached in beauty and completeness by any previous writer. The treatment, for example, of Sal (Shorea vobusta) is admirable, many new facts in regard to that abundant 176 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, tree being made known, while every contention upheld by the author is fully substantiated by the photographs. The article on Sal runs to 75 pages, and is illustrated by 38 photographs and one coloured plate showing the germination and growth of the seedling. We have thus brought before us the good and the bad Sal forests of the various provinces of India; the natural reproduction of Sal on grassland; the particular grass and other vegetation that prepare the way for the Sal; and the invasion of Sal forests by noxious plants, which is presumably facilitated by fire-protection. In fact every condition and aspect of the Sal tree is fully described and beautifully illustrated. The article on teakwood (Zectona grandis) runs to 71 pages, and is illustrated by 31 photographs and one coloured plate showing germination. ‘To persons interested in the teak trade the perusal of these pages should prove highly instructive, while to the forest officer they give a direct lead to further investigation in the successions and production of the tree and its valuable timber. The number of plants dealt with by Professor Troup comes very possibly to 750 species, while Brandis (Zudzan Trees) is said to describe 4400. ‘These figures give a conception of the vast field already traversed, as also the great work that remains to be tackled. Zhe Silviculture of Indian Trees is not, however, a book that many persons are likely to sit down to read from first to last. It is essentially a work of reference, to be consulted when special information is required regarding a particular tree. The inquirer will be richly rewarded, for it is brimful of useful and suggestive facts. But a work of that nature is greatly injured if not carefully and fully indexed. I regret to say that in this respect I have been much disappointed. The Index is distinctly unsatisfactory. Some 58 pages have been devoted to a very able introduction, which must be studied carefully to appreciate most of the arguments of the text, and yet the Introduction does not appear to have been indexed at all. Thus buried in the Introduction will be found numerous interesting additional particulars. The story of Sal is there briefly and pointedly amplified. Again, the text is badly indexed ; thus Pinus excelsa is fully and ably discussed and illustrated, several of the plates being admirably coloured, but it is omitted from the scientific index. Similarly Bucklandia * THE SILVICULTURE OF INDIAN TREES. Ep 7 populnea is omitted, and a good many other species. But it is even more serious when it has to be added that while all through the text cross-references occur, these are entirely ignored in the Index. As a perhaps unimportant example, but one fully illustrative, I may give Acanthus ilictfolius. It has three lines devoted to it on page 693 and these have been indexed, but the plant is alluded to in several passages (as for example, pp. 496, 498, and 499), and useful additional information is there afforded which is lost to the reader because not indexed. The author uses many technical terms which, I fear, may be unintelligible to readers not familiar with Schimper’s Plant Geography and other such works. It would have been a great help had a glossary of terms been furnished, or, at all events, references made in the Index to passages (mostly in the Introduction) where these are explained or exemplified. Professor Troup, on page 156, describes Hibiscus tiliaceus, the bhola in the vernacular, as “a climber growing to a height of about to feet and forming dense matted thickets.” That plant, in the Mora of British India, is.said to be a much- branched tree; and Sir Dietrich Brandis, in his Judian Trees, after describing the plant as a small, much-branched tree, gives, in his Addenda, the further information that it grows to the size of a tree in the Andamans, but adds, “and as a rampant climber in the dense forests of the Sundribans.” That is certainly a most remarkable fact for, so far as I am aware, no other malvaceous plant has been described as a climber. It would, therefore, have been most interesting had special attention been given to this subject, in order to see if there could be any possible mistake in determination, and if not to endeavour to discover (as a silvicultural problem) the solution of this novel development. It certainly is very remarkable that a plant that grows to a tree in one locality should become a climber in another, ‘The interest in the Sundriban climber, however, may be said to lie in a direction apparently not approached as yet by Professor Troup, namely, the investigation of the varieties, races, and hybrids of the trees of India that can be looked at as being direct adaptations to local environment or to human demands. The Professor’s reasonings and examples of succession are certainly highly fascinating, but that there are direct adaptations to environment VOL. XXXV. PART II. M 178 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. is a point about which there can hardly be any difference of opinion. So, again, whether there have or have not been any material changes in the climate (of any one locality), within historic times, seems comparatively immaterial. We are in Europe familiar with the multiplicity of cultivated field crops, vegetables, and flowers, and even with the numerous cultivated stocks of the trees of our parks and avenues, but we are practically ignorant of the special developments of our forest trees and very much more so of the Indian forest trees. In fact, it would seem we may have jumped to conclusions rather hastily that where economic variations exist specific departures are involved. It is largely on this account that I have ventured to regret the absence of botanical drawings of at least the more important trees. Brandis congratulates himself that in the selection of his illustrations he had been able to avoid the common plants. But, as a matter of fact, the rare trees are less important to the forest officer than the common ones. It is the every-day commercial trees that call for comparative and critical study, one locality with another. We read that the timbers of a certain species are better from one district than another. Is that edaphic, climatic, or varietal? Good specific illustrations would naturally become the basis of a study of special developments, both of the plants and of the silvicultural issues concerned. FORESTRY EXHIBITION AT STIRLING, 179 25. Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show. By GreorGE U. MACDONALD. The Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society held their annual Exhibition of Forestry in the showyard at Stirling, from 26th to 29th July rg2r. Stirling being situated in a central district, it was expected that there would be a large collection of exhibits, and in that expectation members of the Society and the general public were not disappointed, for as a matter of fact the number and variety of articles sent in for competition, as well as those which were sent in for exhibition only, constituted one of the finest collec- tions yet seen at these shows. The Committee were fortunate in procuring an admirable site for the exhibits in the showyard, on the highest portion of the ground, from which a splendid view of the beautiful surrounding district could be obtained. In the competitive class there were 46 entries, while for articles for exhibition only there were 20 entries. A very important section was that in which some beautiful specimens of the timber of Scots pine, larch, and Norway spruce were shown. In this section there were seven competitors, the chief awards going to Lord Minto, Minto Estate; the Earl of Home, Douglas Castle; the Earl of Moray, Doune; and Lord Mansfield, Scone. The larch in this section, which was exhibited by the Earl of Moray, was of very excellent quality, and, in the opinion of the Judges, was equal to anything they had yet seen. Most interesting also were the competitions in which specimens of the timber of broad-leaved trees were shown. An almost faultless plank of ash was shown by Lord Minto, while for oak the leading award went to the Earl of Moray, Doune; and for elm to Mr Wm. Fyfe, Whittinghame Estate, Prestonkirk. Lord Minto was also first in the competition for specimens of the timber of any three coniferous timber trees other than those already referred to. The competition for farm and estate gates manufactured from home-grown timber and shown in working order, only brought out four competitors. Mr Wm. Leven, forester, Scone, was awarded a No. 2 Silver Medal; while Mr Stephen Ballard, 180 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Colwall, Malvern, was awarded a Bronze Medal. In the opinion of the Judges, some of the gates were exhibited from the point of view of cheapness, rather than for their efficiency, forgetting that an inefficient gate cannot be cheap at any price. A No. 1 Silver Medal was awarded to Mr H. R. Munro, forester, Charborough Park Estate, Dorset, for a very interesting collection of specimens demonstrating the beneficial effects of pruning when well done, and the injurious effects when badly done. The same competitor was also awarded a No. 3 Silver Medal for examples or photographs of the damage caused by squirrels, voles, etc., to various kinds of trees. An interesting and educative exhibit was that shown by Mr John Munro, assistant forester, Scone Estate, consisting of a collection of fungi injurious to forest trees and shrubs, for which he was awarded a No. 1 Silver Medal. The outstanding feature in the section for articles for exhibition only was undoubtedly the marvellous collection of timber, both in the round and in the plank, which was shown by Messrs James Jones & Sons, Ltd., Larbert Sawmills. In the opinion of the Judges, nothing in the previous history of these exhibitions was comparable to this exhibit in its general excellence, its extent, and diversity of materials. Several specimens of Scots pine from the estate of the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, Fochabers, were shown as they were felled in the woods. To many people in, the showyard the extraordinary size and the excellent quality of the timber of those trees must have come asa revelation, and must have convinced most people that our Scottish soil and climate are capable of producing timber of unrivalled size and quality. In addition to the Scots pine there were fine samples of the timber of beech, oak, ash, elm, and plane, both in the round and in the plank, while amongst the manufactured articles were specimens of flooring, lining, and panelling, and samples of felloes, spokes, naves, handles, etc. A further exhibit of this enterprising firm, and one which drew a constant crowd of spectators, was a large-sized dwelling house entirely made of home-grown timber. The roof was even covered with wooden shingle. The timbers used in its construction were Scots pine, larch, and spruce. No timber which has ever been imported from other countries could FORESTRY EXHIBITION AT STIRLING. 181 surpass the quality and texture of our own Scots pine for door panels and window cases. For this most interesting and elaborate exhibit the Judges awarded the Society’s Gold Medal. The President of the Society, the Duke of Atholl, K.T., showed a magnificent root-cut from one of his “ parent” larches, together with a board from the same tree. He had also forwarded specimens of the common, hybrid, and Japanese larches, twelve years old, illustrating the rate of growth of each variety. For this exhibit a No. 1 Silver Medal was awarded. A No. 2 Silver Medal was awarded Brig.-Gen. Stirling of Keir for a very good collection of exhibits, including sleepers and large boards of the timber of Adies grandis. Amongst other interesting exhibits were specimens illustrating the rate of growth of trees; different scantlings of timber, deals, and battens; pit-wood and railway timbers; plants, trees, and timber damaged by storms, insects, animals, and fungi; and tools and implements, home and foreign, used in various operations connected with forestry. An outstanding exhibit in the last class, and one which created a considerable amount of interest, was the “‘ Wade” portable cross-cut saw, which was driven by petrol. This machine is a great improvement on the old- fashioned steam-driven ones, and will no doubt find its way into most of the large wood-cutting yards. It was exhibited by Messrs Christy & Penny, Ltd., The Outer Temple, Strand, London, W.C. Taken as a whole the exhibition of 1921 was an unqualified success. 182 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 26. Estate Nursery and Plantation Competitions. The competitions, which were started in 1912, are held in connection with the Society’s Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. The show district this year included the counties of Clackmannan, Dumbarton, Perth (Stirlingshire Division), and Stirling. Two estates which had entries in the r912 competitions were again represented this year (1921), hence the competitions have completed their first circuit or rotation. The various competitions are divided into classes under the two main sections—Nurseries and Plantations. In the Nursery section, Class I. is for estate nurseries not exceeding 2 acres in extent, and Class II. for those of more than 2 acres. In the Plantations section there are seven classes in all. The first three classes are for plantations of not less than 2 acres consisting mainly of conifers (I.) under ro years of age; (II.) exceeding 10 years and not exceeding 20 years; (III.) exceeding 20 years and not exceeding 40 years. These are confined to estates having less than 300 acres of woods. Classes IV., V., and VI., are open to estates having more than 300 acres of woods, and the plantations are similarly specified, with the exception that they must be not less than 5 acres in extent. Class VII. is for plantations mainly of hardwoods not exceeding 35 years of age and not less than 2 acres in extent. There were twenty subjects entered in the various competitions, made up of two nurseries and eighteen plantations. In all the classes the nurseries and plantations were of a high order of merit, and it is interesting to note that the majority of the plantations entered were under 20 years of age, a large proportion being under ro years. The Judges’ awards were as follows :— LVurseries. Class II. Dunkeld Estate. Gold Medal. » I. Keir Estate. No. 2 Silver Medal. ESTATE NURSERY AND PLANTATION COMPETITIONS. 183 Plantations. Class VII. Keir Estate. No. 1 Silver Medal. V. Dunkeld Estate. No. 1 Silver Medal. », 1V. Doune Estate. No. 1 Silver Medal. » Il. Ardchullary Estate. No. 1 Silver Medal. I. Tullichewan Estate. No. 1 Silver Medal. Balliliesk Estate. Bronze Medal. ” ” The Dunkeld Estate Nursery occupies an excellent site. The layout into sections by main roads and paths has obviously been carefully considered. The tending and organisation are of a high merit, as indicated by the general uniformity and balance in the growing stock from the youngest seedlings to the oldest transplants. The entries in Class VII. for hardwoods under 35 years of age have always been fewer than those in the classes for conifers. This year there were two hardwood plantations. The Keir hardwood plantations afford the best demonstration in Scotland of the rational silvicultural treatment of young oak and beech. The prize plantation at Doune, which was 7 years old and extended to 25 acres (Class IV.), consisted of pure plots of Scots pine, Sitka spruce, Japanese larch, and Douglas fir. One plot was mixed and contained one-third Japanese larch, with two-thirds Sitka spruce. It is a very creditable achievement not only as regards the health and vigour of the trees and the judicious selection of species for different soils and sites, but also on account of its successful establishment in spite of the unusually dense growth of bracken. The Ardchullary plantations show that it is quite possible, if done properly, to combine, on a hill sheep farm, timber production with grazing, with the balance of advantage in favour of the latter. The first planting line was fixed a little below the rooo feet contour, but the plantations have done so well up to that altitude that it is now apparent that it can be raised to 1250 feet. The Dunkeld plantations are thriving well. Nothing could be finer than the vigour and rate of growth of the hybrid larch plantations. The Douglas fir, which hitherto held the record for rapid growth, is very soon and very completely beaten and surpassed in height, girth, and volume by this 184 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. tree, which is a product of the locality, and, so far as can be seen at present, one of the most valuable of the recent additions to our forest flora. The prize plantation in Class V. was 12 years of age and extended to 50 acres. The soil consists of sand above gravel, and the elevation is 250 feet. The plantation originally consisted of hybrid larch and Douglas fir, in the proportion of three of the former to one of the latter, but it is now practically pure hybrid larch averaging 45-50 feet in height and 14-24 inches in girth. On the Tullichewan Estate many fine specimens of both hardwood and coniferous trees can be seen. The prize planta- tion in Class I. was 7-9 years old and extended to 264 acres. The soil is a loam with a sub-soil of a stiff clayey nature. The plantation was made up of Douglas fir, 1} acres; Japanese larch, 7 acres; Scots pine, 6 acres; and about 11# acres of spruce, larch, and Scots pine in mixture. The plants used were 2 years old, notched in at the rate of 2700 per acre. A certain amount of thinning out had been necessary during the year 1920-21. ’ It was generally apparent that the tendency in most places was to increase the planting distance, especially so far as the more rapidly growing conifers were concerned. It is very difficult to draw up an all-round satisfactory basis of classification for plantations. No matter how we may attempt to group them into kinds and age-classes, there are always sure to be plantations of outstanding merit with special characteristics of their own. The Judges can award only one medal in each class, but under Rule 3 in these competitions they are empowered to award a bronze medal for those subjects which are high above the average standard of merit. The bronze medal awarded in the case of the Balliliesk plantation of Scots pine, Menzies spruce, and European larch—a well- formed plantation of 8 years’ growth extending to 7 acres on a hard gravel soil at 700 feet elevation—should be taken as an index that, in the opinion of the Judges, this plantation came very near the standard of the prize-winner of its class. J. M. Murray. A. W. BortTHwick. NOTES AND QUERIES. 185 NOTES: AND: QUERIES: PROTECTIVE AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN FORESTRY. A considerable amount of preventable loss occurs annually in many industries, and a not inconsiderable amount of this loss or damage might be prevented provided more care and attention were given to devising protective and preventive measures. In forestry encouraging progress has been made in this direction, but a lot still remains to be done. Many foresters have been studying problems of plant protection, correlating cause and effect and devising practical methods of obviating, or at least mitigating, the effect of all injurious agencies which come within their notice. Considerable assistance in this work has been rendered by scientists who have made special studies of plant protection, but the linking up process has been and is still defective, as regards the general dissemination of knowledge and the practical application of protective measures. In this section of the Zyransactions, under “ Notes and Queries,” there is scope for the interchange of experiences in the whole field of forestry, and at the present time, when the care of plants in the nursery and in young plantations is perhaps the most important and vital phase of forestry in Britain, it is more than ever necessary that the results of previous experiences in plant protection should be made known as widely as possible, in the general interests of the country. Members would be doing good service to forestry if they would send in to the Society a short note of any cases which have come within their experience or observation where successful methods have been discovered or adopted in preventing losses through natural or artificial agencies, such as successful methods of preventing frost damage, fungus or insect attack, on nursery stocks; the best methods of packing and transport of plants to the planting areas ; treat- ment of areas in preparation for planting; extermination of rabbits, squirrels, and other forest pests; protection against wind and fire. Methods of protection vary according to the conditions of the locality—such as soil, surface vegetation, altitude, and exposure—and therefore the wider the area over which information is collected the greater will be its value. 186 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. TREE-GROWTH IN 1921. Tree-growth during the past growing season has_ been generally satisfactory. The long continued spell of dry weather which was experienced has not had the same effect on established plantations as it had upon field crops, and especially in Scotland, even nursery stocks suffered much less injury than might have been expected. Early frosts were not unduly severe, and buds and shoots have ripened in a normal manner. The check to growth in its earlier seasonal activity might have been expected to result in secondary or prolonged growth in autumn, but such was not the case. The absence of Lammas shoots in autumn was remarkable in many places. This was no doubt due to the continued relatively dry conditions during the later stages of vegetative activity. Autumn foliage in its various tones and tints usually appears at its best when mild moist conditions during the earlier stages of vegetation in spring are followed by dry sunny weather in autumn. In the past autumn the intensity and variation in colour was late in appearing and of short duration, and the leaf fall was considerably later than usual. ARMILLARIA MELLEA as a Potato DISEASE. Armillaria mellea, the Honey Agaric, is well known as a disease of both coniferous and broad-leaved trees, and is remarkable for the number and variety of species which it may attack. Its occurrence on the potato is, however, very unusual, and it has not been recorded on this host, up to the present, in this country. It has, however, been recorded as a potato disease from Japan and also from Australia, where it was described in New South Wales, in rg10, by H. T. Johnson. This investigator states that the rhizomorphs of the fungus grow over the tubers, penetrate them at certain spots, and bring about the destruction of the tissues, so that ultimately the whole tuber becomes rotten. He adds that the disease has been spreading for several years in the affected district. The specimens which are the subject of the present note were collected by Mr Mitchell, forester at Rosebery, Midlothian, and were forwarded through the headquarters of the Forestry Commission in Scotland. The dark brown rhizomorphs of the BPrarEeive AN OVERHEAD Saw. To face p. 187.) ‘ NOTES AND QUERIES. 187 fungus are at once obvious when the potatoes are examined. They show the usual structure and appear as rounded brown strands which, on coming into contact with the tuber, become slightly flattened. They may continue for some distance tightly attached to the tuber without piercing the corky skin, but usually penetration soon takes place, and wherever this happens a darker coloured sunken patch is seen on the skin, below which the cells are killed and partially disorganised. On cutting open the tubers the effects of the disease are clearly seen. In some, penetration by the rhizomorphs is only slight, and here. only small patches of dead brown cells are produced. In other cases, the rhizomorphs have grown deeply into the tuber, and large cavities, resulting from the disintegration of the tissue, are formed which become partially filled up with masses of white mycelium and rhizomorphs: these cavities are surrounded by a dark brown zone of dead tissue of the tuber and this, in turn, by a region where the hyphae can be seen penetrating the still living cells. As a result of the attack a cork combium is formed around the diseased portions, and the infected cells are more or less isolated by a layer of cork. Where the attack is severe the tubers, when stored, shrivel and dry up. An examination of the garden in which the potatoes were grown resulted in the discovery of large numbers of rhizomorphs in the soil, but no fructifications were found, and on inquiry it was ascertained that none had been seen. The source from which the rhizomorphs were developed was found to be an old sycamore stump, situated about four yards from the edge of the potato plot, which showed very clearly the results of infection by Armillaria mellea. The garden possesses a rather heavy wet soil, and this may be a factor bringing about the development of the disease. The fact that it has occurred in this garden for several years shows that it is not due to seasonal peculiarities. A more detailed account of the disease, with figures, will be published shortly. Matcotm WILSON. AN OVERHEAD SAW FOR ESTATE WoRK. (With Plate.) I enclose a photograph (Plate V.) of an overhead saw I fitted up nine years ago, over a travelling bench saw, for cutting up 188 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. large trees, which has worked well. It is fitted on a g-inch by 3-Inch frame, swung on 1-inch bolts at one end and raised or lowered at the other end by a long 3-inch screw and hand-wheel to suit the size of the bottom saw, and fixed firmly with strap plates and bolts when correctly set. The top saw has to be set exactly in the same vertical plane as the bottom one, and 2 inches to the right, so as to allow the saws to overlap about half an inch. The arrangement has proved to be a great saver of time and wood. Before we used it we had often to cross-cut good Scots pine (equal to first quality yellow pine) into stob lengths, run the 4-feet saw through, sometimes twisting a newly-hammered saw in the process, and split off the top unsawn portion, wasting a lot of good wood when doing so. We can now cut up to 3 ft. 6 ins. quickly and accurately, without injuring the temper of either saws or men, providing the saws are properly set and sharpened. As the top saw runs without guides, it has to be extra heavy. I got one specially made for it, 2 ft. 6 ins. in diameter, No. 8 B.W.G., 3-inch pitch, #-inch rake. The photo shows a 3 ft. 6 ins. saw at the bottom, instead of the 4 feet which is used for large trees. The top saw can be lowered to suit this saw also. Culcreuch Estate, Fintry. A. FLEMING. Notes on Scots PINE. The following notes of some Scots pine trees recently sold may be of interest to some readers of the Zransactions :— The average cubic contents of the trees, carefully taken, were roo ft. 7 ins. The average total height was 75 feet, with the tallest tree measuring 85 ft. 3 ins. The percentage of clean butt was 55, and this was sold to a firm of timber merchants at 2s. gd. per foot on rail, with an allowance of to per cent. for bark. The cost of felling, snedding, cross-cutting, and burning brush was 2d. per foot on the whole, and the cost of putting the butts on rail was 3d. per foot on the material sold. The weight of the timber came out at 28 cubic feet to the ton. A small portion of the timber, after being manufactured, was purchased by a contractor in the district in which it was grown, and the buyer states he never had finer material. NOTES AND QUERIES. 189 The trees were grown on an estate in Lanarkshire, on a deep gravel soil at an elevation of 800 feet, in woods formed about 140 years ago, but which were largely cleared of their crop during the gales of 1879 and 1884. The original crop was a mixed one, consisting mainly of Scots pine, spruce, and larch, with a few beech in places, and it is interesting to note that the portions which escaped damage were largely those where beech were present, presumably owing to this wind-firm tree resisting the force of the gales and giving protection to the other trees near it. The larch was mainly cut in 1848, manufactured into sleepers, and disposed of to the Caledonian Railway Company ; while the spruce, together with the greater part of the pines, were blown down as stated. Sections of the area had been replanted without the removal of the old isolated trees having been carried out, and as these were retarding the growth of the young trees adjoining it was decided to remove them, and the foregoing are the particulars of the trees cut. Since the above was written a further lot of trees has been cut, and the average contents of these is ror cubic feet. ies NESE. EDINBURGH MEETING OF BRITISH ASSOCIATION. At the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association, held in September last, several important papers on forestry were read, and useful discussions took place. Excursions were also arranged to the Donibristle, Raith, Murthly, and Dunkeld estates. Section K (Botany), with which forestry was associated, generously set aside a whole day for forestry papers and discussions, and it is hoped that the subject may be permanently associated with that Section. On the occasion of the meeting a most interesting book was published, entitled Zdinburgh’s Place in Scientific Progress, which contains a section on forestry written by Sir John Stirling- Maxwell, in which the pioneer work done in Edinburgh is recorded. I90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS The Historical Geography of the Wealden Iron Industry. By M. C. Devany. Benn Brothers. Pp. 62, 3 maps. Price 4s. 6d. net. The series of historico-geographical monographs, edited by Professor H. J. Fleure, which is to be published under the auspices of the Geographical Association, opens with a volume which might with equal propriety be entitled a historical survey of the Forest of the Weald. For the life of the iron industry in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, depended upon the supply of charcoal from the great stretch of woodlands of south-eastern England, and its death was due as much to the destruction of the wood- lands as to the invention of smelting with coke. Before the rival process had made headway, the iron industry in the Weald was already declining, and it may with truth be said that it was the discovery of the coke process, by Abraham Darby, which saved the situation in Britain: extensive timber supplies and large industrial populations consort ill together. Miss Delany’s monograph traces the growth of the industry, and shows how its distribution was governed by supplies of ore, wood, and water, and the development of means of communica- tion. It suffers from the fact that she has principally used secondary authorities, and these not always of the best; she seems also to have found the material she has collected on the details of the iron industry a little unmanageable. In con- sequence, perhaps, we are not told a great deal of the interactions of agriculture and industry—although space can be found to tell us twice (pp. 30, 41) that St Paul’s railings were made at Lamberhurst. The result is, unfortunately, that the full story of the forest is far from being told. Such defects, and a number of mistakes in detail, suggest that it would be as well to enlist the services of a professional historian in editing future volumes in the series, and to encourage the authors to consult more largely original sources.. A glance at Domesday would have told Miss Delany that the custom in Sussex was to give one pig in seven, not ten, as payment for pannage; but she might have learned the same fact from Vinogradoff’s Laglish Society in the Eleventh Century, or REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. IQI Maitland’s Domesday Book and Beyond, for the passage where this custom is mentioned is well known and much quoted. The statement on one page (p. 18), that ‘‘the principal drain on the timber... was caused by its demand for building and repairing castles, bridges, and especially ships,” contrasts curiously with the details of the iron industry in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries given a little later (p. 26); but in any case the con- sumption of timber for the humbler dwellings and farm buildings, for firing and fencing and implements, cannot in the aggregate have been inconsiderable. We may note, too, that Edward III. was not reigning in 1320 (p. 26); the point does not affect the argument, but such inaccuracies unnecessarily impair confidence. “Old St Paul’s” (p. 41), we may also remark, was no longer in existence in the eighteenth century. Another historical point is of a different order. It may be that at one period the beech woods in the Weald were practically confined to the chalk downs, but we should like to have authority for the statement (p. 13). Writing as we do on the borders of the ancient forest and within sight of extensive beech woods on the greensand, we very much doubt whether it was ever true. We do not wish to end on a note of criticism. We welcome especially a volume which deals with the economic history of a forest area; there is room for many such, and we hope that more may figure in this series. If Miss Delany’s book has faults and mistakes, not many writers on forest history can afford to throw stones, and all interested in the historical aspect of forests would benefit by reading it. HMaGe ik: Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No. 2, 1921. Price 1s. The Society of which this publication forms the organ has for its Hon. President Viscount Novar; its President is Mr C. C. Stapleton, and its Vice-President and Editor, Mr R. M. Gorrie. The contents of the journal include a summary of the activities of the Society, which, during the present session, are to include a number of addresses by personages well known in the forestry world, as well as various social functions. Notes from past students are also a feature of the issue. There are in addition I92 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. some serious articles on forestry matters, notably one on ‘‘Mycology and Bacteriology in Forestry,” by Mr John F. V. Phillips, as well as book reviews and a list of new books. There is, perhaps, more of the kind of writing which one expects in students’ magazines than is altogether suitable in a journal devoted to a technical subject; but the publication should, nevertheless, help to promote an interest in the scientific aspects of the subject among the members of the forestry class. A Short Manual of Forest Management. By H. Jackson, M.A. Pp. vii+68. Cambridge University Press. Price 7s. 6d. net. In this compact little volume the author covers a wide field which we think could not, under any circumstances, be satisfactorily dealt with in the space at his disposal. The introductory chapter is a discussion of the basis of management, choice of species, choice of silvicultural method, choice of rotation, and occupies three pages of the book. The remaining chapters are devoted to the following subjects :— Mensuration and increment, field work, general principles of plan, method of treatment, calculation of the possibility, the working-plan report, and an outline of a plan of management for British estate forests. So brief is the treatment of these subjects, that we do not believe an average student would be able to use the book with advantage, unless he were at the same time to consult other works where a fuller description of the various methods discussed is provided. ‘The author has, perhaps, followed the standard works mentioned in the preface too closely as regards subject matter. It would, in our opinion, have added to the value of the book had he, in describing methods of measuring sample plots and constructing yield- tables, devoted some attention to those used by the Forestry Commission, which are as simple and easily understood as, say, Weise’s method, and are more in line with the methods now used in other countries. Some confusion might arise from the way in which the word “block” is used in chapter iv. to denote a unit of manage- ment, and, in later chapters, a periodic block. OBITUARY, 193 Cee! UA RY, THE Earvu or DUvucIE. In the death of the third Earl of Ducie, on October 27th, we lost the doyen of British arboriculturists. He died at his place in Gloucestershire, Tortworth Court, in his ninety-fourth year. For the past two or three years he had been too much of an invalid to take pleasure in the wonderful arboretum of his own planting, but up to the close of 1917 his interest and enthusiasm for his trees remained as keen as ever. In December rgrs5, he wrote to me that he had just sold for £1400 a larch wood, planted by himself in 1854, which he thought was probably a unique achievement. He was President of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society as long ago as 1857, and was doubtless the father of our Society. In July 1917, he wrote of some of his favourite rare trees, such as Quercus Mirbeckiit and Nothofagus obligua, and how they had fared in that warm summer following a winter of almost un- precedented severity, and finished his letter by saying that he was now father of an unconscionable number of bodies, including the House of Lords, Brooks’ Club, the Privy Council, the Lord Lieutenants, and the Geological Society, but that he did not feel the burden of such parenthood ! . Lord Ducie acquired his planting tastes to a large extent by reason of his friendship with the late Mr R. S. Holford of Westonbirt, in his own county, and from the then Lord Somers and Sir Philip Egerton, who had been enthusiastic planters of trees for many years before Lord Ducie succeeded to Tortworth in 1853. The Westonbirt arboretum is the only rival in Gloucestershire to that at Tortworth, Of Lord Ducie’s collection of splendid specimens of trees, many of them little known elsewhere in this country, this is no occasion to speak; anyone who has seen them will not forget the remarkable examples of such beautiful and rare things as Abies bracteata, A. firma, Castanopsis chrysophylla, Quercus Kelloggtt, Aesculus indica, A. turbinata, all of which have borne good fruit at Tortworth for many years, and innumerable other things of equal interest. It is a cause of great regret that he never could bring himself to have the collection properly catalogued, VOL. XXXV. PART II. N I94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. and though he had many note-books with such records as the date of planting of all his species of oaks, there is an immense amount of information of supreme interest as to the origin of his earlier introductions, from 1849 onwards, which is lost to us by his death. Lord Ducie’s interest in geology was almost as great as that in trees. It was aconstant source of interest to him to show his friends how splendidly some plants flourished on the Old Red Sandstone of his arboretum, which at once died when removed to the Mountain Limestone on the othergside of a slight depression which divided the one formation from the other. He told the writer that many of his finest specimens, especially of Pacific Coast trees, were grown from seed he induced the captains of sailing-ships to bring home to him in the early days when the species as cultivated plants were quite unknown in this country. Through his love of yachting he had many opportunities of meeting these men. Lord Ducie’s body lies in Tortworth Churchyard, close to one of the most famous trees in England. The Tortworth Chestnut, an immense shell, but still bearing fruit every year, was referred to by Evelyn in his Sy/va; and a hundred years ago was figured and described by Strutt. It marked the boundary of the Manor of Tortworth in 1135, and was actually brought forward in evidence in an ancient contest as a proof that this species is indigenous to Britain, which it undoubtedly is not. It was a frequent pleasure to Lord Ducie to show his guests this wonder- ful old tree. F. R. S. BALFour. Roval Scottish Arboricultural Society Instituted 16th February 1854. PATRON : HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE KING. PROCEEDINGS IN 1921. THE ANNUAL MEETING. The Sixty-eighth Annual Business Meeting of the Society was held in the Goold Hall, 5 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on Saturday, 1st February 1921, at 11 A.M. His Grace the Duke or Buccieucn, K.T., President of the Society, presided, and there was a large attendance of members. Representatives of the Forestry Commission were also present. MINUTES. The Minutes of the General Meeting, held on 22nd July last, which had been printed and circulated, were held as read and approved. REPORT BY THE COUNCIL. The Secretary read the Council’s Report as follows :— Membership. At the date of last Annual Meeting the number on the Roll was reported to be 1745. The death rate has been exceptionally heavy, and the total number of deaths, so far as ascertained, is 36. There have also been 34 resignations, and 72 names have had to be removed from the Roll owing to non-payment of subscriptions. On the other hand, 80 new members have been elected, and the total membership at this date is 1683—there being thus a net loss of 62. a 2 Council. The vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr Charles Robertson was filled up by the election of Mr Charles Buchanan, Convener of the Excursion Committee. The Committee appointed to consider the procedure in connection with the recommendation of office-bearers, submitted a number of suggestions which were discussed at a meeting of the Council, and it was finally decided that in recommending names it should be kept in view that the Council should, as far as possible, be representative of all districts and all classes. It might be of assistance to the Council in making the recommendations in future, if members would be good enough to send to the Secretary the names of any members known to them who would be prepared to attend the meetings of Council, if elected to office. These names could then be put upon the list and laid before the Council when the recommendations are being made at the meeting usually held in December. A portrait of David Douglas, framed in Douglas fir grown at © Scone, was presented for the Society’s room, by Mr Alexander Morgan, Crieff, and acknowledged. Transactions. In connection with the greatly increased cost of printing and paper, the Council had under consideration a proposal that the annual issue of the Zvansactions should be reverted to. It was ultimately found, however, that a good deal of important material was available, and the part formerly issued in July appeared in November. The Council feel that, if it is necessary to reduce expenditure, some other form of activity should be curtailed rather than the Zvamsactions. It has not yet been determined when the next part will be issued, but it is hoped that there will be two issues during the year, as usual. Essays. One Essay only was received, for which an award of a No, 3 Silver Medal was granted. The writer was Mr Alexander Macpherson, Poltalloch, and his subject was the “Gathering and Extracting of Forest Tree Seeds.” Excursion. The first of the annual Excursions undertaken since the war was made to North Wales in the last week of June (21st to 26th). The Headquarters for the time was Shrewsbury, where the party was accommodated in four hotels. The estates visited were Powis Castle, Leighton Hall, Lake Vyrnwy, Kerry Woods, Llangollen, and Vivod. The early part of the season was selected because of the difficulty of finding accommo- 3 dation at a later period of the year, and also because of the number of other fixtures with which the Excursion would have clashed if held about the usual time. The party was favoured with excellent weather, but the number who attended was smaller than usual. The Council received from Sir John Stirling-Maxwell and Mr James Gray, Elginhaugh, Dalkeith, donations sufficient to enable them to give three Excursion Bursaries of “£10 each, and these were awarded to Mr Alexander Macpherson, Forester, Poltalloch; Mr William Nash, Forester, Barskimming; and Mr George D. Forbes, Royal Botanic Garden ; who each afterwards submitted reports which they had prepared upon the tour. A full report of the Excursion is as usual printed in the Zransactions. The Council would welcome an indication from members as to the most convenient time when next year’s Excursion might be held. The Council recommend that woodlands in Yorkshire should be visited, with headquarters probably at York, Harrogate, or Ripon. Exhibition. The usual Exhibition was held in the Highland and Agri- cultural Society’s Show at Aberdeen, and a large collection of exhibits were sent forward. The Judges of the Exhibits were Sir John Fleming, and Messrs Gilbert Brown and Frank Scott. Their awards were intimated at the General Meeting, and a full report has been printed in the Zramsactions. The Exhibition Committee are pleased to report that they have received from Messrs Coats, Ltd., a beautiful case containing spools made from home-grown birch showing the various stages of manufacture from the rough wood to the finished bobbin, which will be available for exhibition purposes. The Council has made an appeal to the Highland and Agricultural Society for further financial support in connection with these Exhibitions, and the matter is under consideration of their Show Committee. Nurseries and Plantations Competitions. Dr Borthwick and Mr J. F. Annand were the Judges of these Competitions, and their awards were also made known at the General Meeting. A full report has appeared in the Zransactions. Prizes. _ The following Prizes and Medals have been awarded during the year :— To the Earl of Mansfield, 45 for timber exhibits at Aberdeen. This prize was the gift of the Highland and Agricultural Society. 4 In connection with the Exhibition the Judges awarded— One Gold Medal. Two No. 2 Silver Medals. Two No. 1 Silver Medals. Five No. 3 . In connection with the Nursery and Plantation Competition the Judges awarded— One Gold Medal, Three No. 1 Silver Medals, Two Bronze Medals, and, as has already been mentioned, a No. 3 Silver Medal was awarded for an Essay. The winner of one of the No. 3 Silver Medals elected to take cash instead of the Medal. Education. The Council is gratified to be able to report that Mrs Hamilton, who formerly gave a donation of £100, has generously sent a further sum of 450 to be applied in promoting juvenile education in forestry. The Committee has been in communication with all the Executive officers of the new Educational Authorities, with the object of obtaining their views as to the best and most practical methods of arousing and maintaining an interest in woodcraft and the love of trees amongst young people, especially in districts where re-planting is likely to be carried on. A large number of replies have been received. While approving generally of the procedure the Council had already proposed to adopt, some of these officers were kind enough to submit further suggestions, such as raising seedlings in school gardens and planting them out; providing facilities for lectures to teachers and giving them an opportunity of taking part in the Society’s Excursions. The Committee has also, as you will observe from the circular calling this meeting, made an appeal for prints of photographs which might be made into lantern slides, for illustrating lectures to be given in rural districts. It is hoped that there will be a good response to this appeal, so that a varied collection of slides may soon be available for this work. It is gratifying to be able to report that a considerable number of sales of the small /ztroduction to Forestry have been effected during the year. The amount received was shown in the Accounts as over £7. ‘These sales are the direct result of this correspondence with the Executive officers of Education. Forestry Commission. The Forestry Commission have issued three Bulletins in the course of the year, of which copies were sent to the Society’s Library. Sir John Stirling-Maxwell was kind enough to present copies of these Bulletins to all the members of Council. These 5 Bulletins are, of course, on sale and can be had from H.M. Stationery Office. Mr Sutherland, Assistant Commissioner for Scotland, accepted the Council’s invitation to attend their meeting in December, and gave a full report of the work the Commission had in hand in Scotland, for which he was cordially thanked. The Commission has accepted the invitation to be represented at the meeting to-day, and it is expected that Lord Lovat, Chairman of the Commission, and perhaps other members, will be present as well as Mr Sutherland. Imperial Forestry Conference. This Conference, which was referred to in last Report, was held in London in the course of the summer. The members also made a brief visit to Scotland. A full report of the proceedings has not yet been made available, but various resolutions adopted by the Conference appeared in the public press, and copies were obtained by the Council. A full report of the proceedings will, no doubt, be available later. Imperial Forestry Exhibition. This Exhibition, which was also referred to in last Report, was held at the same time as the Conference, and the Society’s promised contribution, which was ultimately increased to £60, was duly paid. In addition to making this payment the Society made available a considerable number of exhibits of timber and pictures, which were returned at the close of the Exhibition. A letter of thanks was received from the Committee of Manage- ment in acknowledgment of the Society’s assistance. The exhibits before they could be sent to London had to be carefully examined and prepared, and this work was done under the supervision of Mr Spiers who was also good enough to arrange for their despatch and re-delivery on return. The pictures are meantime in the offices of the Forestry Commission at Drumsheugh Gardens, but the Society has right to obtain them at any time for exhibition purposes. The timber exhibits are temporarily housed at Saughton, which Mr M‘Hattie has been kind enough to secure for the purpose. The Committee will report later as to permanent accommodation for these exhibits. Local Branches. Further correspondence has taken place with members in the North regarding the Northern Branch in Inverness, but the Committee is not yet in a position to report much progress. The usual reports from the Aberdeen Branch will be sub- mitted to the meeting. 6 Dunn Memorial Fund. The amount at the credit of this Fund is now £17, 17s. gd. Royal Commission on Income Tax. The report of this Commission was considered by the Council, and it was agreed to co-operate with other societies in making a representation on the subject to the Government. Various conferences were held at which it was pointed out that if all woodlands were transferred to Schedule D, those near maturity on which income tax had been paid for a long period would again be taxed on being felled, which would mean a double payment. A suggestion had been submitted that woods over a certain age should be retained under Schedule B till felled, but no definite decision has yet been arrived at. Mean- time the Society has, along with other societies, sent representa- tions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer urging that these recommendations should be set aside and that the Government should adopt some simple and equitable scheme, which would have the effect of restoring the confidence of landowners in the justice of the tax they are asked to pay in respect of their woodlands. Railway Rates. A Committee has been appointed to consider this matter and to send in a representation to the Government in support of the objections raised by the timber merchants. Status of the Secretary for Scotland. Delegates from the Society were appointed to attend a conference in support of the Secretary for Scotland being given the status of a Secretary of State. A meeting was attended in the Council Chambers in September last at which a unanimous resolution was adopted and sent to the Government. Library (Appendix G). The usual list of presentations and additions to the Library will be printed with this report in due course. Meantime it might be mentioned that a handsome volume on the Hardwoods of Australia and their Economics, by Mr Richard T. Baker, Curator and Economic Botanist, Lecturer on Forestry, Sydney University, has been presented to the Society. The author presents the work with his compliments ‘and _ grateful acknowledgment of the services rendered to Australian Forestry by that illustrious member of the Society—Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, P.C., G.C.M.G. (now Lord Novar), whilst Governor- General of Australia, 1914-1920.” 7 Accounts (Appendix A). Mr Massiz, Convener of the Finance Committee, in sub- mitting the Annual Financial Statement for approval, said that the Council was considering how the income could be increased and the expenditure reduced. They were reluctant to ask a higher subscription but would welcome the opinion of the meeting on that point. Dunn Memoria Funp (Appendix B). The Dunn Memorial Fund Account was then submitted by the SECRETARY. Excursion Funp (Appendix C). The Accounts of this Fund showed that a balance of accumulated surpluses, amounting to £62, 1s. 5d., had been brought forward from 1914, that £13, 12s. 5d. had been added during the past year, and that the balance at the credit was now £70, 13s. tod. ABERDEEN BraNCH (Appendixes D and E). The Annual Report and Accounts of this Branch were also submitted. The CHAIRMAN moved the adoption of the various Reports and Accounts, and replying to questions put by Mr Richardson said that the Council had not considered further the question of payment for articles for the Transactions, owing to lack of funds for the purpose, that his criticism of the Judges’ award for an essay on ‘Timber Measuring” would be considered, and that nothing further had been done with regard to a diploma in forestry in connection with the Edinburgh and East of Scotland Agricultural College. Sir HucH SHaw Stewart referred to the Accounts and the desirability of increasing the income and reducing the expendi- ture, and suggested that the Council should consider whether a combination of printing and circulating publications between the Scottish and English Societies might be arranged, and that probably the Forestry Commission might add to the interest of such a joint publication by providing facts of general interest for circulation. Additional advertisers might be attracted by a wider circulation. It was agreed that the Council should consider the matter and report. The Reports and Accounts were then adopted. -CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS. The CuHatnMan.—‘ My remarks will be brief as there is other important business to follow, but there are some things I wish to put before the Society at the end of my tenure of office. The membership is now 1683 being 62 less than a year ago, but in the two preceding years a large number of new members had been secured by a very special effort. It would be most unfortunate if we had to curtail our useful work, but unless we can get increased revenue, we must try to economise in such ways as may be found possible. Personally, I should be sorry if we had to raise the subscriptions, but if it is absolutely necessary, we will have to do it. We want as large a member- ship as possible, and must avoid doing anything which will make it more difficult for useful people to join us. It has always been difficult to get the best men as members of Council. There were plenty of capable men in the Society, but the selection for the few vacancies has really been a difficult and a very unpleasant task. If members would at any time let the Secretary know of any good men in their district who would be likely to accept office and attend the meetings, it would be a great advantage to the Council in the future. We want to have all classes—and by classes I mean proprietors, foresters, nurserymen, timber merchants, and all the different interests connected with forestry — well represented and also the different districts. These last three years have been years of considerable difficulty, but I would like to express my appreciation of the way in which the members of the Council have attended. In spite of all the difficulties we have had extraordinarily good attendances. I have no hesitation in saying that I have never presided over a more business-like Committee. They all worked most harmoniously, and there was not a single incident in the whole of that time. All were out for the general good of the Society and forestry. The Society is greatly indebted to them for the excellent work they have done in spite of the expense and difficulty of attending the meetings. “Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart raised the question of the Journal. It is one that occurred to me, for it is one of the serious questions with which we are faced. I quite agree that if you had one publication with a larger circulation, you not 9 only save a certain amount of expens¢ in printing, but would provide a better medium for the adveitisers. I have no doubt the Council will go carefully into the matter. If the suggested arrangement were adopted, we would require to insist on having the appointment of one of the joint-editors, and we could not do better than have our present editor, Dr Borthwick. We must retain our independence, and not allow ourselves to be swallowed up. “There has been a great deal done by this Society in the past in promoting the growing of timber; but there is still a great deal to be done, particularly in regard to the practical woysk of marketing. A discussion is to be started to-day by Mr Leven which, I think, is most important. Increased production and reduced costs are absolutely essential at the present time, and I have no doubt the Council will go on investigating these matters because I feel, now that we have a Forestry Commission, a great deal more information will probably be available for proprietors and others than has been possible in the past. We should endeavour to demonstrate that planting is such a reasonably profitable concern, that syndicates or companies might be induced to invest money in it. If such a profit cannot be shown, then taxation or whatever stands in its way must be put on a proper basis. That is, I think, one of the lines on which the Society should work. “One very important development has taken place during my tenure of office, and that is the institution of the Forestry Commission. This has been the aim of the Society for a long time, and it therefore marks a very great advance and a very great development. We have great confidence in the gentlemen who are now at the head of affairs in this Forestry Commission. But our duty does not end there. I think our duty is to support them as far as we can, but at the same time to be severe though fair critics. We wish to be in full touch with them, but with absolute independence. It would never do for this Society to be mixed up in any way with what I might call a Government Department, and I am quite certain that these are the lines on which the Forestry Commission would welcome our help. The most difficult point at the present time is the question of planting by private owners, which the Commission should encourage as far as possible. We do not want to have an entire Government monoply. We want emulation between IO private planters and Government planters. I am quite certain it has been a great advantage to the country that Lord Lovat has seen his way to accept the Chairmanship of the Forestry Commission, and we very much regret that he is unable to come here to-day. But we are lucky to have with us Sir John Stirling-Maxwell and Colonel Fothringham, two other Commissioners, and also Colonel Sutherland, the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland. We all know him, and I do not think I can speak too highly of the work he has done in the past under considerable difficulties. I believe he is making exceedingly good progress:in the present, and I believe he will make more in the future. He has always been a good friend of ours, and I think we have always been good friends of his. I only wish to add that I would like to tender my thanks to my colleagues in the Council for the extraordinarily kind and able way in which they have supported me during the past three years. ‘“The next business is the “ELECTION OF OFFICE-BEARERS FOR 1921. “The first is the election of a President. The Council recommend His Grace the Duke of Atholl, who is well known not only in this Society but throughout the whole of Scotland, and it is quite unnecessary for me to say much in proposing him as President. J am quite certain that you will not only agree that this be carried unanimously but that the Society will much appreciate that he has consented to accept office. We all know that His Grace has not much spare time, but J am quite certain that he will devote himself to the interests of the Society in the same way as he has to the great many other things to which he has devoted such an enormous amount of his time and energy. The Council’s recommendation is unanimous, and I think they could not possibly have made a better choice. I beg to propose the Duke of Atholl as President for the next year.” Mr CuHarLES BuCHANAN seconded the proposal, which was carried unanimously. The Duke or ATHOLL.—‘“ Allow me in one word to thank you for the honour you have done me. I can assure you I will do my best in the Chair. The late President stated that in making nominations for office-bearers the Council had II selected various names not because the names were good but because they were good men. In my case I think there is not much wrong with the name, but I am rather doubtful about the man and I can only assure you I will do my very best. I have not, in one sense, since I belonged to the Society taken a very great interest in its work, that is to say in its meetings, because I have been very busy ; but that is not to say that I have not been interested and have not benefited by your deliberations here, and after all probably I was better employed carrying the standard of planting, minding my own business, and doing what I could in the interest of forestry in my own part of the world. Certainly it cannot be said in regard to the estate I come from that we belittle forestry. It is one of the biggest estates in the country, and I think it has been literally kept on its legs by forestry. I need not go into this point, but the most flourishing part of it consists of a number of small farms with the intermediate ground at the back planted. Well these plantations not only kept the estate going but also the farms. When they were planted it was suggested by the man who planted them that the plantations would come in very handy for the next war. He spoke more prophetically than he imagined, because he was anticipating war with France, and he was also anticipating that shipbuilding would be the same as it was in his time and would consist in making wooden ships. The wood, however, came in equally handy for the war with those who were our Allies at that time. People ask, does it pay to plant, is it worth while putting money into it? I have not the slightest doubt that in the case of a big estate in the Highlands it is the bounden duty of the proprietor to plant whether it pays or not. It keeps employment going and it is about the best bank that you could put your money into, with a view to your descendants, who may or may not be good men, because they cannot take it out. I am quite sure that it is better to lose 3 per cent. at a job you understand than risk losing 20 or 30 per cent. ina job you do not, and even any loss you may incur is likely to be less than that which would be incurred by most proprietors if they dabbled in stocks and shares. So far as this war is concerned the plantings of 150 years ago were of immense value to the country. They were also the means of saving the estate from being broken up for the payment of death duties on the death of the proprietor During the war 12 this estate was burdened very heavily because it had not only to pay its usual mortgages, but to suffer a large decrease on the rents of the let shootings; the woods carried off that and maintained the estate the whole time. The woods have also enabled me to continue what I may call my other duties to the estate, building, even in these times, and looking after it generally and paying higher wages. It is rough on the woods, and also in some ways on me, but after all it has been the saving of the estate, and for that reason I do advise everybody who has got large estates to be cheerful so far as planting is concerned, and do what he can in that way. I am certainly not going back on it. I would rather leave the estate and live somewhere else and continue planting, because I have still faith in that estate and in planting. At the present moment I have arranged so that I shall be able to plant in normal years something like 400 acres a year, which I think is quite good for any proprietor. The Duke of Buccleuch was rather frightened that if we joined hands with our friends in the south we might get swallowed up, and warned us to be careful. I can only say that so long as I am President of this Society, and our friends further south attempt to swallow us up, they will very quickly emulate the whale that swallowed Jonah, and that we shall remain what we are—the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society.” Mr Charles Buchanan was elected a Vice-President, Dr Borthwick was re-appointed Hon. Editor, and the following were elected members of the Council:—Sir Andrew Agnew, Bt., John W. M‘Hattie, W. H. Massie, John Scrimgeour, and Harry G. Younger of Benmore. The Secretary and Treasurer, the Auditor, the Hon. Consulting Scientists, and the Local Secretaries, were re-elected. Sir JOHN STIRLING-MAXWELL, Bart.—‘‘I propose that Lord Novar be elected Honorary Secretary. As you will remember I have held that office since he went abroad, and all the time I have held it, I have felt how very much less well I was able to fill it than he had done before. Lord Novar has now returned in full vigour and with a great addition to his experience since he has filled the office of Governor-General of Australia, and I think if he would be willing to accept, that it would be an immense advantage if he could return to his old office as Honorary Secretary. I have also a motive for making this proposal, and that is, that I have the honour 13 to be a member of the Forestry Commission, and I think that although it has been very convenient at the start to have a link between the Commission and the Council, it would be - very inadvisable that that link should continue in the official form in which it is now, because although the work of the Council of the Society and the work of the Commission will always be very close—I hope there will be no differences—at the same time it is the duty of the Society to look after the interests of forestry as a whole and to be in the position, if necessary, to give independent criticism of the work of the Commission. Therefore I think it would be a mistake to continue this arrangement, and the re-election of Lord Novar to this post would, I think, strengthen the Society and remove the difficulty.” Mr Massiz.—‘‘I second Sir John’s proposal. We shall part with Sir John with the deepest regret for he has indeed been an ideal Honorary Secretary, but his arguments are unanswerable. On the other hand, I am sure we will all welcome Lord Novar again because we know that we are getting a good man.” The CHaiRMAN.—“I am sure we are all very grateful to Sir John Stirling-Maxwell for what he has done. As we know there is no man in Scotland keener on forestry than he is, and although in one sense he leaves us, he still remains a member of the Society, and I am pretty certain that although the link may not nominally have our label on it, it will be an equally strong link in the future.” Sir JoHN StTiRLInGc-MaxweEL_.—‘‘I move a vote of thanks to the retiring President for his services. I am quite sure a motion of that kind will require very few words from me, because every one here is acquainted with the work which the Duke of Buccleuch has given to the Society during his years of office. He came into office towards the conclusion of a very critical period, and his actual years of office were perhaps the most critical of the whole of that period. He had, fortunately, just the qualities which helped us most at that time, and I do not know whether all of us realise even now how very much his good sense assisted the forestry arrangements made by the Government after the war at the time they were before Parliament. The Duke has many qualities which we recognise, but in this case what has helped us most is that he is not only a most strong partisan, a most destructive critic, but also 14 has the quality which does not always go with them either in private affairs or in public—of most scrupulous fairness towards his opponents, an extraordinary power of seeing what is in other people’s minds, as well as sticking up for his own views. It was that quality which made him so very helpful to us ata critical time, and if it were for nothing else I think we owe him for that a very deep debt of gratitude. We have had a succession of good Presidents but we have had none better than he, and he like all his predecessors has flung himself into the work as being the real leader as well as the nominal head of the Society.” The Duxe or BuccLeucu.—-‘‘ These moments are somewhat embarrassing. In my most conceited moments I never dreamt of possessing such good qualities as those now attributed to me, but the work has been a very great pleasure to me. I have done what I could, and I hope with some success, but I would like to say onething. It is all through Mr Galloway. Mr Galloway is a wonderful man at hiding the shortcomings of the President or anyone else. He does not find fault and he is a tremendous help in giving information, and any success I have had has been very largely due to him. I thank you very much for your kind vote of thanks.” EXHIBITIONS AND COMPETITIONS. Mr Roperr ALLAN.—‘‘ You heaid in the Report of the Council about the exceedingly high cost of our Exhibitions in the past year and of the difficulty of finding money. Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart remarked that we might find some way of curtail- ing our expenditure. The Exhibition was talked about as one part of the expenditure which might be dropped. That would be a pity in some ways, because our Exhibition at Aberdeen gave very great pleasure to large crowds of people and a great deal of information in a way that many people never dreamt of before. The Exhibition in connection with the key industries in Glasgow also made a great appeal in that large Industrial Exhibition, and many visited it with pleasure. As the Exhibition is almost in the balance now I cannot say very much, but I hope that if the Highland and Agricultural Society increase their grant and facilities that we will have a good Exhibition at Stirling, and the Secretary has so much faith in the Exhibition being carried on that he is sending out circulars inviting exhibits 15 for competition and exhibition in the usual way. I hope if we get a grant we will have a good Exhibition, both in the timber section and in the nursery and plantation section in the Stirling district.” THE Excursion. Mr CwHaries BucHaNAN, Convener of the Excursion Committee, mentioned that two districts had been mentioned for next Excursion, namely, the North of Scotland and Yorkshire, and that after careful consideration the Council has decided on Yorkshire. He accordingly suggested that the Council should be authorised to carry through the Excursion in that part of England. The suggestion was adopted. WoRK OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION. Sir JOHN STIRLING-MAXWELL made a statement on behalf of Lord Lovat on the work of the Forestry Commission. He said :—‘‘If you are disappointed at the absence of Lord Lovat, I am quite sure he is still more disappointed not to be here. The last time I saw him he was talking about the meeting and looking forward to it. If Colonel Fothringham had come into the room a few minutes earlier it would have fallen to him to make use of Lord Lovat’s notes, but he was lucky enough to escape that. I shall be very brief, because it would be much better if we could defer until Lord Lovat meets the Society any questions of policy and so on. I shall merely mention a few facts that may be of interest. “The land acquired by the Commission in Scotland up to date extends to 60,000 acres, of which about 50 per cent. is plantable. About 36,000 acres of that are deer forests, and they are mainly responsible for reducing the percentage of plantable area. The percentage of plantable ground is much higher elsewhere. The Society will be interested to know that the area which they selected for special survey some years ago, namely, Glenmohr, was early singled out by the Commission, In that district 17,500 acres of ground have been acquired, and the bulk of this is plantable. Negotiations are proceeding steadily for additional areas. The areas acquired by the Commission lie practically all over Scotland, and I need not say that the negotiations which are in progress for acquiring 16 land cover a much larger area that those which I have mentioned. ‘The Commission are in close touch with the Board of Agriculture for Scotland. Two joint schemes—at Borgie in Sutherland, and Glentress in Peeblesshire—are actually in operation, and the Board are in process of formulating a scheme of small-holdings on one of the forests of the Commission at Auchterawe. More schemes of the kind are in sight. On the other hand, the Commission are assisting the Board by planting for them areas of woodland that come into their hands in Forfarshire and other counties. “With regard to grants Lord Lovat asked me particularly to mention that although the Commission had devoted most of its time in the first year to getting planting under way,’ the percentage of private woods in this country is something like 97 out of 100, and the Commission never forgets the importance of encouraging private planting. It is a matter to which they propose to devote a great deal of time, and it is one to which they must proceed slowly in consultation with the Consultative Committee, and with such bodies as this Society, and one in which also they are of course bound by the provisions of the Act under which the Commission is set up. However, I may mention—and Lord Lovat asked me to mention—that those conditions are not necessarily final, and that as a matter of fact more than one point in them is already under discussion with the Government with a view to modification of the terms. ““With regard to nurseries, the position up to now has been that nutseries have been treated in the United Kingdom pretty much as a whole, and of course the existence of Crown woods in England made the establishment of nurseries there an easier matter than here. But nurseries have also been established in Scotland, and now 180 acres of nursery ground have been acquired for that purpose, although all is not available this season. “Lord Lovat asked me to mention that the members of the Society could be a great help to the Commission in regard to the collection of seed, and especially Scots pine seed, which during recent years has been so very scarce. They might be of great use both by telling us where there are good crops available and also by helping in the collection. Those who are inclined to help should communicate with Mr Sutherland. 17 “In regard to schools there are now two schools for training working foresters in Scotland, one at Birnam for disabled ex-service men, and the other at Beaufort to which thirteen men were admitted last summer. A similar number will be admitted this summer. There will be a three-year course, and this school should turn out a dozen men each year. The question of establishing further schools depends really on the demand. “The Consultative Committee is actively engaged and the Society ts well represented on it. Valuable suggestions have been forthcoming from this Committee with regard to grants schemes, the assessment of Income Tax, Railway Rates as affecting forestry development, and many other questions. The last question submitted to. them was the question of collecting forestry statistics, a very difficult matter which the Commission and the Consultative Committee have under consideration at this moment, and one in which I think it is more than likely that the members of this Society will be asked to give assistance. **T think those are all the points I have to mention. I would like to say generally that Lord Lovat is devoting the whole of his great energies to this work and the whole of his time, and I would like also to say that every day it becomes more certain that in Mr Sutherland, who is not here to-day, we have the ideal Executive Officer in Scotland. I have nothing else to say except that the Commission recognise that it has had the most generous support from everyone outside, and we have had nothing but help from everyone to whom we have applied so far, and for that we are most grateful. I have not mentioned the area actually planted. Last year the area planted was 1500 acres which lay really outside the programme, but things were far enough forward to admit of that beginning. About 500 acres of that are in Scotland. This year the planting programme is 4500 acres, of which about 1500 are in Scotland. By the year 1925 the planting programme will be 18,000 acres in the United Kingdom. Of course I am not claiming credit for anything the Commission have done, because you will see the real difficulties all lie ahead of us.” ‘TENANT-FARMERS—MOrION BY MR RICHARDSON. Mr RICHARDSON moved that the word ‘‘ Tenant-farmers” in Class 3 of Laws III. and VI. be transferred to Class 2, and ; b 18 pointed out that meantime Tenant-farmers are allowed to enter under Class 3, like head foresters, head gardeners, and others, and that his motion would have the effect of classifying them with factors, nurserymen, and timber merchants. The motion was duly seconded. Mr James WuitrTon said that farmers should be encouraged to become members of the Society. It is well enough known that shelter-belts were being cut out, and that many farmers now recognised that more shelter was necessary. He Suggested that Mr Richardson should distinguish in his motion between the occupiers of large and small farms so that the latter might get into the lower class. Mr RicwHarpson said he had no objection to Mr Whitton’s suggestion. The CHaiRMAN: In that case might it not be better to leave it to the Council? This was agreed to. A discussion on planting distances was then opened by Mr George Leven, Bowmont Forest, in which a number of members took part. (For an abstract of the discussion see pp. 1-8 of Transactions.) ee rn” = - ad ee ¥ ) c on ae a ae cee: ws” a : a f 1 Re. 4 i Pes St g eromret msg tl” Svan tert tie Hsiniog “e ald (2135 297104 heed sdif ¢ 22st) yebnis aati f> D Sit oved Hisow Hoven eid jad? brs z1adiy. Wotan. 13d brie ieaigwerun zrotost dain earl. a ee > habqesee Ylub 2aw coitoin a ) luode sche sant hise worrin Vi 2aual * ‘Me foW2i 31 ~ .yisiso@ 8826 aisdniom smoogd ot ; bas ayo ino anisd', Siaw 2iisd-edlet2 tod ‘a aug 2nw wotlad® syonr deh beeingoos? won ae oi daiegniteib bluoeds noebisdoil ™ tadd. by o2 Zits) Us ame Dire Pare! Io% 2%eiquao st = nis towol 3 isi i399. ye baplsoido on Bad si bia yoann aM : ve foigesygue d0res: dtlgim seen dedi nl dusts se) jin oft of Gi | . OF bostes 2 aw emi 90!) 2a aponsieih yoiinslg mo ab ieeu aaite re a iY 505: tii: ni 23104 Siamwod 2 13v8) SitesD SUseth Sit Io Jonweds As 10d S18q; HG) | 7* ~ “ ) ra re ee - : 4 hak S LAP TORS, 5 J # J 7 ¢ . > ‘ - rt a > ; MY = ‘Ss Pi 4 * _ S - 5 P - + 4 * cd Va 3 - ‘ at “rt " 7 °> f x # 1 Py Z h- 4 a a - nf e J « “1 ; a & : t 5 igs tr > Pee ~ a “ Asstract oF Accounts for Year ending 31st December 1920. I—CAPITAL. CHARGE. 1, Funds st 3lst December 1919, . £500 Caledonian Railway Company 4 per cent, Guaranteed Annuity Stock, No, 2, at 62, £500 Caledonian Railway Company 4 per cent, Debentare Stock, at 65, - £400 North British Railway Company 3 per cent. Debenture Stock, at 50, £400 North British Railway Company, No. 1, 4 per cent. Preference Stock, at Furniture, ete., in Society's Room, Balance of Capital in Bank, 2. Life Members’ Subscriptions in 1920, . Now Members, Ordinary Members by commutation, CHARGE. 1, Balance in hand at 81st December 1919 made up thus :— * Special Report Fund, Accumulated Revenue, 2, Ordinary Members’ Subscriptions, Arrears at 81st December 1919, Less Unappropriated, 3 Add Arrears written off but since recovered, Subscriptions for 1920, Tess Received in 1919, Deduc— Cancelled or written off as irrecoverable at Slat December 1920, . £017 0 Tess Unappropriated asabove, 0 6 0 27 11 0 Arrears at Slst Decem- ber 1920, . -£216 6 Less received but not appropriated, senders’ names beingtnknown, 016 6 4, Proportion of Life Members’ Babaarotions transferred from Capital, 4, Dividends and Interest, 5, Transactions old, 6. Income Tax Recovered, » Education Fund :— Donation from Mrs Hamilton, 8. Nursery and Plantation Competition—Entry Money, a 9, Mostrations Fund—Donation from J. I. M‘Conuel, Ban of Eliock : : fe * Note —With the cousent of Sir Jobn Stirling Maxwell, Rart,, this Donation haa bee {n part payment af the cost of th Transactions, The balance of this cost and the Postages of the Part amount to about £76, which will exhaust the sum carried forward to next year. Epinunatt, 31st January 1921. the ubove is an Alistract, and have found them correct: £203 an | £310 0 0 £114 18 1 — —I hereby certify that I have examined the Accounts of the ‘The Securities, representing the Funds as DISCHARGE. Proportion of Life Leb Subscriptions transferred to Cneshausted: 4 of Full Lite Subscriptions, © £176 7 11 EH of Commuted Subscriptions, 22 2 — 4 2. Decrease in value of Investments since 81st December 1910+ (1) Railway Stocks 0 (2) National War Bonds a0 0 8 2181 5 0 —— 3. Fonds, Were pecenbae 1920— £500 fonian Avoity Beate Xo ene Guaranteed £000/c rcvaled atest Railway Company 4 ne it. Debenture Stock, at 64g, - £400 North Butoh Railway Company 3 per cent. Debenture Stock, at 48, Cele North | British Railway No. 1, ate , Preference Stock, at Regd. 4 National War Bonds, at 93, Fucalbnre | ete, in Society's Room, as before, say, nese Capital Bring sum in National 8 —_—\ See 8 Eoa64 611 —<— DISCHARGE. 1. Printing, Stationery, ete., . Vol. XXXIV. Part 1. Tran VoLXXXIY, Park IL. Tran thors’ Reprints, General Printing, Roll Book, Stationery, Binding, etc., Zea Repayment from Excursion ‘and, #471 13 11 Less Receipts for Advts. in Trans. 2. Exhibition Expenses, (2) Baighurgh Exibition (2810) Cartages, (2) Glasgow Exhibit (1919)— ation . £116 16 6 ts, oto. . (3) Aberdeen Exhibition— Advertising, Fitting up office, etc., Printing, Attendants, eto. Secretary's outlays, (4) London (British Empire) Exhibition— Donation towards expenses, . be s Seen fatale 39 8 60 0 0 £116 166 3, Nursery and Plantation. (Sea in Ol plato Printing, . Prizes (Medals, and Caxh, £6), i Highland 3 e014 9 600 Lees Donation frou 6 & Agric, Society, 5. Contribution to Aberdeen Branch, Fees to Reporters, Expenses of Management, Rent of Room and Taxes for 1920, aud Hull for Annual Meeting, Auditor, Secretary and ‘Treasi Advertising, Insurance, ‘and Premium on Secretary's Bonil of Caution, i Councillors’ Luncheons and Railway F Postages and Miscellaneous Outlays, vi Postages of Part I. of Vol. X Transactions, General Postages, Com sions on Cheques, and Petty Outlays, Balance at close of Accounts, . 1. Education Fund—Balance, 2, Balance of Revenue carried to next year, subject to payment of balance of cost. ete., of November Transactions, 250 18 11 Nole.—Balance of Revenue £250 13 11 768 asabove, —, Balance of Capital, £258 0 7 On Deposit Receipt with National Bank of Scotland, Ltd., At credit of Account current with paboual Bank of Scotland, . 60 6 9 71810 £190 0 0 ta arenes hands, ‘Treasurer for the year to 31st December 1920, of which above, have also been exhibited to me. ALEX. J. MUNKO, studitor, 2I APPENDIX B. ABSTRACT OF ACCOUNTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE Matcotm DuNN MeEMoRIAL FunND, YEAR 1920. RECEIPTS. Balance in Bank at close of last Account. Ee i4a 17 6 Income Tax recovered, 1919 ; 4 ‘ : o 18 o Dividend on #100 Redeemable Stock of Edin- burgh Corporation, payable at Whitsunday and Martinmas, 1920, £3, /ess Tax, 18s. . Zee MES 417 17-9 PAYMENTS. Nil. Balance carried forward, being sum in National Bank of Scotland on Account Current ee Ss nee | EDINBURGH, 11th February 1921.—Examined and found correct. The Certificate by the Bank of above Balance, and the Edinburgh Corporation Stock Certificate, have been produced. ALEX, J. MUNRO, Auditor. 22 APPENDIX C. EXCURSION ACCOUNT. Abstract of Accounts—Year 1920. Balance from last Account—1914__. : + 4540 0Saeee Add—Contribution received after close of Account. ‘ 50 © Interest on Deposit Receipt for £50 ; - ; 8 8 Io £68 3 II Deduct—Additional payments applicable to 1914 Account : Auditor’s Fee for 1914. ; La 200 Photographs for Foreign Guests, etc. 3 2 0 Incidental Expenses . . ; 018 6 —-—— Ofeeeo £62 epee RECEIPTS. Contributions to Common Purse . : : £3080. 10 Donations for Bursaries. : : ; : 30 15 O Interest on Deposit Receipt . 5 : . o 18 10 4414 13 10 PAYMENTS. Bursaries of 410 to three Members £30 0 Oo Less paid forthemtoCommon Purse 21 0 O £9 0 O Preliminary expenses in Wales . 5 Oey Printing Circulars and Programmes, and Maps. . ; : SE GA IAGO) . Lunch Bags—two days Ee kel Ss : PE ia (9) (0) Lunch at Llangollen 12.1 SeO —— 26015 Oo Hotels in Shrewsbury : Raven E : Aloe G0 George . ; 97 10 oO Lion . : : 20 10 3 Y 2230 903 Transport—Birmingham & Midland Omnibus Co., Ltd., Smethwick : Two Motor Buses for4 days . 89 10 O Tips and incidental expenses during fOURN as ¢ . : : ks (os) —- = AON Tees +--+ Tees Balance carried forward to next year 5 : : : . | Sra Balance carried forward to next year brought down . 475 13 10 Suess of— . Sum on Deposit Receipt with National Bank of Scotland, Ltd. (West End Branch) £70 0 o 2. Sum at credit of Account Current with Do. rs 5 . : 5) 2g) 10 475 13 10 EDINBURGH, 11fh February 1921.—Examined with Memorandum Book and Vouchers produced, and found correct. The above Deposit Receipt and Bank Certificate of above balance on Current Account have been exhibited. The balance of £75, 13s. 10d. at credit as above to be resumed in next Account. ALEX. J. MuNRO, Azndztor. APPENDIX D. Roya ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY (ABERDEEN BRANCH). REPORT 1920. The Committee beg to submit the Fifteenth Annual Report of the Branch. The membership of the Branch is 183, nineteen having joined during the year. The Branch has lost several members through death and removal from the district, including Mr. J. A. “Duthie, of Messrs Ben Reid & Co., Nurserymen, Aberdeen, who was a member of the Committee, and a very active and useful member of the Branch, the members of which have several times had the privilege of inspecting his firm’s nurseries at Pinewood, and receiving hospitality from him. The usual activities of the Branch have been carried on during the year, two formal meetings—on 13th December 1919, and 6th November 1920—and two excursions—on roth June and 26th August, having been held—and additional interest was lent to the proceedings of the Branch on account of the Forestry Exhibition under the auspices of the Society, having taken place in Aberdeen during the week of the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show in the month of July. At the Annual Meeting held in December, after the formal business had been transacted, Mr John Rule, Huntly, read a paper on “The Life and History of a Large Wood,” the wood referred to being the Bin Wood, Huntly. The paper was one of great interest, and a discussion followed, Mr Rule being asked to allow the Secretary to retain a copy of the paper for future reference. On the occasion of the June meeting, the members had the privilege, on the invitation of Mr William Low, of Balmakewan, Kincardineshire, of visiting and inspecting his woods at Bal- makewan. The excursion was largely attended, and the party was met by Mr Low and personally shown over the woods and grounds, and was afterwards entertained to tea by Mr and Mrs Low. The August meeting took the form of an Excursion, on the invitation of the Earl of Moray, to the woods of Darnaway, near Forres. The party, numbering about fifty, travelled from 24 Aberdeen by special saloon carriage. The magnificent old pine woods, including some of the grandest trees in the North of Scotland, were inspected in the course of the day, and the party was hospitably received and personally shown over the Forestry Museum by the Earl of Moray, who also entertained the party to luncheon, and occupied the chair on the occasion. He afterwards addressed the party, and gave a historical sketch of the Darnaway woods and planting schemes. The excursion was one of the most successful in the annals of the Branch. At the November meeting, which was held in Marischal College, Aberdeen, an address was given by Mr J. F. Annand, | M.Sc., O.B.E., of the Forestry Commission, Aberdeen, his subject being “ Considerations affecting the Selection of Species for Planting in the North-east of Scotland.” The address, which was both educative and interesting, was followed by a discussion taken part in by several of the members present. The Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Show in Aberdeen was the natural rendezvous of men from all parts of the country, interested in forestry. The competitive sections were rather disappointing in regard to numbers, but the quality of the exhibits was very high, and the articles sent for exhibition of the most interesting nature. Particular mention might be made of the specimens of home-grown timber shown by Messrs A. & G. Paterson, Ltd., Banchory; a complete model cottage of three rooms, entirely built of home- grown timber, and fitted up with furniture made from home- grown wood, being also shown by the same firm. There was also a very neat one-roomed hut shown by Messrs John Bisset & Son, Ltd., Aberdeen. Both structures were put up in sections, and could be erected in a very short space of time. The Committee again desire to record their thanks to the University Authorities for the use of the Botanical Class-room for the meetings of the Branch. ALEX. F. IRVINE, President. GrorGE D. Massik, Secretary. ABERDEEN, December 1920. 25 “AITTIAM “WA ‘uaas os[e 2avy J YOIUM 9 Oo) ‘COE ‘ON ‘Yoo, sseq yueg ssuiaes sad ‘yuvg ssuravg usapsaqy ey) Sstq YUM paytsodap st yorym ‘‘por ‘st ‘orFY Suraq youvag aya jo yIpaso Mi aq] 18 voux]eq By) ‘payonoA pu paye}s Aj1adord aq 07 way] punoy pur ¢ mon aom colae) ~ . . . . . f6¢ ‘ON yoo yurg ssuravg sed ‘youvsg jo yipaig yw aourjeg : * qunoooy suoIsIMoXx”y] JO JIqaq yw aoureg ‘s19YONOA 9Y} YIM Way] parvdwoo aavy pu ‘syuNO.W Jo JUIWIAIe}S 9 I : . . junovoy Areiqry] Jo wWpard yw aourjeg Sulosa10j Jy} peuturexa aavy [—'oz6I agave yjyb ‘NAAACUAAY 6 cigs = : : JUNODDY [vlaU9+) JO WparD 1v sour]eg LOVYLSAV 9 £ 1 Oink SEF a ge ; ; : ‘ : ; : * gouvleg OF ROT nye. a , : ; : ; : ; " gouvjeg WLNNOODOV AYVUAI'TL ' $ Si o1F f 26 Shiro Ft any : : g : . * sjUaplouy puvsasyjsog | 6 gl z : : : ; : * Arguoneys pue sunug Oe Og : : ‘ : SPALF] AOJ ‘OD AOJOP aarysAvs0 CPL : : ‘ * qunOsDY Jo Wiqeq, 1¥ aouRleq Oo g1 £ : c ‘ ‘ S¥a 10} ‘Saus0 “[aIOF] BIIOJIA © Ge 21 : AUMVULILCT ne sf vat i Ep Soh 2 : : : : JUNOIDV Jsv] JO WIGaq 3 Voureg (oe Loy) wn : UVMIYRU| VE O} UOTSINIXY] —SIaqulay QZ WOIY “DNOOOOV SNOISHNOXH 6 €1 eF# 6 £1 e¥ = Zire eo : : : : : ysalajuy yuRg ssutarg co} (oy 0% : : ‘ ‘ : AJa190G Jusieq wor JUV OMOT It a ra P ; ; : : : ; y * g0uryeg OMOlg.)) ao * ava juan 107 suonduosqng Gin cane ; : : ; ske]nO [ejuapiouy pue sasvysog oO, Or VF ™ : ‘ : : * sively Cieas er 9 : ‘ : : 6161 Aoj WNtIeIOUOPY S,AIv}0199G —Slaquiayy tory suondriosqns SOc : : : : * Arguoneis pue sunuug LEVIS 7 ‘ 4 : * — JUNODDY sv] JO WpaiD yw souryeg “AUYNLIGNAdXS “AWOONI “LNOOOOV TIVYUHNEAD ‘OS6l 4B9X ‘SLNQOOOOV JO LBNAWALVLS ‘(HONVUgG N@XduaaY) ALAIOOG IVANLINDAOMUY HSILLOOS IVAOY—' XIGNAddVW 26 APPENDIX F. Office-Bearers for 1921 :— PATRON. His Majesty Tur Kine. PRESIDENT. The Duke or Arnot, K.T., ete., Blair Castle, Blair Atholl. VICE-PRESIDENTS. J. H. Minne Home, Irvine House, Canonbie. Lorp Forreviot, Dupplin Castle, Perth. JAMES WuiTtTon, Director of Parks and Botanie Gardens, City Chambers, Glasgow. Ropert ALLAN, Factor, Polkemmet, Whitburn. Cuas. BuCHANAN, Factor, Penicuik. COUNCIL. Hon. Lire MEMBERS. Sir Kenneru J. MAcKENzIEz, Bart. of Gairloch, Conan House, Ross-shire. Sir Joun Srrritinc-MAXWELL, Bart. of Pollok, Pollokshaws. ORDINARY MEMBERS. ADAM Spiers, Timber Merchant, Warriston Sawmills, Edinburgh. GEORGE U. Macponatp, Woodbine Cottage, Peebles. Rogertr Forses, Kennet Estate Office, Alloa. GrorGE Fraser, 7 Glencairn Crescent, Edinburgh. ANDREW HamILtTon, C.B.E., 9 Denman Drive, Newsham Park, Liverpool. JAMES Cook, Overseer, Arniston, Gorebridge. - JOHN Broom, Wood Merchant, Bathgate. WILiiaM Davinson, Forester, Edgerston, Jedburgh. James TeRRIS, Barns House, Blairadam, Kelty. D. K. M‘Beatu, F.S.1., Broxwood, Sandbank, Argyll. Wiiiam Gitcueist, Forester, ete., Mount Melville, St Andrews. GrorGE LEVEN, Bowmont Forest, Kelso. Joun F. ANNAND, M.Sc., O.B.E., Forestry Divisional Office (E.), 156 Union Street, Aberdeen. ALEXANDER FINLAYSON, Overseer, ete., Newbattle, Dalkeith. A. B. Roperrson, Forester, The Dean, Kilmarnock. JamMEs M‘LAREN, Factor, Castle Mains, Douglas, Lanarkshire. Sir James CAMPBELL, LL.D., 14 Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh. GILBERT Brown, Wood Manager, Grantown-on-Spey. MaTrHeEw FrAKs, Wood Manager, Darnaway, Forres. Major WILLIAM Murray of Murraythwaite, M.P., House of Commons, Westminster. W. H. Massi£, Nurseryman, 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. Sir ANDREW AGNEW, Bart. of Lochnaw, Stranraer. J. W. M‘Hartis, Superintendent of Parks, City Chambers, Edinburgh. JOHN ScRIMGEOUR, Factor, Doune Lodge, Doune. Harry G. YounGeEr of Benmore, 21 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh. Extra Member—P RESIDENT OF ABERDEEN BRANCH (Sydney J. Gammell of Countesswells, Bieldside, Aberdeen). 27 HON. EDITOR. 4 A. W. Borruwick, O.B.E., 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. \ AUDITOR. ALEX. J. Munro, 48 Castle Street, Edinburgh. \ \ HON. SECRETARY. Viscount Novar of Raith, Kirkcaldy. SECRETARY AND TREASURER. RoBERT GALLOWAY, S.8.C., 8 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, HONORARY CONSULTING OFFICIALS. Botanist—Sir Isaac Bay.iry Batrour, K.B.E., Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Chemist—Dr ALEXANDER LAUDER, F.I.C., 18 George Square, Edinburgh. Cryptogamist—Dr A. W. Borruwick, O.B.E., 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. Entomologist—Prof. Srpwarr MacDovuca., 9 Dryden Place, Edinburgh. Geologist—Dr R. CAMPBELL, Geological Laboratory, University of Edinburgh. Meteorologist—ANDrEW Wart, M.A., F.R.S.E., 122 George Street, Edin- burgh. TRUSTEES. Lieut.-Col. W. Srevarr Forurrncuam of Murthly, Sir Joun Srirwine- MAXWELL, Bart..of Pollok, and Sir ANDREW N. AGNerEw, Bart. of Lochnaw, Stranraer. LOCAL BRANCHES. ABERDEEN. | NORTHERN. President.—S. J. GAMMELLof Count- — President.— esswells, Bieldside. Aberdeen. Hon. Secretary.—GrorceE D. Masstz, Advocate, 147 Union Street, Aberdeen, | Hon. Secretary.— CORRESPONDENTS RESIDING ABROAD. The following are Correspondents residing abroad :— Canada, India, . . F. L. C. Cowrey Brown, Principal, South Indian Forest College, Coimbatore, South India. British East \ Epwarp Barriscomsr, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Africa, : Nigeri, via Naivasha, East Africa Protectorate. United States\ Hucu P. Baker, Secretary, American Paper and Pulp of America, Association, 18 East 41st Street, New York City. Cape Colony, . W. Nimmo Brown, M‘Kenzie’s Farm, Mowbray, P.O. Western Australia, Fxrp Moon, Craigian, Bighill Brook, Harren River, Manjimup. New Zealand. R. G. RKonrnson, Superintendent, Selwyn Plantation Board, P.O. Box 48, Darfield, Canterbury. South Africa . K, A. Caruson, Orange Free State Conservancy. PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST. A. D Ricuarpson, 19 Joppa Road, Portobello. Counties. Aberdeen, Argyll, . Ayr, Berwick, Bute, Clackmannan,. Dumfries, East Lothian, . Fife, Forfar, . Inverness, Kincardine, Kinross, Lanark, . Moray, Perth, Ross, Roxburgh, Sutherland, Wigtown, Beds, Berks, Derby, Devon, Durham, Hants, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Notts, 28 LOCAL SECRETARIES. Scotland. JoHN CLARK, Forester, Haddo House, Aberdeen. JoHN Micuik, M.V.O., Kincairn, Blairs. H. L. MAcponaup of Dunach, Oban. ANDREW D. Pace, Overseer, Culzean Home Farm, Ayr. A. B. Rospertson, Forester, The Dean, Kilmarnock. Wo. Inetts, Forester (retired), Cladoch, Brodick. RoBERT Fores, Estate Office, Kennet, Alloa. D. Crasse, Forester, Byreburnfoot, Canonbie. W. S. Curr, Factor, Ninewar, Prestonkirk. Wo. Gitcnrist, Forester, Nursery Cottage, Mount Melville, St Andrews. EpMmunpD Sane, Nurseryman, Kirkcaldy. JAMES A. Gossip, Nurseryman, Inverness. JoHN Hart, Estates Office, Cowie, Stonehaven. JAMES TERRIS, Dullomuir, Blairadam. JamMEs WuirTTon, Director of Parks and Botanic Gardens City Chambers, Glasgow. Epwarp WISEMAN, Nurseryman, Elgin, JOHN ScrimGEOUR, Doune Lodge, Doune. JOHN LEISHMAN, Manager, Cavers Estate, Hawick. R. V. Maruer, Nurseryman, Kelso. JAMES HoGARTH, Forester, Culhorn, Stranraer. H. H. Watker, Baleraig, Port William England. FRANCIS MITCHELL, Forester, Woburn. W. Storiz, Whitway House, Newbury. S. MacBran, Estate Office, Needwood Forest, Sudbury. JAMES BARRIE, Forester, Stevenstone Estate, Torrington. W. R. Browy, Forester, Park Cottage, Heckfield, Winchfield. R. W. Cowrsr, Gortanore, Sittingbourne. D. C. HAMILTON, Forester, Knowsley, Prescot. JAMES MARTIN, The Reservoir, Knipton, Grantham. W. B. Havetock, The Nurseries, Brocklesby Park. W. Micuiz, Forester, Welbeck, Worksop. Witson Tomuinson, Forester, Station Road, Tuxford. Counties. Surrey, . . Warwick, York, Dublin, . . King’s County, Tipperary, . 29 England, JOHN ALEXANDER, 24 Lawn Crescent, Kew Gardens. A.D. CurisTIz, Hillside, Castle Road, Warley, Birmingham. GrorGrE HANNAH, Estate Office, Boynton, Bridlington. Ireland. A. C. Forses, Assistant Commissioner for Forestry. ArcH. E. Morray, Lissadell, Stillorgan Park. Arex, M‘Rag, Forester, Dundrum. 30 APPENDIX G. Additions to the Library since the publication of the List in Volume XX XIV., Part 2. oF Ww bw Cnt DD 13. 14, 15. 16. Books. . The Hardwoods of Australia and their Economics. By Richard F. Baker. . Timbers of the World, their Characters and Uses. By Alex. L. Howard. . Black’s Gardening Dictionary. Edited by E. T. Ellis, F.R.H.S. . Studies in French Forestry. By Theodore Woolsey, jun. . The Practice of Silviculture, with special reference to its Application in the United States. By Ralph C. Hawley. . A Short Manual of Forestry Management. By H. Jackson, M.A. . Forestry for Woodmen, 2nd ed. By C. O. Hanson, M.B.E. . A Handbook of Forestry, or All About Trees and their Timber. By A. D. Webster. . Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society, vol. xxxii., 1920. . Forest Management. By Professor A. B. Recknagel, B.A., M.F. . Kew Bulletins, 1919-1920. . Kew Bulletins, additional series xi. GOVERNMENT AND STATE REPORTS. England :—Report of Commissioners of H. M. Woods, Forests, and Land Revenue, 28th June 1920. India :— (1) Quinquennial Review of Forest Administration, 1914-15 to 1918-19. (2) Indian Forest Records, Vol. vii., part 8: Afforestation of Ravine Lands in the Etawah District, U.P. (3) Indian Forest Records, Vol. viii., part 1: Deport on Lac and Shellac. (4) Indian Forest Bulletin No. 41: Note on Weights of Sceds. Ceylon :—Forestry in Ceylon—Prepared for the British Empire Forestry Conference, 1920, Canada :— (1) Forest Fires in Canada, 1918. (2) The Care of the Woodlot, Bulletin No. 69. (3) Utilisation of Waste Sulphite Liquor. (4) British Columbia :— (1) Report of Forest Branch, 1929. (2) Report of the Commissioner of Dominion Parks and other Publications. 31 17. Western Australia :—Report of the Forest Department, 13th June 1920— Statement prepared for the British Empire Forestry Conference, 1920. 18. South Australia:—Annwal Report of Woods and Forests Department, 1919-20. 19. Queensland :—Report of the Director of Forests, 13th June 1920. 20. New Zealand :—Report of Forestry Department, 31st March 1920, 21. Federated Malay States :—Report on Forest Administration, 1919. 22. United States of America :— (1) Manual of Design and Installation of Forest Service Water Spray Dry Kiln. Bulletin No. 894. (2) Live Stock Grazing as a Factor in Fire Protection on the National Forests. Circular No. 134. (3) Utilisation of Black Walnut. Bulletin No. 9009. Societies’ AND InstrrurTioNns’ REPORTS AND_ TRANSACTIONS. 23. England :— (1) Forestry Quarterly. (2) Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. 1xxx. (3) Journal of the Royal Horticultwral Society, vol. xlv. 24, Scotland :—Botanical Society of Edinburgh: 7Z'ransactions, vol. xxvii., part 4, 1918-19. 25. Ireland :—Royal Dublin Society : Economic Proceedings Scientific Proeeedings. REPRINTS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 26 Forestry Commission :—Bulletins : No. 1. Collection of Data as to the Rate of Growth of Timber. 2. Survey of Forest Insect Conditions in the British Isles. 3. Rate of Growth of Conifers in the British Isles. Pamphlets : No. 1. Pine Weevils. 2. Chermes cooleyt. 3. The Pine Shoot Beetle. 27. Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture. England. 28. Journal of the Board of Agriculture. Scotland. 29, Journal of the Board of Agriculture. Ireland. 30. Journal of Agriculture. Victoria. 31. The Estate Magazine. 32. L’ Alpe. Firenze. 33. Det Forstlige Forségsvaesen. Parts 3 and 4. 34. Meddelelser fra Det Norske Skoafirsiksvaesen. Part 1, 1920. 35. Skogsvardsféreningens Tidskrift. Stockholm. 36. Meddelanden Frim Statens Skogsforsiksanstalt. Stockholm. 37. The Indian Forester. 32 . Journal of Forestry. Washington. . American Forestry. Washington. . Canadian Forestry Journal, . Timber Trades Journal. . Timber News. . Bergens Museums Aarbok, 1918-19, . Bergens Musewm, Aarsberetning for 1918-19. . Annales de la Science Agronomique, January to April 1920. . Pamphlets from the Forestry Department, Christiania, Printed by M‘Farlane & Erskine, Edinburgh. Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society Instituted 16th February 1854. PATRON: HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE KING. PROCEEDINGS IN 1921.—Continued. THE GENERAL MEETING. The General Meeting of the Society was held in the Showyard at Stirling, on Thursday, 28th July 1921, at 2.30 p.M. His Grace the Duke or Aruo.t, K.T., President of the Society, presided, and there was a large attendance of members. MINUTES. The Minutes of the Annual Meeting, held on 12th February last, were held as read and adopted. REPORT ON EsSAYs. The Judges reported that they had considered the two essays received in competition for the prize of £5 offered by Messrs A. & G. Paterson, Ltd., Glasgow, on “Improved methods of felling, hauling, and manufacturing timber in this country introduced during the war,” and that they recommended that the prize should be awarded to the report by “Silva.” The Judges’ report was approved and the writer’s name was found to be Mr John M‘Ewen, Garrowslack, Mosstowie, by Elgin. EXHIBITION, The report of the Judges on the exhibits at the Forestry Exhibition in the Showyard was read by the Secretary as follows :— I. ARTICLES IN COMPETITION. Competition No. J. For Specimens of the timber of Scots Pine (Pinus silvestris). 1. The Earl of Minto (Francis Berry, Forester). 2. The Earl of Home (Wm. Scott, Forester). 3. The Earl of Moray (James Morton, Forester). 34 Competition No. Ll. For Specimens of the timber of Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa). 1. The Earl of Minto. 2. The Earl of Mansfield (Wm. Leven, Forester). 3. The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour of Whittinghame (Wm. Fyfe, Forester). Competition No. LL. For Specimens of the timber of Larch (Larix europaea). 1. The Earl of Moray. 2. The Earl of Mansfield. 3. The Earl of Minto. Competition No. IV. For Specimens of the timber of Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). 1. The Earl of Minto. 2. The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour. 3. The Earl of Moray. Competition lVo. V. For Specimens of the timber of Oak (Quercus robur). 1. The Earl of Moray. 2. The Earl of Mansfield. 3. The Earl of Minto. Competition lNVo. V1. For Specimens of the timber of Elm ( U/mus montana). 1, The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour. 2. The Earl of Minto. 3. The Earl of Moray. Competition No. VII. For Specimens of the timber of any three Coniferous Timber Trees other than the above. 1. The Earl] of Minto. 2. The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour. Competition No. VITT. For Specimens of the timber of any three Broad-Leaved Timber Trees other than the above. The Earl of Minto. 35 Competition No. XJ. For a Gate for farm use manufactured from home-grown timber, shown in working order. No. 2 Silver Medal. William Leven, Forester, Jeaniebank, Perth. . Competition No. XII. A Gate, manufactured from home-grown timber, shown in working order. Bronze Medal. Stephen Ballard, Colwall, Malvern. Competition No. X VII. Specimens demonstrating the beneficial effects of Pruning when well done and the injurious effects when badly done. No. 1 Silver Medal. H.R. Munro, Forester, Charborough Park Estate, Wareham, Dorset. Competition No. XIX. For a collection of Fungi injurious to forest trees and shrubs. No. 1 Silver Medal. John Munro, Assistant Forester, Invercolen, Scone Estate. Competition No. XX. Examples or Photographs of the damage caused by squirrels, voles, etc., to various kinds of trees. No. 3 Silver Medal. H.R. Munro, Wareham, Dorset. Competition No. XXTI. For any useful invention or marked improvement on any of the Implements or Instruments used in Forestry, including a cheap and efficient Tree-Guard. No. 2 Silver Medal. Colonel Malcolm, C.B., of Poltalloch, Argyll, for a Trolley. Competition No. XXII. For any approved Article either wholly or mainly made of Wood. No. 1 Silver Medal. Allan Smith, Forester, Dunira, Comrie, for an octagonal Table-Top, inlaid with home-grown timber, made and polished by exhibitor. 36 II. ARTICLES FOR EXHIBITION ONLY. Crass I. Specimens illustrating the rate of growth of trees. Bronze Medal. John Leitch, Forester, Tullichewan, Alexandria, for five Specimens of Coniferae planted in 1914. Crass III. Different Scantlings of Timber, Deals, and Battens, etc.; and Cuass IV. -Pit-wood and Railway Timber. No. 3 Silver Medal. Major Murray of Polmaise. Cuass XV. Anything of interest relating to Forestry. Gold Medal. Messrs James Jones & Sons, Ltd., Larbert, for a Collection of Timber and a House made entirely of home-grown timber. . 1 Silver Medal. The Duke of Atholl, K.T., for Collection of Exhibits, including Root-cut and Board of “Parent” Larch, Boards of Weymouth Pine and Scots Pine, and Samples of Common, Hybrid, and Japanese Larch, twelve years of age, etc. . 2 Silver Medal. Brig.-Gen. Stirling of Keir, for a general Collection of Exhibits, including Sleepers and large Boards of the timber of Abies grandis. . 3 Silver Medal. John Scrimgeour, Factor, Doune Lodge, Doune, for Larch Fencing-Posts. Six of these posts were 50-year-old thinnings, grown at 600-700 feet elevation. They were axe-pointed, and had been in use for forty-two years when the fence was removed in Ig12, and were then serviceable. The other six were sawn from Larch grown at 300 feet elevation, had been in use fourteen years and were badly decayed. The Judges’ awards were approved. Mr R. Atian, Whitburn, in moving votes of thanks to the Highland and Agricultural Society for the accommodation provided for the Exhibition in the Showyard, and for their increased grant, and also to the Judges (Messrs J. Broom, 37 G. U. Macdonald, and G. Mowat), said it was thought that at Aberdeen the Exhibition had reached its zenith, but Stirling had beaten any Exhibition the Arboricultural Society had held anywhere. He also referred to the Exhibits sent in by the President, and to the fine collection of timber in the log, and the model house shown by Messrs James Jones & Sons, Ltd., which, he said, must have cost them a great deal of thought and expense. The PRESIDENT returned the thanks of the Council for the Exhibits which had been forwarded. After all, he remarked, it did not matter whether they got medals or not; they were all there for the good of forestry, and the more they could help it the better. He had seen a good many of these Exhibitions, but he never saw one that was.more interesting or practical. THE NURSERY AND PLANTATION COMPETITIONS. (Restricted to the Stirling Show District.) The Secretary read the awards of the Judges (Dr Borthwick and Mr J. M. Murray) as follows :— I. NURSERIES. Crass: I. The best managed Estate Nursery not exceeding two acres in extent. No. 2 Silver Medal, Brig.-Gen. Stirling of Keir. Crass II. The best managed Estate Nursery exceeding two acres in extent. Gold Medal. The Duke of Atholl, K.T., etc. II. PLANTATIONS. Crass I. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, not exceeding ten years of age, and not less than two acres in extent. Confined to Estates having less than 300 acres of Woods. No. 1 Silver Medal. Tullichewan Estate, Alexandria, (Mr John Leitch, Forester). 38 (GrASSlile The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding ten years and not exceeding twenty years. No. 1 Silver Medal. Brig.-Gen. Stirling, Ardchullary Estate. Crass IV. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, not exceeding ten years of age, and not less than five acres in extent. Confined to Estates having more than 300 acres of Woods. No. 1 Silver Medal, The Earl of Moray, Doune Estate. Crass V. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding ten years and not exceeding twenty years. No, 1 Silver Medal, The Duke of Atholl, K.T., etc., Dunkeld Estate. Crass VII. The best young Plantation, mainly of Hardwoods, not exceeding thirty-five years of age, and not less than two acres in extent. No, 1 Silver Medal. Brig.-Gen. Stirling, Keir Estate. These awards were adopted. Dr Bortuwick, on behalf of the Judges, said that was the first occasion on which entries had been made in the class for hardwoods, which was a significant fact, showing that most of their plantations were coniferous or softwoods. The fact that a great many of the plantations were under ten years of age showed that planting had been taking place within the last ten years, while the absence of plantations over twenty and under forty years of age might or might not indicate that many of them had disappeared for pit-wood. Referring to the Dunkeld plantation, consisting of hybrid larch and Douglas fir, Dr Borthwick remarked that hitherto nothing had been able to touch the Douglas fir in rate of growth, but the hybrid larch had far outstripped it. In fact, the Douglas fir was completely suppressed and outgrown by this marvellous new addition to their forest flora. It was growing strongly, luxuriantly, and a2 rapidly at Dunkeld, the place of its origin, and he was sure it was worthy of the attention and serious consideration of their foresters. It not only produced timber in an incredibly short space of time, but the formation of the tree and its general sturdiness and health marked it out as a valuable addition to their forest flora. In regard to hardwood, the system of nurse trees had been very successfully carried out at Keir, and it promised to be, and at present was, the best demonstration of how to grow hardwood that they had in Scotland. The CHAIRMAN, speaking for the proprietors, remarked that the foresters shared with them in the credit for the results which had been achieved. FORESTRY IN RURAL SCHOOLS. The SECRETARY explained that the Education Committee had met with a difficulty, and were not yet in a position to report upon the essays received from pupils in rural schools. He said that, of the twenty-nine Education Authorities who had been communicated with, eleven had sent encouraging replies. In regard to the schools of the latter Authorities, the Committee offered prizes for essays, and the response had been so extraordinary—no fewer than 1359 essays had been received—that the Committee would require time to consider the papers before they could make a report. EXCURSION TO YORKSHIRE. The SECRETARY mentioned that a considerable number of entries had been received for the excursion to Yorkshire, which would take place in the course of the next week, and said that there was room for one or two more if anyone still desired to accompany the party. EXCURSION IN 1922. The CHAIRMAN asked the meeting if they had anything to suggest with regard to the locus for the excursion next year. He assumed they desired to stay at home, and probably they might care to visit his district. The matter was remitted to the Council. d 40 , EMPIRE FORESTRY ASSOCIATION: PROPOSED AFFILIATION. Viscount Novar moved that the Society affiliate with the Empire Forestry Association. He said their Society had grown in the last thirty years, and its influence had been extended throughout the United Kingdom, and had been felt overseas also. He asked them now to take a hand in the work of Imperial forestry, so that all the experience they had gathered, and the influence they had exerted, might be felt over the whole range of the Empire. At the Conference last year, presided over by Lord Lovat, it was proposed by perhaps the most distinguished forestry officer in Australia that a central voluntary Association, such as had now been established, should be inaugurated. The general scheme for forestry in this country and for the Empire was a Forestry Commission, a bureau of forestry, a scientific department which would have a forestry sub-department as well as corre- sponding organisations in the different Dominions and Depend- encies overseas. It was felt at the Conference, where the proposal was unanimously adopted, that there should be a great central voluntary Association with which all the voluntary Associations of the Empire should affiliate. The Association would act as a clearing house for forestry information in the Empire; it would be a centre for officers of the different forestry services, and for all foresters and others interested in forestry within the Empire. It would be an agency to promote exchange of the timber products of the Empire: it would work with the Government Departments and co-operate with the new Science Department. He did not need to remind them of the magnitude of British forestry resources, of the fact that on the management of British forests depended their supplies in the future, nor of the risk of the exhaustion of those supplies. All the parts of the Empire were represented on the Council by His Majesty’s representatives, by the Government representatives, and by representatives of the voluntary societies. The terms of the charter had been agreed upon with the Colonial and Indian Offices, and His Majesty had been graciously pleased to give them Royal patronage. It was not so much a question of what they could get out of the organisation but what they could do for the cause of forestry, that was the basis of a society like theirs, and as 41 they had led the way in scientific forestry in their own country, let them give a lead for the Empire and join in forging a fresh link with His Majesty’s dominions overseas. Mr W. H. Massigr, Edinburgh, seconded the motion, which was unanimously adopted. APPEAL FOR NEW MEMBERS. The SECRETARY mentioned that an appeal was now being made by the President for new members, so as to add to the strength of the Society and to increase the revenue. He invited members who were present and others to send in names of people to whom he might send this appeal. A large number of appeals had already been issued, and the forty-five candidates elected to-day were the first of these to respond. He expressed the hope that this would be only the beginning of a very large response to the appeal. This was all the business, and on the motion of Sir KENNETH MACKENZIE, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the President for presiding. Printed by M‘Farlane & Erskine. Edinburgh, be ft ee (ue |e ee, ; i 5 ae dh ra é rite, ar a ; a ie ees la wr ede hs P ‘ ati 7 - ba 7 =A , ( by - - i. a x y EE 2 yatnt ete ah ho "ig pe te set ctiayey magel | nye @, eh uvth, ; ah : VMigp aie ony 1 (aX eer gabe i s Sally 7h) A dail Lesh tigrs co's toot. oil gl a whi titel lies d af te jis vk vicinal D 71 4a i) if ‘ ; * ov ‘ ‘ ¥ _— ’ (yar fyi Lee ae i d ‘ 7 >i j ; inh : ; i *® “f i _v + ' i ‘ er: . Lhve ¢as be , i 7 + tore aq TRANSACTIONS ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. mowW: BORTHWECK.. psc HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, SS.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER. Oa) Oe XUV T, EDINBURGH: Pot voto tO, THE SOCIETY. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 1922, af Aen rene ae Pe CT) eee Vg tl, Pakee yig aie Mh. 4 ’ iy neha i . min us PS } i 4 mf 2 : ‘ i Ne i } ‘ } 4 f i j r ait ad Fil iB if } ( ! ' H i f rit an ' } 4 ' 4 | 4 “ S ys: ra * D os ay) i Wk me oP ee 2 4 sy i y j f t Ae ¥ y ' i", rire: i ¥ Pee SNe j — ” ay mm ‘ 1 - , ; { ie) Wels vy ye j s | ’ \ ) piyag ' d ) 1 ce | me Nt! i hy nA } 1 78 ‘ } ha 2 i Hh ia af t ne ma hy i A ‘N ‘ f } : ¥,| J f r mY Panyh , t, Biya pa h i 4 F( on le ed f fs pi it y Pt , ‘ “7 LET 2 t j a: Loe Uppal vy A, 1 hee rf } hi hi / i ; \ ay per ue" we 4 H 4 Ak t bf U i] AR Oe ele ‘ 7 a 4 on eh i PMG tes f 4 i ih Pit ei CONTENTS. The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements or views expressed by the authors of papers. 1. A Discussion on Economic Planting. By George U. Macdonald, Haystoun, Peebles, Lecturer on Forestry in the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of ie culture : : . : : : 2. Discussion on Mr Macdonald’s Paper 3. Notes on the Douglas Fir (with Plates and Tables). By P. Leslie ; ; A : ; : 5 4. Some Silvicultural Aspects and Problems of the Soil. By G. K. Fraser, M.A., B.Sc., Forestry Department, University of Aberdeen , ; ; ‘ 5. Piant Indicators. By J. M. Murray . 6. An Engntiry into the Suitability of Scottish-grown Timber for Aeroplane and Pit-Prop Purposes (with Plates). By Prof. T. Hudson Beare, M.Inst.C.E., D.L. . P 7. Forest Protection 8. Notes on Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). By James Kay . , . : : 9. The Blueing of Coniferous Timber. By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer in ca in the Uni- versity of antares - , 10. The Oak Mildew. By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer in Mycology in the University of Edinburgh ir. The Geddes Committee Report 12, Departmental Report on Deer Forests. By ‘‘Scots Pine” 13. Empire Forestry . Research Work of the Dominion Forest Service. By W. G. Wright 14 PAGE. 79 82 16. 17. 19. 30. CONTENTS. Notes and Queries:—Moisture uv. Light in the Develop- ment of Stands—The Use of Pigs in Preparing Ground for Re-planting—Use of Small Plants in Re-stocking Cleared Ground—A Little-Known Pine Beetle—Spruce Aphis Attacks: A Word of Caution—The Occurrence of the Phomopsis Disease of the Japanese Larch in York- shire—Professor Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour’s Retirement Obituary :—Mr Charles Macintosh— Mr Alexander M‘Rae —Mr Alexander Forbes Irvine, of Drum—Mr George Fraser . Report of Forestry Commission, 1920-21 , Farm Forestry. By A. W. Borthwick, D.Sc., O.B.E. Silviculture in Trinidad. By G. 1. Campbell . 5 Forest Insects on the Culbin Sands. By J. W. Munro, D.Sc. Form-Factor as an Expression of the Degree of Taper in Coniferous Trees. (With Figures.) By Mark L. Anderson . Logging in North-West America (British Columbia and Pacific States). (With Plates.) By James Kay . . Continental Notes—France. By A. G. Hobart-Hampden . . Sample Plot Investigations in Scotland. By H. M. Steven, PhD a . : : ° : ° . The Douglas Fir Chermes : : : - . Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. Richardson. (Continued from Vol. xxxv. p. 166) 5 . The Geographical Range of Sitka Spruce, Western Larch, and Douglas Fir. By James Kay . - . Report of the Annual Excursion. By R. A. Galloway, B.Sc. . Empire Forestry . Report on the Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. By Johnston Edwards . Report of Estate Nurseries and Plantations Competitions, 1922 ; : : . : : Studies in the Pathology of Young Trees and Seedlings. (With Plates.) By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., Lecturer in Mycology, University of Edinburgh , Obituary :—Sir Isaac Bayley ane K.B.E., F.R.S.— Henry J. Elwes ° ‘ PAGE III 215 226 236 CONTENTS. Notes and Queries: —The Danger of Using Trees as Gate and Fence Posts — Planting Scrub Areas — Pine-Root Aphis—A Parasite of the Poplar Saw-Fly — Dryocoetes alni (Georg.): An Alder Bark Beetle (Scolytidae) new to Scotland — Planting Distance for Douglas Fir— The Midland Re-afforesting Association — The Ring Wood Plantation, Murthly Estate ‘ , Reviews and Notices of Books :—American Forest Regu- lation. By Theodore Salisbury Woolsey, Jun., M.F. Published by The Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Company, New Haven, Connecticut : Notes on the Ceiriog Forestry Experimental Area of the Denbighshire County Council. By Thomas Thomson, B.Sc., University College, North Wales, Bangor Webster’s Foresters’ Diary and Pocket Book, 1923. Published by Messrs William Rider & Sons, London. Price 3s. 6d. net. : ; : Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No 3, 1923. Price ts. Proceedings of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, 1922, with Appendices. PAGE 259 260 260 Py ; yo ; ‘ ; > A ; ; ‘ ; | f a ; , , | ad | ae Oi ee) *: EN) ! 7 i a ae Ce ree eet BRET See ps ie H sie is a ial MY " ‘ . hath iy Vale! ' HR mire PAD SS Ue 2 pi SA) As YL yt fo ' ue Pree aye AA n f wi 4 Oi #) i ha . MiP ’ / rh ay iy it if st ut = ii ur Aias 5 od ee Th walteh A 4 he ’ sy = . t ‘ i Te) noe al e i , fs Pr , \ i am _ j j ; tity vit 1 ‘ ee j ; 0 4 ' t i { {4 ; 4 NM) 2 i . 5 i ; nA . ' ) . = i" ‘ i / i i \ , TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. VOL. XXXVI.—PART I. July 1922. A. W. BORTHWICK, D.Sc., HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, §.5.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER, EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. Price to Non-Members, 3/= ao enh sam Nov — BP ibivan ADVERTISEMENTS, eA Ne BY APPOINTMENT MACKENZIE & MONCUR LIMITED HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS {ALSO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AND IRONFOUNDERS. Registered Office and Works, BALCARRES STREET, EDINBURGH SLATEFORD ROAD, EDINBURGH -. 8 CAMDEN ROAD, N.W.1 121 ST VINCENT STREET HOTHOUSES Iron Foundry .. LONDON GLASGOW ... HEATING ELECTRIC LIGHTING IRON FOUNDING SURVEYS MADE. ESTIMATES AND PLANS SUPPLIED. ADVERTISEMENTS. EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 13 GEORGE SQUARE, EDINBURGH. The College is one of the Central Institutions administered by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, and is intended to provide for Agricultural Education and Research in the Central and South-Eastern Counties. SESSION—OCTOBER TO JUNE. DAY CLASSES. The Day Classes provide a full course of instruction in Agriculture and the Allied Sciences, and qualify for the Degrees of B.Sc. in Agriculture and in Forestry of the University of Edinburgh, the College Diploma in Agriculture, the College Certificate in Horticulture, and for other Examinations and Certificates in the Science and Practice of Agriculture. SHORT COURSES. A Short Course in Agriculture, intended for those engaged in practical work, is held at the College annually. EVENING CLASSES. Evening Classes are held in the following subjects :— Winter Session— Agriculture, Chemistry, Veterinary Science, Forestry, Horticulture, Botany, Beekeeping, and Farm and Garden Pests. Summer Session—Field Botany and Practical Beekeeping. Particulars of Classes and Fees and information as to Bursaries tenable at the College will be found in the Calendar, which may be obtained from the Secretary— THOMAS BLACKBURN, 13 George Square, Edinburgh. Forest Trees (Seedlings and Transplants). LARCH, COMMON AND JAPANESE. SCOTS, AUSTRIAN AND CORSICAN PINES. DOUCLAS, SITKA AND NORWAY SPRUCES, HARDWOODS, ETC. Large Stocks of well-grown Plants with abundance of fibrous roots. ESTIMATES AND SAMPLES FREE ON APPLICATION. Please state your requirements— T. & W. CHRISTIE, Forest Tree Growers, FORRES, Morayshire. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established 1842. FOREST TREES Large Stocks of Seedling, and Transplanted True Native SCOTS FIR, MENZIES, DOUCLAS, NORWAY SPRUCE, Etc. All grown from carefully selected seed, in an open and exposed situation, thoroughly hardy, and well furnished with abundance of fibrous roots. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Specimen Ornamental Trees for Lawns and Avenues. Trees and Shrubs for Seaside Planting. Plants for Game Coverts, Underwood and Hedges. Special Quotations for Large Quantities. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES AND SAMPLES ON APPLICATION. W. SMITH & SON, LIMITED, Nurserymen, ABERDEEN, N.B. HILLIER & SONS, WINCHESTER. HARDY TREES & PLANTS in Great Variety. Fruit Trees, Rose Trees. NEW & RARE CONIFERS, SHRUBS, TREES, &c., Including many recently collected in China, etc. WEST HILL NURSERIES, 350 ft. and 475 ft. altitude. Write for Descriptive Priced Catalogues. FOREST TREES Specialities—Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, Larch (Japanese and Tyrolese), Douglas Fir, Common Silver Fir, Corsican Pine, Weymouth Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Cluster Pine, Banks’ Canary Island Pine, etc. SEED OF ALL TREES, SHRUBS, FRUIT TREES, AND GRASSES. Special List of Tree Seeds, etc., published in January. Catalogues in English sent free. AUGUSTE GAMBS, (Tree Seedsman, HAGUENAU (Alsace), FRANCE. Seedsman to the Forestry Department. Established 1860. ADVERTISEMENTS. Telegrams: Telephones: ‘‘ROBINSONS, GLASGOW.” WESTERN 3063, 4 Lines. ROBINSON, DUNN « CO, Timber Importers, Partick Sawmills, GLASGOW. —~<>— Sawing, Planing, and Moulding Mills at PARTICK and TEMPLE. TIMBER PRESERVING WORKS AT TEMPLE. CREOSOTING AND “‘B.M.” PROCESSES. REAFFORESTATION One of the most urgent needs of the present is the Restocking of the Large Areas of Woodland cleared in recent years. The value to the Nation of a Home Timber Supply has been amply proved during the War. Forest Trees Deciduous Shrubs Evergreen Shrubs Fruit Trees Ornamental Trees Roses SAMSONS, LIMITED, The Nurseries, KILMARNOCK Established 1759 Catalogues Post Free on demand Telephone No. 7 JAMES JONES & SONS, LTD., LARBERT SAWMILLS, === LA RBERT, N.B. All kinds of HOME TIMBER in the Round or Sawn-up, SUITABLE FOR RAILWAYS, SHIPBUILDERS, COLLIERIES, CONTRACTORS, COACHBUILDERS, CARTWRIGHTS, &c. &c. ADVERTISEMENTS. Phone No. 2104 Central. Telegrams— “Stronghold, Edinburgh.” Rursery Stocks Fruit Trees and Bushes—in bearing condition Roses—H.P.’s and Teas, Climbers and Standards Herbaceous and Alpine Plants Forest Trees—Hedge Plants Ornamental Shrubs STRONGHOLD SEEDS For Lawns, 60/—; Tennis Courts, 60/—; Bowling Greens, 7O/-; Putting Greens, 60/— and 65/—; and Golf Courses, from 50/—; all per bushel of 25 lbs., carriage paid. STRONGHOLD GRASS MANURE Per ton, £21; per cwt., 22/6, carriage paid. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES ON APPLICATION STEWART 8 CO. 13 South St Andrew Street EDINBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS. Special Value FOR Planting Season SITKA SPRUCE, DOUGLAS FIR 1922-1923 (Oregon variety), THUJA GIGANTEA, LARCH, Japanese, uutis LARCH, Tyrolese & Scotch, hardy, healthy, SCOTS FIR, True Native, well-grown plants. N (@) RWAY Ss PRU C E &c., &c. Inquiries Solicited. Samples and Special Carriage Paid Prices on demand. Special List of Tree Seeds & Seedlings published in January. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & COMPANY, NURSERYMEN TO THE KING, A BE R DE E N = By Appointment TESTED SEEDS. SELECTED SEED POTATOES. Duke of York. Midlothian Early. Sharpe’s Express. Epicure. Eclipse. Rhoderick Dhu. Majestic. K. of K. Victory. Ally. Great Scot. Kerr’s Pink. Tinwald Perfection. Edzell Blue. British Queen. Factor. Dargill Early. Arran Comrade. King George V. EEGs meLcs TESTED VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SEEDS. Dutch Bulbs. Roses. Fruit Trees. Catalogues Free. TILLIE, WHYTE & CO., Seed Growers, 12 MELBOURNE PLACE, EDINBURGH. Established 1837. ADVERTISEMENTS. GENUINE CORSICAN PINE SEED SUPPLIED BY MAXWELL, PLAISTOWE & CO. 8 Old Jewry London, E.C.2 For delivery in January Guarantee of germination Please state quantity required Telegrams— Telephone— *“AZUCENA,”? LONDON Central 5859 A. & G. PATERSON, LIMITED ESTABLISHED 1824 Buyers of Scottish Forests Scotch-Wood Sawmills at ST ROLLOX, GLASGOW, ABERDEEN, BANCHORY MONYMUSH, INVERGORDON, Etc. ALL SIZES OF WEL eine LARCH FENCING ALWAYS IN STOCK Contractors to H.M. Government for Telegraph Poles, Sleepers, and other Home and Foreign Wood Specialties Larch and Fir Pitwood; Mining Poles; Papered Cloth Boards Boxwood of all Sizes; Headings PP IMPORTERS of SWEDISH and RUSSIAN STAVES, BATTENS, Etc. NOW READY. ‘‘Forestry for Woodmen”’ By C. 0. HANSON. eeICe 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. rece 6/ 6 Obtainable through any Bookseller from 6/ 6 HUMPHREY MILFORD, Orford University Press, LONDON, E.C. 4. ADVERTISEMENTS. M‘Farlane & Erskine ESTABLISHED 1840 Lithographers, Letterpress and Three-Colour Printers Black and Coloured Plates for Scientific Works. Plans of Estates, etc. Coloured Illustrations for Seedsmen. Books, Maga- zines, Catalogues, Price Lists, Circulars, and Every Description of Printed Forms. St James Works, M‘Donald Road EDINBURGH Telephone Nos.: 5236-5237 Telegraphic Address: Private Branch Exchange ““Typo, Edinburgh’’ Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society MEMORANDUM regarding the Objects and Work of the Society. Institution. eee Society was founded sixty-eight years ago with the object of advancing Forestry in all its branches. During that period it has expended in the interest of Forestry a sum of over £28,200, including about £600 towards the expense of founding the Chair of Forestry in the University of Edinburgh. Membership. Any person interested in Forestry and desirous of promot- ing the objects of the Society is eligible for membership. Lines of Effort. The work of the Society in the past has been carried on mainly along educational lines, by holding meetings for dis- cussions, lectures, etc.; by publishing Zvansactions, which contain all the most recent and most important information relating to Forestry; by interviewing Ministers and pressing the claims of Forestry on successive Governments ; by making silvicultural Excursions at home and abroad; by organising Exhibitions of Forestry throughout the country; by granting medals and prizes for Essays ; and by affording to Members, through its Honorary Scientists, gratuitous advice on subjects relating to Forestry. Education. In recent years progress has been made in providing facilities for education, but the various courses of instruction could be much improved and added to, and a State Demonstration Forest has not yet been provided. A Degree and Diploma in Forestry for Forest Officers can be obtained at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a Diploma in Forestry for practical foresters at the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow. Schools of Practical Forestry have also been opened by the Government. The Society recently held a very successful essay competition in rural schools, and has now in contempla- tion a series of illustrated lectures on Forestry in rural districts. Suitability of Conditions for Afforestation. All the experts—both home and foreign—agree that the soil and climate of Scotland are eminently suited to tree-growth, and are capable of producing timber of such quality and in such quantity as would make the country, to a very consider- able extent, independent of foreign supplies. Woodland Area and Its Value. Previous to the war, the woodland area of Scotland—due solely to private enterprise—was only 868,000 acres. Of the whole land area of the United Kingdom only 4 % was woodland, being the lowest percentage in Europe with the exception of Portugal. Smalland unimportant as this area appeared to be, it was found of inestimable value in connection with the war. The growing stock of mature timber is nearly exhausted, and it is imperative that it be replaced and greatly added to if national safety in the future is to be assured. The care of the young plantations which have survived the war is also of the greatest importance. Imports. The annual value of the imports of timber and timber products into the British Isles previous to the war was about 440,000,000, and about 80 or go per cent. of timber imported was coniferous. A considerable proportion of this might be grown in this country, where huge tracts of land could be more economically occupied in growing trees than as at present, and healthy occupation thereby provided for a much larger rural population, of whom a proportion would be small- holders, reaping the benefits of both forestry and agriculture. Agreement as to Need of Afforestation. All parties are agreed that it is the urgent duty of the State to undertake Afforestation on a large scale, either directly or indirectly in co-operation with landowners, to whom every encouragement should be provided by means of loans and grants, adjustment of taxation, etc. The Society’s views on the Development of Afforestation were asked by the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruc- tion Committee, and the statement prepared by the Council and adopted by the Society was subsequently printed as an Appendix to the Sub-Committee’s Report, which was issued in the beginning of 1918. An Interim Forest Authority was set up soon afterwards with a grant of £100,000 to make preliminary arrangements for Afforestation, and a Forestry Bill was sub- sequently introduced into Parliament to give effect to the recommendations of the Reconstruction Sub-Committee. Some anxiety was expressed in regard to local control under a Central Authority for the United Kingdom, but the Council received ample assurance that the policy of the Government and of the Forest Authority is to arrange that all the executive and administrative work shall be done, so far as Scotland is concerned, under the control of Scottish Officers with Headquarters in Edinburgh. The Bill became law as the Forestry Act, 1919, in August of that year, and came into operation on 1st September following, when the Forestry Commission was appointed. In these circumstances it is very important that this Society should be in a position to assist effectively in directing schemes along right lines. The membership already includes a great number of men who are recognised authorities on Forestry, but it is desirable that it should include every one in Scotland who is engaged in producing, converting, or utilising timber, or who is otherwise interested in the subject, so that the influence and usefulness of the Society may be further increased. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S.S.C., 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, Secretary and Treasurer. EDINBURGH, /wz1e 1922. Royat Scottish Arbvoricutturat Society I desive to become a member of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. ( Full Name, Designation, Degrees, etc., Candidate’s | Address, Life, o7. Ordinary Members ie.2 2210 Le, eRe Rete a carpenter be ernertove \ Sienature, . Signature, . Proposer’s Address, ¢ Signature, . Seconder’s Adaress, (CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP, see Over. CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP (excerpted from the Laws). III. Any person interested in Forestry, and desirous of pro- moting the objects of the Society, is eligible for election as an Ordinary Member in one of the following Classes :— 1. Proprietors the valuation of whose land exceeds £500 per annum, and others, subscribing annually : . One Guinea. 2. Proprietors the valuation of whose land does not exceed #500 per annum, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Merchants, and others, subscribing annually . . Half-a-Guinea, 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land-Stewards, Tenant Farmers, and others, subscribing annually - . Six Shillings. 4. Assistant-Foresters, Assistant-Gardeners, and othene subscribing annually . : . Four Shillings. IV. Subscriptions are due on the lst of January in each year, and shall be payable in advance. A new Member’s Subscription is due on the day of election unless otherwise provided, and he shall not be enrolled until he has paid his first Subscription. V. Members in arrear shall not receive the Zvamnsactions, and shall not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Society. Any Member whose Annual Subscription remains unpaid for two years shall cease to be a Member of the Society, and no such Member shall be eligible for re-election till his arrears have been paid up. VI. Any eligible person may become a Zzfe Member of the Society, on payment, according to class, of the following sums :— 1. Large Proprietors of land, and others, - : . £1010 oO 2. Small Proprietors, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Mer- chants, and others, : 5. 0'5ane 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land- Srepavae, Tenant Rape ona others, . : - 343) 0 VII. Any Ordinary APStabe of Clears I, 2, and 3, who has paid Five Annual Subscriptions, may become a Zife Member on payment of Two-thirds of the sum payable by a zew Life Member. XII. Every Proposal for Membership shall be made in writing, and shall be signed by two Members of the Society as Proposer and Seconder, and delivered to the Secretary to be laid before the Council, which shall accept or otherwise deal with each Proposal as it may deem best in the interest of the Society. The Proposer and Seconder shall be responsible for payment of the new Member’s first Subscription. The Council shall have power to decide the Class under which any Candidate for Membership shall be placed. 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH. CON LEN ES: The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements or views expressed by the authors of papers. PAGE 1. A Discussion on Economic Planting. By George U. Macdonald, Haystoun, Peebles, Lecturer on Forestry in the gs and East of Scotland College of Agri- culture. - : : 2 - I 2. Discussion on Mr Macdonald’s Paper : : : 6 3. Notes on the Douglas Fir (with Plates and Tables). By P. Leslie : : : ‘ : : : 13 4. Some Silvicultural Aspects and Problems of the Soil. By G. K. Fraser, M.A., B.Sc., Forestry Department, University of Aberdeen : : : : , 35 5. Plant Indicators. By J. M. Murray . : : : 52 6. An Enquiry into the Suitability of Scottish-grown Timber for Aeroplane and Pit-Prop Purposes (with Plates). By Prof. T. Hudson Beare, M.Inst.C.E., D.L. : f 58 7. Forest Protection ; ‘ : f : : 72 8. Notes on Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). By James Kay , d : : : . : 79 9. The Blueing of Coniferous Timber. By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc:, F.R.S.E., Lecturer in ee Res in the Uni- versity of Banaren : : é 82 to. The Oak Mildew. By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer in Mycology in the University of Edinburgh . 92 11. The Geddes Committee Report e : : ‘ 97 12, Departmental Report on Deer Forests. By ‘‘Scots Pine” 99 13. Empire Forestry . : : : j 2 > 4 (ae2 14. Research Work of the Dominion Forest Service. By W. G. Wright : ‘ : : : 2) 2106 CONTENTS. Notes and Queries:—Moisture v. Light in the Develop- ment of Stands— The Use of Pigs in Preparing Ground for Re-planting—Use of Small Plants in Re-stocking Cleared Ground—A Little-Known Pine Beetle—Spruce Aphis Attacks: A Word of Caution—The Occurrence of the Phomopsis Disease of the Japanese Larch in York- shire—Professor Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour’s Retirement Obituary :—Mr Charles Macintosh— Mr Alexander M‘Rae —Mr Alexander Forbes Irvine, of Drum—Mr George Fraser . PAGE bE 118 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCTETY. 1. A Discussion on Economic Planting.! By GEORGE U. MACDONALD, Haystoun, Peebles, Lecturer on Forestry in the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture. The subject on which I venture to make a few remarks to-day is one that must have been uppermost in the minds of landowners and foresters for a very considerable time. I refer to the cost of planting. Is it not a fact that to-day it costs more than three times as much to plant an acre as it did some eight years ago? And is it not also a fact that the price of matured and semi-matured timber to-day is as low, and I venture to say that for certain grades it is even lower than it was previous to 1914? That the prospects for the immediate future are not too bright is evidenced by the fact that several of the largest timber merchants in Scotland are to-day advertising for sale the bulk of their plant. Under these circumstances, I ask how can we as individuals or as a Society advise or attempt to encourage landowners to. plant on any considerable scale unless we can first show how the present extraordinarily high cost can be reduced ? I am aware that it is a difficult problem and that different men will endeavour to solve it by different methods. After all we need not quarrel about methods so long as the economy we aim at is obtained ; but what we all must keep in view is that whatever economy we practise, our guiding principle must be economy with efficiency. Far better plant one acre efficiently than three acres which may afterwards turn out a failure. My own personal opinion is that the question which calls for 1 A paper read at the Annual Meeting of the Society on Jan. 20, 1922. VOL. XXXVI. PART I. A 2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the most urgent consideration at the moment is that of spacing. As you will remember the question of spacing was brought up at our last Annual Meeting by my friend Mr George Leven, but owing chiefly to shortness of time the discussion which followed was rather meagre, and as a result no definite conclusions were arrived at. I hope that it will be otherwise to-day, and that quite a number of gentlemen present will not hesitate to give expression to their opinions. Well now I feel strongly that some of us at least must modify views which, perhaps, we have long held with regard to this important question. There can be no doubt that the time has come when planting Scots pine or any other species at 3 feet intervals must be relegated to the past, and I for one believe that in doing so the future success of a plantation will be in no sense sacrificed. Let us consider for one moment what it means to plant 1 acre of 2-year 2-year Scots pine at intervals of 3 feet at present day prices:—484o plants at qos. per thousand, if you are lucky enough to buy them at that, cost say £9, 13S8., and when to that has to be added the cost of planting, fencing, and draining, one sees at a glance how utterly hopeless it is for any individual to attempt to plant at such acost. Planting conifers at that price can never by any stretch of the imagination prove a commercial success. Increas- ing the distance between the plants to 4 feet reduces the cost per acre to £5, 13s. for plants, and at 44 feet apart the cost would be further reduced to £4, 1os., or to rather less than half the cost of planting at 3 feet. This then at once brings us up against the problem—to what extent can one increase the spacing without undue risk to the future welfare of the planta- tion? I agree that what might be a perfectly safe distance in one instance might prove the reverse in another, and that distances must really vary with conditions. But as a result of certain experiments I have formed the opinion that even on high-lying and exposed situations, Scots pine can safely be planted so as to form a satisfactory crop at 4 feet intervals, and even that distance I would confine only to those portions of the plantation which would be most affected by wind. The remainder of the area I would have no hesitation in planting at 44 feet apart. On ordinary planting or moorland ground I would hesitate before planting at a wider interval, but given good soil and A DISCUSSION ON ECONOMIC PLANTING. 3 a fairly sheltered situation, it is I think quite probable that satisfactory results would be obtained by planting at 5 feet apart. With regard to Norway spruce, I am confident that good results would be obtained by planting this species at 5 feet intervals, and I would say that the same distance apart should apply to Sitka spruce, while I do not consider that 6 feet would be too wide for Douglas fir, especially if it is planted in a fairly sheltered situation. Unfortunately at to- day’s prices few can afford to plant either Sitka or Douglas, and if there is any gentleman present who feels inclined to attempt it I would simply repeat Punch’s advice to those about to marry—‘‘ Don’t.” I have lately been looking over a few of the public nurserymen’s catalogues, and find that the average price quoted for Sitka spruce 6 inches to 12 inches high is from 60s. to 70s. per rooo, for Douglas fir ro inches to 12 inches high the price varies from 65s. to 75s. per 1000, and for 2-year 2-year Douglas the price is from 80s. to gos. Perhaps the species upon which one could economise most as regards spacing is the larch. I am quite convinced that a great mistake was made in the past by planting larch too densely, especially when it was planted in pure crop. I firmly believe that it has been the cause of more disease and loss than any other condition. Under no circumstances would I plant larch at less than 5 feet, and on certain soils and conditions I do not think that 6 feet would be too wide. Of one thing I am convinced — that with wider spacing there would be less disease, I also think that it would make for economy if foresters as a rule would plant more 2-year seedlings and 2-year 1-year plants than they have been in the habit of doing in the past. This again might mean that some would have to modify their ideas with regard to the restocking of newly-felled areas. I have always believed that too much significance has been given to the idea of allowing ground which has been cleared of a crop to remain fallow for a given number of years. At least no person can deny that it is a practice which involves a very serious additional cost when planting time does come—a cost which in many cases would cover far more than any damage which might be caused by pine weevil as a result of the ground being planted immediately after it was cleared. More than that it is not always certain that a plantation is 4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. immune from weevil attack even if the ground is left fallow for three or four years. Again taking present-day prices the difference in the cost of the plants would be the difference between 4os. and 15s., which is a very considerable one. Coming next to the various methods of planting, I question if one can economise much in that region. So much depends on the nature of the soil. It would, for instance, be false economy to notch where pitting should be adopted, but I do think a saving could be effected if more of the work in connection with afforestation was done by contract instead of days’ pay. Every forester should encourage the young men on his staff to work by contract, plant at so much per acre, drain at so much per chain, and erect fences at so much per yard. It would be an inducement to the men to make the most they could out of it. It would increase their interest in the work, and would in the end conduce to a better output. Then with regard to fencing there is surely room for practising economy here. Most of the fencing in the past has, in my opinion, been far too elaborate. Foresters got into the habit of driving in stobs at 6 feet intervals, quite regardless of the nature of the stock the fence was supposed to keep in check. I have not infrequently seen fences erected to separate two portions of a plantation, as for instance between a newly-cleared area and the remainder of the standing crop, where probably a hare would be the heaviest animal which could come against it, but that did not matter in the least, the stobs had to be driven in at the usual distance apart, with at least four lines of wires and wire-netting attached. Now we must admit that that kind of fencing is costly and absurd. Would not the same result be obtained by placing the stobs at 24 or even 30 feet apart with wooden droppers between, and with at the very most three lines of wire. Even against ordinary farm stock, if the line of fence is comparatively straight and the surface of the ground fairly level, a very efficient fence may be provided by placing the stobs at 24 feet intervals with four wooden droppers between, straining posts at 200 yards apart, and six lines of No. 8 galvanised wire. When fencing high and exposed ground there is a prevailing idea that the fence, whether of wood or iron, must be of a much heavier type than that required for more sheltered situations, A DISCUSSION ON ECONOMIC PLANTING. 5 but one generally finds that it is the other way about, that on such exposures the lighter the fence the longer it lasts. But whatever be the nature of the fence, I am convinced that every time it would be cheaper to have it erected by contract. There is also the question of draining, but from a long experience I question if one can economise much in that line. There can be no economy in planting ground that is insufficiently drained. We all know of plantations which were more or less a failure simply because the owner, rather than incur the cost of efficient drainage, risked the crop and waited to see how things would pan out. Well, invariably, they panned out the wrong way. Draining, like fencing, should always be done by contract. Then there are certain forest pests and the protective measures which should be taken against them, but I will only refer to one, namely, the squirrel. There can be no economy in planting if, after the young trees arrive at a certain stage, they are to be destroyed by squirrels. My information is that in the north these animals have been more numerous than usual this season, and perhaps our Aberdeenshire friends can corroborate this statement. They may also be in a position to tell us what steps, if any, are being taken to destroy them, and whether there still exist in the north Squirrel Clubs which long ago did a great deal of useful work in keeping them in check ; for it must be by the combined effort of owners, keepers, and foresters, over a wide area, if any good results are to be obtained. I read somewhere quite recently that in certain parts of England the red squirrel is being rapidly exterminated by the advent of the grey squirrel, but no information was given as to whether the grey was less destructive to growing timber than the red. Finally, I should like to appeal to our public nurserymen in order that they may lay their heads together and formulate some scheme whereby the present price of forest plants may be largely reduced. I am not for one moment insinuating that the nurserymen are deliberately holding up prices. I am perfectly well aware of the many difficulties they had to contend with in common with other industries, but now that a not inconsiderable fall in wages is taking place all over the country, we shall confidently expect that those reductions will be reflected in their price lists when they are again issued. 6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 2. Discussion on Mr Macdonald’s Paper. The CuairmMan.—“It is refreshing to hear such a thoroughly practical lecture, and I am sure we are all grateful to Mr Macdonald for what he has told us concerning the result of his personal experience. His sound advice will make those of us who have not already done so pay more careful attention to the points he mentioned. He has shown how economy may be effected without loss of efficiency, and these hard times are going to do good to forestry, because there is nothing like adversity to bring about efficiency, or at least to get rid of inefficiency. “With regard to the grey squirrel, I should like to suggest that it would be a little dangerous to try the experiment until we get somebody to try it first in England where, I understand, experiments are being made. I am not altogether a perfervid Scot, but I do not mind giving way to England on some occasions, and I know one place in Scotland where the ex- periment was tried with disastrous results. The red squirrels may have gone, but the grey squirrels are there, and the greatest difficulty is experienced in killing them, because, although they are always apparent from the window, they are extraordinarily elusive when you want to kill them. They have dropped the taste for trees, but have taken up a decided penchant for the greenhouses, and they get in and clear the gardens right out, and so if it is possible it might be wise to have this antidote to the red squirrel tried by some other body elsewhere.” Viscount Novar of Raith.—‘“ Lord Holland in the eighteenth century, shortly before the Union, objecting to bad legislation, and being in the Cabinet, whenever a Bill was proposed invariably suggested: ‘Try it 2% corpore vile’—try in Scotland. The tables have been very neatly turned by our Chairman to-day. I had great pleasure in listening to Mr Macdonald. I have been long associated, in practical work, with him, and so I have had the advantage of knowing both sides of him. The lecture he has given to-day represents experiences accumulated during his life-long work. I think there is only one subject he has omitted, and that is fire. It is a difficult thing to prevent. The wind may come and just scatter a few sparks about, and these may, in spite of all precautions, set a fire going which no one can control. I think that Mr DISCUSSION ON MR MACDONALD’S PAPER. 7 Macdonald will agree that the question of taking precautions against fire is one of the most important. There is, I believe, some regulation under which it is possible to close plantations at the dangerous age against the public. I know of nothing else which will prevent it, and I speak with some experience of fires, because in the great country where I have been for some years fires are the chief cause of forest destruction, and although I believe that in Australia you could plant timber with greater prospects of profit than perhaps in any other country in the world, one would hesitate to undertake great operations there because of the fire risk, and because of that alone. In this country, however much one may desire to see the freest possible access for the public to land—and I for one have always had great sympathies in that direction—I believe that in commercial timber areas where there is risk of fire there should be power, subject to the consent of the Forestry Commission, to close plantations at a dangerousage. I think this is a most necessary precaution to take if we are to incur any great expenditure on planting operations. As to the price of plants I should not be in favour of any public nursery which had as its object the cutting out of the nurserymen. The nurseryman to my mind is an invaluable element in forestry. I would just as soon cut out the timber merchant. As regards the price of plants I do not know that I should be frightened by that prospect, because I should never plant—except for very limited areas—with anything but 2-year seedlings. I should also plant areas as large as possible to reduce the cost of fencing material and fences to which Mr Macdonald has alluded. There are fences still standing which were put up twenty-five years ago with stobs at 32 feet apart, and they are still serving perfectly well as fences against certain kinds of stock, and I think that Mr Macdonald’s suggestion about piecework and economy in fencing material is a very valuable one. I am not quite so sure about piecework in planting. “There were a great many plantations of mixed hardwoods and conifers devastated during the war, where shoots will come away from the stools of the hardwoods. There, to fill blanks, one would fill in with large-sized hardwoods, probably. Very often many of these plantations could be resuscitated by another method. Dr Borthwick had an interesting suggestion that this might be done by means of poplar or willow cuttings. I am 8 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. trying that. In that way one could renew some of these plantations quite well where there is a market for crate wood, which is obtained from the stool shoots. You would have your poplars and willow between the stools. There is a good deal in what Dr Borthwick has suggested. “As to the squirrels; I think the squirrels in the Northern Highlands have been diminished more by Lord Lovat’s Squirrel Club than by the grey squirrels. Certainly they are very much reduced, but they are not exterminated, for I saw their work last spring as usual though on a much smaller scale. I think where you have an exposed plantation you gain a good deal by planting thickly. I have formerly, in some cases, planted at 24 feet apart, but I should not do it now. I would get all the natural regeneration possible, because as things are we shall have to do a lot of patchwork planting, and we shall have to adopt many devices. What Mr Macdonald has said about larch is specially interesting, because even if you put it in too thin you can always under-plant it later, if you can keep down rabbits and taxation permits you. The other day in an inter- view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer I raised the point that rabbit-killing was a necessary part of both afforestation and agriculture, and that the salaries of men employed in killing rabbits ought to be deducted for income tax purposes. I know very good Scots pine put in at 8 feet in sheltered places which are now excellent plantations, Every case must be judged on its own merits, but the greatest economy in planting is to use 2-year plants.” Mr J. H. Mitne Home.—‘‘I should like to say a word or two about some of the points Mr Macdonald mentioned. I agree very heartily with most of what he has said. The point I would refer to particularly is that of delay in replanting. Iam sure that there is very much greater loss in that than people realise. It is a very common thing to let land lie for five years. If the valuation on this land be 2s. per acre, that means with rates and taxes say another 3s., a total of 5s. per acre, and if you let it lie for five years that is 25s., without compound interest, added to the cost of planting. Moreover, the cost must then be much heavier because the ground is very rough, and the amount of labour after five years is much greater. Personally, I believe in cleaning up behind the felling as quickly as possible, and my ideal is to get ground replanted within sometimes a few DISCUSSION ON MR MACDONALD’S PAPER. 9 months of its having been felled and the branches cleaned and burned. It is quite worth spending money to clean the ground thoroughly, because if you use 2-year seedlings the cost of plants is about one-half or less of the cost of transplants, such as are necessary where there is a strong growth of herbage or weeds. That is one of the most important points in restocking felled areas. That money is going out all the time in actual rates and taxes, apart from the revenue you are not getting on a growing crop, is a fact which is often lost sight of. People pay these and other rates and taxes as a whole, and they do not ; realise money is going out all the time on unstocked areas without any return whatever. As regards planting distances, I think that we have all modified our views. I have always been rather in favour of wider distances than 3 feet, and certainly results with Japanese larch, Sitka spruce and Douglas fir tend to show that 6 feet is quite a safe distance. I have seen Douglas fir planted at 34 to 4 feet, and the conclusion I have come to after ten or fifteen years’ observation is that if you have good soil, 6 feet is not a bit too wide to plant. This seems to be a perfectly safe distance even against damage by snow, which is the great danger when Douglas fir becomes ten or fifteen years old. With regard to Sitka spruce, it shows a diversity in growth in different parts of Scotland, but my experience is that Sitka spruce does not branch very strongly; common spruce does, and it requires to be planted rather closer, about 4} feet. I have no particular experience of Scots pine. That is not a tree that we go in for very much. I do think we have got to revise our ideas about planting distances, and the only point is how far is it safe to go in the direction of wider planting and still get a proper crop and aclean crop. That is, I think, the controlling factor that we must consider in dealing with distances. With regard to planting by piecework, I do not agree with what Mr Macdonald has said, and I think it may be rather a dangerous thing in purely silvicultural operations. I agree that the more it is adopted in preparatory work the better, and I am quite sure that you get as good drains and as good fences if this is done according to a specification by contract, as by day’s work.” Lord Lovar.—“ On the subject of the price of plants I would like to say, speaking on behalf of the Forestry Commission, that they consider that for the subsidised unemployment schemes the IO TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. nurserymen of Great Britain have met us very fairly. They have had, undoubtedly, a very great shortage of transplants at the present time, but I would like to point out that the charge they make for 2-year seedlings is low, in fact in many cases it compares quite favourably with pre-war charges. I speak from memory, but as far as I can remember the price of 2-year seedlings for Sitka was Ios. per 1000, quite a reasonable price. The price, I think, for Norway spruce was 7s. 6d., and Douglas ranged about 2os. for 2-year seedlings. Thus if you plant some of those species as 2-year seedlings, or even if you take them from the public nurseries and line them out at 4s. 6d., and allowing 3s. say for tending during the summer months, it means you can plant Douglas and Sitka at no very high price. The only other point I would like to make reference to is spacing. As far as our experience goes—and we have had a very considerable investigation on this point, because obviously we want to get the whole advantage of past ex- perience—we find that 4 ft. 6 ins. seems a reasonable distance at which to plant Scots pine, although perhaps we could go as far as 6 feet for Douglas and 5 ft. 6 ins. for larch. We have seen many plantations where those distances were quite justified. The widest spacing I have seen was 9g feet at Avon- dale, but here, undoubtedly, there were not enough perfectly formed trees to the acre to yield what would eventually form a satisfactory crop. I think this plantation was about 15 to 18 years old, but we have also seen several other plantations where successful crops have been established by planting at 7 feet apart. And may I raise a point about planting 2-year-old seedlings? Where it can be done the method is cheap, but where rabbits are abundant 2-year seedlings suffer a tremendous amount of damage, more in my experience than 2-year 1-year transplants. In our experience of the drought, which was exceptional, over a wide area of Great Britain during the past year, we found that 2-year seedlings did not resist so well as 2-year 1-year transplants. Such material, well heeled in, gave better and larger plants. Our Divisional Officers’ reports show that 2-year 1-year transplants seemed to be, on the whole, more resistant to really severe drought conditions than 2-year seedlings. If we want to reduce the initial cost of plantations, and at the same time to have them well looked after during the whole period of their growth, I think we shall have to increase DISCUSSION ON MR MACDONALD’S PAPER, Le the number of drives in our compartments, making them roo yards apart, in order to get the rabbits killed down, so that we may avoid the cost of putting up wire-netting.” Mr Kerr, Ladywell, in reply to the Chairman, said :—‘‘ We are planting European larch at 6 feet apart up to an elevation of 500 feet. Above that we put them closer. Lower down we are planting Japanese larch at 6 feet, and hybrid larch at 6 feet, using 1-year 1-year transplants which are growing well this season. Douglas we are planting at 7 feet. We have very little Scots pine, but I think 4 feet is quite wide enough for that species. Spruce we plant at 34 feet to 4 feet, but you could plant up to 6 feet or 7 feet.” The CuarrmMan.—“On the question of contracting, that of course is obviously the way to do it, if you can trust the men to put the plants in with proper care. It has been suggested that one might use one’s foreman, or other good estate man, and give him the contracts. He will employ local or estate men (by permission). You make up your mind that it will cost you £500 to plant a certain hill economically. You say to your foreman, who has probably got a family, ‘We will give you £500 to plant that hill. When you have done that, if it is well done, we will give you another one to do.’ Of course you stop wages during the contract, though you may advance him enough to pay the men he employs. Thus the estate men are kept in employment. If you have got any other land to plant you say, ‘If you do what is allotted to you quickly and well, we will give you another contract before the season is over.’ I think you would find the ground would be planted very expeditiously, and that the contractor would come back very soon to get another contract, especially if he is a man whose house is near the work. The same way with thinning. Undoubtedly, if you can get that done by contract it is probably the easiest way to get it done, especially if it is near the contractor’s own house, because it is of great assistance to a man in bringing up his family to be able to get a bit of that kind of work at odd times. As far as rabbits are concerned, I am perfectly certain that the best results are not obtained by entrusting the rabbit killing either to keepers or to professional rabbit trappers who work under contracts. There must be always a sense of regret in the gamekeeper’s mind with every I2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. rabbit he has trapped—it is natural. In the case of ‘the professional rabbit trapper, of course it is a sorrowful thing for him to kill out all the rabbits, because there will be no more rabbits to trap next year. That is only human nature. But when in spite of all ordinary efforts to keep them in check, rabbits are becoming too numerous, I have found extraordinary good results to follow from supplying the forester with his own rabbit killer as a permanent man who is there to destroy the rabbits and to help the forester. The results that can be achieved by a man who is put on at any season are extraordinary, for he minds neither age nor sex nor time nor weather so long as he gets rid of the pest. I think if you are going in seriously for forestry, and more especially if you have got big blocks wired in, that a rabbit trapper of this description is very useful, for he is interested in killing the last rabbit, which none of the others are. For economic reasons, certainly on high ground, and on bare ground, such as I have got in many places where there formerly was a crop of larch—a tree that grows very easily and naturally with us—and also in the case of spruce, where large blocks have recently been cut down, I think it would pay us to fence such areas immediately after felling when the ground is still red, and to leave it to nature. I am quite certain that in this way we should get a very good natural crop, judging by any protected spots which I have seen near such areas on which seedlings are coming up thickly. Of course it is also well to leave a few trees for seeding purposes. Far too little of this is done when wood is cut. The curse of my country is bracken and broom. Since the Government cut our woods, far more extensively than we can afford to replant them, it means that extensive areas are being invaded by an absolute thicket of broom, and there is only one way to deal with broom, which is to leave it alone, but that takes fifteen years.” Mr CwHarRLes BucHANAN moved a vote of thanks to Mr Macdonald for his paper, and to His Grace for presiding. NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. T3 3. Notes on the Douglas Fir. (With Plates and Tables.) By P. LESLIE. In travelling as far westwards as the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast when I was in North America, in the autumn of 1920, I had a two-fold object in view. I was desirous of acquiring a knowledge, gained at first hand, of the forest conditions of Western America, and also of obtaining supplies of seed for research work in the forestry experiment station at Craibstone, Aberdeen, the estate belonging to the North of Scotland College of Agriculture, where there are 250 acres of woodland used for educational purposes. In forestry experiment stations, it is usual to plant small woods or plots of geographical races or varieties of the commoner and more useful forest trees for the purposes of systematic study, and of ascertaining their merits as commercial forest trees. This holds good both of native and of exotic species, and it is natural that an endeavour should be made to have a series of plots illustrating the geographical races of those Pacific Coast trees, the planting of which has been attended with such satisfactory results, that they are likely in the future to play an increasingly important part in British forestry. As a result of my visit to North America there have been gathered together in the nurseries at Craibstone stocks of ‘Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and other species collected in different parts of the range of each tree, which are likely to be of the greatest value for research work, since the conditions of the regions in which the seed was collected are definitely known. In this paper I propose dealing with the varieties of Douglas fir that are represented in the Craibstone nurseries, leaving over for future contributions what I have to say about the other species. At the time I set out on the tour, the knowledge I possessed of the progress that had been made in elucidating the relation- ship of the different varieties of the Douglas fir, and in determining their geographical distribution, did not include much of the information that is embodied in the latest publica- tions on the subject. It was not until my return, that I had I4. TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. an opportunity of perusing the valuable paper contributed in the same year to the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, volume xxxv., Section B, No. .5, by Professor Henry and Miss Margaret Flood—the former of whom shares with Mr Elwes the distinction of being regarded as the leading British authority on Pacific Coast trees. Professor Henry and Miss Flood deal systematically with all the known representatives of the genus Pseudotsuga, to which the Douglas fir belongs, but devote special attention to the three forms that are represented in the forests of the Pacific North-West, viz. :— Pseudotsuga Douglasti, Coast or Oregon variety. Pseudotsuga Douglasit, Caesia variety. Pseudotsuga Douglasii, Glauca variety. The authors follow Mayr in regarding the last as a distinct species, Pseudotsuga glauca. As regards the botanical characteristics of the different varieties of Pseudotsuga Douglasit on which the classification adopted by Professor Henry and Miss Flood is based, I find myself in a position to corroborate the authors’ descriptions, but this agreement does not extend to our respective accounts of the geographical distribution of the different varieties. In these circumstances, and in view of the fact that my researches have not as yet been carried beyond the initial stages, no objection may be taken to my making frequent references to a publication, one of whose authors has made a life-long study of the Douglas fir. In describing the cones of the different varieties, I propose to follow the lines laid down by Professor Henry and Miss Flood, without, however, going so minutely as they have done into details, that are chiefly of interest to the systematist, and not essential for purposes of identification. I have also freely made use of the information contained in Zhe Forests of British Columbta—published by the Commission of Conservation, Canada, and prepared by Messrs Whitford and Craig—a survey of the forest resources of the province, and probably the most complete work of its kind, that has been published for any part of the British Empire. Other works which have been consulted are Zhe Reproduction of Commercial Species in the Southern Coastal Forests of British Columbia, by Howe—an illuminating report prepared at the request of the Committee on Forests, Commission of Conservation; Zhe NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 15 Canadian Douglas Fir, by Stern—a work which gives the results of tests carried out in the Forest Products Laboratories, M‘Gill University ; and Frohingham’s 7%e Douglas Fir, a U.S.A. Forest Service Circular, which was published in 1909, and does not take account of the results of recent work. The series of tables which are placed at the end of the paper were compiled from data contained in Zhe IWater Powers of British Columbia, and in the Reports of the Scottish Meteoro- logical Office, and will enable a comparison to be made between the climate of a number of localities referred to in the course of this paper and certain districts in Scotland. The regions in which I had opportunities of seeing forests of the Douglas fir included the larger part of the range of the species; on the mainland of British Columbia from Banff on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to Vancouver City ; in various parts of Vancouver Island, and in the coast forests of Washington, Oregon, and California, as far south- wards as the Redwood Belt north of Crescent City. The regions to which the Glauca form are stated by Professor Henry to be indigenous, viz.: the Central and Southern Rocky Mountains from Eastern Montana and Wyoming to Arizona and Northern Mexico, had to be omitted from the itinerary because of time considerations. The Glauca form has, however, been planted in a great many places in Great Britain, usually as small woods, and for this reason as well as on account of its being at one end of a series of geographical races or varieties, and my seeing a tree of the Douglas fir in Canada that, if not the Glauca form, is closely related to the latter, I shall take the opportunity of referring to it along with the other Douglas firs. Cones were not collected in all the forests visited containing Douglas fir as a constituent species, owing to the difficulties which would have been entailed by the transport of more than very limited supplies. All the cones were gathered in four or five localities, Craigellachie, Kamloops, Hope, and Vancouver Island (Nanaimo and Bainbridge)—a selection of localities which may be regarded as affording a fairly representative sample of the varied forest conditions met with in the Douglas fir forests of British Columbia. The seed extracted from the cones was sown out in the nurseries at Craibstone in the spring of last year. No herbarium specimens were collected apart from the cones, and I am therefore not in 16 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. a position to give a detailed description of the botanical characteristics of the different specimens, apart from noting the distinguishing marks of the cones and of the 1-year-old seedlings. The description of the cones and the seedlings can be conveniently prefaced by an account of the forest conditions of the localities where the cones were collected. The relief features of British Columbia, some of which extend the whole length of the province, and others only as far north as the 54th parallel of latitude, have a north-west and south- east trend and may, excluding the Peace River district in the north-east, be described as consisting of five physiographical units. The first physiographical feature is the Rocky Mountain system extending northwards throughout the whole length of the province. At the western base of the Rocky Mountains is an enormous U-shaped valley, extending from the International boundary in the south to the Yukon Territory in the north, the floor of which has an average elevation of approximately 2400 feet above sea-level and an altitudinal range of 700 feet. The valley is from 2 to 15 miles in width, and is flanked on both sides by high mountains for the greater part of its length. It is drained by several rivers with low passes between them. In respect of size the valley is often out of proportion to the streams that drain it. The direction of drainage is determined by fault lines or zones which mark the boundaries between different rock formations. This great trough, or intermontane valley, was brought to its present form through long-continued erosion by valley glaciers, powerful enough to ride over the divides between the former heads of the streams, and to degrade them nearly to a common level. The second physiographical feature is the Columbia system, which lies to the west of the Rocky Mountains trench, but does not extend farther north than the 54th parallel of latitude. This system comprises the Cariboo Mountains in the north, and the Selkirk and Monashee Mountains in the south. Separating the Selkirk and Monashee Mountains is the well-defined Selkirk trench or intermontane valley, which is occupied by the Columbia River and the Arrow Lakes. The Selkirk Mountains are dissected by several large structural valleys, the relative physiographical importance of which has not been determined. NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 17 Of those, the Purcell trench is the most important from a forestry point of view. The third physiographical feature lies between the Monashee, Cariboo and Rocky Mountains on the east, and the Coast Mountains on the west. This area is divided into three parts from south to north, the Interior system to the 54th parallel of latitude, the Cassiar system to the 59th parallel, and the Yukon system north of this. The first of these only will be referred to here. The Interior system or Plateau is approximately 500 miles in length, varies from 140 to 170 miles in width, and is flanked by the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Cascade Mountains on the west, merging gradually into the mountains on either flank. The fourth physiographical unit is the Coast Mountains, which border on the Pacific Ocean from the Fraser River to the head of the Lynn Canal in Alaska. Another great intermontane valley separates the Coast Mountains on the mainland of British Columbia from the ranges occurring on Vancouver Islands, known collectively as the Insular system. This valley, although submerged off the British Columbia coast, appears as a land trench further southwards, after passing through Puget Sound, and separates the Olympic Mountains from the Cascade Mountains in Washington. The numerous fiords on the coast of British Columbia are drowned or submerged river valleys, similar to the great lochs on the West Coast of Scotland. The fifth physiographical feature is the Insular system. The influence of the physiographical features is of paramount importance in connection with the distribution of the forests and of lumbering. The mountains have a general trend alternating with plateaux or mountain trenches all at right angles to the warm moisture-laden winds. This arrangement of the chief physiographical features is of the greatest significance in exercising a controlling influence on the factors of climate, temperature and moisture, and so determining the distribution of the different types of forest. The broad U-shaped valleys throughout the province are of vital importance from the stand- point of lumbering. They determine the locality of depots for the accommodation of raw forest products for manufacturing purposes, while the valleys themselves or their slopes, and the lower ends of the valleys debouching into them, furnish the VOL, XXXVI. PART I. B 18 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. chief supplies of lumber cut at the present time. The relative importance of the trenches varies according to the kind and amount of timber tributary to them, and according to their geographical position with relation to the markets.! As has been said, the structural features of British Columbia, and more especially the series of high mountain ranges running more or less parallel to the coast with the intervening valleys and plateaux, are of primary importance from the point of view of climate and forest growth. Four more or less parallel climatic zones or belts are distinguished in Canadian forestry literature. They are as follows :— 1. THE INTERIOR PLATEAU OR Dry BELT.—A tableland lying between the Coast Mountains on the west and the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east; characterised by a small rainfall and great extremes of temperature, hot summers and cold winters. 2. THE INTERIOR Wet BELT, comprising the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains and the western slopes of the Selkirk Mountains ; characterised by a heavy rainfall and lesser extremes of temperature than are experienced in the Dry Belt. 3. THE Rocky Mountains BELT, comprising the Rocky Mountains and the eastern slopes of the Selkirk Mountains ; characterised by a moderate rainfall, and great extremes of temperature with warm summers and cold winters. 4. THE CoasTat BELT, comprising the region west of the axis of the Coast Mountains ; characterised by a heavy rainfall and mild climate. The localities where I collected cones were situated in the Dry Belt (Kamloops); the Interior Wet Belt (Craigellachie) ; and the Coastal Belt (Hope and Vancouver). In each of the localities mentioned the forest conditions are fairly representative of the general forest conditions existing throughout the belts in which they are situated, and they can be dealt with at this point. No cones were collected in the Rocky Mountain Belt, but the Rocky Mountain Douglas fir resembles the Douglas fir of the Interior Wet Belt. (1) Zhe Dry Belt.—The Interior Plateau, usually referred to in Canadian forestry literature as the Dry Belt, is a tableland extending from the Divide of the Coast and Cascade Mountain 1 The notes on the physiographic relations are taken almost verbatim from the Forests of British Columbia. PLATE I. AT KAMLOOPS. THE DRY BELT, IN RN YELLOW PINE UNDER WESTE a DOUGLAS FIR, GROWING [ To face p. 18. PrAtE WL. tST, VANCOUVER ISLAND. TSUGA HETEROPHYLLA AS UNDERCROP. DOUGLAS FIR FORI THUJA AND antes: <¥ Ad ‘4 ¢ “= ~ VARIETY), (CAESIA willed IGANTEA AT CRAIGELLACHIRE. DOUGLAS cc 5 FOREST OF WESTERN WHITE PINE (PINUS MONTICOLA), NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 19 ranges to the western skirts of the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains. It varies from 140 to 170 miles in width, and is traversed by the Fraser River and its tributaries and by some of the tributaries of the Columbia River. The valleys of the main rivers and the larger tributaries have the same trough- shape as the great intermontane valleys, and bear evidence of having been scoured by valley glaciers except in the upland portions, where the outlines are V-shaped, and of the type associated with ordinary stream erosion. The rainfall averages about 15 inches but in some places is less than to inches. Owing to the small rainfall, conditions that are almost semi-arid prevail throughout the larger part of the plateau. On the up- lands, as is shown by the records obtained at the meteorological stations, the rainfall is heavier than in the valleys. Extremes of temperature are experienced, the summers being warmer and the winters much more severe than in the Coastal Belt. In the southern part of the plateau the mean annual temperature is about 45°, with a winter mean of 25° and a summer mean of 65°. The extremes vary from — 45° to over 100’. The town of Kamloops is near the junction of the North Thomson and Thomson Rivers, the latter one of the chief tribu- taries of the Fraser River. On the bottom lands in this region at altitudes of 700-1000 feet above sea-level the land is a sage- brush (Artemisia tridentata) desert, which merges into a grass- land (Agropyrum spicatum) on the lower slopes, the latter in turn giving place at altitudes of 1500-2500 feet to an open forest of western yellow pine (Pius ponderosa). The Douglas fir, which is frequently present as an understory to the western yellow pine, forms an almost pure forest in the middle altitudinal zone above 2500 feet, and in turn, at higher elevations and on more exposed sites, is replaced by Engelmann’s spruce and lodgepole pine. The yellow pine is confined to the more southern portions of the Interior Plateau, where the forests, owing to their accessi- bility and the quality of the yellow pine timber, have been heavily exploited, but outside of this region the lumbering industry is of little importance. The Douglas fir in the Interior Plateau rarely attains a height greater than 70-80 feet, and the quantity of timber to the acre usually averages less than tooo cubic feet. The Kamloops cones, which were gathered in the middle altitudinal zone, where the Douglas fir forms practically pure 20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. forests, are to all appearances identical with the cones of the Glauca variety, which I do not think has been noted by British authors as occurring in Canada. They are of a light-fawn colour and about 14-2} inches long by 1 inch in width. The scales are about 30 in number and about } inch broad. The bracts, which are markedly longer than the scales, are in some cones réeflexed and in others point straight upwards. They have a long, slender awn, and short lateral lobes, the inner edges of which meet at an angle that is slightly less than a right-angle. Externally the bracts are pubescent and have the appearance of being covered with a whitish bloom. The seeds with the attached wings, which are pale in colour, are together about 4 inch in length. The germination of the seed was satisfactory. The seedlings have 5-7 cotyledons about 4-3 inch long. In the autumn, the seedlings ripened off their shoots very early. They can be distinguished from the plants raised from the seed collected in the other regions by their hard, stiff, primary leaves, which are of the same length as the cotyledons, and on the upper surface are of a dark-green colour similar to that of the needles of the Scots pine, as well as by large ovoid (upper portion cone- shaped) terminal buds, which are of a dark-brown colour and covered with resin. On the upper surface of the primary leaves there is a distinct median groove, and on the under surface two white bands of stomata. The leaves ascend for a short distance from their point of junction with the stem, and then radiate out- wards drooping slightly. The terminal bud stands out pro- minently from the top whorl of leaves. The colour, hardness, etc., of the leaves suggest adaptation to xerophytic con- ditions. (2) The Interior Wet Belt——This name is used in Canadian forestry literature to denote the region extending from the western slopes of the Monashee and Cariboo Mountains on the west, to the Selkirk Divide on the east. Part of the Rocky Mountains system, more especially the western slopes, resemble this region in regard to climatic conditions. The precipitation is fairly heavy, varying from 35 inches at Craigellachie or 41 inches farther north at Quesnal, about one-third of the precipitation in these regions being in the form of snow, to 58 inches at Glacier where two-thirds is in the form of snow. The temperature conditions are not so extreme as in the Dry Belt, the summers being cooler, and the Pie IU, DOUGLAS FIR, ABOUT 20-25 YEARS OF AGE, VANCOUVER ISLAND. f 4 a 5 a | Zo face p. 20. Pram Ve DouGLas FIR CONEs. Left to right: (rt) From Vancouver Island. (3) From Craigellachie (Caesia variety). (2) From Hope. (4) From Kamloops. \ o— a DouGLAS FIR SEEDLINGS. Left to right: (z and 2) Kamloops Seedlings; (3) Coast Seedling ; (4) Caesia variety, Craigellachie. NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 21 winters less severe. The mean annual temperature recorded at stations in the southern parts of the Interior Wet Belt is 44° F., with a winter mean of 27° and a summer mean of 61°. The highest recorded temperature in this region is 100° and the lowest — 17°. The Douglas fir in the Interior Wet Belt is a much larger and finer tree than in the Dry Belt, sometimes attaining 120 feet and upwards in height, with a diameter at breast-height of 3 to 5 feet. The forests at Craigellachie, which may be taken as fairly representative examples of Interior Wet Belt forests at moderate altitudes (1500 feet), are composed of a very uniform mixture of Douglas fir, Tuya gigantea, Pinus monticola, Tsuga heterophylla (the last three species being absent from the Dry Belt), along with a small proportion of Engelmann’s spruce. This is the kind of forest that is typical of the lower western slopes of the Cariboo and Monashee ranges. At higher altitudes and on eastern slopes Engelmann’s spruce enters more largely into the composition of the forest, and is frequently the dominant tree at elevations of 2500 feet. At Glacier (3000 feet), where the forests may be regarded as typical of Interior Wet Belt forests at higher elevations, the forest on the eastern slopes are Engelmann’s spruce and on the western slopes a mixture of TZhuya gigantea and Tsuga heterophylla. The Craigellachie cones answer to Henry and Flood’s descrip- tion of the cones of the Caesia variety. They are about 2-24 inches in length, of a dark muddy greyish-brown colour and have about 35-40 scales, which are pubescent on the exterior surface. The bracts, which are erect, are slightly shorter than the scales in the lower half of the cone, and slightly longer in the upper portion. They have short, blunt, lateral lobes, the inner edges of which meet at an obtuse angle, and long, slender awns. The seeds and wings are similar as regards shape and size to the Kamloops seed, but are much darker in colour. The seedlings ripened off their shoots early in the autumn. The end buds are shorter, stouter and less prominent than the buds of the Kamloops seedlings, and are of a lighter brown colour. The cotyledons and primary leaves are shorter than the leaves of the Kamloops plants, being rather less than half an inch in length. They are also softer, and of a lighter green colour, 22 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. and show a slight tendency to curl upwards in the direction of the terminal bud which is, however, not concealed from view. (4) Zhe Coast Forests.—The great forest region of the Pacific Coast, where the Douglas fir attains its best development in British Columbia, comprises that portion of the mainland which lies westwards of the axis of the Cascade and Coast Mountains, and extends as far northwards as the 51st parallel of latitude (Knight Inlet), and the southern, central and eastern portions of Vancouver Island. There are forests of the Douglas fir on the coast north of the main Douglas fir forest region of British Columbia, which is continuous with the great coastal forests of Washington and Oregon, but they occupy isolated areas, where the climatic conditions are more favourable to the tree than those of the neighbouring regions. Such isolated fir forests are to be met with as far north as the Gardiner Canal. In the main Douglas fir forest region of British Columbia west of the Cascade and Coast Mountains, the Douglas fir and Thuya gigantea—its chief associate—find the optimum conditions for their growth and development. The Douglas fir frequently attain 250 feet and upward in height and 20-30 feet in girth, and Zhuya gigantea a height of 175 feet. Along with these species are associated a number of other important trees, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), western hemlock (7Zsuga heterophylla), two silver firs (Adzes grandis and Adies amabilts), and western white pine (Pixs monticola), which all attain a large size, but in this region form a relatively small proportion of the forests as compared with the Douglas fir and Z7huya gigantea. The forests, however, are not uniformly of the same type throughout the southern Coastal region of British Columbia. Their composition and the size of the timber depend to some extent on local factors, such as diversities in the topography, soil conditions, and rainfall. In the two localities where I collected cones, Hope arid Vancouver (Nanaimo and Bainbridge), the conditions differed but slightly, as far as can be gathered from the meteorological records, and yet such as they are these differences are associated with corresponding differences in the forest. The forests at Hope, although belonging to the Coast forest type, are somewhat different from forests farther westwards, and there is evidence to show that the natural agencies which exercise such a powerful influence on the climatic conditions east of the Cascade range, in some slight degree make their NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 23 influence felt at Hope. The climatic conditions, as regards temperature and rainfall, are not very different in the two localities, but in floristic surveys carried out by. Government botanists, the inclusion has been noted in the ground flora at Hope of a number of species that are to be regarded as more typical of the semi-arid regions of the Interior than of the Coastal regions. In Zhe Forests of British Columbia, it is stated that the Douglas fir reaches its best development when the rainfall is between 50-60 inches, not more than 5 per cent. of which is in the form of snow. No rainfall records are available for the Hope district, but the rainfall recorded at the nearest station of Agassiz, some distance westwards, is 53°27 inches, although this is probably somewhat in excess of the rainfall at Hope. In Vancouver Island the rainfall varies from 41 inches (Nanaimo) on the eastern coast, where the Douglas fir attains its best development, to 1oo inches on the west coast outside the Douglas fir area. The temperature conditions at Hope, as shown by local records, are similar to those at Vancouver. The coldest month is January, when the average temperature is 33° F., or 2°6° lower than at Vancouver (City), and slightly lower than the average temperature for high-lying localities in the middle Highlands of Scotland, e.g. Kingussie, where the average temperature for January is 34°7° (Table IV.). In the warmest months—July and August—the temperature at Hope averages 62°5°, the same as that of Vancouver, and 6° higher than at Aberdeen. Judging from the rainfall and temperature records, there would not seem to be any reason for the existence of different types of forest at Hope and farther westwards, but, as already explained, the presence of species in the ground flora more typical of semi-arid regions, seem to indicate a lesser atmo- spheric humidity in the Hope district. The characteristics that differentiate the Hope forests from those farther westwards are of the type that one would associate with greater dryness. The Douglas fir at Hope does not attain such a large size as in the regions with a more typically coast-like climate, seldom attaining a height greater than 120 feet, but the climatic con- ditions are even less favourable to the associate species than to the Douglas fir itself, which can thrive better in a dry climate than Thuya gigantea, or Tsuga heterophylla. These are repre- 24 ‘TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. sented in the forests at Hope, but as subordinate constituents, the Douglas fir being able to monopolise the larger portion of the ground, and tending to form pure forests. Sitka spruce and Pinus monticola are absent. The cones collected at Hope and Vancouver are alike in all respects save that the former are considerably smaller than the Vancouver specimens. The cones from Hope are about 2? inches long and 1} inch broad, with scales 1 inch wide. The Vancouver cones are 3} inches long and proportionately wide, with scales 1} inch broad. In both cases the cones are of a light chestnut colour. The bracts, leaving the awn out of account, are slightly shorter than the scales in the lower half of the cones and slightly longer in the upper half. They have long lateral lobes, the inner edges of which meet at an angle which is markedly acute. The length of the lateral lobes is about half that of the awns, in which respect there is a noteworthy difference between Vancouver cones and those collected at Kamloops and Craigellachie, where the length of the lobes is not more than 4 to 4 that of the awns. The seed and wings are about ? inch long, the latter being pale in colour. The seeds are of a reddish-lustrous-brown colour on the upper surface and a lighter shade of brown with whitish spots below. They are about } inch long and } inch wide. The plants grown from the Hope and Vancouver seed have the typical characteristics of Coast variety seedlings. The terminal buds resemble in shape those of the Kamloops seed- lings, but are of a light-brown colour (light-chestnut) and non- resinous. They are ovoid with the upper portions of the bud cone-shaped. The seedlings did not ripen off their shoots until late in the season, although the Vancouver plants were more satisfactory in this respect than those from Hope. The cotyle- dons vary in length from # inch to over an inch, and are from 5 to 7in number. They are triangular in section, with smooth edges and two rows of stomata on the upper surface. The primary leaves are of a light-green (grass green) colour, about 3-} inch in length, and curl upwards so as to completely conceal the terminal buds. I might here mention that I found it extremely difficult to get Douglas fir cones in the Coast forests at Hope and west- wards in an uninjured condition with sound seed, although I experienced no difficulty in getting good cones in the Interior NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 25 Plateau or the Interior Wet Belt. The majority of the cones I collected in the Coast forests were damaged by a tortrix (Rhyactonia sp?), which apparently devours the seed. I was able to obtain only small supplies of good cones. Three different varieties of the Douglas fir are thus evidently to be found in British Columbia, which can be recognised by the structure of the cones and the botanical characteristics of the seedlings. These three varieties, which are distinguished by Canadian foresters as the Dry Belt Douglas fir, the Mountain Douglas fir, and the Coast Douglas fir, have the following distribution :— 1. The Dry Belt Douglas fir (? the Glauca form). Confined to the Interior Plateau, and possibly found only in the southern portion of that region. The more important associate species are Pinus ponderosa, Picea Engelmanni, Pinus Murrayana. 2. The Mountain Douglas fir, Caesia variety, occurs in two regions with somewhat different climatic conditions :— (t) In the Interior Wet Belt, comprising the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains and the western slopes of the Selkirk Mountains. (2) In the Rocky Mountains and the eastern slopes of the Selkirk Mountains. The more important associate species in these regions are, Thuya gigantea, Picea Engelmanni, Tsuga heterophylla, Pinus monticola, Pinus Murrayana, and Abies lasiocarpa. 3. The Coast Douglas fir occurs in regions west of the Cascade and Coast Mountains. The more important associate species are Zhuya gigantea, Tsuga heterophylla, Picea sitchensis, Abies grandis, Abies amabilis, Pinus Murrayana. The western larch (Larix occidentalis) has not been noted as occurring in any of the above regions. This species occupies a peculiar position, being found in localities that cannot be regarded as belonging either to the Dry Belt or the Interior Wet Belt, but in a zone that marks the borderland between the two. There are also probably in existence varieties of the Douglas fir itself that are correctly to be regarded as intermediate forms between the more typical forms, In Zhe Forests of British Columbia the authors say :— “As one traverses the low passes of the southern Coast Mountains, it will be noted that as the Dry Belt 26 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. approaches the tree gradually becomes smaller in size, . the bole is shorter and more limby, and the bark more closely ridged.” Differences have also been noted in the quality of the timber of the different varieties. According to Stern, the Rocky Mountain fir (Caesia variety) produces a red wood with usually a large proportion of summer wood. It is neither as straight- grained nor as easily worked as the Coast fir, but is highly valuable for its durability in contact with the soil, in which respect it surpasses the other species with which it grows. On the other hand, in the Coast Douglas fir a large proportion of the wood is clear, fine-grained and light in colour, although sometimes, depending on the situation, a reddish-coloured wood is produced. Some interest attaches to the point that all three varieties—the Coast, Caesia, and Glauca (?) forms—are to be found along the course of the Fraser River. The Caesia variety occurs in the upper reaches, at Quesnal, etc.; the Dry Belt Douglas fir at Kamloops—on the Thomson River, a tributary of the Fraser River; and the Coast form on the lower Fraser River west of the Cascade Mountains. A few years ago plants raised in this country from seed, purchased in the belief that it was seed of the Coast variety, were found to be different in many respects from the plants of the true Coast variety, and were regarded by nurserymen as being a form intermediate between the latter and the Glauca form. To this accidental importation, which may have been the Caesia form, they gave the name of the Fraser River variety, and it is perhaps well to point out that, as a geographical designation, the name “Fraser River Variety” may be applied equally well to any one of three varieties of the Douglas fir. The large scale on which the Douglas fir is now planted in Great Britain, renders it imperative that as much as possible should be known regarding the different forms or varieties and the regions to which they are indigenous, owing to the constantly increasing risks of getting unsuitable seed. Fortunately, as a result of the experiments which landowners have been carrying out for the past seventy or eighty years, we know what results are likely to be obtained from planting the Coast and Glauca forms, although little is as yet known regarding the merits of the Caesia form. In the following notes I shall endeavour to NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 27 give a brief account of the behaviour of the different varieties under cultivation, and at the same time roughly eee their value as timber trees. Giauca Variety.—Throughout the British Isles, there are numerous plantations of the Glauca form of the Douglas fir, seldom larger than a few acres in extent. In the North of Scotland there are several estates, of which Beaufort, Fyvie, and Durris may be cited as examples, where the Coast variety and the Glauca variety have been planted side by side, and in every case the Coast variety has completely outstripped the Glauca variety in rate of growth. The differences between the two varieties is also well illustrated by two small adjoining plots at Craibstone, planted in 1918. Here the Glauca form is now about 14 feet high, while the Coast form is about 5 feet. The -Glauca form has been sometimes, on account of its hardiness, recommended for planting in high-lying localities in the middle Highlands, where the Coast variety does not thrive, but the Caesia variety would seem from every point of view to be a more desirable species to plant, although its suitability should first be ascertained by planting on an experimental scale. It is as yet impossible to say whether the plants at Craibstone raised from the seed collected in the Dry Belt of British Columbia are, or are not, the Glauca variety. The British Columbia Dry Belt Douglas fir, if it is not the Glauca form, is at least very closely akin to it, and its use for the planting of commercial woods is possibly open to the same objections. Carsia VartETy.—Professor Henry and Miss Flood give an account of the introduction of the Caesia variety into continental Europe and Great Britain :— “In 1907 young trees of this variety were raised in German nurseries from seed gathered at Quesnal in the preceding year by Baron von Furstenberg. About fifty of these in the Queen’s Cottage Ground, Kew Gardens, are healthy but comparatively slow in growth. They were 7 to 10 feet high in 1919 forming narrow, regular, pyramidal trees with ascending branches. They differ from the type in not having a summer shoot. At Avondale, a small plot nine years old, from seed, averages 5-8 feet high—about half the height of Oregon Douglas fir planted beside them. In Germany also Caesia grows more slowly than the Oregon Douglas fir, and can be recommended for 28 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. planting only in northern and mountain climates where it could probably withstand severe winter frosts.” There seem to be no records of the Caesia variety having been intentionally planted in Scotland, although occasionally single trees may be seen that are at least as old as those at Kew. There are sufficient trees at Craibstone to form a small plot, which, so far as I am aware, will be the third of its kind in the British Isles. Coast VarigeTy.—The Oregon or Coast Douglas fir scarcely requires to be referred to here since its good qualities, its great vigour of growth, and the enormous quantity of timber the tree produces per acre, have been one of the favourite themes of most writers on forestry during the past half-century. The rate of the growth of the tree is remarkable, an average growth of 3 to 4 feet per annum being no unusual occurrence, with the addition of a second shoot 5-6 inches in the autumn. The production of this after-shoot is a feature that enables the Coast variety to be distinguished from the Glauca and Caesia forms, in which there is no second growth. The transference of the Douglas fir from the Pacific Coast to the British Isles seems to be attended with certain changes in the characteristics of the tree, the explanation of which is probably to be sought for in a difference in the amount of sunshine, or is due to some other factors which react on the constitution of the tree in such a way as to stimulate growth in diameter. I have been led to entertain this idea from comparing the habits of the tree in its native habitat and in this country, although owing to the impossibility of making an exhaustive study of the subject, it is hardly possible to indulge in anything but vague surmises. In the first place, the shedding of the branches and the production of clean timber takes place more readily in Pacific Coast forests than in Great Britain. This applies both to trees growing in the open and in closed woods. In its native habitat, even moderately sized trees growing in the open are generally bare of branches in the lower portion of the trunk, and it is seldom, if ever, that one sees trees of say 3 feet in diameter clothed with branches, densely foliaged to the ground, a by no means uncommon occurrence in Britain. A Douglas fir wood on the Pacific Coast at forty years of age has much the same appearance as a fairly dense plantation of Scots pine in this country. Age for age, the number of trees NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 29 standing to the acre is perhaps greater in Pacific Coast woods than in British Douglas fir plantations, although the aggregate volume of wood may not be very different and the timber is rarely so wide ringed as in British-grown trees.!_ In the Forestry Museum of the University of Aberdeen there are three specimens of Douglas fir timber: one slowly-grown yellow high-grade Douglas fir from the Pacific Coast; the second, red fir with narrow rings, also from the western American forests; and a third, a sample of rapidly-grown Douglas fir from the Durris woods in Aberdeenshire. In the latter there are twenty-nine annual rings in the section, the diameter of which is 15 inches, the proportionate width of the heartwood, composed of alternate bands of yellow spring wood and dark-red summer wood of nearly equal breadth, to the yellow sapwood being approximately as 2 to 1. Apart from having wider annual rings and con- sequently being coarser-grained timber, the Durris specimen bears a considerable family likeness to the high-grade Pacific Coast Douglas fir, and is very unlike the hard flinty red fir. In the Pacific Coast forests, the bark of the Douglas fir is of a light greyish-brown colour, very much lighter in colour than the bark of British-grown Douglas fir, and remains unbroken until the tree is at least 40-50 years of age. But in Britain it usually becomes cracked and furrowed before the twenty-fifth year. In the forests of the Rocky Mountains the branches seem to be more persistent than in the Coast forests. The natural regeneration of the Douglas fir in the Pacific Coast forests is exceedingly good. In his paper on ‘The Reproduction of Commercial Species in the Southern Coastal Forests of British Columbia,” Dr Howe says that he has some- times counted as many as 322,000 seedling Douglas firs upon an acre of ground in British Columbia forests. The reproduction is greatly facilitated by the light burning of the slash and other debris after logging operations. When this is done favourable conditions are created for the germination of Douglas fir seed, and at the same time the Zsuga heterophylla trees, which are always present as an understory in Douglas fir forests, are destroyed and prevented from taking possession of the area to the exclusion of the more valuable Douglas fir. After the 1 Dr Howe states that the height-growth of the Douglas fir in the Coast forests averages about 6 inches per annum during the first ten years of the life of the tree. On the best class of sites the growth may be 1 foot. ; 30 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Douglas fir seedlings have obtained a start the area has to be carefully protected against fire, otherwise the prospects of obtaining a satisfactory crop will disappear. In an earlier paragraph (p. 22) when the distribution of the Douglas fir was being discussed, mention was made of the isolated Douglas fir forests at the head of fiords, north of the 52nd parallel of latitude. So far as I am aware, no cones or seed have been collected in-these forests, to be tried either on an experimental scale or otherwise. In the interest of science, and quite apart from the question of the potential value of the trees for the production of timber, it seems desirable that supplies of cones should be obtained from the forests in these more northerly latitudes, with a view to contrasting the habits of the trees with those of other regions. It is perhaps not out of place that I should, in concluding this paper, be allowed an opportunity of expressing my sense of gratitude to Canadian and American foresters for the kind treatment received at their hands in the course of my travels. In particular, as regards the Canadian part of my tour, my thanks are due to Mr James White, Deputy Head of the Commission of Conservation; Mr R. H. Campbell, Director of the Forestry Branch, Ministry of the Interior; Mr Clyde Leavitt, Chief Forester to the Commission of Con- servation; Mr A. Black, Secretary of the Canadian Forestry Association; Mr M. A. Grainger, Chief Forester, British Columbia; Mr D. Roy Cameron, District Forest Inspector, Dominion Forest Service, Kamloops; Colonel Stevenson of the Dominion Forest Service, Manitoba Province; Mr Norman Ross, Indian Head Forest Experiment Station; Mr Stewart, Assistant Forest Officer, Vancouver; Dr Howe of Toronto University; The President and Staff of British Columbia University; Brig.-General White of the Riordan Pulp Company ; Mr Ellwood Wilson of the Laurantide Pulp Company; The Pacific Coast Lumberman’s Association, and others. [ had introductions to a number of pulp and paper firms in the east from Mr Hall Caine of Messrs Becker & Co., Donside Paper Mills, which were most helpful. I had not much time at my disposal for visiting forests in the United States, although I had a good general view of the forests on the western seaboard, and managed to collect quantities of cones and seeds in the Red-wood Belt of California. The few NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 31 weeks I was able to spend in the United States were largely occupied in paying visits to the headquarters of the Forest Service at Washington, the Madison Forest Products Labora- tories, and the great Forest Schools for which America is justly famed. On all sides I was accorded the same fine hospitality and courteous treatment. I was particularly impressed, both in the United States and in Canada, and especially in the former country, by what is being done in the way of guiding public opinion to a proper appreciation of the necessity for the adoption by the State of an enlightened policy in regard to the conserva- tion and development of the country’s timber resources. In this propagandist movement the University teaching centres co-operate, in the closest degree, with other educational agencies, such as the American Forestry Association and the Canadian Forestry Association, bodies which avowedly exist for no other purpose than that of fostering the conservation movement, and have a large membership and a powerful organisation to support their activities. The social and moral benefits that will ultimately accrue from the adoption of a wise and progressive policy of conservation and development is the note that is being unceasingly sounded in this propagandist movement. The large views of those who are the leaders in the movement, and the extent to which assistance is given to forestry by older and more firmly established interests, such as the kindred agricultural interests, is made clear from the following notes quoted from the American Forestry Magazine for March tg22 :— “In the long run the extensive practice of forestry on the scale needed to yield the timber we require must be based on a minute knowledge of the life-history and habits of trees, singly and in groups. To get this knowledge will require a vast deal of investigation, experimentation and patient observation of forests of all kinds, in short, forestry research on a national wide scale. Forestry research occupies a prominent place in the forest policy recom- mended by the recent National Agricultural Conference where the following resolution was passed ” :— “«* Research in forestry has already produced results of incalculable value to the people of the United States and is essential for future progress. Therefore research in methods of maintaining and increasing the productivity 32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of forest lands and in methods of utilising forest products should be promoted in every practicable way.’ ” A similar resolution was passed at the annual meeting of the American Forestry Association which pointed out :— ‘That the establishment of an effective practice of forestry in this country depends upon a knowledge of the life and growth of our trees, and the characteristics of their products, and both scientific research in the laboratory and field experiment are needed to gain this knowledge.” That this kind of propaganda carries considerable weight in high places is evidenced by the fact that the President of the United States, who delivered an address before the National Agricultural Conference in January of this year (the meeting at which the first of the above resolutions was passed), made special reference to the needs of forestry. The first great impulse was given to American forestry by President Roosevelt during his tenure of the Presidentship, when he caused 180,000,000 acres of forest land that had not yet been alienated to be set aside as a national forest reserve. Since then the development of a National Forest Policy and of Forestry Education and Research has been proceeded with uninterruptedly, and is marked by a vigour unknown in the history of the older countries. The main achievement of American forestry is, however, the success that has attended the efforts of the leaders of the conservation movement in infusing into the national mind the ideas with which they themselves are inspired. At first there was a good deal of hostility shown to the forestry movement, chiefly as the result of agitation on the part of individuals and corporations opposed to the new ideas, because of the alarm they felt for the vested interests which they happened to represent; but in recent years public opinion has been steadily rallying to the side of the conservationists, who have the assurance that their efforts to secure the inauguration of a new and better order of things have not been in vain. a0 NOTES ON THE DOUGLAS FIR. 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Lav | 8.95 \-o.98 | 2.18 | 6b | ¢.S€ | -2.Sz | 0.91 | 9.91 wee C)OL4ES) uray | ‘99d | “AON | 390 | ‘MoS | ssny | Ajnf | ounf | Avy | pudy |yorey] ‘qoq | ‘uel NOILV.LG ‘WIT 13244 A0taaquy (Dv) VIAWNTOO HSILINA ‘SHYOLVYAMINAL ATHLNOW NVAWN—'II ATEVL SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 35 4. Some Silvicultural Aspects and Problems of the Soil. By G. K. FRAsER, M.A., B.Sc., Forestry Department, University of Aberdeen. Owing to the greater importance of agriculture in the earlier stages of rural economic development, the investigation of the influence of soil properties on plant growth was at first under- taken almost entirely from an agricultural standpoint. Although the fundamental principles which regulate the growth of normal plants are the same whether these plants be of horticultural, agricultural, or silvicultural value to man, yet the raw materials and final products desired, as well as the conditions under which these are utilised, are so distinct in their nature as to give to the silvicultural branch of soil science a quite specific standpoint of its own, both as regards the soil factors specially involved in the production of forests, and also the most suitable methods by which these factors may be controlled and used to the best advantage. The modern development of agriculture may be dated from Liebig’s work entitled Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Phystology, in which he set the subject of nutritional plant physiology upon a fairly correct scientific foundation. At the same time, owing to his extreme chemical outlook, he rather alienated the plant physiologist from the study of soil science, with the result that the work of the agricultural chemist obtained a somewhat exaggerated importance as regards plant nutrition asa whole. Although even the agricultural outlook upon soil problems has moved slightly away from this purely chemical foundation, yet it still has and must always have a more intense chemical outlook than belongs to general plant physiology, since agriculture is devoted to the artificial stimulation of abnormal growth in localised organs of its crop plants, not necessarily of the plant as a whole, a stimulation which requires usually abnormal soil conditions as regards one or more of the nutrients necessary for the particular development desired. On the other hand, within recent years more attention has been paid to the physical condition of the soil in its bearing on plant growth, and since in forestry the direct chemical ameliora- tion of the soil is for all practical purposes impossible, the effects 36 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of physical conditions assume a much greater importance relative to that of the mere chemical content, and since physical soil conditions are somewhat correlated to climatic conditions there is a tendency to ascribe to climate many effects which are essentially produced by soil conditions. Arising from these widely divergent grounds—the chemical nature of soil science as applied to agriculture, and the ultimate importance of weather in the growth of trees—the subject of the soil in relation to tree-growth has received less attention from the scientific forester on the one hand and the plant physiologist on the other than its importance warrants, with the result that so far as scientific investigation of forest soils is concerned, only a meagre beginning has been made. In fact, could the obser- vations of practical foresters throughout the country be tabulated and brought to their scientific foundations, more would be accomplished simply by that means than has already been deduced from the fundamentals of plant physiology. Before considering the forest soil in particular, it may be useful to sketch out a few of the principal facts underlying plant nutrition as a soil phenomenon. In the growth of plants, so far as their roots are involved, three material essentials are concerned—water, air (oxygen), and nutrient salts. If these are present in sufficient and proportionate amounts, there are few plants which would not show approxi- mately normal growth in water itself as a medium for the roots. Besides acting as an anchorage for the support of the plant, soil is simply a medium by and from which these essentials are supplied to the roots. Its value for the growth of any species depends in the main upon the exactness with which its structure and salt-content enable it to satisfy the requirements of the species for these essentials of growth, and as excess of any one of these essentials may, and usually does mean not only relative but absolute diminution of one or more of the others, plant vitality may be rapidly affected by comparatively small changes in soil conditions. The soil is composed of various sized particles upon the surface of which lies the water containing salts, and between which circulates the necessary air supply. If the water-supply is too great, air circulation is reduced, the roots become suffocated, the plant unhealthy. (It may be noted, however, that free running water, whether percolating through the soil or in SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 37 rivers, usually contains and absorbs a sufficient supply of air for many plants, and is not in the same category as water retained for some time in the pores of a soil.) If the air circulation is too free, z.e. the soil is too light, then rapid evaporation and percolation may reduce the water-supply below the requirements of the least exacting species concerned, and even it will suffer from drought. The presence of nutritive salts and their maintenance will be considered later ; they are produced by the soil as a whole. The ability of the soil to maintain the air-water equilibrium requirements of a typical plant is determined by its texture, which in turn depends upon (1) the relative amount of different sizes of particles of which it is composed, and (2) on the degree of packing or looseness of these particles. The former point is recognised in the usual classification of soils into sands, silts, clays, etc.; the latter is usually neglected or is allowed for by considering denser packing as equivalent to smaller grain. But the actual physical quality of the mineral soil is modified, and may be completely changed, by the presence of decayed vege- table mould or humus in admixture with it. When incorporated with the mineral soil, humus modifies in an ameliorative way any extreme condition of the soil structure, decreasing the porosity or lightness of the sandier types and thus increasing their water-holding capacity, and opening up the texture of the heavier types, and thus bringing about greater aeration and better drainage. For all soils the addition of leaf-mould increases the nutritive efficiency as regards food salts. Soils which combine in the most efficient way these structural characteristics (ze. good relative amounts of somewhat loosely mixed sand, silt, clay, and humus) are called loams, and loam is therefore the central ideal type of medium for plant growth. The nutrient salts of the soil are of two distinct types. In the first place, the mineral salts are originally derived from the decomposition of soil-forming rocks; they would be rapidly washed away by percolating water were it not for the absorptive capacity of the finest soil particles, by which they are largely retained, to be gradually liberated in the soil water and thus made available to plants. Again attention is drawn to the fact that this capacity to absorb nutrient salts is exhibited to the most intense degree by the humus itself, while owing to its origin humus contains important quantities of these essential elements 38 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. which have not been withdrawn from the vegetable matter before its death. In the second place, there is the nitrogenous food-supply of the plant. It is customary to consider the soil of itself as a dead thing, but such is not the case. The soil is never without a living, swarming population of millions of bacteria and fungi. Since these, being without chlorophyll, cannot utilise the energy of the sun directly as a source of vitality, they must, like animals, make use of organic material as a source of energy ; this organic food-supply is obtained in the dead litter and humus which is itself an intermediate product of the total bacterial activity of the soil. The principal final results of their “digestive” action on vegetable litter are, on the one hand, carbon dioxide which is of no direct importance in the edaphic nutrition of plants, and on the other, simple compounds of nitrogen such as ammonia and nitrates, which, especially the latter, are the only forms of nitrogenous food of any immediate value for most typical green plants. Not only so, but with humus as a source of energy some of these bacteria utilise the nitrogen of the atmosphere, and thus make available to plants in general this additional supply of combined nitrogen without which the available stock would soon be totally depleted, and plant life become extinct. It will thus be obvious that the continual addition of supplies of humus through the medium of dead vegetable matter is of the first importance in cultural soil management, and that apart from its structural stability the actual mineral soil is of much less importance for plant nutrition than is the humus, which is to a special degree the medium through which plants receive all the elements of nutrition they require from the soil. It is of the highest importance, however, that the bacterial formation of humus should take place under conditions of moisture and aeration similar to those necessary for the growth of higher plants, and that during its formation and afterwards it should have absorbed in it a minimum amount of mineral salts, otherwise, if waterlogging, drought, or leaching occur, types of vegetable decay are formed which not only inhibit plant growth of themselves but reduce the general nutritive efficiency of the soil by ‘‘puddling” or deflocculation, accompanied by waterlogging, excessive leaching, and the production of “ plant toxins,” so that finally only specially adapted plants will occupy SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 39 such soils, and they become almost useless not only for agri- culture but for forestry as well. Such types of humus would give rise to sour, acid, and finally peaty soils. That the construction of a forest practice based upon a sound scientific study of the soil is necessary does not require to‘be laboured. Past papers in the Zvansactions have occasion- ally insisted upon this, many have at least indicated the necessity, while in at least one (W. G. Smith)! the relative unimportance of local climatic as compared with edaphic variations has been specially pointed out. Since the principles of agricultural soil management are more or less familiar to all having any acquaintance with rural science, it is perhaps reasonable to compare and emphasise the differences existing between the soil as an agricultural unit and as a silvicultural unit. Almost all agricultural plants are such as would be found growing naturally in mild, mesophytic loamy soil conditions— neither very sour nor very limy, neither very wet nor very dry, neither very light nor very heavy, with a fair admixture of well-decomposed humus, and having, as such soils usually have, a good supply of mineral nutrient salts, that is to say, a normal soil. In a densely peopled country like ours with a long agricultural history, practically all soils remotely approxi- mating to this type have been devoted to agriculture, so that taken as a whole, soils available for afforestation are extreme types, and not only exhibit differences at the present time but always have been in some way distinct, otherwise they would have fallen like the adjacent fields. And corresponding with this variation in forest soils there is a great variety in crop species as regards ability to thrive on these soil types. Compare Maritime pine and beech, alder and birch, Corsican pine and oak, each one of the pairs being adapted to growth under more or less extreme conditions of the soil factors mentioned above. Apart from this incidental difference in the soil itself, there lies a still more fundamental difference affecting the whole of the methods of practical application of physiological principles in the two subjects. This is the great difference in the time required for the maturity of the respective crops. The crop of the farmer becomes convertible into money, and yields its 1 See Vol. xxiv., Part I, p. 12. 40 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. profit every year or at most every few years, but the forester receives no money return on an individual crop until a period of some sixty or more years, after which time the money invested in initial and recurrent expenses must be retrieved at compound interest before any profit can be realised. Hence all operations, especially those undertaken at the commencement of the rotation, must be confined to a minimum financial outlay not more than may be reasonably expected to be repaid for by increased tree-growth ; that is to say, manuring, ploughing, or any except the simplest ameliorative operations are prohibited. In other words, direct control of the soil conditions is almost entirely impossible; we must take the soil as it lies; but if we cannot modify the soil we must modify the crop. Although, owing to the greater value of his produce, the farmer can modify the soil to a great extent, he bows before the same necessity as regards climatic conditions always, but as regards soil only to a small degree; while in the still more intensive cognate operation of culture under glass, both soil and climate are so completely under control that practically any crop may be grown. This point indicates the essential difference between agri- cultural soil science and forest soil science, and at the same time puts us in the proper position from which silvicultural practice may be reviewed in relation to soil conditions. Agri- cultural soils are suited to the growth of agricultural crops, forest crops must be planted on the soil for which they are fairly exactly suited ; the farmer has chosen his soil, we must choose our crops; the forest soil has no status as such apart from the species which will thrive on it, it is a medium of growth for one or more definite species; the physiological idiosyncrasies of individual species are of as much importance to the forest botanist as are general principles of plant nutrition, hence forest soil investigation must always be correlated with the growth of individual species of trees as well as of trees as a whole. The crops of the farmer have all an ecological family resemblance ; those of the forester are exceedingly variable in their demands and effects upon the soil. Agricultural soil science is almost wholly limited to the study of soil conditions and mesophytic plant growth. Forest soil science is more properly the study of ‘‘soil conditions and plant growth” in general. NA \ SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. AI From the same difference in the economic time factor there arises another fundamental difference in the treatment of the soil in the two arts. In agriculture practically the whole crop is removed every year or few years from the surface of the soil (except stubble, roots, grass and such like); hence when agri- culture is continued indefinitely without the renewal of the losses so incurred, the soil becomes infertile owing to the lack of nutrients and of the humus “ pabulum,” without which such plants will not grow. These losses are repaired by means of the artificial addition of various manures—farmyard manure and green manure provide humus and general nutrients, while artificial manures provide particular salts lacking. Such losses do not occur to anything like the same degree in natural forest soils, provided the conditions in the forest are not abnormal: the bulk of such salts as are annually removed from the soil are returned regularly in the form of dead leaves, twigs, rootlets, etc., which, on decomposing, make available to the roots of the crop the nutrients they contain, and improve the condition of the soil by the humus they form. Thus, owing to the gradual liberation of such elements from the mineral soil, and their circulation through the plant and return to the soil (only a small annual removal occurring to be stored in the timber), it is possible that the actual amount of nutrient material and humus present in the soil may be greater after a first crop than it was before. This phenomenon has been taken advantage of in primitive methods of agriculture. When a soil becomes in- fertile owing to long-continued cultivation it is allowed to go back to forest conditions, or is actually planted with some tree which pumps up the salts liberated from the mineral soil, and deposits them along with nitrogenous leaf-mould on the surface; and when this process of enrichment has gone on for some time the timber is removed—cut as firewood or burnt on the spot— and cultivation is recommenced. But the deposition and retention of these salts, and the forma- tion of mild humus in the soil, depends in the main on two factors, the conditions under which the leaf-litter decomposes and the type of tree or trees involved. If the soil is exposed to the heat of the sun, and to free play of air, decomposition may take place so rapidly that the beneficial effects do not last over the growing season. If it is badly aerated then semi-decom- position occurs, raw humus is formed, and the salts are retained 42 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. or washed out in a form unavailable to the roots of the trees, and get into the subsoil to help in the formation of pan. If soil conditions are unstable, drought alternating with rain (e.g. on sands), the results are a similar leaching of salts and formation of sour humus. But where decomposition is under typical mesophytic conditions, fairly moist, well aerated and without violent fluctuations of the conditions of aerobic bacterial growth, then the salts are gradually made available to the roots of trees, and the humus is mixed with the mineral soil by the action of earthworms, and the soil tends to become healthier as time goes on. The influence of the species of crop on soil may be summar- ised in a few words; since a tree reacts on the soil through the shade it casts upon it, ze. the amount of leafage it bears, pre- venting insolation, drought, etc., and through the amount of organic matter it deposits on the soil (roughly again its leafage), the influence of any species in improving or maintaining the quality of the soil is proportionate to its shade-bearing capacity. In the second place, the influence is proportionate to the amount of salts it returns in leaf-litter, that is to say, in a general way, that broad-leaved species are more effective than conifers. But besides these general rules, certain peculiarities of the plant itself may have an important bearing on the question. ‘The soft rich leaves of the ash rot too rapidly as compared with those of the oak, the dry siliceous needles of the Scots pine form a felted impermeable mat which is very apt to produce unsatis- factory humus, and other examples might be quoted. These are a few of the fundamental edaphic facts upon which silvicultural practice ought to be based. Facts of economic or other nature may have equal or greater importance, but if these natural phenomena are neglected, even although the results are not felt immediately or during the present rotation, the practice which does not give them due consideration is not economic forestry, and may result in such soil conditions as render forestry of any kind difficult if not impossible. One of the most important aspects of these effects of tree- growth on the soil is their bearing on the question of the growth of pure crops. In the earlier part of their life most species cast sufficient shade to keep down weeds so long as canopy is kept fairly close. But after a time light-demanding species, such as larch and Scots pine, open out naturally and expose the soil to SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 43 the invasion of a more or less dense ground vegetation. Such growth is not necessarily harmful of itself since it may simply set up a slightly changed edaphic equilibrium, as generally happens in richer soils with good loamy texture; in fact some species of ground vegetation (eg. Legumes) may help to improve the soil by the symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. But where soil conditions are already too far re- moved from the loamy ideal (as in dry sands or in peat), the effect of the opening up of the canopy is to accentuate the unfavourable condition of the soil, while a type of ground flora makes its appearance which further promotes the deterioration, so that the crop is really no index of the possible capacity of the soil under different methods of management. Under such con- ditions, in order to utilise to the full the productive capacity of the soil and to ensure its future fertility, that is in all soils not of the first quality, it is advisable that a light-demanding species should not be grown as a pure crop, a subsidiary species (preferably broad-leaved like beech) with dense canopy should be introduced to provide a soil covering with its heavy deposi- tion of leaf-litter and reduce the invasion of peat-loving, peat- forming species like heather. Even the addition of a few plants per acre produces noticeable results, and it is considered that the production of a heavier final yield of larch itself much more than repays for the small loss of acreage caused by the low value of beech, while the fertility of the soil is retained for the next rotation. It is, of course, immaterial from the edaphic aspect of the question whether the admixture is in the form of practically even-aged trees or of a younger under-planted shade- bearing species. Similarly, although immediate economic considerations may be very important with regard to distance of planting and rates of thinning, yet the edaphic aspect is also of importance, in fact is the ultimately important economic consideration. As regards distance of planting, at present the cost must put other con- siderations to a great extent out of count. But the noticeable improvement in soil conditions, and in the growth of crop after canopy is formed, indicates that close planting is advisable, provided early and frequent thinning can be carried out. Again it is inadvisable to attempt anything in the way of heavy thinning, since although temporary rapid growth may be obtained the temporary advantage is lost in a few years through 44 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. soil deterioration, while the larger the openings between the trees the less use is being made of the available light and soil, so that the value of the ultimate crop is less. Violent and spasmodic thinning also means rapid fluctuation of soil moisture conditions, a danger to which trees with their large vascular system may be assumed to be somewhat liable, especially surface-rooting species like spruce. When planting operations are to be undertaken, provided no other cause (such as liability to insect damage) interferes, replanting should be carried out as soon as possible after felling has been completed, especially if the crop has been kept in good canopy to the end of the rotation, since the exposure of the surface of the soil through felling Causes intense bacterial and chemical soil activity, the benefits of which decrease rather rapidly and may be entirely lost after a few years. In this connection, reference may be made to the work carried out some years ago from the Swedish Forestry Research Institute by Hesselman.! In one of the two papers summarised in the review, this investigator, inquiring into the factors in- fluencing natural regeneration of coniferous woodlands in Sweden, records the results of an extensive series of soil analyses from the aspect of nitrogenous bacterial activity, and has correlated his results with the quality of natural regeneration found. As far as somewhat casual observations go, his records and conclusions seem quite applicable to conditions in this country, although as regards natural regeneration little evidence is possible, owing to the destructive action of rabbits and game. In dense woods of spruce and mixed conifers Hesselman found that no nitrate, only ammonia was formed by bacteria, but when these woods were opened up or felled, widely variant results, depending on the soil itself, were obtained. In the first type of soil, which has an open texture, and is fresh and loamy, a luxuriant growth of herbs at once springs up when the woods are opened out. Natural regeneration is impossible owing to the dense growth of raspberries, dead nettles, and such like. (In this country such an area would be considered rather too valuable for spruce.) Soil of this type ought to be planted at once and with rather vigorous plants as they easily establish themselves, and danger from insects is almost negligible. ' Summarised in Zvansactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Vol. xxxiv., Part I, p. 97. SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 45 The second types, which are more common in this country than in Sweden, bear a ground flora of a few creeping mosses with plants like blaeberry in their opener spaces. But.the soil is of two kinds. In one the surface is of somewhat matted humus, but the presence of earthworms keeps the texture slightly open ; below the humus is bleached soil, 1 to 2 inches thick, while below that is the rusty-red subsoil. It was found that from the first summer after felling such a woodland, a series of changes took place in soil conditions and was reflected in the ground flora; a gradual improvement occurred, reaching its climax from the second to the fourth year, after which, retrogression begins to be visible. The loam-loving plants mentioned above (nettles, raspberries, etc.) gradually gave way to the more heath- like flora of blaeberry and heather. The soil condition stressed by Hesselman is nitrification, but it seems from the general evidence that increase in nitrification is only an indication of change in the direction of good general soil condition, while the later decrease of nitrate present is obversely an indication of deterioration toward the original semi-peaty humus, which would finally turn to peat. Leaving out the question of natural regeneration, these facts would indicate very clearly that in such a woodland replanting should be carried out practically at once after felling so as to take full advantage of the few years of almost ideal soil conditions, and by the time the reversion to the normal soil conditions has taken place (3-4 years after planting) the plantation will be well established, and will have formed the mycorhiza symbiosis which seems necessary or certainly invaluable in the utilisation of nitrogen not in the nitrate form. Thus the danger period of the first two years after planting will be passed under the very best soil conditions possible from the soil under consideration. In the second form of mossy coniferous forest, the vegetation was somewhat similar under canopy. The soil was different; below the leaf-litter with its moss a distinct peaty layer 2-3 inches deep upon 4 inches of bleached soil, lay over the same rusty-red subsoil, again a somewhat common soil in this country. When opened up, the small hair grass (Azra flexuosa) took possession of the soil, giving the area a violet appearance from the colour of its flowers. The soil is obviously of a poorer class than the previous. Here natural regeneration was poor and difficult to accomplish without some sort of soil 46 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. preparation, without which conditions never rise above the moor type. Such an area would be considered somewhat unsuitable for spruce in this country, and in replanting the risks from temporary summer drought, with accompanying insect pests, would be so great that the area had best be left fallow until the stumps ceased to render facilities for the breeding of beetles. In this consideration of the effects of soil preparation on natural regeneration, again correlated with improvement in soil conditions, Hesselman mentions several conditions which can be confirmed by observations in this country, such as better growth round decayed stumps and rotten brush, which are perhaps of less practical interest; but of greater value are his observations on the improvement obtained by artificially “wounding” the soil, which might be (and is) duplicated in this country by the herding of heavy cattle or pigs on a regeneration area. The beneficial effects are not entirely due to the burying of seeds in the soil, since soil improvement, as evidenced by increased nitrification, also occurs. The effects of burning were also investigated with similar results. Where burning has occurred regeneration has been promoted, and for similar reasons growth after planting would be promoted. Where light burning of heather has been carried out in this country it is quite noticeable that regeneration is improved, and there seems to be no reason why burning should not be practised where possible as an operation preparatory to planting. Heavy burning, however, whether of peat or of grass, is totally to be avoided, as although small amounts of ash improve the texture of the soil, heavy burning and the production of much ash not only may remove the valuable humus from the soil but produce a condition of peat somewhat similar to the puddling of clay, and cause further deterioration in the direction of sphagnum moor, through the incrustation of the surface by an impermeable pan-like ‘‘muck.” This fact probably explains in part the opinion held against burning as a preparatory operation. Another factor mentioned by Hesselman as producing nitri- fication in peat is the flushing action of running water. Hill streams running into or through peaty areas produce a distinct improvement of soil reaction, the equivalent of drainage. This fact has been utilised in the improvement of permanent hill SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 47 pastures in this country, and where possible at a low cost might be used in the preparation of heather or even sphagnum peat as forestable land; probably Sitka spruce, which does not seem so susceptible to excess water or unstable water conditions would be the most suitable species for planting. These are only a few of the more suggestive points out of many to be deduced from Hesselman’s investigations, which are referred to as an example of the work being done and the results which may be obtained from a scientific investigation of soil conditions, and only one of the two papers have been referred to. Much work is being done both in this country and abroad, from which might be drawn deductions of similar importance, but such work often suffers, from the forester’s point of view, in that it is not undertaken with a special silvicultural bias, and is thus apt to be overlooked, while the scientific basis of the soil problem as a whole, and the inter- pretation of his own observations upon that scientific basis, are seldom considered by the forester. Even a superficial glance at a climatic and vegetational map at once indicates the close causal connection between water- supply and forest distribution. Since rainfall affects the forest principally through the medium of the soil, soil moisture conditions, whether atmospheric or telluric in immediate source, may therefore be at once considered the most important edaphic factor in the distribution of species of trees throughout wide areas. Local moisture variations must similarly play an important part in local distribution within these limits, whether these local variations are ultimately affected by rock stratifica- tion, slope, or other physiographical factor, or soil structure, available supply of nutrient salts or other edaphic factor. So that in any survey of the distribution of species in an area like the British Isles, with rapid geological and physiographical variation, strong telluric water movements, and localised effect of the processes of rock decay, the systematic study of soil conditions in themselves must certainly become exceedingly complex, and any work, to be of value in the deduction of the specific likes and dislikes of forest trees, must be conducted either under great variety of conditions, or must include the determination of a large number of characters of the soil under a more limited number of varying conditions. In illustration of the point Auwdletin No. 3 of the Forestry 48 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Commission is used as a general available source of data, and without any intention of criticising the data given or the value of the work for the purpose of which it was in the main under- taken, it is obvious that so far as this Aud/etin goes no pretence was made to study in detail soil conditions as they affect the species measured, since only soil structure is mentioned, and that only in a general way. Therefore no deductions upon which reliance can be placed are possible as regards the soil conditions necessary for the growth of these species. For example, the observation “the absence of any clear indication as to the effect of Soil upon quality class,” is apt to mislead if not taken at its true value that soil structure in itself has no effect upon the growth of larch, a remark which might apply equally well to almost any tree. The important factor of soil aeration is entirely neglected, except in so far as it may be deduced on the average from structural data, so that from the number of plots investigated the soil conditions observed are wholly inadequate for any conclusion to be drawn. The clays and clay-loams are sufficiently small in number, compared with the more typical larch soils, to be considered in the light of exceptions; shallow clay on a rock bottom, for example, with a good slope and therefore rapid water movement might produce conditions of aeration and soil moisture similar to loam, but, of course, no real cause can be given without data from the actual area. The example is used to show that no statement with regard to soil as a factor of locality is possible, unless sufficiently intensive soil data are known. On the other hand, the more extensive data included in the remark that ‘larch has almost invariably been planted on deep soils” (all except 3 per cent. of the plots measured) make the observation of somewhat suggestive value, since on soil types where no larch is found there is good reason to believe it will not grow, when one considers how varied are the conditions under which it has been attempted to grow larch; and ‘depth of soil,” at least reduced to its moisture equivalent ‘‘ stable water-aeration conditions through the growing season,” is essential to larch. The accumulation of the mass of data thus shown to be necessary is a task of the greatest magnitude, requiring many years for its accomplishment, and as such ought to be undertaken immediately if it is to be of any value even to our proximate successors. The length of time necessary for its full accomplish- SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 49 ment will likely prevent us from gaining much advantage from the work, and not only so, but since the methods of soil investigation already in use are to a great extent those of agricultural investigators, and are therefore largely inapplicable to the study of forest soils, methods and apparatus of research must be revised and recast from a purely ecological standpoint. For example, structural soil investigation has been undertaken chiefly along two lines, the mechanical analyses of the soil in which the soil structure is completely destroyed, and from the bricks the style of architecture is deduced, and the determination _of porosity, water-holding capacity, and similar properties of the soil in which the structure as it is in the field is broken down. Such methods may be quite valuable for soils regularly mixed up by cultural operations, or even by the activities of the soil fauna of mild forest soils. But for the usual type of coniferous, or even broad-leaved forest soil in the North-East of Scotland, always sour, at least to a slight degree, and usually markedly so, deflocculation and long-continued almost static physical conditions result in a degree of packing and possibly cementing of the soil particles which make mechanical analyses no more useful than superficial ocular examination, and certainly of less value than the time it requires would demand. Although the same objections do not hold good with regard to purely chemical methods of investigation, yet it must be granted that the physico-chemical facts determining soil fertility, and controlling the biological interactions of the soil, are as yet scarcely understood. For these reasons the investigator of ultimate soil relationships, working from scientific origins, may have for some time no direct point of contact with the practical forester, who is, when all is said and done, not vitally concerned with ultimate factors, but with the actual and total production co-efficient of these ultimates, and is in need of some means by which this pro- ductive capacity of the soil may be estimated, with at least a fair degree of accuracy. The provision of such an aid to evaluation of the soil is the chief problem confronting the forest soil scientist. Such a method has been proposed by Mr A. C. Forbes, in the Transactions,| numerical values being given to some of the more striking and obvious factors of locality; but it is doubtful 1 See Vol. xx., Part 2, p. 158. VOL. XXXVI. PART I. D 50 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. whether the method is capable of being used with more than fair success by anyone not already able to estimate the possibilities of a locality equally well by intuition or by careful observation, while the use of units of value must give a quite unwarranted sense of accuracy and security to one of less experience, to whom it is really of greater importance that some ready means of evaluation should exist. The occurrence and vigour of a plant are determined by the sum of the environmental factors to which it is subject. Hence a plant must give some indication of the soil (and other) conditions of the locality in which it grows, that is to say, in the first instance, that the trees growing on an area indicate to a fair extent the forestal possibilities of that area (provided they have not been subjected to abnormal conditions). Thus the best method of arriving at an estimation of the quality of any locality for the growth of trees is the quality of the trees already produced by it, and this may be brought to a very exact point if a mixture of species form the crop, the best species of the crop being most suited to the locality. There is no difficulty here. Where there are no trees on the area which is to be planted there is greater difficulty. But trees are subject to the same distributional laws as other plants, and respond to the same factors as affect these, although not in quite the same way. Not only are individual plants affected by variation of edaphic conditions, but also the actual character of the vegetation, which may be noticeably affected by unobservable environ- mental variations. Thus the ground vegetation as a whole is really a very definite indicator of the environmental conditions of its habitat, and is therefore to some extent a means of evaluation of the silvicultural quality of the locality. The work of Moss, Rankin, and Tansley on Zhe Woodlands of England show that distinct vegetational types may be correlated with each of the types of natural and semi-natural woodlands in England. Hence the vegetation in a woodland is an indication of the silvicultural value of the locality, since it may be correlated with the natural crop growing upon it. The objection that ground vegetation is not an indication of possible effects of exposure or of abnormal subsoil conditions, to which trees may be subject in any locality, has greater apparent than real grounds, since exposure and subsoil conditions are reflected to a considerable degree in the surface soil. It may be noted also that the factors SOME SILVICULTURAL ASPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE SOIL. 51 referred to (exposure to wind and special subsoil conditions) are among those fairly accurately estimated by ordinary observation. So that although as yet estimation of the quality of locality by observation of the type and vigour of the ground flora is not carried to such a satisfactory position as renders it a certain means of evaluation, yet, combined with simple observations of the soil structure and local weather effects, it most certainly offers the greatest possibilities as a simple and moderately accurate method. Indeed it is much used in the rough, either consciously or sub-consciously, by the majority of observant foresters, as is apparent by the very frequent references to ground vegetation which almost invariably accompany soil description in the many papers on the planting of waste land in past numbers of the Zyvansactions. Bearing these considerations in mind, it is concluded that the most rapid method of standardising our knowledge of the locality requirements of the species of trees in general use, is, in the first place, the vegetational survey of our present woodland areas, especially those in which these species are growing to good quality, since the vegetation is an indication of present con- ditions under crop, the conditions we ought to attempt to obtain for other crops of the same species. In the second place, the collection of data, based on the opinions of experienced foresters, with regard to the species most suitable for cleared and hitherto unafforested areas, with vegetational descriptions of the lands thus evaluated by them, for immediate comparative use, is important. Finally, a survey of all land at present being planted should be made, so that the present vegetation might be correlated with the quality of the future crop. The data thus obtained would be of the highest immediate and future practical value, and would be of the greatest assistance in the construction of a truly scientific method of soil evaluation, which from its complexity must be carried out more slowly. The consequent reduction and future elimination of errors in choice of species, which will otherwise be repeated indefinitely and with more disastrous results should extensive afforestation be carried out, will repay many times over the relatively small expenditure necessary to secure the advantages obtained by such a method of evaluation. 52 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 5. Plant Indicators. By J. M. Murray, Observation of the simpler principles of plant succession and ecology is interesting and useful to the forester. He seldom has, however, the training in chemistry and physics that is necessary for the intensive study of ecology as a special science, and even although he had the training lack of time becomes a limiting factor. Nevertheless, during his usual work the forester can gain a great deal of useful knowledge by making simple experiments and by observation. Most foresters know by experience the ways in which natural crops of trees or other plants succeed each other. In many parts of the Highlands birch had followed pine, and later had been itself replaced by pine. In the South of England areas of sandy heath clad with dwarf shrubs, such as Ca//una, Lyrica and the like, are now being peopled by pine. Where pine and beech are grown together a change in the soil conditions may so favour one or other of the species that it finally occupies the area. This change occurs not only in the tree inhabitants of an area, but is also a feature of other plant life. The whole trend of succession can be followed from its initiation on bare rock or soil. In a simple case of succession on rock one may find, first a growth of algae or lichens, and then mosses. As the soil becomes more abundant and the water-supply more assured, various flowering plants find conditions favourable for growth. There is a gradual change in the forms of higher plants, from those that have but little in the way of soil or water require- ments through those with greater and greater demands, till the final state is reached. There may come to the mind examples in which the lengthy process of soil formation is already accomplished, but some accidental occurrence lays the soil bare of vegetation. There are instances where the banks of a stream give way and the plant covering is destroyed. Soil may be carried by the stream and deposited elsewhere forming ‘a mud-bank or a gravel strand. It is sufficient that unpeopled land is made available for those numerous spores, seeds, and broken fragments which are ever ready to provide colonisers. On the new ground, for a time, the number of individuals is usually small, and there are many parts untenanted. Later the numbers increase; the diversity of forms becomes greater PLANT INDICATORS. 53 and the struggle for existence is more and more intense. This competition is the factor which reduces the number of species and forms of life to a mediocrity in the climax formation. The climax of the development is reached when a dominant vegetation occurs which can exclude another dominant. It may be taken as indicating the complete action and reaction of the locality, and of the plants themselves. It is a form of vegetation that normally would remain stable for many years, and its existence is determined by edaphic and climatic conditions, such as temperature, relative humidity, wind, and rainfall. Forest is a well-marked climax formation. It covers immense areas as such, and holds its own by reason of its powers of dominance over other kinds of vegetation. Stable as the climax formation may be, yet there are conditions which cause it to break down. Forest fires may destroy large tracts of woodland, creating blank areas. In old stands fire does not always end the existence of forest in the region where it occurs. There are in most cases groups and single trees left, and these produce seeds which in course of time would regenerate the forest. In the interval a sub-climax stage would occupy the ground. The continued occurrence of destructive influences may destroy the forest so that ultimately, under certain conditions, it is replaced by prairie or steppe. Mayr has stated that the eastern prairie of North America probably occupies the position of forest which had been destroyed by fire. Others, e.g. Shimek and Gleason, have considered, however, that fire did not originate the prairie but rather that it acted as a deterrent to the advancing forest. The treelessness of the prairie is also said to be due to the exposure to evapora- tion as determined by temperature, wind, and topography. One might ask if this is not a complication of cause and effect. There are facts suggestive of an answer in later studies, which showed that invasion of prairie by certain species of tree may take place where the rate of evaporation is high. Where this occurs evaporation is reduced. There is in this an example of the reaction of the vegetation on the locality. In many parts of Britain there can be found abundant remains of old forest life. The peat bogs are full of them. Other natural forest tracts in Britain have been destroyed within the period of written history, and the place of these is now occupied by a sub-climax stage. In the continuation of this 54 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. stage, man and the herds and flocks that are necessary for his comfort, as well as birds and animals protected for his sport, have played a leading part. The forest was destroyed in war- fare and in peace as being the harbour of enemies of the people, and its place became the haunt of the grazier and farmer, It was ruthlessly destroyed to help the farmer when the value of sheep was high. The vegetation that succeeded was a sub-climax of grassland, of dwarf shrubs, or of cultivated land. In the grassland where man’s influence was not too strongly felt, the various species would tend to sort themselves out so that each occupied the position that was best suited to its development. Within certain limits a normal form of succession would take place. The same would occur among the dwarf shrubs. The removal of man, the main inhibiting factor, would result, after considerable time, in a continuation of the checked succession. Forest formations would occupy the land except where excessive exposure, rock, or water pre- vented their growth. In course of time the tree formations or different types of forest would arrange themselves according to the factors of the locality, but the initial stocking would be greatly influenced by the proximity of seed-bearers. Many of the subordinate associations formed by these at the beginning would lose their sites and give way before more dominant associations. The latter would ultimately form distinct associations in the climax formations... They would depend on suitability to the habitat for their dominance. Smaller divisions or societies would occur among them owing to local variations of the habitat, and the chance scattering of seed in one place. The forester in forming his plantations wishes to jump over those various sub-climaxes that would exist before forest was reached, and at the same time to arrive at what could remain under natural conditions as a dominant association with societies in it dependent on habitat. When he achieves this end he may be assured that within the limitations imposed by migration barriers, he has got the best possible form of tree- growth for his area. His selection will be the strongest form of vegetation within the country that could exist under the conditions of the habitat. As a means of arriving at this end there has been a certain amount of attention paid to the study of those conditions which PLANT INDICATORS. 55 favour the growth of certain characteristic plants of the sub- climax stage, and of how those conditions affect tree-growth. In its present state our knowledge is crude, with many blanks, and experiments, observations, and records are greatly needed. In making observations one must bear in mind the influence that man and other extraneous factors may have on the flora. These may have created changes before the time of study, as where a destroyed coniferous wood has been replaced by Azra flexuosa, or a burned area of spruce by Zpz/obtum—neither of which will remain for many years. Or, on the other hand, man may so change a site by drainage that Scirpus or Eriophorum bog may be replaced by MMolinia, Nardus, or Calluna, and ultimately by tree-growth. The following is a general table Aout briefly the conditions under which various plants used as indicators may be found, and also the species of tree which are usually planted under such conditions :-— Name of Plant Calluna vulgaris, Salisb. Erica Tetralx, Linn. Erica cinerea, Linn. Vaccinium Myrtil- lus, Linn. Vaccinium Vitts- Jdaea, Linn. Aira flexuosa, Linn. Common Name of Plant Ling or heather. Cross - leaved heath. Bell heather. Bilberry, blaeberry, whortleberry. Cowberry, red whortleberry, cranberry (in Scotland). Wavy-hair grass. Indicates Peat, which may be deep or shallow—conditions indicated by the other plants existing, and also by the condition of heather. Generally associated with Calluma in wet peat. Requires drainage. Drier peat in mixture with Calluna. Drier peat, not deep; occasionally appears with grasses in fresh peat. Peaty soils, usually with Calluna and Vac. Myr- tellus. Chalk and limestone, or on heath or moors on gravelly soils. Acid conditions. Often the first plant to succeed on blown-out parts or clear- ances of woods. When in mass it often indicates dry conditions. with Calluna. Often Tree Scots pine. Good larch has been grown on soil with shal- low peaty sur- face. Scots pine after drainage. Oc- casionally Nor- way spruce. Scots pine, some- times larch. Scots pine, some- times larch or birch. Scots pine, some- times larch or birch. Larch, pine, birch, beech as improver. After scrub in sheltered places, Doug- las fir, etc. 56 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Name of Plant Nardus stricta, Linn. Molinia caerulea, Moench. Eriophorum vagin- atum, Linn., and Eriophorum an- gustifolium, Roth., and other spp. Scirpus caespitosus, Linn. (1) Psamma_ aren- aria, Beauv. (2) Elymus aren- artus, Linn. Anthoxanthum odor- atum, Linn. Aira caespitosa, Linn. Festuca ovina, Linn. and Vars. Agrostis With. vulgaris, Holcus Mollts, Linn. Lycopodium Clava- tum, Linn, Common Name of Plant Indicates ‘Moor mat grass. Purple heath or blow grass Cotton grass. Tufted club rush or deer-hair sedge. (1) Marram. (2) Lyme grass. Vernal grass. Tufted Azra or tufted hair grass. Sheep’s fescue. Bent grass. Creeping soft grass. Common club- moss. } Always heath conditions. Regressive peat, in run- | nels, etc., and on very shallow peat on Silurian slopes. Often with Vac- | centum Myritllus. | Wet peat, not usually over _| 15 1nches in depth, and with water not stagnant. Acid. Usually requires drainage. | Peat wetter than that on | which Molinia grows, and with water more stagnant. Very acid. | Unfavourable condi- | tions. |Somewhat similar to above. Sometimes con- siderable depth of par- tially -decomposed and tough stems and roots. Maritime conditions. Sand. No. 1 is less common in_ northern parts than is No. 2. Frequently in shady places. Conditions as for Aira flexuosa. Deep soil, moist, without stagnant water. Often under shade of such trees as alder, willow, and a few oak, ash, or among Betula pubescens (Scottish Highlands). Generally on dry soils if fine- leaved. Coarser- leaved varieties gener- ally denote richer and moister soils. Natural pasture on better- class soils, although occasionally found on poorer soils. Moist, shady places. Shallow peat. Tree Larch or pine, occasionally Norway spruce, birch, beech as improver. Spruce. After thorough drainage, Mountain pine or Norway spruce. After thorough drainage, Mountain pine or Norway spruce. Corsican and Scots pines. As in Azra flexu- osa. Oak, sycamore ; when too moist spruces, pop- lars, willows, osier beds. When soil is deep, larch or Scots or Cor- sican pine; if shallow, crop is difficult to start. Various. Various. If altitude not too great, and in combination with Vaccin- tum and Cal- luna, generally grows Scots pine or larch. PLANT INDICATORS. 57 Name of Plant er enis Indicates | Tree | Pterts aguilina, Bracken. Various soils, but gener- |May point to Linn. ally deep. Good forest | oak, larch, conditions. | Douglas fir. Fragariavesca, Linn. Strawberry. | Primula vulgaris, Primrose. Huds. : | eee avellana, Het Calcareous soils. Fresh. | Beech or ash. Linn., and other | lime plants. Myrica Gale, Linn, Sweet galeor | Abundance of moisture, Spruce—Norway bog myrtle. not stagnant. and Sitka. Ulex europaeus, Furze, gorse, or | Dry stony places. | Various. Linn. whin. Cytisus scoparius, Broom. Dry stony places. Various. Link. | Sa Filix-mas, Male fern. | Astin asttand Eieg idiom: | Filixe- adver: Moist sheltered places. aay holy Gibrn. Joemina, Bernh. eT Rubus fruticosus, Bramble. If abundant, may often Linn. indicate much nitrogen | Oak, larch. Rubus Idaeus, Linn. Raspberry. in soil. | Juncus communis, Common rush. Mey. Moist conditions with Srna donne J. glaucus, Ebrh. Hard rush. mineral matter, some- het pe 7. articulatus, Linn. | Jointed rush; times peaty. : Sprat rush. The above table must not be taken as complete. It is given more as a basis for observations and for discussion than as a universal guide. An effort has been made to keep it short, and it suffers, as most generalisations of wide subjects do, when abbreviated. 58 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 6. An Enquiry into the Suitability of Scottish-grown Timber for Aeroplane and Pit-Prop Purposes. (With Plates.) By Prof. T. Hupson BEARE, M.Inst.C.E., D.L. The investigations into the physical properties of timber grown in Scotland, described in this paper, were begun during the war, at the time when, owing to the activities of German submarines, it was becoming daily more difficult to keep up an adequate supply of imported timber of a quality suitable for aeroplane constructional work, and equally difficult to maintain the necessary supplies of timber fit for pit-prop purposes in the coal pits of this country. In the case of pit-prop timber, the research was continued during the year 1919. __If this country is to be made self-supporting in regard to timber supplies for such work as mining, it is essential to determine definitely whether timber grown under ordinary conditions in Great Britain can be converted into pit-props for use in the underground work of coal-mines, of a quality and durability equal to that of the imported material. The information which it was hoped to obtain by this research would, it was thought, in a considerable measure help to settle what kind of trees ought to be planted in any area selected by the Forest Authorities for public or private reafforestation. AEROPLANE WORK. This piece of work was necessarily one of urgency—time could not be spent in preliminary investigations, a definite line of work must be determined on, rigidly adhered to, and every effort must be made to ensure that the results obtained in any one day’s testing operations should be strictly comparable with those obtained on another day. It was, moreover, desirable to carry out the tests determined upon on lines similar in all respects to those which were being employed by other workers who were investigating the suitability of timber grown in England and Wales for aeroplane constructional work. The tests adopted, therefore, were cross-breaking and crushing tests. CROSS-BREAKING TESTS. From each piece of timber sent to the laboratory for testing, two or more specimens, each 48 inches long and 2 inches by TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. 59 1 inch in cross-section, were cut, careful records being kept of the exact part of the log or plank from which the specimens were cut. The history of the tree from which the logs or planks had been cut was known, and full information was available as to the nature of the soil and the climatic conditions of the district in which the trees had grown. Each beam was tested transversely in the following manner. It was first carefully calipered in order to determine accurately the. cross-sectional dimensions near the centre, and its total length was measured; it was then at once weighed, and from these data the weight per cubic foot of the timber was determined for the condition of dryness then present in the timber. From the weighing-machine the beam went at once to the testing- machine, where it was so supported and loaded that under any given load the central 24-inch length was subjected to pure bending stresses and was entirely free from all shear stresses. A deflectometer capable of recording accurately ;.\55 in. deflection was attached to the beam before it was placed in the testing-machine, and the deflectometer was set so as to record the deflection of the central 20-inch length of the beam under any load. The deflectometer was adjusted to read zero when the beam was free from any load—except that due to its own weight—and the load on the beam was then gradually applied in the usual way, increasing by ;4, ton each time, and, as soon as the beam was carrying the intended load, the corresponding deflectometer reading was observed and booked. As soon as the limit of elasticity had been passed, the deflecto- meter was removed, and another much simpler and stronger instrument was fastened to the beam, by means of which the central deflection could be read directly for every load beyond the elastic limit of the wood up to the actual breaking-point. Immediately after fracture the two pieces were removed from the testing-machine; from the unstressed ends about 4-inch lengths were cut off, and from these the compression specimens were prepared. The remainder of the fractured beam was at once placed in a tin tube with tightly-fitting lid and sent off to the Botanical Laboratories, where my colleague, Mr W. H. Craib, now Prof. Craib of Aberdeen University, at once carried out a series of tests to ascertain the moisture condition of the timber, and made careful microscopical examination of the cellular structure of the wood to determine if it were sound. 60 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. The deflectometer was calibrated at frequent intervals during the progress of the tests by means of a cathetometer, and maintained its accuracy and freedom from backlash during the whole time. From the data obtained in each test, the maximum stresses in the outer skin both for the limit of elasticity and for the rupture load were calculated, and the modulus of elasticity ; in addition a stress-strain diagram was drawn for every test, and it was from these diagrams that the limit of elasticity was determined, though it was usually quite easy to fix the limit by mere inspection of the readings obtained by the deflecto- meter. Figures 1 and 2 (Plate V.) are typical stress-strain diagrams for Scots pine and ash respectively. Sketches were made of each fracture ; in every case rupture began on the tension side and spread across the beam, some- times as a pure tear as far as the neutral plane, and thereafter the tear became very irregular until it reached the outer com- pression face. COMPRESSION TESTS. From one of the unstressed cut-off ends, two specimens were prepared for compression tests. ‘The specimens were carefully turned to a standard size, each specimen being 2 inches in height and +} inch in diameter. The specimens were tested between flat steel plates with spherical backs, so as to ensure as far as possible a direct axial thrust on each specimen ; in every case the load was gradually increased until collapse occurred, which always took the form of failure by shear stress, the plane of failure making an angle with the vertical axis which varied through fairly wide limits. Sometimes shear occurred simultaneously on two planes, the planes in this case being either parallel to one another, or the two planes intersected one another and the angles of the inclinations of the planes to the vertical axis were equal. Immediately the tests of one set of specimens were completed they were sent off, again in the airtight tin, to the Botanical Laboratories for determination of the percentage of moisture, which, naturally, varied from that of the beam from which they had been cut. The stresses obtained from the actual tests in the case of Scots pine and other softwoods can be reduced, if it is thought NONE yO ANN Ore NON eR ea hak Naot Dobra eg osha OL ‘soyout €€1,.0=001 oler4 Osi oo)} OS oO ¥ co ali “Ue Od |Piv Nana We uo peo'y S600 [ To face p. 60. ‘HSV WOH WVMOVIG NIVMLS-SSUMLS UV OMG 9 Tallis ‘ueds yout-oz jo auao ul uonoagacy ‘sayour €€1,.0=o01 6 $0 “UU - d uo pvo'T @ Old SNOL Ss! TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. 61 advisable, to a standard moisture of 15 per cent. by the use of the following formula due to Bauschinger :— S,=S [1 +0°'0366 (¢- ¢,)] where S, is the required equivalent stress for the standard moisture ¢ of 15 per cent., S being the original calculated stress and ¢ the observed moisture percentage which usually slightly exceeded 15. It has not been considered necessary to give these figures in the following tables. The following nine kinds of timber were tested :— Scots pine : . 116 samples drawn from districts all over Scotland. Norway spruce . : 7 samples. European larch . : 3 samples. Douglas fir ; ; 7 samples. Sitka spruce. : 4 samples. Ash . : ' : 8 samples. Wych Elm : : 5 samples. Birch : . 30 samples. Willow : : 4 samples. The number of transverse tests was, therefore, 184, and there was about double that number of compression tests. The tables which follow (pp. 62-66) give all the more im- portant results obtained in each test. Pit-Prop TESTs. In this research, which was undertaken to ascertain the suitability of Scottish-grown timber for pit-prop purposes, it was decided that the timber should be tested in compression in the condition in which it was received ; the logs were merely sawn to an appropriate length suitable for the 1oo-ton Wicksteed vertical testing-machine, the ends being carefully dressed to parallelism and the planes of the end faces adjusted to lie at go° to the vertical axis of the prop; the actual length of each prop was measured before test, but was intended in every case to be about qo inches. As the props were not of uniform diameter, but in every case tapered gradually from the big end to the small end, the mean cross-sectional dimension was obtained in the following manner. Rubbings were taken of each of the end faces of 62 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Compression Tests. Scots PINE. BENDING CoMPRESSION Locality = : é , Cae or, Annual Weight AGS E Elastic Maximam Moist- oe Origin | Rings | | pet, | ure per | Ib per | mit | Stress | use per | Strength radius Ib. eta X106 | sq. in. sq. in, a8 tg Abergeldie 14-17 | 32°35 | 16°77 | 1°311 | 5,358 | 7,983 | 15°08 | 5,096 8-14 | 30°97 | 16°87 | 1°165 | 3,145 | 7,862 | 15°09 | 5,157 6-10 | 33°II | 17°61 | 0°978 | 3,170 | 8,823 15°24 | 4,793 7-18 | 36°36 | 17°03 | 1°212 | 3,082 | 9,246 | 15°68 | 5,663 Ardkinglas 8-10 | 34°45 | 20°33 | 1°651 | 4,792 | 7,988 | 16°19 | 5,382 7-9 | 33°94 | 20°32 | 1°621 | 4,194 | 7,862 | 16°35 | 5,339 9-18 | 38°00 | 20°64 | 1°800 | 4,128 | 9,239 16°75 | 6,016 10-16 | 36°97 | 20°18 | 1°907 | 5,130 | 8,566 | 16°36] 6,082 Ballater 12-16 | 30°27 | 16°71 | I‘I9I | 3,220 | 7,461 17-530 |ssao2 15-21 | 30°68 | 17°14 | 1°214 | 4,173 | 7,827 17°57) | 2,056 11-17 | 30°66 | 27.67 | 1211 | 3,658 | 7,316 /| 17h62 )) 262m 1O-I1 | 31°06 | 17°25 | 1°033 | 2,613 | 6,793 17°50 | 2,960 Ballater! 15-17 | 32'20 | 29°86 | 0°971 | 3,120 | 6,240 17-18 | 32°49 | 29°99 | 1°363 | 2,551 | 5,790 10-13 | 34°57 | 27°40 | 1°340 | 2,600 | 6,760 12-17 | 35°86 | 25°99 | 1°324 | 3,058 | 7,135 Ballechin 11-16 | 45°27 | 48°52 | 1°146 | 2,064 | 5,678 | 36°85 | 4,603 7-10 | 40°49 | 46°29 | o°891 | 2,018 | 5,044 | 31°92 | 4,337 II-15 | 41°64 | 53°56 | 0°889 | 1,590 | 4,769 | 34°22 | 4,612 9-14 | 47°28 | 61°11 | 0°976 | 2,061 5,152 | 40°01 | 4,280 Timber Trade | 12-14 | 35°16 | 35°69 | 1°247 | 3,064] 4,596 18:03 | 4,242 II-12 | 33°02 | 24°74 | 1°303 | 3,149 | 7,244 | 18°63] 4,338 14-16 | 30°91 | 22°II | 1°330 | 3,591 7,181 18°10 | 4,756 12-14 | 30°96 | 23°66 | 1°211 | 3,580 | 5,524 | 17°99 | 4,149 7-9 || 31°61 | 24°63 | 0°703 | 2,013 |* 4,028 ss =e 79) 20894 (257100 2..7 = 3,017 ; Hs: 6-9 | 43°13 | 26°40 | 0618 | 1,507 | 3,674 8-13 | 39°66 | 24°43 | 0°673 | 1,592 | 3,185 Beauly! 8 41°11 | 24°88 | 0°767 | 2,094 | 4,605 8-10 | 38°73 | 22°80 | 0°836 | 2,645 | 4,921 5-6 | 43°21 | 26°86 | 0°634 | 2,150 | 4,283 6-9 | 37°56 | 23°48 | 0°654 | 2,110 | 4,220 Beauly 627) i) ZOLo2 NW O-338)% 150779) 3512 7,813 | 16°55 | 5,363 5-10 | 31°64 | 16°41 | 1°179 | 3,608 | 8,505 17°05 | 4,820 8-11 | 32°24 | 16°43 | 1°418 | 4,301 | 9,032 17147 |) 55450 7-9 | 29°86 | 16°21 | 0°979 | 2, 5,076 | 16°32 | 4,819 1 Fungus attacked, no compression tests carried out. 2 No real limit of elasticity. TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. Scots PINE—continued. 63 BENDING COMPRESSION Locality : : ; Gone Annual | Weight pie E Elastic | Maximum ci, ahoe Origin Rings per oe Ib. per | Limit Stress ences Streneth pete |b fe eames | Ee | Ree | Oe eh] “eent. | bs per Birkenside, 5-64 | 33°83 | 25°37 | 0°942 | 2,557 | 6,545 | 23°07 | 4,516 Jedburgh 7-8 | 34°68 | 23°07 | 17094 | 3,516 7,784. | 22°03 | 4,794 64-8 | 35°45 | 21°96 | O°902 | 2,965 | 8,203 | 22°13 | 5,118 5-7 | 35°19 | 23°45 | 0°970 | 1,988 | 7,592 | 22°75 | 4,589 Brownlea IO-15 | 31°94 | 16°63 | 1°223 | 3,624 | 8,801 18:25 | 4,537 Estate, Law 10-18 | 30°08 | 16°15 | 1°176 | 3,050 | 8,641 17°49 | 4,098 Junction 8-12 | 31°53 | 15°29 | 1°159 | 3,574 | 9,204 | 17°62 | 4,625 10-20 | 29°00 | I5‘II | 1°03I | 3,107 | 10,353 | 16°93] 4,500 Crieff 54-12 | 36°55 | 17°73 | 1141 | 3,459 | 9,882 | 15°22 | 5,063 6-7_ | 38°08 | I19'12 | 0°986 | 3,278 | 9,069 16:36) | 55737 6-7 | 38°52 | 19°14 | 0°828 | 2,641 7,924 | 16°34 | 5,618 6-8 38°12 | 17°91 | 0°936 | 3,107 8,801 Tinea 5,073 7-10 | 38°13 | 18°32 | 0°343 | 2,565 | 6,976 16‘II 55954 6-11 | 39°22 | 19°31 | 0°887 | 4,085 | 8,732 | 15°99 | 5,682 8-10 | 40°50 | 18°97 | 1°425 | 4,097 | 9,219 16°70 | 6,115 6-10 | 39°19 | 19°51 | 1°254 | 4,574 | 7,625 16°81 6,016 Timber Trade! | 16-32 | 29°39 9°61 | 1°403 | 6,064 | 10,105 10°43 6,745 15-16 | 30°24 | 9°74 | 1°604 | 5,625 | 11,150 | 10°34 | 6,792 TO-2e lastest) eOsOOs | LO7Onec 77h a7 oko 10°34 | 6,656 IO-15 | 29°60 | 10°42 | I°II5 | 3,621 9,254 II‘I4 | 5,906 9-12 | 30°89 | 10°37 | 0°954 | 3,083 | 9,094 | 11°18 | 6,002 U2-1A) e301 30) LOMOT | L510) es k 52) le 1O. 702 10°99 | 6,158 13-17 | 30°93 | 10°14 | 1°424 | 4,999 | 9,500 | 10°77 | 6,193 Greenlaw 15-30 | 29°58 | 18°38 | 1°457 | 4,877 | 7,587 | 14°36 | 5,999 GS-12) |e sre24 | 1727/5 | £2503: \h4, 304) 1 oz 27 14°06 | 6,710 G-12 este sal) Leese Spek ste 8,520 | 14°21 | 6,531 13-26 | 29°53 | 18°03 | I°541 | 4,901 | 7,732 | 14°23 | 6,003 Timber Trade | 17-18 | 31°35 | 14°66 | 1°837 | 6,700 | 8,711 14‘49 | 5,820 13-18 | 31°93 | 14°66 | 1°982 | 5,777 | 8,931 | 14°60] 5,289 54-8 | 41°55 | 18°20 | 17142 | 3,279 | 7,497 15°75 | 5,612 Io-11 | 32°88 | 15°19 | 1°842 | 6,010 | 9,513 | 15°98 | 6,151 10-18 | 30°06 | 15°14 | 1°907 | 5,365 | 7.753 | 15°47 | 5,526 12-15 | 32°55 | 14°19 | 1°785 | 4,048 | 12,044 | 13°16 | 7,119 7-10 | 28°53 | 15°31 | 0°930 | 3,320 | 7,638 | 13°85 | 5,860 £ 29°22 | 15°39 | 1°371 | 4,328 | 8,223 | 14°03] 5,854 7-9 | 29°62 | 15°03 | 1°397 | 4,287 | 9,110 | 14°05 | 6,036 9-12 | 29°44 | 14°72 | 1°259 | 3,750 | 8,575 | 13°89 | 5,973 DUS lececOs. || ToeT2 ul 1-202 | 4,001, | 95137 14°04 | 5,880 11-16 | 31°88 | 15°16 | 1°452 | 3,463 | 8,906 | 15°23 | 5,472 17-19 | 30°70 | 14°43 | 1°405 | 4,980 | 9,645 | 15°16 | 5,671 1 Timber artificially dried. 2 Specimen behaved so irregularly that it was impossible to say what was the limit of elasticity or what was the modulus of elasticity. 64 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Scots PINE—continued. Locality r ° Origin Timber Trade (continued ) Maurthly Nairn Strathdon ! BINDING COMPRESSION Annual | Weight | 7 - E | Elastic | Maxi Come Rings per foun Ib. per Limit ‘Stress mepe Strenoth Peaies |i | come | Rae | oar | Sh Ber [eet | bs per 14-18 | 32°88 | 14°27 | 1°907 | 6,539 | 11,066 14°66 | 6,234 9-13 || 34748 | 15'02"| 1071] 3,613 | 8,516" | 15°20" oneay 8-11 | 33°74 | 14°90 | 1°862 | 5,818 | 11,637 15°36 |" 105270 13-17 | 33°40 | 14°36 | 1°679 | 6,778 | 11,621 | 14°75 | 5,979 10-14 | 33°11 | 17°01 | 1°734 | 6,382 | 10,031 15°41 | 6,087 10-14 | 36°74 | 21°77 | 1°839 | 5,879 | 9,723 | 16°49 | 5,411 10-15 | 37°55 | 17°43 | 1°487 | 4,801 | 11,738 | 15°36 | 4,818 10-12 | 33°56 | 16°26 | 1°060 | 3,541 9,412 15°48 | 4,359 15-18 | 35°08 | 20°77 | 1°684 | 4,621 9,012 16°28 | 6,059 12-18 | 36°46 | 20°12 | 1°711 | 4,565 | 9,130 | 16°02 | 4,445 13-19 | 38°95 | 35°65 | 1°447 | 2,557 | 7,160 | 25°57 | 4,498 12-22 | 39°99 | 36°91 | 1°514 | 2,576 | 6,132 | 25°78 | 4,205 12-16 | 41°29 | 25°88 | 1°312 | 4,142 | 9,008 | 25°68 | 4,646 14-16 | 45°74 | 48°09 | 1°174 | 3,150 | 6,668 | 37°76] 4,101 16-23 | 51°46 | 59°36 | 1°326 | 3,831 6,565 | 63°20] 4,163 12-13 | 38°67 | 24°24 | 1°208 | 2,396 | 7,187 | 25°53) 4,463 13-18 | 37°57 | 20°98 | 1°575 | 4,675 | 7,793 | 17°94] 5,528 9-17 | 39°36 | 22°95 | 1°573 | 2,650 | 7,948 | 18°73] 5,995 10-15 | 38°71 | 22°28 | 1°590 | 2,633 | 9,005 | 19°02] 5,917 13-18 | 36°73 | 19°21 | 1°:795-|-3,190| 8,772 | 18°55 7) teoee 13-17 | 35°14 | 19°59 | 1°490 | 2,164 | 7,576 | 17°67 | 6,175 17-18 | 34°69) ‘18740 || 1-662 | 2759001 "77724 17-5Ou Osa 7-9 | 43°78 | 19°56 | 1°209 | 3,994 | 9,986 | 16°65 | 6,701 4-9 38°44 | 18°76 | 1°467 | 4,173 8,870 16°85 6,132 ee 38°45 | 18°47 | 1°728 | 4,554 | 6,561 | 16°45 | 5,869 13-1 ee 43°32 || 19°07 | 2°081 | 6,202 | 9,305 16°23 | 6,693 (sap) 10-12 | 44°09 | 23°03 | 0°834 | 3,106 | 4,659 | 16°91 | 5,792 vee 34°371| 17°98 | 1°505 | 4,203 | 8,586 | 14°92 | 6,100 10-11 | 32°16 | 14°31 | 1°522 | 4,912 | 10,315 | 13°86) 5,710 IO-I1 | 30°92 | 14°41 | 1°465 | 4,769 | 10,069 | 13°93 | 6,296 FES) || Brie |) Wale) NMIPeyn || yes}, |) sieyoy ii 13°97 | 6,642 8-10 | 32°45 | 14°47 | 1°670 | 5,544 | 11,088 14°08 | 6,903 7-8 | 30°45 | 14°71 | 1°471 | 4,823 | 10,638 | 14°01 | 6,339 12-13 | 29°45 | 14°80 | 1°420 | 6,330] 8,546 | 14°12 | 6,466 64-94 | 30°64 | 14°28 | 1°388 | 4,384 | 10,414 | 14°01 | 6,245 8-15 | 29°44 | 14°09 | 1°546 | 5,768 | 8,976 | 13°67 | 6,335 8-10 | 29°56 | 21°84 | 0'944 | 2,518 | 6,546 II-14 | 30°35 | 22°49 | 1°070 | 3,056 | 6,808 12-19 | 38°22 | 28°62 | r'oI5 | 4,114 | 5,657 13-17 | 36°17 | 23°96 | 1°174 | 2,480 | 7,940 1 Fungus attacked, no compression tests carried out. TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. 65 EUROPEAN [.ARCH. BENDING COMPRESSION Locality | wi c or Annual | Weight Moist E Elastic | Maximum Moi at Origin Rings per vost | Ib. per | Limit | Stress oist- | eek A per in. | cub. ft. | [© P&F | sq.in. | lb. per | Ib. per Bre per | eee radius lb. ies X106 | sq. in; | sq. in. pent. | oe ae 8 | 5,719 | 10,485 | 14°59 8 | 5,403 | 10,315 1518 | 5,512 3 | 55154 | 9,372 | 14°67 | 5,712 Timber Trade | 8-10 | 33°95 | 14°18 | 1°64 Io | 32°98 | 14°43 | 1°63 5-8 | 36°39 | 14°00 | 1°39 DouGLas FIr. 29°55 | 12°67 | 1°648 |... 5,947 | 11°69 | 6,499 | 13°18 | 0°932 et 2,983 12'24 | 4,944 26°71 | 13°57 | 0°783 | 2,554 | 3,472 | 12°21 | 5,095 Timber Supply | 5 Department | 3- 3 iS) n Hn ° 7 4 4 A 20°71 | 13°51 | 17230 | 4,710'| “6,804, | 13°50!) 5,496 4 6 5 Murthly 3 3-42 | 30°85 13°59 | 1°452 | 5,161 | 9,652 | 13°48 | 5,799 | 43- BAs22) | stsOn \te7Ol |5,756) | 1Olo2o 13°70 | 6,791 43- 34°56 | 12°55 | 1°849 | 6,234 | 6,542 | 13°09 | 7,256 SITKA SPRUCE. Murthly 5-6 | 23°06 | 3°73¢) 5 E2E) 41730 7,128 14°50 | 4,404 3-4 | 21°41 | 13°86 | 0°946 | 4,104 | 6,156 | 14°45 | 3,746 5-9 | 24°72 | 13°75 | 1°336 | 4,086 | 6,996 | 14°75 | 4,699 5-64 | 22°01 | 13°44 | I'IIg 3,087 5,610 13°99 | 4,121 | ! | NORWAY SPRUCE. Timber Supply} 6-8 | 23°27 | 13°80 | 0992 | 3,180 | 4,240 | 14°21 | 4,643 Department 6-10 | 24°69 | 13°91 | 1°219 | 4,193 7,234 14°69 | 4,687 6-8 | 24°04 | 14°02 | 0°996 | 3,216 | 5,305 | 14:28] 4,795 8-9 | 23°68 | 13°70 | 1°589 | 5,185 | 6,222 14°31 | 4,752 6-8 | 25°97 | 14°32 | 0°954 | ... 3,721 14°79 | 45753 Murthly 44-5 | 28:12 | 18:22 | 1'105 | 3,696 | 4,753 8-16 | 32°33 | 17°53 | 1°950 | 6,281 | 8,008 | ASH. Ballechin 8-17 | 47°63 | 24°04 | 1°629 | 2,784 | 5,568 | 18:07 | 6,050 8-9 | 45°94 | 23°83 | 1°830 | 2,952 | 7,676 | 16°99 | 5,424 II-17 | 44°75 | 21°00 | 1°783 | 3,920 | 7,280 | 17°57 | 5,891 10-16 | 45°32 | 21°23 | 1°492 | 3,869 | 8,290 17°62 5,702 16-22 | 40°07 | 19°29 | 1°302 | 3,629 | 8,814 16°36 | 5,974 Timber Trade | 63-8 | 44°34 | 21°82 | 1°424 | 2,727 | 10,035 | 13°76 | 6,669 7-8 42°54 | 20°98 | 1°339 | 3,214 | 10,075 | 13°63 | 6,439 7-114] 42°33 | 22°29 | 1°400] 1,065 | 9,050 | 13°85 | 6,001 VOL. XXXVI. PART I. E 66 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. BIRCH. we a eee BINDING COMPRESSION Locality ms ; : Com- osgin | ‘Rings | VEEM | Moist-| tp her | Tan’ | MSE | Moiat- see per in. | cub. ft. | UTS P&T} sq. in. | Ib. per Tbiperdsiltoee ay big is radius lb. Coote X106 | sq. in. Savant «s(t oo é b. per | q. in. Craiganour, 12-14 |43°56) | 12°64) | 17675) | 3,092"| 9,740) roam 7,386 Rannoch 10-16 | 47°10 | 12°64 | 1°789 | 5,509 | 13,020 | 12°21 | 8,103 12-15 | 46°43 | 13°16 | 1°865 | 4,207 | 11,570 12°07, 7,951 Aultshardie, II-20 | 48'90 | 12°91 | 1°873 | 3,602 | 10,806 ene 8,172 Rannoch 14-19 | 48°22 | 13°32 | 1°938 | 5,669 | 11,340 1212 8,081 12-17 | 46°49 | 12°76 | 2°066 | 4,906 | 10,253 | 11°84] 8,901 Rannoch Q-12 | 41°75 | 11°84 | 1°382 | 3,002 | 12,315 | Tr-50)eo,oge S-1y | 3020) | 12°36) | 1.353) 3,023 7,400 | 12"2T 7,275 8-10 | 35°30 | 12°41 | 1°512 | 4,073 | 8,655 12°05 | 6,565 Dunalastair II-14 | 45°47 | 13°81 | 2°090 | 4,280 | 13,911 | 12°62 | 7,942 12-14 | 45°31 | 13°57 | 2°014 | 6,371 | 10,090 | 12°72 | 7,752 | 12-15 | 43°49 | 13°16 | 1°969 | 6,760 | 10,195 | 12°33 | 8,199 | 12-15 | 42°45 | 13°59 | £°878.| 5,712 | 15,110 | 12-5gueeen 12-15 | 49°II | 14°72 | 1°419 | 4,246 | 11,677 | 12°82 7,168 II-14 | 47°94 | 13°77 | I-51 | 3,125 | 10,420 | 13°040|NNO,o00 Canonbie, 5-8 | 37°70 | 12°45 | 1600 | 5,459 | 8,438 |) t2°56)) genes Dumfries 6-7 | 36°77 | 12°18 | 1°545 | 4,993 | 10,483 | 12°45 | 7,045 5-8 | 36°55 | 12°35 | 1°578 | 3.547 | 7;004 | 12°45 | 6,067 4-6 | 35°78 | 12°23 | 1'273 | 4,521 | 8,540 | 12°33 | 5,876 Murthly 6-7 | 41°56 | 15°62 | 1-460 | 2,210 | 11,052 / 14°05 | 6,584 6-8 | 41°09 | 15°58 | 1°067 | 1,747 | 7,571 | 13°81 | 5,962 6-9 || 43°28 | 16°54 | 1°422 | 2,350 | 10,338 | 13:07 | Gonz 6-7. | 43°83 | 17°82 | 1°428 | 2,229 | 8,080 | 14°36] 6,670 5-8 | 43°64 | 17°08 | 1°292 | 3,445 | 9,190 | 15°47 | 5,997 5-7, | 41-07, ||) 16:40, | 1°310)) 3,194 | 11,182 | 15ss2neeos 6-9 | 43°12 | 14°76 | 1°300 | 1,973 9,206 | 14°62] 6,275 7-10 | 43°38 | 14°61 | 1°631 | 1,807] 10,237 | 14°95 | 6,580 6-9 a 18°66 | 1°063 | 2,055 | 6,577 oe a 6-7 | 42°03 | 18°64 | 1°054 | 2,016) 5,542 7 43°17 | 19°02 | 1.102 | 1,514 | 4,066 WycH Evo. | | Canonbie, 7-9 | 42°47 | 12°97 | 1°435 | 3,812 5,990 13°19 | 6,705 Dumfries 4-7 | 41°76 | i "46 | 1°534 | 5,775 | 10,500 | 13°01 | 7,036 6-12 | 39°60 | 13°26 | 1:082 | 4,117 | 8,234 13°13 7,209 Inchture TI-19 |38337)}) 12:61 | 1°835 | 6,910! | 135716) | 137 78n ee e5 os | 14-19 | 40°62 | 12°29 | 1°674 | 4,800 | 9,067 13°64 | 6,818 WILLOw. Murthly 5-7 | 26°12 | 12°33 | 1°097 | 3,257 | 5,266 | 12°95 | 3,979 5-6 | 26°50 | 12°10 | 0°979 | 2,724 | 4,902 12°74 | 4,105 4 26°23 | 12°71 | 0°744 | 2,154 | 4,845 | 13°37 | 3,565 5 25°50 | 12°52 | 0°837 | 1,561 5,201 T3238 3,803 TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. 67 the prop, any bark present being carefully removed near the edge of the face, the areas of each of the two irregular circular areas thus obtained were then measured by a plani- meter and the mean of the two planimeter results was taken » as the mean cross-sectional area of the prop. The load was applied to the strut through strong steel pressure plates with spherical backs, so as to ensure, as far as possible, axial pressure on the prop; the load was in each case gradually increased until collapse occurred. The two figures on Plate VI. show (a) a prop just as it col- lapsed in the testing-machine, (2) five props after removal from the testing-machine—the fourth from the left end was too large in sectional area to be crushed by 100 tons, the limiting load of the testing-machine. In all, 256 props were tested from sixteen different kinds of timber, but Scots pine, Norway spruce, European larch, and Japanese larch were the most important timbers tested, these five accounting for about 200 props. The overall diameters of the props varied from 24 inches to 9 inches, the latter dimension being about the limit of size which could be crushed with the roo-ton testing-machine. The following table gives the mean results obtained for each of the more important classes of timber :— Summary of Compression Tests of Pit-Prop Timber. > eee Average Crush-| Average | Range of Name of Tree Locality ing Strength | Age Diameter ; | lb. = sq. inch Years Inches Scots pine Bowmont Forest 1720 14 24 to 64 < Gallybank, Glendye 2120 | 20 3h 55 44 Norway spruce Bowmont Forest 2572 15 23 ,, 62 ” Monymusk 2332 19 52 », 62 Menzies spruce Murthly 3401 12 Baroni) * Strathgyle, Durris 3913 22 Ve 55300 European larch Bowmont Forest 1770 Ww 22h) 225 Os re Kolkerran 2592 18 24 4, 52 xe Monymusk 2673 21 5h Japanese larch Bowmont Forest 2242 13 23 to 64 99 Glendye 2726 hes 32 5, 49 ~ Julkerran 2064 18 244, 7 Douglas fir Murthly 3286 | Io 34 5. 74 Noble silver fir Murthly 2700 15 34 5. 10% Black Italian Pollok 1504 | sar 34 poplar The tables which follow give the more important results for a selected series of the pit-prop tests. 68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Pit Props: Compression Tests. Scots Pine. District grown: (1) Bowmont Forest. Material received, November 1918. Material tested, December 1918. Crush- Number of Dimensions ing | Annual Rings | Load per inch —— Approx! Dia- Per | imate Remarks meter sq. i Age at | °o | ee | cantce Length Grose Centre (Outside! | of section | Length Area | Ins. Ins. Lbs. | Years ; 66 | 40°0 | 2241 5 9 20 | Crushed 10% ins. from small end (tested November 1919). 6°25 | 39°75 | 2605 4 6 | 16 | Crushed and bent 173 ins. from small end (tested November Ig10Q). AzANAG 5) | 135 5 7 | «1 | Bent considerably under maximum load but showed no cracks. 3°77 | 40°0 S7T |) TO 15 | Cracked at centre of bend on compression side. 2°68 | 32°75 | 15999} 8 | 6 10 | Broke across 9 ins. from small end. 26580 e32-5° | GroeT 1On pisy7, 11 | Broke across at centre. District grown: (2) Gallybank, Glendye. Material received, 14th June 1919. Material tested, November 1919. | l 4°6 | Stes. wea || ey I pe 23 | Bent 18 ins. from small end: slight cracks. , 42508183970) 8) 22208 e 12 | 20 34 | Bent about 18 ins, from small end: slight cracks. Bese lesoO) WIk2350) |) tO) a 2t 25 | Bent 14 ins. from small end: cracked at small | end. 3°38 | 36°0 | 1792 | 10 | 26. | 22 | Sheared 14 ins. from big end. Norway Spruce. District grown: (1) Bowmont Forest. Material received, November 1918. Material tested, December 1918. | i537) | 4O:25 | 3133 ‘De 16 | Tested November 1919. Bent 18 ins. from | _smallend. Split from here to big end. 6°75 39°0 2464, 5 | 8%)| 16 | Do. Crushed and split 9 ins. from small end. 3°85 4070 | 3004] 12 | 8 | 18 Cracked about centre, tension side. 3°98 40°0 | 2530! 7 | I0 | 21 | Split about the centre and also at one end. 2°85 37°75 | 2004 | 64| 7 13 | Broke across at centre. 2°75 37°5 | 2298 | 5 | 5 6 | Cracked 13 ins. from big end. District grown: (2) Monymusk. Material received, 1st November 1919. Material tested, 13th December 1919. 5°73 |'390°5 | 2748 54 | 12 20 | Green: crushed at small end. 5°18 | 39°5 | 2428 5 94 | 20 | Cracked at small end before test, not so green aS 4215: gave way where lateral branches had come out. Sheared at small end at 45°. fe) 20 Sheared at small end at a very small angle. 5°58 | 39°5 | 2140 6°3 | 39°0 | 2010 “SUN to “I x fon) REATH Wille PIT-PROPS AFTER REMOVAL FROM TESTING-MAC HINE. JLtand JLe, Japanese Larch. Ar, Br, Bz, Scots Pine. [ To face p- 68. TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES, 69 MENZIES SPRUCE. District grown: (1) Murthly. Material received, 25th November 1918. Material tested, November 1919. | Crush- Number of Dimensions | ing | Annual Rings . Load per inch = Approx- Dia- Per imate Remarks meter sq. in. Age ph Length ae Centre Outside of section ength Area ‘Ins. Ins. Lbs. Years i 70 | 40°O .| 3910 4 6 18 | Bent and cracked 15 ins. from small end: split from here to big end. 4°4 | 38°5 | 4050 6 53 12 | Bent and cracked 12 ins. from small end and | split to this point. Seyeess 5 «| 1866 | ... ig ... | Quite green (tested December 23, 1918). Bago. | 3780 4 4 6 | Bent and cracked 11 ins. from small end. District grown: (2) Strathgyle, Durris. Material received, 9th December 1918. Material tested, November 1919. one) _ 40°0 | 30987 | 4 4 ini 22 | Bent and split. 54 | 39°5 | 3840 | 22 Bent 7 ins. from big end and split in three from big end to this point. EUROPEAN LARCH. District grown: (1) Bowmont Forest. Material received, 25th November 1918. Material tested, November 1919. 5625] 34°5 | 2633 64 4 17 | Bent and cracked 163 ins. from large end. 6°75 | 39°5 | 1888 4 6 13 5 16 “6 small end. 3°38 | 40°25 | 1740 5 2? 13 Bent but did not crack. Originally bent before | test (December 1918). 4°18 | 40°5 | 1057 | 4 3 9 » ” >» 2°92 | 37°0 | 1350 6 7 9 >» . » 2°41 | 35°5 | 1954 | 7 6 9 » ” » | District grown: (2) Kilkerran. Material received, 2nd December 1918. Material tested, November 1919. | 2946 | 43 58 | 34°5 5 | 17 | Bent and cracked 16 ins. from small end. 4°33 | 36°75 | 3064 7 6 I e 104 _ 2°59 | 33°0 | 1765 | 10 14 18 | Split from small end 5 ins. down (tested ‘ | | December 1918). ; District grown: (3) Monymusk. Material received, Ist November 1919. Material tested, 13th December 1919. 5°26 | 39°5 | 2930 5 9 | 17 | Very green: full of sap: gave way at knot. Be 397 | 2416 | 7 «| cin} 26 - . > 7° JAPANESE LARCH. TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. District grown: (1) Bowmont Forest. Material received, November 1918. Material tested, November 1918. Crush-| Number of Dimensions ing | Annual Rings Load per inch |Approx- Disk Per imate | Remarks meter sq. in. Age aes Length oe Centre |Outside of section vength Area Tee Ins Lbs. Years ; , ’ 6°6 | 39°75 | 2825 2 43 | 15 | Cracked 8 ins. from small end: split also to this point (tested November 1919). 6°17 | 39°5 | 3350 AS 8 21 | Bentand cracked 83 ins. from small end: split also to this point (tested November 1919). 3°54 | 400 | 1415 Bre le ate, 12 | Cracked 17 ins. from small end. 3°87 | 40.0 | 1681 5 4 11 | Bent 15 ins. from big end. Originally slightly bent near big end. 270) e300) || 12130 7 6 II Cracked 10 ins. from small end: ends also cracked. 2°75 | 30°0 | 2040 6 6 10 | Two lateral fractures 9 ins. from big end. District grown: (2) Glendye. Material received, 14th June 1919. Material tested, November 1919. 4°125| 38°25 | 3002 7 II 13. | Bent and cracked 18 ins. from small end. 4°875| 38°25 | 2195 | 8%] 9 | 20 3 17. ” 3°25 | 30°25 | 2368 8 8 15 | Bent 20 ins. from small end. B25) 3055) || 3340 7 8 14 | Bent 154 ins. from large end. District grown: (3) Kilkerran. Material received, 2nd December 1918. Material tested, November 1919. 7°O | 40'0 | 2687 34 II 18 | Bent 17 ins. from small end: also split to this point. 5°625| 38°0 | 2095 | 63] 7 19 us 9 4 2°81 | 33°75 | 1409 : Hn Bent but did not crack: not straight before test (tested December 1918). DouGLAS Fir. District grown: Murthly. Material received, 25th November 1918. Material tested, November 1919. 73 | 39°0 | 3353 | 44 35 | 12 | Split during testing: split from top to bottom during test. 4°66 | 36°75 | 3780 | 5 34 | 13 | Bentand slightly cracked 17 ins.from small end. 3°66 | 36:0 | 3210 3 34 7 Split in two from small end, 10 ins. down. 3°25 | 35°0 | 2800 5 4 8 | Bent and cracked 18 ins. from small end. Imperfect centre—soft. Material received, 25th November 1918. TIMBER FOR AEROPLANE AND PIT-PROP PURPOSES. NOBLE SILVER FIR. Wu District grown: Murthly. Material tested, November 1919. Crush- Number of Dimensions ing nnual Rings | Load per inch | Dia- Per Lite Remarks meter | | sq. in. | | Age Jatt Length ae Centre |Outside of | section | Length | Area | Ins. ins;)( ||," Libs: i Years 6-5 | 33°0 | 3350 8 4 17 Bulged at Io ins. from small end: circumfer- ential split. Be ge? 3374.| 34 34 | 15 | Bent and cracked 114 ins. from small end. 3°25 | 34.0 | 2080/ 8 5 16 Split and cracked 14 ins. from small end (tested December 1918). Se GmlegOrs| 1996 | 9 4 34 | I0 | Quite green: sap squeezed out (tested Dec- | | ember 13, 1918). Biack ITALIAN PoPLaR. District grown: Pollok. Material received, 25th November 1918. Material tested, November 1919, 80 | 39°75 | 2218 6 4 II Bent and cracked 14 ins. from small end. yea 39°5° || 2E5r 6 24 13 | Cracked and bent. in two places (1) 4% ins. from small end, (2) 11 ins. from small end. Bent considerably under maximum Joad but not crushed. ZE30) |egor75 ||| 1132 6 4 12 | Bent considerably under maximum load but not cracked (tested November 1918). 4°23 | 39°6 | 1158 4 3 7 | Slightly bent in two places before test. Under maximum load crack developed in centre of one of original bends (tested November 1918). 3°76 | 28°1 978 5 5 12 | Bent considerably before test: 1°3 in. out of straight. Under maximum load bent but not crushed (tested November 1918). aa) 25°0) || 1387 34 32 9 | Slightly bent before test. Bent considerably under maximum load and was crushed on compression side (tested November 1918). In December 1919 I was supplied with ten pit-props of average Finnish red and white wood, the overall diameters varying from 3 inches to 6 inches, the average crushing strength was 3996 lb. per sq. inch. It will be observed that good, well- grown Scottish timber is quite as strong as the imported timber, and there seems no reason why a large amount of the timber required for coal pit purposes should not be grown in Scotland. During the tests of a certain quality of Scots pine, it was found that the timber had been attacked by the fungus (Ceratostoma piliferum), which produced the well-known blueing 72 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. result (cf. p. 82). I tested, however, two samples of attacked Scots pine—one lot from Ballater and one lot from Strathdon— but only made transverse tests, as I received instructions before the compression specimens could be prepared, to destroy the whole stock of timber which showed traces of the attack of this fungus, as it was feared it might spread to the large stock of timber I had in the building at the time. The most interesting point in connection with this blueing is that it seemed to have a tendency both to lower the limit of elasticity and to reduce considerably the numerical value of the modulus of elasticity. The four specimens from Ballater showed a limit of elasticity of 2832 Ibs. per sq. inch, and a modulus of elasticity of 1,250,000 Ibs. per sq. inch; and the four specimens from Strathdon had a limit of elasticity of 3,042 lbs. per sq. inch, and a modulus of elasticity of 1,051,000. There was apparently no great effect upon the ultimate strength of the wood. The results of the pit-prop tests in 1919 and 1920, and the general conclusions resulting from the whole of the tests, will be dealt with in a further communication. 7. Forest Protection. In the scheme of nature the struggle for existence brings certain opposing influences into conflict. Left to themselves an apparent condition of equilibrium is established which neverthe- less undergoes gradual change in the course of time. In the plant kingdom it is those forms which can adapt themselves to the prevailing environmental conditions that succeed best in the struggle for existence. Thus the unfit become eliminated, while the survivors which may be classified into the fit, more fit and fittest, continue the process, gradually tending towards the sur- vival and predominance of the fittest. When man interferes with any natural process, whether it is by the cutting down or the planting of forests, he must do so with due regard to natural laws if he wishes his labour to result in ultimate benefit to himself. For the successful cultivation of field or forest crops a sound FOREST PROTECTION. 73 knowledge of the physiology and ecology of glant life is essential. At the present time when cultivation is becoming more and more intensive and when the transport and inter- change of species, varieties and types have vastly increased, it is imperative to guard against calamities which may follow in the track of this artificial distribution and cultivation of plants. In no form of soil cultivation is plant protection more necessary than in forestry, and in no country is forest protection more necessary than in Britain, because our forest tree flora is largely an artificial one, especially the coniferous portion. We are poor in indigenous coniferous species and extraordinarily rich in introduced species, and it is these conifers which will form the future bulk of our home-grown timber of economic importance. The growing forest represents a large amount of capital which is locked up for a considerable time, and it is self-evident that every means should be used to protect and preserve this valuable growing stock, in order that material of the best quality may be produced and a suitable return obtained on the capital so invested, Forest protection is one of the most essential branches of forestry. It involves a careful study of all the dangers which threaten timber crops. The main objects are to prevent damage being done, or if damage is unavoidable, at least to minimise its extent. The dangers to be provided against may be grouped under three headings, namely — (a) Damage by man. (6) Inorganic agencies. (c) Organic agencies. (a) Wilful or unintentional damage by man. The first is preventible to some extent by the infliction of certain penalties, but by far the better and more efficient method is by invoking the aid of education and training. The stringent forest code of France is even there not always relied on so much as State example and education. This will also prove to be the solution of the second problem. Unintentional damage may be done by friends of the forest through ignorance of the consequences of their actions, such as carelessness in handling fire in or near the forest, and the excessive preservation of rabbits, deer or other animals injurious to trees. An unskilful forester also may do 74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, untold damage by wrong silvicultural treatment, which may unnecessarily expose the forest to many dangers. Under the next heading (4) may be grouped inimical inorganic agencies, such as frost, heat, drought, storm-winds, snow and atmospheric impurities near large industrial works, and fire, especially where railways and frequented roads traverse the forest. Under the third heading (c) we can group the dangers threatened by organic agencies, principally fungi and insects. The countries which have escaped the most serious forest calamities are those where the prevailing forest conditions approach those of the natural or virgin forest. Without rational forest laws the private proprietor and the forester are powerless to prevent certain forms of damage, because preventive and protective measures must be undertaken on a large scale if they are to be really effective. Since diseases and pests may pass from an unskilfully managed area to the detriment of all adjacent forests, it is the duty of the State to see to it that adequate means are provided to secure the main- tenance in a healthy condition of a national asset of such great value and importance. Hitherto forest protection on a comprehensive scale has been almost totally neglected in Britain, but the time has now come when such neglect would be most unjustifiable. Not that we have at present extensive forests to protect, but we hope that our forest areas will increase, and as stated above, prevention of damage is much better than the application of remedial measures after the damage has been caused, because remedial measures, in individual cases, are less effective than prevention and the expense is relatively greater. In practice the aim must be to secure a vigorous and healthy stock of trees of a good type, and next to ensure that they are planted in a healthy environment. The use of home-collected seed, and, as far as possible, control of imported seed, will go a long way towards achieving this object. Take for example our indigenous Scots pine. This tree has a wide geographical distribution. It occurs over a wider range than any other European coniferous species. This may be explained by its ability to withstand wide extremes of tem- perature, its limited demand for soil and air moisture, together with its great adaptability for growing on poor soils. It occurs FOREST PROTECTION. 75 in Eastern Siberia, where it has a vegetative period of only three months. On the other hand, it occurs in regions where the winter rest is not more than three or four months. - In Europe it stretches from 37° north latitude in Sierra Nevada (Spain) to 70 on the west coast of Norway. In Asia it ranges from Siberia to Asia Minor, and is also found in Persia. A tree with such a wide distribution is bound to have pro- duced climatic types or varieties, and it is well known to foresters that seed from different regions give very different results when sown and cultivated in one place under similar conditions. Continental seed and seedlings, unless carefully selected from a suitable region, are invariably more liable to be attacked and damaged by the leaf-cast fungus than Scottish seedlings from home seed, and there is every reason to believe that the woods raised from continental seedlings subsequently suffer more damage from snow-break than those from indigenous seedlings. Again in the case of the larch, which has been cultivated for several generations in Britain and has become established in many parts of the country, it is found that the seedlings from home seed give better results in the plantations than seedlings from imported seed. It may be that the mother trees originally came from a good strain, such as that of Silesia which is the best type, or acclimatisation may have come into operation. Another very important forest tree for this country is the Douglas fir, which has a wide natural range. It stretches from 43-52 north latitude in west North America and covers an area of 50,000 square miles. It occurs on the moist Pacific Coast from the Island of Vancouver to Northern California. In the coast mountain range of Sierra Nevada it rises to 2500 metres elevation in moist valleys; it stretches into the dry interior of Montana, where it occurs in pure woods and in mixture with other species. It is, therefore, not surprising to find so many types or forms—coarse and fine branches, smooth and rough barked. No doubt the root-system varies in accordance with stem and crown form. It is of great importance for us to have a firm and strong rooted type which will give more security against swinging and uprooting by wind. The Norwegians have made a special effort to obtain a type suitable for their country. They sent an investigator, who knew the Norwegian conditions, to study the tree in its native habitat with a view to selecting 76 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the most suitable type, and the results seem to have been very satisfactory. Given a stock of trees of suitable geographical type or form, we have next to select the most favourable locations as regards soil and climate for each species. This cannot be done with accuracy unless we know the conditions of soil and climate in the native habitat of the desired type of any species. Control of seed importations is desirable, but this cannot be done with advantage until we know definitely what we wanttocontrol. Therefore, like the Norwegians, we should first study all the growth factors in the native habitats of the types of species we desire, and having found the best types the next thing is to obtain seed from localities where growth factors most nearly approximate to those in our own country, and the best way to do this is to send a man who knows the conditions in this country to study the trees in their native homes. In general practice we consciously or unconsciously apply processes of selection and elimination in the rearing of a crop of timber. First the seed is tested for purity and germina- tion. Next the seedlings are culled and assorted in the lining- out process in the nursery. Again when transplants are lifted the weaklings are rejected and the material is classified, and each class is assigned to an appropriate planting area. The process of selection is continued throughout the thinning period. Hence the trees which form the ultimate crop have been under- going a process of segregation from their earliest stages of existence. This is no doubt as it should be, but do we begin selection at the right stage? I would suggest that we should go a step further back and select seed in suitable localities and from the best type of trees ; otherwise if we begin with seed of an inferior type of tree, no matter though its germination capacity may be high, we can never by any conceivable process of subsequent selection of individuals produce a growing stock of a quality equal to what might have been possible if seed of the right type had been used. But even though it is possible to form plantations under these conditions, it is still necessary to keep a constant lookout for the first signs or symptoms of unhealthiness, in order that the disturbing cause may be ascer- tained and appropriate counter-measures adopted. In the case of actual disease the usual method hitherto has been to pay no attention to the loss of a few plants, and the FOREST PROTECTION. 77 advice of the pathologist has not been sought until serious signs of damage began to appear—that is, after the disease had obtained a firm hold. By that time remedial measures are more difficult to apply, but if the disease is reported early enough it is usually possible to prevent its further spread by preventive measures. I had an interesting experience of this some years ago. A few Norway spruce seedlings in an unhealthy condition were sent to me from a private nursery in the South of Scotland. A fungus was present which appeared to belong to the genus Rhizoctonia. A few years previous 2. Violacea had been found as a parasite on broad-leaved and coniferous seedlings on the Continent. I duly informed the forester as to the nature of the disease, and later in the season I wrote to him for some further samples. He replied that he had searched his nursery and could not find any. He had promptly destroyed the plants in the diseased bed, and so thoroughly disinfected it with fungicide that in this nursery no trace of this disease has been heard of since. In order that preventive measures may be effective, the co-operation of foresters of all grades is required, and it further stands to reason that the sympathetic interest of the public can go a long way in helping to prevent wilful or thoughtless damage. With the expenditure of capital and labour extensive planta- tions may be brought into existence, but these cannot be reared to the best advantage unless means are adopted for their proper care and protection. Research in the various fields of science has shown how forests may be protected against the various forms of damage to which they are liable, and further research is necessary concerning the origin and spread of certain diseases in order that more effective preventive or remedial measures may be evolved. In the same way as the conditions in this country are suitable for the growth of a great variety of exotic trees, so are these same conditions suitable for the origin and spread of a great variety of forest pests, should these be allowed to become established. The recent extensive fellings, with the litter of brushwood and debris left behind, have produced conditions very favourable for the multiplication of certain noxious insect pests, and the sooner the ground is properly cleaned up, the less will be the danger to new plantations. 78 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, The position at present in this country, indeed, demands immediate attention. As just stated we have large areas of recently deforested lands, littered with debris. The exposed soil is deteriorating and becoming invaded with undesirable weed growth, and the debris is a hot-bed for the increase of injurious pests. We cannot afford to wait until the debris has rotted away and become harmless, because the soil is not only mean- time lying idle, but actually deteriorating in value, and valuable time would be lost in the reconstruction work of restoring an adequate reserve of timber within the country. Forest protection can provide the means of overcoming this phase of forest danger, if scientific treatment is applied in a judicious and practical manner. Damage in the earliest stages in the life of a plantation represents loss of time, and also of a certain amount of the capital involved in the initial cost of planting, which may be bad enough, but damage to a forest approaching maturity is a much more serious thing, and neglect to adopt protective measures in the earlier stages of forest growth may and often does lead to unpreventible catastrophies when the forest should be approaching maximum value. It must be kept in mind that the cost of adopting preventive measures is not great in any case, and in many instances it may be nil, while tne remedy or cure necessitated by neglect of prevention is in all cases costly and at best attended with serious loss and sacrifice of growing stock. The forest is worth protection not only on account of the direct returns it may give, but also on account of its many-sided indirect benefits, such as shelter and general climatic ameliora- tion, purification and conservation of water in reservoir catch- ment areas, and preventing loss by soil erosion and shifting sands. The kind of forest known as ‘‘ Protection forest” can be of great national value, but in order to secure its benefits man must protect the forest. Summing up then, forest protection means, first, prevention of financial loss; second, it will enhance all the indirect benefits the forest can bestow; third, it will secure an adequate supply of healthy growing timber within the country, and recent experiences have shown that this is im- perative for national protection. A. We: NOTES ON WESTERN RED CEDAR. 79 8. Notes on Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) ' By JAMES Kay. ; A notable feature of red cedar is the frequent production of two leaders (at times 3-5) which combine to form a dense crown. Except when growing in dense stands, the trees retain practically all their branches until they are 18-20 inches in diameter and often 50-80 feet in height, hence the necessity for close planting. Western red cedar is very tolerant of shade and ranks with western hemlock in this respect; this quality varies, however, with age, altitude, amount of atmospheric and soil moisture, and climatic conditions. ‘The trees grow well in dense shade during the seedling and early polewood stages of life, but rapidity of growth is retarded in proportion to the density of the shade; for though a high degree of shade is tolerated without retarding growth during early life, it is not required later on. The climate of the region in which the species grows is variable. The temperature ranges from too degrees to 30 degrees below zero, Fah. The trees generally grow on moist flats, river bottoms, benches, gentle slopes, in and about swamps and wet places generally. Abundant soil moisture on the whole is more important than quality or quantity of soil. Both are, however, necessary for the best development of the tree. From ancient times cedar wood has been famous for its remarkable durability and resistance to decay, even under the most severe conditions. Trees which fell in damp woods centuries ago are found to-day, except for the sapwood, sound and fit for lumber. The usual height of western red cedar is from 100 to 150 feet, with a diameter (D.B.H.) of from 3 to 8 feet. Exceptional trees attain a height of 200 feet and a diameter of 15 feet. I have seen trees up to 23 feet in diameter (D.B.H.). In the table the periodic annual growth shows the average annual growth by decades. The figures are placed opposite the middle of the decade to which they apply. Thus, the periodic annual growth for the decade from 10-20 years is placed opposite the year 15, from 20-30 opposite 25, and so on. Western red cedar compared with the associated species, ‘Reply to query by Mr William Fyfe in Zyansactions for September 1921 (Viol cxV.5, PEs 15 paio2). TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 80 g6z oo S 992 | 61.1 a Ez o | & zZOz gi.1 oLt 6£1 rem 2 OI! S € +6, ® a 19 | = ~ ‘=, gS. oO oS. YyMorrLy SuINnO A -aumnjo A Tenuuy dIpoLiag 0. LS Hip 1S 1.SV z.6£ Gees lp dife Gace 1.Z1 9.z1 S.6 o£ ¢.v 0.Z 19. LWA Zs. oo. I oF.t 00. é of.z 329, Iqng ur ouInjo A 320] Ul YJMOI4)-7 4.319 FY] Jenuuy sIponieg £.101 00, 61 0g £.96 oz. 00.81 SL z.S6 | 00. LI o£ ¢.16 IZ. | $6.S1 S9 £.48 06. +1 09 ¥.£g bz. ol.€1 $$ 0.6L oS.z1 oS 6.92 Sz. | of. 11 Sv 0.69 | cle 00.01 ob $.z9 | 6z. 09.8 SE 0.$S So.Z of 0. Lv vf. | 09. S Sz 0.S€ | og.£ oz 0. £z | Eos 0g. I $1 0.21 | os. oI ur en sou [enw | (ete Guassene sivaX ulasy ‘SHAUL 799 AO LNAWAYASVEN FHL NO Gasvg—"y'S'D ‘NOLONIHSVM ‘HLMOND AO WIAVL NOTES ON WESTERN RED CEDAR. 81 Douglas fir and hemlock spruce, has slower growth in both height and diameter. Height-growth in its native habitat is most rapid before the 3oth year, but is sustained steadily for 200 years or more. Its mean annual volume-growth does not reach its maximum until after the 150th year and in partially suppressed stands not until after its 2ooth year. Utilisation.—This is the subject to which the query specially refers. The wood of red cedar is soft with usually a straight, even rather coarse, grain. The timber is not suitable for heavy construction work, but because of its light weight and durability it finds a large field of usefulness. The wood is light, soft, close grained (when grown in close stands), durable and easy to handle and work. A cubic foot weighs only about 234 lbs. It is remarkably free from warping, shrinking, and swelling, the straight grain makes it easy to split, and its soft texture makes it one of the easiest to work. The wood has a slight aroma, pleasing and attractive, but it is perfectly free from pitch. For exposure to weather or in contact with damp soil it is unsur- passed. Great durability under all sorts of exposure is one of its more important commercial qualities. Young timber supplies large quantities of fence posts, telegraph and telephone poles. No one in North America would use any other timber for fencing, if they can afford it at all; and I have often wondered why it was not grown in larger quantity in this country for this purpose alone. Of course, in America, it is largely used for shingles. Japan is shipping so much timber in squares and logs at the present time that a number of the shingle mills have had to shut down. Uses.—Bevel siding (and drop); finish; flooring, ceiling and corrugated decking; common and shop lumber; sleepers for light traffic; tanks; porch columns; sashes and doors; shop fixtures ; furniture, bottoms, drawers, cabinets, frames, panels ; chests ; patterns—cedar has few superiors here; veneers; boat building ; car construction, finish, roofing, siding ; for hot-houses, conservatories and incubators—it has few equals. These are a few of the uses of western red cedar. Of course, it has its largest use as poles (telegraph and telephone), fence posts, and any other use that requires durability under all sort of conditions, and it is being utilised more and more each year for such purposes. VOL. XXXVI. PART I. F 82 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 9. The Blueing of Coniferous Timber. By MALcoLm WILson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer in Mycology in the University of Edinburgh. Although the “blueing” of timber is well known both to foresters and timber merchants no account of its distribution, or of the fungi which cause it, has yet been published in this country. In the books dealing with the diseases of trees and timber the “blueing,” if mentioned at all, is usually dismissed very shortly with the statement that it is due to Cevatostomella pilifera, Fries., an ascomycetous fungus. This disease of timber has been known for some time both in the United States and in Germany, and accounts of the causal fungi and their effects on the wood have appeared in both these countries. There is a serious decrease in value of timber brought about by “blueing.” In this country ‘ blued” wood is priced considerably lower than healthy timber, and ‘‘blued” samples are rejected when the timber is required for special purposes ; ‘‘blued” pit-props show a considerable depreciation in value. In the United States blue-stained boards are graded lower than the unstained, and since much of the staining develops in otherwise high-grade material the financial loss is serious. In Germany timber when ‘blued” diminishes considerably in value, and is accepted unwillingly for such purposes as house- building, ship-building, for sleepers, and even for firewood. Its value for furniture construction is especially diminished, for the dark-coloured streaks are particularly obvious when it is used for that purpose; generally speaking, infected timber diminishes 25-50 per cent. in value. It has been estimated that in Sweden the depreciation in value of infected timber is r4 per cent., and according to the regulations for the export of timber from the country “blued” material must not be included amongst first- grade samples. In Russia, where transportation is long and difficult, the timber often lies for some time in the forest before removal, and consequently the damage caused by “blueing ” is very serious. In view of the wide distribution of the disease in Britain, and the considerable quantity of infected timber now coming into the market, it is proposed in the present note to give an account of the investigations already carried out on this THE BLUEING OF CONIFEROUS TIMBER. 83 disease, and to refer to the work of Dr B. D. Macallum, who has recently worked out the life-history of one of the species concerned — Ceratostomella piceae — in Edinburgh.! By the courtesy of Professor Hudson Beare I am also enabled to publish the results obtained by him during the late war, while testing the strength of specimens of timber of Scots pine attacked by the disease (cf. p. 71). Hartig referred to the ‘‘blueing” in his work on the destruction of timber by fungi, and also in his book on the diseases of trees; he showed that the infected wood contained brown hyphae in its cells, especially in the medullary rays, and that these belonged to Ceratostoma piliferum, Fuchel. Neither he, nor the investigators mentioned below, have been able to explain how the blue colour is produced, for the walls of the cells are not coloured by the contained hyphae. Two suggestions have, however, been put forward in explanation, the first being that the brown colouring matter of the fungus contains a small amount of blue pigment, whose colour is transmitted by the cells more readily than the brown colour; and the second, that the colora- tion is an entirely physical phenomenon, depending on the distribution of the large number of small hyphae in the wood, and is comparable to the blue colour of the sky produced by the suspended particles in the air. The diseased timber has a very characteristic appearance. The whole of the specimens may be affected, but frequently the ‘“blueing” occurs in patches and streaks, and is confined to the sapwood. The actual colour of the wood in the early stages of attack varies from grey to blue or greenish-blue, but later on the colour deepens and the timber may become greyish- black, due at least partly to the formation of numerous fungus fructifications on its surface. During the early stages there is little apparent alteration in the physical condition of the timber, but, if the disease continues to develop, the wood softens and ultimately a certain amount of rotting goes on. The disease is chiefly due to certain species of Cerazostomella, previously included under the name C. fidi/era, but a number of other fungi are often present. The species of Ceratostomella are characterised by small fructifications, the perithecia, which 1 An account of this work will shortly be published in the Zvansactions of the British Mycological Soctety. 84 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. are barely visible to the naked eye and are provided with long thread-like necks. Timber cut and stacked in the open in the forest is particularly liable to be attacked, and up to the present the disease has been observed in Scotland in the timber of Scots fir, spruce, and silver fir, although that of other species of conifers is also likely to become infected. It may be pointed out that the species of Cerasostomel/a usually only attack coniferous timber, and that the bluish-green rot of timber of hardwoods is due to an entirely different fungus, Ch/orosplenium aeruginosum. Von Schrenk! and Hedgecock? have investigated ‘“‘blueing ” in the United States, especially in the case of the timber of the western yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa). The latter investigator has described a considerable number of species of Ceratostomella which cause “blueing” in the timber of various conifers and also a number of hardwoods. ‘These are distinguished partly by differences in the shape and size of the perithecia, but chiefly by variations in the form of the conidial fructifications which are produced by them in great abundance. He also describes the blackening of timber by species of Gvraphium, a genus producing only conidial fructifications consisting of a stalk made up of a number of parallel hyphae and a swollen head which bears the conidia. Munch,® in Germany, has given a very complete account of the fungi producing ‘‘blueing ” in coniferous timber. He finds that Ceratostomella pilifera is made up of a number of species, and distinguishes the following :— 1. C. Fini, the commonest species, which only attacks timber of Pinus sylvestris and quickly produces a decided blue coloration. The bark of trees infected by this species separates from the wood, and the latter becomes covered by a black mass of mycelium, embedded in which are the rather short-necked perithecia, and also elongated sclerotium-like bodies consisting of brown cells; a second type of conidium resembling that of Cladosporium is also present. 1 Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Dept. Agriculture Bz//. 36, 1903, 2 «Studies upon some Chromogenic Fungi which discolour Wood,” Missouri Botanical Garden, 17th Annual Report, 1906, p. 59. 3<*Die Blaufaule des Nadelholzes,” Maturwiss. Zeitschrift Forst-und Landwirtschaft, 1907-8. THE BLUEING OF CONIFEROUS TIMBER. 85 2. The Pilifera group with long-necked perithecia which includes :—C. giceae, found commonly in the sapwood of spruce and fir ; in this, in addition to perithecia, conidial forms of the Graphium and Cladosporium types are also present. C. cana and C. coerulea on pine wood closely resemble C. ficeae, but there is no Graphium form in the life-history of C. coerulea. 3. Endoconidiophora coerulescens resembles the three previous species but possesses hairy perithecia, and is characterised by its conidia which are produced in a short row at the ends of upright conidiophores; the stage was previously known as Chalera Ungeri. Of the above species two, Ceratostomella piceae and C. pint, have been found in this country by Dr Macallum in “ blued” timber of the Scots pine. The development of C. piceae has been worked out in detail by this investigator, and her results with regard to the conidial stages present confirm those of Minch, both Graphium and Cladosporium types being definitely part of the life-history. C. ficeae does not appear always to produce the blue staining characteristic of the other species, and in Scotland spruce timber may be quite unstained even when perithecia occur thickly all over the surface. Little information is available as to spore distribution. The ascospores in C. prceae, after discharge, are found at the end of the perithecial neck in a mass of shiny yellowish slime which is insoluble in water. Conidia of the Graghium type are found in the drop of liquid borne on the head of the fructification, while those of the Cladosporium type develop freely both on special conidiophores and on the ordinary mycelium. It is improbable that the ascospores are distributed by wind, but the conidia, after drying, may be spread by this method. The conidia of Exdoconidiophora coerulescens are sticky, and Miinch sug- gests that they may be carried by insects. Von Schrenk, however, _ failed to demonstrate the presence of spores of Ceratostomella on bark-boring beetles. Judging from the rapid infection of timber stacked in the forest, it appears probable that some distribution by wind takes place. The effect of species of Ceratostomedla upon the tissues has been described by several investigators. The hyphae, which are at first colourless, are found principally in the medullary 86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. rays and resin canals, where they live upon the contents of the parenchymatous cells, dissolving the starch grains and destroying the walls, and becoming so abundant as to fill up the entire ray. The older hyphae turn brown, and with the first sign of the brown colour the blue coloration of the wood begins. Apparently the cellulose walls are not decomposed by the fungus, but the hyphae pass into the tracheids from the medullary rays, sometimes penetrating the tangential walls by bore holes but more often passing through the simple or bordered pits. In these cases, it is evident that a certain amount of decomposition of the strongly lignified walls must go on. As a general rule the hyphae do not grow into the heartwood, probably on account of the absence of food materials from this part of the tree. Miinch has carried out a large number of experiments to determine under what conditions wood of pines and firs becomes infected by the blue-stain fungi. He found that the various species of Ceratostomella readily developed on the surface of fresh sapwood of trees felled in winter, but that the hyphae only penetrated to a small distance into the timber, and that the latter did not become discoloured. It was only after the timber had lost a considerable percentage of its moisture that it was penetrated by the fungus, and took on the blue coloration. By further experiments he showed that the non-penetration of fresh timber was determined by lack of oxygen, and that after loss of water and the consequent entrance of air the fungus readily grows throughout the wood. The “blueing” is rapidly produced when the timber has lost ro- 20 per cent. of its moisture, and even goes on when the wood is in a comparatively dry state. In relatively damp wood the mycelium develops most freely in those parts of the sapwood which are richest in air; in consequence, the staining is most strongly marked in the portions immediately bordering on the heartwood. He points out that in practice any conditions which preserve the moisture, such as the retention of the bark on felled trees, will tend to prevent the attack not only of Cerato- stomella but also of other wood-destroying fungi, the growth of which is probably inhibited in the same way by the lack of oxygen. The practice of keeping timber in water is one of the best methods of preservation not only against ‘‘blueing ” but also against the attack of various wood-destroying fungi, THE BLUEING OF CONIFEROUS TIMBER. 87 for under these conditions the supply of air in the wood is reduced to a minimum. It is well known that timber stacked in the forest for some time is especially liable to become infected, and this is what the above results lead us to expect, on the assumption that some at least of the spores of the fungi concerned are air-borne. Timber stored in a drying shed provided with a roof but open at the sides would be less likely to become infected, especially if the pieces were stacked so as to allow of the passage of a free current of air. Under these conditions drying would not only proceed more rapidly and the time during which infection could take place would thus be diminished, but the timber would not be wetted by rain and the germination of spores would probably not go on readily on the dry surfaces. There is no information available as to the minimum amount of water which must be present for growth of the mycelium in the wood, but thoroughly seasoned timber does not usually become infected. Professor Horne! is of opinion that if the moisture- content of the timber is reduced by air drying under protection from the weather no appreciable ‘‘blueing” will occur, even if the timber is subsequently exposed to the weather for a short period during the construction of buildings. In any consideration of the circumstances under which infection of stored timber may take place, it is necessary to remember that the presence of spores is essential for the develop- ment of the disease. These would undoubtedly be present in the forest area, but would probably be diminished in number away from the vicinity of infected trees, and might even be altogether absent where building operations were taking place, e.g. in towns. In this connection, however, an observation made by Hubert? in a recent paper is of interest. This writer, describing his investigations into the length of time during which the mycelium can remain in a living condition in timber, states that he made cultures from fragments of blue-stained wood taken from a piece of structural timber which has been in a factory building for seven years. The timber in this building was shipped green from the mill and put in place during rainy weather. 1 «¢ Experiments on the Mechanical Properties of Scots Pine.” Paper read before Section G of the British Association, Edinburgh, 1921. 2 “* Notes on Sap Stain Fungi,” PAytopath, xi., 5, pp. 214-224, 1921. 88 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Since species of Ceratostomel/a can attack the living cells in freshly cut pieces of timber, the question arises as to whether, under certain circumstances, living trees may not be attacked and killed by the fungus. Miinch suggests that the high percentage of water, and consequently the low oxygen-content of the tissues, will prevent penetration by the hyphae, and that normal trees therefore will not become infected. If, however, the oxygen present in the wood is increased by diminishing the water-content, there appears to be no reason why infection should not take place. In order to bring about this condition some of the roots of a tree were chopped through and, in another specimen, the bark and sapwood were sawed through half-way round the stem at two levels, one about 18 inches above the other, so that the wood between the two cuts was completely isolated from its water-supply. Infections were made on the two specimens, and in the first some “blueing ” resulted in the older sapwood, while in the second the whole of the wood between the cuts was infected. A tree in which the roots have been loosened or broken by a storm, will usually remain living for a considerable period, but may become infected at the base by Ceratostomella and die within a short time. In such a tree partial defoliation will result from the root damage, and the transpiration stream will be thereby lessened; this will gradually lead to a diminution of the moisture present in the sapwood and a consequent increased oxygen-content. Infection in such a case appears to be often brought about by bark-boring beetles, and when this happens the “blueing” fungus is enabled to spread rapidly in the sapwood owing to its increased air-content, and ultimately the tree dies. Death, in such a case, is brought about by a combination of factors, and it is extremely difficult to estimate the relative importance of any one of them. Von Schrenk, in the United States, has described cases in which the attack of bark-boring beetles was associated with the production of “blued” timber. In trees of Pinus ponderosa severely attacked by the beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, the blue coloration of the wood seemed to spread from the beetle holes, and it is suggested that the latter form channels for the passage of the hyphae into the deeper layers of the sapwood. In this country, Dr Macallum, in the paper already referred to, has noted somewhat similar cases. In these the sapwood of dead but THE BLUEING OF CONIFEROUS TIMBER. 89 still standing trees of Pinus sylvestris was found to be badly attacked by Ceratostomella pint and C. ficeae, and in all observed cases the bark of the trees was riddled by holes made by the pine beetle Aylestnus piniperda. Miinch has suggested that partial defoliation by caterpillars may bring about a predisposing condition for attack by Ceratostomella. Such defoliation will diminish the food supply of the roots and lessen their activity in water absorption, and ultimately lead to increased aeration of the wood as already explained, whereby penetration by the hyphae is rendered possible. The changes brought about in timber by Ceratostomella can hardly be described as decay, since for the most part the cell contents are attacked and not the cell walls. Although no experimental results are available, it seems probable that the “blued” is more liable to decay than the healthy timber. Miinch, however, suggests that the “blued” timber will be less open to attack by wood-destroying fungi, since the greater part of the food material stored in the cells has already been removed by the Cerazostomedla. A considerable amount of work has been carried out to determine the effect of the “blueing” upon the mechanical properties of the timber. Rudeloff! concluded that the infected timber had a slightly greater compressive strength than sound material, but as the water-content of the test pieces was not determined the results are not reliable. Won Schrenk, who also made a number of tests in the United States, found that the “blued” timber was slightly stronger both when compressed endwise and when broken crosswise. But as the “blue” was slightly drier than the sound wood, this investigator concluded that for all practical purposes ‘‘ blue” wood is as strong as the healthy timber. Minch has carried out a large number of tests on Scots pine timber at Munich, using for comparison perfectly dry samples taken from closely adjoining positions in the trunk of the tree, infecting some pieces with cultures of Ceratostomella pint and allowing the fungus to grow for six months. The importance of determining the exact positions from which samples are obtained will be appreciated, when it is remembered that the 1 «¢ Untersuchungen uber den Einfluss des Blauwerdens auf die Festigkeit von Kiefernholz,” Az¢¢/g. aus. d. Kgl. techn. Versuchsanst, 1897. 90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. density and resistance to pressure of the wood increase regularly in passing from above downwards in the trunk of the tree. Before testing, all the samples were thoroughly dried in an oven kept just below the temperature of boiling water. Miinch found that the infected wood became slightly lighter in weight and weaker with regard to compression, but he attributed these effects to the presence of other wood-destroying fungi in the samples used for testing, and concludes that neither the specific gravity nor the resistance to compression is altered by infection with Ceraiostomella. Weiss and Barnum,! in the United States, have tested “blued” and normal pieces of the timber of Pinus palustris, and find that for all practical purposes the infected wood is as strong as the healthy samples. But heavily- stained timber of Pinus echinata, having the same water-content as the normal, was found to be slightly weaker and showed less surface hardness than the unstained. The experiments of Professor Hudson Beare were carried out on timber of the Scots pine obtained from Deeside, Strathdon, and Inverness. The intected pieces were included amongst a number of healthy samples, which were being tested to determine their fitness for aeroplane construction. Only cross- breaking tests were carried out on the infected wood, the size of the specimens used being approximately 2 x 1 inch, and the length 4 feet. The specimens were air-dried under cover for some time before testing, and the moisture-content at the time of the test was determined by drying six sections from each specimen in an oven kept at a temperature of 212° F. For purposes of comparison the standard moisture-content of I5 per cent., as proposed by Bauschinger,? was adopted, and the results were reduced to the standard by the formula given by this investigator. Professor Hudson Beare states his conclusions as follows :— “Taking first of all the eight specimens from Deeside and Strathdon, the conclusion I formed was that the presence of the fungus had a distinct tendency to lower the limit of elasticity of the material, and also to reduce the modulus of elasticity. The four Deeside specimens had an average limit of elasticity of 2834 lbs. per sq. inch, and an average modulus of about 1 Quoted by Hubert, l.c., p. See W. C. Unwin, ‘‘ Testing of Materials of canned ” 3rd ed., 1910, p. 402. THE BLUEING OF CONIFEROUS TIMBER. gt 1,250,000. The four specimens from Strathdon had a limit of elasticity of 3042 lbs per sq. inch, and a modulus of elasticity of 1,051,000, * Now, really good Scots pine should have an elastic limit— and this was obtained in other material free from the fungus— of from 4000 to 6000 lbs. per sq. inch, and a modulus of elasticity of anything from 1,500,000 to nearly 2,000,000 per sq. inch. The ‘blueing’ does not seem to have any serious effect on the ultimate strength of the wood, but, of course, for practical uses where stress and strain are set up, the elasticity limit and modulus of elasticity are very vital factors. “The other lot, viz. the specimens from Inverness, all had an exceedingly low limit of elasticity and an extraordinarily low modulus of elasticity, and I am inclined to think that the bad results obtained in these specimens were due to the fact of this fungus attack.” In considering the results obtained by Professor Hudson Beare, it may be pointed out that the ‘‘ blued” specimens used had been infected naturally in the open, and that probably more than one species of Cerasostome/la was present, as well as other Sap-staining fungi such as species of Cladosporium and Penicillium. Although in the case of the compression tests made by Miinch, specimens of ‘‘blued” and healthy timber that were truly comparable were obtained, it must be remembered that the former had been produced by artificial infection with one species of Ceratostomella only and that, before testing, all the specimens were completely dried—a condition never found in nature. No such exact comparisons can be made in the case of the results obtained by Professor Hudson Beare, yet the conclusions arrived at probably give a more accurate indication of the effect of ‘‘blueing” on the strength of timber, for the results upon which these are based were obtained from naturally infected timber in the condition in which it comes into the market. Hubert points out that a few cases have been noted where “blue” wood steamed and bent for use in the manufacture of furniture has failed under the bending process. In such a case it is of importance to determine whether the failure is really due to the Ceratostomella or to any wood-destroying fungi which may accompany it. 92 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. From the consideration of the above results it may be concluded that “blued” is slightly weaker than healthy timber, and it should therefore not be used for structural purposes where failure would result in serious consequences. 10. The Oak Mildew. By MALcoLm WILson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer in Mycology in the University of Edinburgh. The mildew of the oaks probably offers one of the best examples within recent years of the sudden appearance and rapid spread of a serious disease of trees, for although first found in Portugal, where it occurred in abundance in 1907, by 1909 it had spread to almost all the countries of Europe and had penetrated into Asia to an undetermined extent. Its history in this country is somewhat similar; it appears to have been first observed in 1908, when it was described as widespread in Devon and in the southern counties of England, and within a few years it had spread over the whole of Britain. The fungus is one of the true mildews belonging to the family Erysiphaceae, but for some years after its first appearance its systematic position was not exactly determined, owing to the fact that its only form of reproduction was by means of the summer spores (conidia). During this period it was pro- visionally known as Oidium alphitoides. Perithecia were, how- ever, discovered in France in rgti and proved, on examination, to belong to the genus M/icrosphaera, bearing a close resemblance to MW. alni. The mildew! is found particularly on stool shoots and young plants, but also occurs on older trees. In structure it agrees generally with the other species of the Erysiphaceae. The mycelium is entirely superficial, extending over both leaf surfaces, and forming bladder-like haustoria in the epidermal cells. Experiments have shown that mycelial growth is encouraged by bright light and a fairly high temperature, and that infection takes place most readily when the leaf possesses a high water-content and the cuticle is thin. These conditions 1 The most complete account of the oak mildew is probably that given by F. W. Neger (Wat. Zeitschrift f. Land-und Forstwirtschaft, xiii. p.1, 1915), whose paper has been largely referred to in writing this article. THE OAK MILDEW. 93 are especially found in shoots which develop about midsummer, (Lammas shoots), and it is these which suffer most severely from the disease. In severely infected shoots the mycelium is not confined to the leaves, but also spreads to the stem. Chains of conidia of the usual form are produced on the mycelium, most abundantly on the upper leaf surfaces, more sparingly on the under surfaces, and in small numbers on the stems. These are easily detached and are carried by the wind, spreading the infection to neighbouring trees. As a result of a severe attack the leaves become discoloured and fall prematurely, and brown patches of dead epidermis appear on the infected stems. Diseased shoots fail to ripen thoroughly, and in consequence are usually killed by the frosts of the following winter. As would be expected photosynthesis is seriously interfered with by the attack, and as a result both height and girth increase are diminished in infected trees. The effects also of insect attack are intensified by the mildew, for in cases of defoliation the shoots subsequently produced from resting buds are particularly liable to infection by the fungus. The mildew attacks a considerable number of species of Quercus, including Q. sesstfiora and Q. pedunculata ; a number are also described asimmune. The susceptibility of a species may, however, vary in different regions, eg. Q. Cerris is virulently attacked where native in southern Austria, but is almost immune in Central Europe. In some species the whole of the leaves are liable to attack, while in others only young foliage is infected; in others again, only the leaves of Lammas shoots become diseased. In southern Macedonia the writer observed that Q. conferta was strongly infected both on the old and young leaves, while Q. cocctfera, growing in close proximity, was immune. ‘The chestnut (Castanea vesca) has been stated by some to be attacked by the oak mildew, but Neger has shown by experiment that it is immune. The beech is the only species outside the genus Quercus which is infected by the mildew, and in this the attack appears to be confined to stool shoots. Its occurrence on this host was recorded in France in 1908, and it has since been found in a number of countries, including the South of England.! Although the experiments carried out by Neger have proved the identity of the mildew on the oak and 1Cotton. Transactions Brit. Mycol, Soc., vol. vi. p. 198, 1919. 94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. beech, the fungus has not spread to any great extent on the latter, which is generally free from attack. The method of hibernation of the mildew has been the subject of several investigations. It has been shown that the conidia only retain their power of germination for a comparatively short time, and that the mycelium on leaves and shoots does not remain alive throughout the winter. It was finally discovered that mycelium is present between the scales of some of the buds on shoots which have borne infected leaves, and that this remains in a living condition during the winter, growing out with the developing shoot in the following spring, and bringing about a slight infection. Conidia from these shoots then infect the Lammas shoots, which become densely covered by the mildew. Perithecia of the oak mildew were first discovered by Arnaud and Foéx! in France, in the late autumn of 1911,” on fading leaves of cut-back shoots of Quercus sessilifiora. These investi- gators have determined that the perithecia belong to Wrcrosphaera alni extensa, Salm. (MZ. guercina (Schw.) Burr.), which is found on several species of Quercus in North America. Griffon and Maublanc, however, consider that the perithecia differ from all known species of Aicrosphaera, and accordingly assign them to a new species, JZ. alphitoides. Perithecia of the mildew were found by the writer in Macedonia in October 1918, on bushes of Quercus conferta, and these agree closely with those of JZ. alnz extensa.* Perithecia were found in Germany in 1920, by Behrens, and by Peyronel, near Rome, in the same year; they have been assigned to JZ. alni extensa in both these cases. A number of suggestions have been made regarding the conditions under which formation of perithecia takes place. Cold has been looked upon as an important factor as a con- sequence of their discovery in the late autumn. It is also suggested that the chief cause of their formation is the excessive transpiration of the fungus in relation to the supply of food in solution obtained from the host. Evidence in support of the latter suggestion is given by the conditions under which 1««Sur la forme de ’Oidium du chéne en France,” Comptes rendus Ac. Sc. Paris} ©. 154, 1912, pares. 2 Mildews on the oak in Europe were occasionally described previously to 1907, and in two cases perithecia were found (by Passerini, in Parma in 1875, and by Mayor, in Switzerland in 1899). It is very questionable, however, if these were identical with the form now discussed. 3 It is proposed to describe these in detail in a subsequent communication. THE OAK MILDEW. 95 perithecia had been developed in the Macedonian specimens. The perithecia occurred in considerable numbers on the leaves of bushes fully exposed to the sun, growing on a dry hillside at an altitude of about 1000 feet. The summer in Macedonia is hot and dry, and the specimens were collected at the end of September after four months’ drought, and before the occurrence of any cold weather. The determination of the exact systematic position of the mildew is of considerable importance in its bearing on the discussion of the origin of the mildew in Europe. Two sup- positions have been made: (1) that prior to 1907 the fungus existed on some other host in Europe, and that after its transition to the oak as a result of its changed environment it assumed epidemic characters ; (2) that it was introduced from some extra- European country, and that as a result of the change of climate it acquired greatly increased virulence as a parasite. As already stated there is no species definitely known to be infected outside the genus Quercus with the exception of the beech, and it appears that the fungus attacked the latter some time after its appearance on the oak. It has been reported that Pyrus communis and other trees are attacked in Portugal, but there is no confirmation of this statement. The fact that the majority of investigators have assigned the perithecia to AMicrosphaera alni extensa — a variety widespread on the oaks of North America—lends support to the second hypothesis, which is also strengthened by the occurrence of the European mildew on several American species of Quercus when grown in Europe. Before considering the artificial means by which the oak mildew can be combated, two natural enemies of the fungus which may control its distribution must be considered. It is in turn attacked by a parasitic fungus—a species of Cicinnobolus —which develops on the mycelium and appears to cause the death of the hyphae—and this, according to Vuillemin, may lead to the limitation of the epidemic. Neger has described the larva of an insect, a species of Aycodiplosis, which feeds upon and destroys very large numbers of conidia. A number of substances have been employed as fungicides which have given beneficial results. Amongst these are hot water, flowers of sulphur, liver of sulphur, various lime-sulphur mixtures, per- manganate of potash, and a solution of common salt in water. The careful removal and burning of all the young infected 96 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. shoots in early summer would undoubtedly prevent the spread of the mildew, as hibernation only takes place by means of infected buds. Later on in the summer this method would be of much less value, and might, indeed, lead to increased infection, as the host would be stimulated to produce fresh shoots which are particularly liable to attack. It has been shown that shaded trees remain free from attack, while those exposed to the sun are severely infected ; and it has been suggested that seedlings and young plants of the oak inthe nursery could be protected by growing some tall, herbaceous plant between them, and in the plantation by the judicious use of nurses. These would provide the requisite amount of shade in the earlier stages, and would also hinder the free dissemination of conidia by the wind. It may be hoped that, as in the case of the majority of epidemics, the oak mildew after attaining its maximum virulence will diminish in intensity. At present, however, there is unfortunately little evidence of any marked diminution of the disease. After the completion of the above article, the following notes on the co-operation between insects and fungi in certain kinds of damage to trees were communicated to me by Dr Munro of the Forestry Commission. These are of importance as they describe actual observations made in this country on the relationship between the attacks of oak mildew and certain insects, and it is interesting to note that they agree with the findings expressed above, which were based on observations made by continental investigators. I desire to express my thanks to Dr Munro for the use of these notes. ‘‘ Oak mildew as a host of a Cecidomyid fly.—In 1920, at Kew, my attention was drawn to a Cecidomyid larva on Melampsora on poplars, and in the same year, at Blakeney in the Forest of Dean, I observed a similar larva on the oak mildew, which is severe there. I did not rear the larvae in either case, but I think it is highly probable that they can be referred to Mycodiplosts. “‘ Oak mildew complementary to Tortrix viridana attacks.—Oaks are rarely if ever killed or hopelessly injured by the attacks of the oak tortrix (Z. wiridana), but in 1920 it was apparent in the Forest of Dean that a caterpillar attack followed by an attack of THE OAK MILDEW. 97 Oidium might prove a serious matter. As is well known, the mildew attacks the later opening foliage of the oak—the Lammas or midsummer foliage. When defoliation of the oak takes place as a result of Zortrix attack, the renewed foliage is a midsummer growth, and, as I have repeatedly observed, is very frequently attacked by the mildew. This combined attack of Tortrix and mildew has a marked effect on young trees, and it is probable that a series of such combined attacks over two or three years may prove fatal to young oak plantations. “The importance of these combined attacks of mildew and caterpillar is evidently well worth stressing.” 11. The Geddes Committee Report. The report by the Geddes Committee was received with consternation throughout the silvicultural world, and the protest from the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, passed by special resolution, against the recommendations was to be expected, because the Society has consistently made the creation of a Central Forest Authority and the establishment of State woods the premier item of its persistent demand for the proper recognition of forestry. The Society supported the recommenda- tions of the Reconstruction Sub-Committee upon forestry, and when the Government passed the Forestry Act in 1919, which outlined a clear and definite programme for the period of ten years, everyone believed that a material advance had been accomplished, and that the work of afforestation and reafforesta- tion would at all events proceed undisturbed for that period. The Geddes Committee must have arrived at their conclusions in a somewhat haphazard manner, and they certainly could not have referred to the numerous official publications which have been issued within the last twenty years, all of them containing incontrovertible arguments for the action taken by Parliament when the Forestry Act was passed. In the Committee’s short purview of the subject, they were apparently unconvinced that State afforestation could be an economic proposition. They evidently did not study the established proofs to the contrary which were available to them, but they explained, what most people know, ‘‘that circumstances differ in various countries,” and that ‘‘all civilised nations were now proceeding to afforest,” VOL. XXXVI. PART I. G 98 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, but were of opinion that these facts were no justification for any expenditure by Britain. The circumstances are so different in Britain from that of any other country, with the possible exception of Japan, that there are additional arguments for prosecuting afforestation. An island nation should, of all others, at least be partially independent of supplies from outside sources. The Committee added as a reason for abandoning afforestation ‘the present high rates of interest and wages,” but it so happens that since they reported the rate of interest has materially declined and wages have suffered substantial reduction: and both the value of money and of labour is likely to further decrease without much lapse of time. As some indication of apparent want of knowledge of the subject, the Committee enlarge upon the growth of “indigenous” timber, forgetful.of the fact that the only indigenous softwood in Britain is the Scots pine, and that, as all silviculturists know, we are dependent upon exotic trees for the best and most rapid returns in forest industries. ‘The Committee were of opinion that land in Scotland should not be acquired for planting because it was too far from industrial areas, but they ignored the fact that it is surely less expensive to ship or rail timber from any part of Scotland to industrial centres throughout Britain than it is to freight wood from Canada and America, France, and other countries. But one of the principal reasons for afforestation, from a national point of view—the proper development of waste land and of ground of little pastoral value—is not mentioned, and forestry after all is the least expensive of all methods of land reclamation. Neither did the Committee apparently give consideration to the importance of afforestation as a rural industry in the hill regions of Great Britain—an element of the utmost consequence in connection with the settlement of people upon the land. The Committee’s retrograde suggestion that the Forestry Commission should be dissolved and their duties be merged in the Ministries and Boards of Agriculture, would seem to be a merely passing benediction to eliminate questions which would certainly arise in connection with the administration of the lands already acquired and planted with the fullest assent of Parliament. The wide national interest in afforestation has been proved to the hilt by the immediate and substantial response which THE GEDDES COMMITTEE REPORT. 99 was given to the Unemployment Forestry Schemes of the Government last year. Although these schemes only became available after the usual planting season had commenced, over two hundred proprietors in Scotland, as well as a considerable number of Local Authorities, immediately co-operated, with the result that about 7500 acres have been planted and over 11,000 acres prepared for planting at a future time. This surely is some indication that, irrespective of the opinion of the Committee, those who understand the value of woodlands do not consider the investment a bad one. 12. Departmental Report on Deer Forests. By ‘‘ Scots PINE.” The increase in the number and size of deer forests has occupied attention for a quarter of a century, and periodic outbursts of invective against deer have been frequent. Wrath and indignation have mingled to deflect the true issues, often to the prejudice of just consideration of the subject. The Report of the Departmental Committee, appointed in 1919 to enquire with regard to lands in Scotland used as déer forests, recently published, fortunately carries this old matter of violent allegation into the region of ascertained fact. It dispels any chance of disillusionment, and as it contains no protest from the representatives of both farmer and crofter upon the Committee, the recommendations cannot fail to have the weight of incontrovertible authority. The enquiry was very thorough. It endured over two years, and evidence or representations were heard from no less than 237 witnesses. Fifty-six forests were inspected, and congratulations are due to the President, Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, and to his colleagues, upon the clarity of their statements as well as upon their recommenda- tions. The Report carries the reader through the history of the growth of deer forests over three periods, 1750 to 1850, 1850 to 1892, and from the latter year to 1912, by which time the extent of land under deer was 3,584,966 acres. Between 1892 and 1912 the increase in the area of land transferred from sheep grazing to deer stalking was just over 1,100,000 acres, and this great absorption was, the Committee conclude, mainly I00 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. caused through the failure of graziers to make a profit out of sheep stocks. 7 The investigation proves that the views of succeeding Councils of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society have been sound, and that if the resolutions of the Society had received parliamentary support before tg1g9, the extent of land under deer might have been less than it is now. The points of interest to silviculturists disclosed by the Report are :— 1. That as sources of employment the deer forest and the hill farm are practically similar and of very small conse- quence. 2. That the diminution due to deer forests in the production of meat only represents 0°36 per cent. of the total meat consumption of the United Kingdom for one day. 3. That the diminution of wool due to the same cause represents o'20g per cent. of the total consumption of wool. 4. That the fenced plantations in the deer forest barely altogether exceed 45,000 acres or 1°3 per cent. 5. That in Mar Forest, larch planted 100 years ago makes good timber at from 1200 to 2000 feet; Gleney contains spruce, 80 years old, 70 feet high at 1600 feet; and in Ballochbuie are found the straightest and tallest pines in Scotland over the 1000 feet contour line. 6. That at Ardverikie (elevation 1142 feet) both larch and spruce have attained from 48 to 55 feet in forty years. The Committee unanimously arrived at the following con- clusions :— 1. * We have not inspected a sufficient number of deer forests to justify us in generalising on the scope deer forests afford for small holdings. We can only say that most of those we have visited are quite unsuitable for the purpose, unless the small holdings were combined with some additional profitable occupation, such as silviculture or sea fishing, on which the small holders and their families could rely for an income at seasons when the holdings do not require their attention.” 2. ‘* Where the ground is suitable for silviculture, production could be increased by this agency to a point far beyond the pastoral value, while the labour absorbed by the DEPARTMENTAL REPORT ON DEER FORESTS. IOI creation, maintenance, and utilisation of timber crops would surpass by many times that required for the service of sheep farms or deer forests.” 3. ‘‘ As an agency for increasing the productiveness of the deer forest area, and providing steady employment for a larger population, we consider silviculture is of the first importance, especially in view of the adoption by Parliament of a definite planting policy.” The conclusions are decisive, and if British land of the type of the average deer forest is to be utilised to the best advantage from the point of view of national prosperity, it should be afforested. The forest in formation will engage 400 per cent. more labour than either deer forest or sheep grazing, and after complete establishment it will increase this employment by 500 per cent., so that where “100 is expended in labour under deer or sheep, from £400 to £900 ultimately will be forthcoming when afforestation is prosecuted. This is purely the labour side, but if the Highlands are to be repeopled, or if the existing population is to be maintained, work must be found if comfort and contentment are to be attained. In production the forest is far ahead of any other known use of hill land, and the product has to be worked by human energy. There are 189 deer forests in Scotland, and a large number of them are in the market. The Forestry Commission have already acquired and are planting three deer forests, and reference to them is made in the Refort. There can surely be no better sphere for the Commission than planting up such places, but the Commission must have the support of the people of Scotland, if the programme authorised by the Govern- ment in 1919, already seriously curtailed almost at its birth, is to be carried out. Efforts are being made in other directions to introduce industries into Scotland, and north of the Forth there now is some prospect of the utilisation of water powers which, like the mountain land, have been allowed to run to waste, and it would be proper that afforestation should proceed side by side with enterprises involving the harnessing of water. It is a well- established fact in hydrodynamics that the forest regulates and conserves the supply of water, and the main water powers of Scotland usually are found among the mountains and glens, which are good virgin ground for coniferous woods. By I02 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. planting the catchment areas of reservoirs as well as round all the other contributory sources of supply, loss of water would gradually cease and a regular steady flow into the reservoirs would result. Until such a course is adopted the energy available in winter floods can never be fully utilised, while in summer the curtailment of the proper normal load-flow will Cause a wastage in power. When it becomes a question of maintaining deer for sport, and at the same time using sections of the forests for other purposes, as suggested by the Committee, the claims of tree- planting should have priority against stock. Trees are silent, and do not disturb the sportsmen or the deer. Then they do more, they give a better return, and when planted with discre- tion will save the surface wastage, deterioration, and erosion which are ever working in the open country. 13. Empire Forestry. Under the above title there has come to hand the first issue of the Journa/ of the Empire Forestry Association. For foresters within the Empire this is the most important new periodical that has been published in recent years. It is a Jowrna/ with great possibilities. Its pages may carry to foresters in places that are easily accessible, and to those whose work lies in the remote parts of the Empire, ideas which have proved useful to others who have overcome problems similar to those with which they themselves are dealing. One should look to it as a source of additional information on old subjects, and a mine of facts and details of matter that is new. But this is not all. Forestry is a commercial undertaking, and advertisement has proved its value in most lines of business. The /ournal may advertise the numerous and varied forest products of the Empire, and at the same time it should not omit an advertisement of the means of conservation and reproduction which will ensure a continuous supply of those products. The latter part will be the more difficult to keep before the public, and to guarantee. The British nation is notoriously lax in the administration and conservation of its forest properties. One finds from old records in Scotland and England that forests were not favoured by the people, and the early colonists carried this EMPIRE FORESTRY. 103 antipathy with them when they emigrated. With the changes in economic conditions and life of the old world, and with the greater development of certain colonies themselves, the “ shop- keeping” instinct asserted itself, and extensive lumbering Operations were started. In this way, and by settlement on the land, the forests became the victims of ruthless exploiters. The process of denudation and destruction has met with obstacles in recent years, but much yet remains to be done. It is in finally checking the useless destruction of forests, and in instilling into the mind of the general public some ideas of forestry, and its dependence on it, that the /ourna/ will advance the cause it champions. Its potentialities for good are immense. Its pages are to be read throughout the world, and when they, with the weight and influence of the Association behind them, support the views that have for so long been set forth in less pretentious local productions, those formerly sceptical of forestry will give the matter renewed consideration. We may hope that the reconsideration will be unbiased. To provide a publication that will keep the technician abreast of new theories and developments in his line of business, and at the same time interest the general reader, is a difficult task. Few men outside the circle of foresters would care to pay for a volume in which pages are taken up with a technical discourse on the various methods of calculating the growing stock of a forest, or on similar problems. Not only so, but the presentation of articles of a theoretical nature would tend to foster in the mind of the ordinary reader an impression that forestry was not a wholly practical science. Nor do we think the forester would at present demand such articles, although he might find them interesting. Under present-day circumstances we can commend the intention of the Jowrna/ to provide material that will interest a wide class of general readers, and at the same time not be without interest to the forester. Reviews of books, abstracts and notes from all quarters, might form part of each issue, and these would be of special use to those engaged in forestry work. In course of time it may be that Lmpire forestry could be issued in two parts, one of which might be severely technical, and the other have the sole object of educating the masses to the utility and importance of forests and their products. The present issue of the Journal does not err on the side of ” 104 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. being over-technical, and yet it is not without interest to foresters generally. Any reader would find such articles as ‘‘The Douglas Fir Flagstaff at Kew,” by F. R. S. Balfour, and ‘‘ Tree Worship in India,” by S. M. Edwards, of very great interest. The description of the 220 feet long flagstaff, and the history of its transport and erection, should maintain their value for many years to come. There is a widespread interest in the conditions of life, customs, folklore, and general history of all countries. This perhaps arises from the innate human curiosity as to the welfare and doings of ones neighbours. But a knowledge of these matters is useful, not only in leading to advancement of the Empire, but also in giving those who wish to proceed to the places described some idea of the conditions to which they would go. If those who have experience of life in the Colonies and Dominions could find the time to write of these things, it might save many a life from wastage and many a youth from the career of the beach-comber. Moreover, customs and conditions of life have a definite influence on trade. We read with great interest in the article on ‘“‘ Tree Worship in India,” of the peoples, ‘‘ who believe firmly that they are sprung from some object, animal or tree of a particular species, and who ascribe a sacred character to that animal or tree as their totem.” Of perpetual interest are the customs that marry men and women to trees, or that marry trees to each other. One could wish for details of the factors that led to the initiation of these customs, but perhaps a book on forestry is not the proper place for profound information on these subjects. Australian forestry is brought well to notice by several articles. There is a survey of the fine timbers of Western Australia by C. E. Lane Poole. Of these woods only a few are well known in Britain, and, according to the writer, they have not always been put to their best uses. Jarrah, which we see in daily use as paving blocks, is described as one of the finest furniture woods in existence. Those who have seen articles made from various Australian timbers, can appreciate how suitable these are for many of the purposes to which timbers from outside the Empire are put. This is the foresters’ opinion, however, and while we would uphold that opinion, we believe that the views of experts in the various trades, such as furniture and carriage making, would go far towards convincing the EMPIRE FORESTRY. 105 purchasing public. The /ournal is fortunate in being able to reproduce a prize essay of the University of Adelaide on ‘‘ The Silvicultural Treatment of the more Important Timber-producing Eucalypts.” The present issue does not contain the whole of this essay, but what there is of it is interesting. There is a useful article by R. L. Robinson on “ Forestry in the Empire,” dealing with various figures of the areas under forest, the administration of the forests, and matters connected with the timber supply. A generalised survey of forest types within the Empire is also given. One feels tempted to deal more fully with this article, on account of the many figures that show how important to the whole Empire is the question of increased attention to its forests. The author makes good use of his material, but we feel there must have been considerable difficulty in developing the subject on the lines he has taken, owing to a lack of certain facts which could only be forthcoming if each country had a proper forest organisation. The fire danger is one which all foresters have to guard against, and the remarks on this by Elwood Wilson of the Laurentide Company (Canada) are of great importance. Last year with an exceptionally dry spring and early summer many forest fires occurred in Quebec. Canadian foresters have carried on a continuous campaign against the careless fire raiser, and it is encouraging to read that there has been a great decrease in the fires caused by railways and lumbermen. Farmers, pleasure seekers, and travellers appear to have been the main culprits. It is an example of the difficulty of instilling the forestry sense into the minds of adults whose interests lie in other directions. Until that is obtained appeals to common sense are useless. Under the Laurentide Company, aeroplane patrols proved an efficient means of locating and fighting fires. The writer suggests good telephonic communica- tions with look-out posts situated on the highest lands. He seems to favour wireless communications also. We can believe that the future will see great developments in these lines, particularly in the use of aeroplanes. It may be that in time there will be in common use fire-extinguishing bombs. The Editorial Notes and Miscellanea cover a wide range of subjects. There are quotations from various forestry papers, and part of one of these especially is well worthy of further repetition. The article is by a writer in the Zadian Forester of 106 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. August 1921, and in speaking of a region in India he says :— ‘** Within the memory of man hills once clothed with forest are now bare and desolate, perennial streams are dried up. Heat, dust, and cholera pervade the lands. In spite of the evidence of their own eyes, their self-styled leaders, voicing the parrot cry of the mob, protest against forest management and fire protection, and give their support to those whose one object appears to be the destruction of their own land with the utmost possible speed, so that their children may have neither water to drink, nor wood to burn, nor fields to cultivate. The voice of wisdom is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness which none heedeth; the clamour of fools fills the air; and day by day the country passes along the road leading to the abomination of desolation spoken of by Isaiah the prophet.” How true this is of more enlightened peoples! The /ournal is produced in quite a useful style, and is illustrated by excellent reproductions of photographs. We feel sure that all foresters will join with us in wishing this infant in the world of forestry papers a long life of great usefulness. J. M. M. 14. Research Work of the Dominion Forest Service. By W. G. WRIGHT. The early efforts of foresters in Canada were directed mainly to administration, and it is only within the last few years that investigative or research work has assumed any importance. Though most of the first investigative work carried out was on general lines, more detailed studies were undertaken by various agencies, and much credit is due to the forestry departments of some of the pulp companies, for work of this nature. There was, however, no co-ordination in the work, and the necessity of some permanent general organisation for research became apparent. An attempt was made by the Dominion Forest Service to establish some such organisation in 1915, but loss of men by enlistment and the needs of the war generally, made the postponement of the scheme necessary. However, the enormous wastage during the war, and the great increase of capital invested in the pulp and paper industry, caused thinking minds to realise RESEARCH WORK OF THE DOMINION FOREST SERVICE. 107 the necessity of developing methods of keeping on a permanent basis the trade dependent on Canada’s timber resources. The beginning of 1917, therefore, saw the commencement of a series of investigations by the Commission of Conservation in the pulp lands of Quebec, and in the following year the Dominion Forest Service was able to make a start on the organisation of an experiment station at Petawawa in the white-pine region of Ontario, as a nucleus for the postponed permanent general organisation for research. Meanwhile, the more progressive pulp companies continued their experimental work, mainly in the direction of planting. The following is a brief sketch of the work being undertaken by the Dominion Forest Service, including work inaugurated by the Commission of Conservation, and now being carried on by the Dominion Forest Service. The research activities of the service fall into three groups, and may conveniently be discussed under these three heads ; (r) work on the pulp lands of the east; (2) in the white-pine region of the east; and (3) on the Dominion Forest Reserves in the west. The ultimate problem is the same in all three cases. How shall we secure a continuous crop of desirable species? If by cutting regulations, we must find a method; if by planting, we must examine the economic possibilities of planting. This, and any decision as to the desirability of a species, involves a study of the economic and silvicultural characteristics of the species and a study of yield. 1. PuLp LANDS OF ONTARIO, QUEBEC, AND NEW BRUNSWICK. As already indicated, the flow of capital for permanent investment to the pulp and paper industry, and the building up of communities dependent entirely on that industry for their existence, showed the need for some consideration of future timber supplies. The first investigations undertaken consisted of a survey of cut-over lands on the Laurentide Company’s holdings in Quebec. It was apparent from the results of the first season’s work that the problem could not be solved by this method alone, and in 1918, the Commission of Conservation and the Laurentide Company co-operated in the organisation of a permanent experiment station at Lake Edward. This area is in the 108 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Company’s cut-over limits, and is very typical of cut-over pulp lands in that part of Quebec just north of the St Lawrence. Once a white pine and spruce stand, it has degenerated through the usual sequence of cuttings into a mixed-wood type, yellow birch, balsam fir, spruce, and white birch, with the softwoods mainly as an understory. The main object of the work here is to study, by means of permanent plots, the factors influencing natural regeneration of cut-over pulp lands. Experiments are being made with artificial reproduction, and some study is being made of burnt-over areas. It is hoped that it will be possible to establish an experimental area in nearby pulp-wood operations, and thus allow of the necessary extension of the studies to experimental cuttings. Such an experimental area was established in New Brunswick in 1919, in co-operation with the New Brunswick Forest Service and the Bathurst Lumber Company. The area chosen lies within the range of the great Mirimachi fire of 1825, and is covered by an even-aged stand of spruce, with an admixture of poplar and white birch. The area was cut over in 1g1g under the supervision of a forester; cutting was carried out to various diameter limits, ranging from 6 to 12 inches; slash was disposed of by various methods, and a number of permanent plots have been established to take care of the various phases of the study. In addition to the survey of cut-over lands already mentioned, similar surveys have been undertaken on the holdings of the Riordon Company in Quebec, and of the Abitibi and Spanish River Pulp Companies in Ontario. The importance to the pulp industry of planting up accessible areas, as an alternative to relying on natural regeneration -of distant cut-over lands for future pulp-wood supplies, has been realised by the Laurentide Company. ‘This Company has carried out extensive experiments in connection with its general planting scheme, and the data and results obtained have been placed at the disposal of the Dominion Forest Service. 2. WHITE PINE LANDS OF EASTERN CANADA. The problem of securing a continuous crop has not received the same attention from the lumber industry as from the pulp and paper makers. However, there is no doubt that the problem is of equal importance, and a start has been made to deal with it. RESEARCH WORK OF THE DOMINION FOREST SERVICE. 109 The main part of the work in this region has been carried on at the Petawawa Forest Experiment Station, established in 1918. The growth here is about 45 years old and is typical of that following a single fire, in the range of white pine in Eastern Canada. There is no large pine such as is being cut for saw-logs in Ontario ; studies of cutting methods to secure pine reproduction are limited to that extent, and it has been necessary to sup- plement these studies by work outside the reserve. It is proposed, further, to establish experimental areas in Ontario, similar to the one on the Bathurst Company’s limits in New Brunswick. A study is being made of the economic possibility of increas- ing the proportion of softwoods in the poplar-birch pine associa- tion, and thus improving the value of this mixed type of forest. Systematic experimental cuttings of poplar and white birch have been made, to release softwoods already established and to provide more suitable conditions for the establishment of soft- wood reproduction. These cuttings were made under com- . mercial conditions, the material being sold under regulation on a stumpage basis. No experimental planting has yet been undertaken, but preparations are under way to have this started next season. Studies of yield of white pine, red pine, jack pine, and spruce are in progress. Thinning experiments are being undertaken, and material is being gathered for site classification. This work, like that on natural reproduction, has been extended to cutting operations off the reserve. Simultaneously with these studies of yield an extensive study is being made of taper and of the application of Swedish methods of estimating volume. We hope to develop the use of these methods for commercial purposes, and for accurate measurement of standing timber in investigative work. Com- mercial use of the methods is being made by the Wayagamack Pulp and Paper Company, and in periodic volume measurement in connection with permanent plot work, there is a distinct ‘advantage in a means of volume measurement that does not involve cutting sample trees. ‘The results obtained so far have encouraged us to extend the work to spruce in New Brunswick, and to spruce, jack pine, lodgepole pine, and other species on the forest reserves in the west. IIO TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 3. DoMINION ForREST RESERVES IN MAanirTosBa, SASKATCH- EWAN, ALBERTA, AND IN THE RaILWAy BELT oF BRITISH CoLUMBIA. Conditions vary greatly through the forest reserves. Spruce is generally distributed ; poplar and jack pine form the fire type in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Northern Alberta, lodgepole pine on the east slope of the Rockies. The Wet Belt in British Columbia provides the Douglas fir-larch and cedar-hemlock types, and the Dry Belt the yellow pine type. However, the main general problems are the same as in the east, and the same studies are being carried on. The enforcement of cutting regulations on timber sales is a well-established principle on the forest reserves, and. this feature is favourable to research in connection with logging operations. This outlines very briefly the research work of the Dominion Forest Service. It is a record of beginnings rather than results. The immediate problems that we have in front of us may be summarised as follows:—We want to know what our timber resources are; we want to ensure a continuous crop of desirable species, either by cutting regulations or by artificial means; the desirability of any species depends on economic and silvicultural characteristics and on yield; in connection with this we want to know the economic possibilities of thinnings; in order to carry out studies of yield we need some simple, quick and accurate method of determining volume of standing timber, and if we can develop the application of this method to commercial conditions, we will be within measurable distance of a universal volume-table. We have a long way to go. We have not yet made anything like a complete inventory of our resources ; we know very little about methods of ensuring continuous reproduction of desirable species by natural means, and we know very little about the economic possibilities of establishing forests by artificial methods. We are, however, beginning to know something about the research methods that may be expected to yield results, and the work we have been able to do so far, and the enthusiastic co-operation of lumbermen, pulp and paper makers, private foresters and provincial foresters, encourages us to proceed. NOTES AND QUERIES. PEE NOTHS AND OUERKIES. MolIsTuRE Vv. LIGHT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STANDS. In considering the relationship of individual trees to one another in areas of forest growth, emphasis has always been placed upon the importance of light as the determining factor in the development of the crop. Recent articles by continental officials are of much interest, and would indicate that the amount of moisture which reaches the individual trees, may possibly be as important. The matter is one which deserves some attention. For example, one forester points out how the shape of the twigs and branches of beech causes the rain-water which falls upon them to run along definite channels on the tree itself, and so down the trunk to the ground. In this way the tree practi- cally monopolises the rainfall over the area which its crown covers, and conducts the water to its own roots. Oak, on the other hand, allows the rain-water to drop off from innumerable small projections, so that the ground under its crown receives a large amount of moisture. This, he thinks, may be the main reason why the vegetation is so luxuriant under an oak wood and practically absent under beech, and not the difference in shade cast by the species. Another authority, dealing with the same subject, relates how he isolated some suppressed trees in a wood, by digging a trench round them, so that all the roots from the neighbouring stems were cut. These suppressed trees, so isolated that there was no competition for soil moisture, continued to live, while others, not so treated, died off in the usual way. Further, within the isolated area, quite a strong vegetation developed, although the overhead light had not been increased. In a plantation of Adzes grandis at Novar, it was quite interesting to observe how the large, dominant stems appropriated more of the rainfall than the suppressed and sub-dominant trees. So much so, that after a light shower the stems of the first were running with water in a few minutes, while the latter remained quite dry below the crown. In this respect, this silver fir resembles beech. A Douglas fir wood close by, on the other hand, resembled oak, in that the rain-water dripped through its II2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. branches, Observations into this matter with various species might lead to useful information of practical value in mixing and underplanting. M, Le THE Use or PIGS IN PREPARING GROUND FOR RE-PLANTING. I am trying the experiment of using pigs to clean up a felled area, which happens to be near the Home Farm, before re- planting. After burning the brushwood on two or three acres, low fences were erected, and some breeding sows and gilts were turned in, in the autumn. The intention was to keep them there all winter with movable shelters for the night, but the ground became too wet and the pigs were removed to the Home Farm. In the spring they were put back on the ground. The land is naturally dense with bracken, brambles, etc., but the pigs turn over every inch of the enclosure, and I have seen great chunks of bracken roots turned up by the animals in their search for more palatable food, and no roots of any weed seem likely to survive. The idea is to gradually extend the enclosures as the logs are removed and brushwood burned, until the greater part of the felled area has been occupied by pigs. Of course, they have to be fed daily (on bean meal, etc.), but the out-door life causes them to thrive exceedingly. It might be supposed that pig manure would make the ground unduly rich for forest plants, but owing to the cleanly habit of pigs under natural conditions, the excrement is deposited in particular places, and the main part of the ground occupied remains entirely free from manure. As the primary object was to provide ground for improved methods of pig rearing, the cost of erecting the fences is borne by the Home Farm. But it looks as if a second (forestry) purpose will have been served: because much preparation by hand labour, which would otherwise have been necessary to fit the ground for re-planting, will have been saved. ; Hucu SHaw Stewart, Use or SMALL PLANTS IN RE-STOCKING CLEARED GROUND. Several articles having appeared in forestry journals recently, advocating, on the score of economy, the use of small plants for re-stocking ground that has been cleared of timber, it may be of interest to record the results of some actual experience. NOTES AND QUERIES. ERS In 1916 a block of about rz acres, consisting of large and heavy trees, was sold to the Government, and the timber was all removed in the course of eighteen months. ‘The soil was heavy clay, and while the trees were standing had little other vegetation on it. A certain amount appeared later, but when the rubbish was burnt and the ground fenced in and prepared for planting, in the spring of 1920, it looked comparatively bare, and it was decided to re-plant it with 2-year 1-year plants. Since then, however, a mass of weeds, principally rushes, has sprung up, which, as the ground has been fenced in from rabbits, has had nothing to check it, and the young trees have been completely smothered. As far as can be seen at present 85 per cent. will have to be replaced, and that with trees very much larger than the 2-year 2-year plants which would have succeeded at first. A second block of 5 acres, also consisting of very large hard- woods, was felled and cleared in rgtg, and re-planted in the spring of the next year, with 2-year 1-year plants of Douglas fir. The ground in this case was lighter, a good deep loam, and was absolutely bare of any vegetation. By the end of the summer, however, it was pretty evenly covered with a variety of different weeds of strong growth. Though the small plants have had a struggle the result has been very much better than in the previous case, the re-planting being only about 15 per cent. It was, however, necessary to give them a certain amount of assistance by cutting the worst of the rubbish. From the above experience, it seems doubtful whether any advantage in economy is to be gained by using small plants, and in any case the only chance would seem to be when re- planting took place immediately after the removal of the previous crop, and under conditions which are _ probably exceptional. C28. A LitrLe-KNown PINE BEETLE. Among the many pine-dwelling insects of our Scottish wood- lands it is interesting to find a representative of the Anobiidae or furniture beetles, not as might be expected in logs or sawn timber, but in the pith of the young shoots. This is the black LErnobius, E. nigrinus, Sturm. It is a near relative of the larch Ernobius (#. mollis, L.), which is probably familiar to most foresters as an almost constant dweller in the bark of larch and VOL. XXXVI. PART I. H I14 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. spruce paling posts. . mollis is, however, brown or pale brown in colour, while Z. migrimus is dark brown or black. In E. mollis the fifth to eighth antennal joints are about twice as long as broad; in Z. nigrinus these joints are short and as broad as long. The black Zrxobius is not a common beetle, but its larvae may frequently be found in pine shoots in our northern forests, in Deeside and Speyside especially. I have also found it at Beaufort in the larval state. The larva is white, wrinkled and curved, and has a brown head and jaws and three pairs of short thoracic legs. It occurs in the pith of the pine shoots, tunnelling them as the adult Myelophilus does, but it is also occasionally found in the bark of the stems of standing pines, adopting a habitat like that of its congener Z. mollis. I have found it in such situations in the Low Wood of Culbin, and recently, in company with Mr J. W. Mackay, found the adult beetle on young self-sown pines on Culbin sands. At first glance Zrnobius nigrinus is not unlike ALyelophi/us in appearance, but it may readily be recognised by its long antennae, and especially by the last three joints of the antennae which, as in all the Arnodzus beetles, are very long. J. W. M. Spruce APHIS ATTACKS: A WorD OF CAUTION. While the recent prominence given to the Green Spruce Aphis, Myzaphis abietina, Walk., as an important enemy of young Sitka spruce plantations, is satisfactory from the forest hygiene point of view, a word of caution is necessary against attributing all cases of spruce defoliation to this insect, even where it occurs in numbers. This aphis does occasionally cause serious injury in spruce plantations, but it is by no means always the primary cause of the trouble. Again and again in the writer’s experience other agents than aphis have been found causing browning or defoliation in Sitka and Norway spruce areas. The root fungi Fomes and Agaricus, are two of the common agents found in supposed Myzaphis outbreaks, and it is possible that other more insidious fungous diseases may be present in such cases. In all cases of Myzaphis trouble it is desirable, and in fact essential, that soil and root conditions should be studied, and NOTES AND QUERIES. Ir5 any pathological features carefully noted. ‘There is rather a tendency among plant-growers to accept the most evident symptoms as the more important, but practical forest protection, whether against insects or fungi, must be based not on the study of insects or fungi alone nor of forestry alone, but on the relation of all these to one another, J. W. M. THE OcCURRENCE OF THE PHOMOPSIS DISEASE OF THE JAPANESE LARCH IN YORKSHIRE. In the report of the annual excursion issued in the December 1921 number of the Zransactions of the Society, reference is made to a disease of the Japanese larch found on the Jervaulx Abbey estate in Yorkshire. The attack was first noticed in 1916, and it is suggested in the September 1921 number of the Transactions, that it is probably due to the fungus Phomopsts Pseudotsugae. By the courtesy of Mr John Maughan I had an opportunity, in April of this year, of making an examination of the diseased trees, which are 20 years old and are growing in a plantation of pure Japanese larch. The trees show patches of dead bark about the size of the palm of the hand, which are most plentiful in the lower part of the stem, where the branches have been cut off. On removing the dead bark, which is only loosely attached, a patch of dead wood is seen which is being rapidly covered by the growth of callus tissue from its edges. An examination of the tree showed that the cambium had been killed under the dead bark, and that, in consequence, no secondary thickening had taken place for several years in these areas. ‘Traces of small fungous fructifications were found in the bark, but these were in a very disintegrated condition and no spores were discovered. On microscopic examination numerous hyphae were found to be present in the cells. On comparing these trees with specimens of the Japanese larch known to be attacked by Phomopsis Pseudotsugae, there is little doubt that the damage in the Yorkshire specimens is due to this fungus. Not only are the hyphae similar, but the wounds produced, and the subsequent healing process, are almost identical. The absence of recognisable fructifications and spores in the specimens is not surprising since the attack 116 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. probably developed in rgr15, and it is known that the fructifica- tions disintegrate fairly rapidly after the spores have been shed. A careful examination was made of a closely adjoining planta- tion of pure Japanese larch of younger age, but no sign of attack by Phomopsis was discovered. It appears, therefore, that in the area infection was restricted to a certain period, possibly to one season. Infection of the Japanese larch by P. Pseudotsugae has been found in two localities in Scotland, and in both these cases Douglas fir trees attacked by the same fungus were present in close proximity. An examination of the Douglas fir at Jervaulx was therefore carried out, and resulted in the discovery of Phomopsis both on the leading shoots of young trees and on the stems of older specimens, the damage on the latter being very similar to that produced on the Japanese larch. At present the conditions under which infection by Phomopsts Pseudotsugae takes place are almost unknown, and much more investigation is required on this subject. As a working hypothesis, however, it may be suggested that the Japanese larch is infected from the fungus present on the Douglas fir, and that this infection only takes place under certain special con- ditions of environment. MALcoLm WILSON. PROFESSOR SIR Isaac BAYLEY BALFOUR’S RETIREMENT. Every member of the Society, we are sure, will join in wishing that our valued fellow-member and illustrious former President, Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, may long enjoy the best of health and every happiness in the well-deserved rest which his retirement from official duties will bring. Among the many prominent members of the Society, who have rendered services of incalculable value to forestry, the name of Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour stands out clearly as the leading pioneer, especially in regard to the teaching of forestry on a scientific basis in correlation with the practical training necessary in the successful application of science to this important industry. Sir Isaac became a member so far back as 1877, when the Society was but twenty-three years old. He became President in 1890, and during his tenure of office he established a lasting landmark in the progress of forestry, by the inauguration of NOTES AND QUERIES. eas, facilities for training in the science and practice of the subject, at the Royal Botanic Garden. The leading positions now held by men who have passed through this course of training, is an eloquent tribute to the master-mind by which it was conceived. In reading his address, delivered at the thirty-eighth annual meeting of the Society, one cannot help being struck with the clear foresight and accurate judgment the then President showed in the sound advice he gave, and in the practical recommenda- tions he made for the future development of forestry. Time and events have more than justified every statement made in that address. Sir Isaac was not content with the mere giving of advice, he went further and put into practice the recommenda- tions he made for the training of foresters, in the science and practice of their profession. ‘The scheme he organised at the Royal Botanic Garden has deservedly become a model for similar schemes of later date. The success of any society depends primarily upon two things, first, the importance and necessity of the cause for which it exists, and second, the enthusiasm, ability, and energy of its members in advocating and forwarding the interests of that cause, In such members this Society has been fortunate. It cannot serve any useful purpose at this late date, to express regrets that the sound and practical advice given by such eminent authorities as Sir Isaac has not been made more use of in the past. It is still up to us to continue with redoubled _ energy the promotion of the objects for which the Society exists. Although we now have a Forestry Commission charged with the promotion of State and private forestry, it is necessary that individual effort should not be relaxed, if both are to flourish, as we believe every forester desires they should. It is pleasing to know that in Sir Isaac’s successor, Professor Wright Smith, we have a warm friend and able advocate for forestry. We have every reason to believe that the new Professor and Regius Keeper will maintain the high traditions of the Royal Botanic Garden, and that its long-established connection with forestry will be continued. 118 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. OBITUARY, Mr CHARLES MACIN‘TOSH. Mr Charles Macintosh, Inver, Dunkeld, who was well known to many Scottish foresters, passed away last January at the advanced age of eighty-three. Mr Macintosh was recognised in scientific circles as a keen and observant naturalist of the true type. He was an authority on cryptogamic botany, and had an extensive knowledge of the fungi. His advice was frequently sought by foresters and others interested in pathological forms. Mr Macintosh was a prominent member of the Perthshire Society of Natural History, to which he contributed a number of communications on natural history and meteorology; he also made valuable contributions to the natural history and anti- quarian museums in Perth. His researches in the field of mycology added considerably to our knowledge of fungi injurious to trees. Among his discoveries of economic importance to forestry was an entirely new species of fungus, Cucurbitaria pithyophilia, which in places may cause considerable damage to the Scots pine. Mr Macintosh was held in high esteem by a large circle of friends and fellow naturalists. He was of a kindly and likeable disposition, and was always willing to impart his knowledge to others less well informed. Mr ALEXANDER M‘Rar. Mr Alexander M‘Rae, District Officer under the Forestry Commission in Ireland, died at Bowood, Wiltshire, on the 31st March, after a few weeks’ illness. Mr M‘Rae was born on the Cullen House Estate, Banffshire, and served his apprenticeship under the late Mr C. Y. Michie. He served several years as assistant forester at Scone, Bowood, and other estates, and was then appointed forester to the late Mr Stanier, Peplow Hall, Staffordshire. In 1896 he came to Ireland as forester to Captain Prior Wandesforde, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, with whom he remained until 1908. He spent a few months of the latter year in Edinburgh, and took charge of the forestry exhibit of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society at the Exhibition which was held at Saughton Park, Gorgie. The Society were fortunate in having the assistance OBITUARY. I19 of one who proved to be so competent in arranging, staging, and labelling the numerous and varied exhibits which constituted a comprehensive collection of forestry materials and products. His skill and judgment greatly enhanced the educative value of the forestry section of the Exhibition. In the autumn of 1908 he was appointed forester at the Dundrum Forestry Station, Co. Tipperary, under the Irish Department of Agriculture, where he remained until 1921, when he was transferred to Clonmel as District Officer by the Forestry Commission. Mr M'‘Rae was well known as a conscientious and capable forester, and showed a special talent in connection with sawmill machinery. At both Castlecomer and Dundrum he ran saw- mills most successfully, and showed considerable business ability in the conversion and marketing of timber. During his stay at Dundrum large areas were cleared and replanted, and the success of these plantations testify to his skill as a forester. Mr M‘Rae left a widow and two daughters to mourn his loss. Mr ALEXANDER FoRBES IRVINE, OF DRUM. We have to record with deep regret the death of Mr Irvine of Drum, which took place at Drum Castle, Aberdeen, on the 29th April last, at the age of 41 years. Mr Irvine was the worthy successor to a long line of illustrious ancestors, who have been in possession of the Drum Estate for about 600 years, and early gave evidence of his desire to emulate the best traditions of his family. In addition to his personal supervision of his estates, he took an active part in all local affairs, having been a member of the School Board and Parish Council, and also latterly, a prominent member of the County Council, to the Vice-Convenership of which he was appointed some time ago. He “joined up” early in the Great War, and served for some time—in training—as a private soldier, was promoted as corporal in a line regiment, and eventually got a commission in the Grenadier Guards. He went to the front in France, and was severely wounded in action; after a long and painful recovery, he again resumed his local activities. He served for a time as a Director and Extraordinary Director, of the Highland and Agricultural Society, bringing his characteristic thoroughness and energy to bear on the duties involved. 120 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. On the creation of the Aberdeen Branch of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, he became one of the first members, and from the active interest he displayed in forestry generally, he was appointed the third President of the Branch, his first term of office being interrupted by the war. But on recovering from his wounds, he was appointed to a second triennium. His enthusiasm for forestry, combined with his business aptitude, courteous demeanour and kindly disposition, endeared him to all the members, and the Branch is indebted to him for much of its success. In the Estates, Nurseries and Plantations Competition for 1920, Mr Irvine was awarded the prize for Nurseries in Class I. The Drum estate nursery was referred to, in the report by the judges, as ‘‘a model of all that an estate nursery should be.” By Mr Irvine’s death the Society has lost a much valued member, and forestry generally one of its most enthusiastic votaries. To his sorrowing widow and bereaved family the warmest sympathy of the Society is extended. ~ aes Mr GEORGE FRASER, The Society has to record with deep regret the loss of an esteemed member in Mr George Fraser, F.S.I., Official Arbiter for Scotland, who took an active interest in all that concerned the welfare of the Society and the promotion of forestry. He joined the Society in 1892, and had just completed at the time of his death a period of four years’ service as member of Council. He was also a member of the Forestry Consultative Committee for Scotland, which was established under the Forestry Act of 191g. Asa former governor of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Agricultural College, Mr Fraser took a keen interest in the forestry department of that institution, and in his capacity as chairman of the Committee of the Middle Ward of Lanark- shire, he took a leading part in the initiation of the afforestation scheme for the Camps water-catchment area, and also in the establishment of the Hairmyres nursery. His object in the latter case was not only to supply plants for the Camps ground, but also to provide light and healthy open-air employment for patients at the Hairmyres Sanatorium. The successful establish- ment of this excellent scheme was largely due to his skill as an organiser. TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. | VOL 3X RXV PARE December 1922. | A. W. BORTHWICK, D.S8Sc., HONORARY EDITOR. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S.S.C., SECRETARY AND TREASURER, EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. Price to Non-Members, 3/= % GARDEN BOOKS FOR REFERENCE. Please send for Detailed Prospectuses R.S. Lumber: its Manufacture and Distribution. By RALPH C. BRYANT. The first part deals with plant location and standard types of equipment; the industry, including the methods of with the economic problems of distribu- tion. 561 pages. Price 23/- net Text=Book of Landscape Gardening By FRANK A. WAUGH. Designed especially for the use of non- professional students, this book teaches the necessary lessons through the active work of the student upon concrete problems. 865 pages. Profusely illustrated. Price 25/- 156 Figures. American Forest Regulation. By THEODORE S. WOOLSEY, Jr., M.F. Although intended primarily as a text- book on the theory and application of guide to forest administrators who must solve broad regulation problems at a reasonable cost. 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Covent Garden, London, W.C.2. = ADVERTISEMENTS, EDINBURGH AND EAST OF SCOTLAND COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 138 GEORGE SQUARE, EDINBURGH. The College is one of the Central Institutions administered by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, and is intended to provide for Agricultural Education ind Research in the Central and South-Eastern Counties. SESSION—OCTOBER TO JUNE. DAY CLASSES. The Day Classes provide a full course of instruction in Agriculture and the Allied Sciences, and qualify for the Degrees of B.Sc. in Agriculture and in ‘orestry of the University of Edinburgh, the College Diploma in Agriculture, he College Certificate in Horticulture, and for other Examinations and Certificates in the Science and Practice of Agriculture. SHORT COURSES. A Short Course in Agriculture, intended for those engaged in practical vork, is held at the College annually. EVENING CLASSES. Evening Classes are held in the following subjects :— Winter Session— Agriculture, Chemistry, Veterinary Science, Forestry, Horticulture, Botany, Beekeeping, and Farm and Garden Pests. Summer Session—Field Botany and Practical Beekeeping. Particulars of Classes and Fees and information as to Bursaries tenable at the College will ye found in the Calendar, which may be obtained from the Secretary— THOMAS BLACKBURN, 13 George Square, Edinburgh. Forest Trees (Seedlings and Transplants). LARCH, COMMON AND JAPANESE. SCOTS, AUSTRIAN AND CORSICAN PINES. DOUGLAS, SITKA AND NORWAY SPRUCES, HARDWOODS, ETC. Large Stocks of well- grown Plants with abundance of fibrous roots. ESTIMATES AND SAMPLES FREE ON APPLICATION. Please state your requirements— T. & W. CHRISTIE, Forest Tree Growers, FORRES, Morayshire. MACKENZIE & MONCUR LIMITED HOTHOUSE BUILDERS AND HEATING ENGINEERS ALSO ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AND IRONFOUNDERS. Registered Office and Works, BALCARRES STREET, EDINBURGH Iron Foundry .. 40 es ..@ SLATEFORD ROAD, EDINBURGH LONDON _.. Se a aie a os .. 8 CAMDEN ROAD, N.W.1 GLASGOW .. as “5 20 ye a 121 ST VINCENT STREET HOTHOUSES HEATING ELECTRIC LIGHTING IRON FOUNDING SURVEYS MADE. ESTIMATES AND PLANS SUPPLIED. ADVERTISEMEN'LS. Established 1842. FOREST TREES Large Stocks of Seedling, and Transplanted True Native SCOTS FIR, MENZIES, DOUCLAS, NORWAY SPRUGE, Etc. All grown from carefully selected seed, in an open and exposed situation, thoroughly hardy, and well furnished with abundance of fibrous roots. Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. Specimen Ornamental Trees for Lawns and Avenues. Trees and Shrubs for Seaside Planting. Plants for Game Coverts, Underwood and Hedges. Special Quotations for Large Quantities. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES AND SAMPLES ON APPLICATION. W. SMITH & SON, LIMITED, Nurserymen, ABERDEEN, N.B. HILLIER & SONS, wincHESTER. HARDY TREES & PLANTS in Great Variety. Fruit Trees, Rose Trees. NEW & RARE CONIFERS, SHRUBS, TREES, &c., Including many recently collected in China, ete. WEST HILL NURSERIES, 350 ft. and 475 ft. altitude. Write for Descriptive Priced Catalogues. FOREST TREES Specialities—Scots Pine, Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, Larch (Japanese and Tyrolese), Dougias Fir, Common Silver Fir, Corsican Pine, Weymouth Pine, Swiss Stone Pine, Cluster Pine, Banks’ Canary Island Pine, etc. SEED OF ALL TREES, SHRUBS, FRUIT TREES, AND GRASSES. Special List of Tree Seeds, etc., published in January. Catalogues in English sent free. AUGUSTE GAMBS, (Crce Sccdsman, HAGUENAU (Alsace), FRANCE. Seedsman to the Forestry Department. Established 1860. ADVERTISEMENTS. Phone No. 2104 Central. Telegrams— “Stronghold, Edinburgh.” Nursery Stocks Fruit Trees and Bushes—in bearing condition Roses—H.P.’s and Teas, Climbers and Standards Herbaceous and Alpine Plants Forest Trees—Hedge Plants Ornamental Shrubs STRONGHOLD SEEDS For Lawns, 60/—; Tennis Courts, 60/—; Bowling Greens, 7O/—; Putting Greens, 60/— and 65/—; and Golf Courses, from 50/—; all per bushel of 25 lbs., carriage paid. STRONGHOLD GRASS MANURE Per ton, £21; per cwt., 22/6, carriage paid. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUES ON APPLICATION STEWART 8 CO. 13 South St Andrew Street EDINBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS. GENUINE CORSICAN PINE SEED SUPPLIED BY MAXWELL, PLAISTOWE & CO. 8 Old Jewry London, E.C.2 For delivery in January Guarantee of germination Please state quantity required Telegrams— Telephone— **AZUCENA,”? LONDON Central 5859 A. & G. PATERSON, LIMITED ESTABLISHED § 1824 Buyers of Scottish Forests Scotch-Wood Sawmills at ST ROLLOX, GLASGOW, ABERDEEN, BANCHORY MONYMUSK, INVERGORDON, Etc. ALL SIZES OF WELL-SEASONED LARCH FENCING ALWAYS IN STOCK Contractors to H.M. Government for Telegraph Poles, Sleepers, and other Home and Foreign Wood Specialties Larch and Fir Pitwood; Mining Poles; Papered Cloth Boards Boxwood of all Sizes; Headings ppp IMPORTERS of SWEDISH and RUSSIAN STAVES, BATTENS, Etc. EMPIRE FORESTRY ASSOCIATION The Journal of this Association, which is published half-yearly at 4/- a copy, can be obtained by members of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society for the sum of 2/6 a copy, or 5/- per annum, post free. Applications should be made to the Secretary, EMPIRE FORESTRY ASSOCIATION Imperial Institute, South Kensington, London, S.W 7 ADVERTISEMENTS. Special Value FOR Planting Season SITKA SPRUCE, DOUGLAS FIR 1922-1923 (Oregon variety), THUJA GIGANTEA, LARCH, Japanese, wes LARCH, Tyrolese & Scotch, hardy, healthy, SCOTS FIR, True Native, well-grown plants. N Oo RWAY Ss PR U C E &ec., &c. Inquiries Solicited. Samples and Special Carriage Paid Prices on demand. Special List of Tree Seeds & Seedlings published in January. CATALOGUES POST FREE. BENJAMIN REID & COMPANY, NURSERYMEN TO THE KING, A BE R DE E N ¥ By a TESTED | SELECTED SEED POTATOES. Duke of York. Midlothian Early. Sharpe’s Express. Epicure. Eclipse. Rhoderick Dhu. Majestic. K. of K. Victory. Ally. Great Scot. Kerr’s Pink. Tinwald Perfection. Edzell Blue. British Queen. Factor. Dargill Early. Arran Comrade. King George V. Etc; ete: TESTED VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SEEDS. Dutch Bulbs. Roses. Fruit Trees. Catalogues Free. TILLIE, WHYTE & CO. Seed Growers, 12 MELBOURNE PLACE, EDINBURGH. @ Established 1837. ADVERTISEMENTS. Telegrams; Telephones: ““ROBINSONS, GLASGOW.” WESTERN 3063, 4 Lines. LTD., Timber Importers, Partick Sawmills, GLASGOW. ~~ Sawing, Planing, and Moulding Mills at PARTICK and TEMPLE. TIMBER PRESERVING WORKS AT TEMPLE. CREOSOTING AND ‘B.M.” PROCESSES. , REAFFORESTATION One of the most urgent needs of the present is the Restocking of the Large Areas of Woodland cleared in recent years. The value to the Nation of a Home Timber Supply has been amply proved during the War. Forest Trees Deciduous Shrubs Evergreen Shrubs Fruit Trees Ornamental Trees Roses SAMSONS, LIMITED, The Nurseries, KILMARNOCK Established 1759 Catalogues Post Free on demand Telephone No. 7 JAMES JONES & SONS, LTD., LARBERT SAWMILLS, /=== LARBERT, N.B. All kinds of HOME TIMBER in the Round or Sawn-up, SUITABLE FOR RAILWAYS, SHIPBUILDERS, COLLIERIES, CONTRACTORS, COACHBUILDERS, CARTWRIGHTS, &c. &c. ADVERTISEMENTS. Established over a Century. GEORGE R. CHRISTIE NURSERYMAN FOCHABERS, MORAYSHIRE Speciality— FOREST TREES Millions in Stock of. Healthy, Hardy and Fibrously-rooted Seedling and Transplanted Larch, Common and Japanese Scots, Austrian and Corsican Pines Douglas (true Oregon), Sitka and Norway Spruces Hardwoods, etc. Quotations and Samples on application. Telegrams—‘‘ Christie, Fochabers.’’ Telephone No. 10. DOUGLAS 8 FOULIS BOOKSELLERS xp LIBRARIANS Sasi SSeS STANDARD WORKS ON FORESTRY Kept in Stock. An extensive Stock of New Books in all Classes of Literature at the usual Discount Prices also Books for Presentation in handsome Bindings Catalogues of Surplus Library Books at greatly Reduced Prices issued at intervals. Gratis and Post Free to any Address 9g CASTLE STREET, EDINBURGH ADVERTISEMENTS, M‘Farlane & Erskine ESTABLISHED 1840 Lithographers, Letterpress and Three-Colour Printers Black and Coloured Plates for Scientific Works. Plans of Estates, etc. Coloured Illustrations for Seedsmen. Books, Maga- zines, Catalogues, Price Lists, Circulars, and Every Description of Printed Forms. St James Works, M‘Donald Road EDINBURGH Telephone Nos.: 5236-5237 Telegraphic Address: Private Branch Exchange “*Typo, Edinburgh’’ The INSTITUT INTERNATIONAL D’AGRICULTURE, ROME, is about to publish a New Edition of their INTERNATIONAL YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS . . The published price is 8/-, but the Institute offers it to members of this Society at a reduction of 25 %. A similar reduction is offered for all the Institute’s publications. Members desiring to take advantage of this privilege should apply to the . INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE (Subscription and Publication Department), VILLA UMBERTO 1, ROME, ITALY, enclosing a Cheque or Postal Order payable to the Institute. REGISTER OF FORESTERS. THE Society has for some time past kept a Register of men qualified in Forestry and. Estate Management. Any Member desiring a situa- tion can apply to the Secretary for a Schedule, and on return of this the Secretary places the Applicant’s name on his Register. Similarly, any Member who is a Landowner or Factor, and who wishes a qualified man, can intimate his requirements to the Secretary, who will send out notice to all those Applicants on his Register who appear from their Schedules to be qualified for the post. There are at present a great many Members’ names on the one side of the Register ; but it follows that unless Proprietor-Members co-operate by applying to the Secretary when they have a vacancy, the whole scheme is liable to become ineffective. An Appeal is therefore made to Proprietors and others—whether Members of the Society or not—specially at this time to assist in placing foresters who are now unemployed, and to help to make the Registry a really useful and efficient part of the Society’s activities. Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society MEMORANDUM regarding the Objects and Work of the Society. Institution. HE Society was founded sixty-eight years ago with the i object of advancing Forestry in all its branches. During that period it has expended in the interest of Forestry a sum of over £28,200, including about £600 towards the expense of founding the Chair of Forestry in the University of Edinburgh. Membership. Any person interested in Forestry and desirous of promot- ing the objects of the Society is eligible for membership. Lines of Effort. The work of the Society in the past has been carried on mainly along educational lines, by holding meetings for dis- cussions, lectures, etc.; by publishing Zvansactions, which contain all the most recent and most important information relating to Forestry; by interviewing Ministers and pressing the claims of Forestry on successive Governments; by making silvicultural Excursions at home and abroad; by organising Exhibitions of Forestry throughout the country; by granting medals and prizes for Essays ; and by affording to Members, through its Honorary Scientists, gratuitous advice on subjects relating to Forestry. Education. In recent years progress has been made in providing facilities for education, but the various courses of instruction could be much improved and added to, and a State Demonstration Forest has not yet been provided. A Degree and Diploma in Forestry for Forest Officers can be obtained at the Universities of Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a Diploma in Forestry for practical foresters at the West of Scotland Agricultural College, Glasgow. Schools of Practical Forestry have also been opened by the Government. The Society recently held a very successful essay competition in rural schools, and has now in contempla- tion a series of illustrated lectures on Forestry in rural districts. Suitability of Conditions for Afforestation. All the experts—both home and foreign—agree that the soil and climate of Scotland are eminently suited to tree-growth, and are capable of producing timber of such quality and in such quantity as would make the country, to a very consider- able extent, independent of foreign supplies. Woodland Area and Its Value. Previous to the war, the woodland area of Scotland—due solely to private enterprise—was only 868,000 acres. Of the whole land area of the United Kingdom only 4 %/ was woodland, being the lowest percentage in Europe with the exception of Portugal. Smalland unimportant as this area appeared to be, it was found of inestimable value in connection with the war. The growing stock of mature timber is nearly exhausted, and it is imperative that it be replaced and greatly added to if national safety in the future is to be assured. The care of the young plantations which have survived the war is also of the greatest importance. Imports. The annual value of the imports of timber and timber products into the British Isles previous to the war was about 440,000,000, and about 80 or go per cent. of timber imported was coniferous. A considerable proportion of this might be grown in this country, where huge tracts of land could be more economically occupied in growing trees than as at present, and healthy occupation thereby provided for a much larger rural population, of whom a proportion would be small- holders, reaping the benefits of both forestry and agriculture. Agreement as to Need of Afforestation. All parties are agreed that it is the urgent duty of the State to undertake Afforestation on a large scale, either directly or indirectly in co-operation with landowners, to whom every encouragement should be provided by means of loans and grants, adjustment of taxation, etc. The Society’s views on the Development of Afforestation were asked by the Forestry Sub-Committee of the Reconstruc- tion Committee, and the statement prepared by the Council and adopted by the Society was subsequently printed as an Appendix to the Sub-Committee’s Report, which was issued in the beginning of 1918. An Interim Forest Authority was set up soon afterwards with a grant of £100,000 to make preliminary arrangements for Afforestation, and a Forestry Bill was sub- sequently introduced into Parliament to give effect to the recommendations of the Reconstruction Sub-Committee. Some anxiety was expressed in regard to local control under a Central Authority for the United Kingdom, but the Council received ample assurance that the policy of the Government and of the Forest Authority is to arrange that all the executive and administrative work shall be done, so far as Scotland is concerned, under the control of Scottish Officers with Headquarters in Edinburgh. The Bill became law as the Forestry Act, rgrg, in August of that year, and came into operation on rst September following, when the Forestry Commission was appointed. In these circumstances it is very important that this Society should be in a position to assist effectively in directing schemes along right lines. The membership already includes a great number of men who are recognised authorities on Forestry, but it is desirable that it should include every one in Scotland who is engaged in producing, converting, or utilising timber, or who is otherwise interested in the subject, so that the influence and usefulness of the Society may be further increased. ROBERT GALLOWAY, S.S.C., 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, Secretary and Treasurer. EDINBURGH, December 1922. TAVAVAVATATATATATATATALATALALATALAL PVIVIAVAVAVAVLVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVATATAUAUATAVAVATATAUALALALALALATALALALALALATATATAVALATALALALALARLALALALALALALALA, TAVAVATATAVATATATATATATALALATALATATATATATALALATATALATATALALALATATALALALALATALALTALATALALALALALALALATATALATATALALATATA LALA Royat Scottish Arboricultural Society > + ae L desire to become a member of the Royal Sco Arboricultural Society. ( Full Name, Designation, Degrees, etc., Candidate's < Address, Life, or Ordinary Member, \ Stoenature, . UO PALATE = Tota Bee, 2) eae Ss Ak UE Lee SER one ey ee FA Proposer’ s ’ Signature, . Seconder’s | Address, . (CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP, see Ove CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP (excerpted from the Laws). III. Any person interested in Forestry, and desirous of pro- oting the objects of the Society, is eligible for election as an rdinary Member in one of the following Classes :— 1, Proprietors the valuation of whose land exceeds £500 per annum, and others, subscribing annually 3 . One Guinea. 2. Proprietors the valuation of whose land does not exceed 4500 per annum, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Merchants, and others, subscribing annually . . Half-a-Guinea, 3. Foresters, Gardeners, Land-Stewards, Tenant Farmers, and others, subscribing annually : - . Six Shillings. 4. Assistant-Foresters, Assistant-Gardeners, and others, i subscribing annually . : . Four Shillings. IV. Subscriptions are due on the Ist of January in each year, nd shall be payable in advance. A new Member's Subscription _ due on the day of election unless otherwise provided, and he nall not be enrolled until he has paid his first Subscription. VY. Members in arrear shall not receive the Zvramsactions, and 1all not be entitled to vote at any of the meetings of the Society. ny Member whose Annual Subscription remains unpaid for two ears shall cease to be a Member of the Society, and no such [ember shall be eligible for re-election till his arrears have been aid up. VI. Any eligible person may become a JZzfe Member of the ociety, on payment, according to ciass, of the following sums :— 1, Large Proprietors of land, and others, : : . £1010 Oo 2. Small Proprietors, Factors, Nurserymen, Timber Mer- chants, and others, - - : 5 uheeo . Foresters, Gardeners, Land- Gear. Tenant Farmers, and others, . : Keep VII. Any Ordinary Nate of*Classes 1 I, 2, and 3, who has paid ive Annual Subscriptions, may become a Zz/e Member on payment f Two-thirds of the sum payable by a xew Life Member. XII. Every Proposal for Membership shall be made in writing, nd shall be signed by two Members of the Society as Proposer nd Seconder, and delivered to the Secretary to be laid before the ouncil, which shall accept or otherwise deal with each Proposal s it may deem best in the interest of the Society. The -roposer and Seconder shall be responsible for payment of the new Member’s first Subscription. The Council shall have power to lecide the Class under which any Candidate for Membership shall e placed. 8 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH. CONTENTS: The Society does not hold itself responsible for the statements. 15. 16. ry 18. 19. 20. 30. or views expressed by the authors of papers. Report of Forestry Commission, 1920-21 Farm Forestry. By A. W. Borthwick, D.Sc., O.B.E. Silviculture in Trinidad. By G. I. Campbell Forest Insects on the Culbin Sands. By J. W. Munro, D.Sc. Form-Factor as an Expression of the Degree of Taper in Coniferous Trees. (With Figures.) By Mark L. Anderson Logging in North-West America (British Columbia and Pacific States). (With Plates.) By James Kay . . Continental Notes—France, By A. G. Hobart-Hampden . Sample Plot Investigations in Scotland. By H. M. Steven, Ph.D. . The Douglas Fir Chermes . Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. Richardson. (Continued from Vol. xxxv. p. 166) . The Geographical Range of Sitka Spruce, Western Larch, and Douglas Fir. By James Kay . Report of the Annual Excursion. By R. A. Galloway, B.Sc. . Empire Forestry . Report on the Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. By Johnston Edwards . Report of Estate Nurseries and Plantations Competitions, 1922 Studies in the Pathology of Young Trees and Seedlings. (With Plates.) By Malcolm Wilson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., Lecturer in Mycology, University of Edinburgh . Obituary:—Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, K.B.E., F.R.S.— Henry J. Elwes . 4 . F 226 236- CON'LENTS, Notes and Queries:—The Danger of Using Trees as Gate and Fence Posts — Planting Scrub Areas — Pine-Root Aphis—A Parasite of the Poplar Saw-Fly—ODryocoetes alni (Georg.): An Alder Bark Beetle (Scolytidae) new to Scotland — Planting Distance for Douglas Fir— The Midland Re-afforesting Association — The hee Wood Plantation, Murthly Estate : Reviews and Notices of Books:—American Forest Regu- lation. By Theodore Salisbury Woolsey, Jun., M.F., Published by The Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Company, New Haven, Connecticut : Notes on the Ceiriog Forestry Experimental Area of the Denbighshire County Council. By Thomas Thomson, B.Sc., University College, North Wales, Bangor Webster’s Foresters’ Diary and Pocket Book, 1923. Published by Messrs William Rider & Sons, London. Price 3s. 6d. net ; Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No. 3, 1923. Price, Is. PAGE 247 258 259 260 260 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 15. Report of Forestry Commission, 1920-21. The second annual efort! of the Forestry Commission is dated roth June 1922, and is in respect of the forest year ending 30th September 1921. At the outset readers are reminded that the main objectives on which the forest policy of the Commission is based are :—the afforestation of 150,000 acres of land by the direct action of the State; assistance to Local Authorities and private owners for the afforestation of 110,000 acres; attention to education, research, and experiment. For these and other purposes connected with the promotion of British forestry, a sum of 43,500,000 was voted by Parliament in 1919. That the Commissioners are making good use of their oppor- tunities is apparent from a perusal of their Report. Some 68,489 acres of plantable land were acquired in the twelve months under review ; of this area 46,837 acres were taken on lease or feu, and 21,652 acres were purchased. By acquiring a greater proportion by feu than by purchase a saving was effected in current expendi- ture which will result in more money being available for planting. A break in the continuity of land acquisition was unfortunately caused by the Treasury in March 1921, owing to the financial stringency, otherwise the area secured would have been even greater than this. At the same time, the amount acquired is actually in excess of the sanguine anticipations of the Acland Committee. The area planted also shows a substantial surplus as compared with the Acland Committee’s recommendations, and is even greater than the Forestry Commission’s revised estimate. During the year no less than 12,804 acres were planted on land 1 To be purchased through any bookseller or directly from H.M. Stationery Office, Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C. 2. Price Is, net. VOL. XXXVI. PART II. I 122 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. belonging to the Commission. Of this, 3697 acres were situated in Scotland, 8320 acres in England, and 787 acres in Ireland. In addition, 1316 acres were planted in the Crown woods under the supervision of the Commissioners. At 30th September 1921, it was estimated that the State nurseries contained 111 million seedlings and 33 million transplants. The policy of the Commissioners with regard to forestry education, which was outlined in their first annual Report, received further consideration during the year. An _ Inter- departmental Committee, consisting of Lord Clinton, Viscount Novar, Mr P. H. Clutterbuck, Major Furse, and Professor Farmer, took evidence and issued a Statement.! Their main recommendations regarding the establishment of a Central Institution for the training of forest officers are summarised in the annual Report, and deserve the attention of all who are interested in higher forestry education. A short description is given of the work which is being done at the Commission’s schools for forest apprentices, where sixty youths received instruction during the year. A feature of the Report is a general review of the research work which has been done by the Commission. It is explained that it is, of course, much too early to arrive at definite con- clusions, but results so far are most interesting and suggestive ; for example, instead of the usual practice of sowing conifer seed in spring the seeds of several species were sown in autumn with marked success, especially as regards Douglas fir—better germination and larger plants being obtained. If after several seasons’ trial the results of this experiment are corroborated, it may be found advisable to modify existing nursery methods in this respect. The pre-germination of seed, the treatment of seed by soaking, the value of various types of shelter as protection of seed beds, the measures to be taken against damage by frost lifting, and the determination of the best season for the collection of Scots pine cones, are among subjects which received attention by the experimentalists during the year, and important work is being done in connection with peat in relation to tree-growth. There is progress to report in connection with Dr Munro’s entomological investigations, particularly as regards experiments 1 For full details see Cmd. Paper No. 1166, ‘‘ Report of the Inter- departmental Committee on Imperial Forestry Timbers,” printed by H.M. Stationery Office. Price 2d. REPORT OF FORESTRY COMMISSION. 123 on the pine weevil, conducted with a view to reducing the damage done by this insect. Then the occurrence and life- history of Chermes cooleyi were among other important researches carried to a further stage during the year. Among the other activities of the Commission is a census of woodlands. It might well be a matter of reproach that a country such as ours is not cognisant of the extent and resources of its woodlands. All previous computations have been based more or less on assumption, but now for the first time the matter has been taken up in a systematic manner, and not only is the actual area under timber being ascertained, but a clear distinction is being drawn between (i.) economic or potentially productive woodlands ; (ii.) uneconomic woodland area, including amenity woods, shelter-belts, park timber, etc. It is noted that the Consultative Committees have continued their labours, and have offered advice on a large variety of subjects which were from time to time placed before them by the Commission. Sections on planting procedure, the drought of 1921, and a record of the publications issued by the Com- missioners, conclude a most interesting report. It is with regret that one notices, under the heading of ** Assistance to Local Authorities and Private Owners,” how little has been achieved. For this lack of progress the Com- missioners cannot be held responsible ; the defect is attributable almost entirely to the terms under which advances may be made under the Forestry Act, 1919. The simple and effective regulations of the Forestry Act of 1921, which temporarily enabled the Commissioners to make grants for planting schemes, “unencumbered by any conditions except that unemployed labour should be utilised,” worked admirably, and seem clearly to indicate the line which should be taken in future in order to encourage afforestation on private estates. What is wanted for the more rapid increase of the country’s forest area for the maximum benefit and at a minimum cost to the State is an extension of this principle—grants. The efort is an unpretentious volume, but it is difficult to imagine anyone reading it without being impressed with the immensity and difficulty of the task so skilfully handled by Lord Lovat and his fellow Commissioners. 124 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 16. Farm Forestry.! By A. W. Bortuwick, D.Sc., O.B.E. The object of the present paper is to call attention to the neglect in this country to turn to greater advantage, both direct and indirect, what in the aggregate amounts to a large area of land regarded as waste scattered about on farms, even in highly cultivated districts, such as banks, knolls, stony or rocky places, steep declivities, hollows, and marshy places. Trees will grow in such situations and produce fencing material and many other timber requirements of the farm. They will grow where no other crops will grow. They encourage the growth of other crops on adjacent lands by the shelter they afford. They effect an ameliorating influence on the local climate, and stock of all kinds thrive better on farms with properly-located plantations in the form of shelter-belts, clumps, and roundels. It has been said that about one-half of our home-grown timber is produced in hedgerows, parks, and fields, and there is no doubt but that a considerable proportion of our home supplies could be grown on idle land on farms if suitable places were to be selected with care and discrimination. It is not my intention to discuss the advantages and dis- advantages of hedgerow and field timber, further than to say that the objections raised by agriculturists to the over abundance of trees in such places is no doubt well founded, and that in spite of the undoubted value of such trees in adding to the grandeur and beauty of our rural landscapes, there are many places occupied by trees, especially in hedgerows and fields, where the damage done to agricultural crops and the hedges themselves is not justified by any utilitarian advantages. In fact, the reduction in number of trees or their total removal in some places from field margins would be of service in increasing the production of more valuable kinds of crops, and thus help in eliminating waste. The kind of tree suitable for planting in hedgerows and along the sides of public roads, and the places and the conditions suitable for this do not come into the scope of the present paper, but I would like to suggest that by organisation and education, it should be possible for rural 1 A paper read before the British Association at Hull, in September 1922. FARM FORESTRY, 125 communities to co-operate in the planting of fruit-producing trees such as cherry-plum, apple, walnut, etc., along public roads as is done in some other European countries. An entirely mistaken idea as to the relationship between forestry and agriculture, and as to how each in its proper place and in its own way could contribute to the well-being of the nation undoubtedly appears to have existed among some of the earlier writers on rural economy, and as past experience is the best guide for future procedure I may be allowed to quote from an article in the Farmers Magazine for March 1811 ‘‘On the Planting of Scottish Firs and other Timber Trees,” which was written by my grandfather, J. Borthwick, Esq., of Crookston :— “It is astonishing to find that the planting of trees in this country should be violently reprobated by so able an authority as Mr Arthur Young; and it is not improbable that the influence of so respectable and intelligent a writer has con- tributed much to its discouragement, That I may record his opinion, the following extract is given from the Annals of Agriculture.” He then gives the following extract from Young’s paper in the Annals of Agriculture :— “ Se Le a rs = ee a : . a = > se ae Poor Quaurry 2 ang ~ “wee, Beer w Gian. Bit. Fig 20. form-factor and of the same height and basal area, one a larch and the other a spruce, the under-bark form-factor of the former will be much less than that of the latter. INFLUENCES TENDING To INCREASE THE FORM-FACTOR— Ze. an increase of volume without corresponding increase in height or girth. 1. Volume increase taking place largely in the upper part of the stem. This is probably what occurs in dense stands where the crowns are confined to the upper parts of the trees. . 2. Forking—causing increase of volume without increase of height. This increase would also take place for the most part above breast-height. 3. Loss of leader, or point, from any cause whatever, so reducing height without any reduction in volume. I50 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, INFLUENCES TENDING TO DECREASE THE FORM-FACTOR, z.e. an increase in girth or height without a corespond- ing increase in volume. 1. Volume increase taking place largely in the lower part of the stem. This probably occurs where trees are grown in the open and when the crowns have great depth. 2. Increase in girth due to the abnormal swelling from the root reaching up to breast-height. Trees may have a natural tendency towards the paraboloid form at one period in life and towards the neiloid form at another. Hiiffel states that the form of trees is first neiloid, passes to a true cone, and finishes as a paraboloid. If so, such a tendency, together with other causes, e.g. exposure, is bound to modify the theoretical trend of the form-factor as explained above, but nevertheless, the mathematical variation shown always exists and is almost certainly of greater relative import- ance. Form-factor curves of stands, when the form-factor is plotted against the girth, usually show the trend indicated, though other causes may raise or lower the form-factor of the wood as a whole, so that one stand may reach its maximum sooner or later in life than another, while the maximum form- factor of one stand may be higher or lower than that of another. For young woods, until most of the trees have passed the culminating point in the curve, the breast-height form-factor is a very uncertain index of taper. For middle-aged and mature stands of the same species it becomes in this respect more useful, especially if the mean-height and mean-girth of these stands are taken into account. It is not, then, a true expression of taper, especially for young woods, and cannot be used in- discriminately in the comparison of stands. It would be wrong, for example, to compare the form-factor of a 15-year-old larch plantation, which is probably at the stage when its form-factor is ata maximum, with that of an 80-year-old Douglas fir wood, in which the form-factor has been slowly decreasing for some years, not to mention the large bark development in old trees, and so in this way conclude that the taper of the first subject is better than that of the last, because of its higher form-factor. What has been said above in no way detracts from the value of the form-factor as a reducing factor for ascertaining the volume of stands, and such is its chief use in practice. It has also much value in another respect. FORM-FACTOR IN CONIFEROUS TREES. I51I Investigation into the behaviour of the form-factors of trees which are true cones, but have different degrees of taper, brings out some interesting points. The greater the degree of taper the shorter is the tree and the shorter is the tree-point. This is illustrated in Figs. 21, 22, and 23. The result of this is that, in trees of the same girth, those with the greater degree of taper have the higher form-factor. This being so, it is obvious that a high form-factor for one stem may not necessarily indicate that it has less taper, or ‘carries its girth better than,” another stem of less form-factor. On the contrary, it may indicate that the latter stem tapers less rapidly than Hy ‘ i i rich { ' i 3 \ I Fig 22. Fees. the former. It is interesting to observe that the form-factors for the poorer classes of spruce and larch in the British Yield- tables are considerably higher than in the better quality classes. This is shown graphically in Fig. 20, and is pre- sumably due to the relatively poorer height-growth of the former classes in comparison to the girth development. They taper more rapidly, yet their form-factors are higher. Another important point of interest is brought out in connection with the measurement of the volume of sample plots in woods by the method of selected sample stems, where the basis of selection is basal area or girth. If too tall a tree is selected, though the volume tends to be too large, the form- factor will have a tendency to be too small, and vice versa, if the tree is too short. Any method, therefore, of measuring by means of sample stems the volume of sample plots which could combine the use of the form-factor along with the height I52 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. and the volume, would probably be an accurate one, because the selection of the stems, upon which the whole accuracy of the method turns, would be corrected by the balancing effect of the form-factor against the height and the volume. Such a method has been evolved and is in use. There would seem to be limitations to the general usefulness of the form-factor, and some other means of expressing more accurately the degree of taper of trees might be desirable. The form-height, which is the product of form-factor and height, has been used, while some foreign experts, notably in Sweden and Canada, prefer the use of the form-quotient, a type of the True or Normal Form-factor, which appears to give good practical results. In the meantime, it would seem that the ‘‘ Form ”-factor is-rather inaptly named. NV.B.—The figures accompanying this article are not drawn to scale. This is impossible, owing to the great differences in size of the trees depicted. 20. Logging in North-West America (British Columbia and Pacific States). (With Plates.) By JAMES Kay. The development of the various methods employed for handling and transporting logs and timber in western North America has been due to the necessity of reaching forest areas, the timber of which could not be profitably extracted by means of drivable streams, oxen or horses. Hence the necessity of logging rail- roads, donkey engines, flumes (Plate VII., Fig. 1), chutes, etc. Flumes are indispensable for the cheap and rapid transporta- tion of timber from rough mountainous regions which would be otherwise commercially unprofitable to log. They can be con- structed more cheaply than a railroad, and can be operated without fuel or skilled labour or mechanics, and without rolling stock. The first step in flume construction is an accurate survey of the proposed line of flume, so that a reliable profile map of the g Northern Montana, U.S.A. g railroad alongside. Fano BC with loggin ght. Y > — — ~ => je) 'S < ; = ay aw logs Meadow river on ri —Flume running s Fic. 2.—Flume with iron apron used to dam back wa PLATE VIII. Fic. 3.—Logging engine, Climax type. Capilano River Valley, B.C. Fic. 4.—Logging engine with ballast for new logging road. Capilano River Valley, B.C. LOGGING IN NORTH-WEST AMERICA, 153 route can be obtained, and the best grades, curves, and probable cost determined before the work is taken inhand. Water-supply and grade serve to determine the possibility of fluming. The grades permissible to fluming vary from 1 as a minimum to 25:4 or more; 2-6 % grades are the most economical and efficient. Flumes with grades steeper than 25 % become more or less a wet chute, and of course a chute is just a trough built of round timber on which logs are transported up or down a grade (generally down), either by animal power or by gravity. On the journey from Lethbridge to Spokane Wash, many chutes may be seen on the steep mountain sides where all the timber has been removed. The available water-supply will invariably determine the type of flume—whether square or V-shaped. The latter type is considered the best and most economical for all classes of timber, and is usually the type employed by loggers in the western forests. It excels because it can be operated with less water than other types, the water is confined and, for the amount used, it has the greatest carrying power, and owing to the shape and confined space, saw-logs, and especially short pieces like sleepers, pit-props and fence-posts are kept running straight and are therefore less likely to cause a jam. ‘The water confined below the bottom of the stick and the sides of V tends to lift the log, this keeps it up and also prevents it from rubbing too much against the sides of the flume. In the construction of the V-shaped flumes experience proves that the go° angle is the best for all purposes. The usual procedure is to erect a small saw-mill near the upper end of the flume location and saw out the material required for con- struction. As the work proceeds the lumber is floated down as it is required. Saw-logs, poles, sleepers, pit-props, fence-posts, etc., can all be floated down cheaply and quickly to the main saw-mill dam and sorted out. The C. P. R. flume most of their timber at Yahk, southern British Columbia. In the autumn when the water becomes. scarce, and when the splash dams are empty, they make use of an iron apron which is made to fit the flume. This apron dams back the water in sufficient quantity to give force enough when released to set the logs agoing (Plate VII. Fig. 2). With judicious loading this helps to prevent the timber jamming. VOL. XXXVI. PART II. 8 154 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. A telephone line is usually carried along the flume, or it may be strung on poles. When a jam occurs word can be speedily sent to the skidding crews—loading is then stopped and the water turned off until the flume is clear and ready for business again. In the early years of the lumber industry on the Pacific Coast region oxen and, later, horses were largely used for skidding purposes, owing to the fact that the timber was in close proximity to tidal water. However, owing to the size of the timber, the topography, and the increasing distances from the seaboard, other means of transportation were found to be necessary. Near the coast logging railroads are now a feature of logging operations (Plate VIII.). The locomotives used for transporting the logs from the bush to tidal water are for the most part of the geared type, and this enables them to climb heavy grades often up to 7% or more. The Shay, Climax, and Heisler, of varying sizes and power, are the usual types of geared locomotive employed. The fuel used may be oil, coal or wood, this depending on circumstances. Spark arresters are a feature of the coal and wood burners. The wood cars are very strongly built and are supplied with automatic couplings, air, and hand- brakes. The wood operations, especially feiling and bucking (or cross- cutting), are still done by axe and saw, but the huge old trees are often swell-butted, and spring-boards are used to reach the point above the swelling. The spring-boards are 4-5 teet long and 8 inches wide, tapering from 1 inch in thickness to 2 inches at the end which is fitted with an iron spur; they are usually made of maple or other hardwood. Fallers prefer to use spring- boards. The ground is usually soft and does not give firm footing. On sloping ground it prevents the feet of the fallers from slipping. In the western forests various systems of high-power logging are in operation; in British Columbia the high-lead system is the more common. The initial system in the transportation of a log from the stump to the mill is generally known on the Pacific Coast as yarding or skidding (skidding is a term that is coming into use to designate this operation). It consists of assembling the logs at common points for some other method of transportation. PAREN Fic. 5.—Donkey engine and yarding engine, and spar tree. Note field telegraph in foreground, connected with main office. Capilano River Valley. B.C. Fic. 6. —Duplex machine (combined loader and yarder). Myrtle Point. | Zo face p. 154. PVATE X. Fic. 7.—The spar tree rigged ready for yarding and loading with two donkey engines. Capilano River Valley, B.C. LOGGING IN NORTH-WEST AMERICA, 155 The high-lead system is largely employed in hauling the logs to the railside, where they are usually loaded on to the cars at once, and when the train is made up it is pulled out and a new line of empty cars put in its place. By this method, spar trees (Fig. 7) are left at distances of 1000-1200 feet apart and about 12-15 feet from the logging railroad ; this gives a working radius of 500-600 feet. This is considered to be the most economical distance, as it keeps the various crews busy. The spar trees are prepared by the rigging crew. The chief rigger climbs the tree by means of long spurred climbing irons and a rope belt, into the core of which a thin wire strand is woven to prevent accidents. Men have been killed by cutting the rope when taking off the top. After he has reached the desired height of say 120-200 feet, the rigger lops off the tree top with axe and saw. Of late this is being done in some camps by stringing together and placing several sticks of dynamite around the tree top, and firing the charge by means of a detonating cap attached to a long fuse. This method is only in the experimental stage. To give rigidity to the spar tree 6 guys (cables) are placed near the top and 3 nearthe middle. A high-lead block weighing from 500-900 lbs. is then hung 5~15 feet below the cable guys, and is fixed to the spar tree by means of a 14~—2-inch plough steel strap, wrapped once or twice around the spar tree. The loading tackle is also put up before the rigger comes down. Two donkey engines are used, one for yarding (skidding), the other for loading; both operations proceed at the same time. In some camps duplex engines (see Fig. 6) are used, ze. both engines are operated from one sled or platform; needless to say the sleds are massive affairs. These engines have heavy work to do. They have to haul and load logs often 10 feet in diameter and 32 feet or more in length over very rough country. They are equipped with high-pressure boilers of the vertical type, and have a working-pressure of from 150- 200 lbs. (usually 200 lbs.) per square inch. Two main drums and usually, but not always,.a third small drum are placed tandem fashion on the sled; the large drums carry the main hauling line and the trip line (haul-back). The third drum carries the straw line, which is used to run out the trip line or haul-back either when a new setting is being made or when roads are being changed. The engines are classified as simple 156 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. or compound geared. An engine having the gears compounded is always classed as a yarding (skidding) engine (sce Plate IX.). The trip or haul-back is a small wire-rope travelling between the power skidder and a pulley or pulleys set near the logs to be dragged, and used to return the main cable with tongs, chokers, or hooks for the next log. _ The choker is a noose of wire-rope by which a log is dragged. It is from 20-30 feet long and has a choker hook on one end and a braided eye on the other. As a rule one choker is used with each log, and one to three chokers are attached to a butt chain. The butt-chain or line is a short connection by which chokers are attached to the main yarding line. It consists of the main connecting link, either a heavy steel chain with short links or a wire-rope with eyes spliced in each end, with a hook or clevis on the end which is attached to the main line, and a swivel, a link, and a butt-hook on the other. The swivel in the connection allows the log to roll when being pulled in without twisting the main line. The trip line is usually considered as a part. It is attached to the same clevis as the butt-chain by means of a link, a swivel, and another clevis. Yarding engines vary in size and type. They are invariably compound-geared with double cylinders. For mountainous broken country a good type to use is a compound-geared 11x13 inch or 12x12 inch, and in fairly level country a compound-geared toxt1 inch or 1o}~x1o} inch yarding engines. The main yarding line varies from 1-13 inch in diameter and from goo—1500 feet in length, and is made exclusively from plough steel. ‘The Wentworth Patent Core-rope,” manu- factured. by Craven & Speeding Bros., Ltd., Sunderland, England, is said to be the best wire-rope used in British Columbia. It is claimed for the patent core that it prevents. the strands from crushing each other and, in consequence, does away with internal friction that wears away and breaks the individual wires of the strands. It is claimed for this rope that the breaking-strain is greater by 1to—15 7% than in ropes con- structed with the ordinary core, it has also greater flexibility. Trip lines are 3—? inch in diameter, and about 23 times as long as the main yarding lines; straw lines are about 2 inch in diameter and as long as trip lines. PLATE. a Fic. 8.—Logging train. Capilano River Valley, B.C. Fic. 9.—After logging ; the slash left when operations are completed. Port Moody, BC. [Zo face p. 156 PATE Rel. ‘yWoq Ty aug ‘Iy weseq pue ‘outd yorl ‘aonids ajytym Jo aap SoY—'o!I ‘Oly LOGGING IN NORTH-WEST AMERICA. 157 The straw line is dragged out by hand from the yarding engine, and passed through a block which is adjusted to a tail tree at the far end of the road. From this it is taken 300 feet or more to the right or left along the back boundary of the chance! and through another block to the yarder. At the yarding engine the end of the straw line which has just been pulled in is attached to the trip line, and the other end is rolled in on the small drum. This drags the trip line out to and through the blocks and back over the road to the yarder ; the straw line is then detached and the end of the main line attached to the trip line by means of a clevis. The yarder is now ready for operation. The trip line is placed several roads distant from that being logged; this obviates frequent change in its position and also keeps it out of the way of the logs as they are hauled in. It has to be remembered that after the log has been hauled in and the choker taken off, the trip line {haul-back) pulls back the main line with its butt-chain and attached chokers for another load. Most operators in British Columbia and the western Pacific States now use an electric signal, which is connected with the lever of the steam whistle; six or more dry batteries which are placed near the engine furnish the power to operate the whistle. The current is carried through insulated wires, which may be carried on supports or laid on the ground as desired. The signal can be heard by the yarding crew, who know that the proper signal has been given to the engineer. The signalman, or whistle punk as he is often called, stands where he can see and hear the yarding crew. When he receives the word from the choker men that the load is ready, he signals the engineer by means of an electric switch he holds in his hand; this consists of two small flat pieces of wood, somewhat similar to a clothes- pin. By pressing these together he gives the required signal, by blowing or tooting the steam whistle, and when the load starts on its way to the yarder everything is uprooted or broken down which stands in the way. 1 «« Chance ” is the lumberman’s term for logging unit. 158 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 21. Continental Notes—France. By A. G. HoBart-HAMPDEN. I.—At the meeting of the Society of Franche Comté and Belfort, M. Martin described a curious area in Upper Alsace, between Mulhouse, Colmar and Neu Brisach, which is so unusually dry that the rainfall is less than 16 inches, 50 %/ less than in the driest plains of France. The effect of this low rainfall is reinforced by the fact that the marshes have been drained. Almost touching this region is the mountain known as the “ Ballon d’Alsace,” in the Vosges, where the mean rain- fall is nearly 80 inches. This reminds one of the curious case of Ratnagiri, on the coast below Bombay, where (if I am right) the rainfall is between 300 and 4oo inches, whereas only a few miles farther east, but on the farther side of the Ghauts, there is a place with only some 18 inches. Into this dry region in Alsace, however, the Forest of Hardt (or Harth) intrudes, and just here—a significant fact—the rainfall is nearly 24 inches. The vegetation responds. The pubescent oak, a southern variety of the sessile oak, is met with. A number of herbaceous plants belonging to a lower latitude also are found, as, for example, Artemisium camphorata, which in the Rhone valley does not grow farther north than the line of Grenoble. The beech will not thrive in this region. The lack of water, further, reduces the rate of growth. The outturn of the Forest of Hardt is always low, and M. Martin convinced himself, from borings, that in the drought of 192! the growth would be only two-fifths of that of a normal year, which, he calculated, would mean a loss of 500,000 frs. to the State. To which we might add that since a phenomenal drought is followed by a phenomenal seed year, and since a heavy seeding means a great reduction in the growth of wood, there will be further loss—a loss in material certainly much greater than the three-fifths due to the drought. I may illustrate this by a concrete example. It has been my practice to measure a certain plot of beech every four or five years, to ascertain the growth of the stems in girth. Ordinarily this has shown me that, after eliminating the suppressed stems, it takes about twenty-seven years, on an average, for the stems to make a foot of girth. On one occasion, however, I measured the plot CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 159 after only two years, and found that in place of twenty-seven years the resulting figure was forty years. This was astonishing until it was recollected that one of the two years had been a seed year. The Forest of Hardt has yet another difficulty to contend with, namely, the fact that it grows upon the Rhine pebble beds, which range from 30 to 150 metres in depth. It may be imagined how particularly necessary it is to maintain the cover, and also the forest floor. 1I.—M. André Bertin, chief of the Forest Mission to the French Colonies, shows how the French must look to their colonial forests to provide the means of meeting the great needs induced by the war, and it would seem that what applies to France applies also, in a sense, to us—vwe, too, have insufficient local supplies. To reconstruct in the devastated regions 250,000 buildings, the railways and the mines, to complete the large works held up by the war, and to build a good merchant fleet, will require the importation of eight million cubic metres (a cubic metre is 35°32 cubic feet) a year. For a period of ten years this would mean a payment of ten thousand million francs, and if the material were obtained from foreign countries the payment would have to be in gold, to the great detriment of the exchange. Thus it is estimated that eighty million cubic metres of wood must necessarily come from French possessions outside France itself, since where the French home forests have not been destroyed they have been very heavily worked. At the same time other countries also need great quantities of timber. Already in 1898, whereas France imported three million cubic metres, England imported fifteen million, Germany nine million, and Belgium two million. Considering the real exhaustion of the exporting countries the colonial forests must certainly be looked to. The colonial forests of France are supposed to cover some ninety million hectares (1 hectare=2'47 acres), ten times the area of the home forests, and about double the area of France. Of these ninety million hectares sixty are found on the West African coast. French North Africa and the French West Indies can only supply themselves. There remain Madagascar, Indo-China, and New Caledonia, but these places are distant. Moreover, they would find better markets nearer at hand—as in China or South Africa, 160 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, The Forest Commission has examined about 500 species of West African woods. It finds that the objections raised as to splitting, warping, etc., are unfounded, provided the seasoning is properly done; these woods must be more thoroughly dried than is usual for European species. Another mistake is to suppose that these colonial woods are not durable. There are colonial timbers in houses near Bordeaux which are in excellent condition, though a century old. It is difficult to get the trade to move in a new direction like this, but it has, nevertheless, made a beginning by picking out twenty-four species, under seven categories of requirements, which are considered suitable for the purposes of Europe. The French Commission has evidently difficulties very similar to our own. III,—In these notes, in a former number of the Zyvamsactions, we gave the history of a coppice-with-standards coupe of 7:23 hectares, in which the details of the standards cut and reserved between 1844 and 1919 were recorded. This showed an increase under both heads. M. Schaeffer now gives us similar details for as much as 112,000 hectares of coppice in the Haute Sadne between 1883 and 1921, which also show very remarkable increases in both standards reserved and standards cut, as follows :— Standards reserved, Standards cut, mean per hectare | mean per hectare eS | a = | Years Small | | ase | Medium Large | Medium | Large | Oaks Various | | | ooh Set eee —— se VE 1883 72°7 49°8 SS, MS 34 — oe 1884 75°4 52°4 OSTA «535 34'8 6 | 1885 69°4 47°8 25.7) 5: Oeaagen SO CAR AES ee ee 2 | | = = | M f the | a a i ze ; eae a yearol (|| AH Sean tea 5O 33/9) \ SOP 339 ec eae 1921 82°1 97 °2 Hapts: IO 49'S oy In spite of the markedly larger number cut the increase in the number left standing is very great—in the larger categories nearly double. This means, for the 112,000 hectares, an augmentation of four to five million stems. It is clear, too, that the régime of coppice is more and more fading away, and that they are coming to rely more and more on their standards, of which they are steadily reserving more at each marking. Thus we have good reason for optimism in regard to the CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE, 161 growth of forests. You will constantly find in the histories of French forests that at each revision of the working-plan the ‘possibility ” prescribed is increased. IV.—M. Barbey has some notes on the tendency of spruce ‘to suffer from insects. Insects attack a tree which is weakened, and a great source of weakness is that the species is so often planted in situations not suited to it. As regards soil, whether considered chemically or physically, the tree is inexacting, but moisture is all-important. Broilliard says atmospheric moisture is requisite. Jacquot says the soil must be fresh, rain frequent, and the atmosphere damp. Jolyet doubts the almost universal belief that it is the atmosphere which must be damp, since the spruce naturally grows at a higher altitude than the silver fir, that is to say, above the layer of mists to which the latter seems confined ; but he considers that soil moisture is absolutely necessary, because of the superficial rooting of the spruce. One saw this illustrated in England in 1921. In the drought many young spruce, even when planted in a beech wood, died. ‘Their death seemed to be clearly due to the drought, and not to the competition of the weeds, since previously these plants chad grown well enough. The silver firs in a similar situation -did not dry up, for their roots went deeper. The worst insect enemies of the spruce are, according to M. Barbey, Zomicus typographus and T. chalcographus, L.; Hylesinus polygraphus, Reitt; Pissodes harcyniae, Ubrt.; Col- lidium luridum, L.; and Anthaxia guadripunctata, L. None of these is to be found in Gillanders’s book, but of course M. Barbey is writing of Switzerland and France. V.—M. Martin Zédé, of Anticosti (Canada), used to lose half his plants (conifers and birch) when he put them out without noticing the direction in which he faced them, but ‘from the moment he took to planting them out facing in the same direction as they stood in his nursery the failures fell to 6 or 8%. He imagines this to be due to the bark being thicker -on the north side than on the south, so that if faced in a different direction when planted out the young plant is injuriously affected by the sun, or other influences. This phenomenon has long bee known in France in the case of plants of a fair size. VI.—M.-fickel states his conviction that there are two -separate ‘“‘races” of Scots pine—the one of the greater part of 162 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the mountains of France, of the Baltic provinces (called “ Riga Pine”), of Sweden and of Norway, the other of the plains of Central Europe (including Haguenau). The former he considers superior to the latter; they have straight boles, well cleared of branches to a great height, with little developed, narrow and pointed crowns. The bark of the stems is red (instead of black), thin (less than half an inch for stems of 20 to 24 inches diameter), fairly smooth (in plaques, instead of deep cracks), and with the appearance of a snake’s skin. The leaves are short and dark coloured. M. Hickel was engaged on the felling of Scots pine for the American army during the war, and when he needed stems of great length—say 70 to go feet—he only found them among the Riga pines. These latter can be seen as plantations along- side others from German seed. Unfortunately, previous to 1870, a great deal of Haguenau seed was used in France. M. Hickel says little about the quality of the timber, however, though he quotes Bagneris as saying that the Haguenau pine was of mediocre value, having grown at the limit of its station in the plains. One would like to have the point elucidated, for mere appearance is notimportant. As a fact the prices received for the Haguenau pine are sometimes better than those attained by the other pine. VII.—M. Ph. Bauby considers that the Zaxodium distichum (the ‘‘ Deciduous Cypress,” called by him the ‘‘ Bald Cypress”) could very well be used to plant up the non-saline marshes of the Rhone delta, of which there are 20,000 acres in the Depart- ment. of the Bouches du Rhone alone. These marshes are sometimes dry in summer. They are grazed or mown, but cultivation is impossible. Their annual revenue varies from 8 to 24 francs per acre. No valuable tree grows in the really wet places. Eucalypts have been suggested, but they are frozen in this area, and broken by the “ Mistral,” the well- known violent north-west wind. However, it was found that as soon as the stems were broken or frozen a number of root- suckers appeared. This is a common experience (in so far as felling or breaking are concerned), and I have especially noticed it in India with the Sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo), where both root-suckers and coppice-shoots appear in enormous quantities after the felling of the parent stems. Further, it may be mentioned that at the forest garden at Chaubuttia, in the CONTINENTAL NOTES—FRANCE. 163 Himalayas, at over 7000 feet, on a north aspect, when the eucalyptus (24. glodulus, if I remember right) was, as often happened, broken by the snow, it coppiced vigorously. It seems possible, therefore, that a coppice of eucalyptus might be feasible, and produce at least firewood, which is far more used by the French than by ourselves, with our larger coal supply. If this were possible the probable further result would be the drying up of the marshes, with its hygienic advantages, as has happened in the case of the Pontine Marshes, near Rome. However, the idea of coppice does not appear to have occurred to M. Bauby, and he recommends, as said above, the planting of the Deciduous cypress, giving sound arguments, for his opinion. The home of this tree is Florida and Louisiana, where it is found in marshes, and even on inundated ground. M. Bauby has carefully examined and measured a little wood of this cypress of about half an acre, not more than 55 years old, exposed to, but in no way injured by, the “ Mistral,” growing near Arles, Originally planted 3 metres apart there are now 180 tall, straight stems, varying from 36 to 79 feet high, and rj to 8 feet in girth, measured at 2 metres from the ground (to avoid the buttresses). He works out that the mean annual increment per hectare is 16°7 cubic metres (565 cubic feet), or 226 cubic feet per acre. It seems incredible, but the conditions are such as the tree loves—deep soil, a mixture of clay and sand, plenty of water, and a warm climate. Judging from the value of the wood in America, and discounting this for difference of station, it may safely be considered to be equal in worth to the mediocre wood of the Aleppo pine, which is much used for boxes at Marseilles. At this rate the annual return per acre would be some 200 francs. But to show the length to which the tree will go in supporting total immersion in water M. Bauby gives the case of a Deciduous cypress at Aix. This tree is nearly 30 feet high, and, though not thriving, is growing sufficiently well in a sort of stone vase of about 7 feet diameter in the middle of a masonry basin, while the upper edge of the vase is a foot and a half below the surface of the water. Moreover, the lateral roots have been cut. VIII.—M. P. Gouy draws attention to the Az/anthus glandu- Zosa, of which the countries of origin are China and the eastern 164 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Himalayas, but which has been introduced into Italy and south- east France. There it grows with vigour, and propagates itself extravagantly by root-suckers and by its winged seed. More- over in south-east France it will grow up to an altitude of 500 metres, so that it would seem possible to grow it at lower altitudes farther north. M. Gouy says it is very hardy and grows in any soil, whatever its physical nature or chemical composition—even among rocks or boulders with scarcely a trace of vegetable soil. He mentions two individual Azlanthus trees of his acquaintance, of which the first grows in a crack in a masonry bridge, and has in a few years reached 5 to 6 metres in height, and the thickness of a forearm ; and the second in a crack three fingers broad in a block of granite, which has similarly grown to 7 metres in height, with the thickness of a man’s thigh. Unfortunately the wood is of very poor quality and very weak. Nevertheless it has come into use since the war for cabinet work, coach-building, wheelwright’s work, furniture and toys. It works easily, takes a good polish, and does not suffer from insects or exposure. The wood is also quite good for paper- making. M. Gouy had had a request from a Lyons firm who used this wood in their works, and wanted more than they could get of it. What these works were is not stated. Their offer was 130 francs per cubic metre, f.o.r. There is another use for this species. Its leaves are eaten by silkworms, and before the war of 1870 they were being used with success for this purpose, but the economic upheaval due to that war put an end to that industry. In any case this species should be very useful for consolidating loose banks, or for rapidly covering, with the extreme of cheap- ness, bare ground, however inhospitable. Such ground so covered might then be interplanted with more valuable species. IX.—M. H. de Brun describes the great success of the Cedar of Lebanon on Mont Ventoux, which is no great distance from Avignon. ‘The altitude of the wood in question is con- siderable, viz. 2600 feet, though the latitude is low. The original home of the spécies (Lebanon, Taurus mountains and Atlas mountains) is at a low latitude, but the tree grows there at 4500 feet. The cedar was introduced at Mont Ventoux about 1863. In 1885 natural seedlings appeared, and thereafter the germina- CONTINENTAL NOTES—-FRANCE. 165 tion has increased progressively, till now they are often found as thick as grass. On Mont Ventoux the cedar forms about a quarter of an area of some 150 hectares, the remainder of the stock consisting of various pines (Scots, P. Zaricio, and others). This is a high pole forest, but whereas the pines are 4o to 50 feet high, with a mean girth of 3 feet or a little over, the cedars reach 50 to 60 feet of height, with a mean girth of 4 feet. But at first the cedar is a little outgrown. The form of the tree reacts to the density of the crop, being pyramidal and branchy in open spots, but more cylindrical and clean in close-grown places. The young plant is somewhat tender to frost, but escapes when sheltered. It is a shade-bearer,. and M. de Brun speaks of the wood as indestructible. It has the characteristic aromatic scent of the cedar in its original home, and is resinous. In these respects the Lebanon cedar on Mont Ventoux appears to be similar to its cousin the deodar, in this country. M. de Brun speaks of a taproot to the cedar, which makes it difficult to plant out, so that he thinks it should only be sown ; but a deodar transplanted in the nurseryewhen quite small seems to be at least supplied with a great number of other roots as well, even if the taproot is sometimes troublesome. I have in my charge several acres of young deodar mixed with its natural associate, the blue pine (P. exce/sa), itself a valuable timber, and I find the deodar more liable to fail than the pine. Planted out in the autumn the deodar appears to suffer if the following winter is hard, and if planted out in the spring the failures also seem to be more numerous when the preceding winter has been severe. But as yet I am not quite sure whether this latter deduction is correct. Once the plantation is under way the deodar thrives, though the growth of the early years is slow. A deodar in a garden, unlike the true Lebanon cedar, does not seem to thrive after some forty years, but grown in forest conditions things may be different. If so, the fact will be very important, considering the extraordinary durability of the wood of deodar in its natural home, at from 6000 to gooo feet in the Himalayas. The climate of that place is much like our own, though the sunlight is much more intense. One should probably, therefore, plant on a hot aspect; also, for this mountain tree, sloping ground would be suitable. 166 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 22. Sample Plot Investigations in Scotland. By H. M. STEVEN, Ph.D. One result of our lack of an established Forest Authority in the past was that, compared with other countries, we knew little regarding the volume production and other factors of growth of our principal forest trees under different conditions. Nevertheless a knowledge of the productivity of the forest soils is the essential basis of a forest policy, just as a knowledge of production is necessary in other industries. When data of this kind were required by bodies or individuals considering forestry, the only course was to use data collected on the continent of Europe without any confidence, however, that they were applicable to our island conditions. The carrying out of the Forest Statistical Survey in 1917-20, when almost 500 sample plots were measured in Scotland, provided data. This survey, which also traversed England, Wales, and Ireland, enabled Yield-tables or Tables of Production for different ages and qualities of locality to be made. Further, the information collected made it possible to find out what were the chief limiting factors to economic tree-growth in this country, and how far they operated under different conditions. The main results of this investigation were published by the Forestry Commission, as Bulletin No. 3, on ‘‘The Rate of Growth of Conifers in the British Isles.” The results show that our island conditions are reflected in the growth of trees, and that thus independent investigations for this country are necessary. For example, in general, height- growth is more rapid in early life here than on the Continent. The more insular the climate the more apparent is this, it being more marked in Ireland than in Great Britain. When some knowledge was obtained regarding production under different conditions, it was considered that the next most important subject of this kind for study was an investigation into thinning methods for our chief species and conditions. Although Scottish foresters are not without skill in this important silvicultural operation, little has been done in the way of a study of different thinning methods, carried out systematically at regular intervals, especially in the light of recent continental investigations. The importance of such SAMPLE PLOT INVESTIGATIONS IN SCOTLAND. 167 periodic thinnings, both from a silvicultural and economic point of view, has probably not been fully appreciated in this country, largely no doubt owing to difficulties of marketing, resulting from plantations being on a relatively small scale and scattered. In order to gain a clear picture of the influence of systematic thinnings and a knowledge of the problems involved, one may consider the subject from different view-points. First of all, thinning methods should be directed to the improvement of the type of tree. We know that there are good and bad races of the different species for particular conditions, and it is of the utmost importance that the best type should be obtained in the first instance. It is not enough, however, to stop there, A good race is rarely if ever pure, but consists of a mixture of good and bad types. Its superiority over a bad race consists in its having a greater proportion of good type trees. Further, the influence of the locality on the growing trees brings out the advantages or disadvantages of particular points of race, such as, for example, types of branching. The thinning method should be directed to the favouring of what is seen to be the best type of tree for the conditions. It should be noted that the most desirable type may not be the most aggressive, hence under faulty thinning methods or neglect undesirable types such as “wolf” or coarse branching types may persist and pre- dominate. If, however, desirable types are selected and favoured by systematic and regular thinnings, the final crop will consist largely of good type trees suitable for the conditions. The resulting crop from these mother trees, whether regenerated naturally or artificially, will be an advance on the first. The second point it is desired to note is the control thinning exercises on the size and quality of the timber produced, It is an axiom that, within limits, light thinnings produce many small trees per acre, and heavy thinnings fewer but larger trees per acre. Both systems have their uses for particular objects of management. The heavy war cuttings have removed practically all our large dimension timber, and one problem is how to replace it at the earliest time. It seems indicated, therefore, that part of our wooded area should be thinned as heavily as the growth response permits. It is important, however, that this large size timber should be got with the minimum reduction in quality. This is a large problem 168 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY.. for investigation. Its solution will probably lie in a type of systematic and regular thinnings, so that the year rings, although wide, will be regular in size and the increment concentrated on the straightest and best formed trees. The third point is the relation between thinning methods and the health of the crop. The regular removal not only of diseased (where possible) and backward or weak trees will decrease both actual and potential centres of infection. Further, if a thinning method succeeds in increasing the food, water and light supply of the trees that remain, this will be reflected in increased vigour and probably less liability to certain diseases. The last angle from which it is desired to view the problem is the influence of thinnings on the forest floor. It is usually recognised that the excessive weed growth which results from too open a canopy is bad, but it is not always realised that the opposite extreme is harmful also. Under too close canopy conditions, especially under certain climatic conditions, the leaf fall does not disintegrate and raw humus accumulates. What should be an important source of food-supply is lost, indeed becomes harmful owing to its effect on the soil. Investigations on the Continent, such as Oppermann’s in Denmark, have shown that for certain species and conditions, heavy thinnings are necessary to ensure the continuous oxidation of the humus. It is essential, however, that they be carried out at regular intervals and directed to secure this object. Consideration of this aspect of the thinning problem is required for our country, both from the point of view of the growth of existing woods and the future problem of natural regeneration, which is influenced notably by the condition of the humus at the end of the rotation. Having now endeavoured to indicate the thinning problems awaiting study, a short account will be given of how the investigation is being carried out by the Forestry Commission. As yet the Forestry Commission has few woods old enough for the above purpose, hence the investigation is being carried out largely in privately-owned woods with the co-operation of their owners. To date, the work has been limited to pure or almost pure even-aged coniferous stands. As a rule only young woods about 15 years and upwards requiring a first thinning are selected, so that the whole history of the thinnings may be known. A uniform and fully stocked piece of such ‘ SAMPLE PLOT INVESTIGATIONS IN SCOTLAND. 169 a wood is selected, and two or more sample plots are laid out side by side. The size of the sample plots is from ‘25 to ‘5 acre. Round each sample plot an area is demarcated which is thinned and otherwise treated as the sample plot. The object of this surrounding area is to provide sample trees, from time to time, to complete the growth statistics without disturbing the sample plot. On the average each sample plot with its surround extends to about 1 acre. Within the sample plot each tree is given a number, which is stencilled on the tree with white paint. The next step is to describe each tree on a definite scheme, recording its degree of dominance in the crop, its crown and stem form’ The object of this classification is to give a basis on which to make the thinnings and a means of recording accurately what is done. With regard to the thinning methods which are being investigated, as foresters know, there are two main classes, namely :— (1) Thinnings from under. (French—Eclaircie par le bas). (2) Thinnings from above. (French—£claircie par le haut). In thinnings from under, the thinnings are directed from the lowest canopy level upwards, z.c. all suppressed trees not required for soil cover are removed, together with a greater or less number of defective trees in the upper canopies, depending on the heaviness of the thinning. It is generally a light thinning of this class, namely, a Grade “‘B” thinning (following the nomenclature of the Association of German Forest Experimental Stations) which is used as a control on the groups of experimentalthinning plots. In this grade only such types of trees as dead, dying, suppressed, and whips are removed. This grade is frequently contrasted with a Grade “C” thinning, a heavy thinning from under which gradually removes all suppressed, backward, and defective trees, large and small, which can be removed, without permanently breaking the canopy or endangering the development of the crop. In thinnings from above the practice is to leave the suppressed and backward trees, except the dead, dying, and diseased, and to make the thinning in the defective dominants with a view to aiding the development of the best trees. Leaving the smaller trees enables this to be done without unduly exposing VOL. XXXVI. PART II. M 170 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the forest floor. In this class of thinning, Grade ““D” is being investigated. This is a light thinning of this kind, but from the point of view of what is removed, is a heavy thinning. This grade may be of value for a species such as Douglas fir, a considerable proportion of whose dominants are often of bad stem form. In order that the development of the trees may be recorded, complete measurements are made. Each tree is girthed with a steel tape at a marked point (4 ft. 3 ins. from the ground). Eight to ten sample trees are felled in the area demarcated round the sample plot. These trees are measured in ro-feet sections over and under bark. The total height, crown and other measurements are made also. For the five largest sample trees, after cross-cutting, ring-counts are made at different heights to enable an age-height graph to be constructed. This shows the trend of height-growth from the formation of the wood. The thinnings are measured separately. From these measurements the following growth-statistics are calculated :— number of trees per acre, height of tallest trees and mean- height, form-factor (an under-bark true volume form-factor), girth at 4 ft. 3 ins, basal area per acre at 4 ft. 3 ims., true volume under bark per acre and bark percent. A similar set of statistics is obtained for the thinnings. The successive measurements will give the periodic and periodic mean annual increments for both basal area and volume. The volume determinations are made by a graphical form-factor method ‘devised by Schwappach, and in use in India for sample plot investigations. In addition to the measurements a study and record is made of all the factors of locality, such as soil, vegetation, exposure, climate, etc., and all available knowledge regarding the previous history of the crop is noted. The plan is to remeasure, study, and, if necessary, thin the sample plots every five years. The final assessment of the different thinning methods will be made on all the data collected during the whole period of the investigation, including a study of the timber produced. In addition to the main investigation into methods of thinning by groups of contiguous plots, single sample plots of the newer species are being established to supplement our knowledge regarding their growth. SAMPLE PLOT INVESTIGATIONS IN SCOTLAND, 171 In all, over fifty sample plots for periodic study have been established in Scotland since 1920. They are distributed from Ross and Cromarty in the north to Kirkcudbright in the south, and from Argyll in the west to Aberdeen in the east. Investi- gations on the same lines are proceeding in England and Wales. This investigation should throw new light on one of the most important of forestry operations, and enable a forward step to be made in the development of Scottish forestry. 23. The Douglas Fir Chermes.' Within recent years considerable interest has been aroused among arboriculturists and silviculturists, especially in the South of England, by the appearance of a chermes on the Douglas fir. By many it was assumed to be identical with the larch chermes C. strobilobius or C. viridis, but others looked on the insect as one to be watched and studied. Finally, Professor A. Henry submitted material to the Bureau of Entomology in Washington, and was informed that this chermes was indeed a newcomer and perhaps a dangerous one. Meanwhile, the Forestry Commissioners had been interested in the question, and they have now published the results of an investigation into it made under their direction by Mr R. N. Chrystal, B.Sc. The problems which the Douglas fir chermes presented were by no means simple. In the first place, even in America know- ledge of the insect, which was determined as a species new to science by the Russian authority Cholodkovsky, was incomplete. Professor Gillette of Colorado first described the insect, which he named Chermes cooleyi, as occurring on the Rocky Mountain spruce. He also described what he believed to be a variety of this species on the Douglas fir, which he named Chermes cooleyi var. cowent. Subsequently Carl Borner placed Gillette’s species and its variety in a new genus Gi//etfea, and suggested that the species and its variety were only different stages in the life- 1¢* The Douglas Fir Chermes” (Chermes cooleyi), Bulletin No. 4, Forestry Commission. Price, 2s. net. 172 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. cycle of the same insect Gillettea cooleyi. Five years later Chrystal studied the chermes in Vancouver, where he unwittingly confirmed Borner’s suggestion, and traced Gillettea cooley¢ from the Sitka spruce to the Douglas fir and back again. Both Gillette and Chrystal, however, failed to trace the sexual stages of the chermes on its primary host, and although Chrystal’s work clearly showed that the Sitka spruce chermes and the Douglas fir chermes were merely different stages in the one insect’s life-cycle, the necessary connecting link, the sexual generation, had not been found. When Chrystal began his researches under the Forestry Com- mission, Chermes (Gillettea) cooleyi was known in this country only on the Douglas fir, and the first question to be settled in regard to it was to ascertain whether it had a primary or spruce host in Britain, and if not what factors contributed towards the reduction of the life-cycle. Chrystal’s research has gone a considerable way towards solving the problem. In the first place, both laboratory experiments and field work have shown that, so far at least, the Douglas fir is the only host on which C. cooleyi persists in this country. Further, it has been shown that the full life-cycle of the insect, which evidently exists in America, has, as it were, been short circuited, and that C. cooleyz exists in this country only as a parthenogenetic race incapable of producing successful sex elements, although a sexual genera- tion on the Sitka spruce may be and is, in fact, frequently produced. In addition to new information on the biology of the Douglas fir chermes, the Forestry Commission bulletin contains important discussions on the chermes_ problem generally. The researches of Cholodkovsky, Borner, Marchal, and Gillette among foreign workers, and of Burdon and Steven in Our own country, have been summarised and correlated. A particularly important section deals with the sex generations in the Chermesidae. The relations of the various chermes species to their hosts are discussed, important new observations being given as regards C. cooley:, while an interesting account is given. of some of the known natural enemies of the Chermesidae. Lack of time—Chrystal’s work was unfortunately suspended owing to economy restrictions—prevented any proper study of the important question of the modes of dispersal of the chermes, THE DOUGLAS FIR CHERMES, 173 and while a few facts and suggestions on it are given the forester will regret that further work in this direction was not possible. The appendices to the Bulletin, while perhaps too technical to appeal to the majority of the forestry public, cannot fail to be useful to those who are engaged in or contemplate further study of this group. The illustrated keys to the identification of the species of the larch and Douglas fir chermes, based on the work of Bérner and Cholodkovsky, provide for the first time a means of identifying our British species in all their stages, and are in themselves a most useful contribution to our entomological literature. The Bulletin, as a whole, definitely extends our knowledge of the Chermesidae, especially in their rdle as forest pests, and forms an important basis for further work. | In conclusion, a word must be said for Mr Fraser Story’s share in the preparation of the Bulletin for publication. It is largely owing to his assistance in this respect that the study of a difficult and highly technical problem appears in a form which should appeal not only to the entomologist but also to the practical silviculturist. J. W. M. 174 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 24. Some Remarks on British Forest History. By H. G. RICHARDSON. (Continued from Vol. xxxv., p. 166.) II—THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES. These centuries lie between that period of slow economic growth, which we call the Middle Ages, and the modern period in which we live whose civilisation is founded upon coal. In the year 1500 wood was used for the purposes for which we now use coal, although coal was used to some extent for smithies and for lime-burning, and those who could not do better warmed themselves by it: wood was used for housebuilding and ship- building, for constructional purposes of all kinds, for implements. and tools, for furniture and tableware.! By the year 1700 brick and stone houses were the rule, particularly in towns: their rooms were larger and more numerous and far better furnished with furniture, often made of exotic hardwoods; there was British-made glass in the windows, and glass and pewter on the tables, and a good deal of British-made ironwork in and round the houses; on the hearths coal was burnt, although other fuels were used where coal was difficult to get; British ships, largely built of imported timber, sailed every sea. Yet it is easy to deepen the contrast out of all measure, to emphasise the accidents. Coal was not yet used for smelting: steam power was unknown: and although agriculture had everywhere encroached upon the woodlands, farming in Scotland was primitive almost beyond belief; in Ireland they still ploughed by the tail and burnt corn in the straw; and great areas of land in England were unenclosed common-fields. The subjects. of King William were sufficiently near the Middle Ages to despise them: but still the distance travelled had not been inconsiderable. If we are to understand the history of timber we must realise 1 Eig. Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, iii. i. 191 (1579): ‘‘ To William Jonson, turner, Eastcheap, 2 doz. platters, 20d.; 1 doz. drinking bowls, 6d. ; 2 two-gallon tankards, 2s.; 2 gallon tankards, 16d.; 4 pails, 12d.; 2 doz. saucers, 4d.; 4 doz. dishes, 12d.; 3 pottle tankards, 12d.; 2 ladles, rod.” William Harrison, in his Description of England, notes as one of the greatest changes within living memory that of ‘‘treen platters into pewter, and wooden spoons into silver or tin” : Elizabethan England, p. 119. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. I75 that it is but a commodity which, according to its use, becomes a member now of one economic group, now of another. There is hardly any commodity for which human ingenuity will not find a substitute. Other materials will burn and give warmth, and turf, peat, furze, dung,! coal, have been used by man from the earliest times where timber has been hard to come by: and peat, it is credibly reported, was preferred to wood by the Irish in the seventeenth century, “the cutting and carriage of the Turf being more easy than that of Wood.”? Other materials besides wood will build houses and bridges, and indeed wood was early found an unsatisfactory material. The most ancient building regulations of London, FitzAylwin’s Assize, greatly favoured stone houses as a protection against the devastating fires to which mediaeval cities were subject:% but building in stone was expensive, and mediaeval London was ever far from being a stone-built city. And though it was the ambition of James I. to have it said of him that he found London houses *‘of Stickes and left them of Bricke,”’4 this was a dream still unrealised when the Great Fire consumed the old city. We have already seen that the timber import trade is of great antiquity: but the timber brought from abroad was for constructional purposes; boards, planks, and wainscot of oak and of softwoods were the chief imports, with round timber for masts and spars. The great demand, however, was for fuel for household and industrial purposes: the demand was great enough to cause apprehension as to the sufficiency of the supply of timber for shipbuilding and other constructional purposes ; but it is necessary to remember that timber is expensive to transport unless it can come by water, and that a shortage 'As to the use in England of dung for fuel see Standish, Commons Complaint (1611), p. 2; Mew Directions of Experience (1613), p. 6; Fynes Moryson, /tinerary (1617), iil. 147; Artificial Fire (a broadsheet, 1644) ; Moore, Bread for the Poor (1653), p. 27; Evelyn, Sy/va (1812 edn.), ii. 251. 2 Sir William Petty, Poltical Anatomy of Ireland (1672) in Economic Writings (1899), p. 192. Dr G. O’Brien, Economic History of Ireland in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 44, 148, attributes the use of peat to the destruction of forests. Boate, Irelana’s Natural History (1652), p. 106, says it is used ‘*in parts far distant from the sea, where they can have no Sea coales, and where Woods are wanting, nor live well.”’ Cf. Fynes Moryson, of. ctt., iii. 161. 3 Liber de Antiguis Legibus, pp. 206 ff. 4 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations (R. Steele), No. 1167; Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, ii. 316, n. i. 176 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of timber at the usual sources of supply was sufficient to prompt public outcry and legislation. There were very real and acute shortages from time to time: we hear of veritable famines of fuel in London, due, doubtless, to local and temporary causes but terrible enough to the poor.! By the sixteenth century the coal trade was well established in the principal coal-fields, and the sea-borne trade was considerable:? but coal was much disliked as a household fuel, partly perhaps because the mediaeval house was ill-adapted to burning coal,* and certainly because men were not reconciled to the smoke-laden atmosphere and the obscured heavens of modern industrial towns: and so it was only by slow degrees that coal became an effective competitor of wood, and then displaced it as a household fuel. # It is instructive to note how, in the wills of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, legacies are left for providing coal for the poor. At first it is clear that charcoal is intended,® but sea-coal is specifically mentioned in 1544.® From early in the seventeenth century the city of London maintained a stock of 4000 Chaldrons of Newcastle coal for the use of the poor.? The interruption of the Newcastle trade in 1643-4 occasioned great distress, and the inhabitants of London began to help themselves from the woods and hedgerows of the surrounding . country. The Government forbade unauthorised persons to cut and carry away wood, and endeavoured to regularise the position so as to secure “an orderly and reasonable supply of fellable wood for fewell, without destroying any Timber-trees,” with the 1 Such famines began certainly as early as the fifteenth century. During the great frost in the winter of 1436-7, which lasted from 7th December to 22nd February, ‘‘ much people died in that time for cold and scarcity of wood and coal” ; Zhe Brut (E.E T.S.), p. 470. A similar famine is noted in the Grey Friars Chronicle in the winter of 1542-3: Monumenta Franciscana, ii. 205. 2 Salzman, English Industries of the Middle Ages, pp. 6 ff.: Letters and Papers, xiv. i. 610; xv. 409, 560, 564, 566; xvi. 727; xvil. 105; xviii. 1. 28611537, 5525 X1K: lato2)5) xX2) 13275076, (670, 11. 228)s) xxi.) il, OG. eae. Cochran-Patrick, Zarly Records relating to Mining in Scotland, pp. xliii. ff. 3‘*The multitude of chimneys lately erected’”’ is another of the great changes remarked by Harrison, /oc. cét. 4In the middle of the seventeenth century, charcoal (small coal) was still em- ployed to kindle coal fires: Sea-Coale, Char-Coale and Small-Coale (1643), p. 6. 5 Herbert, Livery Companies, i. 131, 286 ff. et passim: Stow, Survey of London (ed. Kingsford), i. 148, 302. © Thi. p. Ez 7 Index to Remembrancta, pp. 84, 87. Later this duty, on a larger scale, was imposed upon the City companies: Herbert, of. ctf., i. 130. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 177 express object of serving the poor first.1 This ordinance appears to have achieved little, and the distress continued. ? The Lord Mayor was driven to issue a proclamation ‘to give incouragement to all those that shall out of their good affection and charity towards this City, adventure to bring Sea-coales, Pit-coales, or any other manner of Fewell from any part of this kingdome, into the Port of London, for the use and benefit of the Inhabitants thereof, and parts adiacent, especially of the poore and needy, which heretofore were yeerely provided for by the provident care of this City, from Newcastle.”? There was, however, no alternative source of supply: even when com- munications were uninterrupted the plight of the poor was bad enough ;* and now anything that was capable of burning was likely to find its way into the fire. ° Queen Elizabeth had found “hersealfe greately greved and anoyed with the taste and smoke of the sea cooles,”® and sixty years later citizens’ wives still considered it a point of good breeding to affect an objection to coal smoke: ‘‘O Husband,” they were wont to say (or so their traducer declared), ‘‘ we shall never bee well, wee, nor our Children, whilst we live in the smell of this Cities Seacoale smoke; Pray, a Countrey house for our health, that we may get out of this stinking Seacoale smell.” 7 But by the middle of the seventeenth century, wood in London was clearly the fuel of the wealthy and delicate :* coal was the 1 Ordinance, 2 Oct. 1643: Acts and Ordinances of Interregnum, i. 303 ff: ‘Order of Committee of Lords and Commons, 4 Oct. 1643 [B.M. 10350, g. 11 (2)]. ° Sea-Coale, Char-Coale and Smail-Coale, p. 6. 3 Proclamation by Mayor, 27 June 1644 [B.M. 669, f.9 (9)]. 4 Standish, Mew Directions of Experience, p. 3: ‘‘ London, where wood is pretious, and too deare for the poorer sort; by meanes thereof, they are constrained to breake hedges, to the great decaying of wood, and to the grieuance of euery man that hath woods and hedges.” 5 Artificial Fire: ‘‘ The great want of Fewell for fire, makes many a poore Creature cast about how to passe over this cold Winter to come, but finding small redresse for so cruell an enemy, as the cold makes some turne Thieves that never stole before, steale Posts, Seats, Benches from doores, Railes, nay, the very Stocks that should punish them, and all to keep cold Winter away.” 5 Cal. State Papers (Domestic), 1547-80, p. 612. 7 Artificial Fire. 8 The Two Grand Ingrossers of Coles (1653), p. 10: ‘‘none comes into our Purlews at lesse than one or two Chaldron, besides Billets and Chamber-faggots for their Wives lying in.” Petty, Political Arithmetic (c. 1676), in Economtc Writings, p. 304: coals ‘‘ were heretofore seldom used in chambers as now ‘they are.” 178 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. fuel of all classes from the noble to the pauper; and we have the earliest suggestion for the nationalisation of the coal-mines of the country as a safeguard against what we now know as profiteering.} We must not imagine that the conquest of coal was universal : its conquest depended, like all conquests, upon transport, and until well into the eighteenth century transport was very defective. Where it could be brought by water, coal gradually became the common fuel; but only when available wood supplies were deficient or precarious: although there is some evidence that the greater calorific value of coal caused it to be used even when wood-fuel was available.” The influence of easy water communications is admirably illustrated also by the export trade in fuel. In the first half of the sixteenth century, wood-fuel was supplied from Sussex, Kent, and even Essex, to the cross-Channel ports: to Calais and Boulogne, of course, as to part of the realm,? but to the Dunkirkers as a favour and under licence,* and to the French surreptitiously. English wood-fuel, indeed, in negotiations with the Emperor assumed considerable diplomatic importance. Nor should this circumstance occasion surprise, for a narrow sea, like a broad river, is as often as not a means of communication rather than of division: it links the supplier and the consumer and creates an economic unit. The Weald, with its ample stocks of fuel, was becoming the great foundry—the Black Country,,. to use an anachronism—of England: and it was because the trade in fuel was well organised that export was possible: the local demand actually made export more practicable: a bulky cargo like wood-fuel would bear the short cross-Channel journey, when transport coastwise to London might be too long and difficult to make it possible to sell the fuel at a profit. London 1 The Two Grand Ingrossers, pp. 10, 14. 2 Sea-Coale, Char-Coale and Smail-Coale, p. 7. Yarranton, Augland’s Improvement by Sea and Land (1677), p. 61: ‘* Pit Coal in all these places, considering the duration and cheapness thereof, is not so chargeable to the- Owner of the Woods as cutting and carrying the Woods home to his House.” 3 Letters and Papers, xiv. i. 3843 xv. 67, 83, 99, 283; xvii. 324; xviii. 86; 327 5 xix. 1. 4245 xx. I. 550, a1en193)5) Xxi. 1. 373. 4 Toid., ix. 86; xiv. i. 75, 544; xv. 67; xvi. 78, 84, 466, 508 ff; xvii. 325. Ape nk lee}, Gan ss be 5 Ibid., xvii. 672, 670. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 179: in fact was served by the surrounding country.! At the same time Newcastle coal was brought freely into Calais *—as well as into other Channel and Biscay ports*—but it was employed principally, if not exclusively, in the smithy and the lime-kiln.* Calais had been lost well before the time coal passed into general use as household fuel. To the writers, and doubtless to many public-spirited speakers, of the later sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, the great enemies of English woods were iron and glass manufacture.° By the introduction of these industries into Ireland it was hoped the woods of that country might be destroyed and the woods of England preserved,® although in the event the export trade proved the greater destroyer of Irish woods. In the Lowlands of Scotland the damage was apparently already done, but when the pacification of the Highlands made the northern forests accessible it was feared that the introduction of iron-works would ruin them.’ Other trades also excited apprehension. We hear of the malsters consuming all the wood within thirty miles of York: and to William Harrison the use of wood-fuel for brick- making was a reckless extravagance,® although not many 1 An order of 1584 regulating the price of firewood mentions Western, Kentish, and Essex billets, and Western and Eastern faggots: Proclamation by Mayor, 20 July 1584[B.M., C. 39, k. 14 (2)]. 2 Letters and Papers, xiv. i. 81 ff.; xvi. 40 ff., 121, 445, 568 ff.; xviii. i. So7005, 1165 sx. i. 25, 61 fi.; xxi. i. 31,120, 11. 144, 300. Liege coal is also frequently mentioned. 3 Tbid., xviil. 435; xx. li. 80. 4 Jbid., xiv. i. 81 ff. e¢ passim. Large quantities of wood were consumed by brewers at Calais: zézd., xv. 99. 5 Harrison, of. cét., pp. 148-9: Standish, New Dérections, p. 4: Edmond Howes, Stow’s Annales (1615), p. 210: Evelyn, Sy/va (1664), p. 1: St. 1 Eliz. c.1§; 23 Eliz.c.5: Tudor and Stuart Proclamations, No. 1164 (23 May 1615), forbidding use of timber for glass manufacture; No. 1751 (29 July 1637), against excessive use of timber for iron-making. 4 Relation of Abuses (1629), Camden Miscellany, vol. iii. pp. 5 ff., attributes the destruction of timber to iron-works and the supply of bark for tanners. The destruction wrought by the latter is noted by Yarranton fifty years later: Awglands Improvement, Second Part, pp. 73 ff As to Ireland, see Cal. State Papers (Domestic), 1671, p. 184. Saltworks also consumed much wood: Leland’s /¢merary (ed. Toulmin Smith), ii. 94. 6 Dudley Westropp, /r¢sh Glass, pp. 21-3; Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1608-10, p. 419. 7 Acts of Parlt. of Scotland, iv. 408. 8 Letters and Papers, xv. 229 (s.a. 1540). Og. cst... ps 1Ou. 180 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. years later James VI. and I. saw in brick the salvation of timber.! The extension of the demand for fuel caused by the growing industrialisation of the country, and the expanding household demand of an increasing population, gave rise to periodical panics, and there were many prophecies of an imminent timber famine. Few observed the process by which industry and domestic consumers were ceaselessly adapting themselves to other fuels, a process made possible no less by changes in architecture and equipment than by a growing insensibility to the worst feature of the modern city. Coal gradually came into general use for industrial purposes,? and many attempts were made to solve the problem of using it to smelt iron: * the objection to coal for culinary and domestic purposes, however, long continued.? It was left to Sir William Petty to scoff at all apprehensions of any serious timber shortage, and to support his case by arguments to which any reply seemed impossible.® Iron smelting had been pursued in England from a remote antiquity, and by the fifteenth century had assumed considerable dimensions :° the expansion in the following century, however, altered the whole aspect of the industry. The consumption of fuel was very great; but coal could be used, and was indeed to be preferred, for working the iron once the ore had been 1 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations, Nos. 1011, 1114, 1115, 1117, 11673 Cunningham, of. cét., li, 316, n. I. 2 By 1578 it was the principal fuel used by London brewers, who offered to burn no more sea-coal but wood only in those brewhouses nearest the palace of Westminster: Cad. State Papers (Domestic), 1547-80, p. 612. 3 Sturtevant and Dud Dudley are well known: there were others who also attempted to discover the process. Plattes, 4 Discovery of Infinite Treasure (1639), p. 9: ‘‘I finde by experience, that all attempts to make iron with Sea- coale or other coales, are vanitie.” Cunningham, of. cz., li. 65. 4 Harrison, of. ctt., p. 202. Standish, Mew Deérections, p. 34: “‘ forty yeares agoe, when the poorest sort scorned to eate a peece of meate roasted with sea-cole, which now the best Magistrates are constrained to doe.” Edmond Howes, writing in 1612 (Stow’s Annales, p. 210), declared that ‘* Sea-cole, and pitt-coale is become the generall fuell of this Britaine Island, vsed in the houses of the nobilitie, cleargy, and gentrie, in London and in all the other cityes, and Shires of this kingdome, as well for dressing of meate, washing, brewing, dyeing as otherwise”: but later evidence suggests that this is an exaggeration. 5 Political Arithmetic in Economic Writings, pp. 243, 294. ® Salzman, of. ct¢., pp. 20 ff. 7 Ibid., pp. 36-7. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 181 smelted,! and before the end of the seventeenth century the industry was waning in the Weald where coal was not available, while it was increasing rapidly in other iron-fields, long before coke came into use for smelting.2, To hold up the Weald as an example of the destruction wrought to woodlands by iron-works is probably to some extent mistaken. Yarranton, who, by his own account, and by the evidence of his writings, had a wide experience of contemporary conditions, boldly asserted that the proximity of iron-works indeed tended to ensure the preservation of woods. ‘“ Iron-works,” he said, ‘‘are so far from the destroy- ing of Woods and Timber, that they are the occasion of the increase thereof. For in all parts where Iron-works are, there generally are great quantities of Pit Coals very cheap, and in these places there are great quantities of Copices or Woods which supply the Iron-works: And if the Iron-works were not in being, these Copices would have been stocked up, and turned into Pasture and Tillage, as is now daily done in Sussex and Surry, where the Iron-works or most of them are laid down. And in Glocester-shire, Worcester-shire, Warwick, Salop and Stafford Shires are vast and infinite quantities of Copices, wherein there are great store of young Timber growing ; and if it were not that there would be Moneys had for these Woods by the Owners from: the Iron Masters, all these Copices would be stocked up and turned into Tillage and Pasture, and so there would be neither Woods nor Timber in these places.” He goes on: “ And as to making Charcoal with Timber in those parts, so much talked of, it was and is most notoriously false ; for Timber in all these parts is worth thirty shillings a Tun, and a Tun and three quarters of Timber will but make one Coard of Wood. So let all rational men consider, whether an Iron Master will cut up Timber to the value of fifty shillings, to make one Coard of Wood, when he pays for his Wood in most of these places but seven shillings a Coard?” 2 ‘The argument is worth considering for Yarranton was not singular in this opinion, and even Evelyn was disposed to go some way in admitting its truth. Yarranton, however, is not consistent, and elsewhere admits that the statute which 1 [t had been so employed at least as early as the thirteenth century: Zzde7 QOuotidianus Garderobae, pp. 119, 151. 2 Sussex Archaeological Collections, iii. 247; xvili. 15, 16: Yarranton, England’s Improvement, p. 149. 3 Tbid., pp. 60-61 ; Second Part, pp. 71-2, 163 ff. 4 Sylva (1664), p. 110. 182 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY required twelve standards to be left to the acre was not regarded and that timber trees were improperly felled to suit the purposes not only of the woodman and charcoal burner, but also of the tanner:! and he urges the inclosure and planting of commons to save the iron industry, “for woods in the Countreys I name, where there is Iron-Stone, and Pit-Cole, plentiful, are as the Breast is to the Child; let that cease, all dies.” ? Glass-making was not an entirely unknown art in England in the later Middle Ages,* but its development appears to be due to the encouragement given to foreign artisans by the govern- ment under Elizabeth. A large factory was soon established in the hall of the Crutched Friars in London, ‘‘ which consumed a great quantite of wood by making of glasses”: it was burned down in 1575 with 40,000 billets within it.° The apprehension the industry excited is difficult to understand: but glass-makers appear to have continued to use wood-fuel when most other industries had turned to coal,° although so early as 1615 it was announced that a new way of making glass with sea-coal or pit-coal had been discovered, a process which had been ‘‘ perfected” by 1635." Fears that timber was being consumed too fast by one industry or another began to be expressed in the sixteenth century ; the series of English statutes, which starts with that of 1544 “for the preservation of woods,”* commenced; and projects for planting began to be published. The main pro- visions of these statutes were to require twelve standards to be left to each acre of wood felled—coppice was principally in view —and to enjoin fencing for varying terms: the conversion of coppice into tillage or pasture was prohibited. Three great difficulties, however, confronted legislators and administrators. In the first place, there was an almost complete absence of 1 Englands Improvement, Second Part, pp. 73 ff. 2 Englands Improvement, pp. 147 fk ; Second Part, pp. 72-3. ° Salzman, of. czt., pp. 127 ff. 4 Cal. State Papers (Dom.), 1547-80, pp. 256, 297, 315. > Stow, Survey of London (ed. Kingsford), i. 148. 6 When Evelyn was writing Sy/va (1664), p. i., and see also later editions, 7 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations, Nos. 1164, 1707; Jdiddleton MSS. (Hist. MSS. Commn.), pp. 182, 499 ff. 8 St. 35 Henry VIII. c.17; this Act was repeatedly continued, and was made perpetual by 13 Eliz. c. 25. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 183 statistical knowledge, serious attempts at estimating the re- sources of the country dating only from the latter half of the seventeenth century :! consequently, generalisations were based upon local happenings or on temporary circumstances. Secondly, the general provisions of any legislation were almost invariably broken through, either by provisos safe- guarding vested interests, or by licences subsequently granted. The Wealds of Kent, Surrey and Sussex were excepted from the Act of 1544: and even when special legislation was passed in 1559 and again in 1581, restricting the felling of timber trees for use in iron-works, the same districts were again ex- cepted.2, In Scotland an Act of 1609 prohibited the manu- facture of iron with wood or timber—it could not, of course, be made with anything else—but in 1612 licences were granted to Sir George Hay and to Archibald Primrose to make iron, the former in the. whole of Scotland and the latter within the sheriffdom of Perth: Sir George Hay’s licence also covered glass-making.? In Ireland the prohibition of the export of pipe-staves was not enforced, for fear of the discontent it would cause among those who desired to make a profit from the wood- lands they owned or the timber they exploited: in addition, licence was granted to export 120,000 pipe-staves, on the ground that they had been prepared and were ready for export before the prohibition.t When a few years later the prohibition was renewed, the East India merchants were allowed to export to England timber for casks and for shipping to be used in the East India trade.® Prohibition became profitable and soon was regarded chiefly as a means of raising revenue by licence duties. In the third place, the due enforcement of legislation was very spasmodic and almost entirely dependent upon private initiative:® where only the public interest was at stake little 1 Petty, Political Anatomy of Ireland (1672); Polttical Arithmetic (c.1676) ; Gregory King, Watural and Political Observations and Conclusions upon the State and Condition of England (1696). 2St.0 Elizsc.05 seegp bz. 5. 3 Acts of Parilt. of Scotland, iv. 408, 515. 4 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1611-14, pp. 64, 65, 67. 5 Tbid., 1615-25, pp. 48, 91. 6 Surveyors of iron-works were, however, appointed in 1636, with a view to preventing the unlawful use of timber: Zudor and Stuart Proclamations, No. 1751. 184 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. was likely to be done, and evasion was not always difficult. The net result was that legislation was largely abortive: prosecutions were rare:” in Ireland infractions of the law appear to have met with nothing more serious than disapproval.® Landlords continued to sell or fell their woods: they pocketed the price, and nothing in particular happened. A wood felled might be a dreadful portent to the country-side and create local scarcity of fuel for a time: but men were not long discovering that industry continued, and in some way or other men continued to warm themselves and cook their food. f A letter written in December 1571, regarding a proposal to manufacture iron, admirably illustrates the general attitude of mind and the circumstances of the period : “Thus muche I dyd learne uppon Satterdaye last by very honest men, who were in hand with me very earnestly to buy wood for the same purpose, and gladly wold bestow a hundreth powndes or more yf yt maye please youre wurshippe to consyder hereof. It is thowght bye them that have travayled longe in the aforsayd trayde that youre wooddes wyllbe better sold, and more gayne to you, then yf you shuld sett uppe smythis, considerynge the great charge and trobble that doth belonge unto them. And further the[y] saye yf you shuld set them uppe, youre wooddes wold not serve you iiij yere, and youre woodde beynge gone, there is not any leafte in the cowntrey to be bowght, except it be Drayton lordshyppe.” 4 Timber could be turned into ready money, and it has for many centuries been the resort of the needy—and enterprising. But the clearing of woods has not uncommonly been looked upon as an unneighbourly act, and whoever did so has been pretty certain to get into bad odour: and by a natural process the unpopular party of the moment has been apt to get the charge of destroying woods hurled at its head. The monks, just before their dispossession, were suspected of trying thus to steal a march upon the crown.® William Harrison fastened the 1 Harrison, of. cit., p. 202; Standish, Mew Dezrections, p. 3; Yarranton, England s Improvement, Second Part, p. 73. 2 Prosecutions under the Act of 1544 are, however, recorded in the seven- teenth century: Cunningham, of. cit., li. 523. 3 Cal. State Papers (lreland), 1611-14, pp. 64-5; 1615-25, p. 428. 4 Middleton MSS., pp. 494-5. 5 Letters and Papers, ix. 375; xiii. i. 175, 387, 499, 501, ii. 123, 278, 294, 478, 521. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 185 destruction of woods upon the maker of sheep-walks and the prodigal—“ I have known a well-burnished gentleman that hath borne threescore at once in one pair of galigascons to shew his strength and bravery.”! Under the Commonwealth the guilt was laid on the shoulders of Popish politicians.2 At the Restoration Evelyn gravely attributed the diminution of wood- lands to “such as lately professing themselves against root and branch (either to be reimboursed of their holy purchases, or for ‘some other sordid respect), were tempted not only to fell and cut down, but utterly to grub up, demolish and raze, as it were, all those many goodly woods and forests, which our more prudent ancestors left standing.”*® Harrison and Evelyn were as blind to the truth and to economic causes as the playwright who held up to execration, along with engrossers, inclosers of commons, usurers and fraudulent tradesmen— ‘‘ Builders of iron mills, that grub up forests With timber trees for shipping.” + They saw, they magnified, the evils: their principal remedy was to stop the clock, although in saying this we must make partial exceptions of both Harrison and Evelyn. Harrison foresaw that coal must take the place of wood as fuel, and urged that smiths in Sussex and Hampshire should use it instead of charcoal: he recognised that the cost of carriage was against the change and considered it “but a slender excuse.”°® His remedy, which he thought it hopeless to expect to be put into practice, was to require every owner of forty acres of “the champaign soil” to plant one acre of wood.® Since Harrison’s recommendations passed into general circulation with Holinshed’s Chronicles, it is not surprising that when a king came to the throne who was reputed to take a keen interest in 1 Of. cit., p. 202. 2 Taylor, Common-Good (1652), p. 33: ‘‘the late decay [of timber] our enemies did rejoyce in, as some can well remember, when those notable Popish Politicians (Sir John Winter, Sir Bazill Brooks, and Mr Minn, Rome’s Agents) had designed the destruction of those goodly woods in the Forrest of Dean, and truly our friends cannot take any great joy in the great wast that hath been made since.” 3 Sylva (1664), pp. I, 2. 4Massinger, Zhe Guardian (1633), Act ii. Sc. iv; Mermaid edition, ii. 184. 5 Of. cit., p. 145. 6 [bid., p. 202-3. VOL. XXXVI. PART II. N 186 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. planting, the scheme should be revived. James, of course, found England a much better wooded country than Scotland, at least than the Scotland he knew: but he was presumably the more alive to the dangers attending the felling of woods. In 1611 Arthur Standish addressed to him Zhe Commons Complaint: like Harrison, Standish advocated compulsory planting and the replanting of timber felled. The opening sentences of the Complaint, in which the melancholy situation of the country is set forth, are worthy of quotation: they serve to remind us of the uses to which timber was then put, and of the extravagances into which advocates of planting in all ages have been in danger of falling. ‘‘Wee doe in all humblenesse complaine vnto your Maiesty of the generall destruction and waste of wood, made within this your Kingdome, more within twenty or thirty last yeares, than in any hundred yeares before. Little respect is taken but by your Maiestie, for the posterity and prosperity of your Kingdome; too many destroyers, but few or none at all doth plant or preserue: by reason thereof there is not Tymber left in this Kingdome at this instant onely to repaire the buildings thereof another age, much lesse to build withall: whereby this grievance doth daily increase. The reasons are many: first, the want of fire is expected, without the which mans life cannot bee preserued: secondly, the want of Timber, Brick, Tyle, Lime, Iron, Lead and Glasse for the building of habitations; Timber for the maintaining of husbandry, for nauigation, for vessels, for bruing and the keeping of drinke, and all other necessaries for housekeeping: barke for the tanning of Leather, bridges for trauell, pales for parkes, poles for Hops, and salt from the Wiches. The want of wood is, and will bee a great decay to tillage, and cannot but be the greatest cause of the dearth of corne, and hindereth greatly the yearely breeding of many cattell, by reason that much straw is yearely burned, that to the breeding of cattell might be imployed: the want of wood in many places of this kingdome, constraineth the soyll of cattell to bee burned, which should bee imployed to the strengthning of land, and so doth the want of hurdles for the folding of sheepe, and the want of wood causeth too many great losses by fire, that commeth by the burning of straw, and so it may be conceived, no wood, no Kingdome.” His remedy is not to stop felling, but to replenish. He SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 187 recognises quite fairly the objections to his policy—the first of which certainly has been repeated to our day—‘‘that it is against a man’s profit to preserue his woods since they grow but after three shillings foure pence an acre yearly, when as the ground being conuerted to pasture, is worth tenne shillings an acre yearly: further it is said by diuers, that in wood countries they have wood enough for them and their heires, as well for building as burning, let them plant wood that neede it: moreouer it cannot (say they) be easily conceiued how wood can be planted, in respect of the difference of soiles, or how plants enow may be gotten to plant the Kingdome withall, or how any such profite may be likely to arise: lastly, that there is Sea-coales enow to supply many wants thereof.” These objections he meets to his own Satisfaction, if not always quite ingenuously.! Two years after the publication of Zhe Commons Complaint, Standish came out with Mew Directions of Experience... for the planting of Timber and Firewood, which is marked by some attempt at a Statistical approach to the subject: briefly his plan (which is none too clear) consisted in planting up 100,000 acres in four- acre plots (in a second edition, published in 1615, he apparently raises the total area of land to be planted to 250,000 acres) for the purpose of supplying industries: firewood for domestic purposes was to be found from the hedgerows “‘so as within thirtie yeares it may be more then needefull to haue any Copies or Springwoods at all, but that all Woodland may be conuerted to Tillage or Pasture”: as a temporary measure he thought ten acres might be planted in each parish, which, within thirty years, might be “stocked up,” if the hedges were planted with timber.? Standish looked back upon a golden age, before “‘ three score years last past’’-—not long, in fact, before Harrison was writing —when affairs were very differently managed and men were provident, and were ‘‘naturally given to plant and preserve” : “Men then bought wood of twentie yeares growth for twelue pence a loade, where it is now at ten shillings, and for the most part none to be got for money.” He seems to recognise that ‘industry must be served, but like Harrison he grudges the conversion of woodland to agricultural purposes and is opposed entirely to the “stocking up” and “stubbing up” of woods. He notes, what was probably true enough in many cases, that * Ose rte, pp: 1, 2, 8 ft. 2 New Directions (1613), pp. 2; 3- 188 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. old woodland converted into arable, “within a few yeares is made so bare, as the present gaine is quickly lost.” ! A generation later Gabriel Plattes, who had advice to give on many subjects, but especially on mining and agriculture, wished to see ‘‘all Timber trees planted in hedgerowes, and by this means no ground will be lost: but all woods and thornie grounds may be turned into fruitfull fields and pastures, and are apt to be made fertile by my new inventions.” He believed that the shortage of timber would in this way be supplied, and many other advantages secured to the benefit of agriculture and of tenant farmers in particular.? Gabriel Plattes deplored importation—‘the multitude of Timber brought yearely from Norway and other parts ”—which, in his view, exhausted the wealth of the country :* but, in fact, in this way the timber-using industries of the country were increasingly supplied. What could not be imported was wood- fuel, whether for industrial or domestic purposes. It was for this reason that the much disliked coal—sea-coal and pit-coal— had passed into general use wherever it could be brought by water or wherever pits were at hand. And it was for this reason, among others, that men opposed the inclosure of commons: ‘‘ Here can we get a furze, a ferne, a green bush, or a dried cowsharn, to keep our selves close by the fire in a cold season, when your City-trades will not allow you no such ease, nor yield you fuell without your money.”* On the other side, it was argued that by the inclosure of wastes and marshes better fuel would be supplied: ‘‘The Hedge-rowe of enclosures will beget (instead of the now supposed benefit of Fuell) such a certaine increase of good and substantiall firing, as both in quantity and quality our uses will be far better served then now, and besides (by the Owners’ diligence, or a publique Command) such an increase of Timber (for building and other occasions) will out of the same in the future be raised, as the great decay and spoile thereof made in the latter times, may hereafter be well re-supplied and recovered.” In marsh-lands “by setting Willows in the banks of these enclosures... the noysome burning of the Dung of Cattel, now scratcht from these Wastes. 1 New Directions (1615), A.3, B.3. 2 A Discovery of Infinite Treasure (1639), pp. 10 ff. 816d. )pp.9, 17-0 4 Moore, Bread for the Poor, p. 6. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 189 for this purpose (which would more properly be left to improve and strengthen the land) will be better supplied by.the use of a sufficient sweet and kindely Fuell thus provided.”! The shortage of fuel in England was one of the factors in the English exploitation of Ireland. The iron-works in that country appear to have been almost entirely founded by English enterprise:2 much of the ore smelted appears to have come from England,? although the existence of ores of various types in Ireland was known:‘ and English immigrants were employed in all branches of the industry.® The Irish, Sir William Petty said, were not “so good as the English, even for Cutting, Cording, and Coaling of Wood, nor for raising of Mines; and carrying off the Water from their Pitts.” ° The Irish iron industry had its ups and downs: politics and the disturbed state of the country were its bane. At one time the manufacture of ordnance and munitions was forbidden,’ a restriction which at that period might have been severe had it been enforced, but a monopoly in that branch of the industry was soon afterwards established.* The patentees, however, had to contend with many difficulties, especially with the Earl of Cork, and apparently did very little good for themselves, the existing iron-works going on very much as before.? Iron-works— presumably as a peculiarly English institution—appear to have excited the animosity of the Irish, and were destroyed wholesale during the Cromwellian rebellion.!° The industry at least partially revived later in the century, particularly after the 1 Jotd., pp. 14, 27. 2 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1608-10, pp. 256, 260, 432, 480, 530; I61I- 14, pp. 369,370, 381; 1615-25, pp. 429, 529: Boate, Jreland’s Natural ‘History, pp. 129, 130: Varranton, Zugland’s Improvement, p. 39 : Newenham, View of Ireland, p. 154. 3 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1608-10, p. 530: Boate, of. ctt., p. 130: Temple, Of the Advancement of Trade in Ireland (1673), in Works (1814), iii. 25. 4 Boate, of. cit., pp. 125 ff: Cal. State Papers (Lreland), 1608-10, p. 290 ; 1611-14, p. 227. 5 [bid., 1633-43, p. 85. 5 Petty, Zveatise of Ireland (1687), Economic Writings, p. 595. 7 Tudor and Stuart P; oclamations (Ir.), No. 245. 8 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1615-25, p. 499; 1625-32, p. 399; 1647-60, pp: 74 ff. 8 Tbid., 1615-25, pp. 505, 549, 619, 682. 10 Boate, of. cit., p. 130. I90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. English duties on imported Irish iron were removed.' It is dubious whether a chief share in the disappearance of Ireland’s woods can be attributed to the iron industry, although this was apparently the current belief under William III.2 Contemporary evidence is conflicting and biassed. If undertakers wished to set up iron-works they were certain to refer to the great store of woods available in any proposal put before the Government: * on the other hand, to their fellow-adventurers they were quite likely to declare that they had access to the largest wood that had survived in Ireland. An adviser anxious to promote Irish fisheries would point to the advantage to be derived from return cargoes of Biscayan iron, which would preserve Irish woods from destruction by iron-works.® What is unmistakable is the absence of any certain information in the hands of the Govern- ment, and their vague good intentions which led nowhere. Any damage done by glass-works (with iron-mills, the twin enemy of English woods) must certainly have been insignificant in Ireland, however malevolent the intentions of some English patriots may have been. The history of the Irish glass industry in the seventeenth century is obscure. Several works appear to have been set up by the English in the early part of the century, the sand for use in the manufacture being obtained from England,’ but in 1640 the making of glass in Ireland was prohibited in the interests of the patentee in England.’ This prohibition seems not to have been rigidly enforced, but the industry in any case did not assume large dimensions.* Besides the consumption of timber as fuel for English industries in Ireland, there was, of course, a certain amount of wanton destruction of woods by the English as an act of war:% but it is well to be sceptical as to the extent of any devastation wrought in this way. Even when the Government approved of 1 Newenhan, of. cz¢., p. 154. 2 Zoid. St. 10 William III. c.12 attributed the destruction of timber to the late rebellion and the iron-works formerly in Ireland. 3 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1615-25, p. 429; 1633-43, p. 85. 4 Tbid., 1625-32, p. 505. 5 [bid., 1615-25, p. 580. 6 Boate, of. ctt., p. 162: Cal. State Papers (Lreland), 1608-10, pp. 259, 370, 421; 1633-43, P- 37- 1 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations (Ir.), No. 330. 8 Dudley Westropp, /vtsk Glass, pp. 21 ff: Cal. State Papers ([relana), 1633-43, Pp. 318. 9 Jbtd., 1601-3, p. 253: Boate, of. cé¢., p. 120. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. IOI the wasting of the woods of the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, they were clearly dubious of the possibility of carrying out the proposal and wished the Lord Deputy were better provided with men for the purpose.! The greatest enemy of the woods of Ireland appears to have been the export trade. In the sixteenth century there was an export trade in ships’ timber and building timber with Scotland,? which continued in the seventeenth cen- tury.’ This was a small affair, but very early in the seventeenth century the pipe-stave industry assumed great dimensions, and large quantities of pipe-staves, as well as other timber, were ex- ported to England and the Continent.* Sir William Petty, writing towards the end of the century, stated that the industry had been for the most part in the hands of the English :° but it seems dubious whether this was true at an earlier period.6 Whoseso- ever were the hands responsible, the felling of timber for this purpose alarmed the Government, for however ready they might be to destroy the harbourage of rebels in time of civil war, they were genuinely anxious to conserve the natural resources of the country, if only as a source of supply for the royal navy.’ It was frequently proposed to reserve timber for the service of the crown, and something was done in this direction.’ The use of timber for pipe-staves and their export were from time to time prohibited,? but the prohibition had little effect: the Lord Deputy stated quite frankly the trade was so profitable to the owners of woodlands that no proclamation would restrain them,!® and he shrank from the only practicable course open to him, the seizure of the pipe-staves when brought down to the ports and awaiting shipment, fearing that such a course would beget much 1 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1606-8, p. 287. ? Jbid., 1601-3, p. 667. % [bid., 1611-4, p. 225; 1660-62, p. 166, 4 [bid., 1606-8, pp. 88, 370, 422, 530; 1611-4, pp. 64, 65, 67, 224, 227; Coke MSS. (Hist. MSS. Commn.), i. 119, 224, 251, 477: Boate, of. ci?., pp. 120-1. ° Treatise of Ireland, Economic Writings, p. 595- 6 Cal. State Papers (Ireland), 1608-10, p. 249; 1615-25, p. 48; and references under n. 4 above. 7 [bid., 1608-10, p. 461 ; 1611-4, pp. I, 19, 64, 192, 369. 3 Jbid., 1608-10, pp. 174, 370, 422; 1611-4, pp. 64, 65, 105, 147; 1625-32, p- 682. 9 [bid., 1611-4, pp. 1, 64, 65, 67 ; 1615-25, pp. 48, 91; 1625-32, p. 66; 1633-43, Pp- 250, 294. 0 Jbid,, 1608-10, pp. 370, 422. 192 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. clamour and offence.! At another time a monopoly was suggested as a means of regulating the industry, and as an alternative a system of licences.2, The prohibition of export became merely an instrument of revenue, the exports paying besides customs duty a special licence duty: the revenue, in fact, grew too valuable to sacrifice.? Proposals to limit exports were put forward in 1636, the figures suggested being 120,000 pipe-staves, 40,000 hogshead-staves, 30,000 barrel-staves, and 20,000 butt- headings a year: the actual exports of two of these items in the four and a half years from Michaelmas 1635 to Lady Day 1640 were 3,759,450 hogshead-staves and 2,153,650 pipe-staves.° The suggested figures may be assumed to be reasonable, and we have some measure of the rate at which production was encroaching upon the resources of the woodlands. No effective step to protect the woodlands seems to have been taken, although an Act was proposed for regulating the felling of timber, ° enquiries were made as to the waste of timber and how it might be preserved,’ and from time to time felling in special cases or circumstances was prohibited.* As early as 1613 the Lord Deputy was counselled to plant up the felled woods, and the evil state of England in this particular was held out as a bad example to be avoided :” sixty years later planting for fuel and timber (this time in hedgerows) was still a project. 1° An Act for planting and preserving timber trees and woods was actually passed in 1698, but it was very limited in scope and proved ineffective. !! Ireland suffered from the disadvantages of the Colonial System: she did not have the good fortune to be removed from England by the breadth of the Atlantic. While the exploitation of Ireland proceeded, plans for the exploitation of New England were in train. Already in 1632 it was looked upon as a ' [btd., 1611-4, pp. 64, 65; 1625-32, p. 66. 2 Tbtd., 1615-25, p. 144: Coke MSS., i. 119 (1622). 3 Cal. State Papers (Lreland), 1625-32, p. 66. 4 [btd., 1633-43, p. 125. > [big Bs 3¥2. ® /btd., 1611-14, p. 192. " [bid., 1615-25, p. 347. 8 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations (Ir.), Nos. 197, 468, 624. ® Cal. State Papers (Irelana), 1611-4, p. 369. 1 Petty, Political Anatomy of Ireland (1672), Report from the Council of Trade (1676), Economic Writings, pp. 147, 217-8. 11 Newenham, of. cé¢., 154-5. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 193 potential source of supply for masts, pipe-staves and clap- boards,! an expectation soon to be realised.2 Evelyn urged the removal of iron mills ‘‘into another world, the Holy Land of New England”: “it were better to purchase all our iron of America, than thus to exhaust our woods at home.”* But any such development was yet in the future: and throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the chief supplies of imported timber into the British Isles came from North-eastern Europe. This trade was not only in boards, planks, wainscot, staves, scantling and round timber, but in manufactured articles. One of the grievances which led to Evil May-day was that “the Dutchemen bryng ouer Iron, Tymber, Lether and Weynskot ready wrought, as Nayles, Lockes, Baskettes, Cupbordes, Stooles, Tables, Chestes, gyrdels.” “If it were wrought here,” said the contemporary protectionists, ‘‘ Englishmen might have some worke and lyuynge by it.”* Even pikes for the English garrison at Boulogne were purchased in Antwerp ‘of Flemish ash, very fair, with long heads.”® There is no evidence, however, that the trade in manufactured articles ever assumed relatively large proportions. While hardwood, particularly oak, was imported in quantity, softwoods grew rapidly into greater prominence.® In the sixteenth century imported oak timber was of such importance mn Scotland that the prohibition of its export by Denmark was held to demand ‘that ane man of honour be send to the said King of Denmark vpon the expensis of the Burrowis with letters supplicatouris direct be the Quenis Maiestie for renewing of the auld amitie and kyndnes” between the two countries and for reinstating trade upon its former basis.’ England was better off for native hardwoods than Scotland, but oak wainscot was imported largely from Denmark.* ‘The trade was to a great 1 Coke MSS., i. 449. 2 Taylor, Common-Good, pp. 45, 48: Petty, Political Arithmetic, Economic Writings, p. 296: Evelyn, Sy/va (1670), p. 103: Weeden, Economic History of New England, pp. 142, 156, 164. 3 Sylva (1812 ed.), ii. 2793; early editions omit first phrase. 4 Hall’s Chronicle (1549), 1819 ed., p. 587. 5 Letters and Papers, xxi. i., 182 (1546). ® There are notices of fairly large quantities early in the sixteenth century. P.R.O., Ancient Deeds, A.2944 3 1900 spars and 1000 boards called ‘‘ fyrsden -deles” at Lynn: Letters and Papers, xix. i. 96-7. * Acts of Parit. of Scotland, ii. 544 (1563, ¢. 27)- ‘ Harrison, of. czt., p. 200. 194 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. extent in foreign hands, Hansards,! “‘strangeris of Norraway and others of the Eist partis” ;? but already in the early seventeenth century the English were in the Baltic,? and jealousy of the foreign shipper was rising.* The rivalry of the Dutch and English for the carrying trade was beginning, and timber was of great consequence in that trade. Raleigh drew attention to its importance: ‘‘The exceeding groves of woods are in the east kingdomes, but the huge piles of wainscot, clapboard, firdeale, masts and timber is in the Low-Countreyes, where none groweth, wherewith they serve themselves, and other parts, and this Kingdome with those commodities; they have five or six hundred great long ships continually using that trade, and we none‘in that course.”® The dependence of the Dutch upon imported supplies was, however, used as a warning to England by some advocates of planting, who were apprehensive of the dangers which war might bring:® but experience was against them. A blockade has never been easy, and a blockade of the British Isles in the days of sailing ships was impossible. Sir William Petty pointed out that in view of the convenience of all parts of the country for sea-borne trade “the decay of Timber in England is no very formidable thing, as the Rebuild- ing of London, and of the Ships wasted by the Dutch War do clearly manifest.”* And on the whole, history has proved him right—because England wrested maritime supremacy from the Dutch, and to our own days has held command of the sea. A word may be said on the legendary superiority of English timber over foreign. From the sixteenth century onwards to the disappearance of wooden warships, the Government en- deavoured—although neither wisely nor with any settled plan— to ensure a supply of native timber for the navy.s When Samuel Pepys was at the Admiralty, timber “ of East-Country- Growth” had, however, been employed for some time for the ! Letters and Papers, xvi. 200, 306. ? Acts of Parlt, of Scotland, iii. 82 ; cf. tbzd. ii. 373, 490. 3 Fynes Morrison, Jézverary, iii. 80. 4 Hist. MSS. Commn. IV. Rep., App. p. 314. 5 Observations touching Trade and Commerce with the Hollander, and other nations (1653), p. 26. 6 Taylor, Common-Good, pp. 46-7. ” Political Arithmetic, Economic Writings, p. 294. 8 Tudor and Stuart Proclamations, Nos. 514, 1589 ;.St. 19 and 20 Charles II. c.viii.; and see references under p. 191, n. 7. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY. 195 royal navy: in private yards the quantity of imported timber far exceeded the native timber used. ‘ Forasmuch as from the want of Plank of our own Growth, and consequently the highness of Price of what we have: the Shipwrights of this Kingdom (even in our Out-Ports, as well as in the River of Thames) have been for many years past, driven to resort to supplys from Abroad, and are so at this day, to the Occasioning their spending of One Hundred Loads of Foreign, for every Twenty of English. Besides, were our own Stock more; the exclusion of Foreign Goods would soon render the Charge of Building insupportable, by raising the Price of the Commodity to double what it is, and more, at the pleasure of the Seller.” While for smaller ships English plank was found to be more durable, for ships of 300 tons burden and upwards, foreign plank was better. English plank suffered from ‘‘ general Waniness, want of Breadth at the Top-end, and ill method of Conversion”: twenty loads of foreign plank went further in working upon a ship’s side or deck than a hundred loads of like length of English “ after its Wanes and other Defects shall be cut away,” and its small dimensions meant greatly increased work.! Coming from the source it does, this evidence is conclusive for the seventeenth century. In the later decades of the seventeenth century the taste for planting had set in in England and Scotland. We still read that ‘to tell some men of planting of Woods is very needless ; for there are too many men more inclined to stock up than to plant them”; the writer goes on, however, “ but I suppose the greater sort of Men, and I am sure the best sort, are more inclined to preserve and plant, than to destroy and stock them up.”? It was to this best sort that John Evelyn made his appeal : and the dedication in the later editions of Sy/va boasts of the success of the appeal. Not, of course, that the lamentations over the destruction of woods and the neglect of replanting had ever exactly represented sober facts: but before 1700 planting and the improvement of estates had became a polite amusement.® Evelyn was an amateur. He looked upon the ‘devastation ” caused by the “increase of shipping, the multiplication of glass- works, iron furnaces and the like, the disproportionate spreading 1 Pepys, Memoires of the Royal Navy, 1679-1688 (1906 ed.), pp. 35 ff. * Cook, The Manner of Ratsing, Ordering and Improving Forest and Fruit Trees (1676), p. 89. * Earl of Haddington, 77eat¢se on the Manner of ratsing forest Trees (1761), pp. I, 2: Sylva (1679), pp. 104 ff. 196 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. of tillage,” and considered that “ nothing less than an universal plantation of all the sorts of trees will supply, and well encounter the defect.”! He therefore took the occasion to write Sy/va and to include in it—with ‘‘too much regard to the age of the moon, and other niceties” ?—a vast deal of curious and superficial information upon all the sorts of trees of which he had know- ledge. It is only in England that Evelyn has continued to impose upon his public: in France and in Scotland he was soon found out.? His qualities and the defects of his qualities are exhibited better in his /imifugium, a short tract, lively and readable, than in the ponderous and tedious Sy/va, growing in bulk with every successive edition. Evelyn, indeed, was a dreamer and planner of dream cities — ‘this Glorious and Ancient City,” he exclaims, ‘“‘from Wood might be rendered Brick and (like another Rome) from Brick made Stone and Marble.” He hated coal smoke and squalor and the litter of Civilisation: he would have wharves and warehouses moved out of London to Bankside, and offensive trades—brewers, dyers, soap and salt boilers and lime-burners—removed five or six miles down the river. He wished wood to be substituted as far as possible for coal as household fuel, and he proposed that sweet-smelling shrubs and flowers should be planted in the low grounds round London.‘ In all this he was, of course, wise and reasonable, as a gentleman of taste should be; but quite unfitted to cope with the citizens of seventeenth-century London, who rejected a much greater man’s plan for rebuilding the city after the Great Fire, and preferred to build on the old frontages in the old narrow maze of mediaeval streets. But still Evelyn was a portent: he was a gentleman writing for gentlemen, and he was honoured by unflagging demands for his great work which, if not greatly read—has anyone seen a really well-thumbed copy of Sy/va ?—at least reposed on library shelves and on country- house tables. What is noteworthy about the seventeenth-century enthusiasts is that they were acquainted with many species of trees, and they were curious about their habit and characteristics: yet 1 Sylva (1664), pp. I, 2. * Haddington, of. czt., p. 12. 3 Totd.: Buffon, Memorial on Preserving and Repairing Forests (printed with Haddington’s 7veatise), p. 93. 4 Fumifugium (1661), Introduction and pp. 5 ff, 15, 16, 24 ff. SOME REMARKS ON BRITISH FOREST HISTORY, IQ7 their learning smacks very much of the arboretum. As M. de Buffon said, ‘‘all their experiments had been in smalls; in gardens, nurseries, or at most in some inclosures, where they could dress and take care of the young trees; but this is not what is wanted when we would plant woods.”! Still it was a necessary stage on the road: without the eager curiosity about exotic trees of Evelyn and his contemporaries, without their appreciation of the aesthetic value of woodlands, the plantations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries would not have been. made. 25. The Geographical Range of Sitka Spruce, Western Larch, and Douglas Fir. By JAMEs Kay, At the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society excursion this summer some of the members were anxious to know something about the geographical range of Sitka spruce, western larch, and Douglas fir, in their natural habitat, and, in the case of the Douglas fir, something about the varieties or forms in the different regions. Sitka Spruce.—The general range of this species is from south-eastern Alaska to northern California. 1t grows from sea- level up to 3000 feet, or occasionally 5000 feet, rarely extending more than 50 miles inland, and then only in proximity to the numerous inlets and moist river-valley bottom-lands. The name ‘Tideland spruce” refers to its commonly being found near the seashore, or along the lower reaches of the large rivers on the coast. Alaska.—Sitka spruce is the most important timber tree in Alaska, being followed by Western hemlock. It is somewhat paradoxical in its habits, reaching higher elevations in the northern than in the southern part of its range; this is contrary nO AMezess| Ds) G3 198 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. to the habits of the associated species. As commercial timber it is found from sea-level up to 1200 feet ; above this elevation it is more or less of small scrubby growth, and at 2400 or 3000 feet it is a low sprawling shrub. It occurs, rather scattered, and in sheltered places from Kukak Bay at the bottom of the Alaskan Peninsula, on the east to west sides of Cook Inlet, and the northern part of Kodiak Island, extending around Kinai Peninsula on the shores of Cook Inlet to Prince William Sound. It continues eastward, crossing the extreme north end of Lynn Canal at Skagway, extendjng southwards in a narrow strip on the mainland, and ranging throughout the Alexander Archipelago. British Columbia.—From Observatory Inlet, which runs almost parallel to the Portland Canal (the International Boundary Line), Sitka spruce extends farther inland. How- ever, the valuable commercial timber forests of this species rarely extend farther south than Rivers Inlet, lat. 51° 30’. Regionally the best development is reached in the Queen Charlotte Islands, Numerically the spruce will generally not form more than 15-20 % of the stand, but from the standpoint of volume it will be in the neighbourhood of 50-80 ‘ in its optimum range. On the west side of Vancouver Island fairly good stands occur in the Alberni district, up to goo feet. But on the main- land and in Vancouver Island, generally, Sitka spruce is a smaller tree and not so numerous. Running in a south-east direction it crosses the Fraser River and C.P.R. at Kanaka, a little south of the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers. It then turns almost directly south and passes into Washington down long. 121°. Its south- east limit of range is never far from the Fraser River. Washington.—It is found chiefly on bottom-lands and mouths of rivers along the Pacific Coast and Puget Sound. It is sparsely scattered and extends up valleys and on benches to the foothills of the Cascades, chiefly below 2000 feet. In northern Oregon the distribution is similar to the fore- going, but south of the Columbia River it is confined to the coast. In California, Sitka spruce is found only at the mouths of rivers and in low valleys facing the sea, as far south as Mendocino County, about lat. 40°. SITKA SPRUCE, WESTERN LARCH, AND DOUGLAS FIR. 199 WESTERN LarcH.—This species is found distributed between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades, south of the C.P.R. In comparison with the associated species, western larch has a somewhat restricted range. It is confined to mountain slopes, benches, flats and high valleys, at elevations of 2000- 7ooo feet in south-east British Columbia, north-west Montana, northern Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The northern limit of range of this species in British Columbia is very irregular, and coincides with the lakes and rivers, never at any place extending far from them. The western limit of range is long. 119° 23. The limit runs northwards on the eastern side of Okanagan Lake, turning west near the town of Armstrong for some distance before again turning north and crossing the extreme west end of Shuswap Lake. ‘The tree goes right round the north end of this lake (at lat. 51° 15’) and extends down the east side, crossing north of Mable and Sugar Lakes southwards to lat. 49° 48’. Its limit then turns northwards up the western side of Upper Arrow Lake, crossing east at the town of Arrowhead, and going down the eastern side of this lake to lat. 49° 36’. It then runs round both the east and west sides of Slocan Lake, turns northwards up the west side of Kootenay Lake, eastwards on a line over Duncan Lake, southwards down the east side to the lower end of Kootenay Lake to lat. 49° 18’. It then runs north on the west side of the Kootenay River and Purcell Range to White Man’s Pass, and turning south down the east side enters the United States at long. 114° 42’. In Washington western larch occurs on the east side of the Cascades as far south as the Columbia River at altitudes of 2200-5000 feet, and in the north-eastern mountains, but is not found in the Columbia River plains. It occurs sparingly and in scattered groups in the extreme north of Oregon. The best growth and the largest bodies of contiguous western larch timber forest occur in the mountainous parts of north-east Washington, northern Idaho, and north-west Montana. Pure forests of western larch are found in the Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho, mingled with a few Douglas fir and western yellow pine. Douctas Fir has a wide distribution in western North America, from central British Columbia southwards to central 200 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. California, to Arizona, southern New Mexico, and north-west Texas, and down the Rocky Mountain system of British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, to northern Mexico. Douglas fir forms extensive forests in Vancouver Island, but is rare on the west coast and is not found at all north of Quatsina Sound. It crosses the centre of Broughton Island, then turns north going round Seymour Inlet, and continuing in a more or less northerly direction, crossing the extreme east end of King Island, thence in a narrow strip up to the north end of Gardner Canal. From the north end of Dean Channel it goes in a south-east direction to lat. 52° 18’. Turning here it goes almost straight north, crossing the east end of Babine Lake, turning eastwards at the extreme south end of Talca Lake, 55° 10’, to Fort M‘Leod. From here it runs south-east to Mount Robson, thence going east again, crossing the G.T.R. south of Bride Lake, continuing in a south-east direction on the eastern slopes and foothills of the Rockies into north-west Montana. It occurs on the south bank of the Bow River, 14 mile from the city of Calgary, Alberta. The Stony Indians cut large quantities for cordwood, etc., around the town of Morley, about ten miles from the entrance of the C.P.R. into the mountains. Douglas fir is everywhere abundant in Washington, except in the Columbia River plains, being more abundant on the western slopes than on the eastern sides of the Cascades, and ‘extending from sea-level up to 5000 feet. In Oregon, Douglas fir is most abundant on the western side of the Cascades, being absent, however, from the intervening arid valleys, from sea-level up to 6000 feet, and occurs more scattered in the north-eastern part and in the adjacent area of south-east Washington. In California, it is found in the north-western mountains, the Sierras, and southwards to the San Joaquin River (but is absent from the Great Basin north of the Colorado River), and on the coast in a comparatively narrow strip to about lat. 35°. It is not found between the Sierras and the Coast Range. Douglas fir enters north-west Montana east of long. 115° and is spread over most of northern and central Idaho and the Wahsatch Mountains of Utah and western Wyoming. In Montana, it continues in a south-east direction to lat. 45° and long. 110°, going eastwards to a little beyond long. 105° in SITKA SPRUCE, WESTERN LARCH, AND DOUGLAS FIR, 20r Colorado, and scattered more or less throughout Arizona, New Mexico, north-west Texas, and northern Mexico. It may be noted that Douglas fir is not found in the regions where Sitka spruce reaches its optimum. Douglas fir is absent from the western side of Vancouver Island and the coastal archipelago, that is, from the regions of large precipitation and heavy fogs where the spruce is found at its best. The mountain form of Douglas fir is found associated to a greater or less extent with western larch throughout the range of the latter species. Much interest has been shown in regard to the variations or forms of Douglas fir. In the first place, it must be evident to foresters that with conifers especially, the leaves, buds, and bark vary on different parts of the crown and stem, and that cones differ in size on the individual tree, and more especially when young and old trees are compared. However, the largest seeds and greatest yields are got from medium-aged large trees, growing in open stands in warm locations and low altitudes. The size of the seed depends largely on the size of the cone, and this again is directly dependent upon the vigour of the cone-bearing shoot, hence young trees produce the largest, but not the most abundant seed, and old trees the smallest seed. This is reflected in the larger size of the one and two-year-old seedling plants from seed collected from young open-grown trees. Some botanists maintain that the Douglas fir of the Pacific Slope and of the Rocky Mountains are distinct species. United States dendrologists, however, do not agree with this view. After long experience and research, they maintain that there is nothing to warrant specific distinction between these two regional forms. The characteristics which seemingly separate them are not reliable, the real difference being of a silvicultural nature. 3 Moreover, specific distinctions really lie in the. reproductive organs, and not on the size and form of the tree, the size of cones and leaves, or in the thickness of bark. Douglas fir, therefore, when we remember its wide distribution and the varying climatic conditions under which it grows, may for all practical purposes be safely regarded as a polymorphic species. VOL. XXXVI. PART II. O 202 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 26. Report of the Annual Excursion. By R. A, GALLOWAY, B.Sc. The Society’s Annual Excursion was held in Perthshire and Forfarshire from 4th to 7th July 1922. The headquarters were the Atholl Palace Hotel, Pitlochry, whence motor runs were made each day to estates of interest in the surrounding country- side. The attendance was a record one, as can be seen bya glance at the list of excursionists. The district chosen is one particularly interesting to Scottish foresters. Here the European larch was first cultivated as a commercial species and its requirements carefully studied and recorded ; here the Douglas fir was first planted in this country ; here a new hybrid larch has been discovered and propagated ; here many unique examples of arboriculture are to be seen; and to the district belong several men whose names are famous in the world of forestry, such as John, Duke of Athole, Archibald Menzies, and David Douglas. In fact, this district is generally considered to be the home of Scottish forestry. SCONE. On the 4th, the party left Pitlochry after an early breakfast and motored via Perth to Scone, the estate of the Earl of Mansfield. Mr William Leven, Woods Manager of the Mansfield estates, met the party and acted as leader. It is stated that 150 years ago there was little wood on the Mansfield estates; and if this be so, we need not look for a finer example of what can be achieved by an active afforestation policy. The countryside is now well wooded and the farms enjoy excellent shelter. A good sample of the class of Scots pine that can be grown here was seen in Ardgilzean Wood, one part of which consists of a crop 104 years old, with 8112 cub. ft. per acre, and the other part of two-story-high forest, the over- wood 138 years old with 1980 cub. ft., the underwood (also pine) 80 years old with 2400 cub. ft. per acre. Felling opera- tions were going on in part of the wood, and the forest sawmill was inspected. The next call was at the Estate Nursery REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 203 at Jeaniebank, which was found fully stocked and in excellent condition. Particular interest was shown in several beds of Douglas fir grown from seed sent by the American Forestry Association to help to restock the areas cleared during the war. Lunch was taken at Jeaniebank, refreshments being provided by the Earl. A visit was then paid to the Palace grounds and arboretum, which are under the care of Mr M. Macnaughton. Several very good specimen trees were seen in the grounds including a larch with 392 cub. ft.; an oak, planted in 1805, with a bole of 4o ft. and content of 255 cub. ft.; and one of the original Douglas firs of 1834, with a content of 260 cub. ft. Lord Mansfield met the party in the famous pinetum, which contains a very fine collection of exotics, but the visit had unfortunately to be cut short at this point owing to the breaking of a heavy thunderstorm. DUPPLIN. Heavy rain continued to fall as the party drove off to Dupplin Castle, but the storm had blown over by the time the gates were reached. Here Mr Simpson, Lord Forteviot’s factor, was in waiting and took over the leadership. He had very thought- fully arranged that each guest should be handed a four-page extract from Mr Dawson’s report on the Dupplin Woods (1913), so that in a few minutes the excursionists were enabled to realise the present position of forestry at Dupplin. By the side of the drive, a very successful example of underplanting old hardwoods with Douglas fir was seen in passing, but the first halt was called at the nursery, which was in excellent order and well stocked. Here again were seen seedlings grown from the American seed. The company was entertained to tea in a marquee on the Castle lawn, and the Hon. John Dewar extended a cordial welcome in the absence of Lord Forteviot. During tea, a heavy shower fell, but when it faired the party was able to see the very fine rock-garden beside the Castle. On the way to Lynedoch, Lord Forteviot’s wood on Munday Muir was visited. This is mainly old Scots pine, the average stocking being 85 stems per acre, age 130 years, height 65 feet, mean diameter 17 inches, total contents 102'56 cub. ft., or on the quarter-girth basis 79 cub. ft. per tree, giving 6715 cub. ft. per acre, , 204 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. LYNEDOCH. Arriving at the Earl of Mansfield’s estate of Lynedoch, the lead was resumed by Mr Leven, who showed the party several very notable specimen trees in the Pleasure Grounds, including a Silver fir with 656 cub. ft and 43-in. side, a Norway spruce with 302 cub. ft. and a 33-in. side, and a Douglas fir of 650 cub. ft. and 47-in. side. These measurements were made in August 1920, the contents are quarter-girth cubic feet over bark, and the Douglas fir was measured in to feet sections.. This and a neighbouring Douglas fir are two of the originals grown from seed sent to the Earl by David Douglas in 1827, and were planted out in 1834. The larger tree does not produce fertile seed, but the smaller cones freely, and all the Douglas firs now seen in the Mansfield plantations have been. reared from the seed of this one tree. The remains of a squirrel-proof protection around it can still be seen, as these animals were at one time threatening to destroy the whole seed’ crop. The wetness of the day prevented the trip being continued through the Sma’ Glen, and a return was made to Pitlochry by the shortest route. MuRTHLY. The following morning was dry, and the company had a pleasant run to Murthly, the seat of Col. R. Steuart Fothringham. Entrance was obtained at the west gate, and on the way along the drive a very successful illustration of underplanting oak with. Thuya gigantea was seen. Mr Rae, factor, conducted the party round the policies of the Castle, which contain one of the most interesting collections of conifers to be seen. The following specimens of notable size were pointed out, all about 70 years. old :— Tsuga Albertiana, near the Roman Bridge, height 107 feet, circumference at 5 feet of 8 ft. g ins., content 130 cub. ft., this is a tree of most beautiful symmetry; Sitka spruce,. 130 feet high, girth at 5 feet of 14 ft. 1 in., content 361 cub. ft., thought to be the largest of the species in Scotland ; Adzes nobilis 117 feet high, girth at 5 feet of g ft. 6 ins., content 358 cub. ft.; Abies grandis, 116 feet high, girth at 5 feet of ro ft. 2 ins. content 246 cub. ft. (Contents in each case are quarter-girth over bark.) The policies are also famous for their variety of REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 205 ornamental trees and the beauty of the avenues, such as the great Douglas walks—which must be seen to be appreciated ; the Araucaria Drive, where both male and female cones were seen on the trees; the Yew Avenue, called the “Dead Walk,” some parts of which are over 300 years old. A small square enclosed on all sides by tall Lawson cypresses has a very impressive effect, and it is said that this was originally laid out to be the family burial-ground. Much interest was aroused in a row of larches, all of which exhibit some peculiar features, as in size and shape of cone and in habit. None appear to be pure specimens of the common species, and there seems still to be much doubt in the minds of even our best authorities as to their true classification. The most remarkable of all the specimen trees at Murthly is that unique individual of the species Zswga Hookeriana. Not only is it a glauca, but it has a perfectly pendulous habit, and these two features combine to produce a rare and very graceful effect. No other individual with this pendulous habit is known to exist any- where in the world. The tree seeds freely, but all the seedlings so far have reverted to the normal habit, so that attempts are now being made to propagate this unique variety by means of layering. Lunch was taken in front of the New House, in the basement of which is the estate museum, containing a very fine collection of the timbers grown on the estate, examples of articles manufactured from them, pests and malformations, and many other items of interest to the student. TAYMOUNT. After lunch the party moved on to Taymount to see the celebrated plantation of Douglas fir. This estate is now the property of Mr Charles Murray, but formerly belonged to the Earlof Mansfield. The plantation was made in 1860 from plants raised from seed of the Lynedoch Douglas. This was the first plantation of the species in Britain, and has been studied with much interest by many British and continental authorities. Several accounts of the plantation have appeared in these Transactions, but it may be noted that the wood was originally a mixture of European larch and Douglas in the proportion of 3 to 1. Soon the larch was outgrown, suppressed, and all removed in the cleanings andthinnings. ‘The area is small, only 9°69 acres, but in 1919 the volume was 6352 cub. ft. (q.g.o.b.) 206 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. per acre, at the age of 59 years. The stand is a magni- ficent sight, the tall clean boles standing in regular rows, but it is said that statistics show a falling-off in increment in recent years. The canopy is somewhat open, and, the floor is now supporting a strong growth of bracken and other weeds. Several opinions were offered as to the best future treatment, one being that as the stand was of such good form it should be kept and allowed to grow to its physical limit in order to show what can be done in this country. Another was that, as the increment was falling off, the owner was now losing money and should waste no time in clear-felling and replanting the area. The third opinion was that, as the fall in increment was due to deterioration of the soil owing to thinness of the canopy, disappearance of humus, and weed-growth, a shade- bearer should be introduced as a soil protector and improver. The species suggested was Zsuga Albertiana, which is found thus associated with Douglas in their native habitat. If this did not result in a revival of increment, it is claimed that it would at least give a better start to the next crop than would be afforded by the present impoverished soil. GLAMIS. From Taymount the party turned north towards Kinclaven Bridge ev voude for Glamis, in Forfarshire. The famous Beech Hedge at Meikleour was seen in passing. This is about go feet high and extends for a quarter of a mile along the roadside. During this drive the change.from the hilly forest country of Perthshire to the rich agricultural type of Strathmore was remarked. As the party reached the gates of Glamis Castle rain began to fall, and by the time they had arrived at the Castle it was too wet to do more than make a hasty run round the gardens and pinetum, where several very good specimen trees were seen. Mr Gavin Ralston, factor, acted as guide, and with the Earl of Strathmore’s permission, afterwards conducted the party through part of the Castle, where many historically interesting paintings, tapestries, and relics were seen. Tea was provided in the Castle by the Earl, who personally addressed his welcome to the Society. Mr Whitton, as senior vice- president, had the privilege of expressing the Society’s thanks to the Earl for his hospitality and kindness. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 207 TARVIE. The remainder of the day was spoiled by the continuous rain. On leaving Glamis the route taken was via Blairgowrie, Glen Ericht, and Strathardle to Mr. R. L. Barclay’s estate of Tarvie, where only a brief call could be made owing to the wet. There was, however, time to get a glimpse of the interesting plantations which Mr Barclay had to show. The main feature of the situation here is the elevation, which is everywhere over Iooo feet. Scots pine, spruce, Douglas and yew, as well as lime, sycamore and birch were all thriving at 1100 feet. It was very unfortunate that the weather prevented the party climbing another 200 feet to see the plantations at close quarters, for they promised to be an interesting study. A drive over the hill road brought the party to Pitlochry by way of Moulin. DUNKELD. The third day was spent in the Duke of Atholl’s woods at Dunkeld. The Duke came specially from London on the previous night in order to meet the Society and personally conduct them. The principal interest at Dunkeld is the study of the larches and their treatment. It is generally believed that the first European larches in Scotland were those planted at Dunkeld and Blair by the Duke of Athole in 1738, though some claim the honour for other estates. But this matters little in comparison with the undisputed fact that the Dukes of Athole were the first to realise the possibilities of the larch asa profitable commercial species and to study its requirements and ailments systematically. John, fourth duke, was the greatest forester of those early days, and his writings show that he must have had a sound business head as well as a keen forester’s eye, for his original theories on the uses and value of larch timber and on the methods of growing it and dealing with the canker disease have been fully justified by subsequent experi- ence. All interested in larch production should consult the ‘¢Plantin’ Duke’s” own memoirs, or even the article on them by John Booth which appeared in the Zransactions of this Society, vol. xvii. p. 232. The tour. began at the Duke’s nursery at Ladywell which won the Society’s Gold Medal in 1921. Nature has greatly favoured this site for a nursery, for it lies in what appears to have been a 208 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. bend of the river long ago, has a deep rich soil, and is sheltered and protected from the early winter sun by a wooded ridge extending in a semicircle round the southern half. But the thorough work and capable management of years have com- bined with nature in producing first-class conditions for the propagation of forest trees. Drill rollers and transplanting laths are not countenanced here, all the sowing being broadcast and the lining-out done by hand. The impression one carries away from Ladywell is of skilful management resulting in the production of the healthiest stock, and the nursery reflects great credit on Mr Keir, head forester, and his foreman, Mr Chas. M‘Intyre. Scots pine, spruce, European larch, and Douglas fir are grown on a considerable scale, but what interest the visitor most are the breaks of the “ Dunkeld Hybrid” larch. This new hybrid is conspicuous for its vigorous growth even in the nursery. The history of the ‘“ Hybrid” may be briefly summarised. When the spread of canker had made the further use of European larch inadvisable, it was decided to propagate the Japanese species, and cones were collected from a few trees in the policies of Dunkeld House, and the seed sown. When the plants appeared, Mr Keir, father and predecessor in office of the present forester, noticed that there were marked differ- ences in appearance and rate of growth amongst them, and careful examination showed that they were not all of the same type, some resembling their Japanese parents, some ordinary European, and some neither one nor other, occupying an inter- mediate position. This suggested that the case was one of hybridisation, and that the other parents were the European larches on the bank behind the Japs. Further investigations seem to confirm the belief that the specially vigorous seedlings were true hybrids following out Mendel’s ‘‘ Law of Segregation.” The hybrids were separated, and when these coned the seed was sown and the second generation obtained. A _ small plot of these, 6 years old, was seen on the hillside above the nursery, and they too appear to be following out the usual law for hybrids. The European is the male and the Japanese the female parent. This new tree, known as Larix eurolepis (A. Henry), has so far proved immune to stem canker, but its most remarkable feature is its extraordinary rapidity of growth. In one plantation visited, where Douglas fir and hybrid larch had been planted together at the old close-spacing in vogue in 1909, REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 209 the Douglas had been completely suppressed. But perhaps a more impressive demonstration of its possibilities is afforded by another plantation seen, where only seven years ago the larch was planted pure at 6 feet, and has already reached pit-wood size. It is still too soon to come to any certain conclusions as to the ultimate value of the hybrid, but it is hoped that, as at present seems indicated, the Duke’s experiments on this big scale will fully reward his enterprise and patience, and result in a revolution of our system of pit-wood production. After leaving the nursery, the estate sawmill at Inver was visited. This is well equipped with machinery, including two firewood-splitters which were seen in operation. From Inver the party climbed to the lower slopes of Craig Vinean, through a wood of old Scots pine and spruce, to see the plantations of European larch which had been specially treated for canker. Scots pine and a few Douglas are mixed with the larch, and they were planted about 18 years ago; but the Scots have for the most part disappeared. Some years ago the infections of canker and aphis had become so heavy that clear-felling had been contemplated, but it was decided to try by way of experiment the effect of aeration. Ina small part of the area the larch was pruned clean up to about 7 feet, and all dead and suppressed stems removed. The effect was so satis- factory that the remainder has been dealt with in subsequent years, and the plantations now show a great diminution in the amount of disease, and promise to develop into useful stands yet. This policy is now adopted as the general one for the treatment of cankerous larch woods, and by extension larch woods are now always allowed free aeration as a preventive measure. On the way down, a small patch of 25-year-old Japanese larch was passed which shows great promise; and a good view was obtained of the extensive plantations of hybrid larch and of Douglas fir that have been made in recent years on the north-east side of Craig Vinean. Entering the motors again, the party drove to Dunkeld House, where, in the vicinity of the Cathedral, the remaining ‘‘Parent Larch” was seen which had been planted in 1738. There were also good specimen trees of several other conifers, including a Douglas fir which, though younger, is said to be taller and of greater bulk than the Lynedoch Douglas, due no doubt to the rich alluvial soil and sheltered situation. In the 210 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. grounds of the house were seen also the Japanese and European larches, the parents of the Dunkeld hybrid, and many interesting trees. Lunch was taken in the grounds, and in the afternoon the first plantations of the hybrid, towards the north gate, were inspected ; reference has already been made to these. This brought the day’s tour to an end; and the Duke, before hastening off to catch the return train for London, expressed his pleasure at being able to show the Society his woods and experiments, referred to the benefit to proprietors and the State of the Forestry Grants under the Relief of Unemployment Scheme, and protested against the strangling effect of heavy railway freights on the home timber market. Mr Whitton, in thanking His Grace for the great honour he had done the Society in coming specially to conduct them round his woods, referred to the fine public spirit shown by His Grace in pursuing an active forest policy in these difficult times, and so keeping the people of his districts employed. After a day such as the Society enjoyed at Dunkeld, no one can have any doubt that the present Duke is upholding the best forestry traditions of his ancestors. As the Dunkeld visit terminated early in the afternoon, the party motored right on to Killiecrankie, and walked down the Pass before returning to Pitlochry. In the evening, the Society extended an invitation to dinner to those who had so kindly granted to the Society the privilege of visiting their estates. Lord James Murray, who represented the Duke of Atholl, and Dr Barbour of Bonskeid, were present. DISCUSSION. After dinner, a discussion was held in the Atholl Palace Hotel on ‘The Urgent Need for Afforestation.” Mr Whitton presided. Mr Sutherland, Assistant Commissioner of Forestry for Scotland, was the first called upon. After congratulating the Society on the success of the Excursion, Mr Sutherland referred to the fine lead which the President was giving. The Duke of Atholl, he believed, had planted a larger area with the help of the Unemployment Grants than any other owner in Scotland, and this. had been of great benefit in relieving un- employment in the countryside. Referring to the number of young forestry students present, Mr Sutherland reminded them that though they started with a better theoretical training, they REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 2If should not lose this opportunity of picking up information from their seniors, for it was to the sound practical knowledge of our foresters that we owed the results that had been achieved in the past. Concluding, he urged the need for educating the people of the towns in the advantages to the nation of a sound forest policy. Mr George Leven, Bowmont, spoke of the curtailment of the planting programme due to the recommendations of the Geddes Committee, and challenged the argument put forward against the Forestry Commission that it was acquiring land too far from centres of industry. He pointed out that land else- where was too valuable, and if it were taken for forestry would give real cause for outcry. Mr Leven also pointed out that the landowners had done much unaided before the war, and now that they were no longer able to replant their war-felled areas, it was only fair that the State should assist them. He again raised the point that forestry was essential as a supple- ment to small-holdings in any land settlement scheme for ex-soldiers. Mr Adam Spiers emphasised the essentially fine qualities of native Scots pine as a timber tree compared with the exotic conifers, and alluded to the merits of the black Italian poplar as a quick-growing and very useful wood. Mr J. H. Milne Home drew attention to the lack of knowledge, even amongst public officials, of our economic position with respect to timber supplies. Before the war, he said, we imported between 80 and 90% of our timber; owing to its bulk, timber was costly to transport and should be grown as near as possible to where used ; timber was a prime necessity and we had to pay famine prices for it in emergency ; it required several generations to grow, so must be managed on a carefully prepared and continuously-applied policy; Great Britain was the greatest consumer, yet had the smallest proportion of land under forest in Europe; and the private owners had provided almost the whole of the home-grown timber in the past. He pointed out that owners were not now ina position to replant the war-felled areas unassisted, that State forests alone could not supply the nation’s needs, and that the assistance of land- owners was the cheapest way in the long run from the State’s point of view. He urged everyone to bring these facts before the public so that they might realise the position they were in. Mr G. K. Fraser, M.A., B.Sc., Marischal College, said that the conditions for tree-growth in Perthshire, as the excursionists 212 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. had seen them, were not typical of the difficulties to be over- come in forestal lands in general, where the long-continued neglect of the soil had frequently so reduced its productive capacity that large areas required treatment of a special nature,’ such as would make uni-rotational economic returns somewhat problematical ; and in order that such necessary schemes might be carried out, a long-period outlook, such as the private owner of land could not afford to take, seemed a definite indication of the necessity of an active State Forest Service. After several other members had spoken, Dr Borthwick summed up, pointing out the deterioration through loss of quality which took place in forest soils exposed to the weather, emphasised the fact that the longer the delay now, in dealing with recently felled areas, the more money and time would be required, in future, to restore the soil to its present productivity. He therefore claimed that it would be false economy to delay replanting of the denuded areas now, and that, therefore, the need for reafforesta- tion was urgent. He thought the Society were right in pressing for State assistance to help in replanting denuded areas without further delay. The meeting finally agreed to recommend that the Society send a resolution to the Government urging it to proceed at greater speed with afforestation, especially in the areas denuded for war purposes, and to give more encouragement to private owners by renewing the Unemployment Grants which had proved so attractive, or by removing the unworkable conditions attached to the advances permitted in the Forestry ° Act (1919). The framing of the resolution was left to the Council. BLAIR CASTLE. On the last morning the party drove straight to Blair Castle, where they were met by Lord James Murray and Mr Robert Inglis, factor. A tour of the gardens and policies was made, after which Lord James gave a brief sketch of the history of the Castle and its former owners. He then conducted the members through the historical part of the Castle, and proved a very interesting and instructive guide. A group photograph was taken in front of the Castle. On re-entering the motors, the party moved on to Struan, where a halt was made for lunch, and thence over to the Rannoch district, a chance being given to see the Queen’s View of Loch Tummel. REPORT OF THE ANNUAL EXCURSION. 213 BONSKEID. On arrival at Bonskeid, the property of Dr Barbour, the party were shown over the house and grounds. One of the finest specimens of Adies magnifica was seen here, 88 feet in height and of excellent shape; also a good Cembran pine and a big Lawson’s cypress. Dr Barbour kindly arranged to give the excursionists tea. On the way to the young plantations, a magnificent specimen of old European larch was pointed out ; the form of the bole is perfect and but for one small branch at 60 feet would be clean up to 75 feet, the crown is good, and the total height is r1ro feet. Ascending the hill, plantations, made in 1909, of European larch and of Douglas fir and Japanese larch in mixture—both species making about equal progress— were inspected; and at an elevation of 800 feet a thriving plantation of Cembran pine of like age, planted at 3 feet apart, was inspected. This brought the Excursion to a close, and the party returned to Pitlochry whence they dispersed next morning, after what, all were agreed, had been a most interesting and well-arranged tour. The following took part in the Excursion:—His Grace the Duke of Atholl, K.T. (President); J. H. Alexander, Edinburgh ; Robert Allan, Whitburn ( Vice-President) ; Frank Amos, Canter- bury; J. F. Annand, M.Sc., Aberdeen; A. D. Baker, Inverkip ; Edward Banks, Kirkcaldy; Mrs Banks, Kirkcaldy; F. Austen Bensted, Sittingbourne; Henry T. Bensted, Faversham; C. W. Berry, Glenstriven; Dr A. W. Borthwick, O.B.E. (Hon. Editor) ; John Broom, Bathgate; Gilbert Brown, Grantown-on-Spey ; Chas. Buchanan, Penicuik (Convener of Committee); Mrs Chas. Buchanan, Penicuik; Charles Buchanan, Cardross; H. M. Cadell of Grange, Linlithgow; Col. J. M. Cadell of Foxhall, Kirkliston ; George R. Christie, Fochabers ; James S. Christie, London; William Christie, Forres; James Clyne, Banchory ; Robert Craig Cowan, Inveresk: R. W. Cowper, Sittingbourne ; James Crooks, Prescot; John, D. Crozier, Dublin; L. G. Cruden, Dupplin; Alex. Cuthbertson, Lochgoilhead; Henry Dalziel, Forteviot ; A. Davidson, Dornoch; Jas. S. Davidson, Bieldside ; Miss De C. L. Dewar, Glasgow; J. S. Doughty, Ayton; A. Douglas, Ladybank; E CC. Duthie, Aberdeen; Johnston Edwards, Castle Kennedy; John T. Ellis, Fossoway ; William 214 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. D. Fernie, Colinsburgh; H. Filmer, Sittingbourne; Alex. J. Finlayson, Newbattle; Robert Forbes, Dunblane; George K. Fraser, Aberdeen; James Fraser, Fettercairn; Wm. Fyfe, Whittinghame; George Galloway, Wellbank, Dundee; Robert Galloway, Edinburgh (Secretary and Treasurer); R. Angus Galloway, Edinburgh; Dr G. Shirra Gibb, Lauder; R. Shirra Gibb, Lauder; William Gilchrist, Mount Melville; Robert Grant, Toward; James L. Gray, Dalkeith; James Grieve, Greenlaw; James B. Harrier, Braemar; William N. Harvey, India; J. Smith Hill, Penrith ; Edwin Hillier, Winchester ; Mrs E. Hillier, Winchester; Harold G. Hillier, Winchester; J. H. Milne Home, Canonbie; Robert Inglis, Blair Atholl; Wm. Inglis, Brodick ; Provost Jackson, Grangemouth; David Keir, Dunkeld ; Svend Kindt, Denmark ; Mrs Svend Kindt, Denmark ; The Master of Kinnaird, Rossie Priory; Colonel Leather of Middleton Hall; Peter Leslie, B.Sc., Aberdeen; George Leven, Bowmont Forest; William Leven, Jeaniebank, Perth; Geo. U. Macdonald, Haystoun; John M‘Donald, Ardgoil ; D. M‘Gibbon, Inchture; James Macgregor, Culzean; Neil Macgregor, Ban- chory; James M‘Hardy, Lundin Links; James M‘Laren, Douglas; Malcolm Macnaughton, Perth; J. W. Mackay, Aberdeen ; Wellwood Maxwell, Dalbeattie; James Meldrum, Forfar; J. Rollo Mitchell, Perth; Malcolm Morgan, Crieff; William S. Nash, Mauchline; Miss Pendreigh, Roslin; J. Lyford Pike, M.A., B.Sc., Edinburgh; W. G. Pirie, Dalhousie ; Alex. Raffan, Bonskeid; A. B. Robertson, The Dean, Kil marnock; C. G. M. Robertson, Blairadam; G. Robertson, Monreith ; W. Hope Robertson, Edinburgh; Alex. Rule, M.A., B.Sc., Huntly; W. L. Scott, Douglas; Robert Skimming, Port William ; Allan Smith, Comrie; David W. Smith, Forfar; Geo. C. Solley, Mayor of Sandwich; Jas. A. Somervail, Kelso; J. Speid, Forneth; J. G. Spence, Greenlaw ; Adam Spiers, Edin- burgh (Vice-President); Thomson Spiers, Edinburgh; Charles Stewart, Durris, Drumoak; John Stewart, Elginshill; E. A. Strouts, Cambridge; John Sutherland, Forestry Commission, Edinburgh; James Terris, Blairadam; Sir Francis Webster, Arbroath; James Whitton, Glasgow (Vice-President); John Williamson, Grangemouth; R. M. Young, Glasgow. EMPIRE FORESTRY. 215 27. Empire Forestry. In the last issue of the Zransactions (p. 102) there appeared a review of the first number of the Journal of the Empire Forestry Association. That number was one of great merit, and there were considerable hopes that the future of Empire Forestry was bright, and that it would extend its labours and influence in many directions. It is with very great regret we note that the future of this useful and interesting magazine is in doubt, since unless sufficient funds are forthcoming in the shape of subscriptions and donations ‘‘the Council will be compelled, albeit most reluctantly, to suspend the publication of the Journal.” Not only is the Journal menaced by the lack of money, but the very existence of the Association is endangered. This state of affairs is unfortunate for the cause of forestry, and one can only attribute it to the present difficulty of obtaining money for any public purpose. Every type of society feels severely the economic stringency of the times, but we may hope that those public-spirited promoters of the Association who appeal for help will not be disappointed. To Scottish foresters the names of Lord Lovat, Viscount Novar, and Sir John Stirling Maxwell, who are among the founder members, will be a guarantee that forestry and foresters will be well served. The present issue of the Journal does not show evidence of deterioration, but rather gives promise that in those future issues for which we hope development will be on lines of ever-increasing utility. It is not stiffly technical, as one can admire and expect in a text-book, but it has those qualities of interest and usefulness which should appeal to a wide circle of readers. The Journal contains eight articles, a review, as well as a large number of notes culled from current literature and reports on forestry in many parts of the world. Part of the interest of two of the original articles is centred ° in timbers which are rivals in the scale of durability. Sir Frank Bains, in his contribution on Westminster Hall, gives some idea of the length of time that English-grown pedunculate oak may last and sustain enormous stresses. It is stated that the present roof of the Hall was erected between 1393 and 1399, during the reign of Richard II. The average span of the roof is 68 feet, its length 240 feet, and it contains about 216 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 50,000 cubic feet of English oak timber. Some of these timbers are of very great dimensions, and we read of, among others, hammer-posts “out of 38-inch by 25-inch timbers 21 feet long,” of collar-beams ‘comprised of two members each Ig ins. by 12 ins, 40 feet long”; and of lower principal rafters ‘‘out of 17-ins. by tr-ins. timbers, 27 feet long.” Most of the timbers show little sign of sapwood, and they are reasonably free from knots. The description of these timbers calls to mind the ancient canoe found in 1726, near the influx of the Carron into the Forth. This was described as being 36 feet long, 4 feet broad in the middle and 4 ft. 4 ins. deep with sides 4 inches thick. It was said to be of one solid piece of oak of extraordinary hardness, and with not one knot in the whole block. The trees produced in those far bygone days must have been very fine in size and quality. The writer goes into some details of the investigation into the question as to the species of wood used in the construction of the roof, which was ultimately decided in favour of oak. He also gives the reasoning which runs down the species to the pedunculate oak. For the first 260 years of the roof’s existence only minor patching would appear to have been done, but periodically from then onwards, the carpenters and engineers made various repairs. As the result of a report published in 1914 repairs were undertaken and are now almost completed. ‘These, it is considered, will assure the stability of the roof for hundreds of years if the walls remain untouched. The need for this last repair was brought about by the ravages of certain Anobiidae, and the method of reducing the danger of future attacks is described. As an adjunct to this article Lieut.-Col. G. L. Courthorpe, M.P., gives details of the source from which the new timbers were supplied. The rival timber, Indian teak, is dealt with by S. M. Edwards, and he gives interesting facts showing how long this material may last when subjected to the severe practical test of ship- building. He also cites the marvellous endurance of teak ribs built into a cave at the time of its excavation about 80 B.c. These ribs, says the writer, were as perfect in 1911 as when the “pious excavator” completed this relic shrine of Buddha about two thousand years ago. EMPIRE FORESTRY. 217 Sir John Stirling Maxwell contributes a review of a report by the United States Forest Service on the timber depletion of that country. So well defined in this report is the shadow of impending famine, that one would wish to go into many of the details mentioned in the review with the remarks on cause and effect. The extracts from this report, teeming with notices of over-cutting and depletion, show that the English-speaking countries, with little economic foresight, still maintain a high record for the destruction of timber lands But the approach of a timber shortage in the States is not a matter that affects that country alone, since every country that uses timber will feel the effect, and those countries will suffer most whose own home production is low. It is a warning which the British people should heed before it is too late, and lay in their stores in woods within the country. The prize essay on the ‘‘Silvicultural Treatment of Eucalypts ” is completed in this number. We read with envy of species that may be planted at distances up to 15 feet apart without deteriorating the quality of the timber, but, while unfortunately eucalypts cannot be treated as a timber crop in this country, we feel sure that foresters in this and many other parts of the world will find much of interest in this clearly-written paper. Forestry research in India is briefly dealt with in an article by Sir George Hart. In this he gives the outlines of what has been done in the establishment of the Research Station at Dehra Dun. The numbers and classes of officers that it was proposed should be allocated to this work is given, but it is stated that the appointment of many of these has been delayed pending more favourable financial conditions. There is also an interesting account of an apparently un- successful attempt at the moral reform of the Chenchu tribe. This is one of the wild tribes of Madras Presidency and, from the description of the mode of life of the tribesmen, might well be classed along with the other criminal tribes of India. It might even give some of these a lead in villainy. The difficulties in which the police officer became involved are at times amusing to us at this distance, but one ceases reading the note with a feeling of admiration for the perseverance and ingenuity with which the attempt at reform was carried out. Mr R. Maclagan Gorrie contributes a note on ‘A Swiss System of Forest Management.” In this he describes what VOL. XXXVI. PART II. P 218 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. is known in Germany as Plenterschlag or Femelschlagbetrieb, and in Switzerland also as “la méthode des coupes jardinatoires.” It is a system that is practised in the forests of shade-bearers in Bavaria, the Black Forest, in the Vosges, and in Switzerland. Primarily, it is a system which is adapted to the regeneration of shade-bearers, and there is a difficulty in obtaining light demanders when required. Mr Gorrie’s note describes clearly the system as he found it worked in Switzerland. The heading of the note—‘‘ Femelschlagbetrieb”’—brings to our mind the need for a set of English forest terms. This is a work which might be undertaken by some writer at an early date. J. M. M. 28. Report on the Forestry Exhibition at the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Show. By JOHNSTON EDWARDS, The Forestry Exhibition, organised by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society and held at Dumfries in connection with the Highland show, was again one of the chief centres of attraction in the Highland show-yard. Although the district in which the show was held cannot lay claim to being an important timber-producing part of the country, it was apparent, from the quality of the timber exhibited, especially in the case of the hardwoods, that the lowlands of Scotland possess most suitable conditions for forest growth. In the competition for specimens of timber for Scots pine there were five entries. The Duke of Buccleuch was awarded first and second prize for two planks of very fine well-hearted timber, the third prize going to General Sir Charles Fergusson, The Duke of Buccleuch was also awarded first and second prizes in the competition for best planks of Norway spruce. Both these planks were outstanding in merit and were a splendid illustration as to how well spruce can be grown in this country when given a suitable situation. The plank sent by the Earl of REPORT ON THE FORESTRY EXHIBITION, 219 Minto came a little short of the others in point of quaiiey, and was awarded third prize. It is doubtful whether better larch timber has before been exhibited at the Forestry Exhibition, than the plank shown by General Sir Charles Fergusson. The conspicuously high quality of this piece of timber came in for more admiration than perhaps any other plank in the show. Its fine red colour, great depth of heartwood, and absence of all blemish, made it an easy first. The other three planks of larch shown in this competition were also fine timber, the second prize going to Captain William Stewart of Shambellie, and the third prize to the Duke of Buccleuch. The competition for specimens of timber of ash (7. excelsior) was less satisfactory. In this case there were only two entries, and the timber was not up to the high quality shown in the other classes. The first prize was awarded to the Earl of Minto, and the second prize to the Duke of Buccleuch. A most interesting exhibit in timber, and one in which there was keen competition, was that of the oak (Quercus robur). If beauty of grain had been the chief consideration it is probable that the premier prize would have been gained by a plank sent by the Duke of Buccleuch, which was awarded third prize, for nothing more beautiful for panelling could be desired. The Judges, however, had given the first place to a plank of harder material with less sapwood, also exhibited by the Duke of Buccleuch. The second prize plank, exhibited by the Earl of Minto, was very nearly equal to the first. In the competition for elm timber the first prize went to General Sir Charles Fergusson, and the second to the Earl of Minto. In the competition for specimens ef timber of any three coniferous trees other than Scots fir, spruce, and larch, planks of Tsuga Albertiana, Abies Nobilis, Pinus Laricio, and P. Insignis, and others of the less common timber trees were shown. In the Local Section first prize was awarded to the Earl of Stair for planks of Adies Mobilis, Pinus Insignis,and P. Laricio. In these the outstanding feature was size rather than quality. Hitherto these trees have been grown more from a point of view of beauty rather than for their value as timber, yet in their manner of quick growth, and in some cases the superiority of the timber as compared say with common spruce, they are interesting to 220 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. foresters. For “quality” of timber the. plank of Pinus Insignis gave the best appearance, while for “quantity” and amount of annual increment Adzes odilis excelled. In the Open Section of the same competition the most note- worthy plank was one of Zsuga Albertiana. ‘This species is being treated within recent years with more regard as a timber tree in this country. Certainly from the appearance of the plank shown by the Duke of Buccleuch it has qualities to recommend it. The planks shown of Corsican pine were not good, “heartwood” being conspicuous by its absence. The © first prize was awarded to the Duke of Buccleuch, and the second to the Earl of Minto, who also secured first prize for specimens of timber of three broad-leaved timber trees, other than ash, elm, and oak. In the competition for a gate for farm use manufactured from home-grown timber there were only two entries. This is always an item of very great interest to working foresters, and the two gates shown gave rise to a good deal of discussion. There are those in favour of a heavy top-barred gate, and others who prefer a gate made of bars all of even thickness. It would be interesting to know which type goes to form the most service- able and lasting gate. The one which the Judges placed as first, and for which a No. 1 Silver Medal was awarded, was exhibited by Mr D. H. M‘Millan, Kilkerran Estate, Maybole. The principle of this gate was bars all of even weight and thickness with four diagonals; the timber used in its construc- tion was of excellent quality, being dark red in colour and without knots. The second gate, exhibited by Mr J. Edwards, Castle Kennedy, was of the heavy top-bar type with four lighter rails, one diagonal and dropper. While this gate had not so smart an appearance as that shown by Mr M‘Millan, what it lacked in good looks it atoned for in strength. A No. 2 Silver Medal was awarded. The Duke of Buccleuch, per Mr David Crabbe, was awarded a No. 1 Silver Medal for a self-closing wicket gate, shown in working order. This was of good design and workmanship, and reflected great credit on the maker. Possibly one of the most striking exhibits was that of Mr John Munro, Letter House, Trossachs, by Callander, who showed his collection of fungi injurious to forest trees and REPORT ON THE FORESTRY EXHIBITION. 220 shrubs. Not only was it remarkable for the number of fungi shown, but also for the great care taken in mounting.and naming the different kinds. For this exhibit Mr Munro received the highest prize awarded by the Society, a Gold Medal, also a special prize of £5. In Competition No. XXII for any approved article either wholly or mainly made of wood, the Earl of Stair was awarded a No. 2 Silver Medal for a palm stand made from home-grown laburnum. This is a variety of timber not very often seen owing to the difficulty of growing it without knots. It takes on a splendid polish, and, as was indicated by the table shown, is an admirable timber for use in cabinet work, where depth of colour and lustre are essential. Among articles entered for Exhibition only, the Duke of Buccleuch, per C. W. Ralston, Esq., Drumlanrig, had forwarded 3 poles Norway spruce, 45 years of age 3», Sitka ” O2P es? 3) 4) Japanese larch 19) -,;, 9 These were interesting examples showing the amount of increment characteristic of each species in the stated number of years. The Sitka spruce in particular were remarkable for their length and girth. This exhibit received an award of a No. 2 Silver Medal. J. M‘Laren, Esq., of Douglas, was awarded a Bronze Medal for specimens of trees damaged by roe-deer, blackgame, rabbits, etc. The hopelessness of ever attempting afforestation on a large scale where these vermin are allowed to exist, was clearly evident. Another very interesting exhibit, sent by the Earl of Home, per Mr M‘Laren, was a number of large photographs of conifers growing at Douglas Castle. The clearness and “detail” brought out by the photographer in this very praise worthy collection was exceptionally good. The collection of cones and foliage of different kinds of conifers exhibited by the Earl of Stair came in for a good deal of admiration. To those possessing a pinetum this exhibit would be helpful, for the Ades in particular, with their great similarity of foliage, are apt to be confusing. The cones of the various species, however, usually show a marked difference in one way or another from those of their near relatives, and in this way the less common conifers can usually be identified. About seventy varieties were shown, the most noteworthy of which 222 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. were Adzes religiosa or Mexican fir, A. Pindrow and A. firma; trees which are rarely seen nowadays in British pinetums. The large coconut-shaped cones of Avaucaria imbricata were greatly admired. This exhibit, which had been carefully staged, was of a highly educative nature and considered by the Judges to be worthy of the highest award, a Gold Medal. The suitability of home timber for use in house construction was very well illustrated by the exhibit sent by the Duke of Buccleuch, per J. A. Milne Home, Esq., which was awarded a No. 1 Silver Medal. Among other articles sent by the Duke of Buccleuch were 3 poles of Alnus incana, a Sitka spruce tree of thirty-two years of age, three field-gates, and Sitka spruce plants grown from seed gathered off trees at Drumlanrig. A No. 1 Silver Medal was awarded for this fine collection of exhibits. Other articles shown were boards of Japanese larch, illustrat- ing rate of growth for twenty-one years, and cricket bats made from willow grown on the Earl of Stair’s estate at Castle Kennedy. An attractive novelty shown was that of a fructification of Polyporus betulinus, on the underside of which had been painted a charming landscape. For these exhibits a No. 3 Silver Medal was awarded. The young tree seedlings exhibited by Messrs Learmont, Hunter & King, Nurserymen, Dumfries, were greatly admired, as also was the collection of exhibits sent by Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell, Esq., of The Grove. These consisted of logs of spruce and larch, field-gates, gate-posts, and sheep troughs of Scots fir, boards of spruce, larch fencing stobs, birch for clog-soles, finished clogs, and willows for basket-making. A No. 2 Silver Medal was awarded for this interesting lot. Special interest was taken in the stobs sent by the Duke of Buccleuch, which had been treated with napthaline and had been in use for sixteen years. Scots pine, birch, elm, holly, and several other species had been treated, and a card bearing the amount absorbed was affixed to each stob. Traces of decay were apparent on a few of those which had absorbed least. It was noted that Scots pine and even spruce were quite sound. On each of the four days the Exhibition was well attended, and without doubt served to impress on many minds the possibilities of forestry in Scotland. REPORT ON THE FORESTRY EXHIBITION. 223 The arrangements for the Exhibition were made by the following committee:—Messrs R. Allan (Convener), A. Spiers, Dr Borthwick, J. Broom, A. Finlayson, J. Scrimgeour, J. W. M‘Hattie, W. Leven, D. Keir, J. H. Milne Home, and A. B. Robertson. The Judges were:—Messrs John M‘Gregor, Alexander Finlayson, and A. B. Robertson. 29. Report of Estate Nurseries and Plantations Competitions, 1922. The total number of entries for the above competitions this year was thirty-two, which may be taken as a sign that private forestry is in a healthy condition in the Dumfries area of the Highland and Agricultural Society’s show, for the number is above the average of recent years. Four nurseries were entered, one in Class I. and three in Class II.; the first class being for nurseries not exceeding two acres, and the second class for those exceeding two acres. No award was made in the class for nurseries under two acres— the only entry not being considered of sufficient merit to justify this. In Class II. the prize was awarded to the Duke of Buccleuch for his Nettyholm Nursery at Langholm, which was of out- standing merit. The ground was well utilised for nursery purposes, carrying a stock of nearly a million seedlings and transplants in addition to many thousands of seedlings of this year’s growth. No space was needlessly taken up with purely ornamental trees or shrubs, and the sections not carrying trees were under green crop in order to get the land well cleaned and worked. The spacing of the transplants was good and the formation of the beds and sowing. of the seeds had been skilfully done. It was apparent that the main object had been the rearing of the maximum number of healthy forest trees of the species best adapted for the district. The plantations are grouped into seven classes. The first three classes are for plantations mainly of conifers, of three 224 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. age-classes, z.e. (1) under ten years; (2) exceeding ten years and not exceeding twenty years; (3) exceeding twenty years and not exceeding forty years. Each plantation must be not less than two acres in extent. All three classes are confined to estates having less than 300 acres of woods. Classes IV. to VI. are similarly grouped, but each plantation must be not less than five acres in extent, and the estate must have more than 300 acres of woods. Class VII. is open to all estates irrespective of woodland area, and is for plantations mainly of hardwoods not more than thirty-five years of age and not less than two acres in extent. In the first three classes there were entered four, two, and one plantations respectively; all these plantations were in a healthy and thriving condition. In Class I. plantations the first prize was awarded to Major Murray of Murraythwaite, for the plantation known as Henry’s Wood. The main species in this wood are Norway and Sitka spruce, with beech as a border shelter where required. In some parts of the planta- tion Scots pine and hybrid larch occur, also some TZsuga Albertiana. A small quantity of Chamecyparis obtusa originally planted along with the other species had failed. The interesting feature of this plantation is that it was planted on what was previously an impassable bog. The bog was drained into a pond by a ditch r2’x12’x 12’. The run-off from the pond is about 3 feet below the level of the ground. All the existing species are thriving, but the spruces are doing excellently. There is every indication that this swamp has now disappeared, aided largely by the root-action of the trees, and that a value- less area has been converted into one of high productivity. The surface soil is of a light, loamy nature with an underlying hard gravelly till. In Class II. the honours went to Mr Wellwood Maxwell of Kirkennan, for an 18-year old plantation of Japanese larch, with Corsican pine and European larch, the first species occupying two-thirds and the other two one-third of the area. In Class III. Mr Wellwood Maxwell was again successful, with a 22-year-old Japanese larch plantation. A few Scots pine were planted on rocky places. On certain spots where natural seedlings of ash were coming up, the Japanese larch was planted more widely apart. The original planting distance was 4 feet. ESTATE NURSERIES AND PLANTATIONS COMPETITIONS. 225 In the second category, for larger plantations on estates with over 300 acres of woods, the first prize in Classes IV., V., and VI. was awarded to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, for three Sitka spruce plantations at Drumlanrig. The Class IV. plantation, 8-year-old, was on a clay soil over Old Red Sandstone. Class V. plantation, 17-year-old, was growing in a peaty soil over Old Red Sandstone. Class VI. plantation, 22-year-old, was on the same kind of soil as Class IV. plantation. z All three plantations were at the same altitude, namely, 600 feet, and each has a western aspect. The rainfall of the district is 50 inches. Each plantation in itself is a subject of outstanding merit: but if these plantations are taken together and grouped as a series of age-classes, they form a unique assemblage of plantations which present a first-class demonstra- tion of the capabilities of this important western American species. The management of these plantations is in the skilful hands of Mr Alexander Menzies, head forester to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch at Drumlanrig. These three plantations, in successive stages of growth, are of great value to forestry in demonstrating the silvicultura] possibilities of this com- paratively recent addition to our forest trees. Such examples are of national importance, since they show, as nothing else could, how our national resources in timber may be increased not only in kind but also in quality. In view of the outstanding excellence of these Sitka spruce plantations, the Judges recommended that the special prize of the Society should be awarded.! Class VII. Hardwoods. There were five entries in this class, the largest since these competitions started, and in the opinion of the Judges the general standard was of a high order. The prize was given for the plantation known as Shortsholm Sike on the Canonbie estate of His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. The sike, or small glen, was planted in separate sections, in 1915, with oak (300), beech (300), sycamore (300), poplar (1050), white alder (2850), hornbeam (1200), and spruce (350). (The figures in brackets give the relative numbers.) The white alder and hornbeam predominate, and the white alder and the 1 The Council empowered the Judges to award a special prize of £5 for a nursery or plantation recommended as being of outstanding merit. 226 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. poplar are in pure blocks. All sections have been successful,. especially that of the white alder, which affords an interesting demonstration of the possibilities of this species. Its density and volume are surprisingly good, while the black poplar runs it very close. The soil of the glen is of a clayey nature and very wet: but these hardwood trees are rapidly rectifying the excessive wetness. They appear to maintain an even balance of moisture throughout the seasons. There are numerous places similar to this glen where little use can be made of the soil, without continuous and costly draining ; the outlay involved would scarcely give an adequate return. But in this case the trees are improving the drainage of the soil by the penetration of their roots. They are also. improving its fertility by leaf-fall and added humus content. Up to the present time these hardwoods have given better results than might reasonably have been expected of conifers, and with a continuance of the skilful treatment they have received in the past their future should be assured. 30. Studies in the Pathology of Young Trees and Seedlings. (With Plates.) By MALCOLM WILson, D.Sc., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., Lecturer in Mycology, University of Edinburgh. I.—THE ROSELLINIA DISEASE OF THE SPRUCE. In the present series it is proposed to describe some diseases. of seedlings and young trees caused by fungi, and also to deal with injuries caused by mechanical means during planting and cultivation. A serious outbreak of the disease which forms the subject of the present paper was investigated over fifteen years ago by Dr Borthwick, who has kindly handed over to me a number of the diseased seedlings as well as his notes made at the time of the outbreak. I am, therefore, indebted to him for a large PATHOLOGY OF YOUNG TREES AND SEEDLINGS. 227 proportion of the facts upon which the following communication is based. The genus Rose//inta includes a large number of species found growing on plants, and, although the majority are saprophytes developing only on dead tissues, a few are parasites and cause serious plant diseases. The genus is placed in the Pyrenomycetes, a large subdivision of the Ascomycetes characterised by the production of closed fructifications, the perithecia, containing the asci in which the ascospores are produced. In the Sphaeriaceae, the family to which Rosel/inta belongs, the perithecia are small, black, pear-shaped or globose structures, and are produced on the surface of or slightly embedded in the substratum, each one being formed quite independently. The parasitic species of the genus have a common character, which has a very important bearing on the type of disease produced by them. Long strands or filaments made up of a number of longitudinally arranged hyphae are produced, which not only penetrate the stem and root of the diseased plant, but spread through the soil and over the substratum and bring about the infection of other plants in the vicinity. The serious nature of the diseases produced depends largely on this character, for distribution by means of the mycelial strands is rapid under suitable conditions, and it is a difficult matter to exterminate the fungus in the soil when the latter has become thoroughly infected. Rosellinia quercina, which attacks young oak trees, was first described by Hartig! in Germany in 1880. The first sign of the disease is the withering and death of the upper leaves, and soon the lower leaves are affected in the same way and the plant dies. If the root of a dead plant is examined it is found to be more or less covered with a whitish mycelium, and this often extends up to the stem, and when the plant is in the ground, spreads over the surface of the soil. Later on the mycelium becomes brown, and small black sclerotia are found on the surface of the root. Conidia, borne on slender conidiophores, are produced on the collar of the plant near the surface of the soil. Finally the globose, black perithecia are formed on the dense mycelium covering the lower part of the dead plant. 1“ Untersuchungen a.d. forstbotanischen Institut zu Miinchen,” I., 1880, p. 1. 228 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Rosellinia necatrix (also known as Dematophora necatrix), the white root-rot, which was also described by Hartig, has a somewhat similar life-history to the preceding species. This disease is prevalent in vineyards and orchards on the Continent, - but is rare in this country. It attacks a large number of host plants, including young plants of the oak, beech, pine, and spruce. Rosellinia aqutla, which is the cause of a serious disease of the mulberry on the Continent, also attacks a large number of other trees and has been recorded several times in this country, but merely as a saprophyte. It resembles Roseldinia quercina in many respects, but differs in the form of the conidiophore and other characters. The disease is usually found on mature trees. Several diseases caused by other species of Rose//inia have been described in various countries, but do not appear to have been recorded in Britain. The various fungi included in the genus /Aizoctonia were associated by Hartig with the species of Rose//inta, on account of the close similarity of the mycelial strands found in both genera. In fizoctonia sclerotia are produced but no re- productive organs are present, and it has been suggested that the forms are merely vegetative conditions of various species of Rosel/inia. Rolfs! has, however, proved in the United States that Rhizoctonia violacea is the vegetative condition of one of the Basidiomycetes, Corticium vagum var. solani. The damping-off of coniferous seedlings has been shown in the States to be largely due to this fungus. Hartig” has stated that AAzzoctonia violacea attacks the young plants both of hardwood and conifer- ous trees in Germany, but there is no evidence as to the exact relationships of the fungus involved. Somerville,’ in this country, has recorded the attack of AR/rzoctonia violacea on plants of Pinus silvestris, but it appears that the fungus described was not Corticium vagum but probably belonged to an altogether different group. An attack of FR. vtolacea on 4-year-old spruce has been recently described from Silesia,‘ ‘ 1 Colorado Agric. Bull., No. 91. 2 Lehrbuch der Phlanzenkrankhetten, Dritte Auflage, 1900, p. 67. % Quart. Journ. Forestry, vol. 3, 1909, p. 134. 4 Merker, ‘‘Ein neuer Pilzschidling im Fichtenpflanzgarten,” MNaturw. Zeitschr. Forst-u. Landw., 18, p. 218, 1920. —— ~ ; ™ ——) YY Amelie i) AINE A Saree cc RR EE ——— ©) iG. 2. [To face p. 2 PLATE XIV. Fic. 8. ht fo r Pn ha tard —% ae r i Pye ~ 4! ee PATHOLOGY OF YOUNG TREES AND SEEDLINGS. 229 and Tubeuf,! in referring to this, states that when imported infected trees were planted with healthy stock, full recovery of the diseased stock resulted and the fungus did not spread to the healthy plants. It therefore appears that, up to the present, no definite species of Rosel/inia (with the exception of &. mnecatrix) has been described as causing a disease of the spruce. The fungus described in the present paper occurred on 2-year- old plants of the common spruce (Picea excelsa) in a nursery in the south of Scotland. Practically the whole of the plants in the seed-bed were attacked by the disease. The plants when received were in a dying condition, but still bore the brown discoloured needles. A superficial examination shows that the lower part of the stem with the attached leaves, and the upper portion of the root, are all more or less covered with a greyish mycelium. This is scanty on the root but increases in quantity on the lower part of the stem, while on the lower leaves the hyphae are widespread, and sufficiently numerous to bind them together in a mycelial weft (Plate XIII. Figs. 1 and 2). In some cases a number of plants, which had evidently been growing in close proximity, are connected together by the very abundant development of the mycelium (see Plate XV. Fig. ro, which shows the fungus in a later stage of development). Microscopic examination shows that the hyphae, which are colourless in the young condition near the growing points, become brownish in the older portions. They differ considerably in size, varying from 2-8 pw in diameter, but individual hyphae are usually constant in width and only show the pear-shaped swellings, characteristic of Rosellinia necatrix, to a very small extent ; septa are fairly numerous and are at right angles to the side walls, and clamp connections are not present? (Fig. 3, a, 4) ; 1“ Rhizoctonia violacea an Fichten,” Naturw. Zeitschr. Forst-u. Landw., 18, p. 233, 1920. *Clamp connections are small U-shaped branch hyphae which are developed at the cross septa and connect up the cavities of contiguous cells ; they are characteristic of certain Basidiomycetes, especially the Hymeno- mycetes, and are not found in the Ascomycetes. Specimens of 4-year-old plants of the Sitka spruce, showing obvious signs of disease, have recently been received from Ireland, and in these a mycelium somewhat resembling that of Rosed/inta is present amongst the roots and on the stems and lower leaves. This mycelium shows numerous clamp connections, and in con- sequence cannot be assigned to any species of Rosellinia. 230 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. fusions between hyphae are occasionally seen (Fig. 3, ¢). Hyphae are frequently found associated together, forming strands of various sizes (Fig. 4). The hyphae are freely branched, and entangled amongst them are a number of small oval conidia ; examination shows that these have been budded off from the tips of some of the hyphae. They are colourless and thin-walled and measure about 8 x 4 mw (Fig. 3, d). Conidia are developed in many species of fose//inza, and, as already mentioned, Hartig, in &. guercina, has described their pro- duction on upright conidiophores which bear whorls of branches. Owing to the condition of the material it is extremely difficult to determine exactly how the conidia were borne, but branched hyphae, resembling conidiophores, are present (Fig. 3, ¢), and there is little doubt that the conidia were produced on these. This is a point of importance in determining the relationship of the present fungus, as in the allied species 7. necatrix, R. aguila, and &. rvadiciperda (described by Massee!) the conidiophores are of somewhat different types. On cutting sections it is found that hyphae are present in the cortex of both root and stem, and extend inwards to the cambium. These hyphae pierce the walls of the cells and bring about their death and disorganisation. There is an interruption of the periderm at various points on the stem, probably brought about by early penetration by the fungus, and at these places groups of hyphae are found entering the stem and spreading into the cortex (Fig. 7). When the seedlings were received the mycelium showed no trace of perithecia, and in order to encourage the development of the fungus the plants were placed in a damp chamber. The mycelium developed abundantly and after a few weeks perithecia appeared, at first scattered singly among the hyphae (Fig. 5) but soon developing in large numbers so that the greater part of the mycelium is covered by them (Plate XIV. Fig. 6 and Plate XV. Figs. 11 and1z2). They are not present on the roots but usually occur on the stem and lower leaves (Fig. 10). The perithecia are at first greyish and embedded in the mycelium (Fig. 5), but soon become black; when mature they are from ‘7-1 mm. in diameter, and are provided with a small mouth- opening at the apex of a papilla-like projection (Fig. 14). 1 «Root Diseases caused by Fungi,” Kew Bulletin, 1896, p. 1. PLATE. XV. Fic. 18. PuateE XVI. FIG. 17. Fic. 16. FIG, 19. PIG. 05: PATHOLOGY OF YOUNG TREES AND SEEDLINGS. 231 ‘The wall is thick, black, and hard and crust-like when the perithecium is ripe. Plate XIV. Fig. 8 shows an empty perithecium in section attached to the mycelium on a stem, and in Fig. 9 one is seen in section partly embedded in a mass of hyphae. Plate XV. Fig. 13 shows a section through several perithecia still attached to the mycelial strands. The inner surface of the wall, except for a small area near the opening, is covered with a layer consisting of asci and paraphyses (Plate XIV. Fig. 9). The paraphyses, which are colourless and not easily seen in the ripe perithecium, are long and filamentous. The asci are linear-cylindrical, 120-140 » long and 8 p wide in the sporiferous part, and contain eight spores which are at first colourless but become dark-brown when mature (Plate XVI. Fig. 15). The wall of the ascus is colourless and, for the most part, thin, but becomes much thickened near the apex, so that the cavity of the ascus is here reduced to a very fine canal (Fig. 16). This thickened portion takes up water readily, and by its swelling the lumen of the ascus is completely obliterated. On staining with iodine solution the thickened apex becomes bright blue, a reaction characteristic of Mosedlinta species (see Fig. 17, in which the blue-stained apex is shaded). The spores, which are arranged in a single row in the ascus, are spindle-shaped with pointed ends and, when examined laterally, are seen to possess one flat and one convex side; they contain two oil drops and measure 18-20 x 7-8 p» (Fig. 18). As in Rosellinia quercina there is a fine line on the flat side of the spore, extending over about seven-eighths of its length; this indicates the position of thickened ridges on the wall, and is easily seen after the spores have been soaked for some time in water (see Fig. 19; the upper spore is seen almost laterally, the lower shows the flat surface in face view). There is considerable difficulty in the exact identification of the fungus responsible for the disease. Although there is a great resemblance to Rosellinia quercina the Scottish specimens differ in several respects from the latter species. In the first place, there is the question of host plant. osed/inita quercina has only been described on the oak in Germany, but in Denmark it has been recorded by Rostrup! on the beech and sycamore. There is no record of the occurrence of this species on conifers, 1 Lind, Danish Fungi as represented in the Herbarium of E. Rostrup, 1913, p. 192. 232 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. and although this does not altogether exclude the spruce as a possible host it is somewhat unusual for the same species to attack both hardwoods and conifers. The actual amount of mycelium present in the tissues of the diseased spruce plants is much less than in oak seedlings attacked by XR. guercina, for in the latter Hartig has described the penetration of the cortex by large mycelial strands and the formation of large sclerotium-like masses between the cambium and xylem and in the pith. Although the spruce plants when received had already been seriously injured by the fungus, and would probably have been killed by the disease, yet the number of hyphae in the tissues is comparatively small. This may, however, be due to the conditions under which the plants were kept in the laboratory, conditions which encouraged the development of the fungus, and which would have ultimately brought about the death even of healthy seedlings. The absence of sclerotia in the fungus on the spruce may probably be accounted for in the same way; sclerotia are usually produced as the result of a check in development brought about by adverse conditions, and no such check would be experienced in the conditions under which the diseased plants were kept. There are, however, marked differences from the fungus of the oak disease. The conidiophores in the Scottish specimens do not bear whorls of short branches as in &. guercina, but are irregularly branched and of considerable size. The perithecia are produced more abundantly on the spruce, and the ascospores are of decidedly smaller size, being about 20 » in length, while those of 2. guercina are approximately 30 p. These distinctions and other slight differences clearly show that the fungus on the spruce cannot be assigned to 2. guercina, and it therefore becomes necessary to consider the other closely allied species of Rose//inia. R. necatrix is excluded by the form of its conidiophores, the scarcity of the perithecia and their production only at a very late stage, and the large size of the ascospores, these being about twice the size of those in the Scottish specimens. R. aguila has already been mentioned as causing a disease of the mulberry, and this species has been described in Britain on the spruce, but only on the wood of mature trees, which are apparently not affected in any way by PATHOLOGY OF YOUNG TREES AND SEEDLINGS, 233 its presence. This species agrees with the Scottish speci- mens in the form and size of its conidiophores and asco- spores, and, although there are slight differences in the minor characters of the two fungi, they resemble each other so closely that the Scottish specimens may be provisionally assigned to R. aguila. This species appears to produce a rather less abundant development of hyphae in the tissues of its host than is the case in &. guerctna, and in this respect approaches more closely to the condition found in the infected spruce seedlings. The serious nature of the diseases caused by the species of Rosellinta has been long recognised, and energetic measures should be undertaken for their eradication. All diseased plants should be burnt, and, in the case of trees, the roots should be grubbed up as completely as possible and destroyed. If the number of attacked plants is small, the diseased area should be isolated by digging a trench round it; this should be 1-2 feet deep and at least g inches wide, and care should be taken to throw all excavated soil inside the area. This will prevent the further spread of the fungus through the soil, but measures must be also undertaken to kill the fungus in the isolated area. Litter may be scattered over the surface and burnt, or quicklime may be spread over the soil and then dug in. Bare fallowing for several years in order to starve out the fungus has also been recommended. It has been shown that treatment with various fungicides, such as copper sulphate (bluestone) and iron sulphate, will kill the mycelial strands in the soil if applied in sufficient quantities, and, in dealing with such serious diseases, the risk of poisoning the soil for a time for all plant growth must be taken. The value of carbolic acid as a fungicide for the strands of Rhizoctonia violacea in the soil has been demonstrated by Salmon.! Forty gallons of a solution of 1 oz. of carbolic acid to 1 gall. of water were applied to a 19xgQ feet plot of badly-diseased seakale; the resulting crop was practically free from the fungus and was heavier and better in every way. As soon as the serious nature of the disease attacking the spruce was realised, the destruction of all the diseased seedlings and the thorough soaking of the seed-bed with copper sulphate 1 “* Disease of Seakale,” Gardeners’ Chronicle, 4th July 1908. VOL. XXXVI. PART II, Q 234 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. solution was recommended, and these measures were at once carried out and resulted in the eradication of the disease. In order to deal with a disease in the most effective manner, and at the same time with a minimum of expense, it is essential that the life-history and habits of the causal organism should be fully known. There is obviously a great waste, both of labour and materials, if spraying is undertaken at a time when the organism is in such a resistant condition that it is not affected by the fungicide employed, and the destruction of only a portion of the fungus, however carefully carried out, will never lead to the complete extinction of the disease. The latter statement is particularly applicable to the diseases produced by the various species of Rose/linta. In these the destruction of the obvious part of the fungus, z.e. the perithecia and mycelium on the dead plants, is not sufficient, and unless the mycelial strands in the soil are destroyed at the same time the disease will not be eradicated. The knowledge that fungi belonging to the genus Rosellinia do possess a means by which infection can be carried through the soil is essential in order to ensure the complete eradication of the disease. The history of the outbreak of Rosellinia on the spruce in Scotland affords convincing evidence of the value of expert advice in dealing with the fungous diseases of plants, Little can be said regarding the origin of the disease. Rosellinia aguila has not been often recorded in Scotland, and it is possible that the species may have been introduced by some means into the district where the outbreak occurred. Consider- able quantities of spruce seed are imported from the Continent, and the spores of the fungus may have been brought in on the seed. Whatever the origin may have been, the methods employed in dealing with the outbreak proved to be so efficient that there has been no indication of the spread of the disease in the district, and, as far as can be ascertained, there has been no other instance of its occurrence in this country. I am indebted to Dr A. W. Borthwick for the photographs shown in the Plates. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. 18, 19. PATHOLOGY OF YOUNG TREES AND SEEDLINGS. 235 PLATE XIII. Seedling showing mycelium on lower part of stem and on leaves. Natural size. A similar stage. x about 5. a and 4, hyphae ; c, hyphae showing fusion ; @, conidia; e, part of conidiophore (diagrammatic). All x about 950. PLATE XIV. Part of a small mycelial strand. x about 475. Seedling with stem densely covered by mycelium in which the young perithecia are partly embedded. x about 3. Seedling with mycelium and perithecia on stem and on the lower leaves. Natural size. Part of transverse section of stem, showing a group of hyphae penetrating the periderm. x about 100. Transverse section of stem and attached empty perithecium. x about 12. : Section of perithecium, embedded in mycelium, showing asci and spores. x about 4o. PLATE XV. Parts of two seedlings bound together with mycelium bearing perithecia. x about 4. Seedling with mycelium and perithecia. x about 3. Seedling with mycelium and perithecia. x about 2. Several perithecia in section, connected by mycelial strands. x about Io. Perithecia on stem of seedling. x about 8. PLATE XVI. Ascus. x about 430. Upper end of immature ascus, showing two spores and thickening of wall at apex. x about 475. Upper end of mature ascus, stained with iodine solution, showing three spores and the blue thickened apex (shaded). x about 475. Two ascospores, the upper seen with flat side in face view, the lower from the side; each shows two oil drops. x about 950. Two ascospores after soaking in water, showing line on flat surface; the upper seen almost laterally, the lower with flat surface in face view. x about 950. All the figures refer to Roseliinia agui/a on Picea excelsa. 236 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. OBITUARY. Sir Isaac BayLey Batrour, K.B.E., F.R.S. We record with the deepest regret the loss of Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour. The announcement of his retirement from the strenuous official duties he so ably and ungrudgingly performed as Pro- fessor of Botany in the University and Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, was made in the last issue of the Zyransactions (p. 116). The earnest hope then expressed by the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society that he would regain his health and enjoy many years of well-earned rest in his southern home at Haslemere was, unfortunately, not to be fulfilled. The strain of the past few years had been too great. He continued to fulfil his many arduous duties—a too heavy burden—up till last spring. If thought of self had ever in- fluenced his actions, the Professor—as he was affectionately called by his staff—might have secured that relaxation and ease which advancing years demand, but such a thought was not possible to Sir Isaac. Throughout a brilliant career the more difficult the work and the more complex the problems he encountered the keener and more resolute became his deter- mination to overcome them. Balfour was no ordinary scientist of the modern school; he was never lost in the entanglement of detail which modern intensive specialisation tends to foster. He maintained a vision broad and deep concerning fundamental problems, and his wide knowledge of all that was best in the onward march of progress during the past and present generations enabled him to carry on his own work and to advise and assist others in a way no authority among the later generation could emulate. Horticulture, Forestry, and Agriculture all owe a deep debt to Sir Isaac, who, while never neglecting the purely scientific aspects of Botany, was always enthusiastic in his endeavours to apply knowledge from the vast storehouse of pure science to improving the procedure and practice of these key or basic industries. Born on the 31st of March 1853, he studied at Edinburgh Academy and the Universities of Edinburgh, Strasbourg, and Wurzburg. His father, John Hutton Balfour, occupied the OBITUARY. 237 Chair of Botany at Edinburgh University from 1845 to 1879. Sir Isaac began his studies at Edinburgh University at the age of 17, and by 1873 had graduated in both Arts and Science and gained the Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He still continued his studies for the M.B., C.M., and in that year he would no doubt have accompanied the Challenger expedition had a botanist been attached to the staff, but his chance for the exploration of tropical vegetation came very soon. As a member of the Transit of Venus expedition he visited Rodriguez in 1874, and some few years later—in 1879—he had explored another oceanic island, Socotra, adding by his discoveries hundreds of species new to science. After his first expedition he resumed his studies in medicine, and, in addition, during 1875-76 acted as assistant to Huxley, who was then lecturer in place of Wyville Thomson. In 1876 he acted as substitute for the Professor of Botany during his father’s illness, and still found time to act as dresser with Lister. In 1877 he was assistant to Wyville Thomson and graduated M.B., C.M. The following two years were devoted to teaching and research. In 1879 he became Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow, and during his tenure of the Chair re-organised or put in train for further and subsequent organisation much in the way of accom- modation and equipment that has proved to be of lasting benefit. In 1884 he was elected Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford, and here again his tenure of office was marked by constructive work which has proved to be of lasting benefit to Oxford. The obsolete and neglected Botanic Garden was remodelled and brought up to date. But of greater importance was the relations he was able to establish with the Clarendon Press. His literary genius, his wonderful capacity for recognising and gauging ability in others, coupled with his great gifts for organisation, enabled him, with the aid of a group of botanists, to induce the Clarendon Press to found the world- famous Annals of Botany, a quarterly journal, beautifully printed and profusely illustrated, which is now in its thirty-eighth volume and ranks as the leading botanical journal of the present time. The Press also at his instigation published a long series of translations of the standard books of other countries, necessary for the study of botany in English-speaking countries. In 1888, at the age of 35, he was promoted to his father’s Chair as Regius Professor of Botany and Keeper of the Royal 238 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, and also received the title of King’s Botanist for Scotland. In the Garden, as he found it then, much required to be done. He brought with him an unrivalled experience and knowledge of such work. Quietly, patiently, and with unerring judgment and artistic skill, he preserved what was worth keeping and remodelled or added that which was required. The beautiful range of new glass houses, with their many special fittings for the improved growth conditions and the better display of their plant inhabitants, bear eloquent testimony to the skill of the Master Architect who planned them. The regrouping and arrangement of trees and shrubs, the creation of new flower beds and borders, necessitated a relay out and alignment of roads, walks, and paths. The beauty of a garden park such as this depends to some extent on the way in which the visitor is led to approach different objects of interest. A subtle turn in a path may reveal in its proper setting and proportion a herbaceous bed, a group of shrubs or trees, or a wonderful vista revealing some distant object of interest and beauty. The wrong approach may mar many delightful scenes and effects by leading up to them from the wrong angle. Such, however, cannot be said of the lay-out of this Garden. With the true eye of an artist for proportion, colour, and form, the best use was made of the natural possibilities of the Garden as presented by its undulating surface and sloping lawns. It is all so excellent that it would be difficult to say which part was the best, but the concensus of opinion seems to centre round the rock garden as the master- piece. To the botanist and lover of Alpine plants it is a pure delight to wander through the labyrinthine paths and stepped ascents and descents of this home from home of Alpine vegeta- tion. Allis in harmony and nothing jars upon the sense as out of place or unnatural, and to copy nature truly on canvas or in model is the highest aim of the artist and the severest test of his skill. The Regius Keeper was no less interested in the welfare of the plants. The best knowledge that science and practice could afford was brought to bear on their cultivation. No one understood better the natural growth conditions under which these frequently minute but intensely interesting members of the plant kingdom flourish, and each tiny plant was assigned to a niche in the rock garden where its requirements in light, water, and food material could best be served, and seldom did OBITUARY. 239 Sir Isaac return from a visit to Ben Lawers without bringing from the hill on his own shoulders a load of schistose. soil which was destined to find its way into the cracks and crannies occupied by some shy Alpine treasure. As regards the Botanic Garden, no problem was too big or intricate, and no detail was too minute to receive its due share of attention by the Keeper. No less strenuous and intensive was the care which Sir Isaac bestowed upon his professorial duties. His vast knowledge of facts and his wonderful faculty for arranging and presenting these to his students in logical sequence, together with his un- failing use of the right word or phrase, his clear diction and perfect elocution, gave a magic touch to the interest of his lectures. He was generally regarded, and rightly so, as one of the best lecturers of his time. Sir Isaac was always a strong believer in the value of practical laboratory work, and the observation of facts at first hand by the students themselves. In each University where he taught he never neglected to make full use of laboratory and field methods to develop in his pupils the faculty of making close observations, and thus gaining knowledge by these first-hand methods for themselves. Before his retirement he saw the completion of the fine new range of buildings which now provide the necessary accommoda- tion in lecture theatres, laboratories and research rooms for a complete botanical institute. The library and the herbarium were constantly being enriched by added books and specimens during the whole thirty-four years of Sir Isaac’s administration. The Museum at the Garden is second to none in interest. The selection, preparation, and staging of the exhibits are carried out with the skill and thoroughness so characteristic of all the improvements effected in the Garden under Sir Isaac’s direction. He had the rare faculty of not only selecting, but of keeping together, a highly-trained staff as head of the various departments under his control. It was in later years always a regret to Sir Isaac that owing to its immediate surroundings any considerable extension of the area of the Garden was impossible, but possibly the very last improvement of importance effected by Sir Isaac was the addition of an area of nearly three acres in extent on the north- 240 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. west side to be used as an experimental and training nursery of forest trees. The silviculturist and arboriculturist alike can find much of interest and educational value by paying a visit at any season of the year to this splendidly equipped Institute. Much has recently been said and written about the application of science in industry, and there are unmistakable signs that our industrial methods in general are becoming more scientific. The use of experimental stations for plant and animal breeding is now more fully understood and appreciated. Improved and extended facilities for original research are also being provided for in many places, and indeed, as a nation, we are becoming every day more and more convinced that our future prosperity and progress is intimately dependent on the progress we make in research and the service of science. All honour is therefore due to Sir Isaac, who, during his whole life’s work never lost sight of these big problems which can only be solved by super-minds. ‘The pioneer sees far ahead of others, and his constructive work is unfortunately rendered in most cases all the more difficult owing to the fact that he has to work alone. Unlimited patience and untiring energy and endless self-sacrifice are necessary to start the train of progress, and even after the dead load has been put into motion it requires wisdom and power to guide it along the right rails. In all departments of botanical science and the industries dependent upon it Sir Isaac excelled. He not only knew his subject in whatever field he entered, but he further knew what had to be done to increase the sum of human knowledge concerning that subject, and most important of all he found a way of doing it. The members of this Society have every reason to know and to appreciate how profound and far-seeing were Sir Isaac’s views of the big problems which concern forestry. His name stands first on the list of those who have done most for education and research in British forestry. His training scheme at the garden for foresters in the science and practice of their profession is already well known. The large and varied collection of woody plants and trees in the Garden, the splendid and well-chosen specimens in the Museum, of timber sections, fruits, cones, seeds and seedlings, flowers, twigs, buds and leaves of forest trees, afford a wide scope for the study of tree life by the forester, and last, but not of least importance, are the numerous specimens OBITUARY. 241 which show the various forms of damage which trees may suffer by wrong treatment, inimical climatic factors, fungi, insect, and animal attack. Among the several lectureships which Sir Isaac was instru- mental in founding in the University are those of Forest Botany and Forest Mycology. The laboratories, lecture, and research rooms, their up-to-date equipment in instruments, apparatus, and reagents, together with the wealth of research material which the Garden and the new nursery ground can supply, and the almost unlimited scope for experimental work render these departments second to none. Only those who came into personal contact with Sir Isaac, whether visitors to the Garden or members of his staff, can know and appreciate the ready manner in which he was always willing to give advice and assistance, frequently at great personal in- convenience and the sacrifice of valuable time which had to be made up by early morning and late night work. Courteous, kindly, and helpful to all, he gave his time and advice un- grudgingly to amateur and expert alike, and so long as those who sought his help were really interested in plants, they did not seek in vain. Honours and distinctions in abundance were conferred upon Sir Isaac. These he accepted and valued as expressions of appreciation by his country and colleagues, but it was not for such rewards he laboured. The main impulse to work was for the sake of work itself and the results which it would bring. An unquenchable desire for knowledge left no time for leisure. His active mind was for ever on the track of what was new, nor did he abandon the old unless it could not be linked up and fitted in with that which was new. His vast knowledge of facts was balanced by his breadth of outlook, and for this reason he was seldom, if ever, side-tracked or lost in the fog so liable to be produced by the super-abundance of irrelevant detail. Apart from his achievements and conquests in the realms of pure science, he possessed that all too rare gift of being able to apply his special knowledge to the improvement of plant cultivation in all its economic phases. Sir Isaac was a valued member of the Forestry Commission’s Scottish Consultative Committee. He was an Examiner for the Highland and Agricultural Society’s Forestry Certificate, and Consulting Botanist for our own Society. 242 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the Council Meeting, on the 13th December, a unanimous wish was expressed that the Secretary should, in the name of the Society, convey to Lady Balfour their deep sympathy and the feeling of profound regret with which the news of the passing away of an honoured member had been received. Henry J. Etwes.! In the death of Henry John Elwes, on the 26th of November, at his place Colesborne in Gloucestershire, at the age of seventy- six, there passed away one whose name is well and widely known. To state that he was perhaps the greatest living traveller of the day, an authority second to no one in Europe on trees, a lepidopterist whose collections enrich our national museum at South Kensington, the author of what is still the authoritative work on Lilies—though published so long ago as 1880, and a big-game hunter and ornithologist of great repute,. by no means exhausts the list of his activities. After leaving Eton, Elwes spent five years in the Scots Guards, but the spirit of adventure which was strong in him to the end, caused him to resign his captain’s commission, and begin that life of scientific travel and adventure from which such a rich harvest has resulted. His journeys were made in Turkey, Asia Minor, Tibet, in India four times ; in North America and Mexico three times; in Chile; in Russia and Serbia three times; in Formosa, China, and Japan twice; in Nepal and Sikkim. He was the official representative of Great Britain at the Botanical and Horticultural Congresses at Amsterdam in 1877, and at Petrograd in 1884. He was the Scientific member of the Indian Embassy to Tibet in 1886. Few, if any, men knew every country of Europe so well as he, and he greatly benefited by his excellent knowledge of French and German. For nine years Elwes was a member of a wild-boar shooting syndicate in the Ardennes, and he stalked chamois regularly in the Austrian Tyrol, and shot elk several times in Norway. He was a past president of the Royal English Arboricultural Society, and of the Entomological Society of London ; past vice- 1 Reprinted, with minor additions, from Zhe Gardeners’ Chronicle, by kind: permission of the Editor. OBITUARY. 243 president of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a Victoria Medallist. In 1921 he was elected president of the British Ornithological Union, having been a member for 55 years. In 1897 the Royal Society elected him a Fellow. On frequent occasions he attended the expeditions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. Elwes’ first publication appeared in the J/ézs of 1869, the subject being ‘‘The Bird Stations of the Outer Hebrides.” Four years later, in June 1873, he published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society his paper “On the Geographical Distribution of Asiatic Birds,” his most important contribu- tion to Ornithology, and to it he attributed his subsequent Fellowship of the Royal Society. In 1880 his great mono- graph on the genus Zi/iwm appeared, a book which has long been out of print, but is still the recognised authority on the subject. From 1880 to 1906 he published 27 papers on the lepidoptera of many regions, and described numerous new species of his own finding. In 1888 there appeared in the Transactions of the Entomological Society his “‘ Lepidoptera of Sikkim,” a very valuable record of the numerous species of that country. He was in Formosa in 1912, and succeeded in bringing home alive several specimens of the splendid Mikado Pheasant. Elwes’ botanical discoveries in all the countries he visited were very numerous, and he introduced many species. The otanical Magazine has figured no fewer than 87 plants of his growing or finding ; many fine plants now familiar in most gardens we owe to him. It is not unfitting to add here that largely through his generosity, and by his active interest, that venerable publication (Botanical Magazine) has now been launched again on what we all hope will be another century of unbroken prosperity and even greater usefulness. The School of Forestry at Cambridge has greatly benefited by his munificence, and owes many of its finest timber specimens to him. In 1900, with his friend, Prof. Augustine Henry, as colla- borator, Elwes began the preliminary labours which resulted in the production of that monumental work, Zhe Trees of Great Britain and Ireland. The first of the seven volumes appeared in 1906, and the last in 1913. Never before has a book on European trees been attempted on such a scale, and with so lavish an expenditure of money in its preparation. Indeed it can only be compared with Sargent’s Sylva of North America, 244 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. that great fourteen-volume record ot American arborescent species. Elwes especially undertook the task of visiting every place in this country where remarkable specimens exist, as well as every European collection of note. The number of trees described which Elwes himself had seen and measured is over- whelming evidence of the untiring zeal he devoted to this work, well-nigh impossible except to one in whom the boyish spirit of adventure survived. The fact that both he and Henry had seen almost every species in its native land gave great additional value to their descriptions of the cultivated plants. Never was a great labour more fittingly divided, Elwes making incessant journeys to see and take particulars of specimens, and Henry, the exact botanist, writing the scientific descriptions. To the writer the ubiquitous character of their researches was vividly brought home when in 1917, during war service in France, he had occasion to visit a little known property in the Medoc. He saw there some remarkable oaks, pines, and other trees of the south-east United States, grown from seeds sent home by Michaux 100 years ago. ‘Though the existence of these trees was scarcely known in France, the proprietor stated that a few years previously two gentlemen had come from London to see them, a Monsieur Elwes and a Monsieur Henri! Some twelve years ago the writer paid a visit to Grasse, in the Riviera, on the business of a public company; Elwes accompanied him solely to see two individual natural hybrid oak trees which he believed could be found within a few miles of that place. It is needless to add that the two trees were duly found and photographed on the very day following that of arrival! This is not the place to describe the great book in detail or enlarge on what it has meant for arboriculturists generally. Its scientific accuracy, expressed in plain, straight- forward and admirable English, has given an incalculable impetus to forestry and arboriculture in this country, and has inspired with enthusiasm everyone fortunate enough to possess it. Elwes, indeed, had a ready pen, and was master of an easy, vigorous style rarely surpassed in botanical literature. No slip- shod statement of fact or hearsay evidence would satisfy Elwes’ critical faculties, indeed, there are some who think he at times expressed his dissent with needless emphasis. He had little knowledge of the arts of compromise or how to agree with his adversary in the way. When in pursuit of a subject he some- OBITUARY. 245 times urged his views on his hearer without giving him an opportunity to express his own, a failing not uncommon in those of masterful intellect in whom the sense of humour is, perhaps, somewhat deficient. He had difficulty in realising the point of view of others; no one was more ready to acknowledge their achievements in his publications, but the judgments he ex- pressed of the character of men, or the merits of plants, were sometimes precipitate and prejudiced. A charming characteristic was his readiness to admit when he was wrong, and he combined a chivalrous courtesy with a self-assertiveness which those who did not know him well were apt to misjudge. No sketch of Elwes’ life should omit mention of his amazing powers of assimilation of knowledge, and of his prodigious memory. He seemed to absorb information through his faculties of vision, both of books and things, rather than by listening to the spoken word. As a West Country squire the handsome, burly figure of Elwes was well known, in the hunting field and elsewhere, among his more stay-at-home neighbours. His estate of Colesborne, in the Cotswolds is, unfortunately, situated for the most part on the cold Oolitic formation of that district, and he deplored, as indeed we all may, that he possessed no acres of Green- sand or Old Red Sandstone on which to make his plantations and pinetum. Had such been available, it is safe to say that his would by now have been the most complete collection of trees hardy in Great Britain. In a frosty valley near his house he formed a ‘‘Centenary Plantation” of trees of many species grown from seed mostly collected in this country in Ig00, a year remarkable for the ripening of tree seeds of all kinds. Here careful temperature and other records have been kept, and the origin of the trees in each plot is known. (A full account of it by H. A. Pritchard appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Forestry, 1911, page 220.), It was a delight to Elwes to show his guests the results, and he was as much interested in, and as careful to point out, the failures as the successes. ‘Truth to tell, the former were almost as numerous as the latter. In his garden, however, he was more fortunate. His glass-houses were full of plants rarely seen elsewhere in cultivation, many of them introduced by himself. In 1890 his friend Max Leichtlin gave him his collection of 246 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. South African Nerines. Elwes grew these successfully ever since, and did more than anyone else to improve them by hybridisation. In recent years he took a keen interest in the cultivation of succulent plants, and succeeded remarkably with many species of Mesembryanthemum, Haworthia, and other desert species. For many years his garden contained a fine collection of bulbous plants; in 1874 he discovered six new crocuses in Asia Minor, and since then these, with many species of fritillary, tulip, and snowdrop, have flourished at Colesborne. He had always taken a keen interest in Alpine plants, and near the end of his life contemplated writing a book on them at a time when most of his friends would have preferred him to devote all the energies of his declining years to an auto- biography. Elwes was at his best in his own home. An admirable host, he imparted information to his guests on all scientific subjects, with such kindly insistence that even the most indifferent could not fail to catch his enthusiasm. Like most amateur gardeners, he was generous with his plants. Colesborne was a museum of his collections of butterflies, big-game trophies from all countries, and his remarkable collection of timbers, and what he could tell about them, rendered a visit to Colesborne an experience none of his friends will forget. In recent years he devoted much time to the bringing together at Colesborne and the hybridising of sheep of primitive breeds from all parts of these islands, and published an interesting paper about them. He sent pens of these sheep to the Royal Agricultural Show at Bristol in 1913. The qualities of various wools induced him to take up this subject, and from what they learned at Colesborne many have started flocks of their own, and go clad, as he did, in cloth of “ Moorit ” Shetland, or Black Welsh of their own raising. Elwes succeeded to Colesborne on the death of his father in 1891. He was the eldest of a family of seven. One of his sisters married, as his first wife, Sir Michael Hicks Beach (after- wards Lord St Aldwyn), and another was the first wife of the late Frederick du Cane Godman, F.R.S., who shared all of Elwes’ botanical and zoological interests, and was his greatest friend. A story Elwes was fond of telling was of when in the ’seventies he and Godman were on a coach on the way to the Yosemite Valley in California. They were sitting on OBITUARY. 247 a back seat and named to each other every butterfly and tree they passed. The driver was becoming more irate every minute at hearing two “tender-foot” Britishers identify things of which he knew nothing unless it was the occasional local name. On coming to a tree of Fremontia californica, covered with its yellow blossoms, the lady at his side asked what it was. *‘T call it Slippery Elm,” was his reply, “but I don’t know what the pair of bug-fiends back of me will say it is!” Elwes married in 1871, Margaret Susan, the second daughter of the late W. S. Lowndes-Stone, of Brightwell, in Oxfordshire, who with an only son, Colonel Henry Cecil Elwes, D.S.O., M.V.O., survives him. F. R. S. BALFour. NOTES AND. OUERIES, Tue DANGER OF UsING TREES AS GATE AND FENCE Posts. At the present time there is increased public interest on the subject of forestry and timber production, and although many able articles have been written by competent writers, it has just occurred to the writer that one very important point has been lost sight of, or at least not given the prominence to which it is entitled, namely, the danger arising from the repre- hensible practice of using trees, and especially hedgerow trees, as straining posts, stobs, gate-posts, stays, etc., when erecting fences. In due course these trees are felled or blown over, taken to the sawmill, and cut up to the best advantage. To the average person this would seem to be the natural order of things, but to those who have to do the actual sawing of such trees, the matter presents a different aspect. Anyone who has seen a circular saw at work cutting up a tree may easily imagine what is likely to happen if anything in the nature of nails, staples, wire, gate hooks, stone, etc., are met with during the operation. The reasons for the presence of such things are many and varied, and a few of them may be mentioned. The more common articles of that nature are nails and staples, and when 248 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. a line of fence falls to be repaired or re-erected the temptation to utilise trees as straining posts is very great, especially so when the work is being done by piecework or contract. Where a tree is found to answer the purpose, it naturally does away with the necessity of digging a hole 4 feet deep and fixing in a straining post. From the contractor’s or workman’s point of view there is much to be said for this, as they are able to erect or repair so many more yards of fence per day, with a corresponding increase in the day’s earnings, as well as being provided with a first-class straining post which will stand any amount of pull, without the necessity of staying it up. In this way it may be that six rows of wire are hammered to the tree by a dozen or more staples. In the course of time wire and staples are overgrown by the new year-rings and become absorbed, as it were, by the tree, and when, after many years, it finally arrives at the saw- mill, there is no outward indication that it contains anything of that nature. Gates are often hung on trees where convenient, the hooks of # in. iron being driven into the tree 9 inches or so, and when the tree is felled or blown, the hooks are broken accidentally or otherwise, and no notice given at the sawmill as to what has been done. In colliery districts 14 in. steel winding ropes can be seen fastened to a line of trees to form a fence. Only a few weeks ago a beech log was cut up and 15 inches of steel cable was disclosed embedded well into the timber. By a stroke of good luck it was noticed before the tree passed to the saw bench. It does not require much imagination to guess what is likely to happen when a circular saw comes up against such obstructions as pieces of hard steel. The saw breaks, and pieces of jagged steel fly around from the saw, spinning at the rate of anything from 800 to 1000 revolutions per minute, and the result is usually the infliction of a dangerous if not a fatal wound. In any case it means a damaged saw which will take a man anything from two to four hours to strip, re-set, and sharpen up again, as well as dislocating the work generally. Superstitious people who believe that finding a horse-shoe means good luck will hang it up on the nearest tree rather than throw it away. Horse-shoes have been found in trees. NOTES AND QUERIES. 249 The housewife who happens to have a tree or two growing near her house, will hammer some iron hooks thereto in order that she may fasten up a clothes-line, and thoughtless youngsters will throw strones into the clefts of roadside trees. In time the tree wraps itself, as it were, around all these things, and they are never seen again until you see a damaged saw at the mill, if not a damaged man or two. Sometimes a sharp eye can detect that all is not as it should be, but very often no outward trace can be seen that anything is amiss with the timber. The remedy for this state of affairs is not so obvious as would at first appear. The head forester, or whoever is responsible for the repair and upkeep of fences, should make it a strict rule that on no account are trees to be used to support a fence in any way, and that any fence which falls to be repaired or erected along a line of trees shall be kept a reasonable distance clear of such trees, and he should make a point of seeing that his orders are carried out. He should also give orders to the workmen under his charge to remove anything in the nature of iron or stone which they may consider likely to come into contact with growing trees. Nowadays when the young folks at school are being taught botany, forestry, and other outdoor subjects, this point might be emphasised. Not only is there the danger to the men who handle the timber, but there is also a great waste of the best part of the tree trunk—a waste which we cannot afford to ignore at the present time. GEORGE Mowar. PLANTING SCRUB AREAS. It may be of interest to record experiences of planting up ground covered by scrub in the north-west of Scotland, where there are considerable areas of no commercial value occupying land which would produce valuable timber. The scrub consists usually of birch, hazel, or oak for the most part, with an admixture of other species in smaller quantity. It was found when the scrub was cut before planting that it was necessary to burn it before anything could be done—a most laborious and expensive undertaking—and that after planting took place, VOL. XXXVI. PART II. R 250 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. the stool shoots grew so quickly that they had to be cut over at least twice, and in some cases as often as three times, before the young trees were safe from being smothered. This was especially so in the parts under hazel and birch. In addition, bracken, usually a thin crop amongst the scrub, rapidly thickened on getting full light and became a further danger to the young plants. ; It was decided to try underplanting the scrub with shade- bearing conifers, even where it was so thick that hardly any vegetation existed under its shade, with the intention of cutting it out by degrees as the young trees progressed and of laying it between the rows. As it happened, the first experiment on these lines took place just before the war, with the result that for several years only a little could be done in the way of clearing the scrub, and though no loss of plants occurred, their rate of growth was very much retarded where the scrub was thick. At the same time the experiment was, perhaps, more instructive for this very reason. The species planted were principally Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Abies grandis, Abies Nobilis, with smaller quantities of various spruces, 7zuya gigantea, etc. It was soon apparent that there were to be no losses from early and late frosts, or from drought in early summer, the most frequent causes of failure. In fact, no beating up has been required, except in the case of Thuya gigantea and cypress, which were destroyed by roe deer and hares. These also nibbled off all the leading shoots of Adzes grandis the year they were planted as 3-year-old seedlings, but they soon made new tops and have grown well since. When it came to cutting out the scrub, the original plan had to be abandoned as impossible, as it would have entailed far too much labour, and also because it meant considerable damage to the conifers which, in the more open parts, were already of considerable size. The method now adopted and found quite satisfactory, and entailing the minimum of labour, is to cut out all the light stuff and to remove the lower branches of larger trees which can be dealt with by a billhook, and lay them between the lines of young trees. Heavier stuff is ringed round near the root by the billhook, or in the case of larger trees by an axe, and then left to die off. In this method the ringed trees remain and afford a certain amount of protection to the young plants from frost and wind, NOTES AND QUERIES. 251 and as far as has been observed, they do not injure the leading shoots which quickly grow through them. No further Operation is necessary. It has been found that oak takes three years to die after being ringed. All the other species seem to die off in one year, birch being the easiest killed of all. Mountain ash (or rowan), where heavy, should perhaps be cut over before planting, as it is inclined to be uprooted by wind a few years after being ringed, and may cause damage to the young trees. It is thought best, where possible, to do all the work on the scrub during the first winter after planting. This gives the young trees the benefit of the leaf canopy for two whole growing seasons, by which time they are firmly established. In the case of oak, of course, the ringing could be done at the same time as the planting. Where it is impossible to undertake the whole operation at once, it would at least be advisable to attend to any part of the scrub which is so thick as to be likely to prevent the growth of any vegetation beneath its shade, and perhaps also to ring the oaks during the first winter after planting. In this climate the Douglas fir and the silver firs seem able to maintain a fair rate of growth under considerable shade, but the spruces are not so accommodating. Sitka spruce, especially, seems to be very intolerant of shade after three or four years, and should receive attention before the others. H. L. Macpona.p. PINE-ROOT APHIS, Foresters and nurserymen are probably familiar with a white woolly fluff found adhering to the roots of pine seedlings and transplants, and may have noticed that where such fluff is present the plants are often of poor colour and reduced vigour. An examination of Scots pine transplants affected in this way, which have been sent in from several nurseries during the past two years, showed that the “fluff” was the woolly wax of an aphis. Woolly aphids occurring on the roots of silver fir and spruce have been described by various continental entomologists. They belong to the family Pemphigidae which has affinities 252 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. with the Chermesidae, its members, like the chermes, having two hosts and a cycle of five alternating generations. Nusslin has described the life-history of the “silver fir root louse” which alternates between ash (/vaxinus) and silver fir, and Tullgren has described one which apparently alternates between honey- suckle (Zonicera) and spruce. Hartig has described a root aphis on spruce which he named Rhizomarea piceae, and Tullgren has no doubt that this is the apterous parthenogenetic form of a Pemphigid and renames it Femphigus piceae. A comparison of Tullgren’s description of this species and of the aphis found on pine-roots in Britain indicates that this P. piceae is probably the species concerned. Efforts were made to trace the life-history of the pine-root aphis at Kew, but owing to an accident to the plants used for rearing experiments no result has been obtained so far. The question as to the identity and life-history of this insect is both interesting and important, and any information as to the occurrence of this aphis, and as to any injuries it may cause, would be welcomed. J. Want A PARASITE OF THE POPLAR SAwW-FLy. During the summer of 1921, whilst rearing two species of saw-fly (Croesus septentrionalis, Leach, and Tvrichiocampus viminalis, Fall) in the Entomological Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, it was found that out of a dozen larvae of Z. viminalis which spun up in the corners of the breeding cages, only some, three or four yielded saw-fly cocoons. From the remainder, Tachinid flies were obtained between roth August and 1st September: these were identified by Major Austen of the British Museum as Ptychomyta selecta, Meigen. A brief note on Z! viminals appears in The Scottish Naturalist, September-October, 1922, but it may be of interest to give here some account of the parasite obtained during the rearing experiments. Baer (Die Tachinen, Berlin, 1921) states that Ptychomyta selecta is a parasite of the long-horned Hyponomeutid moths, and a frequent enemy of several saw-flies, including Z. wéminalis and a species of Lophyrus. PP. selecta is a small fly not unlike the lesser house fly in general appearance. It belongs to NOTES AND QUERIES. 253 the oviparous group of the sub-family Tachininae, and is extremely prolific. Neilson, a Danish authority, observed twenty-three eggs laid on a single Hyponomeuta caterpillar, but from these eggs only one parasite attained maturity. According to Baer there are at least two generations in the year—the adults fly especially from May till June, and again during September and the beginning of October. The maggots, on emerging from eggs laid on the skin of the caterpillar, bore their way into the organs of the host and there feed and grow at its expense. Finally, when full grown the parasite leaves its host in order to pupate, and after a pupal period of a fortnight the adult Tachinid issues. There is no doubt from the experience at Kew that P. se/ecta is an important natural enemy of Z: véminalis, and that it plays a very useful part in controlling this saw-fly and so preventing extensive damage to young poplars. R. C.F: DRYOCOETES ALNI (GEoRG.): AN ALDER BARK BEETLE (SCOLYTIDAE) NEW TO SCOTLAND. While collecting in the neighbourhood of Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, in September 1921, I took several specimens of this beetle from under the bark of dying alder trees overhanging the banks of a small stream near the sea-shore. So far as I can ascertain from published records, this is the first time the species has been collected in Scotland, and, according to Fowler, even in England it is rare, although recently it has been taken by Professor Beare, in considerable numbers, near Kidderminster. This species is recorded by Reitter as occurring in several species of alder on the Continent, while in England it has been taken on beech and alder. I found signs of its presence only on two trees, and while traces of the galleries were present, no larvae or pupae were seen, and time did not permit of any study being made of its life-history and further distribution. One other species of this genus is known to occur in Scotland, D. autographus, Ratz., which is found on the fallen stems and trunks of spruce. RUNG: 254 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. PLANTING DISTANCE FOR DouG.Las FIR. In the last number of the Zyransactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society a report is given of “A Discussion on Economic Planting,” held at the Annual Meeting of the Society on the 2zoth January 1922 (vol. xxxvi. p. 1). In this discussion Lord Lovat referred to a plantation he had seen at Avondale, Co. Wicklow, which he believed was spaced at 9 feet, but which had failed to produce satisfactory results. As many planters are, doubtless, increasing the distance at which they plant Douglas fir, it may be of interest to describe the particular plot to which Lord Lovat referred, and note the probable causes of its failure to produce clean timber. The plot in question is about 2} acres in extent and was planted in the spring of 1906, the mixture being 25 / Douglas fir and 75 { European larch, planted 34 feet apart throughout. ‘The Douglas fir was thus standing at 7 feet distances, or $86 to the acre. The situation is particularly well sheltered, and the soil consists of alluvial sandy loam of considerable depth. At the present time the Douglas fir is from 30 feet to 35 feet in height, with stems girthing at breast-height from 20 inches to 30 inches. The larch never throve after the first five years, although a few individuals managed to get up, and are now about 25 feet in height. The remainder are either dead or suppressed. The failure of the larch was probably partly due to the soil, which is very fine grained and close in texture, but the trees were exposed to a series of exceptionally severe frosts in the springs of 1906-1911, culminating in the last named year with a frost on the 15th June which not only cut back that season’s growth on the majority of species, but also killed a portion of the previous wood in low-lying situations. This frost followed a warm May and early June, and scarcely a Douglas fir shoot escaped injury or death. Although these frosts did not permanently affect the health or vigour of the Douglas, they produced a very bad effect upon their form. The leading shoots were repeatedly killed back and replaced by shoots developed from lateral buds further down the stem, or by branches forming the first or second whorl. The absence of competition through the failure of the larch intensified the evil, and although a complete canopy has existed for several years, and every vestige of surface vegetation NOTES AND QUERIES. 255: has disappeared, the Douglas present a bushy appearance for the first 10 or 12 feet from the ground, and many have more or less crooked boles. A further factor contributing to the bad shape of the Douglas is probably the sheltered position in which the plot stands. The rank growth produced was frequently accompanied by twisted and pliable leaders, which did not attain sufficient rigidity to bear their own weight until late in the season. The failure of the plantation in question, therefore, cannot be entirely attributed to planting distance alone. The question whether a pure crop of Douglas, planted at 4 to 6 feet apart, would not have produced better results may probably be answered in the affirmative, so far as this particular site is concerned, but from a number of plantations scattered over Ireland our experience has been that a 50 mixture of European larch, with a planting distance of 4 to 6 feet, gives results which are sufficiently satisfactory in average cases. The use of European larch as a mixture probably has no silvicultural advantage, but during the first and second thinnings the value of the larch poles, or at any rate the demand for them, is much greater than that existing for Douglas fir. The rate of growth of both species is usually about equal during the first twenty years in Ireland, but the larch can be pruned back without difficulty during the first few years if it is inclined to encroach too much upon the Douglas, and a little pruning will avoid gaps in the canopy, which cannot be avoided if ordinary thinning is resorted to. The precise distance at which Douglas fir should be planted to obtain clean timber cannot be laid down with absolute confidence. The rate of height-growth during the first ten years is an important factor in this connection, as the faster the height-growth the less the side branches develop in relation to the main stem. Individual trees will vary considerably in this respect, but it is obvious that the formation of a full canopy by the eighth or tenth year after planting will do the greater part of what is necessary to produce timber clean enough for ordinary purposes. If this result is obtained, it is doubtful if any advantage is gained by close planting at 4 feet apart, as there is always a certain amount of irregularity in the develop- ment of the trees which cannot’ be eliminated from any fast- growing crop, and coarse timber at one stage or another in 256 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. growth must result unless extreme care and trouble is exercised in thinning. Careful grading of plants at the time of planting, and the filling up of blanks in the original crop during the first two years, are probably the most important matters to attend to if wide planting is adopted. If these precautions are taken the result should not be far from satisfactory, while the expenditure on planting can be reduced by 25 */ more or less. A. C. ForBEs. THe MIDLAND R&E-AFFORESTING ASSOCIATION. This Association was founded on the rath of February 1903 Its main object is to encourage the planting of waste lands in the Black Country and other parts of the Midlands. The report for the year 1921 shows that the Association confine their planting principally to the pit-waste sites. The plantations which have been formed under the auspices of the Association vary in size from half up to 5? acres. One plantation, however, extends to 34 acres. In all some thirty- six plantations covering a total of 83 acres were planted up to 1916, Hardwoods, such as poplars, willows, sycamore, ash, birch, white alder, black alder, hornbeam, and Wych elm pre- dominate. Corsican pine and Sitka spruce have been tried experimentally. Experts who have from time to time visited the plantations formed by the Association, or under its direction, have all agreed that the growth was remarkable. The repair and maintenance of these existing plantations are taxing the resources of the Association heavily. New members are much needed, and an appeal is made at the end of the report to residents in or near the Black Country to join the Association, The minimum annual subscription is five shillings. Among its activities the Association feels that it was a sound policy that advised the formation of small model plantations in con- nection with schools, a policy which, it seems, has been steadily followed by the Rowley Regis Education Committee. The Association hopes that it will soon be taken up by other such authorities. NOTES AND QUERIES. 257 THE RING Woop PLANTATION, MuRTHLY ESTATE. The small but interesting plantation on the Murthly estate, known as the Ring wood, has been seen and admired by many foresters, including the foreign delegates who visited this country on the occasion of the Society’s Diamond Jubilee. Unfortunately a portion of this demonstration plot of about 14 acres was so much damaged by an unusually severe whirl- wind, which was reflected from a neighbouring shoulder of Birnam Hill, in the winter of 1920, that it became necessary to remove the whole plantation. Measurements, which have been made recently, show that the plantation had attained a height of 50 feet in 22 years with an average quarter-girth of 4# inches at breast-height (4 feet 3 inches), the number of stems of the main crop per acre was 970, basal area 160 square feet, and form-factor under bark, :382. This gives a volume of 3440 cub. feet over bark and 3050 cub. feet under bark, quarter- girth measurement, the bark percentage being 11. These data refer to what would have been the main stand, at that age. The following data regarding the thinnings which would have been available at this age must be added :—number of stems 220, with a basal area of 14 square feet and a volume of 180 and 150 over and under bark respectively. The plantation was formed in the winter of 1899-1900 with 2-year x 2-year transplants, pit planted, on account of their size and the nature of the soil, at 44 feet apart. No subsequent beating-up was required. No regular thinning took place, but about the year 1916 a waggon load of pit-wood was removed in addition to some material for stack props. The soil was mainly sand and stones of varying size and practically unproductive for any other form of crop than trees, and even when under trees, owing to its loose stony character, afforded a very poor anchorage for the roots. This feature of the soil was, however, only contributory to the cause of the accident to the plantation in 1920. The plantation, although standing in a sheltered position under the shadow of Birnam Hill to the south (this is literally so, as the shadow of the hill cuts off the direct sunlight from this area for several months in the year), was not protected against sudden swirls or falling winds deflected from the slope. The small size of the planta- tion also rendered it more liable to wind damage. Further, the VOL. XXXVI. PART II. s 258 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. density of planting and the somewhat late commencement of thinning must also be taken into account. At the time of the wind damage the plantation was in a thoroughly healthy and flourishing condition, and the record of this plantation shows what can be done in timber production on a soil composed merely of sand and stones. As the measurements show, the timber of the main crop, which does not include the thinnings already removed and those deducted in the present measurements, has been accumulating at the rate of nearly r40 cub. feet per annum and that on an under- bark measurement. REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS American Forest Regulation. By THEODORE SALISBURY WOOLSEY, Jun., M.F. Published by The Tuttle, Morehouse and Taylor Company, New Haven, Connecticut. In this book of about 220 pages the author has given a very lucid description of what Forest Regulation means. The subject of Forest Regulation (syn. organisation) is clearly defined at the outset as:—that branch of forestry which concerns itself with the organisation of a forest property for management and maintenance, ordering in time and place the most advantageous use of the property, with the aim of securing a sustained yield. The relationship between Forest Regulation and the other branches of forestry science is carefully defined and illustrated, in the first few pages. Forest Regulation will naturally vary according to the con- dition and extent of forests in different countries. Forest Regulation in Europe, especially in France and Germany, has a long history behind it. It has undergone development and improvement from time to time as the condition of the forests ap- proaches nearer to the ‘‘normal” or “ideal.” Forest Regulation, therefore, in such countries as are fortunate enough to possess forests approaching the “normal,” must aim at maintaining them, at least, in their present condition, and, if possible, adding REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 259 the final touches which will bring them as near the ideal as circumstances will permit. On the other hand, in countries where Forest Regulation is in its earliest stages of evolution, the trend must be to take first steps towards the attainment of the “normal.” The complete adoption of French or German Regulation in countries where the forests and forestry methods are in a totally different stage of evolution is obviously im- possible. Dr B. E. Fernow says, in an introductory note to this book :—‘‘ The effort of investigating the applicability of European methods and of developing American methods, as attempted in this volume, is worthy of all praise.” We entirely agree with what Dr Fernow says, and would add that the author has done a valuable service to all English-speaking countries, by bringing together so much information that is likely to be useful in the formulation of Forest Regulation. Notes on the Cetriog Forestry Experimental Area of the Denbigh- shire County Council. By Tuomas Tuomson, B.Sc, University College, North Wales, Bangor. The above area was presented to the Denbighshire County Council in 1906, by Mr John Mahler, of Penisa’r Glyn, on condition that it should be devoted to the illustration of practical forestry on the lines of the Report of the Departmental Com- mittee of Igo2. The area extends to 50 acres and lies between the 950 and 1250 feet contour lines. The soil, which is a light loam derived from a Silurian shale, and although somewhat shallow in places is, on the whole, of fair depth. The ground was first divided into thirty-one plots of 14 acres each, and among the earliest operations shelter-belts, roads, and paths were laid out, and after the necessary soil preparation and fencing the experimental plots were planted. ‘Thirty-eight different species were used, the total number of trees planted being 117,106. The work was carried out under the direction of Mr Fraser Story, who published in 1913 an interesting account of the work, showing age and composition of each of the plots and the object which each was intended to demonstrate. In the 260 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. present year his successor in office, Mr Thomas Thomson, B.Sc., gives information in the above report on the progress of the experimental plots. The thinning stage will shortly be reached, and the methods employed and the results obtained will greatly enhance the value of the object-lessons to be learned by a visit to this demonstration area. Webster's Foresters’ Diary and Pocket Book, 1923. Published by Messrs William Rider & Sons, London. Price 3s. 6d. net. This handy little book contains useful tables, hints for forestry work at different times of the year, and information on many points helpful to foresters and others who have not immediate access to works of reference. There is also a list of foresters and assistant foresters. Sylva: Being the Annual Publication of the Edinburgh University Forestry Society. No. 3, 1923. Price 1s. The Edinburgh University Forestry Society has just issued the third number of its annual publication, Sy/va. The editor and his business manager are to be heartily congratulated on the excellent shilling-worth they have produced. The magazine runs to over forty pages, with two of photographs. The subject matter is very varied, ranging from accounts of the lighter incidents in a forestry student’s course, to reports of the term of practical work in France, and to articles humorous and technical. Amongst the last are a short but very pithy account of the Swiss Method of Control by R. M. G., an interesting account of the peculiar habits of the Processionary Moth, by Mr John N. Oldham, B.Sc., and an instructive and inspiring paper by T. C. C., introducing the new science of Bird Cécology. Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society Instituted 16th February 1854. PATRON : HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE KING. PROCEEDINGS IN 1922. THE ANNUAL MEETING. The Sixty-ninth Annual Business Meeting of the Society was held in the Goold Hall, 5 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, on Friday, 2oth January 1922, at 11 a.M. His Grace the DuKE oF ATHOLL, K.T., President of the Society, presided, and there was a large attendance of members. Representatives of the Forestry Commission were also present. MINUTES. The Minutes of the General Meeting, held on 28th July 1921, which had been printed and circulated, were held as read and approved. REPORT BY THE COUNCIL. The SecrETary read the report of the Council as follows :— Membership. It was reported last year at this time that the membership was 1683. During the year 30 members are known to have died; 27 resigned, and 39 members have lapsed. On the other hand, 137 new members have been elected. The total number of members at this date is, therefore, 1724, being an increase of 42 in the course of the year. a 2 Subscriptions. The Council considered the question of the subscription payable by farmers, and agreed that tenant farmers should pay 6s. per annum as hitherto, and that proprietor farmers should pay either ros. 6d. or 6s. according to the valuation of their lands. It was also agreed that forestry students should pay 6s. per annum for a period of five years or until they had obtained appointments as officers, when their subscription would be reconsidered. Members were reminded in the circular calling this meeting that subscriptions for the current year are now due. Members in arrear are also urged to remit, when their Zransactions will be forwarded. A special intimation is also made that a great deal of unnecessary expenditure in printing and postage is incurred annually because of delay in forwarding subscriptions at the proper time. Council. The Aberdeen and Northern Branches having been consulted as to representation upon the Council, the former submitted a resolution on the subject which was unanimously adopted by the Council at a recent meeting. Notice of this resolution has been intimated in the Billet calling this meeting, and it will therefore be discussed and, if approved, adopted at the next meeting of the Society. Transactions. It was hoped that the usual two Parts of the Zzansactions would be issued in the course of last year. One of these Parts was issued in September and the other, but for a slight unavoidable delay at the close of the year, would have been issued before 31st December. It is now being circulated to those who are not in arrear with their subscriptions. It is expected that the usual two Parts will be issued in the course of this year. Competing estimates for printing the Zransactions were taken in from several firms of good standing, but it was considered that the estimate of Messrs M‘Farlane & Erskine, the present printers, was more favourable than the others and the contract with them was continued. The estimates show a considerable reduction in the cost of both printing and paper. The suggested amalgamation of the Zyvansactions with the English Quarterly Journal of Forestry was considered by a committee of the Council, who reported that they saw no cause to entertain the suggestion on financial grounds, but recommended that the Council should be prepared to consider any suggestion that might be submitted on other grounds. 3 Essays. Two papers were received in competition for the prize of 45 offered by Messrs A. & G. Paterson, Ltd., Glasgow, for a report on “Improved Methods of Felling, Hauling and Manufacturing of Timber in this Country introduced during the War,” and the successful competitor was found to be Mr John M‘Ewen, Garrowslack, Mosstowie, by Elgin. Excursion. The Annual Excursion was held in Yorkshire, the estates visited being Jervaulx Abbey, Studley Royal, Washburn Catch- ment Area, and Bolton Abbey. Mr A. P. Long, Divisional Officer for Northern England, and Mr John Maughan, Jervaulx Abbey Estate Office, acted as a local committee. A full report of the Excursion appears in the Zvamsactions. On the return of the party, a small clock was presented to Mr Long as a memento of the occasion. The thanks of the Council are again due to Mr J. L. Gray, Elginhaugh, Dalkeith, who kindly presented £15 towards the expenses of two foresters chosen by the Council. These were Mr George D. Forbes, Royal Botanic Garden, and Mr Johnston Edwards, forester, Castle Kennedy, who, as usual, submitted reports of the Excursion after their return. Mr Gray has intimated his willingness to contribute a like sum for the current year, and Mr R. C. Cowan, who had paid the full amount of the contribution to the Common Purse and at the last moment was prevented from attending the Excursion, was kind enough to present to the Bursary Fund the amount which should have been repaid to him, It is proposed that the Excursion this year shall take place in Perthshire. Exhibition. The Exhibition was held at Stirling and contained the largest quantity of exhibits that has ever been brought forward. This result was mainly due to the magnificent collection of logs exhibited by Messrs James Jones & Sons, Ltd., Larbert, who also put up in record time a model wooden house. The Judges of the Exhibits were Messrs John Broom, G. U. Macdonald and George Mowat. The awards were intimated at the General Meeting held in the Show at Stirling, and a full report is printed in the Zyansactions. The Highland and Agricultural Society contributed the usual money for prizes for converted timber, and they made a further donation of £30 towards the general expenses of the Exhibition. Thanks are due to that Society for these grants and for the usual facilities given for the Exhibition. At the close of the Exhibition Messrs Jones offered to present the wooden house 4 to the Society, but, as the offer was subject to certain conditions which the Council found it difficult to fulfil, the matter has not yet been finally settled. It has been agreed that the Exhibition will be continued as usual when the Show will be held at Dumfries, and the Committee has been empowered to make the necessary arrangements. It is proper to mention here that in future when medals are awarded, it must be understood that these will be medal- certificates and not actual medals as hitherto. The usual schedules have not been sent out to all the members on this occasion, but these may be had on application to the Secretary. Nurseries and Plantations Competitions. The Judges of these Competitions were Dr Borthwick and Mr John M. Murray, B.Sc. Their awards were also made known at the General Meeting, and their report has been printed in the Zransactions. Prizes. Money prizes to the value of £28, ros. 3d. were awarded during the year, and the following Medals were also awarded :— For Exhibits at Stirling . . One Gold Medal. Four No. 1 Silver Medals. Three No. 2 Silver Medals. Three No. 3 Medals. Three Bronze Medals. For Nurseries and Plantations One Gold Medal. Five No. 1 Silver Medals. One No. 2 Silver Medal. Two of the medallists elected to take cash instead of the medals awarded to them. Education. The Committee proceeded with their proposal to invite scholars attending rural schools to write essays on subjects relating to forestry, and particulars were sent to the eleven Education Authorities that had been good enough to respond to their previous appeal. Ten of these Authorities took up the matter and 1359 essays were received. These were judged by members of the Committee and others who kindly undertook the work, with the result that 20 prizes have been awarded in addition to 307 certificates. The thanks of the Committee are due to the ten Education Authorities and their officials who 5 encouraged the scholars in their areas to take part in these competitions and arranged for the forwarding of the essays to the Secretary. Hearty thanks are also due to the teachers who used their influence to interest their scholars in the scheme. The Committee has been asked to prepare a report upon the matter for the future guidance of the Council. Meantime efforts are being made to secure photographs specially taken to be used for the purpose of illustrating lectures. The Forestry Commission has been good enough to undertake to help in this matter through their various officers. A discussion took place in the Council on the subject of Diplomas in Forestry at Agricultural Colleges, and a Certificate or Diploma by the Society following upon a record of practical work and attendance at college lectures, and these matters will be discussed again at some future meeting. Local Branches. The Northern Branch was resuscitated in the early autumn, and reports from that Branch and the Aberdeen Branch will be submitted to the meeting to-day. Dunn Memortal Fund. The account at the credit of this Fund is now £20, 17s. gd. Forestry Comméssion. The Commission’s Grant Scheme was considered by a Com- mittee of the Council in the early part of the year, but it was found that the matter would have to be delayed owing to lack of funds. A circular on the subject of the Organisation of World’s Statistics on Sylviculture, which it was proposed should be carried out by the International Institute of Agriculture, was submitted by the Forestry Commission to the Council, who acknowledged the great importance of this work and expressed the hope that the Forestry Commission would co-operate with the Institute in the matter. Leaflets.—The Council, at the request of the Forestry Com- mission, agreed to issue their leaflets along with the Zransactions, on condition that the Commission paid the extra postage, etc., involved. A grant of £250,000 has been allocated to forestry from the Unemployment Fund, and the Forestry Commission will administer this amount with the object of relieving unemploy- ment and promoting afforestation. ‘The Council has agreed to give what help they can in connection with the matter, and a number of forms of application have been issued to members of 6 the Society. It has to be borne in mind that the grant can only be given for extra employment provided, and cannot be given for ordinary estate work which would have been done in the ordinary course without such help. The Commission will be represented at this meeting, and no doubt further explanations with regard to that and other matters will be given. British Association. The meetings of this Association were held in Edinburgh in the autumn. The Secretary was a member of the Local Committee. Forestry formed a sub-section of the Botanical Section, and valuable papers were read by Mr Sutherland, Dr Borthwick, Dr Henry and other well-known experts, which were followed by interesting discussions. Board of Agriculture for Scotland. Mr Finlayson represented the Council at a conference on the Draft Regulations prepared under the Seed Control Act, 1920. Empire Forestry Association. The draft Constitution of this Association was submitted by Lord Novar to the Council for consideration, and he suggested that the Society should affiliate with the Association. A good deal of correspondence ensued and ultimately, at the General Meeting held in Stirling, Lord Novar explained the whole position at length and formally moved that the Society should affiliate. The motion was seconded by Mr Massie and unani- mously adopted. It was subsequently arranged that the Society should pay a sum of £25, which would cover affiliation fees for the next twelve years. A copy of the completed Constitution of the Association has now been received. Taxation. The Society concurred with other Societies in submitting objections to the findings of the Royal Commission on Income Tax.. They also authorised Mr Milne Home to represent the Society before Lord Dunedin’s Commission on local taxation. Railway Rates. Forestry, as well as other industries, is greatly hampered by the high railway rates, but there is a prospect that there may be a reduction in these rates before long. 7 Library. The usual presentations to the Library will be appended to this report. Appeal for New Members. Owing to the heavy charges for printing and postages and all other outlays, the Council find it necessary to restrict, as far as possible, their outlays, which tends to hamper their operations. It is, therefore, very necessary that a constant effort should be made to secure new members, so that the usefulness of the Society may not be impaired but rather strengthened. A special appeal for new members was made by the President in the course of the year, which resulted in a considerable addition to the membership ; but a constant leakage is going on, and further sustained efforts must be made. If each member would make it a point to secure another member in the course of the year, the present trouble would be immediately removed. Accounts (Appendix A). Mr W. H. Massig, moving the adoption of the Accounts said :—‘“ Our Capital Funds now stand at £2212 as compared with £2034 last year. Our investments have appreciated by something like #140. It has been suggested with regard to these investments that we might probably be getting a larger rate of interest, and we have decided to take expert advice on that point. With regard to Revenue, you will notice that we have a favourable balance of £125. Our printing account is considerably reduced. That is one of our heaviest items of expenditure, and it will help us considerably when we get that further reduced. Postages are also much increased. We find that subscriptions are not quite so well paid as formerly, and that is one thing that increases our postage account. If members would send their subscriptions at the first application, it would be a very considerable saving to us. I would like to support Mr Galloway’s appeal for an increase in our members. That really makes more for our prosperity than anything else. Now the appeal which the President sent out has been very successful, but we think it might have been more so if we had had more assistance from the members, and especially from the Council. Our difficulty was in finding the proper hands to put those appeals into, and the men who are on the spot living in the district might be able to supply us with the information, but 8 what we want to impress especially on the Council is that they should be constantly helping us in this way.” Dunn MeEmoriAL FunpD (Appendix B). The Account of this Fund, which showed a credit balance of £20, 17S. gd., was then submitted by the SECRETARY. Excursion Funp (Appendix C). The Accounts of this Fund were also submitted and showed a balance in hand of £91, 7s. 5d.,as compared with £70, 13s. rod. brought forward from last year. LocaL BRancHES (Appendixes D, E, F and G). The Annual Reports and Accounts of the Aberdeen and Northern Branches were afterwards submitted. REMARKS ON REPORTS AND ACCOUNTS. Sir RALPH ANSTRUTHER, Bart.—‘‘ I want to endorse what has been said about investments. I had intended to mention the matter. It seems to me it would be very sound policy to get our money invested in something with a better future than railways, and therefore I was very pleased to hear that the Council had that matter under consideration. Iam sure they will do wisely if they carry out the suggestion.” The CuHarRMan.—‘‘The matter was brought up at the Council a few moments ago, and we have authorised the Finance Committee to get expert advice, and to report.” Mr J. H. Mitne Home.—‘“I should like to say a few words about the report on Education. Those who read the essays and awarded the prizes were very pleased with a great many of the essays sent in. Some of them were very good. At the same time a good many were too much on the same lines, which seemed to indicate that the pupils had in a certain school perhaps followed too slavishly what the teacher had said or read, and they were lacking in originality in that respect. But as a whole I think for a first venture the result was very satisfactory. You will notice from the figures that in Inverness there was a very large number of certificates awarded in proportion to the number of essays. The reason was that undoubtedly the standard of essay in Inverness was far above 9 that of any of the other counties. That is perhaps not surprising, for itis a very well-wooded county. They came. from forty schools in that county and consequently, although the number of schaols was not large, the’ standard was extremely high, and we ch 1e to the conclusion that the certificates awarded by Sir Kenne/h MacKenzie, who took a great deal of trouble in the matte’, were well deserved. The other essays were mostly from the ‘South-Western counties and Lanarkshire, and they were more or less of a class. I do not think they were as high as Inverness. There are certain recommendations which I think the Education Committee will make about future competitions, but I need not go into that point now.” CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS. The CHarrMan.—‘‘ Before moving approval of these reports I would like to say a word or two, and I will be as brief as I can, because we are to have an interesting discussion later on. First of all I would like, on behalf of the Society, to thank members for their attendance here to-day. It is a very satisfactory attendance, considering the weather, and shows the continued interest which is being taken in what ought to be one of our principal industries. It is also a matter for congratulation to the members to see Lord Lovat, the head of the Forestry Commission, here to-day. We would like to thank him for the devoted and practical services which he has rendered to forestry in this country, and although we perhaps do not always agree—being Scotsmen, it would be very wrong if we did—with what the Forestry Commission does, we do appreciate its difficulties. Well, looking back on the year that has passed, we see that forestry like everything else has suffered somewhat severely owing to the economic depression, but before touching on that subject I would like just to refer to one or two of the points that have been dealt with. One of the happiest things that have been done this year was the work of the Education Committee in connection with the rural. schools. I am quite certain that if we can interest the children of this country in forestry at an age when their minds are alive and receptive, it will be a good thing for forestry hereafter, and incidentally for country life and for the children themselves. I do not place so very much store on the actual merit of the IO essays, but the mere fact that you can get children to think voluntarily about forestry, and to go out and look for themselves, using their own minds and getting interested in the subject and making it a hobby, is, I think, a very much greater advantage really than having an essay, however good and well written, which has been done possibly under the eye of a schoolmaster. Then although Mr Massie was not quite satisfied with the number of members that we got last year, I believe the number was considerably above the average, and I think it is gratifying that we gotso many. At the same time his advice and appeal should be acted on. It is little use sending out an appeal by the President and the Secretary if the members are not going to help, and I would therefore appeal to all members to look out for recruits. ‘“Then with regard to the Show, there is a small personal matter. I think at the last meeting here people thought I was rather drawing the long bow with regard to a certain new tree that we have been trying to introduce, the hybrid larch, and I am glad that I was able to give optical proof that the hybrid larch is a very real and a very good tree that we can really establish. I think we have certainly more or less fixed the species, for the second generation, so far as we can gather, is just as good as the first generation. “The coal strike, of course, hit us very badly, and the depression in all the industries since that date has made home timber unsaleable. But even if we had a market, we are throttled at our own doors. Competing timber from abroad is still coming in at rates that would make home-grown timber a success but for railway rates. I do not personally, and speaking on behalf of other growers, complain of fair competition, but to deliberately penalise home produce by impossible freights as against foreign produce is not only bad for the country but it is bad for forestry, and I think bad business for the railways. But you have also to remember the railways are not entirely free agents now. I know at least one railway which would be only too glad to lower freights, if it could be arranged with the Central Committee which now manages our affairs so far as railways. and their freights are concerned. I hope that this Central Committee will take to heart the fact that if they do not do something with regard to freights, they are simply going to throttle what ought to be one of our greatest industries. 1M You may recollect that during the war there was a ros. flat rate for pitwood which meant the sale of props, which meant planting, which meant employment, while the raising of the rates means no sales, no planting, and unemployment. You have got to remember that it costs 28s. a ton from Inverness or Aberdeen to the principal areas where sales can be carried out, and when you work that out, it means that for Scots fir, the haulage by railway costs three times the profit, that is to say, out of every 1s. 4d. you get, you have to pay rs. in freight. Well, you cannot carry on business in that way. But planters as you know are optimists, they need to be, and they have got great faith. We plant by faith, and we prune and thin in hope, and if we do our part, we believe that Providence will do the rest. But I think it is only fair, if Providence and we do our parts, that the Government should also step in and help. Anyhow we must look for better times. When things were looking rather at their worst, when we were all saying that we should have to discharge practically the whole of our men, and that nothing could be done in the way of planting for economic reasons, help did arrive. In adversity we found that there was some good, for under the Government employment scheme— we must give the Forestry Commission credit for it—we have been able to do a great deal. I know that in my own case it practically meant that I have been able to keep in employment generally one hundred men at least, whom I could not otherwise have employed. It has bridged the gap. But quite apart from the question of employment that it is giving to these men, I would remind you that the Government are not throwing away their money, are not putting it into the gutter, if there is anything in forestry at all, because they will get it back in future prosperity, in employment, in trade, and in taxation, and in maintaining a population in districts where the population would inevitably have required to leave if something was not done. And they are enabling the wastage of war to be made good. Landowners were prepared to put down a good deal. ‘They were prepared to put down from £5 to £7 an acre, but not #10 or £12 which would make forestry absolutely impossible ; and the mere fact of this grant means that in two months something like 15,000 acres have suddenly been prepared and planted by the landowners themselves, and up till then practically nothing was being done. The forestry scheme before, through no fault of 12 the Committee, was, so far as the landowners were concerned, an absolutely dead letter. They did not help us in the slightest, and could not help us, but the advice of the experts was over- ruled elsewhere, and the result was that although it looked very well to devote so many thousands, so many millions, to be spent in forestry in Scotland, it was really of very little avail unless for actual direct planting by the Commission themselves. This just shows that a system of direct grants to planters, carefully watched and controlled by a Government department, is in the end by far the cheapest form of Government help. It also stimulates the industry and will probably set it on its legs, and once it is going, I think they can trust the people in Scotland to keep it going. I will not say anything more, but I would like to thank you for the support you have given the Council this year, and I will now formally move the adoption of the Reports and Accounts.” The motion was unanimously adopted. ELECTION OF OFFICE-BEARERS FOR 1922. Mr James Wuirtton, Glasgow.—‘‘I have very much pleasure in moving that the Duke of Atholl be re-elected President of the Society. We are all agreed that he has filled the position of President in a very admirable manner, and taken a keen interest in the work of the Society. I would also like to congratulate His Grace on the appointment which His Majesty has given him as Lord Chamberlain.” The CuarrMan.—“ I beg to thank you for re-electing me. Jf you think I can be of any service to the Society I will do my best. This appointment will probably keep me more fully employed at the beginning of the year, so if you accept me as President, do not count on me for the Council meetings at the beginning of the year at all events, but anything I can do to help, of course, I shall gladly do.” Mr Georce Leven, Kelso.—‘‘I move that Mr Adam Spiers be added to the list of Vice-Presidents. I think he is one of our ablest and most outstanding members.” Mr James F. MacponaLp, S.S.C., Linlithgow, seconded. The CuarrMaN moved that the following five members be elected Councillors:—J. H. Milne Home, Irvine House, Canonbie; James F. Hardie, Factor, Skibo, Dornoch; David 13 Keir, Forester, Ladywell, Dunkeld; William Leven, Forester, Jeaniebank, Perth; Peter Leslie, B.Sc., Forestry Department, Marischal College, Aberdeen. Mr CHARLES BUCHANAN, Penicuik, seconded. The Cuainman.—‘“I beg to move myself—it requires no seconder—the reappointment of Mr Galloway as Secretary.” Mr Massigz.—‘“‘I have very much pleasure in seconding.” The CHarrMan.—‘‘ We have all done it.” The Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Editor, the Auditor, the Hon. Consulting Scientists, and the Local Secretaries were re-elected. EXHIBITIONS AND COMPETITIONS. Mr Rosert Forses, Kennet.—‘‘The Forestry Exhibition at the Highland Society at Stirling was a very good one, and we are looking forward to another at Dumfries this year. We are going to substitute certificates for medals, but I hope that will not keep anyone from taking part and that competition will be as keen as ever. We got more space at Stirling and also more money for prizes, and I would now, in your name, thank the Highland Society for their kindness in giving us all these privileges.” EXCURSION. Mr CuarLes BucHanan.—“The Excursion in Yorkshire last year was a great success, and all the members who took part in it were highly delighted with the arrangements. His Grace the Duke of Atholl has kindly agreed to allow the Society to visit his estates this year. When we were in Wales two years ago, there was a general desire to go to Perthshire and the North of Scotland, but last year we thought it well not to go North, until some of the work that had been going on would be at a more interesting stage. I think it would be of great benefit to the Society if they would take advantage of His Grace’s offer. There are other estates in Perthshire that we might arrange to visit, but I suggest that that should be left to the Committee. Probably about the beginning of July would be the best time to go. I beg therefore to move that we have our Excursion this year in Perthshire, and that we thank His Grace for his kind offer.” The CuairMan.—“‘I shall be very glad to do anything I can 14 to help, and I hope I shall be able to be present. I think if we select a good centre, we shall find many interesting places all round. It is a great thing to be able to see mistakes as well as good points, and we have got plenty of both. We are doing our best, and we will be very glad to have the opinion of others. We will be glad to show them what we have been able to effect in spite of economic and other difficulties. We shall now be glad to hear what Lord Lovat has to say to us.” WorK OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSION. Lord Lovat.—‘‘I think, perhaps, you might like to know exactly what we are doing in forestry, especially in Scotland. This year our State forestry programme, which we are carrying out according to the regular schedule given in the Recon- struction Committee’s report, is up to date both as to the area planted and the aquisition of land. We are like many other departments at the present moment trembling under the Geddes axe, and we really do not know exactly where we are going to stand next year. At the present time for this year’s actual planting season, aided by a considerable proportion of the Unemployment Grant that we are applying to State forestry, we shall plant something between 13,000 and 15,000 acres, which is considerably more than our programme. You would, of course, be more interested in the question of private forestry and what we have been able to do for that. As the Chairman has pointed out, the grant to private owners and corporate bodies who wish to afforest, which the Reconstruction Committee of the Cabinet thought essential in 1915, was, by legislative action made impossible, and landowners and corporate bodies found the difficulty of keeping the accounts necessitated by the Forestry Act, made the £2 grant offered not worth accepting. Under the Fund for Unemployment, we were given a much freer hand, and the results are eminently satisfactory, firstly, from the point of view of meeting unemployment, and secondly, on the question of actually getting areas planted. I would just like to say, if I may, that this question of getting our land afforested, is one on which we can never insist too strongly. The woods of Great Britain are devastated to an extent which I am sure the majority of people in this country do not realise. Our Divisional Officers and Assistant Commissioners, and the Commissioners 15 themselves, travel about the country looking at woods, and they have their information brought together in a way probably that has never been done before, and we are all of us satisfied that the destruction of what we might call economic plantations, which can yield results, has, especially in the industrial areas, gone very much further than people imagine. Of the 3,000,000 acres in Great Britain, a very large percentage is quite unsaleable, being oak coppice, birch scrub, and wood used for amenity and not for commercial purposes. Under this head I would like to say that we hope by 1924-25 to get the first census of woodlands which has ever been obtained in this country. Under Mr Sutherland in Scotland this work is going on. He has appointed forty to fifty local correspondents, and we are getting out in a simple schedule the exact particulars of every wood, and we hope certainly by the end of 1925 that we shall be able to inform those who are interested as to the exact position, dividing the woods, in the first place, into productive and economic or potentially productive and non-productive wood, with this economic or productive wood divided into its various ages and classes. Mr Sutherland has already done something like one hundred parishes, and he hopes in about eighteen months to have the whole Scottish survey done. “ T would like to insist on this point, that this Unemployment Grant by getting a large area planted will do a very valuable work for the country. In Scotland, as I have already said, there will be either planted or prepared for planting something like 15,000 acres, and the total for Great Britain will probably be about 25,000 acres. That, added to the 15,000 acres already done by the State, shows you that there are considerable forestry operations going on. On the subject of the whole question of unemployment I can assure the foresters, and the public also, that under no scheme do they get better value for their money than out of these grant schemes. The figures are interesting. There will be given in grants up to 14th January £37,089 for Scotland, and that will mean a total expenditure of £88,000, of which you may reckon 75 or 8o per cent. represents labour. You get an efficiency figure rather over 220 per cent. In England the figures are even more significant. There a short time ago I think £10,000 of grant from the State brought in £28,000 of labour. The ordinary efficiency figure for most of the Development Schemes, roads and the rest, show an efficiency 16 figure not over 60 per cent., on account of the fact that a great deal of plant is required and a great deal of material has to be purchased for most of these schemes. In forestry, the amount of plant is negligible, and 70 to 80 per cent. goes in labour, which gives a better return than anything else, because the local authority or the employer puts in such a large amount of money of his own in order to gain the grant. Forestry employment is only suitable for rural labour, not for bringing large masses from the towns to work in the woods ; but as regards rural labour, in the Cabinet Sub-Committee in which I am working, there is no scheme which gives better results than we get out of these grant schemes. “I would like also to say in connection with what your Chairman brought forward, that on the question of education, Mr Sutherland and Dr Borthwick are hoping to arrange for a course of lectures to teachers and schoolmasters at their meeting in Inverness this year during the holidays, and it is also hoped that they will be able to visit the local school there, and have access to the woods and get the information which they would like. I think in that way we shall be able to co-operate along the lines which you have inaugurated in getting the local people interested in forestry. ‘¢T would like, on behalf of the whole Commissioners, to thank your Society for the keen interest which you have taken in our work. In getting anything like an unemployment scheme going, it does require a lot of propaganda, a lot of circularising, and answering questions, and Mr Galloway and his staff have helped us most enormously in this respect. If it had not been for the assistance we have had from the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, and the English Society, and the Factors’ and Surveyors’ Societies, we should have been quite unable to have got what we have done now, some eighteen corporate bodies undertaking forestry schemes, and I think now rather over 300 private forestry schemes working throughout the country. That, of course, has done a great deal for unemployment, because we have got them working in something like 450 centres, which really means a great help in meeting rural unemployment which is so prevalent at the present time.” The CHairMAn.— We thank Lord Lovat for all he has done, and also for the clear way in which he has put the position 17 before us, and so far as we are concerned, he can count on our very hearty support.” Lord Lovar.—I forgot to refer to the question of railway rates. We, the Forestry Commission, regard the question of railway rates as of the utmost importance. We so regard it because it is a question of marketing thinnings, for unless proprietors or those who plant 96 per cent. of the woods of Great Britain are able to see their way to market thinnings, they will not proceed with their planting. Now, the railway rates are a bar to the marketing of produce, and we have pointed out that it is of the utmost importance that the railway rates should be such as not to prohibit the sending of pit-props to coal mines and other consuming centres. We have written very strongly on the subject—as a Department, of course, we can only represent our case. We have nothing to do with the administration of another Department. But I can assure those interested in forestry, that under Lord Clinton’s management, whom we have appointed to a sub-committee to deal with this matter, it is being thoroughly looked after and the case for forestry well represented.” The CuHairnmMan.—“If these pit-props are not available for mines, and the mines have to be carried on, they will try to find other methods and do without timber altogether, and so we shall lose our market.” Notice oF MortTIon. The Council gave notice of the following Motion :— “That Law XIV. (a) of the Fundamental Laws of the Society be rescinded and the following substituted :—(1) That the President of each recognised Branch shall ex officio be an extra member of the Council, and (2) that each Branch shall in addition be entitled to elect an extra member or members to the Council of the Society annually, in the following proportion to membership of such Branch: for fifty and under one hundred and fifty — one member; for one hundred and fifty and under three hundred—two members; such elected members to hold office for one year but to be eligible for re-election.” b 18 DISCUSSION. A discussion on economic planting was opened by Mr George U. Macdonald, Haystoun, Peebles, Lecturer on Forestry in the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture, and was taken part in by a number of members. (A full report of the discussion is printed in the TZvansactions, p. 1 of Part I. of Vol. xxxvi.) Mr Macdonald was heartily thanked for his paper, and a similar vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings. ‘oppny ‘OUND ‘f ‘XIV ‘aU 0} paylqryxe waaq os]e eavy ‘aAoqe sv spung ey} Suryueseidas ‘satqyln0eg oy, “JOaLIOD Way, pUNos oavT puL “yovsysq Vy Ue ST aA0qe aq} qoIyM Jo “[ZET Aaquiaoag 4STE 0} awok oy} OJ Tammsvary, ay} JO SyUNODY ayy poulmMpxe aavy | 4eqy AjTYA90 Aqazey [—"ZZGT Awwnvoe YWOT ‘HOUAANIAY * 9 OL Le T 2S Ost 6 LL CleF —= Gay 8 : : ‘spuey S,taimseoly, Uy bP OL : ; ; * “pyT ‘puryjoog jo yueg [euoeN TIM JUALIND JUNODIV jo yIpeto FV 0 0 OFS F * “pyT ‘pueyyoog Jo yavg [euoreN qt Jdreoay yisodaq uo 6 LL GLeF el ‘Teided Jo soavvg 9 OL L68F : ‘aAoqgE se aNUdAa JO souvleg—"ajo Ay 9 OT Lee# ro perdi aed : ‘swouonsuns Laqutada(y jo “oye ‘ysoo yo quamAed 0} yoalqns ‘weak 4X 0} paldivo enuaady jo soured ‘Z VeaGeaGhicn. * ‘ ‘sounjeq—pung wonvonpy ‘T : ; : : Z ‘s}un000 Y JO aso[o yw esouB[eg i FL LGEF Oe QINGS | gee sans eran ey es lag * ‘skeiqno 44304 pue ‘sanbayg uo suois -SIMIMLOZ) ‘sasRqIsOg [v.1euer) Gs Ge) Ta a : SUOLYJIDSUDLT, PAROS SISA ad OGk OL6 Sacsr s * §suorjzIDSUDL I, JO*AIXXX ‘190A JO "IT HUq Jo saduqsog ‘ZA ‘skvpuQ SnosuRT[oosI pue saseysog 0 OL e¢ 9 F16 : : : ‘smoaqouny ,Sto[[lounog ‘ : : : * qz1odey v oO LZ : * ‘dorned jo puog 8,A.1640109§ 00 4 age 4. , 4 . u : uo umtuiaig pure ‘aouemsuy ‘Suistysapy IOJ OZIIG—MOSSE[ “PPT “Tosieyed “) BV OPIS - * ‘‘qarnsvary, pue 41B4a.109g 0 OL StF . : ‘ : ‘ ‘Sulpr1y4g O05 0G) | ‘SOL ‘G# ‘SOJON POUT JO 19LIMA pur ‘opp awa yey “yueysIssy s,0UIpy ‘woH qv TOTjIGIYX Jo sosuedxy pue pung ezug Ausrracr or Accounts for Year ending 31st December 1921. I.—CAPITAL. CHARGE. DISCHARGE. 1. Funds at lst December 1920, +. --«£2084.11 8 | 1, Proportion of Life Members’ Subscriptions transferred. to Sia = oF, = oo enue, . . cs in G 3 £600 Caledonian Teallway Company 4 per Remaar " : heen ribeed (asoatey Speck es : te of Full Life Subscriptions, £181 5 11 CRUSE ee ee SOIT GN a) 8 | of Commuted Subscriptions, 2018 6 £500 ‘Caledonian Company 4 per peclioas Cent, Debenture Stock, at Gi, $23.15. 0 2, Funds, ete,, at S1st December 1921— £400 North British Railway Company 8 per tes, ber 19 cent, Debenture Stock, at 4 > 19200 2500 Caledonian Railway Company 4 per £400 North British Railway Gompany, cent, Guaranteed Annuity Stock, No. sid No.1 dper cent, Preference Stock, at Syay BG) t/ha) De aa Aaa 0 Gt Li Seacoast £500 Caledonian Railway Company 4 per £100 gt 8 % Nations War” Bonas, °° cent, Debenture Stock at Tides | 350 3. 0 eee oe. piel es ce £400 North British Railway Company 8 per a 3 cent. Debenture Stock, at 55, . . 2000 Furniture, etc., in Society's Room, } £400 North British Railway Company, Balauce of Capitel in Bank, 8 No, 1, 4% Preference Stock, at? 936 0 0 1000 Regd. f % National Bonds, ‘| = 1807 sad 108, at 101 Re * a010 0 0 2. Life Members’ Subscriptions in 1921, . 140 200 5 i ; New Members, . £212 5 0 Ordinary Members by commutation, Furniture, etc., in Society's Room, as 7 | 6110 0 3, Tnorease in value of Investments since $lst December 1920: 189 10 0 if Ga pltal aloe aaa Ne ones Railway Stocks... 20010 0 Sane gee aoe Na ona a National War Bonds =. ; £u14 8 8 a IL—REVENUEB. CHARGE. Z | DISCHARGE. 1, Balance in hand nt Slat December 1020 mate up thus:— - £250 1911 | 1. Priuting, Stationery, ete, £90416 6 Education Fund, ri 5 A - £175 2 4 ol. bir teks wo Se eEhasuans Accumulated Revenue, . 7511 7 Authors’ Reprints, . 6 30 et : 2, Ordinary Members’ Subscriptions, é . 486 8 6 sapseeee 4726 0 Arrearsat 81st December1920, £2116 6 Part I. Tans, £169 6 11 Less Unappropriated, . . 016 6 ‘Roptints, 11 11 6 aT Se UI Add Arrears written off but General Printing, Stationery, Z cs 5a nea 6 Binding, etc, eo. 2th) MAH ee | Less Receipts for Advts,in Trane, 16-1 6 . “ —— — 4112 1 scription for 1920, 1 1 0 Be Subscriptions for 1921, a Tess Recoived in 1920, ——_ 19 BO Subscriptions for 1922 received in 1921, 10 11 ——— £5383 4 6 | Deduct— Cancelled or written off as irrecoverable Slat December 1921,. . , £16 12 ess Unappropriated as above, Arrears at 31st December 1921, —_—_ 3, Proportion of Life Members’ Subscriptions transferred from Dividends and Interest, 100 Income ‘Tax Recovered, 5 vies é Nursery and Plantation Competitions—Entry Money, Donations :— Highland and Agricultural Society towards Prize Fund and Expenses of Exhibition at Stirling, . i . 3 5 A. & G, Paterson, Ltd., Glasgow—Prize for a Report moma 4 5 6. 7. 8. £4810 0 5 00 ! a 2, Exhibition Expense | 5. Empire Forestry Association—Afiliation Subscription (oi (1) Aberdeen Exhibition (1920)— Signbord . ) Stirlin Exh ibit ition— enti: . - 4400 i iS = 500 1612 3 $10 6 41310 210 0 4. Prizes, . 8, Fees to Reporter, 7. Appeal for New Members 5 ‘ é, - 2011 6 Postage,” ; 2 ATH Postages | 5 Ti Envelopes, ete, . é 260 8. Expenses of Management, . = Someta, eOoTAA ry aes aud Taxes for 1921, aud Hall for Annual Meeting, 3 a eee Auditor, : ‘ 5 2 =nacatg Hon, Editor's Assistant, half year £15, and Writer of Frevch Notes, #5, 10s." , 20 10 0 Secretary and Treasurer, - 175 00 Advertising, Insurance, and Premium on Secretary's Bond of Caution, a A Councillors’ Luncheons, — - . 946 Postages aud Miscellaneous Outlays, viz, Postages of Part IT, of Vol. XXXIV. of Transacliony £2 310 Do. Part I. Vol. Transactions “ General Postages, Commis 5 sions on ies, and Petty Outlays, Balance at close of Accounts, £1126 7 —— + EDINDONGH, 10th January 1922,—1 hereby certify that I have exdmined the above is an Abstract, and have found ‘them correct. The Securities, the Accounts of the Treasurer for the year to 31st December 1921, of which Tepresenting the Funds as above, have also been exhibited to me. . * . fe +» 82710 6 1, Education Fund—Balance, . - £175 2 4 2. Balance of Revenue carried to next year, subject to payment of cost, etc., of December Transactions, A - 12 8 2 £327 10 6 Note.—Balance of Revenue as above, ~ £32710 6 Balance of Capital, 457 3 On Deponit Receipt with National Bank of Scotland, Ltd,, £60 0 0 At credit of Account current with National Bank of Scotland, td,, = + 2410 4 In Treasurer's hands, | i 875 £372 17-9 — £26 7 1 ——s ALEX, J, MUNRO, Auditer, APPENDIX B. ABSTRACT OF ACCOUNTS IN CONNECTION WITH THe Matcotm DuNN MEMORIAL FUND, YEAR 1921. RECEIPTS. Balance in Bank at close of last Account Income Tax recovered to Martinmas 1920 Dividend on £100 Redeemable Stock of Edin- burgh Corporation, payable at Whitsunday and Martinmas, 1921, 43, /ess Tax, 18s. PAYMENTS. Nil. Balance carried forward, being sum in National Bank of Scotland, West End, Edinburgh, on Account Current ALT 17° 9 018 Oo 2 2 0 #20 17, 9 a0 17) 6 EDINBURGH, 14th January 1922.—Examined and found correct. The Certificate by the Bank of above Balance, and the Edinburgh Corporation Stock Certificate, have been produced. ALEX. J. MUNRO, Audttor. 22 APPENDIX C. ExcurRsION ACCOUNT. Abstract of Accounts—Year 1921. RECEIPTS. Balance from last year. < ; : ‘ : : - £75 lomo Donation for Bursaries : : : : : 2 ; [5 (OneD Contributions to Common Purse : : 1406110) To Less Repaid. : : : ; : 38 10 O —— 357 72a Bank Interest . : : 5 : : : : : : I 15.90 £460 8 6. PAYMENTS. Auditor’s Fee for 1920. ; ‘ : : £2. 2°10 Bursaries of £7, 10s. to two Members E15 0 0 P Less paid for them toCommon Purse 14 0 0 — 100 Printing Circulars, Programmes, and Maps : 14 18 2 Lunches in Woods . 2 : ; : : I5 610 Hotel Metropole, Leeds . - 206 oO O Transport—Two Motor Char-a- se (Ss. Ted gard, Leeds) . 3 : - : 90 18 6 Photographs and Illustrations for Report - : 13) (OF 92 Presentation to Mr A. P. Long ; : 9 60 Tips, Commissions on Cheques, and eae expenses during the tour . . : : 1635 — 269 tak Balance carried forward to next year A : : : », £OL Sars Consisting of— 1. Deposit Receipt with National Bank of Scotland, Ltd. (West End Branch) : . - £80n020 2. Sum at credit of Account Current with Do. 8 13 3 3. Sum in hands of Secretary . - : 214 2 £91_7_5 Note.—This Balance includes £6 received from Mr R. C. Cowan, to be used as a Bursary in next Excursion. EDINBURGH, 14th January 1922.—Examined with Memorandum Book and Vouchers produced, and found correct. The above Deposit Receipt and Bank Certificate of above balance on Current Account have been exhibited. The balance of £91, 7s. 5d. at credit as above to be resumed in next Account. ALEX. J. MUNRO, Auditor. APPENDIX D. Roya. SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY (ABERDEEN BRANCH). REPORT 1921. The Committee beg to submit the Sixteenth Annual Report of the Branch. The membership of the Branch is 179, eight having joined in the course of the year. The usual activities of the Branch have been carried on during the year, two formal meetings—on 11th December 1920, and 15th October 1921—and two excursions—on 4th June and zoth August, having been held. At the Annual Meeting and Luncheon in December, after the formal business had been transacted, Sir John Stirling- Maxwell, Bart. of Pollok, gave an address, dealing principally with the work of the Forestry Commission. He stated that planting had then commenced, and that the Commission was actually in advance of its programme, as planting had not been intended to be commenced until the following year. On the occasion of the June meeting, members of the Branch had the privilege, on the invitation of the Forestry Commission, of visiting their nurseries at Craibstone and Seaton. Mr J. F. Annand, Divisional Officer of the Forestry Commission, welcomed the company in name of the Commission, and con- ducted the party over the nurseries. The outing was a very successful one, and the members were very much gratified at the progress made since their last visit to Craibstone. The August meeting took the form of an Excursion, on the invitation of the Chairman of the Branch, Mr S. J. Gammell, to Countesswells. The party was met by Mr Gammell, and personally conducted over his beautiful and well-wooded estate and forest nursery. At various stages, interesting discussions took place in regard to Mr Gammell’s methods, from which much useful and practical information was gathered. During the afternoon, the party was entertained to tea by Mr and Mrs Gammell, to whom a vote of thanks was proposed for their hospitality, on the call of Mr France. On the return journey, members who cared, had an opportunity of visiting the splendidly stocked nurseries of Messrs Ben Reid & Company, under the guidance of Mr Edwin Duthie. 24 At the October meeting, which was held in Marischal College, Aberdeen, an address was given by Mr A. S. Watt, B.A. (Cantab.), of Aberdeen University, his subject being “ An Aspect of Forest Protection,” dealing chiefly with the question of insect and fungal pests. In thanking him for his paper, the Chairman explained that Mr Watt had come forward at the last minute to take the place of Professor Craib, who had undertaken to give an address, but who was prevented from doing so on account of an unfortunate railway accident. Mr Watt’s paper was to a great extent of a scientific nature, and came as a valuable variation to the practical discussions which usually take place at the meetings of the Branch. On the suggestion of the Chairman, Mr Watt handed his notes to the Secretary to be preserved amongst the papers belonging to the Branch. On the invitation of the Parent Society, the Branch has been considering during the year, the question of fuller representation of Branches on the Council of the Parent Society. The matter came up at the October meeting of the Branch, and it was remitted to the Committee for consideration, with powers. The Committee have met and considered the matter, and have put forward their recommendations for the consideration of the Parent Society, the proposal for additional representation being based on the numerical strength of each Branch. The decision of the Parent Society has not yet been received. The Committee again desire to record their thanks to the University Authorities for the use of the Botanical Class-room for the meetings of the Branch. S. J. GAMMELL, President. GEORGE D. MAssIE, Secretary. 25 “AITTAM ‘WA ‘udaS OS[e ALY J YIM ‘f6£ ‘ON ‘yoo sseg yuvg sdutavg sad ‘yuvg sSurarg usapseqy ayy YUM paztsodap st yorya ‘*por ‘sg ‘Zi ¥ Sureq youvagq ayy jo paso a} 1B souR[eq Vy} ‘payonoa pu pajejs Aj19dord aq 0} way] punoj pur ‘s19YINOA 9} YA way) poreduios savy pu ‘yuNODdy Jo s}UaUIA}e}S Sulosa10J BY} paulwexa aavy J—1Z61 “aguaag y7Q ‘NATANAAY org 417 Onesie Sle obey Oyen bez gif OS ar 9 € 17 AUYVAATTI oz LF Olea (ys) ate o 9 SF £6£ ‘on yoog sseq uvg ssuravg sod ‘youvsg jo jIpaig ye dourjeg : : JUNODDY SUOISINOXy JO JIqaq jv aouLlEg qunossy Areiqvy Jo ytpaid je vouryeg JUNODDY [v1WUa+) JO JIpIID Iv souvyeg ‘LOVaLSav . . . . JUNOIIV IS¥] JO JIpaty ye oouregq ‘ : * — yunosoy jo yIqaqy Iv aouR|eg s[[aMssayuNnog ‘ ry 4 eee : * Quojsqierg 0} UOISANdxqy—siaquiayy ZZ WOI “WDNOOODV SNOISHNOXH —_—-- DIN 2 a : . : : * yunoddV Jo JIperD ye souvjeg “DLNOOODDV O il > Cates sete =: s}Uaprlouy pur sasvysog oa ee : : - Sunuiig 107 ‘feuanof usapsaqy 0" OF I : * — s[[PMssajzuNo?) * aS : Oo O11 * QuOysqiery 0} ap] A0J “pry ‘s,jjaqdwey ce omcty yz By : : : ‘ * junoooy JO JIpado jv douRleg On OLse : : : : : * — sjuaprouy pu sasvysog ot eee) A : : Oz6I 10J tuntueIOUOTZ] S,A1e19109G Omiuiec . , *Sunuig 10; ‘feuanof usapraqy a ae ee : ; : pasuviie sv unosoy siya 0} paidajsuvs] d}ep SIyy Je JUNODDW SUOISINOXY Jo JIqeq jv soUL[vg “AYNLIGNAdX4a € sgn cee OMe «0 OS ios Oy /f fin 6 & zF “WDBNOOOOV 'IVYUHNHD solajUuy yu ssutavs : : : : 4]9190G JuaIvg wos JULI ‘IZ6I Ul Sulmusuiwsod ‘g9/z Oj -/1 WoOJj pasrea SEM UOKdIIOSqnS JenuUy x4 [.—*azoay Citra St SS OS oye * aead Juarnd 103 suonduosqng ; ; : 2 * sivay —slaquiayy wor suondiuosqng : ; : * — UNODTY 3Sv] JO Wpard yw aourjeg “AINOONI I661 480X ‘SLNOOOOV AO LNAWALVLS ‘(HONVUG NAACYAMY) ALAIOOG ‘IVANLINOAOAUW HSILLOOS IVAOY—"J XIGN3AddV 26 APPENDIX F. ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY (NORTHERN BRANCH). REPORT 1921. No meeting of this Society was held between January 1914 and 1921, but steps were taken in the course of 1921 to have the Branch revived, by issuing circular letters to the various parties interested in forestry in the North. About seventy members intimated their intention to join the Branch, and a General Meeting was held when the Branch was reconstituted. At the meeting the following Office-Bearers were appointed :— President. Col. Hucu Ross, C.M.G., etc., of Kilravock. Vice-Presidents. Wm. Mackay, Esq., LL.D. Wo. Fenwick, Esq., Earlsmills, Forres. Members of Council. Major FRASER-TYTLER of Aldourie, D.S.O. Captain Ropinson. Forestry Commission. Wi1..1AM Gossip, Inverness. Mr Freaks, Darnaway. Mr Macintyre, Erchless. Mr JosEepH Cook, Timber Merchant, Inverness. Mr ANDERSON, Beaufort. The meeting, which was a very successful one, was followed by a very pleasant excursion to Beaufort, when the party was shown over the Beaufort Woods by Lord Lovat, and afterwards entertained to tea. A Statement of Accounts is annexed showing a sum of £14, 58. 84d. at the credit of the Branch. It was resolved not to charge a subscription for the year 1921, but to consider what the annual subscription should be at the first General Meeting in 1922. Davip Ross, Secretary. APPENDIX G. RoyaL ScoTTisH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY (NORTHERN BRANCH). Receipts and Expenditures for period from 1st January 1914 to 31st December 1921. RECEIPTS. Balance from last Account . : . 415 19) 04 Members’ Subscriptions. Bo sprsG Bank Interest. ; : S02 V7, EXPENDITURES. Printing. Zo 16 6 Hire of Room for Meeting . ; Ontine 70 Postages ../.)- wan 8,46 Incidental Outlays. @. in “8 —— 6,10. 2 414 5 8 Balance at credit of Branch at 31st December 1921 :— Sum in Bank : oe obs 3 6 8 6 Less due to Secretary 219 94 414 5 8} Davip Ross, Secretary. 28 APPENDIX H. Office-Bearers for 1922 :— PATRON. His Majesty THe Kine. PRESIDENT. The DuKE oF ATHOLL, K.T., etc., Blair Castle, Blair Atholl. VICE-PRESIDENTS. Lorp Forrrviot, Dupplin Castle, Perth. Jas. WHITTON, Director of Parks and Botanic Gardens, City Chambers, Glasgow. Rosert ALLAN, Factor, Polkemmet, Whitburn. Cuas. BucHANAN, Factor, Penicuik. ADAM Spiers, Timber Merchant, Warriston Sawmills, Edinburgh. COUNCIL. Hon. Lire MEMBERS. Sir Kennetu J. Mackenzie, Bart. of Gairloch, Conan House, Ross-shire. Sir JoHNn Stirtinc-MaxweELt, Bart. of Pollok, Pollokshaws. ORDINARY MEMBERS. JAMES Cook, Overseer, Arniston, Gorebridge. JoHN Broom, Wood Merchant, Bathgate. WILLIAM Davipson, Forester, Edgerston, Jedburgh. JAMES TERRIS, Barns House, Blairadam, Kelty. D. K. M‘Braru, F.S.I., Broxwood, Sandbank, Argyll. WILLIAM GILcuHRIST, Forester, etc., Mount Melville, St Andrews. GEORGE LEVEN, Bowmont Forest, Kelso. JoHN F. ANNAND, M.Sc., Forestry Divisional Office(E. ),156 UnionSt, Aberdeen. ALEXANDER FINLAYSON, Overseer, etc., Newbattle, Dalkeith. A. B. Roperrson, Forester, The Dean, Kilmarnock. JAMES M‘LAREN, Factor, Castle Mains, Douglas, Lanarkshire. Sir JAMEs CAMPBELL, LL.D., 14 Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh. GILBERT Brown, Wood Manager, Grantown-on-Spey. MATTHEW Fraxks, Wood Manager, Darnaway, Forres. Major WM. Murray of Murraythwaite, M.P., House of Commons, Westminster. W. H. Massiz, Nurseryman, 20 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. Sir ANDREW AcNeEw, Bart. of Lochnaw, Stranraer. J. W. M‘Harris, Superintendent of Parks, City Chambers, Edinburgh. JOHN ScRIMGEOUR, F.S.I., Factor, Doune Lodge, Doune. Harry G. YOuNGER of Benmore, 21 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh. J. H. Minne Hong, Irvine House, Canonbie. JAmEs F. Harpis, Factor, Skibo, Dornoch. Davin KEIR, Forester, Ladywell, Dunkeld. WItu1aAM LEVEN, Forester, Jeaniebank, Perth. PETER LEsLIk, B.Sc., Forestry Department, Marischal College, Aberdeen. Extra Members. PRESIDENT OF ABERDEEN BRANCH—Sir JOHN R. GLADSTONE, Bart. of Fasque, Laurencekirk, PRESIDENT OF NoRTHERN BrANcH—Col. Hucu Ross, C.M.G., etce., of Kilravock, Gollanfield. 29 HON. EDITOR. Dr A. W. Borrawick, O.B.E., 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. AUDITOR. ALEX. J. Munro, 48 Castle Street, Edinburgh. HON. SECRETARY. Viscount Novar of Raith, Kirkcaldy. SECRETARY AND TREASURER. Rosert GAtitoway, 8.8.C., 8 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, HONORARY CONSULTING OFFICIALS. Botanist—Sir Isaac Baytry Batrour, K.B.E., Courtshill, Haslemere, Surrey. Chemist—Dr ALEXANDER LAuDER, F.I.C., 13 George Square, Edinburgh. Cryptogamist—Dr A. W. Bortuwick, O.B.E., 25 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh. Entomologist—Prof. Srrwarr MacDoveatt, 9 Dryden Place, Edinburgh. Geologist—Dr R. CAMPBELL, Geological Laboratory, University of Edinburgh. Meteorologist—ANDREW Watt, M.A., F.R.S.E., 10 Rothesay Place, Edin- burgh. TRUSTEES. Lieut.-Col. W. Stevarrt ForHrincHam of Mutthly, Sir Joun Srirurne- MAXWELL, Bart. of Pollok, and Sir ANDREW N. AGnew, Bart. of Lochnaw, Stranraer. LOCAL BRANCHES. ABERDEEN, | NORTHERN. President.—Sir JoHN R, GLADSTONE, President—Col. Huecu Rosr, C.M.G., Bart. of Fasque, Laurencekirk. | etc., of Kilravock, Gollanfield. Hon. Secretary.—Grorcr D.Masstz, Hon. Secretary—Davip Ross, Solici- Advocate, 147 Union Street, | tor, 63 Church Street, Inverness. Aberdeen. CORRESPONDENTS RESIDING ABROAD. The following are Correspondents residing abroad :— Canada, India, . . F. L. C. Cowney Brown, Principal, South Indian Forest College, Coimbatore, South India. British East \ Epwarp BarrTiscomBe, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Africa, _. Nigeri, via Naivasha, East Africa Protectorate. United States\ Hucu P. Baker, Secretary, American Paper and Pulp of America, Association, 18 East 41st Street, New York City. Cape Colony, . W. Nimmo Brown, M‘Kenzie’s Farm, Mowbray, P.O. Western Australia, FrepD Moon, Craigian, Bighill Brook, Harren River, Manjimup. New Zealand. R. G. Rosrnson, Superintendent, Selwyn Plantation Board, Darfield, Canterbury. South Africa . K, A. CaRtson, Orange Free State Conservancy. PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST. A. D. Ricuarpson, 19 Joppa Road, Portobello. Counties. Aberdeen, Argyll, . Ayr, Berwick, Bute, Clackmannan,. Dumfries, East Lothian, . Fife, Forfar, . Inverness, Kincardine, Kinross, Lanark, . Moray, Perth, Ross, Roxburgh, Sutherland, Wigtown, Beds, Berks, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Hants, Kent, . Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Notts, Surrey, . 30 LOCAL SECRETARIES, Scotland. ‘JoHN Micuik, M.V.O., Kincairn, Blairs. H. L. Macponatp of Dunach, Oban. ANDREW D. Paces, Overseer, Culzean Home Farm, Ayr. A. B. Rogpertson, Forester, The Dean, Kilmarnock. Wa. Inetis, Forester (retired), Cladoch, Brodick. RoBERT Fores, Estate Office, Kennet, Alloa. D. CrasseE, Forester, Byreburnfoot, Canonbie. W. S. Curr, Factor, Ninewar, Prestonkirk. Wm. Gitcurist, Forester, Nursery Cottage, Mount Melville, St Andrews. EpMUND SAncG, Nurseryman, Kirkcaldy. JOHN Hart, Estates Office, Cowie, Stonehaven. JAMES TERRIS, Dullomuir, Blairadam. JAMES WHITTON, Director of Parks and Botanic Gardens, City Chambers, Glasgow. EDWARD WISEMAN, Nurseryman, Elgin, JOHN ScRIMGEOUR, Doune Lodge, Doune. JOHN LEISHMAN, Manager, Cavers Estate, Hawick. R. V. MatHeEr, Nurseryman, Kelso. JAMES HoGaArTH, Forester, Culhorn, Stranraer. England. FRANCIS MITCHELL, Forester, Woburn. S. MacBzan, Estate Office, Needwood Forest, Sudbury. JOHN ALEXANDER, Waverley, Rossmore Avenue, Parkstane. W. R. Brown, Forester, Park Cottage, Heckfield, Winchfield. R. W. Cowrsr, Gortanore, Sittingbourne. D. C. Hamitton, Forester, Knowsley, Prescot. JAMES MARTIN, The Reservoir, Knipton, Grantham. W. B. Havetock, The Nurseries, Brocklesby Park. W. Micuiz, Forester, Welbeck, Worksop. Witson ToMLInson, Forester, Station Road, Tuxford. Counties. Warwick, York, Co. Galway, Dublin, . King’s County, Tipperary, 31 England. A.D. CuristTI£, Hillside, Castle Road, Warley, Birmingham. Ireland. Arcu. E. Mormran, The Castle, Portumna. A. C. Forsgs, Assistant Commissioner for Forestry. 32 APPENDIX I. Additions to the Library since the publication of the List in Volume XXXV., Part 1. Books. 1. The Kiln Drying of Lumber. By H. D. Tiemann, M.E.M.F, 2. The Sylviculture of Indian Trees (8 vols.). By Professor R. 8. Troup, M.A., C.I.E. . The Forests of India, vol. i. By Professor E. P. Stebbing. Forest Mensuration. By Herman H. Chapman. . A Text Book of Wood. By Herbert Stone, F.L.S., F.R.C.I. . Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scothand, vol, xxxiii., 1921. a oP CO GOVERNMENT AND STATE ReEportms. 7. England :—Report of Commissioners of H. M. Woods and Forests, etc., 28th June 1921. 8. Canada :—Report of the Director of Forestry for Fiscal Year ended March 1921. 9. India :— (1) Administration Report of the Forest Department of the Madras Presidency, 1921. (2) Return of Statistics relating to Forest Administration, 1919-20. (3) Indian Forest Records: The Regeneration of Sal (Shorea robusta) Forests: A Study in Economic Gicology. By B.S. Hole, C.1.E., etc. (4) Indian Forest Bulletins : No. 42. Note on Haldu. By C. E. C. Cox, I.F.S. No. 43. Note on Odina Wodier. By C. E. C. Cox, I.F.S. No. 44. Note on Semal or Cotton Wood. By C. E. C. Cox, I.F.S,. No. 45. Note on the Miscellaneous Forests of the Kumaon Bhabar. By E. A. Smythies, I. F.S. No, 46. Rate of Growth of Bengal Sal Quality By S. H. Howard, B.A. 10. South Australia:—Annual Progress Report on State Forest Administra- tion, 1920-21. 11. Federated Malay States :— (1) Report on Forest Administration, 1920. (2) Malayan Science Bulletin No. 1, 1921. 12. Union of South Africa :— (1) Forest Department Bulletin No. 4. (2) Sylvicultwral Notes on Cedrela Toona. By K. A. Carlson. 13. United States of America :— California—Report of College of Agriculture, 1920-21. . New York—Bulletin No. 13 of College of Forestry: Forestry for the Private Owner. By F. F. Moon and H. C. Belyea. New Hampshire—Bulletin No. 7 of Yale University School of Forestry: Report of Experiments in treating Pure Whate Pine Stands. 14. Denmark :—Det Forstlige Forsogsvalsen I., 1922. Societies’ ANP INstTrTuUTIONS’ REPORTS AND TRANSACTIONS. 15. Scotland :— (1) Transactions of the Scottish Horticultural Association, vol. iii., part 5. (2) Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, vol. xxviii., parts ] and 2. 63) Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden. (4) The Glasgow Naturalist, No. 5, vol. viii., December 1921. (5) Transactions and Proceedings of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science. 16. England :-— (1) Journal of the Royal Horticultwral Society, vol. xlvi. (2) ie 4 ae vol. xlvii. (3) Quarterly Journal of Forestry. (4) Empire Forestry, vol. i. (5) Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. 1xxxii. 17. Ireland :—Royal Dublin Society : Scientific Proceedings. 18. Nova Scotia :—Proceedings and Transactions of Nova Scotian Institute of Science, vol. xv., part 1. REPRINTS AND MISCELLANEOUS. 19. Forestry Commission :—Leaflets : No. 4. The Black Pine Beetle. 5. Conifer Heart Rot. 6. The Honey Fungus. 7. Chermes attacking Spruce and other Conifers. 8. Douglas Fir Seed Fly. 20. Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture. England. 21. Journal of Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. Tvreland. 22. The Estate Magazine. 23. L’ Alpe. Firenze. 24. The Indian Forester. 25. Bergens Museums Aarbok, 1919-20, 26. Bergens Museum, Aarsberetning, 1920-21. 27. Beretning om Landbruks—Og Smabruks—Skolene, 1919-20. 28. Tidsskrift for Skogbruk, 1921 and 1922. 29. Skogbruket og Skogsaken I. Skotland. Erling Archer. 30. 31. 32, 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 34 Skogsvardsféreningens Tidskrift, 1922. Contributo allo Studio ecritico degli Scrittort agrari ttalici-Pietro dei Crescenzi. Illustrated Canadian Forestry Magazine. Journal of Forestry. Washington. American Forestry. Washington. Pamphlets from the Forestry Department. Christiania. Meddelanden Frim Statens Skogsférséksanstalt, vol. 8, Nos. 1-9. Mededcelingen Van's Rijks Herbarium. Leiden, Nos. 38-41. Tectona (Forestry Journal), No. 3 of vol. 15 (Buitenzorg, Java, Nether- lands, East Indies). Journal of the Oxford University Forestry Society, Michaelmas Term, 1921. + The Principles of Forestry. Reprint of paper by John Maughan. The Forestry Directorate in France. Reprint of paper by Leslie S. Wood. Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society Instituted 16th February 1854. PATRON : HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE KING. PROCEEDINGS IN 1922.—Continued. THE GENERAL MEETING. _ The General Meeting of the Society was held in the Show- yard at Dumfries, on Thursday, zoth July 1922, at 2.30 P.M. The President, His Grace the DUKE or ATHOLL, presided. MINUTES. The Minutes of the Annual Meeting, held on 20th January last, were held as read and adopted. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE. Apologies for absence were intimated from Lord Novar, Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, Bart., Sir John Gladstone, Bart., Sir D. M. Stevenson, Sir Henry Ballantyne, Major Murray of Murray- thwaite, General Stirling, Messrs H. G. Younger, S. J. Gammell, M. G. Thorburn, J. F. Hardie, A. Finlayson, and C. Buchanan. REPORT ON Essay. It was reported that the Judges had awarded a No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate to the writer of the essay on “Comparative Values and Volumes and Yearly Increment on Timber in fs 36 Argyll,” and the writer of the essay was found to be the late Mr Alex. Macpherson, forester, Poltalloch. The Secretary reported that Mr Macpherson had died since the essay was written, and it was unanimously agreed to ask the Secretary to convey their sympathy to Mr Macpherson’s family in their bereavement. THE NURSERY AND PLANTATION COMPETITIONS. (Restricted to the Dumfries Show District.) The Secretary read the awards of the Judges (Dr Borthwick and Mr Jas. M‘Laren) as follows :— I. NURSERIES. Cuass I. The best managed Estate Nursery not exceeding two acres in extent. No award. Cuass II. The best managed Estate Nursery exceeding two acres in extent. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. ls “PLANTATIONS: CrAssae The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, not exceeding ten years of age, and not less than two acres in extent. Confined to Estates having less than 300 acres of woods. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. Major Murray of Murraythwaite. Grass IT: The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding ten years and not exceeding twenty years. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. Major Wellwood Maxwell of Kirkennan. 37 Crass Tit. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding twenty years of age and not exceeding forty years, No. 2 Silver Medal Certificate. Major Wellwood Maxwell. Crass 1V; The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, not exceeding ten years of age, and not less than five acres in extent. Confined to Estates having more than 300 acres of Woods. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. The Duke of Buccleuch. Criass V. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding ten years and not exceeding twenty years. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. The Duke of Buccleuch. Crass (Vi. The best young Plantation, mainly of Conifers, exceeding twenty years and not exceeding forty years. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. The Duke of Buccleuch. Note.—A special prize of £5 was awarded to the Duke of Buccleuch for the above three plantations of Sitka Spruce. Further particulars will be found in the Judges’ Report, which appears at p. 225 of Part 2, Vol. xxxvi. (rass VALI, The best young Plantation, mainly of Hardwoods, not exceeding thirty-five years of age, and not less than two acres in extent. No. 1 Silver Medal Certificate. The Duke of Buccleuch. These awards were adopted, and the Judges thanked for their services, 38 EXHIBITION. The report of the Judges (Messrs A. J. Finlayson, A. B. Robertson and John M‘Gregor) on the exhibits at the Forestry Exhibition in the Showyard, was read by the Secretary as follows :— I. ARTICLES IN COMPETITION. Competition No. I. For Specimens of the timber of Scots Pine (Pinus silvestris). 1. The Duke of Buccleuch (D. Crabbe, Forester). 2. ars 3. Gen. Sir Chas. Fergusson, Bart. (D. H. M/‘Millan, Forester). Competition No. Ll. For Specimens of the timber of Norway Spruce (Picea excelsa). 1. The Duke of Buccleuch. 2. 3. The Earl of Minto (A. Atkinson Clark, Factor). Competition No. LL. For Specimens of the timber of Larch (Larix europaea). 1. Gen. Sir Chas. Fergusson, Bart. 2. Capt. Wm. Stewart of Shambellie. 3. The Duke of Buccleuch. Competition No. LV. For Specimens of the timber of Ash (Fraxinus excelstor). 1. The Earl of Minto. 2. The Duke of Buccleuch. Competition No. V. For Specimens of the timber of Oak (Quercus robur). 1. The Duke of Buccleuch. 2. The Earl of Minto. 3. The Duke of Buccleuch. a9 Competition No. VI. For Specimens of the timber of Elm ( U/mus montana). 1, Gen, Sir Chas. Fergusson, Bart. 2. The Earl of Minto. Competition No. VII. For Specimens of the timber of any three Coniferous Timber Trees other than the above. Local Section. 1. The Earl of Stair. Open Section. 1. The Duke of Buccleuch. 2. The Earl of Minto. Competition No. VIII. For Specimens of the timber of any three Broad-Leaved Timber Trees other than the above, 1. The Earl of Minto. Competition No. XJ. For a Gate for farm use manufactured from home-grown timber, shown in working order. 1. Sir Chas. Fergusson, Bart., per Mr D. H. M‘Millan. No, 1 Silver Medal. 2. The Earl of Stair, per Mr J. Edwards. No. 2 Silver Medal. Competition No. XIL/. For a self-closing Wicket Gate, manufactured from home- grown timber, shown in working order. 1. The Duke of Buccleuch, per Mr D. Crabbe. No. 1 Silver Medal. Competition No. XIX. For a collection of Fungi injurious to forest trees and shrubs. Gold Medal and Special Prize of £5. Mr John Munro, Letter House, Trossachs. 40 Competition No. XXII. For any approved Article either wholly or mainly made of Wood. No. 2 Silver Medal Certificate. The Earl of Stair, per Mr J. Edwards, for a laburnum Palm Stand. II. ARTICLES FOR EXHIBITION ONLY. Cuass IV. Pit-wood and Railway Timber. No. 2 Silver Medal. The Duke of Buccleuch, per C. W. Ralston, Esq. Crass VII. Plants, trees, and timber damaged by storms, frosts, insects, animals, birds, or other causes, and specimens of the insects, animals, birds, or fungi which caused the damage. Bronze Medal Certificate. The Earl of Home, per J. M‘Laren, Esq., for specimens of trees damaged by roe-deer, blackgame, etc. Cuass) Xt, Cones and Foliage of different kinds of conifers. Gold Medal. The Earl of Stair, per Mr J. Edwards. Cuass XIII. Pictures and Photographs in connection with forestry. No. 2 Silver Medal. The Earl of Home, per J. M‘Laren, Esq. Cuass XV. Anything of Interest relating to forestry. No. 1 Silver Medal. The Duke of Buccleuch, per J. H. Milne Home, Esq., for Collection of Home Timber manufactured for house fittings. No. 1 Silver Medal. The Duke of Buccleuch, per C. W. Ralston, Esq., for Poles of Alnus incana and Sitka Spruce, Battens cut from Sitka spruce, three Field Gates, Sitka plants grown from seed gathered off trees at Drumlanrig. 4I No. 2 Silver Medal. Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell, Esq., per Napier Landale, Esq., for Logs of Spruce and Larch, two Larch Field-Gates, Gate-Posts, Sheep Troughs of Scots Fir, Boards of Spruce, Larch Fencing Stobs, Birch for Clog Soles, Finished Clogs, Willows or Osiers for Basket Work. No. 3 Silver Medal. The Earl of Stair, per Mr J. Edwards, for Boards of Japanese Larch grown on West Coast, Cricket Bats made from Willow grown on West Coast, a Method of Utilising ‘“ fungi.” The various Judges were thanked for their services and their awards approved. The Highland and Agricultural Society were thanked for the facilities they had given and for the prizes provided by them for the timber exhibits, and Messrs Learmont, Hunter & King, Ltd., Nurserymen, Dumfries, were also thanked for the great assistance rendered by them in connection with the arrangements on the ground. MOTION ALTERING THE LAws. The following Motion, of which notice was given by the Council at the Annual Meeting, was submitted for approval :— “That Law XIV. (a) of the laws and bye-laws of the Society be rescinded and the following substituted— (1) That the President of each recognised Branch shall ex officio be an extra member of the Council; and (2) That each Branch shall, in addition, be entitled to elect an extra member or members to the Council annually in the following proportion to membership of such Branch:—For fifty, and under one hundred and fifty, one member ; for one hundred and fifty, and under three hundred, two members; such elected members to hold office for one year, but to be eligible for re-election.” The Motion was unanimously adopted. EXCURSION TO PERTHSHIRE AND FORFARSHIRE. _ In the absence of Mr Buchanan, Convener of the Excursion Committee, the SrcRETary reported that the Excursion to Perthshire and Forfarshire, held from the 4th to 7th July, 42 was attended by a large number of members and had been very successful, both from an educational and practical point of view. Mr Svend Kindt, a Danish forester, who was accompanied by his wife, took part in the excursion and added much to the interest and enjoyment of the party. Mr Kindt was one of the candidates for membership elected at a recent Council meeting. EXCURSION IN 1923, The Secretary further reported that the views of those present at the excursion had been obtained, and that they had suggested Denmark as a suitable place for next year’s excursion. Mr Kindt was kind enough to offer to give every assistance possible in connection with the arrangements. The meeting remitted the whole matter to the Council with powers. THE URGENCY OF RE-AFFORESTATION. The CuariRMAN reported that in the course of the excursion a discussion had taken place on the above subject, and at his request the Secretary read the draft Resolution which was then adopted, and which had since been approved by the Council, viz. :— “That this meeting of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society urges the Government to proceed with greater speed with afforestation, and especially with the re- afforestation of the areas recently denuded of trees for war purposes, and to give further encouragement to private owners of land to enable them to develop their woodlands by renewing for a period of years the present unemployment grants.” After the Resolution had been read the Chairman invited remarks. Mr JoHN SUTHERLAND, Assistant Forestry Commissioner for Scotland, apologised for the absence of Lord Lovat, chairman of the Commission, who had been called to London on business. The resolution, he said, called for the continuance of the grants scheme of last year. It was only right to say that 11,000 acres in all were supposed to have been planted as the result of grants in the past season, and of this area 7500 acres were in Scotland. Twelve thousand acres in Scotland had also been prepared for 43 planting in the future. In Scotland they had the real spirit of forestry, and notwithstanding the impoverished times they had come through they would go forward and, perhaps, continue to do better than they did in England. The grants altogether only amounted to about 450,000, and he knew that Lord Lovat and the Commission were doing their utmost to get the Govern- ment to continue this expenditure. Last year they were thrown into the grant scheme when it was practically too late, but he believed if they were to get some indication of policy within the next two or three weeks they would have much more than 7500 acres planted next year. There was one other thing he would like to say on behalf of the Commission, and that was that they were grateful for the co-operation and assistance they had received from the members of this Society. In connection with the census of woodlands in Scotland, they had asked a large number of the members of this Society to take the trouble of surveying various parishes throughout the country for the Commission, and these correspondents had given the greatest possible assistance. On the part of the Commission, he would like to claim that their first desire was to be a practical department, and their second desire was to dispense with as much red tape as possible. If any member found that there was too little of the practical and too much of the red tape, he hoped they would report it either to headquarters or to the office in Edinburgh. They all very much wished that they would get the grant again, and that it might not be for one year, but for a series of years, because everything connected with forestry must be done over a period and not from year to year. Sir HucH SwHaw-Srewart, Bart., Ardgowan, said that in sending their motion to the Forestry Commission they were really spurring a willing horse. The people into whose hands they would like the motion to go were the Members of Parlia- ment, and it would be worth the expense if a copy were sent to each of them. It would be a real advantage if the grant were made permanent. That could not be done without changing the law. The grants to corporations or private planters were hampered by an unfortunate tangle of clauses which referred to repayment, and to get rid of these the Act of Parliament would have to be altered. He believed the Forestry Commission were endeavouring to get that alteration made, 44 and it would enormously strengthen their hands if the Society reminded the Members of Parliament how important the matter was. Dr Bortuwicxk said the re-afforestation of areas recently denuded of timber was of urgent importance. The physical, chemical, and biological condition of the soil was gradually improved by trees growing upon it, and that condition could only be produced after years of very careful tending, but it only took one or two years to destroy the whole thing. If an area was denuded and left to grow wild the productive value of the soil deteriorated. Therefore, it was not only the future potentiality of the soil that was being affected, but its active productive qualities were losing in value. What might seem economy in replanting was being lost tenfold. It was false economy to say that the cost of planting might decrease in a few years, and that they should wait until the cost of material went down. By that time it would be too late, and the silvicultural value of the denuded areas would have suffered. The Eart of Starr said they should, in their Resolution, make it clear that the grant was not all outgoing, but that it represented a saving to the country; otherwise their Resolution would be put aside with all the other ‘‘anti-waste” subjects. The meeting remitted the Resolution to the Council to adjust, in view of the discussion, and to forward it to the Government, the Forestry Commission, and, subsequently, to all Scottish Members of Parliament, with an explanatory covering letter, The Resolution, as finally adjusted, was in the following cents! “That this meeting of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society urges the Government to proceed at greater speed with afforestation, especially the re-afforestation of the areas recently denuded of trees for war purposes, and to give further encouragement to private owners of land to enable them to develop their woodlands by renewing for a period of years the present unemployment grants which have been well taken advantage of, or by passing fresh legislation dispensing with the un- workable conditions attached to the grants allowed under the Forestry Act, 1919.” A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings. ° nis {4 4. te Se shed nay vii 1 | 2 | oral ir ve oe ait, ai) | og thoes ¥ idan, ta ¢ pAb! 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