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TRANSACTIONS 


OF THE 


ROYAL 
SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


SECRETARY AND TREASURER, 
WILLIAM J. MOFFAT, 


FELLOW OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH, 


VOL. “= ELE 


EDINBURGH. 
PRINTED. BOR THE SOC LET ¥, 
SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 


; 1893. 
ILIBRAR y duit VW 


YORK BOTANICAL GARTEN 
YVLAIN LAL OAAIR DAN 


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CONTENTS OF VOL. XIII. 


The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or 
opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority 
of the respective authors. 


PAGE 

I. Address delivered at the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting, 5th 

August 1890. By Mr D. F. Mackenzie, Morton Hall, 
Vice-President, . ‘ : ; , F ; 1 

II. How to Combat the Attack of Injurious Forest Insects. By 

WILLIAM SOMERVILLE of Cormiston, D.(c., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., 
Lecturer on Forestry, Edinburgh University, . : ; 5 
III. On British Oaks. By Jonn Smit, Romsey, Hants, . : 21 

IV. The Beech Forests of Hesse Nassau. By GrorGE CADELL, 
Esq., 14 Canning Road, Addiscombe, Surrey, . 57 

V. The Natural Regeneration of Woods. By WILLIAM SOMERVILLE 

of Cormiston, D.(c., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Forestry, 
Edinburgh University, . . : ; ; : 63 

VI. Old and Remarkable Trees on the Estates of Earl Spencer in 

Northamptonshire. By F. MircHe.t, Forester, Harlestone, 
Northamptonshire, : : : : : : 83 

VII. The Formation of Plantations. By A. C. Fores, Assistant 
Forester, Lintmill, Cullen, ; : : ‘ ; 91 

VIII. Trees and Shrubs for Planting in Towns. By A. D. WEpsTER, 
Holwood, Kent, : ‘ : : ‘ 5 IE: 

IX. The Utilisation of Small-Wood for Turnery and other Purposes. 
By A. T. WiLLiAMson, 7 Kew Terrace, Edinburgh, . > 245 

X. The Manufacture of Home-grown Timber. By A. T. WILLIAM- 
son, Edinburgh, : : : ‘ ; =~ ot 


Axpsrract of Accounts of the RoyaL ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL 
Society for Year ending 31st December 1890, : 5 Gy 


iv 


XI. 


XII. 


XIII. 


XI1Y. 


XY. 


XVII. 


XVIII. 


XIX. 


XX]. 


CONTENTS. 


Address delivered at the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting, 4th 
August 1891, By Isaac Bay.ey Batrour, Se.D., M.D., 
F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany in 
the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal Botanic 
Garden, . ; ; : 


Introduction to Course of Forestry Lectures, Edinburgh University, 
Session 1891-92. By Colonel BarLey, R. E., University Lecturer; 
Conservator of Forests, and Director of the Indian Forest 
School; formerly Acting Inspector-General of Forests to the 
Government of India, 


Management of Scots Fir Forests in North Germany. By A. C. 
Fores, Farnham Royal, Slough, Bucks, 


On the Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus Libani; syn. C. atlantica, and 
C. Deodara. By Roperr Hurcuison of Carlowrie, F.R.S.E., 
University Club, Edinburgh, 


Notes on Tree Planting at San Jorge, Uruguay, South America. 
By CHares E. HALL, of San Jorge, . ; 


. The Forest School at Eberswalde. By A. C. Forbes, Farnham 


Royal, Slough, Bucks, 


Trees Best Adapted for Various Soils. By A. D. WEBSTER, 
Hollydale, Keston, Kent, 


The Formation of Plantations. By JoHn FowLer ANNAND, 
Assistant Forester, Brucklay Castle, Aberdeenshire, 


Arboriculture in the Counties of Dumfries, Kirkeudbright, and 
Wigtown. By ALEXANDER PITCAITHLEY, Forester, Sudbourn 
Hall, Wickham Market, Suffolk, 


ApstRract of Accounts of the Roya ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL 
Socrery for Year ending 31st December 1891, 


. Address delivered at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting, 9th 


August 1892. By Isaac BayLEy Baxrour, Se.D., M.D., 
F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany 
in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal 
Botanic Garden, : : : : : A 


On the Preparation of Wood Specimens for Exhibition. By 
GEORGE CADELL, Langley Hovse, Surbiton, Surrey, 


PAGE 


163 


187 


200 


220 


234 


254 


268 


293 


299 


301 


310 


XXIII. 


XXIV. 


XXV. 


XXVI. 


XXVII. 


CONTENTS. 


. The Afforestation of Large Areas in the Highlands and Islands 


of Scotland. By W. A. MAcKENzIE, Strabane, Brodick, 
Isle of Arran, 


Report on the Plantations on the Estate of Raynham, Norfolk. 
By AncuIBaLD GorRIL, Brooku ans Park, Hatfield, Herts, 


The Island of Arran as a Field for Planting. By W. A. 
Mackenzig, Strabane, Brodick, Isle of Arran, 


Remarks on the Planting of the Sandhills on the Sea-Coast at 
Holkham, Norfolk. By ArcHIBALD Gorrik, Brookmans 


Park, Hatfield, Herts, . 


Our Timber Supplies from Abroad. By A. T. Wi1LLIAMson, Kew 
Terrace, Edinburgh, 


Machine for Mending Broken Strands in Wire Fences. By 
ANTHONY Simpson, Forester, Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, 


fer ENDIX TO" PART Li. 


1, Former Presidents. 


2. List of Members, corrected to March 1892. 


PAGE 


318 


331 


341 


359 


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TEMPERATURE. 
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— or — 
TEMPERATURE 


SWITZERLAND il . Bale 49 Fah” 


MiFarlane & Sralane, [ith™ Bain” 


Notabilia.—(1) The Brecn dominates in the Jura at a height of fromn 1300 to 1800 feet, there forming a continuous chain. 
(2) The Lanrcu occupies the Central Alps, avoiding the Jura altogether. 
(3) The Cuxstnur grows freely in the Southern Alps, and on borders of lakes to North of Alps. 
For the OaK we must go to the South, and for the Scors Prye to the North—Darmstadt, &e. 


OF THE 


ROYAL 
SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY 


VOL. XIIL—PART L } 


5 
. 2 
a SECRETARY AND TREASURER, ' 
LY ) 
“A WPA Oy MOR RAE: ; 
q ; FELLOW OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH. 
is 
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President.—HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF ROXBURGHE. 
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A Liquid for destroying Weeds, Moss, Lichens, etc., on 
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Carriage paid 10 gallons and upwards. Trial sample post free. 
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Works—97 MILTON STREET, GLASGOW. 
CAUTION.—Please carefully note our name, address, and trade mark, and 
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FOREST AND ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. 


Fruit Trees, Roses, Herbaceous Plants, Ete. 
FOREST AND GARDEN IMPLEMENTS OF ALL SORTS. 


Priced Catalogues Free on application. 


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Durserymen, Scetsmen, and Yew Plant Qerchants, 


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ADVERTISEMENTS. 


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Beg to request the attention of those about to plant to their Stock of 


SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES, 


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JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers” and 
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CONTENTS. 


The Society, as a body, ts not to be considered responsible for any statements or 
opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority 
of the respective authors. 


PAGE 

I. Address delivered at the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting, 5th 

August 1890. By Mr D. F. Mackenzie, Morton Hall, 
Vice-President, . : ; : : ; : 1 

II. How to Combat the Attack of Injurious Forest Insects. By 

WILLIAM SOMERVILLE of Cormiston, D.(Kc., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., 
Lecturer on Forestry, Edinburgh University, . F ; 5 
III. On British Oaks. By JoHn Smiru, Romsey, Hants, : ‘ 21 

IV. The Beech Forests of Hesse Nassau. By GroRGE CADELL, Esq., 
14 Canning Road, Addiscombe, Surrey, : ; P 57 

VY. The Natural Regeneration of Woods. By W1tLI1AM SOMERVILLE 

of Cormiston, D.Cic., B.Se., F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Forestry, 
Edinburgh University, . : : ‘ : : 63 

VI. Old and Remarkable Trees on the Estates of Earl Spencer in 

Northamptonshire. By F. MitcuEtt, Forester, Harlestone, 
Northamptonshire, 5 : : : : : 83 

VII. The Formation of Plantations. By A. C. Forpss, Assistant 
Forester, Lintmill, Cullen, : , : 2 F 91 

VIII. Trees and Shrubs for Planting in Towns. By A. D. WEBSTER, 
Holwood, Kent, : : : : : . 123 

IX. The Utilisation of Small-Wood for Turnery and other Purposes. 
By A. T. Wriuramson, 7 Kew Terrace, Edinburgh, . . 145 

X. The Manufacture of Home-grown Timber. By A. T. WILLIAMSON, 
Edinburgh, - : : ; 3 : 5 lel 


ABSTRACT of AccouNTs of the RoyaL ScoTtrisH ARBORICULTURAL 
Society for Year ending 31st December 1890, . = 162 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF THE 


ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


I. Address delivered at the Thirty-seventh Annual Meeting, 5th 
August 1890. By Mr D. F. Macxenziz, Morton Hall, 
Vice-President. 


GENTLEMEN,—In the absence of the President of our Society, 
I am called on to make the customary Address from the Chair, 
and I think I cannot make a better use of the opportunity than 
to draw your attention for a short time to the large extent of 
what is called “Waste Land” in Scotland, and the amount 
of the same which could be profitably devoted to the growth 
of Forest Trees. 

Scotland is very irregular in outline, being so broken up by 
promontories stretching far into the sea, and by arms of the sea 
deeply indenting the land, that a great portion of the interior lies 
within less than forty miles from the sea. This accounts, to a 
large extent, for the difficulty in getting timber to grow at such 
high altitudes as it often does on the Continent. The superficial area, 
according to the Board of Trade, is computed to be 30,463 square 
miles, or 19,496,133 statute acres; but the final results of the 
Ordnance Survey give the figures at 19,777,490 acres of land 
and water. The latter includes lakes, rivers, rivulets, and per- 
manent pools down to the horse-pond. It also includes land or 
beaches along the seaboard, and estuaries to low-water mark. 
Such are the details laid down by the Ordnance Survey Depart- 
ment, from whose works, and the Board of Trade Returns, the 


figures Iam about to submit to you have been taken; but, for 
VOL. XIII. PART I. A 


2 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the sake of saving time, I adopt those of the Board of Trade for 
the cultivated areas, and the Ordnance Survey for the other details. 

In order to find the total area suitable and available for the 
profitable growing of timber, we have to deduct the area under 
crops of all kinds, woodlands, gardens, nurseries, towns, villages, 
houses, railways, roads, and water, as also those portions of our 
glens and mountain sides that are profitably grazed by sheep and 
deer. This done, we will have found the actual area of waste 
land ; I mean waste in comparison to what it might be if suitably 
employed. From this area we must deduct all high-lying exposed 
parts of our hills and mountains, quite unsuitable for the profit- 
able growing, or even the growth, of any kind of timber. This 
latter is regulated not so much by the height as by the distance 
inland, and the position of the mountain ranges, whether lying 
across the track of the prevailing winds of the district or along 
their path. Very good examples of this fact are to be met with 
at Rothiemurchus, Abernethy, Duthil, and Braemar, where the 
pine is to be found flourishing at an altitude of over 2000 feet 
above sea-level; and also in a large track of country in the county 
of Aberdeen, from near Huntly to Alford. Many more instances 
could be mentioned to illustrate this point, but enough has been 
given for our purpose. 

I now come to the figures. As already stated, the total area 
of Scotland is computed to be 19,496,133 acres imperial, of which, 
according to the Board of Trade Returns, Ordnance Survey, ete., 
4,739,000 acres are under crops of all kinds, including grass ; 
under woods, 830,000 acres ; and gardens, orchards, and nurseries, 
6920 acres; while towns, houses, roads, railways, paths, and walls 
take up 1,093,300 acres; water, lakes, rivers, etc., 1,026,337 
acres; and 1,260,021 acres are profitably grazed by sheep and 
deer ; thus leaving 10,540,855 acres to be accounted for as semi- 
waste land. Of this latter area a large portion falls to be deducted 
as of no value for growing any kind of timber, viz., that portion 
of our island directly exposed to the storms from the Atlantic 
and North Sea, and the tops of mountains too high and exposed 
for the growth of timber. This portion alone takes up 1,950,000 
acres or thereby, including in its area all the highest slopes of our 
northern and eastern seaboard, leaving 8,590,855 acres or thereby 
worth less, at the present moment, than 2s. per imperial acre. 
But we have here again to make a rather curious but important 
deduction, viz., those roads and strips of waste so very common 


ADDRESS BY THE VICE-PRESIDENT, AUGUST 5, 1890. 3 


in the Highlands and elsewhere, too small of themselves to be 
profitably planted, but which are included in the Ordnance Survey 
measurements, and not given separately. I calculate the area of 
these to be, say, 146,322 acres. I may state that these latter 
figures are approximate, but are calculated on the basis of that 
found on given areas. Assuming these figures to be nearly 
correct, we are left with the still large surface of 8,444,533 acres 
highly suitable for the profitable production of first-class pine and 
other timber. This, then, proves so far the great loss we, as a 
nation, have sustained, are still sustaining, and are likely to 
sustain for a time, by not appropriating to our advantage the 
waste lands of our own country. 

The term waste land is perhaps a misnomer, as Jand can only 
be said to be waste by comparison with what its value might be 
under other and different circumstances and management—manage- 
ment more profitable to both the owners and the nation at large. 
There are few countries of the same population to a given area 
which have so large a proportion of their surface comparatively 
waste or “idle,” and so small a proportion of growing woods to the 
unit of population. This, no doubt, arises from the fact of our 
having an abundant supply of coal—wood for fuel being at a dis- 
count—and that there are no State forests or public interest in 
forestry. The public, as a whole, admire trees merely for their 
fine effect in the landscape, or the pleasant green of their foliage, 
and the shelter and shade they give in street, park, or highway 
—forgetting all the while, or not knowing or caring to know, the 
immense influence for good trees have on their welfare generally, 
and particularly by their sanitary influence, their extraordinary 
power of ameliorating a rigid and changeful climate, and regulating 
storms, thereby greatly prolonging life itself; whilst, looking at 
the case from a commercial point of view, nothing is more certain 
than if the area of our woodlands were increased even fourfold, 
the fertility of the remaining portion of waste would be so in- 
creased as to be able to support a much larger amount of live 
stock, and would give better crops and earlier harvests than at 
present. This is well understood in the district in which our 
meeting is being held—Easter Ross—as well as many other 
districts of Scotland, especially in the counties of Inverness, 
Aberdeen, Forfar, Perth, Berwick, and Roxburgh. Many parts 
of these counties are well wooded, not merely by large areas, but 
by the judicious arrangements of clumps, belts, etc. (we will see 


- 


4 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


very good examples of this on the Fairburn estates), rendering 
valuable shelter to stock, thereby increasing the bulk of produce 
in a given time by about 30 percent. This is already so well 
known, that further example or reference is not required here. 

Apart from this view of the case, however, the increased area of 
woodland would give necessarily a large increase of work to that 
class—the crofters—who most require it, and who, as a rule, reside 
in the districts where such operations require to be most exten- 
sively carried out. Such increase would be of great advantage to 
the public at large, to the proprietors of the land, and to posterity 
—to the latter by retaining a large amount of the money sent out 
of the country to purchase that which we could produce for our- 
selves, and in many cases of a superior quality to that imported 
as “seconds” and “thirds,” the latter of which forms the greater 
bulk of our timber imports; and if you plant the 8,000,000 acres 
you find employment for 40,000 individuals. 

In conclusion, it may be observed that the areas are dealt with, 
in the Returns of the Board of Trade and by the Ordnance Survey, 
in such a manner as to fully account for every acre under its 
different heading, with the exception of those parts of the Ross- 
shire, Inverness, and Perthshire Highlands where sheep are 
allowed to roam at large on the most barren portions of the 
mountains. This is not only a loss to the stockmaster, but to the 
country, because, under such circumstances, the production of 
good mutton is limited by the exertion the animal has to put 
forth in order to obtain its living. The owners of such stock 
are, of course, not the least anxious to fatten it, because, they say, 
it pays them much better to breed than feed. This is the case 
under the present condition of the pastures, while, if large areas 
were planted, the result would naturally be different and better ; 
besides creating employment for a large number of people. 

“Men constitute the wealth of nations” if industrious, but the 
nation must produce the raw material, or pay smartly for finding 
it elsewhere. 

Gentlemen, if what I have stated to you will lead to further 
inquiry and action on the part of those who should be most 
interested, the landlords and the public, I shall not have spoken 
in vain. 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 5 


II. How to Combat the Attack of Injurious Forest Insects. By 
Wituram SomervIL_e of Cormiston, D.(ic., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., 
Lecturer on Forestry, Edinburgh University.* 


The question which naturally suggests itself to our minds 
when we proceed to consider this subject is, “‘ Are our woods really 
attacked by insects in such numbers as to warrant our going to 
the trouble and expense of adopting special measures to meet their 
attack?” or, in other words, “Would the net gain to be derived 
from eradicating or materially reducing the numbers of our forest 
insects outweigh the loss which their presence in our woods in- 
volves?” Now, this question may be answered in one way or 
another, according to the peculiar circumstances of each case. 
Whether we would be justified in resting content with simply 
adopting precautions designed to prevent the undue increase of 
insects, depends upon the amount of success which has previously 
attended such measures, and upon the danger which former experi- 
ence and analogous cases would lead us to apprehend. Whether 
or not we would be repaid for going a step further, and waging a 
war of extermination against the insects which are already on our 
trees, depends upon the amount of damage which they are causing, 
and, in the event of their not being reduced in numbers, on the 
probabilities of their increasing to such an extent as to destroy a 
great deal more. In every case, too, we must take into considera- 
tion the nature of the preventive or remedial measures which can 
be applied, that is to say, whether they are cheap and easy of 
application, and effectual in operation. 

As to the question of damage, I am sure that all careful 
observers who have spent much time in our woods must have come 
to the conclusion that our forest trees sustain an amount of damage 
each year through the attack of insects, which not only justifies 
but imperatively demands our taking some steps to prevent the 
recurrence of such damage in future. In making this statement, 
let me assure you I am not indulging in the amusement of con- 
juring up a phantom in order to show you how expertly I can 
cause it to vanish, neither am I alluding to anything so indefinite 
and undemonstrable that I would experience any difficulty in 


1 Paper read before the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society at Dingwall, 
August 1890. 


6 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


convincing even the veriest layman that much damage is being done, 
and that more is to be feared. For the proper understanding of this 
subject, some considerable knowledge of the habits and life-history 
of our forest insects is desirable, but perhaps I may, by taking a 
special case, be able to convince even the non-professional man 
that insects do play a very important and undesirable part in forest 
economy. 

Suppose we go into a middle-aged or old Scots pine wood some- 
time during winter, and proceed to examine the thick bark at the 
base of the trees, more especially of those that are semi-isolated or 
situated near the edge of the wood, we shall find that it is perfor- 
ated in exactly such a way as would result from the discharge of 
a gun loaded with No. 5 shot at a distance of about twenty yards. 
On following these perforations into the bark, we would find that 
they extended for an inch or so, but did not penetrate so far as 
the wood, and that each, or most of them, contained a small dark 
brown beetle in a semi-comatose condition, which we would have 
no difficulty in recognising as the well-known pine beetle (Hylur- 
gus piniperda). I fear that at this stage our non-professional 
friend would be apt to remark that if this small and apparently 
lifeless creature cannot show more destructive work than that of 
boring into the dead tissues of trees, it can hardly be said to have 
earned the amount of reprobation to which it has been subjected. 
So much I am prepared to admit, merely remarking that if not 
distinctly destructive, neither is it positively beneficial to tree 
growth in its winter quarters. 

Towards the end of March—a little later or earlier according to 
the character of the weather—the pine beetles withdraw from their 
winter quarters, and for the next two months are to be found 
under the bark of a certain class of tree. The conditions which 
the insects demand are very stringent, that is to say, so long as 
the conditions can be obtained, no trees will be attacked which do 
not fulfil these conditions. ‘The trees most in request are pines 
which are sufficiently old to be provided with thick bark, and 
which have been dead for a month or more. The thick bark is 
necessary, because the transition stage from larva to pupa being 
passed not between the wood and the bark, but actually in the 
bark, there would not be space for the accomplishment’ of this 
process were the bark not of a certain thickness, Trees in robust 
health are, under ordinary circumstances, free from attack, prob- 
ably because the insects are inconvenienced by the presence of 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 7. 


too large quantities of viscid resinous substances ; neither are trees 
infested which have been dead for a year or so, doubtless owing to 
the tissues being no longer suitable for the nourishment of the 
insects and their young. Why pines, and especially the Scots pine, 
are utilised by the insect for breeding purposes in preference to 
other trees can only be explained by the assumption that this 
particular insect has become gradually adapted for feeding in trees 
of this particular genus, just as the turnip fly only attacks crucifers, 
or Scolytus Ratzeburgi only birches. 

Suppose, now, that we had taken our incredulous friend into a 
wood in April or May, and, having found a Scots pine which had 
been blown down or felled during the previous winter, were to 
show him the characteristic galleries of the pine beetle underneath 
the bark, he would most likely remain unconvinced of our having 
made out a strong case against the insect. He might say, and so 
far it would not be easy to contradict him, that surely the boring 
of even a large number of small passages underneath the bark of 
trees already dead, could do no great amount of harm, more 
especially as even the surface of the wood was hardly touched. 
If we were to cease our attempts at conversion at this point, we 
would be forced to acknowledge defeat, but the better course to 
pursue would be to pause and consider what would happen if the 
insects were to be placed in circumstances which would enable 
them to increase in numbers at a rapid rate. Now, in the absence 
of exceptional disturbing causes, practically the only limit to the 
increase of this beetle, and of many other forest insects, is inter- 
posed by the want of proper material in which to oviposit ; that is 
to say, if a sufficient number of old Scots pines in a suitable state 
be provided, conditions are offered which enable the insect to 
increase in numbers to almost any extent. The most common 
cause of the production of a large quantity of breeding material 
is a severe gale, or a succession of severe gales such as we experi- 
enced in Scotland some years ago. At that time, as will be remem- 
bered, whole woods were levelled with the ground over wide areas 
of country, and for some years afterwards the timber could neither 
be cut up nor marketed. That, then, was an opportunity for //. 
piniperda, as well as for all bark beetles, to increase at a prodigious 
rate, and one which the results show they were not slow to avail 
themselves of. Let us look for a moment at the rate of increase of 
which such an insect as the pine beetle is capable when placed in 
the possession of an almost unlimited supply of breeding material. 


8 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Two beetles, a male and female, make a gallery in spring, and in 
it they deposit from 80 to 120 eggs; let us take the average and 
say 100. In ten weeks or so, these, having passed through the 
stages of larva and pupa, become beetles, of which 50 will be males 
and 50 females. In the same year, towards the end of July, these 
50 couples proceed with the work of reproduction, each pair pro- 
ducing 100 young, so that by the end of the first year the numbers 
have increased from 2 to 5000. These beetles hibernate in the 
manner already described, and proceed to breed the following 
spring, when the 2500 couples will give birth to 250,000 indivi- 
duals, and these, reproducing themselves in the same year, will, 
before the autumn is past, have multiplied to no less than 12,500,000 
head. In these calculations no allowance has been made for those 
which would be destroyed in various ways, but if we even deduct 
20 per cent. from each of the broods, we are still left at the end 
of the second year with over five millions of pine beetles as the 
result of our having neglected to destroy the original pair. 

Some idea of the rate of increase may be gained in another way. 
Where pine beetles are abundant, the bark of suitable trees is 
undermined to such an extent that, on a large pine, scarcely a 
square inch will be found that is not occupied by the galleries of 
the parent beetles or their larve. From observations and measure- 
ments, I have calculated (allowing 40 square inches of bark to each 
family) that a large pine can produce quite 100,000 beetles, so that 
the leaving of ten large Scots pines, or of twenty average sized 
ones, lying on the ground, or standing dead in the wood, till the 
middle or end of July, is sufficient to ensure the birth of 1,000,000 
pine beetles. Now, although comparatively little damage is done 
to timber during the breeding season, so long as the insect is 
represented by but small numbers, the case is entirely altered 
when a large increase has taken place, such as happened in Scot- 
land a few years ago. In the insect world the principle of ‘first 
come first served” receives striking illustration. Those beetles 
which first awake from their winter’s sleep exercise their usual 
discrimination, and oviposit only on thoroughly suitable material. 
It happens, however, when the insects are very abundant, that 
every particle of suitable Scots pine is occupied, with the result that 
late comers have to take what they can get, and are forced to 
oviposit on other conifers, such as the spruce, and, as I have found, 
on the larch as well.?| Under such circumstances, comparatively 


1 Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xvii. p. 255, 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 9 


thin-barked pines are also attacked, and, worst of all, growing 
trees, especially such as are somewhat unhealthy, are no longer 
safe. Let me cite two instances of a large amount of damage being 
caused by this insect using growing trees for purposes of oviposi- 
tion. In the peninsula of Darss, in Pomerania, on the 12th and 
13th of November 1872, the tide rose exceptionally high, with the 
result that a district stocked with Scots pines was more or less 
inundated. The effect of the sea-water upon the trees was to 
cripple their growth to some extent, and make them tempting 
objects for insect attack. During the next year or two pine 
beetles increased at an alarming rate, and totally destroyed all the 
pines on 2500 acres, 

A similar experience, on even a larger scale, is reported from 
France. In the Department Gironde Pinus maritima is largely 
cultivated, chiefly for the purpose of binding the drifting sands. 
In the hard winter of 1879-80 the trees suffered severely, and the 
pine beetles consequently appeared in enormous numbers. The 
result of frost and insects together was the destruction of timber 
to the value of £1,680,000. 

If any difficulty has been experienced in proving that JZ. 
piniperda is the perpetrator of an excessive amount of mischief 
when in its hibernation or breeding quarters, the task will be all 
too easy when we examine its life-lristory at other times. When 
the young insects hatched underneath the bark have reached the 
imago stage, they desert their birthplace and take to the young 
shoots of the pines, into which they bore, and usually cause their 
death. The damage is most apparent in plantations from fifteen 
to thirty years old, where it is no unusual thing to find that 
quite 50 per cent. of the trees have been deprived of their leading 
shoots again and again, and have been reduced from fine straight 
poles to little better than misshapen bushes. When this happens, 
and I am sure many instances of its occurrence must present 
themselves to your minds, the future prosperity of the wood can 
no longer be looked for, as it can, at the best, only produce poorly 
developed and badly formed stems. 

In old woods the work of the insect in this way is not less 
destructive, if somewhat less apparent. Here, too, the young 
shoots, both of stems and branches, are its feeding ground. Into 
these it bores its way, and weakens them to such an extent that 
they are easily broken off by the first high wind, and litter the 
ground in large numbers, I believe that squirrels are often 


10 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


blamed for this work, but however destructive these creatures 
are in other connections, in this case at least the accusation is 
unjust. In old woods, where height-growth is nearly over, the 
damage chiefly consists in the loss of the organs of assimilation, 
namely the leaves, and the consequent reduction in the formation 
of wood. Owing to the loss of foliage, however, the fertility of 
the soil is also impaired, and, in a dry district especially, this 
consideration may be a very serious one. 

It would be difficult to estimate the amount of damage done in 
Scotland by the pine beetle alone, but at all events it must be 
enormous. I know no part of the country where it is not present 
in large numbers, and its presence can be detected as well from 
a railway carriage as from actual examination on the ground. 
Running through any district which suffered severely from recent 
gales, or one where forestry is practised in an irrational or careless 
fashion, one cannot fail to be struck with the miserable appear- 
ance of many of the old Scots pines, Instead of being provided 
with dense rounded crowns of dark-green foliage, they are thin 
and of a pale colour, and, protruding from amongst the leaves, 
may be seen the extremities of bare dead branches, symptoms 
clearly testifying to the presence of vast numbers of pine 
beetles. 

For the purpose of bringing before you the destructive work 
of forest insects, I have so far confined my remarks to the pine 
beetle, an insect, I am sure, familiar to you all; and my own 
conviction is that, even if this were the only insect which preyed 
upon our trees, the damage which it causes is far more than 
sufficient to compel us to adopt measures for its destruction and 
the safety of our woods. As you know, however, this is not the 
only foe which the forester has to fear in the insect world. To 
mention all would be a difficult if not an impossible task, and one 
which would take us far beyond the limits of time at our disposal. 
There are upwards of eighty European species of Scolytide (the 
family to which ZH. piniperda belongs), almost all of which prey 
upon trees or shrubs; then we have many species of Aphide, 
several very destructive weevils, including Hy/lobius abietis, the 
pie weevil, which is considered by many to be the most destructive 
of all our forest insects, and the caterpillars of many Lepidoptere 
and Hymenoptere. Mention must also be made of the cockchafer, 
which both in the imago and larval stages works fearful havoc 
amongst our forest trees. In France, during years when this 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 11 


insect is specially numerous, it is said that damage is done to 
fields and forests which is estimated at £40,000,000. 

Seeing that forest insects are so numerous, and so varied in 
their methods of attack, it is manifestly impossible that, in a 
short paper like this, I can do more than briefly summarise the 
general and indicate a few of the special measures which can be 
adopted to eradicate or keep them in check. This subject may 
be conveniently treated in two divisions. We shall, first of all, 
look at such measures as are designed to keep insects in check, 
and prevent their ever increasing to such an extent as to threaten 
our woods with a calamity ; and, secondly, at remedial measures, 
to be put in force only when the others fail, or have been neglected, 
and danger is at hand. 

Measures for the prevention of the increase of forest insects are 
to be looked for as coming either from the side of the natural 
enemies of the insects or from the management of the woods. 
The natural enemies of insects are to be found in most divisions 
of the animal kingdom. Many insects live entirely, or for the 
most part, by preying upon other insects. Such creatures as 
lizards and frogs destroy insects in large numbers. Several 
mammals destroy large numbers of insects, but unfortunately 
many of them cause damage in some way or other which prevents 
our unconditionally advocating their encouragement. This is the 
case, for instance, with the fox, hedgehog, weasel, mole, and 
mouse, all of which devour insects in one form or other, but 
nevertheless whose presence in our woods cannot be regarded as 
altogether an unmixed good. The two most useful mammals in 
this country are probably the bat and shrew. Neither of these 
creatures does any appreciable amount of damage, and they subsist, 
one may say, all but entirely upon insects, and therefore deserve 
every encouragement to live and increase. 

The best friends of both farmers and foresters are undoubtedly 
to be found amongst the birds, many of which subsist entirely 
upon insects or their larve. A foremost place in the list, in point 
of individual usefulness, must be assigned to the cuckoo, which 
preys largely upon hairy caterpillars, insects which, for the most 
part, are avoided by other birds. It has been noticed, when 
caterpillars become very numerous in fields or woods, that 
cuckoos congregate in such places in large numbers, and, as they 
are extremely voracious, they do much to mitigate insect ravages. 
Unfortunately cuckoos are, on the whole, not very numerous 


12 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


in this country, to which also they are only summer visitants, 
but they have the advantage over other birds that, being perfectly 
unimpeded in their movements by the cares and duties of 
incubation, they are always ready for action. The tree-creeper, 
common wren, gold-crested wren, and tits are great destroyers 
of injurious insects, which, on account of the small size, scansorial 
habits, and wonderful activity of these birds, are safe neither in 
the deepest bark-fissures nor on the most delicate of twigs. 
Their usefulness, therefore, no less than the charm they lend to 
our woodlands, renders these birds worthy of every protection. 
Then, we have swallows, pipets, wagtails, the hedge-sparrow, 
warblers, the redbreast, red-start, chats, fly-catchers, and the 
starling, all of which are useful in the highest degree, and, if we 
except the starling’s partiality for cherries, possess no bad 
qualities to detract from their merits. Many other birds, such 
as the rook, jackdaw, sparrow, finches, and owls, destroy insects 
when they come in their way or when no other food presents 
itself, but, on account of the damage which they cause to crops 
or game, they cannot be regarded as worthy of unconditional 
preservation, though, under certain circumstances, the advantages 
which their presence ensures may outweigh any drawbacks. 

Now, it must be borne in mind that it is not sufficient merely 
to preserve our useful birds from destruction, but means must 
also be taken to secure their increase. This may be accomplished 
in a variety of ways. During severe weather in winter, food 
must be supplied. Very suitable for this purpose are the clean- 
ings of grain or hay-seed, though for tits animal food, such as 
lard, must be provided. In order to set it beyond the reach 
of crows, dogs, cats, etc., it should be placed in the shell of a 
cocoa-nut or some such receptacle, and suspended by a string from 
the bough of a tree. 

The numbers of our useful birds may also be largely increased 
by providing them with suitable nesting and sleeping places. 
Many of the forester’s best friends only breed in holes, so that 
unless hollow trees, loosely-built walls, or artificial breeding-places 
are to be had, it is quite impossible for them to build their nests 
and rear their young. Holes in trees and walls are the places 
where, in this country, nearly all our hole-breeding birds are 
reared, but, as a general rule, such places do not offer great 
safety from the attacks of cats, weasels, and other predaceous 
animals, either to the parent birds or their brood. It is, there- 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 13 


fore, much better to provide artificial nesting-boxes prepared from 
light boards coated with*tar, which can be so constructed, and 
fixed in such a position, as to ensure for their tenants perfect 
safety. A firm in Leipzig is prepared to supply any number 
of nesting-boxes at the average rate of 6d. each, a price which, 
I think, need not be much, if at all, exceeded in this country. 
In fixing the nesting-boxes on trees the following points must 
be observed :—For titmice the boxes must not be placed at a 
greater height than 12 feet from the ground. They should only 
be fixed on conifers, and, if possible, on dense conifers, such as 
spruces and silver firs. For red-starts and fly-catchers the boxes 
should be fixed on isolated trees, or on such as stand near the 
edge of a wood. In the case of boxes for starlings, any number 
may be fixed on the same tree, but in the case of all other birds 
there must not be more than one box on each tree. In all cases 
it is found that the best results follow when the boxes are fixed 
on the south or east side of the tree, the west side being the most 
unfavourable. 

So far as the system does not violate the principles of good 
sylviculture, all hollow trees should be allowed to stand, for not 
only do our useful birds find nesting-places in them, but they 
are also largely used by bats as sleeping-places. I may be 
allowed to mention an experiment I made last spring, and from 
the success which has already attended it, I hope to extend it 
next year. In the part of Scotland where the experiment was 
made there is a great scarcity of trees suitable for the nesting of 
our hole-breeding birds. We do not lack the hollow trees so much 
as the means of entrance into them, that is to say, there are 
plenty larches and spruces which are decayed at the centre, but 
which are useless to the birds on account of their hollow centres 
being surrounded by firm wood. Now, it is evident that such 
trees are of very little commercial value, but with a little 
ingenuity they may be made most valuable in another way. 
One has only, by means of a chisel or large augur, to pierce the 
wood and establish communication with the centre, to make all 
such trees nurseries from which a large number of titmice and 
tree-creepers will be sent forth annually. As such trees are, at 
the best, only fit for conversion into inferior paling-stobs, no real 
damage is done to the timber if the entrance holes be made at 
the height of a stob length, say 5 feet, from the ground, while 
the gain which ensues through the destruction of noxious insects 


14 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


far outweighs any little trouble we may be put to in providing 
for the wants of the birds. Both titmice and tree-creepers breed 
twice in a season, and produce six to ten young on each occasion. 
Each bird, it is calculated, destroys two or three hundred thousand 
insects annually, chiefly in the form of very minute eggs. Five 
thousand insects are often sufficient to completely denude an 
average-sized tree of its leaves. If such defoliation be repeated a 
second year, the probabilities are that the tree will die. The annual 
produce of one breeding-place, say twelve titmice, can destroy 
two and a half millions of insects each year, which would be 
sufficient to entirely denude five hundred trees of their leaves. 

The preventive measures which we have considered come from 
the side of the enemies of the insects, the other set is more 
directly due to the management, and may naturally be subdivided 
into the following heads :— 

1. The Establishment of the Wood.—Strong well-developed 
plants should be selected, as they are best able to withstand insect 
attack. In the case of danger from the attack of the pine weevil, 
only such young trees should be used as have been reared in 
comparatively open nursery lines, because plants which are 
much crowded when young have thin and delicate bark, and 
suffer very severely from this insect. Where a variety of trees 
thrive equally well, it is always advisable to cultivate mixed 
woods. This precaution is necessary, because, as a general rule, 
each species of insect prefers but one species, genus, or class of 
tree, and great calamities are only known in pure woods. It is 
scarcely necessary to say that great care must be exercised in 
inserting the plants in the ground, so that their growth may be 
interfered with as little as possible, for it almost always happens 
that the weakest plants are the first victims. One should also 
avoid as much as possible forming large compartments of wood 
of the same age. It is much safer to divide large woods into 
age-classes, because many insects confine their attack either to 
young or to old trees, but do not attack trees of all ages 
indifferently. 

2. The Tending of the Wood.—Thinning should be begun before 
there is any chance of the density of the crowding interfering so 
much with growth as to weaken the vitality of the trees, but, at 
the same time, care must be taken that over-thinning is avoided, 
otherwise fertility suffers, and the evil we wish to avoid is 
encountered. During the operations of thinning, all trees which 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 15 


are unhealthy, or which have been damaged by wind or snow, 
must be removed, and a watchful eye should constantly be kept 
on the woods, so that trees which appear likely to die are at once 
removed, as it is in such trees, or in trees which have just died, 
that destructive insects find their most congenial breeding-places. 
The practice of only removing trees from the wood some months 
after they have died does nothing to keep insects in check, for 
it is not dry and withered trees, but such as are still supplied 
with sap, that forest insects make use of for breeding purposes. 

3. Harvesting the Timber.—Nothing conduces so much to the 
increase of many destructive insects as bad management in con- 
nection with felling and utilising forest produce ; and, conversely, 
woods which are well managed in this respect are preserved from 
the attack of many insects. The chief point to be observed is to 
get the felled timber removed from the wood, and marketed or 
converted as quickly as possible. Where any difficulty is expe- 
rienced in this respect, it should at least be peeled, and, if possible, 
peeled at a time when the bark is full of larve, for, by so doing, 
large numbers of destructive insects are got rid of, and the prac- 
tice, from being merely preventive, becomes remedial. These 
precautions are most necessary in the case of conifers, for it is in 
them that forest insects breed most abundantly. Where the 
ground is suitable the trees should be cut close to the ground, but 
where, as on steep declivities, this cannot be accomplished, the 
stools ought to be stripped of their bark. It is sometimes possible 
to get the bark removed without incurring any expense by allow- 
ing cottagersito strip it off for firing purposes, and the same holds 
true with regard to branches and the general refuse left after trees 
are felled. Not only do stools and branches supply breeding- 
places for Scolytidew, but also for weevils, hence the reason why 
Hylobius abietis is so destructive to young trees planted on land 
previously occupied by conifers. 

The preventive measures which have been noted do not by any 
means exhaust the list, though they are certainly the most 
important. Let me now say a few words with regard to measures 
for the general eradication of insects. 

Theoretically, insects may be destroyed during any or all of the 
four stages of their existence, that is to say, as eggs, larvee, pupe, 
or imagines, and also during any season of the year; but in 
practice the best stage or season to select depends upon the life- 
history of the insect to be destroyed. It is comparatively seldom 


16 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


that the egg stage is selected, though an exception presents itself 
in the Black Arches moth (Liparis monacha). The larva stage is 
the one most commonly chosen, and is almost general in the case — 
of butterflies and moths. It is also frequently resorted to with 
beetles, e.g., the whole of the Scolytide, Melolontha vulgaris, etc. 
The pupa stage is not often selected, chiefly because it is usually 
of such short duration, and, on the whole, neither is the imago 
stage, though pine weevils, cockchafers, and certain moths are 
destroyed in large numbers as perfect insects. As a general rule, 
one is guided in the choice of the stage and season by that which 
offers the most opportunities, and for this reason the larval stage 
is most usually chosen, because many injurious insects pass the 
greatest proportion of their life in the state of larve, and are at 
that stage most easily caught. 

The destruction of forest insects may take place (a) when the 
insect is feeding, breeding, or hibernating in its natural haunts, or 
when moving to or from its breeding or feeding ground ; or (6) in 
special lures prepared to attract the insects to them for the purpose 
of feeding, breeding, or shelter. We shall now look shortly at 
some special eradicative measures which can be applied along these 
two main lines. 

Destruction of Forest Insects when in their Natural Haunts.—In 
countries where cockchafers, Melolontha vulgaris, are numerous, 
advantage is taken of every opportunity to destroy them, and huge 
numbers are captured by hand-picking. Early morning and dull 
days are chosen, because at these times the beetles are slow in their 
movements. The work is chiefly performed by women or children, 
who are paid at a certain rate per pound (1 lb. contains about 550 
head). From reliable sources I have collected the following 
statistics to show what enormous numbers of cockchafers are from 
time to time collected. In 1836 a society for the destruction of 
cockchafers at Quedlinburg, in Saxony, paid out £40 for the 
capture of 33,000,000 ; in 1860 a private individual in Salzmiinde 
paid £45 for some 22,000,000 head. In 1864, in the neighbour- 
hood of Leipzig, over 378,000,000 were collected. In 1868 Saxony 
was practically overrun by cockchafers, and the secretary of the 
Central Chamber of Agriculture, Dr Stadelmann, issued a strong 
appeal for their destruction, at the same time issuing instructions as 
to how this might best be accomplished. The appeal was generally 
acted upon, with the result,that there were collected nearly 1400 
tons, or a grand total of something like 1,600,000,000 head. In 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 17 


Wurtemberg, in 1872, about 231,000,000 cockchafers were 
gathered and destroyed. 

Dead cockebafers have been put to the most varied uses. They 
have been proved to furnish first-class food for pigs and poultry, 
they form an excellent manure, and have also been employed in 
the manufacture of waggon grease and printing ink ; and a silver- 
amalgam work near Freiberg was for several years lighted with 
gas obtained from the dry distillation of cockchafers, 

The pine weevil is often captured in large numbers by hand- 
picking. This can be performed by children, who in early summer 
search the woods formed during the previous winter. The cap- 
tured insects are best placed in small bags, the mouth of each 
being furnished with a bottle-neck to prevent them finding their 
way out easily. 

Another method of catching pine weevils has many advocates, 
It is, however, only applicable to cases where the surface is fairly 
level, and the soil firm but not very stony. The modus operandi 
is as follows :—When a coniferous wood has been felled during 
winter, the area is, immediately after the removal of the trees, 
surrounded with a trench 10 to 12 inches broad and as many deep. 
The sides must be perpendicular, and as smooth as possible. At 
intervals of ten paces or so there are constructed, in the bottom of 
the trench, special pitfalls, 4 to 8 inches deep, These trenches 
must be visited every few days, and the captured beetles destroyed. 
As the trenches are apt to become damaged or silted up during 
heavy rains, they must be frequently examined, and, if necessary, 
repaired. The object of this method is the capture of all pine 
weevils which are making towards the fresh stools on which to 
deposit their eggs, as well as those which have been hatched there, 
and are proceeding to the adjoining young woods to prey on the 
trees. The system is largely employed in many parts of Europe, 
and where the conditions are favourable, it is both cheap and 
efficacious. In the trenches are captured not only pine weevils, 
but also other destructive weevils and insects generally, which are 
incapable of or averse to flight. 

The preventive measure employed in the case of the winter moth, 
Cheimatobia brumata, at present devastating the orchards in the 
west of England, falls under this heading. As is well known, the 
imago stage of this insect is attained under the earth, after which 
the wingless females proceed to crawl up the stems of fruit and 


other broad-leaved trees for the purpose of depositing their eggs in 
VOL. XIII, PART I. B 


18 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the buds. The most effectual way of destroying them consists in 
taking advantage of their natural habits, and interposing obstacles 
to their ascent of the trees by surrounding the base of the stems 
with rings of some viscid material, in which they stick and perish. 

Instances might be cited of other eradicative measures of the 
same nature as those already given, but enough has been said to 
indicate the general principles of such measures, and time compels 
us to hasten on to look at the other group. 

Destruction of Insects by means of Lures.—Measuvres of this kind 
are the most easily arranged and supervised, and are, generally 
speaking, the most effectual. They have this point in common, 
namely, that the insects are not actually sought for, but are 
induced to congregate in certain specially arranged places, where 
either they or their eggs, larve, or pup may be easily captured 
and destroyed. 

Pine weevils can be kept down, if not eradicated altogether, by 
laying out spruce or Scots pine logs, upon which the beetles deposit 
their eggs, and these, or rather the larvee which result from them, 
are afterwards destroyed. ‘lhe system succeeds best on ground 
previously stocked with conifers, where, however, the old stools 
have been trenched out. Fresh stems of spruce or pine 3 to 4 
inches in diameter are selected, which are cut into blocks 4 or 5 
feet in length, care being taken to preserve the bark as entire as 
possible. These logs are buried in the ground in the month of 
May, in such a way that the thick end is covered to the depth of a 
foot or so, while the thin end projects above the ground 2 or 3 
inches. The soil and turf are afterwards replaced, and the whole 
firmed somewhat by tramping. About twelve such lures are 
enough for each acre, and in order to facilitate finding them, some 
sort of order should be observed in laying them down, and their 
position should be marked by wooden pins or stakes. In any 
case, such lures are largely made use of for oviposition, and when 
no old stools are present to act as counter-attractions, nearly every 
female pine weevil finds her way thither, and not only weevils, but 
many other destructive insects besides. In the month of October 
the blocks are carefully dug up, and the bark, with the larvee which 
it contains, is stripped off and burned. 

A lure of another kind is largely used in the destruction of pine 
weevils, which attracts the insects not for purposes of oviposition, 
but solely for food. This lure consists of sheets of the bark of the 
spruce or Scots pine of a convenient size, say 15 by 10 inches, 


HOW TO COMBAT THE ATTACK OF INJURIOUS FOREST INSECTS. 19 


which are laid out, bast downwards, throughout the young wood, 
at distances of twenty paces or so. Underneath each sheet 
are placed a few young twigs of the Scots pine, which greatly 
assist in attracting the insects, and on the top of all is laid a sod 
or flat stone to keep the bark from drying up too quickly. The 
lures should be renewed and replenished two or three times during 
the season, as the old material is apt to lose its charm. Each 
morning from April till September, these traps are visited either by 
the forester, or, which is cheaper and equally suitable, by a boy 
or woman, and the beetles which are found are removed and 
destroyed. This is the best remedy for pine weevils that has 
ever been discovered, and is employed with conspicuous success 
wherever these creatures abound. 

The pine beetle, and all the other members of the great family 
of the Scolytide, can be best, and indeed only, eradicated through 
providing material on which they may oviposit, and in which 
their young may afterwards be destroyed. The procedure is very 
simple, and the results highly satisfactory. From February till 
September, at intervals of a month, trees, which in the ordinary 
course of things would be removed, are felled and allowed to lie 
for six weeks or so, at the end of which time they are peeled and 
the bark burned. The number of “ catch-trees” which one should 
prepare depends entirely upon the abundance of the insects. If 
it be found that all, or almost all, the available space in the trees 
is occupied by breeding galleries, then it is evident that too few 
trees have been provided. If, on the other hand, the catch-trees 
are not much attacked, then fewer may in future be laid dowu ; but 
on every well-managed estate a considerable number of such lures 
should always be present. One must also arrange the species of 
tree to be used as a lure according to the species of insect one 
wishes to destroy. The majority of the Scolytide infest pines, 
but Bostrichus typographus attacks the spruce almost exclusively, 
Scolytus destructor the elm, Hylesinus fraxini the ash, Scolytus 
Ratzeburgi the birch, etc., so that it may be necessary to prepare 
catch-trees of many species, though in the great majority of cases 
the Scots pine suflices. 

In connection with these lures, the greatest amount of care 
must be bestowed upon the selection of the right time in which 
to peel the bark and destroy the broods. If peeling be done too 
soon, the bark is not occupied by so many insects as it can afford 
space for, and consequently an excessive number of catch-trees 


20 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


niust be prepared, entailing increased labour and greater expense. 
If, on the other hand, one delays too long before proceeding to 
strip the bark, many or most of the broods may have reached the 
imago stage, and have deserted their breeding ground, with the 
result that not only are the ends of the whole system frustrated, 
but the wood is actually left in a worse state than it would have 
been had no such lures been prepared. As it is unnecessary to 
remove the bark before the larve are half-grown, and unsafe to 
delay till the pup are formed, the best time to destroy the 
insects is towards the end of the larval stage, but better a week 
too soon than a day too late. It seldom happens that all the 
broods are found at the same stage of development at the same 
time ; but there must be no striking of averages, it is those that 
are furthest advanced which must guide the forester in his selec- 
tion of the right time to peel and burn. 

It is not now my intention to discuss the question of State 
interference in the destruction of forest insects. In many 
countries of Europe laws have been enacted to regulate forestal 
operations, so as to minimise the chances of an outbreak of 
forest insects, and also for dealing with an outbreak when 
such occurs. In this country, however, the State has, so far as 
I am aware, never interfered with regard to forest insects, nor, 
on the whole, do I consider that such interference would be 
desirable. That our management is none of the best cannot be 
denied, but with a system of more intensive forestry, I hope soon 
to see signs of decided improvement. In common with most 
other civilised countries, we have a Wild Birds Protection Act 
which has done good service in the past, and which only requires 
to be more stringently enforced to be capable of imparting still 
greater benefits in the future. 


ON BRITISH OAKS, 21 


III. On British Oaks. By Joun Smitu, Romsey, Hants. 


Botanists divide the British oaks into three varieties, and hold 
that there is only one species indigenous to the British Isles, 
namely, Quercus robur ; the varieties being (1) Q. robur peduncu- 
lata, (2) Q. robur sessiliflora, and (3) Q. robur pubescens, or 
intermedia. The first of these, however, is the prevailing tree, 
and may claim to be the true “ monarch,” as most of the giants in 
our land are of the variety pedunculata. The distinctive features 
of the varieties are—(1) Pedunculata has no foot-stalks to the 
leaves, and the acorns are on long stalks. (2) Sessiliflora has 
stalks to the leaves, and short flower-stalks, hence its botanical 
name ; its common name being dur, or durmast oak. The timber 
is said not to be so durable, but the bark contains a percentage 
more of tannin, and it enjoys a greater immunity from insects 
than pedunculata. It occurs in Dean Forest, the New Forest, 
Sherwood, and in other parts of Great Britain. (3) Pubescens, 
or intermedia, may be distinguished from the last by the under- 
side of the leaves having short hairs, which, when the leaf falls, 
has a dull, leaden-like appearance ; and as this seems to be the 
only apparent difference, it is evidently only a variety of sesstilv- 
flora. In Hooker and Arnott’s “ Botany ” it is said : ‘‘ Dr Greville 
has shown that there is no connection whatever between the 
relative length of the fruit-stalk and the petiole. The flowers 
are sessile upon the peduncle in both varieties ; but in sesst/zflora 
it is mostly very short, or almost wanting, in pedunculata much 
elongated ; between these there is every gradation. Intermedia, 
or pubescens, is said to have the lobes of the leaves separated by 
obtuse angles; but both kinds may be observed on the same 
branch, and sometimes on the same leaf.” 


CoMPARATIVE VALUE. 


With regard to the comparative value of the timber of Q. r. 
pedunculata and Q. r. sessiliflora, leaving out pubescens, which is 
merely a variety of the latter, the merchant will give the same 
price for trees of equal size, so that there is really no difference in 
their value. But at the time when oak timber was in demand 
for the navy, sessiliflora, or the durmast oak, was not considered 


22 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


fit for that purpose ; indeed, it was through the purveyors for the 
navy that the distinction was often drawn as to its inferior quality, 
being, it was said, more liable to dry-rot, and this tradition still 
lurks in the minds of the older woodmen, several tales being 
told and localities named as to how these worthy gentlemen 
were deceived into passing the durmast oak ; but in latter years, 
as I have said, it will command the same price. This being the 
case with regard to the buyer, it would seem that there is no differ- 
ence; but in looking at the matter from the seller or grower’s 
point of view, the case is different, as sessi//flora increases in bulk 
faster than pedunculata, and, taking the two trees mentioned at 
page 25 as representing the comparative rate of growth, we find 
that the former increases after the rate of 5 feet in ten years, 
whilst the latter increases only 3 feet in the same time; and, if 
we put this quantity at 2s. 6d. per foot, the money stands at 
12s. 6d. and 7s. 6d. respectively. 

It has already been mentioned that the bark of sesstliflora 
contains a percentage more of tannin, but I doubt whether this 
can be appraised to any advantage, as a tree of pedunculata of 
equal size to the other will throw a greater weight of bark, the 
bark of sessilijlora being thinner, presumably owing to its more 
rapid growth. 

The timber of the oak is superior to that of any other native 
tree, and it has Leen said of it “that, although some of the other 
descriptions of timber may be harder, some more difticult to rend, 
some that can bear a horizontal or lateral strain better, none 
contains all these qualities united in such a superior degree as the 
oak.” Although the ‘wooden walls” are a thing of the past, 
still the price has not diminished ; indeed, the tendency is rather 
upwards. But the price of bark varies, as in some years it is so 
low that it scarcely pays expenses, whilst in other years it pays 
well. Much, of course, depends on the season being favourable 
or not. It would be hazardous to say whether the many substi- 
tutes which now and again crop up will ever entirely displace 
it for tanning purposes. A company with large capital has been 
recently started with the object of importing the boiled down 


bark of the spruce as a substitute—a hint which might be useful 


in this country for oak bark as well as spruce, for in certain 
seasons, especially wet ones, it would be a great saving to boil 
down the bark as soon as the trees are stripped, and cask the 
liquor for future use. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 93 


SoiL AND SITUATION. 


Oak will grow and come to perfection as a tree in almost any 
description of soil, provided it 1s not too wet, and has a depth of 
from 3 feet to 4 feet. But the best timber is produced on strong 
clay, resting on a subsoil of gravel or chalk. It will grow faster 
on lighter soils, but the timber is more lable to be shaky, and 
consequently not so good. Where the soil is not naturally 
suitable for the oak, it is a waste of money to attempt its 
cultivation. 

The situation of an oak plantation should be sheltered ; and 
when not naturally so, nurse trees, such as Scots fir, spruce, 
larch, or birch, should be introduced. I prefer the three last, as 
not so apt to overcrowd the oaks, but great judgment is required 
in this matter. Furze or whin has been recommended, and no 
doubt has some advantages, in that it is short-lived, and would 
decay when its shelter was no longer required ; but, on the whole, 
I prefer larch, or any fast-growing deciduous tree for sheltering 
the oak in its infancy. A belt of Scotch fir on the most exposed 
side may be advisable, there to remain until ripe. A practice has 
prevailed in the New Forest of Hampshire of planting the oaks 
with alternate rows of Scots fir, the rows running due north and 
south. This practice is evidently a failure, as the oaks are drawn 
up so spindly that they cannot support themselves. This is partly 
due to the fact of too many Scots firs being planted, and also to 
the want of timely thinning. The excuse for this last is the 
reluctance to cut down nice thriving plants before they are fit for 
some commercial purpose. 

Having selected a place on which to raise oak for timber, a 
question arises whether the acorns should be sown in the place 
where they are intended to remain, or whether they should be 
sown in a seed-bed, and afterwards transplanted. This question 
seems to be decided by the paper which Sir James Campbell, Bart., 
submitted—as the result of experiments in the Forest of Dean 
—to the International Forestry Exhibition at Edinburgh in 1884. 
In analysing this paper, I will first take certain periods ; and as 
the year 1822 saw four out of the six non-transplanted trees cut 
down, leaving but two, I will only deal with them, and taking 
the period of 38 years, that is, from 1784 to 1822, the increase 
was for— 


24 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


L, 201 in., or an average rate per annum of . ; 565 in. 
Another 38 years brings us to 1860, or an age of 
76 years, when the size was 45 in., or an 
average of : : ; : “592 in. 
The last 38 years shows the increase to be slightly in excess of 
the first 38. 


M had increased in 1822 to 262 in., or an average 
rate of ; : E : “609 in. 

, In another 38 years it me increased to 43 in., or 
an average rate of ; . ; 5 ‘563 in. 


Then take two of the transplanted for the same periods, as 


follows :— 
A had increased in 1822 to 262 in., or an average of 641 in. 
, In 1860 it had increased to 744 in., or an average of -936 in. 
B had increased in 1822 to 254 in., or an average of -664 in, 
, In 1860 it had increased to 69} in., or an average of “91 )-m: 


The first thing that strikes one with reference to the above is 
the great difference in size between the non-transplanted and 
those that were. In the 76 years “A,” a transplanted one, 
exceeded “LL,” a non-transplanted, -344 in. per annum, and “B” 
exceeded “ M” in the same time by ‘348 in. Now it is difficult 
to believe that the mere fact of transplanting would result in such 
a difference, all other conditions being equal, and this at the end 
of 76 years, without any other reason than that the tree was trans- 
planted. I have taken the period of 76 years, because I happen 
to be well acquainted with a selfsown wood of about the same 
age, and in 1888 measured several, with the following results :— 
No. 1 had a circumference of 60 in. at 5 feet up, or 

an average increase per annum of : ‘ *789 in. 
The bole or trunk was 60 feet, and the sheer 
height 80 feet. 


No. 2 had a circumference of 65} in., or an average 


increase per annum of nearly . ; 862 in. 
The bole or trunk 40 feet, and the sheer helt 
80 feet. 


No. 3 had a circumference of 74 in., or an average 
increase per annum of : °970 in. 
The bole or trunk 30 feet, and ihe sheer height 
also 80 feet. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 25 


The above examples show that the length of the bole affects 
the circumference, that is to say, the longer the bole is the less the 
girth, and wice versa, and this leads me to remark that in Sir 
James Campbell’s paper the length of the bole is not given, an 
important omission. 

Another objection to this experiment has been stated, namely, 
that the plants left in the “acorn patch” were in exhausted soil, 
whereas the transplanted ones were put in comparatively maiden 
soil. 

An argument put forward in favour of transplanting is, that the 
tap root only serves a temporary purpose, and is of no consequence 
to the future growth of the tree. This opinion is founded on 
observations taken of uprooted trees, which have no appearance 
of tap roots. In answer to this it may be stated, first, that the 
absence of a tap root may have been the cause of the uprooting, 
because whether self-sown or planted, there may have been cir- 
cumstances in the subsoil unfavourable to its growth. 

Another omission in Sir James Campbell’s paper is that the 
variety of the oak is not given. Now I find that pedwneulata 
does not increase so fast as sess¢liflora. I found this opinion on 
the measurement, for ten years, of two trees which, so far as can 
be seen, are growing under precisely similar circumstances. 


No. 1. Quercus pedunculata, measured in 1878, had 


a circumference of . : “ 5 ED ft. 
The bole 9 ft. 

» Im 1888 the circumference was : : 12 ft. 
This gives an average increase per annum of : 1-2 in, 
No. 2. Quercus sessiliflora, measured in 1878, had 

a circumference of . : : 9 £6 Sm 
The bole also 9 ft. 

» In 1888 the circumference was ; - 10 ft. Pili 

Or an average increase per annum of : : 2 in. 


nearly double that of No. 1, The soil in which they grow is 
clayey loam. Another Q. sessli/lora is increasing at the rate of 
875 in. per annum ; but this is evidently an older tree than 
No, 2, and is growing on stiff clay. 


PLANTS AND PLANTING. 


Whether the foregoing statements as to the growth of the two 
oaks, which are natives of Britain, will bear out the theory that 


26 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


sessiliflora grows faster than the other, it is still desirable to have 
a mixture of sessz/iflora in a plantation, for the reason that the 
bark of the thinnings is of more value, and would be almost the 
only return in the earlier years of the plantation. In preparing 
the land for planting, no better method can be adopted than to 
crop it with potatoes, which pulverises the soil better than the 
cultivation of any other crop. The oak plants, four or five years 
transplanted, should be put into pits at 4 feet apart each way, to 
be successful, and this operation will require to be carefully done. 
For the first three years the plantation should be hoed annually, 
after which tall weeds, brambles, etc., can be cut down as occasion 


requires. 
THINNING. 


The thinning may commence from the seventh to the tenth year, 
and here great judgment is required, as no hard and fast rule 
can be laid down. The only plan that can be recommended in 
the first thinning is to cut out the weakest plants, and if two or 
more robust plants are found side by side to leave them alone for 
another time. Before the second thinning, which may be taken 
in another seven or ten years, all the undergrowth should be cut 
clean out. The trees will now be, say, twenty years of age, and 
greater judgment, if possible, will be necessary at this thinning, 
as the proportions of the trees and their likelihood to become useful 
timber must be calculated with a skilful eye, and the fittest 
selected to remain. Some writers have recommended that a 
certain number per acre should be left, and that they should stand 
at equal distances apart. This is questionable advice, for in all 
probability there will be three classes of trees in the plantation, 
namely—first, those with a straight leader going ahead ; second, 
those with a short stem, and inclined to have a branchy head; 
and third, those which it would be difficult to class as a tree or 
shrub. These last should all be cut over, unless there are special 
reasons to the contrary, as the shoots from the stools will come in 
to be cut as underwood at the next thinning. The second class to 
have plenty of room to develop their head, as in consequence of 
their short stem they will be the first to come in as marketable 
timber. The first class may be left closer together ; two or more 
may be no farther than 8 feet apart, as many fine timber trees are 
found growing as close. In the third thinning proceed as in the 
second, and the cuttings of the underwood should now be of some 


ON BRITISH OAKS. Ti 


value. Care should be taken to leave all seedlings which may 
have sprung up, but none of the shoots from the stools should be 
left, however promising they may look, as trees grown from such 
are generally faulty at the butt, and otherwise unsatisfactory 
when they attain maturity. The trees being now about thirty 
years of age, some of the short stemmed ones will come in as 
useful timber, but no more should be taken out than is absolutely 
necessary to make room for the others, as no greater mistake can 
be made than in taking too many trees at a time. 


DISEASES OF THE OAK. 
Insects. 


The oak, although lord of the woods, is more subject to the 
attacks of insects than any other tree of the forest. One authority 
has stated that there are nearly 130 species of galls living on 
various kinds of oaks in Europe. In this paper it will be 
sufficient to notice only those that are common in Britain. 

First, the Marble Gall, so called from its appearance, being 
like a common marble as used by boys in play. It is perfectly 
round, brown, and gets very hard in autumn, and with clusters of 
three or four gives the tree a strange appearance when denuded of 
leaves. It occurs mostly on young trees, or those that have been 
pollarded, seldom or never on large growing trees. This gall is 
produced by an insect known as Cynips Kéllarz. Its history is 
somewhat obscure ; but the grub occupies the centre of the gall, 
and lies in a curved position, emerging from it In spring a perfect 
fly. During the winter many of the galls are pierced by birds 
and the grub extracted. This, no doubt, tends to check their 
increase. 

The Apple Gall, or ‘oak apple,” is occasionally very plentiful, 
and generally found at the end of a shoot. The galls begin 
to form at the end of April or beginning of May, and are full 
grown by “oak apple day,” or the 29th of May, the anniversary 
of the restoration of Charles II. Sometimes they are 1} inches 
in diameter, of a greenish-white colour streaked with red, at first 
soft, but harden somewhat before they fall from the tree ; they 
are then found when opened to contain many grubs, each in a 
separate cell, The perfect insect, Terax terminalis, emerges in July. 

The Root Gall—The females deposit their eggs in the roots 


28 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


which they can reach near the surface of the ground. A large 
number of eggs are laid close to one another, and no doubt two or 
more females deposit their eggs so close together that they form 
one gall. The eggs are laid in August, and the galls begin to 
grow in September, but from the fall of the leaf until the spring 
they do not increase in size. In May they are full grown, but the 
gall flies do not emerge until the following April. The galls vary 
in size from about } of an inch to 3 inches diameter, and will 
be found full of small oval cells, each containing an insect. The 
flies which issue from these galls are known as Aphilotrix radicis, 
and only females appear in this generation. They are much 
larger than their parents, measuring nearly a quarter of an inch 
in Jength. They leave the galls in April or May, and deposit 
their eggs in buds which form the young shoots, causing swellings 
to appear at the base of the shoot, from which the flies emerge in 
August. This species, therefore, requires two years to complete 
the cycle of its transformation. 

The Artichoke Gall, so called from its resemblance in form 
to the globe artichoke. This is formed by an insect called 
Andricus pilosus. Both sexes appear in June, and the female 
lays a single egg ina bud, which causes it to grow into a scaly 
bract. On cutting open one of these galls the interior will 
be found of a woody texture, and partly embedded in the top 
is a small, hard, brown, oval striated gall, which contains the 
grub, This gall eventually falls to the ground, when the trans- 
formation of the insect is completed. In the woody portion of 
the outer gall may often be found cells containing grubs of 
some other species, which has laid eggs after its formation was 
begun. The perfect insects, Aphilotrix fecundatrix, bred from the 
internal galls, are about one-eighth of an inch in length, and always 
females. They appear in April, and attack the buds containing 
the male flowers, within which their eggs are laid. The galls 
which result are oval-pointed, about one-tenth of an inch in 
length, covered with stiff hairs, and of a green colour. The perfect 
insects, which are of both sexes, escape from the galls in June, 
and attack the leaf-buds as already mentioned. 

The Spangle Gall insect (Spathegaster baccarum) deposits its 
eggs on the underside of the leaf at the beginning of June, and the 
galls begin to form in July, and are full grown in September, when 
they are about three-tenths of an inch in diameter. They are flat 
and circular, with the centre raised in a flat cone. They are of a 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 29 


greenish-yellow colour, with tufts of red-brown hairs, and some- 
times cover the entire underside of the leaf. They were very 
numerous in 1886. ‘The insects lie dormant during the winter, of 
course falling with the leaf. They appear in the winged form in 
April or May. 

The Button Gall (Spathegaster vesivatrix) is formed by a small 
species of about one-tenth of an inch in length, both sexes of 
which are produced, The female deposits her eggs on the under- 
side of the leaves in June, and the galls are about one-tenth of an 
inch in diameter. They resemble a small button covered with 
fine threads, which under the microscope are very beautiful. The 
flies do not emerge from the galls until spring, when only females 
are produced. These attack the undersides of the leaves, which 
causes small galls, somewhat resembling the oak spangles. 

The Currant Gall (Neuroterus lenticularis).—Vhis fly is about 
one-eighth of an inch long, and of a reddish-brown colour. The 
females deposit their eggs in the buds containing the male flowers, 
and also on the undersides of the leaves. The galls when mature 
are perfectly globular, of a transparent green, speckled with red, 
They are of a soft consistency, with a considerable hollow space 
in the centre, in which is the grub. When formed on the male 
flowers they resemble a bunch of currants. The flies emerge from 
the galls in June. 

Such is an account of the more common of the galls to be found 
on the oak in Britain; but what the effect is on the growth of the 
tree it would be difficult to say, as they have occurred in most 
years for ages past, with perhaps the exception of the marble gall, 
which is stated to be a more recent introduction. 

We now come to a more serious class of insect pests, namely, 
the caterpillars, chief among which is the Tortrix viridana, or 
oak-leaf roller. This caterpillar attacks the leaves, and has 
assumed alarming proportions at intervals of years apart, such as 
in 1831, 1848, 1864, and 1881. This gives a period of about 
seventeen years between each attack. I particularly noticed the 
latter years, but in 1888 their ravages were the most disastrous of 
any. On the lst of June in that year, a bright sunny day, I 
entered an oak wood, and, after proceeding a short distance, became 
conscious of being enveloped in cobwebs. On discovering the cause, 
so thick were the caterpillars hanging by their threads all around 
me, that I determined to return, and although the distance was but 
short, I emerged literally covered with them. During that month 


30 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


they continued their ravages until whole woods were denuded of 
their foliage, and looked as bare as in mid-winter, and so annoying 
were they that labourers could not work in the woods. They also 
attacked the hazel under the oak, surrounding some of the bushes 
with their webs as if in a glass case. It was only in the close 
woods where the ravages took place, isolated oaks not being 
touched, The trees which enjoyed immunity, although surrounded 
by infested oaks, were the elm, beech, sweet chestnut, and the 
Turkey oak, and the ash partially. During the height of the 
attack I passed through a wood composed of Q. sesst/iflora, which, 
although the attack had been begun, they had left off evidently 
either poisoned or starved. This fact has also been noticed by a 
resident in the Forest of Dean, who, in writing of 1881, says, “ It 
was strikingly evident last summer that the Q. robur pedunculata, 
or old English oak, was attacked by blight more severely than the 
Q. r. sessiliflora. Single trees and groups of several together would 
be seen in full foliage, or but slightly injured, and, when examined, 
these were found to be of the last-mentioned variety, while all 
around them Q. 7. pedunculata would be leafless and bare.” This 
is another proof that sesst/iflora is distinet from pedunculata. On 
the 2d of July 1888 very heavy rain began to fall, and continued 
at intervals for a week. Then the trees that seemed to be dead 
began to sprout, and the mid-summer shoots soon clothed them in 
verdure again. Many of these shoots measured from 12 to 18 
inches in length. 

Of the causes, or a cure for such a devastating attack, little can 
be said. A mild winter is generally reckoned a predisposing cause, 
but the winter of 1887-88 was not what might be called ‘ mild.” 
An analysis of the 61 days previous to the attack—that is, from 
the Ist of April to 1st June—shows that there were 18 days 
of frost, 2 on which snow fell, 20 on which rain fell, and 8 classed 
as cold or ungenial, thus leaving only 13 days of moderate 
temperature, or warm, June 5th was remarkably cold, and snow 
fell in Scotland and parts of England. Now this record is not 
consistent with the ‘‘ mild season” theory. A writer, in noticing 
the attack of 1848 in the Forest of Dean, says, “‘'There seems to 
be no method of checking their ravages. The rooks come in great 
numbers, and they and other birds destroy great quantities.” But 
the report of the visitation of 1881 in the same forest says, ‘‘ The 
very rapid and destructive nature of the blight this season may 
have been caused by the absence of large flocks of rooks, jackdaws, 


ON BRITISH OAKS. ail 


starlings, and other small birds, which have in previous years 
attacked the blight on its first appearance ; and, as each bird will 
consume a large number of grubs daily, the plague was formerly 
much checked at the outset. The severe weather of last winter 
undoubtedly killed large numbers of these birds, and the cater- 
pillar was consequently almost unmolested.” In this statement it 
is curious to observe that in the writer’s opinion the severe winter 
of 1880-81, although it killed the birds, could have had no effect 
on the insect, and this is another testimony against the theory of 
a mild winter. Of the five seasons in which the blight was preva- 
lent, namely, 1831, 1848, 1864, 1881, and 1888, two were preceded 
by severe winters, namely, 1830 and 1880. As to birds being able 
to cope with this plague, I have to observe that in 1888 they 
forsook the woods entirely, and it was even said that the rabbits 
also did so. No living thing would care to be enveloped in such 
an annoying network of web. 

Several species of the large family of Geometrina, or “mea- 
surers,” so called from their progressing by looping themselves up 
and then extending their whole length as if measuring, are to be 
found on the oak, and assist the Z'ortrices in their depredations. 

The other Z'ortrices besides the Vortrix viridana which infest 
the oak are— 

Chloephora Prasinana. 

Pe Quercana. 
Lozotenia Sorbiana. 

Sulvana. 

es aylosteana (common). 
Ptycholoma Lecheana (common). 
Hedya dealbana, 
Dictyopteryx Leflingiana. 
Pecilochroma corticana. 
Ephippiphora argyrana (on the bark), 
Tortricodes hyemana (very common). 

Of the Deltowles family only one is found on the oak, namely, 
Herminia barbalis; and of the Crambites there are three, namely, 

Acrobasis consociella (not common). 
Me tumedella (not common), 


Nephopteryx Roborella (not common). 


For further information on the subject of Lepidoptera the 
student is referred to “ Stainton’s Manual.” 


32 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Of the several kinds of larvee which are to be found affecting 
different parts of the oak tree, I have never found any in the acorn, 
nor do I find any record of such. This is to be noted, as very few 
seeds of plants escape the ravages of some variety of insect or 
another. 


Fungi. 


We now come to treat of the fungi that are to be found on the 
oak, but it is doubtful whether they can be properly classed as a 
disease, or only as the result of some other disease or of natural 
decay, for whenever they occur it is a certain sign of the bad 
condition of the tree. 

Some tree fungi are not particular as to the tree upon which 
they grow, whilst others confine themselves to one genus or species. 

The following may be taken as an approximate list of those 
found on different parts of the oak, some of which are to be found 
on other trees and substances :— 

Galarileus quietus, in oak woods. 

Pleurotus dryinus, on the tree. 

ie palmatus, on the tree. 

Crepidotus aurant ferrugt, on the roots. 

Coprinarius papyraceus, on the tree. 

Dedalea quercina, on the tree. 

Microporus frondosus, on the roots. 

3 sulphureus, on the tree. 
x hispidus, on the tree. 

Fistulina hepatica, liver-like or beef-steak fungus, grows 
on old trees in the New, Sherwood, and Epping 
forests, and is edible. 

Hydnum minimum, on the rotten timber. 
erinaceus, hedgehog fungus, is very rare and 
curious. Found in Epping Forest, and recently in the 
New Forest, by Dr M. C. Cooke, the eminent myco- 
logist. 

Merisma rubiginosa, on old trees. 

sinuans, on the branches. 


>? 
Re quercina, on fallen trees. 
Helotiwm acicularis, on hollow trees. 
Bulgaria inquinans, on dead trees. 
Cenangium quercinam, on dead branches, 


Kxidia flaccida, on the bark. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 393 


Stromatospheria parallela, on dead trees. 
= nivea, on dead branches. 


3 quercina, on dead branches. 
Cryptospheria bifrons, on the dry leaves. 
Pf punctiformis, on dead leaves. 
Spheria biphemia, on dead branches. 
Phacidium coronatum, on dead leaves, 
m dentatum, on living leaves. 

Hysterium pulicare, on the rugged bark. 
a quercinum, on dead branches. 

Xyloma pexizoideum, on dead leaves, 

Scleroderma citrinum, on the roots. 

Erineum griseum, under the leaf. 

Merulius rufus lachrymans, the dry-rot fungus, is perhaps 
the most to be dreaded, working in the timbers of 


buildings silently and unseen with fatal effect. 


The fungi in their action on the trunks and fallen branches 
assist in the disintegration and decomposition of the wood, and 
finally to assimilate it again with the soil. 

The Lichens which grow on the trunks and branches of most of 
our trees are an interesting study. They give to them a hoary 
and venerable appearance when the trees are 


’ 


** Mossed with age.’ 


The following are to be found on the oak, but of course there 
are many more which grow indiscriminately on the trunks and 
branches of it and other trees :— 


Spiloma microclonum, on old trees. 

” punctatum, on old trees. 
Lecidea carneola, on old trees. 
Calicium microcephalum, on oak rails. 

zs hyperellum, on old trees. 
Thelotrema melaleucum, on young trees, 

“= hymenium, on old trees. 

Beomyces cespititius, on the tree. 

Ramalina pollinaria, on old trees. 

Verrucaria analepta, on the bark. 

Sticta pulmonacea, liver-wort, which, when growing on the 
oak, is called ‘lungs of oak,” and is supposed then 
to be specially efficacious in the cure of consumption 


and other diseases. 
VOL. XIII. PART I. Cc 


34 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


HIsTorRICAL AND REMARKABLE OAKS. 
| 


Although other trees have their history and associations, the 
oak has been the historical tree of Britain, from the dark ages of 
the Druids until recent times, when it has become less the fashion 
to plant it as a memorial of the great, or in commemoration of 
any noteworthy event. How far this latter circumstance is wise, 
not to say patriotic, is open to question. Is any tree, whether 
native or foreign, except perhaps the yew, so fitting, in every 
respect, to tell future ages of what has been done, or to mark the 
progress of time, as the oak? I trow not. 

Of oak trees remarkable for their historical associations we have 
the “Royal,” the “ Parliament,” the “Shire,” the “Gospel,” the 
“ Cheney Court,” from the French chené, an oak, and the “‘ Bound 
Tree,” marking the boundary of parishes or manors. In the same 
manner the name ‘ Gospel” is derived from the ancient custom 
of treading the boundaries of parishes in “ Rogation Week,” when 
under an oak tree the Gospel for the day was read, and these trees 
have generally been preserved, but often under other names. 


The Notable Oaks of England and Wales. 


The following list has been compiled from various sources, and 
from personal observation; but it may here be remarked that 
some of the measurements given are imperfect or unreliable, the 
height from the ground where the girth is taken not being given 
with sufficient accuracy, in many cases, to enable one to compare 
it with other trees, and a girth at the ground is in most instances 
valueless when the tree is so buttressed with roots that almost 
any girth may be arrived at, consequently much room is left for 
exaggeration. On this point Mr Trowsdale says in the Z7imes, 
“T would venture to express an opinion that local naturalists and 
antiquaries would render good service to the cause of literature 
were they to obtain, by personal measurement, the exact dimensions 
of the famous old trees now existing in their respective neighbour- 
hoods.” It is to be understood that in this record of remarkable 
trees they are all Quercus robur pedunculata, except where it is 
stated they are Q. 7. sessiliflora. With this preliminary I now 
proceed with the list. 

The Cowthorpe Oak, Q. robur pedunculata, whose age has been 
variously estimated at from fifteen to eighteen centuries, stands 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 35 


in the parish of Cowthorpe, three miles from Wetherby, in the 
West Riding of the county of York. The circumference of its 
trunk close to the ground was, at the close of last century, accord- 
ing to Evelyn’s “Silva,” 78 feet. Shortly after the publication of 
this work, earth was placed around the base of the trunk, with a 
view to the preservation of the tree, which by covering over some 
considerable projections reduced the girth of the stem at the 
ground line to 60 feet. In 1829 the Rev. Dr Jessop measured 
the tree, and communicated its dimensions to Strutt’s ‘Silva 
Britannica,” as follows :— 


Circumference at ground, : ; : 60 feet. 
- at 3 feet from ground, . 45 ,, 
Height of tree, : : 45 ,, 
Extent of the principal Tine. : : : 50) % 
Greatest circumference of principal limb, ; oa 


Dr Jessop adds, “The tree is hollow throughout to the top, and 
the ground plot inside may possibly find standing-room for forty 
men.” In Loudon’s “ Arboretum” the diameter of the hollow of 
the tree close to the ground is given at 9 feet 10 inches. This 
would give an area of over 96 square feet, which is certainly 
sufficient to afford standing-room for forty men. 

In Dr Hunter’s edition of Evelyn’s “ Silva,” the dimensions are 
given—circumference at the ground, 26 yards (78 feet) ; height, 
80 feet ; and its principal limb 16 yards (48 feet) from the bole. 
This tallies so far with the other account, with the exception of 
the height of the tree. 

The “Royal Oak” at Boscobel House in the ancient forest 
of Brewood, Staffordshire, has become celebrated in history for 
having given shelter to Charles II. after the battle of Worcester 
on September 6, 1651. The story is variously told. The Earl 
of Bradford, in a letter dated Weston Park, May 6, 1878, says, 
“On one occasion when he (that is, the king) was out with one 
or two of the Penderils, sounds were heard of horses’ feet not very 
far off. There was not much time for consideration, but his 
attendants thought he might not be able to get back to his hiding- 
place in the house quietly, or perhaps thought that even if he did 
he might be discovered there, and recommended him to go into a 
thick part of the wood (being early in September, the trees and 
underwood were still in full leaf), where they helped him up into 
an oak tree (not a decayed, but a growing oak tree), and implored 


36 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


him on no account to come down from the tree until they returned 
to him and tell him all was safe. They then went as if to their 
work or ordinary occupation. The troopers of the Parliament fell 
in with them, made all sorts of inquiries about the house and its 
inmates and its neighbourhood, and ultimately rode on without 
discovering how near they were to the king. The Penderils 
returned in due time, and conducted the king back to the 
house.” 

The tree stands in a field near the garden of Boscobel house, 
and is surrounded by an iron palisading. It has a circumference, 
at 4 feet up, of 12 feet 3 inches. That the tree now standing is 
the same in which the king was concealed has been questioned, 
and that it is only a seedling from the ‘“ Royal,” some authorities 
alleging that it is only 160 or 170 years of age, whilst others put 
it between 400 and 500. On this point it may be as well to quote 
again Lord Bradford’s letter, and to mention that his seat of 
Weston Park adjoins Boscobel: he says, ‘‘ The tree was from that 
time well known to them (that is, the Penderils), and doubtless to 
the owner, Mr Giffard, and other loyal friends in the immediate 
neighbourhood ; and after the Restoration, which was only nine 
years afterwards, probably numbers of people visited the tree, 
although at that time in a thick coppice with only woodmens’ 
paths or very bad cut roads in the neighbourhood. The coppice 
was subsequently cleared, I apprehend, in the time of the Fitz- 
herberts, who inherited from the Giffards, but the tree into which 
the king climbed was left standing and regarded with pride and 
affection. It has been known from father to son by succeeding 
generations from that time to this. As to its being a substitute 
of any sort, least of all an acorn from the original tree, I discard 
the idea as ludicrous and absurd. J have known the tree 
myself for half a century.! It looks now very much as it did 
then ; and nearly as long ago as that I remember my father 
speaking of the absurdity of the stories then current as to the owl 
flying ont of the decayed tree, the present tree being an acorn 
from the old one, and such like. He used to say that he had 
heard his father, and, I think, his grandfather, speak in the same 
sense ; and the recollection of the tree by his grandfather (my 
great-grandfather) would easily carry him back as far as 1740, 
which would be less than ninety years after the king sat in the 
tree.” 

' Karl Bradford was born in 1819. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. Biff 


“T may mention, with respect to oak trees and oak wood in 
this neighbourhood, that there are trees still alive in this park 
estimated to be 1100 or 1200 years old ; there are others reckoned 
to be 600, 500, and 400 years old. Sometimes a smaller tree is 
known to be considerably older than a larger one, and I should 
myself estimate the tree at Boscobel to be 400 or 450 years old ; 
but it would have been equally capable of affording a hiding-place 
for a man in the middle of a thick wood, whether it was then 
some 220 years old, as I estimate it, or whether it was 100 years 
younger or older.” 

Against this evidence as to its being the original ‘‘ Royal” oak, 
another witness says “that he measured it in 1857, and again 
twenty-one years later, and found that its girth had increased 11 
inches, or half an inch annually.” In summing up the evidence 
for and against, it is necessary to bear in mind that the original 
tree was in a thick wood, and not a detached tree, or in any way 
conspicuous, which would have been sure to attract the attention 
of the Parliamentary troopers. Further, this wood seems to have 
subsequently been cleared by the Fitzherberts, the successors of 
the Giffards, but at what date is not stated. Now this fact would 
have gone far to establish the identity of the tree or otherwise, 
because, if the date of clearing or grubbing up of the wood was 
not long after the event, then it would be probable that the 
Fitzherberts knew the real tree, as they surrounded a@ tree by a 
brick wall; but if this took place very long after, then a doubt 
would still remain notwithstanding Lord Bradford’s testimony, as 
the tree is certainly of small girth for say 450 years. 

The “ Parliament Oak” in Clipstone Park, Notts, is so called 
from an informal parliament having been held under it by 
King John, in 1212. Bailey says, ‘‘ John this year perpetrated 
the enormous cruelty of putting to death, by hanging, at Notting- 
ham Castle, twenty-eight youths belonging to the most illustrious 
families of Wales, which youths he had brought with him after 
the rebellion as hostages for the future peace and submission of 
the principality. At the time this event took place, the king was 
indulging himself in the pleasures of the chase at Clipstone Palace, 
-when a messenger arrived from his sister Joan, who was married 
to Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, informing him of a fresh revolt, 
and at the same time another came with a letter from his friend 
and ally, David L., king of Scotland, apprising him of the exist- 
ence of a widespread conspiracy against him in the northern parts 


38 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of the kingdom. Hastily summoning a council of the barons and 
other distinguished individuals who were about his person or in 
the immediate vicinity of the palace, they met under the boughs 
of an oak tree in the park, which thence obtained the appellation 
of the “Parliament Oak.” Another parliament is said to have 
been held here in 1290 by Edward I. 

This tree stands in a nook by the side of the highway leading 
from Edwinstowe to Mansfield, at a point where that road is 
intersected by a private way of the Duke of Portland’s. It has 
a circumference at 3 feet up of 28 feet 6 inches, but it is only 
a living ruin. 

The ‘‘ Greendale Oak” is, however, the most remarkable of the 
Welbeck oaks. It stands about half a mile south of the abbey, 
and is computed to be one of the oldest trees in existence in this 
country. The trunk having a century or two back become quite 
hollow with age, and so much decayed that large apertures 
occurred in its sides, the opening was, in 1724, sufficiently 
enlarged by cutting away the decayed wood, to allow an ordinary 
carriage to pass through, and it is said that one of its noble 
owners was actually driven through this opening with his bride, 
on the occasion of his marriage, in a carriage drawn by six horses. 
The height of the opening is 10 feet 3 inches, the width 6 feet 
3 inches, and the circumference at the ground is 36 feet, above 
the arch 35 feet 3 inches, and the sheer height 54 feet.! 

The “Shambles Oak” is another remarkable Welbeck tree. It 
is traditionally said that in its hollow trunk Robin Hood and his 
merry men used to hang up their venison as they would in a 
butcher’s shop, until wanted, and that near it much of their 
cooking was done and revels kept. Some of the iron hooks are 
said still to be seen in the interior. It is said that, in later times, 
this notable tree was used by a sheep-stealer as a place wherein 
to hang his ill-gotten spoil until he could safely dispose of it. 
From these circumstances the tree acquired its name of the 
“Shambles Oak.” 

The ‘‘Two Porters,” a pair of grand old trees, so called from 


1 The dimensions of this famous tree, accurately measured for the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society by Mr Jameson, forester on the Welbeck 
estates, on the occasion of the Society’s visit to it on the 7th August 1889, 
are as follows :—height, 45 feet; girth, 31 feet at the base, and 30 feet at 
5 feet up; the opening in the tree, 9 feet 1 inch high, by 7 feet 3 inches 
wide on the east, and 5 feet 4 inches on the west side.—Ep. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 39 


there having been once a gate between them. They stand nearly 
at the north extremity of the park, not far from the south lodge 
of Worksop Manor, and the drive passes between them. They 
measure as follows :—circumference at the bottom, 38 feet; at 
3 feet up, 27 feet ; and at 6 feet up, 23 feet ; sheer height, 98 feet 
6 inches. The other has a circumference at the bottom of 34 feet; 
at 3 feet up, 23 feet; and at 6 feet up, 20 feet; sheer height, 
88 feet. These oaks are Quercus robur sessiliflora.+ 

The “Seven Sisters” so called from having consisted originally 
of seven stems springing from one common root, is one of 
the most remarkable trees anywhere in existence. Some of the 
“sister” stems have, from time to time, been blown down, but 
it is still a noble tree. It is situated about half a mile from the 
“Two Porters.” The circumference of the common trunk, close 
to the ground, is over 30 feet, and the height 88 feet. The 
measurements of the ‘‘Seven Sisters” were given nearly a century 
ago, as follows :—in height it is 88 feet 7 inches; the circum- 
ference at the bottom is 30 feet; at two yards, taking in the stems, 
30 feet 4 inches. The largest stem at two yards is 12 feet 10 
inches in circumference ; another at the same distance from its 
bottom is 11 feet 7 inches; one, 9 feet 10 inches; and the 
smallest, 5 feet 3 inches in circumference.? 

The ‘Queen Oak,” now called the “ Major Oak,” so named, 
it is said, after Major Hayman Rooke, who often visited it, and 
wrote much on the forest; it was also called the ‘ Cock-pen 
Tree,” from its hollow interior being occupied as a hen-roost. 
The hollow is nearly 7 feet in diameter and 15 feet high. A 
considerable portion of its tendons appear above ground, and 
measuring these about halfway between their junction with the 
trunk and their insertion in the earth, they gave a circumference 
of nearly 30 yards; the circumference of the trunk at nearly 
6 feet from the ground, the height at which begin the branches, 


1 On the occasion of the Society’s visit in 1889, the ‘‘ Two Porters” were 
measured, and the dimensions are given in the Report of the Excursion as 
follows:—No. 1 girths at base 36 feet 8 inches, and at 5 feet up 25 feet 
8 inches; and is about 24 feet high, having been broken off by a storm in 
1881. No. 2 girths at base 36 feet, and at 5 feet up 23 feet 2 inches; and 
stands about 60 feet high.—Ep. 

2 The last of the ‘‘Seven Sisters’ was blown down about a year previous 
to the Society’s visit on the 7th August 1889, so that this famous tree is 


now a thing of the past.—Ep. 


40 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


was 30 feet, at 4 feet the circumference is 29 feet, and the sheer 
height 80 feet.? 

The “ Ruysdael Oak,” so named by a late Duke of Portland, 
because it resembled in shape those peculiarly formed trees which 
that great painter delighted to introduce in his pictures. It 
stands on a commanding eminence in the park, not far from the 
‘Seven Sisters,’ and forms a striking object from whichever side 
it is seen, notably from the mansion itself.” 

The ‘Simon Forester” oak is another of the famous trees in 
Sherwood Forest, with a circumference of 22 feet and a height of 
from 50 to 60 feet. 

Such are some of the notable old trees of ‘‘Sherwood Forest” 
which have received names, but although now no longer a royal 
forest, there still exist many other grand old oaks that date back 
to times when this great forest was the hunting-ground of kings. 

We now come to the oaks in Windsor Park. . 

The “Cow Pond Oak” may be first noticed, as it is one of the 
few trees of which we can fix the date of planting with any 
accuracy. ‘The account is, ‘‘ About the year 1715 the plantation 
lying between Cumberland Lodge and Cow Pond was formed, 
and we mention it simply because it contains what is generally 
considered to be the most perfect timber tree in Windsor Park. 
It has a straight clean bole over 40 feet up to the first branch, 
with a girth of 10 feet 4 inches at 5 feet from the ground ; now, 
taking the age up to 1880, would be 162 years, this would give 
an annual increase in circumference of *765 inch. 

“ Herne’s Oak.” This tree or trees, for it appears there were 
two claiming the honour of being the tree immortalised by 
Shakespeare in the ‘ Merry Wives of Windsor ”— 


‘« There is an old tale goes, that Herne the Hunter ; 
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest, 
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight, 
Walk round about an oak, with great rage’d horns ; 
And there he blasts the trees, and takes the cattle, 
And makes milch kine yield blood, and shakes a chain 
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.” 


‘In the Report of the Society’s Excursion in 1889, the dimensions of the 
“Major Oak” are given as—girth, 29 feet 6 inches at 5 feet up; height, 60 
to 70 feet ; spread of branches, 90 feet. 

***Gaunt and dead at least fifteen years, but it still defies the blast and 
maintains an upright position’ (Report of Society’s Excursion, 1889).—Ep. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 4] 


Some years ago a sharp controversy was carried on as to 
the identity of “ Herne’s Oak,” it being contended by some 
authorities that it was cut down in error, during the reign of 
George III., about the year 1796; the other “* Herne’s Oak” was 
blown down in 1863, but as the Queen has planted one in its 
place, this will perpetuate the name. It stood in the Home 
Park, but I cannot find what were its dimensions. 

“Queen Elizabeth’s Tree,” so called from having been said to 
have been a great favourite of the virgin Queen. It stands close 
to the site of ‘‘ Herne’s Oak.” 

“‘Shakespeare’s Oak,” another tree supposed to have been the 
great poet’s favourite oak, stands close by the last ; both are said 
to be fine trees, but in neither case have we got dimensions. 

‘William the Conqueror’s Oak.” Beyond the fact that this 
tree has been associated with the Norman’s name from time 
immemorial, its history is unknown. The main stem has long 
been decayed, and is supported with props. It is situate near 
Cranbourne Lodge, just within the park palings, and is, con- 
sequently, but little seen by the public. It has a circumference 
of 37 feet at 5 feet up. 

The ‘‘ Forest Gate Oak” is an old pollard, with a circumference 
of 28 feet 4 inches. 

“Queen Anne’s Oak” has a circumference of 15 feet 3 inches 
at 5 feet up, and is 60 feet high. 

“Queen Charlotte’s Oak” has a circumference of 17 feet 3 
inches at 5 feet up, and is 65 feet high. 

“Queen Victoria’s Oak ” is perhaps as handsome a specimen of 
a thriving young oak as it would be possible to find. It has a 
magnificent straight stem 38 feet up to the first branch, and a 
beautifully rounded head. It was chosen by Her Majesty as her 
favourite oak soon after her accession. It is 11 feet 11 inches 
in circumference at 5 feet up, and is 70 feet high. 

The three last-mentioned ‘‘Queen” oaks are in the forest 
between Highstanding Hill and New Lodge. 

The ‘“ Prince Consort's Memorial Oak,” planted by Her Majesty 
on November 25, 1862, marks the spot where her much-loved 
husband finished his last day’s shooting on November 23, 1861. 

Before taking leave of Windsor, it may be as well to notice the 
plantation, containing a large group of oaks, stretching from the 
back of the park bailiffs house in the direction of Cranbourne 
Walk. It is supposed that allusion is made to this plantation of 


42 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


14 acres in a document of the year 1625, which had been fenced 
with pales into the Great Park, and sown with acorns in 1580. 
These trees, at the present time, are of a singularly uniform 
character, and perfectly healthy. This is supposed to be the 
earliest authenticated record of any regular plantation known to 
have been made in England. They number about twenty-one to 
the acre, and their average content is about 88 feet. In addition 
to this, it would be desirable to have more details as to the size 
of individual trees, as this would be a contribution towards solving 
the question of ‘raising forests from seed.” 

The ‘* New Forest” in Hampshire, although of large extent, has 
few oak trees of interest. They do not grow so high or so large 
as in many other parts of England, but they are more picturesque 
in their outlines, appearing in the distance as if suspended in the 
air rather than growing out of the earth. 

The “ Western Oak” at Boldrewood has a circumference of 
24 feet 9 inches. 

The ‘‘ Eastern Oak,” at the same place, has a circumference of 
16 feet. 

The “ Northern Oak,” also at Boldrewood, has-a circumference 
at the thickest part of 20 feet 4 inches; lower down it is only 
14 feet 8 inches. 

The “ Knyghtwood Oak” has a circumference of 17 feet 4 inches. 

The “ Moyle’s Court Oak” is a handsome tree, standing a few 
yards outside the “ Forest” boundary. It has a circumference of 
18 feet 84 inches. 

The ‘Cadnam Oak” is remarkable in that it puts forth young 
leaves on Old Christmas morning, which fact seems to be well 
attested. A description of this tree appeared in Woods and Forests, 
February 1885, the writer of which, after a graphic account of his 
visit to it on Old Christmas morning in that year, says, ‘‘ perhaps 
some of your correspondents may know of such in other parts of 
England ;” but to this there was no response, so it may be 
presumed that this oak is unique. It stands some 10 yards to 
the north of the Southampton Road, where that to Ringwood 
crosses it, by the fence of Widow Gain’s garden, and has a circum- 
ference of 10 feet 6 inches at 4} feet up, a bole of 17 feet, and a 
height of 55 feet. It is apparently a young tree, although a good 
part of the south side of the whole length of the trunk is gone, 
which is, however, being fast covered over by the growth of the 
tree, although it is still from 1 foot to 18 inches broad. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 43 


“Oakley Oak” is situated in a meadow to the east of Oakley 
farm-house, from which it is separated by a branch of the river 
Test, leading to the grounds of Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire. 
It has a circumference of 31 feet 6 inches at 44 feet up; at 9 feet 
it branches into six large but hollow limbs, where, owing to the 
swell of its branches, the circumference is much larger; the sheer 
height is 27 feet. The living branches are comparatively young, 
and they put forth leaves and bear acorns freely. The trunk is 
quite hollow, and has a cavity measuring at the ground 9 feet by 
9 feet in diameter, and at 44 feet up 7 feet by 7 feet, which is 
the smallest diameter of the hollow trunk. The entrance to the 
interior is on the north side, and is 3 feet 7 inches high, and 1 foot 
8 inches wide. The hollow limbs admit plenty of light into the 
interior. 

“Seven Yards Oak.” This is an old tree, showing signs of 
decay, and although apparently sound in the trunk, it does not 
look so healthy as the “ Oakley Oak.” It stands in Hurstbourne 
Park, belonging to Lord Portsmouth, near Whitchurch in Hamp- 
shire, and on the boundary between the parishes of Hurstbourne 
Priors and Whitchurch. It is not known how long it has borne 
the name of “Seven Yards,” but 21 feet is still the circumference 
at 44 feet up. , 

“Canon Beadon’s Oak.” I notice this tree because its history 
is given as follows :—‘ This oak was planted by the late Canon 
Beadon in North Stoneham Rectory grounds, near Southampton, 
when home from school, at the age of fourteen years, the same 
having been raised from an acorn in a flower-pot by his sister. 
The Rey. Canon died June 10, 1879, having lived to sit under 
this oak, now a considerable tree, and witnessed a cricket match 
when he had attained his one hundredth year, the tree being then 
eighty-six years of age. The circumference is 11 feet 5 inches at 
4} feet up. 

“Dean Forest” is another Royal Forest, and although not so 
large as the “New Forest,” is not without some notable trees, 
viz. ,— 

“Jack of the Yat,” which is probably the oldest within the 
present bounds of the “ Forest,” stands by the roadside near the 
16th milestone on the Long Hill. In 1830, it measured 17 feet 
83 inches at 6 feet up; in 1846, 18 feet 34 inches; but in 1881, 
it was only 18 feet + inch. This discrepancy can hardly he 
accounted for. 


44 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The “ Crad Oak” is a fine specimen of Quercus r. sessiliflora, in 
flourishing condition. It stands back in the woods behind “ Jack.” 
That is all the information we have respecting this “fine speci- 
men,” but it is certainly desirable that something should be 
known of its dimensions, as so few trees of this species of oak are 
recorded. 

The ‘“‘ Newland Oak” stands outside the present Dean Forest, 
but within the ancient forest bounds, and is a large old tree, 
measuring 41 feet round the trunk, and being probably one of the 
oldest and largest oaks in the kingdom. Another account says, 
*Tts trunk is not buttressed at the base, and the girth of 52 feet 
at the ground is scarcely lessened up to 12 feet, where five grand 
primary branches spread out from the hollow bole, divaricating 
into more than fifteen. 

The ‘‘Colwall Oaks.” In the parish of Colwall, near the old 
hunting-seat of the bishops of Hereford, is a good-sized fish-pool, 
and near this pool, in the middle of a pasture, stand these trees, 
supposed to be the two oldest oaks anywhere about the Malvern 
Hills, showing undoubted evidences of very great antiquity. The 
largest has been much shattered and lost some of its finest 
branches, so that at a distance it has a lank and attenuated look. 
The extreme base of the trunk bulges out considerably, and is 
more than 60 feet in circumference; but this diminishes so 
quickly that at a yard from the ground it girths only 27 feet. 
The companion oak to the great one, and almost as old, girths 
45 feet round the swollen base. 

The “Old Pollard Oak.” In the southern part of Malvern 
Chace, in a field near the Severn, stands this tree, putting out 
horizontal arms in a very curious manner. It is a characteristic 
specimen of what is called a “burr oak,” of which many may be 
seen in the neighbourhood, the result of pollarding from time to 
time. The circumference at 3 feet up is 17 feet. 

The “Devil’s Oak.” This tree has assumed a demoniacal shape, 
the result also of pollarding, and presents a most grotesque 
appearance. It is said, however, that the appellation was really 
given to it from some sweeps having been seen to emerge in the 
mist of an autumnal morning from its cavity, where they had 
been sheltering, and as they disappeared in the fog, were very 
like imps of the evil one. The name, at all events, is likely to 
stick to the deformed tree. It stands in a hedge by the side of 
the road leading to Sherrard’s Green, below Great Malvern. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 45 


The “Cowleigh Oak” is the most conspicuous tree in Malvern 
Chace for size and spread of bough. It is called ‘“ Cowley’s Oke” 
in a MS. Survey of Malvern Chace, a.p, 1633, and stands near 
Great Malvern, in the middle of a pasture next to Cowleigh farm- 
house. It has a circumference of 27 feet at 3 feet up. 

The “Great Burr Oak” is another remarkable tree, the result 
of pollarding, and which has hardly any trunk. It stands on the 
banks of the Teme in the parish of Leigh, about a mile west of 
Bransford Bridge, and has a circumference of 20 feet at 3 feet up. 

The ‘Gibbet Oak’ is supposed to derive its name from having 
been used as the place for hanging spies and traitors in the Wars or 
the Roses. It stands on a gentle eminence at short distance from the 
Tenbury and Bromyard main road in Kyre Park, Worcestershire. 
It measures 24 feet in girth at 5 feet up, and its huge and 
widely-extended arms, standing out at right angles some 8 feet or 
9 feet from the ground, seem to be well adapted for the use then 
made of it. 

The “Weeping Oak” at Moccas Court, Herefordshire, was 
considered by Loudon to be one of the most remarkable oaks in 
England. ‘The branches reach from about the middle of a 
trunk of 75 feet to within 7 feet of the ground, hanging down 
like cords, and many to a length of 30 feet, having a thickness 
which does not in any part of them exceed that of a common 
waggon rope. The entire head covers a space of 100 feet in 
diameter. 

The “ Weeping Oak” at King’s Acre, Hereford, was planted 
in 1785 by a Mr Cranston, and grafted at about 3 feet from the 
ground. The girth of the trunk at 4 feet up is 8 feet 6 inches; 
height to the lowest branch, 18 feet; spread of branches, 58 feet ; 
and the sheer height, 72 feet. 

The “Coronation Oak,” so called from the proclamation being 
announced therefrom on a king or queen being crowned, The 
coronation of Queen Victoria was announced from under the 
spreading boughs of this grand old tree. It stands in one of the 
meadows on the farm of Llanhenosk, near Caerleon, Monmouth. 
The circumference of the trunk in its largest part is 38 feet 
6 inches ; in the middle, 32 feet 1} inches ; and the smallest, 27 
feet 6 inches: the bole is 15 feet in height. 

The “Pencraig Oak” is on Pencraig Farm near Newport, 
Monmouth. It has a circumference of 38 feet; height to first 
branch, 15 feet, with a spread of branches of 36 yards, 


46 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The ‘Cressage Oak,” or “Christ's Oak,” under which it is 
said the early Christian missionaries, and possibly St Chad him- 
self, preached to the heathen before churches had been built, is 
the sole remaining tree of those vast forests which gave Shrews- 
bury its Saxon name of Schobbesburgh. It stands in an arable 
field on the banks of the Severn, half a mile from Cressage in 
Shropshire. It has a circumference of about 30 feet at 5 feet up, 
although only about one-half of the shell of the hollow trunk now 
remains, but it has still fifteen living branches, each 15 feet or 
16 feet in length. 

The “ Beggar’s Oak” grows in Lord Bagot’s park, m North 
Staffordshire, and is said to be one of the most picturesque trees 
in England. The head is round and full of foliage, drooping 
almost to the height of a stag, and offerimg a welcome shelter 
either in the heat of a summer day or during a storm. The 
circumference above the swell of the spurs is 27 feet 3 inches, and 
at 5 feet the girth is 23 feet 2 inches ; the branches extend from 
the trunk 50 feet in every direction, and the height is 60 feet. 

The ‘Squitch Oak” is also in Lord Bagot’s park, has a cireum- 
ference of 23 feet 2 inches at 5 feet from the ground. 

The ‘‘ King Tree” is another noted tree in Lord Bagot’s park. 
It was considered when sound to be the most valuable oak in the 
park, which is celebrated for its numerous splendid oak trees, and 
was valued in 1812 at £293. It has a circuinference at 5 feet up 
of 20 feet, and runs up without a limb to 30 feet, with a sheer 
height of 70 feet. 

The “ Venison Tree” is supposed to be the oldest tree in Bagot’s 
Park, and in existing records is shown to have been a tree of note 
upwards of six hundred years ago. 

The ‘White Tree,” in the same park, so called from its varie- 
gated leaves, which are blotched with white, has a very remark- 
able appearance in contrast with the dark green foliage of its 
neighbours. 

The “ Swilcar Lawn Oak” grows in Needwood Forest, Stafford- 
shire, and towers above all others. It has been poetically named 
the forest’s “chief mourner.” It has a circumference of 27 feet 
at 5 feet up. 

The “Oaks of Caulke Abbey,” Derbyshire. No. 1 girths 25 
feet 3 inches above the swell of the roots, and is 75 feet high. 
No. 2 is a fine tree, girthing 18 feet at 1 foot up, and is 60 feet 
high. No.3 girths 20 feet at 1 foot up, and has scarcely any 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 47 


taper for a height of 30 feet, is in vigorous health, and a fine 
timber tree. No. 4 is in a glen near the Monk’s Cave. It girths 
at the top of the trunk, which is 12 feet long, 28 feet, and at the 
bottom 31 feet. 

The ‘ Queen’s Oak” grows at Grafton, Northamptonshire. Sir 
John Grey of Groby, who fell at the battle of St Albans, being a 
zealous Lancastrian, his estates were forfeited by the victorious 
Edward, and under this oak, according to tradition, his widow 
first met Edward IV., whom she had sought to implore the resti- 
tution of her slain husband’s forfeited estates. Edward was 
captivated with her person and manners, and finding her virtue 
inflexible, was married to her, though the marriage was not 
proclaimed till some months afterwards. This lady’s name was 
HKlizabeth Wideville, daughter of Richard, Earl Rivers, and the 
first British lady subsequent to the Norman Conquest who shared 
the throne of her sovereign, The hollow trunk has a circumfer- 
ence of 22 feet at 5 feet up. 

The ‘‘ Yardley” or “ Cowper’s Oak,” also called “ Judith,” from 
an old legend that it had been planted by the Conqueror’s niece 
Judith, Countess of Northumberland, who held eighty-eight manors 
in Northamptonshire, including a portion of Yardley. On the tree 
is fastened this warning—‘“ Out of respect to the memory of the 
poet Cowper. The Marquis of Northampton is particularly 
desirous of preserving this oak. Notice is hereby given that any 
person defacing or otherwise injuring it will be prosecuted accord- 
ing to law.” The tree is a ruin, with a hollow trunk broken 
through below, and capable of holding many persons. There are 
two or three bare limbs, from which the bark has fallen, showing 
like whitened skeletons against the lichened and knotted rind of 
the trunk, and there are at least two large boughs which still send 
out their clusters of green leaves. The circumference is 30 feet 
6 inches at 1 foot up, and 30 feet at 3 feet up. 

The ‘ Bull Oak,” in Wedgenock Park, Warwick, was a remark- 
able tree, now only a ruin, with a butt 18 feet in diameter at 
the ground. Growing from among its roots is a beautiful ash 
tree. 

In Stoneleigh Park, Warwick, near the Abbey, there are many 
fine oaks. One has a circumference of 24 feet, and is a perfect 
model of an oak. Another in the Deer Park has a circumference 
of 36 feet 9 inches. 

“ King Charles’ Oak,” in Blenheim Park, Oxfordshire, is a very 


48 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


fine tree, with a circumference of 23 feet, a bole of 23 feet, and 
contains 765 feet of timber. 

The two “ Ampthill Oaks” grow in Ampthill Park, Bedford- 
shire. This park extends over the sides and summit of the rising 
ground, and its sweeping glades and hollows, with much wood of 
later growth, display a greater number of venerable oak trees than, 
perhaps, any other park in England of the same extent. On one 
of the two trees the following verses are fastened :— 


** Majestic tree, whose wrinkled form has stood, 


Age after age, the patriarch of the wood ; 

Thou who hast seen a thousand springs unfold 
‘Their ravelled buds, and dip their flowers in gold, 
Ten thousand times yon moon relight her horn, 
And that bright star of evening gild the morn. 
Gigantic oak ! thy hoary head sublime, 

Erewhile must perish in the wreck of time. 
Should round thy head innoxious lightnings shoot, 
And no fierce whirlwind shake thy steadfast root ; 
Yet shalt thou fall, thy leafy tresses fade, 

And those bare scattered antlers strew the glade. 
Arm after arm shall leave the mouldering bust, 
And thy firm fibres crumble into dust. 

The muse alone shall consecrate thy name, 

And by her powerful art prolong thy fame, 

Green shall thy leaves expand, thy branches play, 
And bloom for ever in the immortal lay.”’ 


This provoked the following retort from Lord Wensleydale :— 


** Tl] bet a thousand pounds—and time will show it— 
That this stout tree survives the feeble poet.” 


The two trees stand at a short distance from the mansion, and are 
nearly of the same girth, namely, a little over 35 feet at 3 feet up. 

“Queen Elizabeth’s Oak” stands in Hatfield Park, Hertford- 
shire. ‘On the morning or afternoon of November 17, 1558, 
for Mary died between 4 and 5 a.m., Elizabeth was sitting 
under this tree, when a deputation arrived from the council to 
apprise her of her sister’s demise and to offer her their homage. 
She fell on her knees, and exclaimed in Latin, Domino factum 
est illud, et est mirabile inoculis nostris, ‘\t is the Lord’s doing, 
and it is marvellous in our eyes.’” It stands half-way down the 
avenue leading from the house towards Hertford. It is surrounded 
by a fence, and is not in vigorous health, or of a very remarkable 
bulk. We have no measurements of this historical tree. 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 49 


The “Lion Oak” stands also in Hatfield Park, and has a 
circumference of 32 feet. 

The “Grimston Oak” was planted by James, second Viscount 
Grimston, who died in 1773. The tradition is that Lord 
Verulam’s great grandfather planted this tree with his own hands 
some twenty years before his death, so that it would now be over 
one hundred and thirty years. It stands a few yards from Oxhey 
Chapel, about 2 miles from Watford, Hertfordshire, and has a 
circumference of 17 feet and a bole of 24 feet. 

Two “Pollard Oaks,” in Moor Park, Hertfordshire, girthing 
23 feet and 25 feet respectively ; said to have been pollarded or 
beheaded in 1686 by the Duchess of Monmouth in revenge for 
the execution of her husband. 

The “ Winfarthing Oaks” stand in the parish of Winfarthing, 
Norfolk. No. 1 has been long known as the ‘“‘ Winfarthing Oak.” 
Robert Marsham measured this tree in 1744, and gives the circum- 
ference as 38 feet 7 inches. Mr Geo. Southwell measured it in 
1874, when it had a circumference of 40 feet, giving an increase 
of 17 inches in 130 years. No. 2 was measured in the same years 
by the same gentlemen, and had a circumference in 1744 of 30 feet, 
and in 1874 still only 30 feet, having remained in statu quo. 

“ Wilberforce’s Oak,” at Holwood, Kent, so called from the 
great philanthropist who brought about the abolition of slavery. 
The following words, from his diary of the year 1788, are 
engraved on a stone chair which Earl Stanhope set up close 
to this historic tree in 1862; they are, “At length I well 
remember, after a conversation with Mr Pitt in the open air at 
the root of an old tree at Holwood, just above the steep descent 
into the vale of Keston, I resolved to give notice on a fit occasion 
in the House of Commons of my intention to bring forward the 
abolition of the slave trade.” This tree has a circumference of 
18 feet 1 inch at 3 feet up, and 18 feet 3 inches at 5 feet up. 

“Pitt's Oak,” at the same place, perpetuates the name of the 
great statesman. He used to sit and read underneath its spread- 
ing branches. It stands near Holwood House, and has a 
circumference of 20 feet 1 inch at 3 feet up, at 8 feet up it divides 
into four massive limbs and spreads its branches 57 feet, the 
sheer height being only 36 feet. 

The “Two Oaks” in Cowdray Park, Sussex. No. 1 was 
measured in 1819, and had a girth of 20 feet at 1 foot up, which 


was increased to 28 feet in 1879; at the same date it had a girth 
VOL, XIII, PART I. D 


50 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of 19 feet at 5 feet up; sheer height about 80 feet. No. 2 hada 
circumference in 1879 of 19 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up, and a sheer 
height of 90 feet. 

“Miss Maury’s Oak” has been long spoken of as an object of 
interest, especially on account of the loving care and the value 
attached to it by its aged owner. It is not a large nor a very old 
tree, but is remarkable for its symmetrical proportions and finely- 
developed head. It stands in a paddock in front of the old farm- 
house in the parish of West Wellow, Wiltshire, and has a circum- 
ference of 16 feet 9} inches at 4} feet up; a bole of 9 feet to where 
ten large boughs had sprung from the parent stem, now only 
five, some of them 2 feet in diameter; the sheer height is 90 feet, 
and it spreads its branches from east to west 36 yards, and from 
north to south 33 yards. 

“No Man’s Oak,” or the ‘ Forest Tree,” is a striking object, 
standing on an elevated ridge at the northern boundary of the New 
Forest. Its knotted and gnarled trunk and bare arms, but scantily 
clothed with ivy, give it a weird-like appearance, as it stands alone 
without a companion living or dead. It is, however, quite dead, 
but is to all appearance sound timber, and it is difficult to account 
for its death. The place is named “No Man’s Land,” and here 
the counties of Hants and Wilts are divided by a bank and ditch 
which are wholly in Wilts, and on the bank stands the tree, about 
4 feet within the county. It has a circumference of 10 feet 
6 inches, and a bole of 10 feet. 

The “ Longleat Oak,” at the Marquis of Bath’s Wiltshire seat, 
has a circumference of 25 feet 6 inches at 5 feet up. 

‘Penrhyn Castle Oaks,” Caernarvonshire, of which there are two 
to be noticed, are standing near the castle. No. 1 girths 10 feet 
1 inch at 3 feet up, with a length of bole of 50 feet. No. 2 girths 
10 feet 10 inches at 3 feet up, 9 feet 7 inches at 5 feet up, with a 
length of bole of 43 feet. 

Although tradition reports some large ere which were in 
existence in ages past, both in England and Wales, the accounts 
relating to them are no doubt in many cases considerably exag- 
gerated ; still the measurement of some of them are sufficiently 
authenticated to warrant the conclusion that there are none at 
present in existence so large as some of the giants of old, as for 
example, the “Golynos Oak,” which grew about four miles from 
the town of Newport in Monmouthshire, which was felled in the 
year 1810 for the use of His Majesty’s navy, and contained the 


ON BRITISH OAKS. ill 


large quantity of 2426 cubic feet of sound convertible timber. It 
was bought standing for £405, and the whole produce of the tree, 
when brought to market, was within a trifle of £600. Now, no 
tree 1s in existence which approaches this in size and soundness, 
and I have given an account of it because the particulars are well 


authenticated. 


The Notable Oaks of Scotland. 


Scotland cannot boast of such giant oaks as are found in 
England and Wales, but there are many remarkable old oak trees 
scattered over the northern country; and the following description 
of some of the more notable is taken from “ Forestry,” the 
Transactions and Reports of Excursions of the Royal Scottish 
Arboricultural Society, Hunter’s “Woods and Forests of Perth- 
shire,” and various other publications. 

The “ Wallace Oaks,” for there are two associated with the name 
of Scotland’s great patriot. The one at Torwood, Stirlingshire, 
had a girth of 22 feetin 1771. The other one is at Elderslie, 
Renfrewshire, the birthplace of Wallace. It has a girth of 21 
feet at the ground, 13 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up; height, 67 feet ; 
and its branches extend 45 feet east, 36 feet west, 30 feet south, 
and 25 feet north. Wallace and three hundred of his men hid 
themselves from the English among the branches of this tree, 
which was then in full leaf. It is said to cover 19 poles of 
ground, but, according to the above measurements, it would not 
appear to cover quite 13 poles, taking it as a circle, and even 
taking the space covered as a square, would only be over 16 poles. 

Of the “Inveraray Oaks,” one is growing in the grounds of 
Inveraray Castle, Argyllshire, and has a girth of 12 feet 11 inches 
at 5 feet up, a straight clean bole of 20 feet, and a height of 
96 feet. No. 2,is at the Dhu Loch avenue, and girths 12 feet at 
5 feet up. No. 3, at the same place, girths 11 feet 7 inches at 
5 feet up. No. 4 is close by the Aray stream, with a girth of 
12 feet 4 inches at 5 feet up. No. 5 is on a sloping bank at 
Maam, and girths 12 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up, and attains a 
height of 50 feet. 

On the north side of Loch Arkaig, in Lochaber, Inverness-shire, 
there is an oak with a circumference of 27 feet 6 inches at 


4 feet up. 
The ‘ Darnaway Forest Oaks,” Morayshire. No. 1 is on a 


52. TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


rising ground forming the centre of a little clearing. It girths 
11 feet 6 inches at 1 foot up, 9 feet 3 inches at 5 feet, a bole of 
15 feet, and a spread of branches of 80 feet. No. 2 is in the 
Haugh of Logie, with a girth of 13 feet 9 inches at 1 foot up, 
11 feet 5 inches at 5 feet, a clean bole of 23 feet, and a spread of 
branches of 75 feet. The following are also situate in the 
“Haugh,” and, according to Sir Thos, Dick Lauder, this grove, 
previous to the great flood in August 1829, when many of the 
trees growing nearest the river were washed away, contained the 
finest oaks in Scotland. No. 3 has an irregular gnarled stem, 
gurthing 23 feet at 1 foot up. No. 4 girths 27 feet 9 inches at 
1 foot up, and 20 feet 5 inches at 5 feet up. No. 5 girths 20 feet 
6 inches; No. 6, 20 feet 5 inches; No. 7, 18 feet 8 inches; No. 8, 
17 feet 1 inch ; No. 9, 16 feet ; No. 10, 14 feet—all at 5 feet up. 

An oak on the banks of the romantic Findhorn, on the Altyre 
estate, Morayshire, has a circumference of 16 feet 7 inches at 
1 foot up, 13 feet 3 inches at 5 feet up, and spreads its branches 
100 feet. 

The “ Drummond Castle Oaks,” Perthshire. No. 1 grows by 
the side of the burn to the east of the castle—it girths 19 feet 
6 inches at 1 foot up, 14 feet 8 inches at 5 feet up; length of 
bole, 12 feet; a height of 70 feet; and a spread of branches of 
114 feet. No. 2 adjoins the last, and girths 13 feet 4 inches at 
1 foot up, 10 feet 1 inch at 5 feet up; length of bole, 14 feet ; 
height, 81 feet; and spreads its branches 77 feet. No. 3 also 
adjoins, and has a girth of 10 feet 10 inches at 1 foct up, swelling 
out to 15 feet 8 inches at 5 feet up; length of bole, 11 feet; and 
the height, 45 feet. There are two fine oaks at the south end of 
the loch. No. 4 girths 18 feet 7 inches at 1 foot up, 11 feet 
10 inches at 5 feet up; length of bole, 21 feet 6 inches; height, 
78 feet 6 inches; and a spread of branches of 100 feet. No. 5 
girths 14 feet 3 inches at 1 foot up, 11 feet at 5 feet up; length 
of bole, 17 feet ; height, 64 feet ; and spreads its branches 73 feet. 
No. 6 grows by the side of the walk circling round the south side 
of the gardens—it girths 14 feet 4 inches at 1 foot up, 10 feet 
9 inches at 5 feet up; length of bole, 26 feet; and a height of 
96 feet. No. 7 is a gnarled old tree by the side of the burn east 
of the castle—it girths 17 feet 4 inches at 1 foot up, 17 feet 
7 inches at 5 feet up; length of bole, 9 feet; and a height of 
66 feet. 

The “‘ Lawers Oaks,” of which there are two, near the ruins of 


ON BRITISH OAKS. 53 


the chapel at Lawers, near Comrie, Perthshire. No. 1 girths 
20 feet 8 inches at 1 foot up, and 13 feet 5 inches at 5 feet up. 
No, 2 girths 20 feet 7 inches at 1 foot up, and 12 feet 6 inches at 
5 feet up. 

The ‘‘ Ochtertyre Oaks,” at Ochtertyre, near Crieff, Perthshire, 


‘« By Ochtertyre there grows the aik.” 


In a group by the margin of the loch is an oak girthing IS feet 
1 inch at 1 foot, 16 feet 2 inches at 5 feet up, with a length of 
bole of 12 feet. 

“« Hppie Callum’s Oak” stands at the corner of the road leading 
to Messrs Morgan’s saw-mills at Crieff. It is said to have been 
raised in a tea-pot by ‘‘ Eppie,” and then planted out. It has a 
girth of 16 feet at 3 feet up, and is a grand tree. 

The ‘‘Pepperwell Oak” grows near Methven Castle, Perth- 
shire, so called from being near a well of that name. It girths 
23 feet at 1 foot up, 19 feet 6 inches at 5 feet up, a height of 
80 feet, and spreads its branches 90 feet. 

**Malloch’s Oak” is on the Strathallan Castle estate, near 
Auchterarder, Perthshire, and is supposed to be a remnant of the 
ancient forest which once covered this part of the country. It is 
supposed to be about six hundred years old, and served as a 
gallows for a man who was hanged by the rebels in 1745. It 
has a girth of about 16 feet. 

“James VIth Oak,” situate at Scone, near Perth, is a fine 
specimen, said to have been planted by “ King Jamie.” It girths 
15 feet at 1 foot up, 13 feet 3 inches at 5 feet, and a height 
of 55 feet. 

At Seggieden, a few miles below Perth, in the Carse of Gowrie, 
there is an oak which girths 16 feet at 1 foot up, 13 feet at 3 feet, 
12 feet 1 inch at 5 feet, 11 feet 6 inches at 20 feet, and 11 feet 
8 inches at 22 feet ; with a clean straight bole of 28 feet, a total 
height of 70 feet, and spreads its branches 90 feet. 

“ Birnam Oak” grows near to Birnam, Perthshire, and close 
to the river Tay. ‘This tree is popularly believed to be one of the 
remains of ‘ Birnam Wood” of Shakespeare’s “ Macbeth.” It 
girths 23 feet at 3 feet up, 19 feet 7 inches at the narrowest part 
of the bole, has a total height of 50 feet, and spreads its branches 
40 feet. 

An oak at Dunkeld, Perthshire, near what is considered to be 
the first larches introduced into Scotland, has a girth of 12 feet 


54 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


6 inches at 5 feet up, a fine bole of 30 feet, and a total height of 
about 100 feet. 

The “ King’s Park Oak,” at Dunkeld, on the Athole property, 
has a circumference of 15 feet 8} inches at 3 feet up, 15 feet 
2 inches at 4 feet, the narrowest part of the bole. It has a fine 
bole 12 feet in length, which branches into five huge limbs the 
size of ordinary trees. The spread of branches is 99 feet. 

The ‘‘Murthly Castle Oaks,” Perthshire. No. 1 has a girth 
of 18 feet at 5 feet up. No. 2 has a girth of 10 feet 4 inches at 
5 feet up. 

The “Taymouth Oaks” grow at Taymouth Castle, Perthshire, 
and were planted in 1842 by Her Majesty the Queen and Prince 
Albert. They were measured in 1884—one had a girth of 4 feet 
9 inches at 3 feet up, and a height of 45 feet. 

An oak close to the public road between Weem and Fortingal 
in Perthshire has a girth of 15 feet at 1 foot up, and 12 feet 
6 inches at 5 feet. 

The “Dalgety Oak” grows in Dalgety parish, Fifeshire, on 
the north shore of the Firth of Forth. It has a girth of 13 feet 
10 inches at 1 foot up, 11 feet at 5 feet up, a length of bole of 
48 feet, and a total height of 90 feet. ; 

An oak at Hillhouse of Luss, on the shore of Loch Lomond, 
Dumbartonshire, girths 12 feet 10 inches at 5 feet up, and has a 
bole 20 feet in length. 

The “ Inchmurrin Oaks” grow on that island in Loch Lomond. 
They were measured by Sir Thos. Dick Lauder in 1784, but since 
which time there does not appear to be any record of them. 
No. 1 stands in the middle of the island, and measured at the 
above date 18 feet 1 inch in circumference. Its head was 
remarkable for its great leafy expanse. No. 2 girths 20 feet 
8 inches at 3 feet up. No. 3 girths 28 feet 5 inches, also at 
3 feet up. 

The ‘ Blairquhoish Oak,” Strathblane, Stirlingshire, has a girth 
of 15 feet at 4 feet up, and a spread of 30 yards. 

An oak at Hopetoun, Linlithgowshire, had a circumference of 
10 feet in 1855, which had increased to 11 feet 9 inches in 1880, 
or 21 inches in twenty-five years. The total height was 106 feet 
in 1855, and 110 feet in 1880, being an increase of 4 feet. 

The ‘‘ King of the Forest” grows on the top of a high steep 
bank overhanging the North Esk river in the old Caledonian 
Forest at Dalkeith, Midlothian. This remnant of the old forests 


ON BRITISH OAKS, dD 
of Scotland extends to about 160 acres. The “King” has a 
circumference of 18 feet 2 inches at 2 feet up, 15 feet 3 inches at 
5 feet up, a length of bole of 20 feet, and a total height of 90 feet. 

An oak at Penicuik, Sir Geo. D. Clerk’s, Bart., seat in Mid- 
lothian, has a circumference of 12 feet 8 inches at 1 foot up, and 
10 feet 3 inches at 5 feet up. 

The ‘‘ Yester Oaks,” Haddingtonshire. No. 1 is in the grounds 
at the garden, and had a circumference in 1854 of 13 feet 10 inches 
at 3 feet up; in 1880, 14 feet 10 inches—an increase in twenty- 
six years of 12 inches. No. 2, on the left side of walk from 
Yester Honse to the garden, had a circumference in 1854 of 13 feet 
6 inches at 3 feet up; in 1880, 15 feet 6 inches—increase in 
twenty-six years, 24 inches. 

The “Capon Tree” stands a few yards off the road in the level 
haugh near to the low bank of Jed water, on the Ferniehirst estate 
of the Marquis of Lothian, in Roxburghshire. There are differ- 
ences of opinion as to how the name “‘ Capon” came to be applied 
to the tree, but the theory that seems to find most acceptanee is, 
that it was the ‘meeting tree” where the tenants assembled to 
pay their rents in kind. Although considerably damaged by the 
snowstorm of December 1872, it still presents an appearance of 
imposing grandeur. It has three gigantic limbs remaining, and 
girths 26 feet 6 inches at 3 feet up, 24 feet 3 inches at 5 feet up, 
and covers an area of from 80 feet to 90 feet. 


“Old Capon tree, old Capon tree, 
Thou standest telling of the past. 
Of Jedworth’s forest wild, and free, 
Thou art alone, forsaken, last.” 


The “ King of the Wood” grows at the top of a ravine about a 
bow-shot distant from the last, on the opposite side of the road, 
and although not possessing the rugged strength of its rival, it has 
yet a noble appearance, and is said to be another remnant of the 
great forest of Jedwood, so that the ‘“‘Capon Tree” is not, as the 
poet sings, ‘‘alone, forsaken, last.” It girths 16 feet 6 inches at 
5 feet up, and is 78 feet in height. 

The “ Hartrigge Oaks,” near Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, the 
seat of Lord Stratheden and Campbell. Nos. 1 and 2 are by the 
side of the mansion-house park, girthing 13 feet 10 inches and 
11 feet 9 inches respectively at 5 feet up. No. 3 is near the north- 
east corner of the garden, and girths over 15 feet at 5 feet up. 


56 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The “ Dalwick Oaks” grow on the south bank of the Tweed 
at Dalwick, Peeblesshire. No. 1, on the west side of the 
mansion house, girths 14 feet 9 inches at 1 foot up, 10 feet 
8 inches at 5 feet, a bole of 35 feet, and a total height of 80 feet. 
No. 2 is on the east side of the mansion, and girths 17 feet 
6 inches at 1 foot up, 10 feet 9 inches at 5 feet, length of bole 
35 feet, and a total height of 57 feet. No. 3 is near the bowling- 
-green, and girths 14 feet 10 inches at 3 feet up, and is 80 feet 
in height. 

An oak in the low ground of the Home Park of Stobo Castle, 
Peebleshire, girths 11 feet 8 inches at 1 foot up, 9 feet 4 inches at 
5 feet up, with a bole of 35 feet. 

The ‘ Barjarg Oak,” in Nithsdale, is a remarkably fine tree. 
It has a girth of 17 feet above the roots, 11 feet 11 inches at 
16 feet up, 11 feet 9 inches at 32 feet up, and 6 feet 8 inches 
at 46 feet up. 

The ‘“ Lochwood Oaks,” in Annandale, Dumfriesshire, have a 
circumference of 20 feet and 18 feet 10 inches respectively at 
) feet up. 


It now only remains to be said, that in compiling the foregoing 
record of the oaks in England and Scotland, it is to be noticed 
that none in the latter country are returned as hollow, or to have 
been pollarded. Now it is fair to suppose that the operation of 
pollarding accounts for the larger girth of some at least of the 
English trees, and also for their being hollow. 


THE BEECH FORESTS OF HESSE NASSAU. 57 


IV. The Beech Forests of Hesse Nassau. By GEORGE CaDELL, Esq., 
14 Canning Road, Addiscombe, Surrey. 


Waste LAND IN GREAT BRITAIN AVAILABLE FOR PLANTING. 


If I venture upon a subject which is not specially set as one of 
the essays for the year, it is because I am unwilling to believe that 
the words delivered in the address to the Society of last year will, 
like so many words upon the subject of forestry, fall fruitlessly on 
the ground. It is specially necessary to remember in connection 
with these words, that the area of land available for the planting 
of trees in Great Britain is not in the strict sense of the word hope- 
lessly waste. It is land which, owing to various causes—foreign 
competition, facilities and cheapness of transport, or, as some con- 
tend, the fluctuations of currency, or to a combination of these 
causes—can no longer be profitably occupied by ordinary agricul- 
tural crops. No less than 1,437,000 acres of land, which in 1869 
were devoted to the cultivation of wheat, have, we are told, ceased 
to be so occupied. They are, therefore, available for the cultivation 
of other crops, which, however unremunerative they may be as 
compared with wheat, may yet produce something, and when they 
are occupied by crops which do not exhaust, but, on the contrary, 
improve the bearing capacity of the soil, the argument, in case a 
different condition of matters arises, is very greatly strengthened. 
If no interest at all were obtained in the shape of yearly returns, 
the planting of such areas with trees would be amply justified by the 
enhanced value of the capital. The income derived from forests or 
woodland, in short, cannot be compared directly with the income 
derived from wheat or other annual produce. It is, I think, neces- 
sary to bear this very prominently in mind, otherwise the planting 
of waste lands, either in our own or other countries, is not very 
intelligible. 


Tue Strate Forests oF Hesse NAssAu. 


It was with a full recognition of this unobtrusive but valuable 
“improvement ” that I went over the beech forests of Nassau the other 
day in company with the Ober Forster in charge of the division. 
And while I have really nothing new to tell, no one with a love of 
forestry could go over the excellently administered forests of Prussia 
without either learning new lessons, or having old ones practically 


58 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


and usefully enforced. For here we have, broadly speaking, no land 
“ out of occupation.” In the storm-swept plateaux, which produce 
nothing but tufty grass, we have what I suppose “ statistics” would 
schedule as wasteland. But even these have their fringe of weather- 
beaten spruce or other firs, whose flat tops afford a protection and 
shelter to their more favoured brethren. Nearly one-half—42 per 
cent., I believe, is the exact proportion—of this part of the empire 
is occupied with forest. And of this forest perhaps three-fourths 
are beech. 

The beech, as we know, has the credit of dominating and sub- 
duing all other trees which come within its influence. Neither 
grass nor underwood is tolerated under its shade. And if, in order 
to satisfy the demands of the vine-growers for stakes to support 
their trailing and clinging crops, some oaks are grown and main- 
tained, their presence in long-drawn lines appears only to emphasise 
the position, viz., that we are in a country of beechwoods. Not 
the far-spreading beech trees of our parks and meadows, but the tall 
plain columns crowned with a continuous canopy of leaves, through 
which the sun, with side-long gleam, strikes in those mingled lines 
of light and shade on which artists love to dwell, and in which 
all lovers of Nature delight. 

Foresters will understand what sort of woods these were, which 
were estimated to contain between 500 and 600 cubic metres! of 
solid timber per hectare,? worth something over 10,000 marks ; * 
while on every side were bundles of firewood, also of beech, con- 
taining 4 cubic metres, and worth from 30 to 40 marks each, The 
gross revenue derived is 40 marks or thereby per hectare, reduced 
by expenses of management, etc., to a nett revenue of 20 marks per 
hectare. 

I am not going to follow the statistician into any application of 
these figures to the waste lands of Great Britain. The agricultural 
statistics will, I understand, make him a present of something like 
28 millions of acres of waste and unoccupied land in our islands, 
and allowing for deductions, after the usual gracious way of esti- 
mators, he can yet obtain a very handsome revenue as well as capital, 
on paper. 

I will rather pass to another item of practical experience in 
Nassau, which seemed to me to be rather high. The cost of plant- 


1A metre is = 3.280 English feet. 
2 A hectare is = 2.471 English acres. 
3 A mark is = 114d. sterling. 


THE BEECH FORESTS OF HESSE NASSAU. 59 


ing an acre of wood appeared to average about two (£2) pounds 
sterling, as under,—three thousand plants were put in each acre, at 
an average contract price of 13s. 6d. per thousand. Of this fact also 
I make a present to the statistician, begging him to note my cour- 
tesy in giving him without circumlocution the comparative cost in 
plain figures. But so much depends upon the size of the area 
planted, its accessibility by waggon-roads or otherwise, that while 
the above figures have a charming simplicity, their application to 
British soil would, or might be, very misleading. 

I have been talking hitherto of the Government forests of Hesse 
Nassau, grown, let it be further noted, on most favourable condi- 
ditions of soil, a loamy clay mixed with sand ; and while these 
occupy by far the greater proportion of the land under wood, yet its 
administration and government into which I need not here enter, offer 
no lessons to the British official—for within the limits of our own 
Crown forests there are “rights” which fetter in no small degree 
the free action of their nominal rulers. I think it well therefore to 
pass on to a different matter, viz., the administration of communal 
and private forests in Hesse Nassau, for here we may possibly find 
lessons and borrow examples, which may be useful to us in Great 
Britain, where our forests, for the most part, are in the hands of 
private individuals. 


CoMBINED EFrorts oF STATE AND PEOPLE IN Nassau To PLANT 
Waste LAnps. 


It is very certain that if we are ever able to inaugurate a useful 
system of forestry in this country, it will be by reciprocal help—the 
help of the landed proprietors in placing their woods at the disposal 
of the Government for such time as may be agreed on ; the help of 
the State in affording facilities for planting and professional advice. 

Exactly such a system obtains in this part of Prussia. Not only 
does the State help in the planting of any land that is or may 
become waste, but all the forests of the country belonging to muni- 
cipalities or to private individuals are administered in accordance 
with the advice of the forest officer of the district. Nay more, they 
may not be administered otherwise. The State prevents the waste 
of their property by private individuals, as well as assists in its main- 
tenance, and it does this in the interest of the public good. 

Granted that the same pressing reasons for such action do not 
exist in Great Britain, it cannot be for the interest of the public 


60 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


good generally that so much land is lying useless, or only 
cultivated at a loss to its owner. And it cannot be fair to place 
the responsibility for such a waste of the soil on any one individual 
or set of individuals. We are told, of course, that the planting 
of trees does not pay, and the same arguments for non-action are 
repeated usque ad nauseam. Such excuses, for they are apologeti- 
cally offered, would not commend themselves—even if there were 
no colonial requirements to consider—to an estate administered 
with an eye to the future as well as to the present, such as we 
see in the district of Hesse Nassau. If the Nassau State forests 
are regulated as to their felling and replanting, on what is known 
as the rotation system, the land generally is utilised in perpetuity 
somehow. It is not all capable of producing the world-renowned 
Johannisberger wine, nor can its uplands compete with its valleys 
in the production of corn, but where fruit and grain cannot be 
cultivated, there is room for the useful rye and the needful forest. 
Each part has its capacity noted on the field map, each part 
contributes its share to the general good. 

I have endeavoured, in the accompanying Map of the topography 
of the district of the Taunus, one of the principal ranges of Hesse 
Nassau, and containing some of her most important forests, to 
give effect to this partition of the capacity of the soil; and I trust 
that my feeble efforts in this direction may be leniently dealt 
with, and measured rather for what they aim at than what they 
really are, for in carefully sketched field maps I see the beginning 
of practical forestry, as well as of practical agriculture, geology, 
or anything else. In forestry, as well as in other science, we 
must have a clear idea of where we are driving to, before we enter 
on any decisive course of action. 


DuTIES OF THE Oper FORSTER TO INDIVIDUALS. 


The details of such cultivation in Nassau are settled by what 
IT may call the county and municipal councils of the country, 
of which the Ober Forster is ea-officio a prominent and important 
member, He can, in effect, place his veto upon any action, such 
as prodigal cutting and the devotion of an undue proportion of 
the area of the country to the cultivation of agricultural produce, 
absolutely. He must be jealous, too, of what is known as the 
“possibility ”—that is, the fair yield of the forests—being en- 
dangered or exceeded. But he is, at the same time, no arbitrary 


THE BEECH FORESTS OF HESSE NASSAU. 61 


State official, forcing an unintelligible course of action down the 
throats of the council. He is there as their friendly adviser, 
working for and with the people, considering their interests as 
well as those of the State, which are in reality the same. 

In no less friendly, if responsible, relationship does he stand 
to the private proprietor. He, too, is not at liberty to cut and 
fell his woods as he pleases. Mumm non possessor sed custos 
solum is the motto which may be written on his private property, 
for, so far as his forests are concerned, he is the steward, not the 
irresponsible possessor of his landed revenues. Here I may take 
occasion to observe that the deer and other game which are 
sheltered in the forests are not necessarily the property of the 
lord of the soil. They are exposed to auction, and the proprietor 
may or may not be the successful bidder. He has, at any rate, 
to pay for his shooting, starting on all-fours with any outsider. 


APPLICATION OF THESE PRINCIPLES TO GREAT BRITAIN. 


I may be told, on the one hand, that such a state of matters as 
interference with the sacred rights of a landlord would not be 
tolerated in Great Britain ; and I may be told, on the other hand, 
that there is no money available in the State treasury to assist 
proprietors in the planting of waste land. I do not think there 
is much in either objection. Many of our proprietors, in Scotland 
at any rate, have been accustomed to hold their lands, as it were, 
in trust for their successors. They have willingly embarked on 
“improvements” of which they could not hope to reap the benefits. 
They have not only expended capital on such improvements, but 
they have submitted to a loss of any interest accruing on such 
capital, They have, in a word, although they have not always 
got the credit for it, acted as stewards for their heirs. The other 
objection—“no funds available,” is the familiar cry whenever 
anything not palatable to the powers that be is proposed. It is 
doubtless perfectly right and proper that the expenditure of the 
national funds should be carefully scrutinised, and their disburse- 
ment jealously guarded ; still, they are there for the good of the 
nation, and should be spent in accordance with their expressed 
wishes. I will not here allude more particularly to the Report 
of the Parliamentary Committee on Forestry. This, if it erred 
anywhere, erred on the side of moderation—and it has suffered 
accordingly. I have no data by me which show the actual cost 


62 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of State aid to planting by private proprietors in Nassau, But 
this cannot be much, and need not be in reality anything. 
Nurseries, or “ Férst Gartens,” are scattered all over the country, 
and from these, surplus seedlings can be given to proprietors who 
will promise to plant them, with positive advantage to the 
nurseries themselves. If money is asked for them, although I 
will not allude to the shabbiness of the demand, they can be given 
at cost price, which, if conscience enters into the calculation, will 
be infinitesimal. It is more the moral support and recognition 
by the State that encourages private individuals to plant than the 
actual money assistance. 

I am getting far away, it may be thought, from my beech 
forests, and yet not only their dense masses, but the ‘‘ shimmer ” 
of their countless leaves in the mixed woods of the country, are 
with me as I write. I see, too, the leaf-covered tunnels of 
beeches, which form the favourite alleys of the private gardens. 
And I see, in what Selby, I think, tells us was its original 
habitat, the red foliage of the copper beech contrasting with and 
toning down the mass of green. If I have unwarrantably made 
use of them, in the hope of attracting further attention to the 
policy of which they are the living tokens—a policy of pulling 
together by Government and people, under circumstances of 
difficulty, too intricate for their separate and divided efforts—I 
shall ask the pardon of my readers. I have not pulled the bow 
too strongly. I have carefully refrained from even mentioning 
those other measures of “relief” to proprietors of waste lands, 
which may commend themselves to the attention of our newly 
formed County Councils. I have not set forth an ideal, but an 
existing, and, I may add, a successful state of matters; and in 
doing so I have purposely avoided all those details of forest 
administration which have been once and again explained by far 
abler pens than mine ; and, except for the purpose of giving some 
idea of the size of these grand beech forests, I have kept clear of 
statistics and figures, which may be elsewhere ascertained. Those 
who visit our Continental neighbours will do well to examine for 
themselves the raison d’étre of the forests of the country, which 
will everywhere afford them at once a playground and a study. 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 63 


V. The Natural Regeneration of Woods. By W1LLtAM SOMERVILLE 
of Cormiston, D.dic., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Lecturer on Forestry, 
Edinburgh University. 


If the rearing of a young wood, by means of self-sown seed, 
upon the same ground as that previously occupied by an older 
generation of trees, is to be successfully accomplished, an amount 
of skill is demanded of the forester which can only be derived 
from careful training, long practice, and an intimate knowledge 
of the requirements of the trees placed under his charge. The 
difficulties are increased by the fact that generally a long series 
of years must elapse from the initial stages of the process till the 
regeneration is accomplished, so that, as frequently happens, the work 
is not directed in all its stages by the same hand, and unless each 
successive step be made at the right time and in the right way, 
total or at best partial failure must be the result of even the 
most auspicious beginning. 

In countries where State forests bulk largely in the wooded 
area, and where consequently ample provision is made for the 
training of foresters in the science and practice of their profession, 
no difficulty is experienced in bringing to a successful issue 
any sylvicultural system which may be inaugurated. As the 
men who have guided the work are one by one removed, their 
places are taken by those who have received their training in 
the same rigorous school as that in which they themselves were 
educated, and who are therefore fully qualified to carry forward 
the work, long since begun, on the lines which experience has 
shown will ultimately lead to the greatest success, 

The impediments which obstruct the path to the successful 
formation of woods by means of self-sown seed are so great, and 
the advantages and convenience of stocking the ground by 
artificial means, are in most cases so apparent, that in all parts of 
the world, whenever forests have been brought under scientific 
sylvicultural treatment, the cases where natural systems of 
renewal are held to offer greater advantages than artificial systems 
gradually diminish, till finally they form but a small proportion 
of the whole. Still it is highly improbable that artificial planting 
and sowing will ever in all places and under all circumstances 
completely displace natural sowing, so that it is not too late to 


64 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


consider the cases and conditions under which the latter system 
may be most advantageously adopted, and to look as shortly 
as may be at the best means of attaining the end in view. 

Speaking generally, it may be said that the fulfilment of the 
following conditions would chiefly influence the adoption of 
natural regeneration in preference to artificial restocking. 

1. Where the state of the surface of the ground is such as 
to offer the conditions requisite for a good seed-bed without the 
aid of any artificial preparation. This consideration gains 
additional weight when the financial condition of the estate is 
such as to make the restriction of all outlay to the very minimum 
almost a necessity, as well as in cases where the quality or value 
of the timber is so low that, in order to get even a small balance 
on the right side, the expenses must be kept down to the lowest 
point. In outlying districts, also, where the cost of conveyance 
reduces the profits within very narrow limits, it frequently 
happens that the only way to secure any return at all from the 
woodlands is to avoid all outlay in their formation. 

The cases where no artificial aid is required to bring the 
surface of the ground into a suitable condition for the reception 
and germination of the seed are, comparatively speaking, few, and 
are for the most part only to be looked for in close well-managed 
woods of shade-bearing trees (beech, silver fir, etc.), and then 
only if the trees are not too old, and in the absence of destructive 
gales. In many other cases, no doubt, a patchy imcomplete 
stocking may be looked for, but that perfect regularity in the 
distribution of the young plants, which has so much to do with 
the future success of the wood (and a considerable departure from 
which must bring, at least, partial failure), is attained without 
artificial preparation of the ground in very few cases indeed. 
If weeds must be removed, and the surface broken by means of 
hand implements before a good seed-bed is secured, the expense 
incurred is frequently much greater than the cost of stocking by 
means of planting. 

2. On steep, bare, rocky declivities, and in high exposed 
situations, the system of clear-felling one crop of timber, and 
then restocking the denuded area by artificial means, admits of 
serious loss, occasioned by the washing action of rains and melted 
snow during the time that the surface is destitute of trees, or 
before the young generation has developed sufficiently to shade 
the ground, Especially undesirable is it to clear-fell a wood 


THB NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 65 


where the surface is thickly strewn with large boulders, or where 
the bare rock projects in large masses, because so long as a close 
wood is preserved the leaves accumulate to form valuable plant- 
food, and, in coniferous woods, moss grows in great luxuriance, 
so that a good seed-bed is provided even on what would otherwise 
be a bare rock-surface, and the young seedlings ultimately push 
their roots into cracks or crevices, or ramify over the rocky 
surface till they get at better soil, and so large well-grown trees 
are not unfrequently to be seen in situations which they could 
never have occupied had they not been self-sown. Let such an 
area be cleared of its trees even for a few years, and the moss and 
humus will, under the combined influence of sun, wind, and 
water, entirely disappear from the rocks and boulders, for shade 
and a humid atmosphere, such as are to be found in a dense 
wood, are absolutely necessary for the formation of forest humus, 
and the production of a rank growth of mosses. The fact must 
not be overlooked that rocks covered by decaying vegetable 
matter or mosses weather much more rapidly than where 
unprovided with a covering, for the carbonic acid gas resulting 
from decomposition of the humus, and the solutions exuded from 
the roots of plants, act far more powerfully than rain or the 
atmosphere in corroding rocks and rendering their ingredients 
soluble, 

When a locality, in the enjoyment of unrestricted sunlight, is 
apt to produce a very rank growth of ground vegetation, such as 
ferns, heather, blackberries, large grasses, etc., it is often 
advantageous to restock by self-sowing before felling all the 
old trees, for in this way the weeds are kept in check till the 
young trees have had time to surmount them, ‘This is often 
the case on moist, rich, loamy soil, especially if calcareous. Here 
such a rank growth of herbaceous vegetation would spring up 
after clear-felling, that small slowing-growing trees would be apt 
to be smothered, or one would be compelled to give them light 
and air by mowing the weeds, unless recourse was had to the 
expensive operation of restocking with extra large trees. 

3. A third case where natural regeneration may be advan- 
tageously resorted to occurs where we have to deal with species of 
trees which are very liable to be injured in youth by too powerful 
atmospheric agencies. This is the case more especially with the 
beech and silver fir. When young both these trees are very 
sensitive to frost, heat, and drying winds, from which they can 

VOL. XIII. PART I. E 


66 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


be best protected by regenerating under overhead shade. This 
protection can be procured as well when the young generation is 
formed by artificial sowing or planting under a shelter wood, as 
when from self-sown seed, but if the trees which give the shelter 
can also yield the seed, it is a manifest advantage to utilise them 
in this way as well. To the two species just named may be 
added the spruce, which, on account of its shallow roots, is apt 
to perish on dry land during the first few years of its existence, 
unless the surface soil be kept sufficiently moist, and nothing 
conduces more to this end than the shading of the ground by 
overhead foliage, and the exclusion of drying winds. As we 
shall see afterwards, the natural regeneration of spruce woods is 
attended with great difficulty in windy regions, but where a 
locality is sheltered from violent gales the system may frequently 
be advantageously adopted. 

4. Where young trees are liable to be destroyed by insects, it 
has been found advantageous to rear them for some years under the 
shade of an older generation, for insects prove much less destructive 
under shade than on a cleared area. Here, again, the shading trees 
may also be the mother-trees, if no serious obstacles interpose to 
their being used as such; and the ravages of the cockchafer grub 
and the pine weevil may often in this way be successfully combated. 

Where any return can be got from the roots and stools, the 
practice of felling conifers by stubbing their roots is strongly to be 
recommended, as it is very effective in keeping down the increase of 
all sorts of destructive insects, and, at the same time, the ground is 
brought into a suitable state for the reception of the seed. 

5. Trees which grow well under the shade of others are much 
the most suitable for natural regeneration, and now the system is 
being more and more applied in their case alone. Such trees are 
known as shade-bearers, and include the silver fir, beech, spruce, 
lime, and one or two others of minor importance, notably the yew, 
which develops almost as rapidly under considerable shade as in an 
open situation. 

There are two distinct cases in which an area may be supplied 
with self-sown seed, and where consequently a system of natural 
reproduction may be put in force. The one is where the seed is 
furnished by trees (the shelter-wood) occupying the area to be 
restocked, and the other where the mother-trees stand at a greater 
or less distance from it. Inthe former case, the general conditions 
of the situation and the growth of the seedlings are influenced by 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 67 


the overhead shading ; in the latter there is no vertical shade or 
shelter, though there is usually lateral protection. The former of 
these two cases in its various modifications being the more import- 
ant, may be taken first. 

The regeneration of a forest on a shelter-wood system may be 
accomplished in various ways, the most common being that where 
the whole is taken in hand at one time, that is to say, the several 
processes or stages in the operation of natural regeneration proceed 
simultaneously throughout the whole wood. 

When it has been resolved to renew a wood by natural seeding, 
all efforts must be directed towards providing conditions which will be 
likely to bring about a successful result. It comparatively seldom 
happens that the surface of the ground is naturally in a proper 
state to receive the seed, and that the number and distribution of 
the trees over the area are such as to secure the proper conditions as 
regards light for the health and development of the young seed- 
lings. It therefore becomes necessary, afew years before the actual 
shedding of the seed is to be expected, to undertake various pre- 
liminary operations in order to avert as much as possible the chances 
of failure. If the closeness of the wood is such that no weeds, but 
only dead leaves and twigs, cover the surface of the ground, this 
preparatory stage offers but few obstacles. It is then only neces- 
sary to make several very moderate fellings in order to hasten the 
decomposition of the raw humus, and to bring about a perfectly 
regular distribution of the old trees, so that every part of the ground 
may receive the necessary supply of seed, and at the same time be 
equally shaded. At first attention should chiefly be directed 
towards removing the smaller class of trees, namely, those that are 
overgrown, diseased, or poorly developed, and therefore not likely 
to bear much seed, as well as those species which it is not desir- 
able to have represented in the next generation. If we are dealing 
with a mixed wood, the fellings should also be directed towards 
proportioning the trees as they are intended to be represented in 
the young wood, due regard being taken of the fact that some 
species produce far more seed than others, and that some seeds, 
especially those provided with wings, possess special facilities for 
distribution. 

The advance fellings may take only one or two years to accom- 
plish, or as many as ten or fifteen if the wood is situated ina region 
subject to heavy gales, or if the trees are of a shallow-rooted species, 
for in these cases the process of thinning must be very slowly 


68 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


performed, in order that the trees which are left may develop new 
roots, and so gain stability sufficient to enable them to withstand 
the action of wind. 

In the early part of this preliminary stage, supposing it to embrace 
several years, the felling must not be so heavy as to cause inter- 
ruption to any considerable extent to the leafy canopy, for were such 
brought about, sufficient light would reach the ground to enable 
strong weeds to gain a footing which would make the surface very 
unsuitable for the reception of the seed, and, besides, owing to direct 
insolation and the entrance of drying winds, great loss of fertility 
would result. 

If the wood is rather thin, a proper advance felling may be 
altogether dispensed with. There is, however, one case in particular 
where very considerable felling is necessary, namely, in very dense 
woods of broad-leaved trees, especially beech. In such a case the 
ground is covered by a thick layer of humus, which is only partially 
decomposed. Such a covering would not interfere with the ger- 
mination of the seed, but would be apt to bring about the death of 
a large number of the seedlings during the first few weeks of their 
existence. This is due to the fact that a layer of raw humus is 
subject to great variations in the degree of moisture, so that, if the 
rootlets of the young plants ramify in this material alone, they are 
not so able to withstand any considerable spell of dry weather as 
they would be were they fixed in the mineral soil lying underneath. 
So long as the layer of leaves and twigs is shaded from the sun, 
sheltered from the wind, and protected from the rain by a dense 
mass of umbrage, decomposition goes on but slowly, especially on 
cold stiff soils; but the process may be much accelerated by the 
removal of a considerable number of trees, and the consequent 
admission of light, air, and rain. 

If the desired result is not attained by thinning alone, recourse 
must be had to the removal, by means of rakes, of part of the sur- 
face covering where densest, or the mineral soil may be stirred up 
and mixed with the raw humus by the aid of mattocks or heavy 
hoes. The former of these operations involves a cost of about 10s. 
per acre, the latter costing about twice as much, and both may 
generally in great part be avoided by bringing the wood into such a 
state that the natural processes of weathering can be utilised. If 
artificial aid must be adopted, it should not be put into force till 
there is an immediate prospect of seed being borne, for if some 
years elapse between the preparation of the soil and the seeding, 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 69 


the quality of the seed-bed will suffer severely, and the labour 
expended upon it may be for the most part lost. 

Not only do the advance-fellings, if properly performed, prepare 
the seed-bed, and adapt the trees to offer greater resistance to storms, 
but they also induce the mother-trees to produce a large crop of 
seeds. This is the natural result of admitting light to the lower 
branches of the crowns, and is most apparent in cold districts, such 
as high regions, and north or east slopes. 

In many woods one finds scattered here and there in small 
groups, or as single specimens, young trees which have sprung from 
naturally sown seed. These usually occupy the somewhat opener 
parts of the wood, which are accessible to direct sunlight, but 
whether they should be retained and fostered or be cleared away, 
depends on such circumstances as species and quality. If they 
belong to a kind of tree which it is considered desirable to have 
represented in the new wood, it is well to retain them, and to 
encourage their development by cutting out the old trees in their 
vicinity which are interfering with their growth, provided they have 
not grown so long in restricted light as to be incapable of ultimate 
normal development. Most in this respect depends upon species. 
Silver firs, for instance, have wonderful recuperative power, and 
may exist for more than fifty years in dense shade, and still retain 
their vital powers practically unimpaired. During this time they 
will have made but slow growth—the wood rings, in fact, will often 
be found to be of hair-like fineness—but when gradually placed in 
the possession of a greater amount of light, the foliage increases in 
quantity and becomes darker in colour, the wood-rings become 
broader, the leading shoot lengthens, and in a few years what before 
seemed a stunted bush acquires all the characters of a vigorously 
growing tree. 

In a close, or moderately close, wood any advance growth which 
may be met with must, from the very nature of things, consist of 
some shade-bearing species of tree, for no young light-demanding 
tree could exist for any length of time under such conditions. 
Where, however, the wood is open, or where blanks have been 
occasioned by any cause, advance growth of such light-demanding 
trees as the Scots pine, birch, etc., may be met with. It is but 
seldom, however, that such advance growth can be utilised, for, if 
light-demanding trees have become stunted when young, they never 
recover to such an extent as to form desirable objects for future 
encourgement. They should, therefore, be cut out in the pre- 


70 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


liminary stage, as should also all growth of the nature of brush 
or underwood, e.g., sloes, aspen, bird-cherry, willows, ete. These 
frequently prove a serious annoyance in natural regeneration, 
because, when cut over, they reproduce themselves by means of 
stool or root shoots, which, growing with great vigour, are apt to 
choke out the slower growing seedlings. 

When as much thinning has been done as is considered safe, 
attention must be directed towards discovering the first signs of an 
approaching seed year. In the case of the Scots pine, and the 
genus Pinus generally, where two years elapse between the time of 
flowering and the ripening of the seed, one always receives sufficient 
intimation that the production of a full crop of seed is near at 
hand. In the case of most of the other important trees, however, 
no such long intimation is given, for they ripen their seeds in the 
same year as that in which they produce the flowers. However, if 
one is watchful, a year’s warning at least can usually be obtained, 
for, on account of their larger size, and in other ways, the flower- 
buds can be distinguished from ordinary leaf-buds in autumn, or, 
at any rate, in the course of the winter and spring. In the case 
of some trees, large quantities of seed are produced every two to 
three years, whereas many trees do not bear oftener than once in 
eight to ten years. Where we have to deal with a species of the 
latter class, ¢.g., the beech, we must be specially careful not to let 
the opportunity slip of availing ourselves of a seed year; but, at 
the same time, the work of preparation must not be completed too 
long in advance, for unfavourable weather may intervene during 
the time of flowering, or in the succeeding summer before the fruit 
has ripened, which may cause the yield of seed to be very dis- 
appointing. Where the wood is of moderate dimensions it is best 
to wait till autumn before completing the advance fellings and 
final preparation of the surface, but where large areas have to be 
regenerated it is scarcely possible to delay beyond midsummer. 
In either case, however, if a large production of seed be regarded 
as tolerably certain, the wood must be brought into that state in 
which it will be most favourable for the reception and germination 
of the seed, and for the development and protection of the young 
plants. At this time the heaviest trees must be felled and 
removed, partly to provide the future young trees with light as 
well as to facilitate the entrance of rain and formation of dew, and 
partly because the removal of specially heavy trees after the young 
seedlings occupy the ground would be sure to damage them exces- 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. it 


sively. At the same time attention should be given to felling all 
trees which are provided with low-reaching branches, as these, 
owing to the excessive shade which they produce, are apt to act 
prejudicially on the young generation. If, however, such trees 
must be retained, in order to furnish the necessary seed, or for 
purposes of protection, then all their branches ought to be removed 
for 20 feet from the ground. 

The species of tree, kind of soil, climate, etc., must regulate the 
amount of shading which should be retained at this time ; or, what 
is the same thing, these considerations should decide the extent of 
the seed felling. In the case of shade-bearing trees, it is usually 
sufficient to bring the wood into such a state that the edges of the 
crowns of the trees are separated 3 to 9 feet from each other, which 
implies the removal during the advance and seed fellings of from 
a quarter to three quarters of the original number of trees. Light- 
demanding trees require at least twice this amount of thinning 
unless a subsequent felling can be made very soon after the seed 
year, in which case it is better not to fell too heavily at first for 
fear the seeding should not be successful or complete, when it may 
be necessary to supplement by utilising a second seed year. 

As a general rule, one should not make the wood too thin where 
the land is of the character which predisposes it to produce a strong 
growth of weeds, for the only way of keeping them in check is to 
retain a considerable amount of shade. Here, again, species must 
be taken into account, for the rate of development in youth varies 
greatly, some—for instance, the silver fir—growing very slowly 
when young, and consequently being lable to be choked by rank 
vegetation, while others, such as the larch, grow so rapidly as soon 
to be out of all danger from this cause. 

In frosty localities, or in the case of tender trees, more shading 
should be retained than under opposite conditions ; and the same 
is true where insects are numerous, or where the soil is very dry 
and apt to suffer from excessive drought. 

Should artificial assistance be necessary, the stage of the seed 
felling is the most suitable time to complete the preparation of the 
seed-bed. Ifthe advance fellings have been too heavy, or if severe 
gales have occurred, a considerable amount of ground vegetation 
may have found a footing. This must be got rid of, at least in 
part; but if not very plentiful, the disturbance of the surface 
occasioned by felling and dragging the trees is usually sufficient 
preparation. If the trees have been felled with their stools attached, 


72 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


and if the holes thus made in the ground have been carefully 
levelled, an excellent seed-bed is produced at such places. A 
practice which cannot be too highly recommended, both on account 
of its efficacy and cheapness, is that of allowing swine to run in 
the wood during the summer, autumn, and winter of a seed year. 
These creatures grub up the ground, spread the heaps of dead 
leaves, destroy enormous numbers of grubs and mice, and in 
various ways prove extremely useful. Even in beech or oak woods, 
where one would expect them to destroy considerable quantities of 
fruit, they are found to do far more good than harm. 

In the case of woods consisting of light-demanding trees, ¢.g., 
Scots pines, larch, etc., where it has not been necessary to under- 
take any advance fellings—that is to say, where the seed felling 
has been the first felling of all, the surface of the ground is 
generally provided with a thick covering of moss or grass, which 
must be partly removed before successful germination can be looked 
for. If horse implements, such as ploughs, harrows, or grubbers, 
can be worked it is sufficient to scarify the ground in narrow lines 
about 3 feet apart ; but if, as is oftener the case, the nature of the 
ground does not admit of horse labour, there is no help for it but 
to remove the mossy or grassy covering in stripes or patches by 
hand labour, with the aid of rakes, hoes, spades, or mattocks. 
Where one has to deal merely with moss, raking is quite sufficient, 
the preparation of an acre requiring four or five days. If heavy 
hoes or mattocks must be employed (and these must be resorted to 
when an actual sward of grass is present), the expense mounts up 
rapidly, as it may take ten to twenty days to prepare an acre, the 
time depending on the amount of preparation deemed necessary, as 
well as upon the nature of the situation. Where ploughs can be 
used, and if single furrows be turned at distances of 3 feet, at least 
two acres may be overtaken in a day. 

In the case of the lighter seeds, those of the pines, firs, larch, 
birch, ete., no covering is necessary, and consequently, if deemed 
advisable, the preparation of the ground and the felling and drag- 
ging of the timber and branches may be completed before the seed 
is shed ; but where one is dealing with large seeds, such as those of 
the oak, beech, or chestnut, some covering must be provided. This 
may be obtained by raking the surface with heavy rakes imme- 
diately after the seed has fallen, which of course adds considerably 
to the expenses of regeneration ; but in practice it is found better, if 
possible, to delay the preparation of the surface by raking, ploughing, 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. te 


-or hoeing, till just after the trees have shed their seed, when 
the preparation of the seed-bed and the covering of the seed may 
be performed by one and the same operation. Where no artificial 
preparation is necessary, but where it is desirable to cover the seeds, 
it is well to delay making the seed-felling till late in winter, when 
the disturbance to which the surface of the ground is subjected, by 
the felling and dragging of the timber and branches, usually suffices 
to bury the seeds to the required depth. 

If the ground has been sufficiently supplied with seed which has 
germinated satisfactorily, the future use of the old generation of 
trees is chiefly confined to protecting the young plants against 
extremes of temperature. If, however, owing to some cause or 
other, the stocking of the ground is defective, the old trees must be 
still further utilised for the production of seed. For this purpose a 
sufficient number must be retained till a second seed year has come 
round, their distribution over the area being regulated by the 
appearance of the young wood. 

If the blanks or patches which are insufficiently stocked be of 
inconsiderable size, they may often be filled up by transplanting 
young trees from parts of the wood where the stocking is so dense 
that they can be easily spared. These young trees should be lifted 
with balls of earth adhering to their roots, and as they need not be 
carried far, the operation is not an expensive one, and the results 
are excellent. If this practice be adopted—and leaving advance 
growth out of the question—the young wood is absolutely even- 
aged, for all the trees have been produced from seed shed during 
one year; whereas if two or more seed years have been utilised, 
differences of as much as ten to fifteen years in the age of the young 
trees are unavoidable. In later life such slight differences become 
unrecognisable, so that, to all intents and purposes, such a wood 
may be regarded as even-aged, though, strictly speaking, it is really 
uneven-aged. 

In those parts where the regeneration is quite satisfactory, and 
where consequently no more seed or plants are required, the length 
of time during which the old trees should be retained is regulated 
by various considerations. In the case of shade-bearing trees, which 
are liable to suffer from frost, the old trees should not be removed 
too soon, for though their shade will somewhat retard growth in the 
younger trees, it will not cripple them, and will prove very bene- 
ficial in the way of protection. Where, however, we are dealing 
with light-demanding trees, the subsequent felling, or light-felling, 


74 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


as it is sometimes called, must on no account be long delayed, other- 
wise the effect on the young generation will prove very prejudicial. 
In the latter case, the subsequent felling should be made in the first, 
or at most in the second, autumn after the seed has germinated, 
when the whole of the trees may be removed in either one or two 
fellings ; or twenty to thirty per acre may be retained as standards 
to grow through the whole of the second rotation, and so form extra 
heavy timber. In the case of the beech, spruce, silver fir, etc., the 
subsequent felling should be subdivided into several fellings, the 
last of which—~.e., the final felling—need not be undertaken till ten 
or more years after the seed felling, though during that time a con- 
siderable number of trees should be removed every year or so in 
order to satisfy the increasing demands for light on the part of the 
young trees. 

Speaking generally, the subsequent felling should be most quickly 
performed on poor dry land, because the shade trees partially prevent 
the entrance of rain, and yet are so scarce as not to be able to hinder 
evaporation to any appreciable extent. On north or east slopes, 
also, or at high elevations, where the growing season is short, the 
retention of many old trees for a considerable period would retard 
growth in the young trees to an undesirable extent, 

On the other hand, the subsequent fellings should not be hurried 
where late frosts are almost annual in their recurrence, as well as on 
all strong soils, especially those resulting from the weathering of 
limestone, basalt, or porphyritic rocks, because there strong weeds 
are to be apprehended ; and besides, on such rich soils trees can bear 
an amount of shading with impunity which would soon kill them 
on poorer soils. 

It is needless to say that very great care and skill are required in 
felling the old trees after the young trees occupy the ground, so as to 
prevent the latter being excessively damaged. Unless snow cover 
the ground, all operations should be suspended during hard frost, as 
at that time the young stems are very brittle, and specially liable to 
be broken. Where the trees are provided with large branches, they 
must be pruned before being felled, an operation entailing a great 
deal of labour, but one which it is impossible to avoid. 

The system which has been sketched, namely, the simultaneous 
natural regeneration of whole woods under shade trees, has the 
advantage that the operation in all its phases is confined to a limited 
period, and is concentrated into a compact area, so that the work 
can be easily controlled and directed. If all goes well, then a large 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 79 


measure of success may be looked for, but if the operations have not 
been skilfully conducted, or if severe gales have overturned many 
of the mother-trees before seeding has been accomplished, and the 
young plants have become securely established, or if it should turn 
out after seed-felling that the trees are so old as to be incapable of 
bearing a sufficient quantity of good seed, then, indeed, the con- 
sequences may be most disastrous. In the event of failure from 
any cause, the surface of the ground is long deprived of the shade 
and shelter afforded by the young crop of trees, and if the situation 
is naturally a poor one, that is to say, if it has the store of forest 
humus chiefly to thank for its productive power, the fertility which 
has been gradually accumulated during the previous rotation is soon 
dissipated to such an extent that the restocking of the ground, either 
artificially or naturally, becomes a most difficult matter. If the soil 
is naturally rich, then the same danger sinks in significance, though 
only in situations of the very highest quality can it be said to dis- 
appear altogether. 

It is always well to guard against great calamities by not taking 
very large areas in hand at one time. Large woods should be 
divided into compartments of moderate size, which may be regarded 
as separate woods, and be regenerated at different times. 

The system works best where the area is pretty flat and the soil 
of the same character throughout, because in that case the closeness 
of the wood and the development of the trees are uniform over the 
whole area, so that there exists no necessity to hurry the operations 
in one part and delay them in another. 

Having looked somewhat carefully at the foregoing system, the 
others may be dealt with much more shortly. The advance, seed, 
and light fellings are more or less common to all systems, and 
therefore what has been already said in connection with them need 
not be repeated. 

The system which we have already considered undergoes an im- 
portant modification when a wood, instead of being simultaneously 
regenerated over the whole area, is divided into a number of bands 
or stripes, each representing some particular stage of regeneration. 
This gives rise to the system known as the shelter-wood band 
system, under which one commences the process of regeneration at 
one side of the wood, and proceeds systematically towards the 
other. It is of great importance to begin at the side of the wood 
farthest away from the quarter from which the severest gales blow 
—that is to say, in this country one would begin on the east or 


76 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


north-east side, and work towards the west or south-west. By so 
doing a compact mass of wood is interposed between the gales and 
the part of the wood undergoing regeneration, so that the trees 
which are semi-isolated in the advance, seed, or subsequent stages 
are well protected, and not likely to suffer much from gales, and 
the partially exposed surface of the ground is sheltered from drying 
winds. 

In the simplest form three bands are in hand at the same time. 
One of these bands (L) is in the light-felling stage, another (8) 
adjoining is in the seed-felling stage, while a third (P) is in the 
preparatory stage. All the wood lying to the westward of band 
P is still untouched, and consequently, so far, is not embraced by 
the process of regeneration. 


| 


Intact Wood P sage 


| 


West Side 


The simple case which we have just glanced at is often applicable 
to woods consisting of light-demanding trees where little advance 
felling is necessary ; in fact, it often happens, under such circum- 
stances, that band P can be dispensed with altogether, and so we 
have only to deal with bands S and L. On the other hand, where 
much advance felling and preparation are necessary, as is generally 
the case where the wood is very dense, or where we have to deal 
with trees provided with very shallow roots, as well as in windy 
regions, it is not sufficient to have only one band in the preparatory 
stage at any given time, but several must be simultaneously under- 
going moderate felling—that is to say, there must be several P 
bands. 

Another modification occurs where groups of serviceable advance 
growth fall to be dealt with. These will be met with irregularly 
distributed throughout the untouched wood, and light must be 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS, an 


given to foster their development by moderate fellings being made 
in their vicinity. As the regular regeneration bands move forward, 
the advance growth groups are embraced by them, so that it may 
happen that final felling is being done in these groups at a time 
when the band in which they are then situated is only in the 
preparatory or seed stage. Although such a case introduces us to 
a compound system (composed of the union of the shelter-wood 
band system and the one which we shall look at presently, namely 
—the shelter-wood group system), it need present no extraordinary 
difficulties, and, if the groups of advance growth are of good 
quality, it would be most irrational to neglect them. 

As regards the breadth and length of the bands, no hard and 
fast rule can be laid down. It is usual to make the breadth 
correspond to the height of the trees (60 to 100 feet), while the 
length is regulated by the dimensions of the wood measured from 
north to south. 

If the length of the wood from east to west is very great, and if, 
at the same time, the length of the bands (7.e., the breadth of the 
wood) is short, it may be advisable to commence regenerating at 
two places, one on the extreme east and the other in the middle ; 
or the process may be hastened somewhat by making the bands 
elbow shaped instead of straight, but this must only be done in 
well-sheltered districts. Where elbow-shaped bands are adopted, 


Se 
tile 


or where it is impossible, owing to the configuration of the ground, 
to fell directly towards the wind, it is often advantageous to leave 
a part of the wood on the west side intact, so as to act as a shelter- 
belt and break the force of the gales. 

This system offers several advantages as compared with the fore- 
going one. Here the danger of total failure over a large area is 
avoided, the risk of the seed and shelter trees being overturned is 
not so great, and as the parts of the wood which are light thinned 
are, for the most part, sheltered from sun and wind by a close 
wood lying to the south-west or west, soil fertility is well 


Side 


Intact Wood 


West 


78 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


preserved. All trees may be treated under this system, but it 
is specially suited to the wants of the Norway spruce. 

The objection that the regeneration of a wood in this way is a 
process slow of accomplishment has not much force, and is altogether 
lost sight of after a wood has once been gone over, for then we 
have to deal with a series of age classes systematically arranged, 
the oldest of which is taken in hand first, and at a time when those 
which are younger are not ready for regeneration. 

When regeneration is accomplished in neither of the two ways 
already considered, but by taking certain irregularly distributed 
groups in hand as occasion demands, a third system presents itself, 
which is known as the shelter-wood group system. Under this 
system all groups of advance growth are specially attended to, 
and their occurrence regulates, to a considerable extent, the points 
where felling should be done. Groups of young seedlings which 
have found a footing in the open parts of the wood, even though 
embracing an area of only a few square feet, must not be over- 
looked, so long as they are not stunted in growth, and, owing to 
this cause, incapable of future development. Advance or seed 
fellings, properly so called, cannot be spoken of in-connection with 
these groups, for they have sprung into existence without any 
artificial aid being given. They must, however, be fostered by 
light fellimgs being made round about them, and these fellings 
become advance fellings for other groups which will subsequently 
spring up in their immediate neighbourhood. By this means each 
group is constantly being enlarged, like a crystal or a snowball, 
by the deposition of material on the outside, until ultimately, by 
group joining on to group, the regeneration of the whole wood is 
accomplished. 

Although groups of advance growth form special objects of care 
under this system, still there are certain circumstances when points 
of the wood must be attacked for other reasons than the fostering 
of young trees already established. This happens where patches 
of old trees occur which are in an unhealthy state, owing to such 
causes as insect or fungoid attack; or where, in a mixed wood, 
certain species are ready for felling sooner than others; or where 
extra old and heavy trees, the survivors of a former generation, 
have reached maturity, as well as where groups of trees have ceased 
to grow owing to the effects of situation, etc. 

In removing old trees, in order to provide sufficient light for the 
young groups, one must look not only to the vertical shade, but 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 09 


also to that which is due to the laterally situated trees. Where a 
group is surrounded on all sides by a dense wood of tall trees, 
most light will be let in with the least amount of felling by 
attacking the old trees on the south and west sides rather than by 
felling on the north and east sides. 

Regeneration of a wood under this system usually takes from 
thirty to fifty years to accomplish, and the result is an uneven-aged 
wood, with the various age classes distributed throughout in groups 
of all conceivable shapes and sizes. 

Provided the management be firstclass, this system has much to 
commend it. It recognises and provides for temporal and local 
variations, and admits of parts of a wood being taken in hand at a 
time when they most require regeneration, and when the operation 
would be most likely to succeed. It preserves soil fertility from 
loss better than the two systems already considered, for the surface 
of the ground occupied by the groups is protected from the sun 
by the overhead foliage, and from the entrance of drying winds 
by the intact wood which surrounds them, or by the young 
groups which have previously been established. It is most in 
vogue in mixed woods of shade-bearing trees, especially where, 
owing to greater exposure of certain parts, soil fertility is 
being reduced, or where, owing to any cause, closeness has been 
partially interrupted and advance growth groups have established 
themselves. 

A modification of the last system is made use of in some coun- 
tries, and differs from the one we have just noticed, in so far as it 
does not deal with groups of young trees so much as with isolated 
examples. These are tended in exactly the same way as the groups 
in the former case, but here the regeneration is extended over the 
whole length of the rotation, so that all seed years are utilised, and 
one finds represented in the wood trees of all ages, from the one- 
year-old seedling up to those which are perfectly mature. 

This system ensures a constant covering for the ground, and is 
therefore most adapted for districts where violent. gales are very 
frequent, as well as for steep declivities, where the action of snow 
or water would be apt to rush away soil or rocks were the wood clear- 
felled even in part. , 

It is the system which most effectually preserves soil-fertility, for 
as the ground is constantly shaded, no opportunity for loss is ever 
presented. It can only be practised in the case of the most decidedly 
shade-bearing trees, such as the silver fir and beech, though in wood- 


80 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


lands of small extent, where constant care can be given, it is not 
inapplicable to the regeneration of spruce woods. 

The four systems which have been described have this point in 
common, namely, that the seed is furnished by trees actually oceupy- 
ing the ground to be restocked. 

We shall now look for a little at the other division of the subject, 
namely, natural regeneration of a clear-felled area by means of seed 
furnished by trees situated to the side of that area. Here the seed 
is borne from the mother-trees to the clear-felled ground by the wind, 
or directed by the slanting course imparted to its fall by the wing 
with which many seeds are provided. It is therefore evident that 
the system is only applicable to cases where one has to deal with 
light or winged seeds, except where, as on the side of a declivity, the 
cleared area lies at a lower elevation than the mother-trees. In such 
a case even large and heavy seeds, such as beech nuts, acorns, and 
chestnuts, may, by rolling down hill, be disseminated for a con- 
siderable distance from the trees which produced them. As a 
matter of fact, however, this system is hardly ever practised, except 
in the case of woods consisting of pines, larch, firs, spruce, elms, 
birch, willows, and acers ; but in the case of these trees, if properly 
conducted, it yields satisfactory results. 

The first consideration must here be given to the direction from 
which the prevailing winds blow, so that the area to be sown shall 
lie on the lee-side of the mother-trees. A band of trees is cleared 
only during a seed year, and the felling, dragging, and carting of the 
timber over the bare ground is generally all the preparation which 
the surface requires. One band must be carefully regenerated before 
any more felling is done, otherwise an imperfectly stocked wood will 
be sure to result. 

When it has become evident that little more is to be hoped for 
from the self-sown seed, blanks are filled up by transplanting young 
trees with ball-roots from the denser parts. 

The breadth of the band varies with the height of the trees and 
with the species. In the case of the acers, ash, and silver fir, the 
breadth should not exceed about twice the height of the trees, with 
the spruce and Scots pine it may be as much as four times the height, 
while in the case of the larch, elm, willows, poplars, and birch it may 
be increased to eight times. 

Under this system the young trees are, from the first, placed in 
the possession of ample light, even though a dense wood lies to the 
south or west, and consequently it is specially applicable in the 


THE NATURAL REGENERATION OF WOODS. 81 


regeneration of woods composed of light-demanding trees. It may 
also be usefully put into practice on steep slopes, the bands when 
run from the base towards the top of the hill forming a convenient 
passage for the transport of the timber. 

Blanks in woods, if of only moderate extent, may frequently be 
restocked by adopting this system, provided the ground is in a 
suitable state for the reception of the seed, which is blown from the 
surrounding trees to the bare surface. 

In countries such as North America, Scandinavia, Russia, etc., 
where one is more concerned with felling the timber of the primeval 
forests than with restocking the ground, all the regeneration that is 
often practised is by means of seed naturally carried from trees 
situated at a great distance from the cleared area. Under such cir- 
cumstances anything approaching to a complete restocking of the 
ground with valuable trees cannot be looked for, as the seeds of the 
best trees, even when assisted by the most favourable winds, can 
only be carried for a few hundred yards. On the other hand, such 
light seeds as those of the birch, poplars, aspen, willows, etc., may 
be borne for many miles, and so it happens that when the conifer- 
ous forests of new countries are felled or burned, their place is taken 
by comparatively valueless trees. 

In the foregoing pages, all the important systems of natural 
regeneration by means of seed have been touched upon. Care has 
been taken to avoid advancing mere theories, attention being entirely 
given to practical methods which have stood the test of long experi- 
ence. There appear to be, however, unsurmountable obstacles in 
the way of any of them being made practically applicable to any 
great extent to British conditions. Natural regeneration is almost 
impossible where ground game is as abundant as it generally is in 
this country. Here, too, there are very few estates where woods are 
managed on a well-organised working plan, that is to say, there does 
not exist, nor can there under the system of private ownership, long 
sustained continuity in the administration of our woodlands. For- 
tunately several circumstances combine to place this country in an 
almost independent position as regards natural renewal. Our humid 
atmosphere does not make the preservation of soil-moisture by con- 
stant shading the paramount consideration which it becomes under 
the conditions of a continental climate, though in our drier districts 
it is still most important. Nowhere are our fertile valleys threat- 
ened by destructive avalanches of snow or earth consequent on 


clear-felling a mountain slope. All parts of the country are in good 
VOL, XIII. PART I. F 


82 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


communication with railway systems, so that young trees, under the 
existing conditions of rapid transit and improved packing, can be 
safely and cheaply delivered almost anywhere. In cultivating 
conifers one should, in the absence of rank herbage, make use of 
untransplanted seedlings, and insert them, not with a spade, but 
with a single-handed planting-iron. In this way land may often be 
perfectly stocked at a cost not exceeding 12s. per acre, a sum 
generally exceeded by natural regeneration. 

My conviction is that our foresters should very seldom indeed aim 
at a hard and fast system of natural regeneration, but while making 
use of all serviceable advance growth, should depend on artificial 
planting, or, under certain circumstances, on artificial sowing, as the 
mainstay of British sylviculture. 


“OLD AND REMARKABLE. TREES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 83 


VI. Old and Remarkable Trees on the Estates of Earl Spencer in 
Northamptonshire. By F. Mircurxy, Forester, Harlestone, 
Northamptonshire. 


The estates of Althorp and Harleston lie in the mid division of 
Northamptonshire, and are, geologically speaking, on the Oolitic 
formation. The soil varies from stiff loam to rich red loamy earth, 
resting on sandstone strongly impregnated with iron. Althorp 
Park comprises an area of about 550 acres, is well sheltered, 
and beautifully wooded, the surface rising and falling in gentle 
undulations. The soil generally is favourable for the production 
of large hardwood trees, and lies at an elevation varying from 
320 to 450 feet above sea-level. The average annual rainfall being 
about 25 inches. 

In the following report, the particulars are given of twenty 
remarkable trees on these estates, all of which stand within a mile 
and a half of Althorp House, the seat of Earl Spencer. There 
are avery large number of other trees standing in Althorp and 
Harleston Parks, which are worthy companions of the “ monarchs ” 
of the forest which are described in this report. 

To a forester, one of the most interesting features in Althorp 
Park is the number of inscribed stones which stand in the woods 
and groves, and which commemorate the date when the plantations 
were formed. Evelyn refers to these date-bearing stones, and 
remarks, “The only instance I know of the like in our country.” 
The stones are referred to hereafter in describing the positions of 
some of the trees. Here and there, however, in the woods which 
these stones mark the birth of, there are standing larger and much 
older trees, which must have been planted long before any of the 
dates mentioned on the stones. The earliest date is that on the 
stone standing in the old heronry, near the Hawking Tower, built by 
the first Baron Spencer, and which bears the dates 1567-1568. 

Some of the trees stand so inconveniently for being photographed 
that nothing like justice has been done to their grand size and 
beautiful proportions, but the photographs in the accompanying 
album will give some idea of their shape, size, and beauty.! 

The first sixteen trees are growing in Althorp Park, and the 
remaining four in Harleston Park. The twenty trees give an 
average of 722 cubic feet each, which indicates their great age. 


1The album is placed for the inspection of members in the Society’s 
library.—Eb. 


84 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The measurements of each tree are given in a tabulated form at 
the end of this report, so as to be more convenient for reference. 


1. Ext, Eneuisu (Ulmus campestris). 


This fine tree is growing in the pleasure grounds, 150 yards on 
the east side of the mansion. It has a grand bole, girthing 
13 feet 6 inches, where it divides into two ponderous stems, and 
these divide again, one at 12 feet and the other at 16 feet, and 
afterwards ramify into several smaller ones, which tower away to 
the great height of 117 feet, forming a top 94 feet in diameter. It 
girths 21 feet 2 inches at 3 feet from the ground, and contains a 
total of 924 cubic feet of timber. 


2. CuestNuT, Horse (#sculus Hippocastanum). 


This is a beautiful tree, growing at the extreme north of the 
pleasure grounds, near the Wilderness. It is shut in very much by 
other trees, nevertheless it has a beautiful sweeping top 85 feet in 
diameter, with a bole of 10 feet in length, while-at 3 feet up it 
girths 13 feet 8 inches, and at 5 feet from the base 14 feet 10 
inches, and contains a total of 533 cubic feet of timber. 


3. Beecu (agus sylvatica). 


A fine young park tree, growing close to the drive leading to New 
Lodge, near Althorp Park Station. It has a bole 36 feet 6 inches 
in length, with a nice well-balanced top 98 feet in diameter. It 
girths at 3 feet up 14 feet 8 inches, and contains 375 cubic feet 
of timber. 


4. Oak, ENGLISH (Quercus pedunculata). 


This is one of the grandest old ornamental park trees to be found 
anywhere, and one of the largest in the park. It is growing on the 
east side of the mansion-house, and 150 yards from the boundary 
wall of the pleasure grounds, standing in full view from the drive 
leading to the east lodge. This picturesque old oak has suffered 
very much by severe gales, losing two very large limbs at 33 feet 
from the ground. ‘The top is beginning to show signs of old age, 


OLD AND REMARKABLE TREES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 85 


and some of the topmost limbs are quite dead. At 3 feet from the 
base it girths 26 feet, and contains a total of 947 cubic feet of 
timber. 
A stone standing near by bears the following :— 
This Wood was planted by 
Robert Lord Spencer 


in the Year of our Lord 
1602-16038. 


5. Erm, Encuisu (Ulmus campestris). 


A very remarkable tree, growing by the side of the carriage drive, 
and 200 yards from the front gates to Althorp House. The bole, 
at 12 feet from the base, divides into two very massive stems, and 
these separate into two each, one at 5 feet and the other at 8 feet; 
these again dividing into a number of smaller limbs, and towering 
to 105 feet high. It girths 23 feet 6 inches at 3 feet from the base, 
and contains 841 cubic feet of timber. 


6. Cepar or Lepanon (Cedrus Liban). 


Growing on a plateau on the south front of the mansion, called 
the Highwood, stands this very old weather-beaten tree. The top 
has suffered very much by past gales and snowstorms, having lost 
at one time or another no less than twenty large limbs. This grand 
old monarch, before losing so many of its limbs, must have con- 
tained upwards of 1000 cubic feet of timber. Its girth at 3 feet 
from the base is 20 feet 10 inches, and at 5 feet, 22 feet 2 inches ; 
the top (what is left) has a diameter of 70 feet. Height of bole, 
8 feet 6 inches, and the tree now contains 603 cubic feet of timber. 


7. Wycu, or Scotcu Exim (Ulmus montana). 


This is a very fine wych elm. It is growing at the top end of 
Blue Bank Plantation, close to the gas-house, between the mansion 
and the kitchen garden. This tree deserves a more prominent place 
than where it is. It is very much shut in by other trees, and 
cannot be seen until one is quite close to it. It has a clear bole of 
20 feet, with a well-balanced top, 94 feet in diameter. At 3 feet 
from the ground it girths 19 feet 8 inches, and contains a total 
of 487 feet of timber. 


86 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


On a stone standing near an inscription reads— 


Planted by George John Earl Spencer K.G. 
in the Year MDCCC. 
to replace a grove of Ash fallen to decay. 


‘*Uno. Arubro, non deficit Alter.” 


8. Oak, EneiisH (Quercus pedunculata). 


A remarkably handsome park tree, growing on the side of a bank 
sloping to the north, towards the coach road leading to the west 
lodge. This grand specimen of an oak has one of the finest boles 
of any tree in the park, and growing as it does in a very prominent 
position, it shows itself off to great advantage. It is a very healthy- 
looking tree, and is adding to its girth yearly. The bole is 46 feet 
high, as straight as a gun-barrel, and it carries a nice well-balanced 
top of 87 feet 6 inches in diameter. At 3 feet up, it girths 
21 feet 94 inches. The bole alone contains 836 cubic feet, and 
the whole tree 933 feet of timber. £100 was offered for this tree 
during the Crimean War. 


9. OaK, ENGLISH (Quercus pedunculata). 


This is another good tree, growing 50 yards from No. 8. It is 
of quite a different type, having some very large limbs, growing out 
from near the base. At 33 feet up it divides into two, and 
then goes straight away to the height of 94 feet. It girths 
19 feet 10 inches at 3 feet up, and contains 655 cubic feet of 
timber. 


10. Oax, Eneisu (Quercus pedunculata). 


This tree, which stands in a line with No. 9, and 60 yards from 
it, is a beautiful specimen of a park tree. It has a healthy and 
vigorous-growing appearance, and will yet add a lot of girth to its 
already massive trunk. It has a grand, far-reaching, well-balanced 
top of 104 feet in diameter ; a bole of 33 feet in height. At 3 feet 
from the base it girths 22 feet, and contains 582 cubit feet of 
timber. 


11. Oak, Eneisn (Quercus pedunculata), 


Another fine tree, standing 100 yards up the slope from the west 
lodge, and 60 yards from No. 10. It hasa bole 30 feet 6 inches 


OLD AND REMARKABLE TREES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 87 


high, girths 19 feet } inch at 3 feet up, and contains 594 cubic feet 
of timber. 


12. Cepar or Lepanon (Cedrus Libani). 


This is a beautiful vigorous-growing tree, standing in a hollow in 
the orchard, below the kitchen garden. It is nicely sheltered on all 
sides, and has a fine bole 32 feet high, as straight as an arrow, and 
up to 28 feet it has not a branch on it. This promises to make a 
tree of large dimensions. It girths at 3 feet from the ground 
16 feet 11 inches, and contains 345 cubic feet of timber. 


13. OaK, ENGLISH (Quercus pedunculata). 


In the deer park, on a bank sloping to the south, on the west 
side of the mansion and near to the church path, grows this 
remarkable ornamental park tree, just the type of what an old oak 
should be. It has a very massive bole, 23 feet 6 inches in girth, 
where it divides into two ponderous stems. ‘Fhese again separate, 
one at 8 feet and the other at 9 feet, and then ramify into a number 
of smaller ones, giving a top 91 feet in diameter. Its trunk girths 
21 feet 3 inches at 3 feet from the base; and the tree altogether 
contains the very large total of 1016 cubic feet of timber. 

Near this tree stands a stone with the following inscription :— 


This Wood was planted 
By Sir William Spencer, Knight of the Bath, 
in the Year of our Lord 
1624, 
**Up & be doing and God will prosper.” 


14. Oak, ENGLISH (Quercus pedunculata). 


This beautiful young oak is growing in the heronry at the top end 
of Sir John’s Wood, in the extreme north of the Deer Park. It 
has a fine, straight, clear bole, 64 feet in length, and a vigorous- 
growing top, the whole rising to a height of 98 feet. This will 
doubtless make a very large tree, as it is adding to its girth at a 
rapid rate. At 3 feet from the base its girth is 12 feet 10 inches, 
and it contains 469 cubic feet of timber. 

A stone in the centre of the wood, and 100 yards from this tree, 
reads— 


88 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


This Wood was planted 
By Sir John Spencer, Knight, 
Father of Robert Lord Spencer 
in the Year of our Lord 
1589. 


Standing in the old heronry adjoining this wood, and near the 
Hawking Tower in Althorp Park, a stone bears the following 
inscription :— 

This Wood was planted 
By Sir John Spencer 
Grandfather of Robert Lord Spencer 
in the Year of our Lord 
1567-1568. 


15, Lime (Tilia Europea). 


A remarkably fine specimen of a park tree, growing on a bank 
sloping to the north, and 270 yards south of the east entrance to 
Althorp Park. This is the upper tree of three limes growing 
in a line at 16 yards apart on rather shallow soil, a quarry, 
25 yards from the trunk of the tree, showing the stone to be close 
to the surface of the ground. A finer specimen of a park tree than 
this is it would be hard to find. Ata height of 10 feet 6 inches it 
divides into six large limbs, spreading out and giving it a diameter 
of top of 90 feet 6 inches, the lower branches sweeping all round 
close to the ground. It girths 17 feet 7 inches at 3 feet from the 
ground, and has a total of 575 cubic feet of timber. 

In the Ice-House Plantation near to this tree there is a stone 
bearing the following inscription :— 


Planted by George John, Earl Spencer, K.G., 
in the Year M.D.CCXCVIII. 


**Seris Factura Nepotibus Umbram.” 


16. Asu (Fraxinus excelsior). 


This remarkably grand tree is growing on the south side of the 
mansion, and close to the boundary wall dividing Althorp and 
Harleston Parks. This gigantic specimen of an ash has a bole 
36 feet high, with some immense limbs spreading out on all sides, 
and gives a diameter of top of 92 feet. The trunk girths 17 feet 
6 inches at 3 feet up; and the tree altogether contains 809 cubic 
feet of timber, 


OLD AND REMARKABLE TREES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 89 


17. Exo, Enexutsu (Ulmus campestris). 


On the west of Harleston House, and just outside the flower 
garden in the park, grows this very fine elm. At 20 feet high it 
lost a very large limb in the gale of October 14, 1881. It has 
a good bole to 50 feet 6 inches, and towers to the height of 
110 feet. At 3 feet from the ground it girths 20 feet, and 
contains 715 feet of timber. 


18. SpanisH CuHeEstNuT (Castanea vesca). 


On the north side of Harleston House, and 60 yards from the 
kitchen garden, grows this grand type of an old ornamental park 
tree. It has a fine straight bole 20 feet high, dividing here into 
two enormous stems, these branching out again at intervals, and 
towering to the height of 90 feet. It has a beautiful well-balanced 
top of 85 feet diameter. It girths 26 feet 3 inches at 3 feet from 
the base, and contains the magnificent total of 1220 cubic feet 
of timber. 


19. Spanisn CHESTNUT (Castanea vesca). 


At 25 yards away, and to the east of No. 18, stands this grand 
tree, and although somewhat dwarfed by its near neighbour, yet 
it contains 893 cubic feet of timber. It has a bole of 27 feet in 
length. At 3 feet from the base it girths 23 feet 4 inches, and 
has a spread of top 86 feet 6 inches in diameter. 


20. Spanish CHestnut (Castanea vesca). 


This is another remarkable old ornamental Spanish chestnut, grow- 
ing 140 yards north of No. 19, on a rising bank facing the east, in 
an exposed situation. At 3 feet from the base it girths 24 feet 
34 inches. This tree has lost some immense arms; the largest 
broke off 5 feet from the trunk at 15 feet up in the gale of 
October 14, 1881. This arm girths at 3 feet from the bole 
9 feet 10 inches. 

At 12 feet from the ground an enormous limb grows out, 
curving its way upwards to 65 feet, and having quite an imposing 
appearance. At 3 feet from the bole this limb girths 10 feet 
11 inches, the whole tree containing 924 cubic feet of timber. 


90 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


TABLE giving the Names, Dimensions, and Cubic Contents of the 
foregoing Twenty Remarkable Trees growing in Althorp and 
Harleston Parks. 


2s Ps : ry = a 
ais is Ss 3S op os 
Name of Tree, 39 9 = 3 Ce 8 
ca te} a 5S = 

fa | 2a | 2) eee 

Se | S23.) 20) eee 

| No. Common. Botanical. Ft. in.| Ft. in.) Ft. in.} Ft. im.| Ft. | Ft. 
| 1] English Elm, . | Ulmus campestris, . . {21 2|20 01/13 6} 94 0/117] 924 
| 2| Horse Chestnut, . | @sculus Hiypocastanum, 13 8/1410 /10 0] 85 0} 83] 533 
| 3|Beech,. . «| Fagus sylvatica, . 14 8/12 6|36 6 | 98 0} 76] 375 
4|Oak, . . | Quercus pedunculata, .|26 0 |22 4/33 0] 85 0] 81) 947 
5 | English Elm, . | Ulmus campestris, . ./23 6/19 8 |12 0| 95 0) 105) 841 
6 Cedar, ; . | Cedrus Libani, . - | 20 10.)22 2) 8) 6) 70 OR 7Gl Gos 
7| Wych Eln, . : Ulmus montana, . -/19 8 |16 1/20 0| 94 0/100) 487 
SOakean. ° Quercus pedunculata, .|21 93/19 4 |46 0] 87 6] 82] 983 
9 Oak, - ° ° a 5 . {1910 ]18 0/30 0] 94 0} 81] 655 
10| Oak, . . . Ap AD .|22 0/18 3/383 01104 0) 74] 582 
11'| Oak, . 5 5 - {19 04/16 3 | 3056) | ONO} oie 5o4 
12 | Cedar, A : Cedrus Libani, » {1611 |15 1/132 0] 74 6) 80) 345 
13 | Oak, . . Quercus pedunculata, .|21 3/19 7 | 238 6 |) Ol Ol SesiMOxG 
14 | Oak, ° 3 1210 }12 4 |64 0} 69 6] 98] 469 
15 | Lime, A Tilia Europea, 5 2117 7 (17 2 | DO 6) | RS ORG Siieone 
16 | Ash, ; . | Fraxinus excelsior, -{|17 6/16 1/386 0] 92 0} 80; 809 
We English Eln, . | Ulnus campestris, . -/20 0/18 6|50 6] 86 6/110] 715 
18 Spanish Chestnut, | Castanea vesca, . -|26 3/22 8 |20 0} 85 0) SoOae20 
19 | Spanish Chestnut, 3 a 7’ . 1/23 4 | 20° 8 127 Ol S6nGiSaiiaos 
20 | Spanish Chestnut, 5 3 ; . | 24 34/22 93/28 0] 70 6| 68) 924 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 91 


VII. The Formation of Plantations. By A. C. Forses, Assistant 


Forester, Lintmill, Cullen. 


Introduction. 


The great length of time which must ensue before any adequate 
return can be expected from newly-formed plantations in this 
country probably accounts for a great deal of the apathy and 
indifference with which the majority of landed proprietors look 
upon their waste ground and worn-out woodlands. Even the 
majority of those who do plant are probably actuated more by a 
desire to beautify their estates, provide shelter for game or against 
wind, and generally add to the value of their property, than with 
any definite idea that the money expended in planting and main- 
tenance will ever be repaid with interest. Although planting 
with the former objects in view is free from any objection from 
an esthetic standpoint, or when considered by themselves, yet it 
will be admitted by every one versed in rural economy that 
planting without due consideration of the profit and loss principle 
does not produce such satisfactory results as should be desired. 
Just as we find the careful and intelligent farmer, who carries on 
his business on strictly economical lines, more permanently 
benefiting himself and the country generally than the gentleman 
farmer who sinks hundreds of pounds in high-class and extrava- 
gant farming, so we can easily see that the proprietor who never 
throws money away in planting ground with unsuitable plants, or 
which is unsuitable for planting at all, will be more likely to 
permanently increase the value of his property, benefit the local 
population, and give a better appearance to his estate generally, 
than another who merely aims at producing game cover, or a mass 
of foliage which can only be called pleasing when viewed from a 
distance. 

In support of these ideas, we have only to visit such estates as 
those belonging to the Dukes of Athole, Portland, Bedford, Lords 
Mansfield, Seafield, Lovat, and many others in the United King- 
dom, and we find that their most attractive features, prosperous 
appearance, and influence on the local trade and population, are 
largely due to the careful and practical manner in which their 
woods have been managed for many years. 


92 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The explanation of these facts must be obvious to all, when we 
consider that a healthy plantation simply means a mass of healthy 
trees. A man needs little or no knowledge of forestry to enable 
him to discriminate between a thriving and healthy tree and a 
diseased and stunted one; and every true artist will admire the 
former before the latter, because the healthy tree is the typical 
production of the great artist herself—Nature, the source of all 
art. Now every practical forester knows that a healthy and 
vigorous growth can only be insured by the careful selection of 
those plants which are thoroughly well adapted to soil, climate, 
and situation. Although it would perhaps be going too far to 
say that indigenous plants can alone supply what is required in 
this respect, yet when we consider the various diseases and 
climatic affections to which introduced trees are subject in this 
country, coupled with the fact that they rarely retain their timber 
qualities when removed from their native habitat, we may safely 
infer that if we want to see a healthy and vigorous growth main- 
tained throughout the lifetime of our plantations, we must content 
ourselves with those species which nature has provided with a 
constitution strong enough to withstand our changeable tempera- 
ture and uncertain climate, and leave recent introductions outside 
the bulk of our woods until careful experiments in various soils 
and situations have determined their particular requirements in 
these respects. 

And with regard to the third point, viz., their relation to local 
industries, the importance of healthy woods is made still clearer, 
We usually find that any industry which owes its existence to the 
manufacture of articles of commerce from or out of the raw 
material, is located in the neighbourhood from which the raw 
material is obtained. The reason for this is obvious, and needs 
no explanation, Now, although the industries connected with 
woods in this country are comparatively unimportant when 
considered individually, yet when taken collectively we find that 
they occupy a more important place in regard to the prosperity of 
the country than would at first sight appear. It is true that 
woods neither bring in money nor employ much labour for the 
greater part of their growth, but this is exactly the period in 
which they exercise the most beneficial effects on the adjoining 
agricultural lands. Their relation to climate, rain-fall, water- 
supply, ete., is also considerable, but which can only be merely 
referred to here. But during their formation and earlier stages, 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 93 


and the final cutting and disposal of the timber, they give 
employment to many hands, and at a time of the year when 
employment is often much needed. The formation of a plantation 
necessitates the performance of various operations in the way of 
draining, fencing, planting, etc., all of which give work to a large 
number of men, and also benefit more or less directly various 
tradesmen, railway companies, and others, according to the extent 
of the work. At the final cutting, again, in addition to the labour 
required for that operation, the manufacture and removal of the 
produce gives considerable employment to a large number. Woods 
also give rise to many minor industries in their immediate vicinity, 
such as hurdle-making, broom, clog, bobbin, and chair making, 
charcoal-burning, etc., while the more recent use of wood in the 
manufacture of paper may cause early thinnings to become of 
greater value than they have hitherto been. 

We thus see that woods of any kind play an important part in 
the prosperity of a rural district; but it is only when the true 
principles of forestry have been observed in their management 
that the greatest benefits derivable from plantations are obtained. 
It is a recognised fact that only timber of good quality and 
clean growth will command a fair price in the market; and if 
home-grown timber lacks these conditions, the merchant supplies 
himself with a better class of timber imported from abroad, 
thereby sending out of the country the money which might 
have been circulated within it. The question as to how long this 
importation of foreign timber may continue at its present rate is 
exercising the minds of many of our political economists of the 
present day, but it appears to be generally admitted by those best 
qualified to give an opinion, that if we should ever require to turn 
our own woods to account in the event of a timber famine, a more 
scientific and economical system of management will have to be 
adopted than has hitherto existed in this country. 


Laying off the Boundaries. 


When it has been definitely decided to form a plantation, the 
marking off of the boundaries should be the first operation to be 
performed. In planting old agricultural land, the existing size 
and shape of the fields are usually retained, except, perhaps, where 
the outlines are too formal or irregular, and require rounding off 
or otherwise modifying to suit the taste or requirements of the 


94 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


proprietor. When formed solely for the purpose of giving shelter 
to adjacent lands, however, it is sometimes necessary to lay off 
fresh boundaries altogether, in order to break as much of the wind 
as possible, and give shelter to a larger area, As winds usually 
acquire their objectionable character from the surface over which 
they have previously passed, whether snow-covered mountains, 
hot deserts, or wide oceans, it is evident that the wind most 
dreaded in one locality may be perfectly harmless in another, 
although coming from the same quarter of the compass ; therefore 
no general rule can be laid down as to the particular direction in 
which a shelter-belt should extend, all depending upon the 
direction from which the wind comes that it is desired to break. 
The shape of the belt must depend a great deal upon the extent 
of ground it is intended to shelter, and the conformation of the 
ground. When it is intended to give thorough shelter to a 
limited area, that of an acute angle is probably the best, with the 
apex presented to the wind. When given such a shape it has a 
greater tendency to divert the current of air in two directions, 
one along each side of the belt respectively ; and it also gives more 
efficient shelter to the ground immediately to the leeward of the 
belt, by protecting the two sides nearly parallel to the direction 
of the wind, forming a cove or recess, an invaluable situation for 
pasturing cattle. When it is desired to shelter a larger area 
without increasing the size of the belt, the angle may be increased 
until it results in nearly a straight line, the convex side of which 
should always be presented to the wind, otherwise it would have 
a tendency to concentrate the force of the wind into the corner 
formed by the junction of the two sides, thereby increasing its 
force at that particular spot. The length of such a belt is inde- 
finite, according to the requirements and extent of the ground to 
be sheltered, but the breadth at the point of impact should never 
be less than from one to two hundred yards if it is intended 
to produce timber, and either retaining that breadth throughout, 
or gradually decreasing towards the leeward extremities. 

In laying off plantation boundaries which are intended for the 
production of timber, we have to be guided by different principles. 
Here we have to consider how best to prevent strong or prevailing 
winds from injuriously affecting the health and growth of the 
trees and uprooting them after a severe frost or heavy rain, both 
of which loosen the ground and render the trees more liable to be 
overturned, So long as a plantation remains intact, and is not 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 95 


weakened by injudicious thinning, we rarely find that winds do 
much damage in the way of uprooting, but that they have a great 
influence on the health and growth of the trees is a well-known 
fact. Indeed, in wind-swept situations we have only to notice the 
shape of individual trees that stand alone to ascertain from which 
direction the prevailing winds come. The windward side of such 
trees is rounded off as if trimmed with a knife, while the branches 
on the opposite side are longer and more vigorous. This is more 
especially noticeable near the sea, where the wind is laden with salt 
from the ocean, and which few trees can withstand with impunity. 
Seeing that the wind has so much effect on the growth of trees in 
exposed situations, it is evident that the smaller the surface 
presented to the wind the less will its influence be felt. To secure 
this desideratum, it is clear that we must follow to a certain extent 
the plan adopted in the case of shelter-belts, and by presenting a 
barrier to the prevailing wind endeavour to shelter the bulk of the 
plantation in somewhat the same way as the fields were sheltered 
in the former case. We notice that the trees on the extreme edge 
of a plantation exposed to strong winds are always the smallest 
and most stunted, in consequence of having to stand the full brunt 
of the blast. The second row back is less affected than the first, 
owing to the shelter afforded them by the latter, and we find them 
a foot or two higher, and with their tops leaning away from the 
wind, The next row presents a similar appearance, but taller 
than the second ; and so we find the trees gradually getting taller 
as we penetrate deeper into the wood. It is evident, from the 
inclined plane presented by the tops of the trees collectively, that 
the wind, when coming in contact with the edge of the plantation, 
is forced upwards until it reaches the average level of the tree-tops 
(where it meets with no opposition to its horizontal course), and 
only falls to its former level again when it has passed the limits of 
the plantation. To satisfy ourselves on this point we have only 
to stand on the leeward side of a wood in windy weather, and go 
long as we are under the shelter of the trees we feel little or 
nothing of the force of the wind, but the farther we retreat from 
the wood the more we experience its effects, until we get to such 
a distance from it as to render its sheltering influence altogether 
imperceptible. Such being the case then, it is evident that when 
once forced to the top of a mass of wood, the wind cannot again 
fall until an opening occurs in the wood itself, or it reaches the 
Open country. 


96 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


In the case of a plantation on a hill-side, however, which faces 
the wind, this forcing upwards is continuous until it reaches the 
summit, and each tree being higher than the one immediately 
standing below it, owing to the rise of the ground, the wind has 
almost the same effect on the whole of the plantation as it had on 
the edges of the one standing on level ground. 

In forming a plantation on a hill-side, then, we cannot protect 
the trees from the wind by giving the outlines any particular 
shape, but merely prevent it from acting on individual trees as 
much as possible by keeping them as close, and the whole of the 
plantation as perfect and free from gaps as possible. But on flat 
ground we can do something to lessen the effect of the wind by 
presenting as small a surface to the point from which it comes as 
possible. The most effectual method we could adopt would 
perhaps be that of giving the plantation an oblong or conical 
outline, with the shorter sides or the apex facing the wind; but 
such outlines would be too lengthy, and increase the expense of 
fencing, while they would probably be considered too formal for 
making a pleasing feature in the landscape. Perhaps the one 
most likely to suit all conditions is that of a triangle, with the apex 
facing the wind, as in the case of the shelter-belts, and for the 
same reasons. Of course gales do not always blow from the same 
point of the compass, and therefore we should guard against them 
as much as possible on all sides; but as this is a matter more 
closely connected with planting and thinning, we think the 
prevailing winds should receive most consideration when laying 
off a plantation intended for the production of timber, as they 
affect the growth and health of the trees to a greater extent than the 
others. To endeavour to make the boundaries as short as possible, 
and the avoidance of unnecessary curves and corners, are import- 
ant points where economy is aimed at, as the fencing of the ground 
is always an expensive item, especially when compound interest 
has to be charged for a number of years on the original outlay. 
Generally speaking, the size and shape of plantations should 
conform or agree as much as possible with the surrounding 


country. 
Fencing. 


The expense incurred in fencing and draining ground before 
planting can be proceeded with probably deters many proprietors 
from planting more of their waste ground than they do at present. 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 97 


Were it not for the necessity of fencing, there is little doubt that 
many odd corners and waste patches of ground to be found on 
every estate would be utilised in growing timber, but owing to 
the fact that such pieces of ground are usually of a very irregular 
shape (generally consisting of narrow strips by the roadside, or 
small ravines), the length of fencing that would be required would 
be out of all proportion to the area enclosed, and therefore we 
rarely find such ground planted unless for shelter. In forming 
extensive plantations, however, the larger the area enclosed the 
smaller the cost per acre, providing judgment is exercised in laying 
off the boundaries ; but even then it always forms one of the most 
expensive items, and should be done at as little cost as is consistent 
with durability. 

In planting extensive tracts of moorland or hill-sides which are 
not depastured with sheep or cattle, fencing may sometimes be 
dispensed with altogether, or only carried out on the sides liable 
to encroachment ; but generally speaking, it is rarely safe to omit 
taking full precautions against any possible damage to the young 
plants, as any such omission may result in serious injury to the 
plantation. 

Plantations to be formed in the midst of agricultural or grazing 
ground must be thoroughly and efficiently fenced on all sides, and 
the most economical fence for general plantation purposes is 
probably the turf dyke, surmounted by a low post and wire fence. 
The dyke should be 3 feet high (at the base of which a ditch 
should run 2 feet deep by 3 feet wide at top), and should be 
substantially formed of sods or turfs containing as little organic 
matter as possible, the outside face being made almost perpendi- 
cular, the inner sloping away gradualiy. It must be allowed to 
settle down properly before the wire fence is erected, or the posts 
will not take a firm hold of the ground, and when the fence is 
erected it should not stand nearer the edge of the dyke than 
12 or 18 inches. The posts should be larch, 45 feet long, and 
not less than 2 inches in diameter at the small end, and should 
stand 24 feet above the top of the dyke. As the posts decay 
rapidly in dry dykes, the wooden straining posts should be 
replaced by iron pillars erected every two or three hundred yards 
in the straight parts of the fence, and at any corner or bend 
where required. This will increase the cost of the fence at the 
outset, but will prove the most economical in the long run, as the 
iron pillars will last for many years if kept varnished or painted, 

VOL. XIII. PART I. G 


95 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Three No. 7 wires will be sufficient, fixed to the posts by staples, 
and strained by means of brackets fixed on the iron pillars, double 
brackets being attached to every other pillar for that purpose. 
The larch posts should be soaked in creosote or tar after they are 
thoroughly dry before being used, as when so treated they will 
last considerably longer than unprepared ones, A fence of this 
kind, dyke included, will cost from 8d. to 1s. per yard, and if well 
put up the expense of maintaining it will be comparatively trifling, 
as after a few years decayed posts may be renewed from the 
thinnings of the plantation, thus avoiding the necessity of carting 
from a distance. 

Should the soil be suitable, and the situation favourable to its 
growth, a thorn hedge may be planted on the inside of the fence, 
and, if properly attended to, will be sufficiently strong to take the 
place of the latter by the time the posts have decayed; but all 
overhanging branches must be kept cut back, or it will become 
weak and patchy. In such a case the iron pillars may be dispensed 
with, and wooden strainers used instead. 

Various other kinds of fences are in use throughout the country, 
such as stone dykes, slate, posts, and hoop-iron, and hedges of all 
descriptions ; but the style most commendable for a plantation 
depends upon the locality in which it is erected, proximity and 
cost of materials, skill possessed by the workmen employed, and 
whether intended to be permanent or only temporary; and there- 
fore all these particulars must be taken into consideration before 
any description of a fence can be recommended in preference to 
another. 


Draining. 


In no operation connected with the formation of plantations is 
more judgment necessary than in draining, for if imperfectly or 
carelessly done, it often fails to produce any of the good results 
expected from it, while one drain in the right place may be more 
effectual than a dozen inthe wrong. The first thing to be ascer- 
tained is the extent of ground which really requires draining, for 
it is seldom that the entire surface of an extensive piece of ground 
is too wet for the healthy growth of trees, and therefore all 
unnecessary draining should be avoided as much as possible. The 
natural vegetation affords a pretty good indication of the nature of 
the surface soil in this respect, and should be carefully noted. It 
will generally be found that where the natural vegetation is healthy 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 99 


and flourishing, the soil itself is in a fairly good condition, both 
chemically and mechanically, or at least so far as uncultivated 
ground can be expected to be. But the natural vegetation usually 
consists of plants best fitted to exist under those conditions of soil 
and climate in which they are found, and therefore the fact that 
the indigenous plants are thriving is no criterion by which we 
can prove that the trees we wish to plant there will thrive too, 
unless we know that the latter thrive under the same conditions as 
the former. If we know this, we can assume that the ground is 
in a comparatively fit condition for the plants we wish to intro- 
duce, and draining is therefore unnecessary, but where the 
vegetation indicates a condition of soil known to be unsuitable 
to the plants we wish to stock the ground with, then we must 
endeavour to remedy this unfavourable condition if possible. 

On the other hand, when the soil is in a sour, unhealthy condi- 
tion, the vegetation invariably indicates it. If we notice the 
heather growing on a wet piece of moorland, with an underlying 
stratum of moor-pan, we usually find it stunted, sickly, and covered 
with lichens, so that we come to the conclusion that something is 
necessary to put it in a more satisfactory state, and the removal of 
the superfluous moisture will be the first consideration. 

The first point to be considered in commencing to drain, is the 
outlet which will have to carry off the whole of the discharge from 
the drains connected with it, and if possible this should always 
lead into a natural water-course or burn, as all further trouble is 
thereby avoided in getting rid of the water, providing the natural 
channel is sufficiently wide and deep to carry off the additional 
water. It is not necessary for all the drains to have the same 
outlet, as in hilly and unduiating ground this would be practically 
impossible ; but on flat ground, or where the fall or slope is very 
slight, the lowest part of the ground must be the point for the 
outlet, which should be carefully ascertained by means of the 
theodolite and levelling rods, as guess-work is often very risky in 
regard to this point. The outlet having been decided on, a main 
drain (or several, if required) should be cut from it to the farthest 
extremity of the ground that requires draining, giving it a few 
inches more depth than the sub-mains running into it. The main 
drain, and all others in fact, should be perfectly straight if the 
surface of the ground permits, but if not, it should take such a 
course as will ensure a gradual and uniform fall from its com- 
mencement to the outlet, which must depend upon the slope of 


100 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the ground, but from 1 in 150 to 1 in 200 is quite sufficient to 
ensure a steady flow, which is less liable to injure the sides of the 
drain than a more rapid fall. The depth should be from 3 to 4 feet 
according to the nature of the soil, the depth it is intended to 
make the sub-mains and laterals, and the quantity of water it will 
be likely to receive. The sides of the drain should have a slope of 
45° if the soil is at all loose or friable, but less than that will be 
sufficient in clay or adhesive soil, and it should have a width of 
1 foot at the bottom, the sides being neatly dressed, and made firm 
with the back of the spade. The sub-mains should be cut on the 
same principle as the main, but will not require to be so deep or 
wide, their dimensions being in proportion to the number of 
laterals running into them, and the state of the ground. The fall 
for these should be slightly greater than that of the mains, as their 
efficiency depends on their carrying off the water rapidly and 
thoroughly, and they are more liable to get choked with leaves and 
débris than the larger drains. Two drains from opposite sides of 
the main should never run into it at the same point, as when the 
flow is at all rapid, leaves and rubbish are brought down and 
deposited at this point, and tend to prevent the free flow of the 
water ; but a slight curve should be given them just before they 
enter the main, where there is any probability of a rapid flow, 
in order to prevent the water from washing into the opposite 
bank. 

The method of draining the main portion of the ground by 
means of the lateral drains, must depend upon the cause of wetness 
and the nature of the soil. When the superfluous moisture is 
caused by springs, thrown out by an impervious substratum, and 
spreading over the surface of the ground, a deep drain should be 
cut along the line of the outbreak (which can easily be seen by the 
state of the ground), so as to catch and carry away the water 
before it has spread over the surface. This will sometimes succeed 
in drying the ground below the drain, but much will depend upon 
the depth and arrangement of the strata through which the drain 
is cut. Sometimes the moisture is due to the impervious nature 
of the surface soil, such as clay or moor-pan, and should this rest 
on a porous bottom a few deep drains reaching to the porous bed 
will carry off much of the water, and render a main unnecessary, 
This is an important consideration on flat ground, where there is 
a difficulty in getting a proper fall, and should always be taken 
advantage of when possible. When the wetness is due to the 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 101 


retentive nature of the ground, as in clay soils or peat bog, a 
thorough system of lateral drains must be carried out. These are 
usually placed at the distance of from 20 to 30 feet apart, and 
should be cut with their sides perpendicular, as they are thus less 
likely to be beaten down by heavy rains, which fill up the inter- 
stices of the soil, and prevent the water from percolating through 
them freely. Their depth is usually about 18 inches to 2 feet, 
according to the requirements of the intended crop, coniferous trees 
requiring less depth of soil than hardwoods, as their roots do not 
penetrate so far into the soil as those of the latter. Where the 
ground slopes, the laterals should be cut at a more or less acute 
angle with the mains, in order to secure a proper fall, but the 
nearer they approach to a right angle with the main, the greater 
will be the area drained in proportion to their length. As before 
stated, all unnecessary drains should be avoided, while in extra 
wet places they may be cut closer than the usual distance, just as 
they may be required. 

In draining undulating ground, it is sometimes impossible to 
carry off the water by means of a main without going to great 
expense in cutting a drain far deeper than the average. Such a 
case occurs where the ground slopes from all sides, and forms a 
hollow, when, to carry off the water, a drain would have to be cut 
through the surrounding ground until a lower level was reached. 
lt is obvious that the expense incurred in doing this would be out 
of all proportion to the return expected, and therefore it would be 
more economical to run all the drains into the hollow, and allow it 
to form a pool. Should, however, a porous stratum exist within 
a reasonable distance of the surface of the hollow, a hole cut down 
to it will carry off the water before it has time to accumulate, On 
very flat ground, where a fall cannot be obtained, or where it is so 
slight as to be practically imperceptible, the best thing to do is to 
cut deep ditches at regular intervals, in which much of the water 
will collect, and leave a sufficient depth of drained soil to enable 
certain species of trees to succeed fairly well. 

Such are the principal and most frequent cases which occur in 
draining plantation ground, but exceptional ones may arise which 
will require special methods of treatment, but which it is not 
necessary to describe here. 


102 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. ° 


Preparation of the Ground. 


It seldom happens that waste ground can be planted without 
some preparatory operations being found necessary to secure a 
favourable start for the young plants. The soil may need break- 
ing up where too hard, or the natural vegetation require removing, 
or both of these operations may be necessary before planting can 
be proceeded with. 

On heathy ground, moor-pan is the most frequent obstacle to 
the healthy growth of trees, and it must be broken up before they 
are planted. Moor-pan occurs in gravelly soils containing a large 
quantity of oxide of iron, which, when in combination with water, 
forms a hard solid stratum, through which tree roots are unable 
to penetrate, and being impervious to rain, it often causes 
swamps. Moor-pan is usually broken up by means of an imple- 
ment called a foot-pick, which is familiar to every forester in the 
north. It must be driven in under the pan if possible, as little 
good will be effected unless it is thoroughly broken up. This 
should be done a considerable time before planting is performed, so 
that the atmosphere may act upon and sweeten the soil, and 
decompose any inert matter contained in it. Hard: gravelly soils 
are also benefited by the above operation, and the extra expense 
incurred is generally compensated for by the growth and vigour of 
the plants compared with those planted in unprepared ground. 

When pitting is intended, which is usually adapted for hard- 
woods, the pits may be opened six months or more before they 
receive the plants, as the soil is thus pulverised by frost, and 
chemically acted upon by the atmosphere. In wet soils, however, 
they are apt to fill with water, and in such cases are better left 
until the time for planting arrives. 

Of natural vegetation, whin or furze is probably the most trouble- 
some to keep down until the plants are out of all danger of being 
smothered. They should be burnt, and the big stumps grubbed 
out as low as possible, as it is the growth from these old stumps 
that proves the most troublesome to deal with, and after the plants 
are in, burning is out of the question. Some recommend cutting 
out lines through the whins, and trenching the soil. This would 
give the plants a better chance of succeeding and growing out of 
danger ; but in badly-infested places they would still require to be 
kept down by cutting. Burning should be done about the middle 
ot June, after the seeds have germinated, and before the pods 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 103 


are ripe on the old plants ; and when done about this time it leaves 
the roots ina weaker condition than when done in winter. 

Long, rank heather will also require burning off, and this should 
be done three or four years before planting, if possible, as short 
heather is beneficial to the young plants by protecting them from 
the sun and frost. 

Long grass must also be removed at or before the time of 
planting, where it has formed a close matted turf. Such turf 
intercepts and appropriates both dew and gentle rain, and none 
but the heaviest rains penetrate it, therefore plants inserted in it 
by notching invariably die in the event of a dry summer suc- 
ceeding the planting season, especially in light dry soils. This 
is best removed some time before planting, so that the soil may 
be well soaked and softened by rain. The turf should be entirely 
removed with a spade, leaving a bare space about 9 inches square 
on the site intended for the plant, and if the soil is broken up at 
the same time, so much the better. 

On dry, heathy ground, a dry inflammable sort of peat often 
gathers on the surface, which is very unfavourable for nourishing 
most plants, and in which trees never thrive until their roots have 
reached the soil beneath. Where such exists, it must be removed 
in the same way as the turf, unless it is too deep to be removed 
in that way, when the subsoil should be brought to the surface, 
and spread over the ground to a depth of six inches or so, 
which will be sufficient to grow Scots fir and birch. Although 
it may be too expensive a process for carrying out on a large scale, 
yet it is not more so than planting such ground without any pre- 
paration, with the result that the plants never grow into anything 
larger than a stunted bush. Peat of the same description, but 
wet instead of dry, is equally unfavourable to healthy growth, 
and must be treated in the same way, providing, of course, that 
the subsoil is capable of growing timber, as if not, the ground 
had better remain unplanted. Brambles, thorns, brackens, and 
all other rubbish must be cut, and cleared off the ground before 
planting commence, so that nothing may interfere with the pro- 
gress of the work. 


Choice of Plants. 


This is one of the most important and difficult questions which 
the forester has to decide when forming a plantation, for although 
comparatively easy to choose species that will grow and make cover, 


104 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


yet when the problem of producing the most valuable crop of 
timber in the least possible time has to be solved, it is one that 
requires considerable foresight and judgment. 

To ascertain beforehand the exact capabilities of the soil and 
situation is nearly impossible, although in many cases it may be 
done with some degree of accuracy, and the only way it can be 
accomplished, apart from chance, is by carefully noting the soil 
and situation of existing plantations, and their condition as to 
health and growth. 

Altitude, climate, and exposure have probably more to do with 
the growth of trees than even soil itself (although the latter has 
a great influence on the quality of the timber), therefore the 
situation of the ground in regard to the first-named conditions must 
receive due consideration. As before pointed out, indigenous 
trees are more likely to turn out successfully from an all-round 
point of view, and give better results than those introduced from 
higher or lower latitudes, or from countries possessing different 
climatic conditions to those of our British Isles. It is true that 
exceptions to this rule may be found in many healthy and thriving 
plantations, composed of larch, spruce, and other introduced trees, 
but these are only found where the situation, soil, etc., are excep- 
tionally favourable to their growth, and in such cases no objection 
can be found to their having been planted. But the miserable 
appearance presented by so many plantations of larch in different 
parts of the country proves the folly of planting these trees indis- 
criminately, and without duly considering the conditions requisite 
to bring them to maturity. Mere volume of wood, too, is often 
taken as the standard by which the timber qualities of different 
trees are compared with one another, but quality should be 
synonymous with strength and durability, and unless the timber 
possesses those qualifications, its market value will be compara- 
tively small, and most of our introduced Conifer obtain their rapid 
growth at the expense of quality of timber, and therefore nullify 
any advantage they might otherwise gain over indigenous trees. 

Considerable caution should be exercised, therefore, before 
foreign introductions are extensively planted, in order to see that 
the conditions under which they will have to exist are such as 
are known to be favourable to their healthy growth and the 
production of good timber. 

Deciduous trees (with the exception of birch, alder, and aspen) 
should never be planted in any situation in which they are known 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 105 


to grow slowly and unprofitably, as their timber value is usually 
in direct proportion to the rapidity of their growth, ceteris 
paribus. Coniferous trees, on the other hand, generally produce 
better timber when their growth has been slow, and are therefore 
better adapted for planting at high altitudes, although they take 
longer time to come to maturity. In this country (Scotland) 
timber of any kind can hardly be profitably grown over 1500 feet 
above sea-level, and, in the vicinity of the sea, that altitude is 
probably too great. Much depends, however, upon the latitude ; 
the nearer the equator the greater the altitude at which plants will 
grow. Climate is perhaps the most important factor in vegetable 
growth, for the elements of cold, heat, light, and moisture 
come under its head. More especially must it be considered 
in relation to all introductions from other countries, for it is the 
only important distinction which exists between different countries, 
and therefore powerfully affects plant life when moved from its 
native habitat. Owing to the insular position of Great Britain, 
it enjoys a warmer and more temperate climate than many 
countries which lie between the same degrees of latitude; but 
although it possesses the advantage of being usually free from 
extremes of cold and heat, it has the disadvantage of being very 
variable, especially during the spring months, when vegetation is 
very susceptible of atmospheric influence. In consequence of 
this, introductions from countries possessing more regular and 
equable climates than ours are often excited into growth by a 
spell of mild weather during March and April, and in the event 
of this being succeeded by a few days of cutting wind, or frosty 
nights, the effect on such plants is very injurious, and often 
engenders disease and unhealthy growth. This is frequently 
noticeable in the larch and silver fir, as shown by the unhealthy 
condition of their foliage, and the consequent attacks of aphides 
and other insects which generally accompany a weak and sickly 
growth. To prevent the result of this excitability as much ag 
possible, such trees should be planted in situations where the 
variations of temperature are felt as little as possible, such as 
on slopes facing the north, cool soils, or in any other situations 
where the plants would be less likely to start early into growth, 
Duration and intensity of sunlight also exercise a great influence 
on tree growth, especially in regard to the proper ripening of the 
wood. Trees like the larch, which continue growing late into 
autumn, cannot fail to be injuriously affected by a cold wet 


106 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


period during the months of September and October, as the 
young growths do not ripen properly, and are often destroyed 
by frost in the event of a hard winter succeeding such an autumn. 
Although rot in the wood of the larch is usually attributed to the 
condition of the soil, yet it is probable that improperly ripened 
wood may have equally as much to do with the disease ; while it 
appears to be almost a certainty that the blister so common in 
this tree is the effect of the same cause. 

The requirements of different species in respect to light should 
be well understood by the planter and thinner, as the mixing and 
mode of planting and thinning a plantation in a judicious manner 
depends a good deal on an accurate knowledge of this subject. 
Trees which require a considerable quantity of light for the 
development of their branches do best when planted by them- 
selves in masses, as if mixed with shade-bearing trees, the latter 
would be apt to crowd them out if both classes were of the same 
age. In growing oak on dry soils, however, its own shade is 
sometimes insufficient to keep down weeds and rubbish, which 
impoverish the soil by appropriating much of its plant food, and 
in order to prevent this, beech is sometimes recommended for 
planting under the oaks, when the latter have reached a height 
of 50 or 60 feet, and have received their final thinning, which has 
the effect of increasing the leaf canopy and enriching the soil. 
The same system might be adopted in regard to ash, as although 
the soil suitable for growing ash is of a damp nature, yet a 
greater crop of wood might be obtained from the ground than 
would be the case if the space beneath the trees remained 
unoccupied. Spruce or silver fir, however, should be substituted 
in place of beech, as the latter is of little value when small, and 
ash coming to maturity far quicker than oak, would not allow 
time for it to grow to any size. Oak, ash, larch, and Scots fir are 
the principal light-demanding trees; while beech, hornbeam, 
silver fir, and spruce grow well under shade. 

The annual rainfall of the district, considered in connection with 
the character of the soil, should influence our choice of plants to a 
certain extent. A porous, sandy soil is usually better suited for 
growing trees in a district with a heavy rainfall, than one of a 
cold retentive nature. In a moist atmosphere evaporation from 
the leaves is reduced to a minimum, and therefore the quantity of 
moisture required from the soil is comparatively small, while dry 
soils are more favourable to the development of fibrous roots 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 107 


than heavy ones, providing sufficient moisture is present to hold 
in solution the mineral matter required by the plant. 

The amount of frost which may be expected in any situation 
must be anticipated before planting tender species, especially those 
which do not ripen their wood thoroughly. The young growths 
of larch and oak are often cut back by frost, although the latter tree 
is less likely to be permanently disfigured by the loss of a leader 
than the former, owing to its stem ultimately becoming straight 
by the way in which its annual layers of wood are deposited. 

For exposed situations those plants should be selected which 
are known to withstand strong winds with impunity, and, at 
the same time, those avoided which become crooked and stunted 
in such situations. In situations near the sea, the saline-breeze 
has to be reckoned with, which greatly reduces the list of suitable 
trees. The most suitable trees for inland exposure are the 
Austrian pine, mountain pine, Scots fir, aspen, willow, sycamore, 
mountain ash, birch, etc. All species will grow when in masses, 
but the above-named should occupy the most exposed places, 
according to the soil and situation for which they are respectively 
adapted. Spruce and silver fir stand the wind well as far as 
growth is concerned, but the former is easily overturned by gales, 
and should never be planted on the margins of plantations. A 
belt of copse-wood or bushy growing trees, such as the mountain 
pine, mountain ash, hazel, thorn, birch, ete., planted round the 
margins, would be beneficial in exposed situations by preventing 
the wind from sweeping in under the taller trees, drying the 
surface, and carrying away fallen leaves, which latter are of great 
importance in poor dry soils. 

As growing timber near the sea is almost an impossibility, 
plantations formed near it are usually only intended for shelter, 
and therefore such species should be selected as will grow best, 
independent of their timber qualities. The sea buckthorn is an 
invaluable plant for the exposed margin of such plantations, and 
if hedges or lines of it were planted two or three years before the 
other plants were put in, it would doubtless be found a great aid 
in giving them a fair start, which is the most difficult part in the 
formation of these plantations, The most suitable plants are the 
deciduous trees enumerated above, and the following conifers :— 
the Austrian, mountain, and Corsican pines, and, if slightly 
sheltered, the Scots fir. 

Although it is almost impossible to accurately predict the trees 


108 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


which will succeed best in any particular soil, yet a careful 
examination of the latter is indispensable when making a judicious 
choice of plants. The natural vegetation is usually a pretty good in- 
dication of the character of the surface soil, but is not always a safe 
criterion by which to judge the subsoil. Thomson’s ‘ Gardener’s 
Assistant” (p. 38) gives the following list of plants that have 
been observed to grow naturally on different descriptions of 
soils :—** Argillaceous—Tussilago Farfara, Potentilla anserina, 
P. argentea, Orobus tuberosus, Lotus major. Caleareous— Veronica 
spicata, Campanula glomerata, Onobrychis sativa, Lithospermum 
officinale, Nepeta major, [Clematis vitalba]. Silicious—Silene 
anglica, Arenaria rubra, Veronica verna.  Peaty—Vaccinium 
Myrtillus, V. uliginosum, Oxycoceus palustris, Calluna vulgaris, 
Erica cinerea, E. Tetralix, Spergula subulata, Tormentilla erecta, 
Empetrum nigrum, Eriophorum vaginatum, E. polystachyon, and E. 
angustifolium, Sphagnum obtusifolium and S. acutifolium; Rumex 
acetosella indicates a peaty irony soil. Very dry soil—Galium 
verum and G. saxatile, Aira praecox, A. caryophyllea, A. cristata, 
Hieracium pilosella, Arenaria rubra, Thymus serpyllum, Trifolium 
arvense. Wet infertile soil—Juncus squarrosus, J, acutiflorus, 
Cnicus palustris, | Pinguicula vulgaris, Triglochin palustre], various 
species of Carex, Hippuris vulgaris, Epilobium tetragonum, Lyth- 
rum salicaria, Ranunculus lingua, R. flammula, R. acris, R. 
bulbosus, Rumex acetosa, R. crispus. Wet, but not necessarily 
infertile—Poa aquatica, Alopecurus geniculatus, Veronica Becca- 
bunga, Juncus conglomeratus, | Aira caespitosa, Cardamine pra- 
tensis|. Fertility—Cnicus lanceolatus, Urtica dioica, Stellarva 
media, Dactylis glomerata, Poa trivialis. Cold subsoil—Of this, 
Equisetum arvense is peculiarly indicative.” 

When it is intended to plant shallow-rooting coniferous trees 
only, such as Scots fir, larch, and spruce, the character of the 
subsoil is of less consequence, as their roots rarely penetrate to a 
greater depth than 18 inches or 2 feet ; but hardwoods, especially 
oak and ash, send their roots deep into the ground, and the 
subsoil has a greater influence on their growth than on the growth 
of the former. In many cases the surface soil is formed by the 
disintegration of the rock upon which it lies, and therefore the 
character of the subsoil can be easily seen; but in alluvial and 
diluvial deposits it is often of a totally different character, gravel 
and clay frequently lying in juxtaposition. All such formations, 
therefore, should be examined by digging holes here and there 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 109 


over the ground, and the subsoil noted down. The soil is rarely 
found to be of the same nature over any large area, and therefore 
the species should be distributed so as to suit the different. soils, 
according to the elevation, exposure, etc. 

All soils may be roughly divided into three classes, viz.— 
argillaceous, arenaceous, and calcareous, all presenting fertile and 
infertile examples, according to their mechanical condition, com- 
position, and depth, and an attempt will be made.to briefly show 
the most suitable trees for each class. 

Argillaceous.—These consist principally of silicate of alumina, 
and vary from pure clay to strong loam. These soils are especially 
adapted for growing hardwoods, such as oak, ash, hornbeam, 
poplar, etc., and all trees that delight in a strong damp soil, On 
the stiffer and wetter kinds the ash does not succeed so well as 
the other three. When resting on a bed of sand or gravel, they 
suit ash and sycamore better than most soils, and the addition of 
calcareous matter makes a soil highly favourable to ash and spruce. 
A mixture of clay and gravel suits spruce, silver fir, and larch, 
providing the drainage is good; but, generally speaking, these 
soils are not suitable for growing coniferous timber, as although 
the trees grow rapidly when young, they are usually short-lived, 
and rarely produce good quality of timber, being too coarse and 
soft through rapid growth. 

Arenaceous.—Silica forms the chief constituent of these soils, 
and they are usually dry and porous. Nearly all species belonging 
to the pine genus do well on these soils. In this country the Scots 
fir is the prevailing tree on them, and generally produces better 
timber than when grown on clay or chalk soils. Wherever the 
heather abounds we may generally assume that the Scots fir 
is the most profitable tree to plant, as such ground is usually poor 
and sterile, and in which few trees will thrive, but which produces 
a cleaner growth and more durable timber in the Scots fir than 
soils that are conducive to a rapid and luxuriant growth. The 
more fertile soils of this class suit the beech, elm, maple, and 
Durmast oak, but they must be of a fair depth and open nature, 
so as to allow the roots to penetrate freely in all directions. When 
moderately damp, or when resting on a clay subsoil, larch thrives 
well on all soils of this description, but when too dry and arid it is 
subject to dry rot ; and the same may be said of spruce and silver 
fir. Pure sand is affected by drought less than any soils, but is 
usually too deficient in plant food to bring timber to maturity. 


110 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Calcareous.—All these soils contain a large quantity of carbon- 
ate of lime, and on the chalk formations the soil frequently 
consists of little else. Owing to this fact, many plants refuse to 
grow on soils of the latter description at all, and therefore the 
choice of plants is more limited for this class than for the other 
two. Amongst the hardwoods, beech takes the precedence in 
England, ash being better adapted for the north, although chalk 
formations are not found in the latter part of the United King- 
dom, and these remarks scarcely apply to it. Many coniferous 
trees, the pines especially, fail to thrive on chalk, but spruce, 
Austrian pine, and cedar do very well. The larch also succeeds 
fairly well up to a certain age, but the dry rot is liable to affect it. 
On wet limestone soils larch should never be planted, as their 
close pasty nature render them totally unsuitable to that tree, 
and blister inevitably results. 

Peat moors or bogs, properly speaking, are not soils, but as they 
are sometimes utilised for growing trees, they may be considered 
as such here. They consist entirely of vegetable matter, being the 
partially-decayed remains of semi-aquatic plants. Until draining 
has drawn off the superfluous moisture, and allowed the air to 
act upon and decompose the inert vegetable matter, plants, or 
rather trees, will not grow on them, but when this has been 
effected certain trees thrive fairly well. Birch, alder, willow, 
aspen, spruce, and Scots fir are the most suitable. When 
thoroughly decomposed and mixed with inorganic matter, they 
often form very fertile soils, suitable for the majority of trees 
that like a light soil. 

To briefly recapitulate what has been already written on the 
choice of plants ; the conditions of soil, climate, and altitude should 
be considered conjointly, and each should be considered as equally 
influencing the growth and ultimate success of a plantation. 
Although mixed plantations may be justifiable in some cases, yet 
a careful examination of the soil and situation, together with a 
knowledge of the climate, should enable a competent forester to 
select one, or at the most two, species as the most likely to give 
the best results, and thereby allow the species selected to receive 
the proper sylvicultural treatment it requires in order to give the 
best yield of timber. Certain trees which are more valuable in an 
early stage than those constituting the ultimate crop may, how- 
ever, be planted as nurses, to be taken out in thinning, and 
one here and there might be left for the sake of variety. Larch 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. ite 


and spruce are the most suitable for this purpose, the former being 
the most valuable in sheltered situations, the latter in exposed 
ones, owing to its rigid and erect growth. 


Laying off the Ground. 


The usual method adopted in planting a space of land is that of 
performing the whole of the work in one, two, or three seasons, 
according to the extent of the ground, state of the weather, and 
the number of hands employed, and with small plantations this 
is probably the best plan. But when several hundred acres are 
to be planted, a proper working plan should be drawn up and 
adhered to as far as possible. Instead of planting the whole of 
the ground in the shortest time possible, it should be divided into 
divisions or blocks of such sizes as to be conveniently planted, 
thinned, and cut in one season respectively. This system has 
many advantages, as, for instance, allowing the forester ample 
time for performing the above-named operations, giving more 
steady employment to workmen, and preventing a large quantity 
of mature timber standing in the plantation at a time when the 
demand for such may be limited, thereby obliging the proprietor 
either to sell under value or allow the trees to stand after reaching 
their maximum annual increment, which would result in a reduc- 
tion of the returns that might otherwise be realised in a given 
period. 

Take, for example, a plantation of a thousand acres, containing 
various examples of soil, and at different altitudes. To plant 
such an area in four or five years would necessitate the employ- 
ment of a large staff of men, probably larger than the ordinary 
staff constantly kept by the forester. Unless a number of extra 
hands were specially engaged for the work, this would cause much 
of the ordinary winter work to be thrown back or neglected 
altogether, which would seriously interfere with the plans and 
arrangements regarding the other woods on the estate. But if 
the ground were laid off into squares or blocks of say 10 acres 
each, so many of these blocks might be planted annually without 
interfering seriously with other work on the estate. Assuming 
one hundred years to be the period required for bringing the crop 
to maturity, one block planted annually would provide for a 
similar area annually becoming ready for the axe after the first 
century had expired, and during the course of the second and 


112 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


each succeeding century, so longas the ground was replanted after 
being cleared. But unless the trees were all growing under the 
same conditions in respect to soil and situation, those on the most 
favourable parts of the ground would arrive at maturity much 
earlier than their less favoured neighbours ; and in order, there- 
fore, to prevent the necessity of cutting before ripe, or causing a 
break in the returns, the ground should be classified into one, two, 
or three classes, according to its estimated capability of producing 
timber, or the length of time each class would require to bring 
timber to maturity, and a block in each class planted in the same 
year. Let the ground be supposed to consist of 500 acres of 
Class I., capable of bringing timber to maturity in 80 years ; 250 
acres of Class IT., requiring 120 years ; and 250 acres of Class III., 
requiring 150 years to mature its timber. By dividing Class I. 
into blocks of 12°5 acres each, and Classes II. and III. into blocks 
of 8-3 acres each, and planting a block in each class annually, we 
should have a continuous crop of mature timber from the 80th to 
the 180th year from the time planting commenced, the latter 
operation extending over a period of 33 years, about 30 acres 
being planted annually until the work was completed. Should 
the ground be at all exposed, planting should commence on the 
leeward side of it, and gradually worked up to the windward side, 
as by this method the removal of those blocks which require 
cutting first is effected without exposing the ones immediately 
adjoining them to the prevailing wind, and the tops of the trees 
present a uniform slope to the wind, and it is therefore less likely 
to do damage. 

The above system has the disadvantage of giving a plantation 
on a hill-side a patchy appearance, owing to the great difference 
in the sizes of the trees, but this would only be the case when the 
ground presented a great many variations of soil and exposure, as 
when planting proceeded steadily in one direction this would 
prevent such an appearance from being given to it. 

The formation of roads at the time of planting is quite 
unnecessary, besides adding greatly to the compound interest 
on the initial expenses. They should, however, be marked off, 
and the ground left unplanted, or if planted, such trees should be 
used as are likely to be of some value when the time comes for 
their removal. Narrow rides about 13 feet in width should 
separate all blocks from their neighbours, and should be kept free 
of grass and rubbish, as in case of fire they may prove of great 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 113 


service in preventing it from spreading from one block to the 
other. This precaution should always be taken in the vicinity 
of a railway, as sparks from passing engines frequently ignite the 
dry grass in adjoining plantations. 


Formation of Local Nurseries. 


The custom of getting plants direct from a public nursery, and 
planting them in all sorts of soils and situations, has a great deal 
to do with the frequent failures and great loss of plants incurred 
in planting hilly and poor ground. In addition to the rough 
treatment they receive in uplifting and transit, and the consequent 
exposure of the roots, the change from a rich soil to thin, hard, 
and poor ground usually found on hill-sides and moorland cannot 
be favourable to the plants starting into a healthy growth until 
several years have elapsed after transplanting has been effected. 
The structure of roots differs a great deal according to the 
soil in which they exist, and it is evident that roots which have 
been developed in a soil of one description are ill adapted for 
carrying on their ordinary functions when suddenly removed to 
a soil of the very opposite character, and new roots must there- 
fore be formed before the plant can extract a proper amount of 
nourishment from the soil. Nor does this change merely affect 
the roots, but the protoplasm throughout the plant has first to 
accommodate and adapt itself to its new and altered conditions 
before it regains its former activity; and until these changes have 
been effected the plant does little more than exist for the first 
year or two after removal. The ravages committed by rabbits 
on plants when first put out are probably due in a great measure 
to their unhealthy and weakened condition from the above 
causes. It has been frequently remarked that self-sown plants 
are not nearly so liable to be touched as planted ones are, and 
there is every reason to suppose that this is chiefly owing to the 
more healthy and vigorous condition of the former during the 
early stages, as, when once the latter have recovered from the 
effects of the move, they are less frequently attacked, or if 
they are, it is usually the weakest plants that suffer. The 
true explanation of this fact I have never seen nor heard, but 
those laws of natural economy which ensure the survival of the 
fittest have probably something to do with it. 


The formation of local nurseries on the site of intended 
VOL. XIII. PART I. H 


114 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


plantations would do away with many of the evils enumerated 
above, and, there is little doubt, would prove the most economical 
when forming extensive plantations on poor soils, as there is 
little difficulty in raising Scots fir, larch, and spruce on such 
ground. They should be formed on well-drained slopes falling 
gently away to the west or south-west if possible, and the soil 
should be of the same character as that prevailing over the 
ground. They should be in as sheltered situations as possible, 
but not likely to favour frost. They must be securely fenced 
against game, and the seed-beds should be protected from birds 
by means of wire-netting stretched over the top. The soil should 
be trenched as deep as possible, and, if very poor, should be 
enriched by the addition of leaf-mould, road-scrapings or parings, 
or anything of that nature. Spruce branches should be stuck 
round the outside of the beds when the seed is germinating, 
to shelter it from the wind and sun. The sowing of the seed and 
subsequent treatment of the plants should be the same as carried 
out in ordinary home or public nurseries, but being of slower 
growth, they might stand an additional year in the nursery lines 
before being planted out, and the seed should be sown rather 
tater than usual, as larch is extremely liable to be injured by 
late frosts. The selection of the seed from trees standing in 
similar localities to that of the future plantation should be care- 
fully attended to, and only cones off trees possessing good timber 
qualities and of clean growth should be gathered, as the import- 
ance of this matter to the ultimate success of the plantation is 
often ignored, or neglected, with unsatisfactory results. 

It may be argued that a strong vigorous plant from a public 
nursery is more likely to survive the ordeal of transplanting than 
a weaker and less vigorous one, owing to the greater amount of 
reserve matter stored up in the stem of the former than in the latter, 
and this is, no doubt, perfectly true when both plants have been 
growing under the same conditions, and are subjected to the same 
treatment before being finally planted out; but when the stronger 
plant has several great disadvantages to contend with which are 
not shared by the weaker, the positions of the two plants may be 
considered as reversed. It must also be remembered that the 
embryo growths in the buds of the stronger plant require a 
proportionally larger amount of nourishment to develop them, 
and therefore the apparent advantage in regard to reserve 
material is less than might appear. It must be admitted, then, 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. was 


that plants raised on the ground have the advantage so far as 
transplanting is concerned, and the additional trouble and expense 
of forming a nursery is fully compensated for before the planting 
of a large area is completed. 


Size of Plants. 


The size of the plants at the time of planting must depend 
a good deal upon the nature and situation of the ground. For 
exposed and elevated situations, one-year seedling, one year trans 
planted, are probably the best, as they have a better chance of 
getting established in the ground. In more sheltered positions, 
and where the herbage is coarse and rank, two-year seedling, 
two years transplanted, may be used, and in ordinary situations no 
advantage is gained by planting them larger than the latter size. 
The former size refers only to conifers, the latter to both conifers 
and hardwoods. The great desideratum is to obtain plants with 
their roots and tops equally proportioned, or if one of the two 
preponderate, let it be the former. 


Distance between the Plants. 


The distance apart at which the trees are to stand after the 
final thinning should determine the distance apart at which to 
plant. To fully utilise the ground, and give the plantation a 
regular and uniform appearance, the special requirements of each 
species used (or more properly of the species to form the ultimate 
crop) in regard to space should be carefully considered. The 
probable rate of growth and capabilities of the ground will have 
to be considered, but the principal thing requisite is a knowledge 
of the maximum number of trees which a given acre of ground 
is capable of growing and bringing to maturity. By dividing the 
area by this number, the space occupied by each tree is obtained ; 
and the square root of this area, divided by a power of two, 
corresponding to the number of regular thinnings intended, gives 
the distance which should separate the young plants. This may 
be considered unnecessary and too theoretical, in view of the 
many accidents and casualties which may occur during the life- 
time of a plantation, while no allowance is made for the greater 
demands of strong and vigorous trees for space compared with 
their weaker neighbours. The first objection has no more weight 
than the case of a man who objected to being educated when 


116 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


young, for fear of dying before he could make use of it; and the 
second would only apply to mixed plantations, which are not 
alluded to here. 

The average distances apart at which the following trees 
are usually planted, are—Scots fir, 2} to 3 feet; larch 3 to 
4 feet; spruce 2 to 4 feet. Hardwoods are usually planted 
at good distances apart, about four times the number required 
for the ultimate crop say, and the intervals filled up with 
coniferous nurses, to 3 or 4 feet apart. The following distances 
oak, 8 feet; ash, 9 feet; elm, 12 feet; beech and 
hornbeam, 6 feet apart, respectively, the distance for oak being 
one-eighth of that of the ultimate crop. Mixed plantations are 
usually planted about 3 feet to 4 feet apart. 


are suitable for 


Planting. 


Planting may be performed at any time during the natural 
suspension of growth, which, in this country, means from 
November to April inclusive. The spring months are preferred 
by many foresters for planting, especially where the ground is at 
all wet, as the roots commence to grow before they have time to 
lose the vitality of the fibrils, which frequently takes place in wet 
soils when the roots have been bruised or broken in lifting. On 
dry, sandy soils, autumn planting usually gives the best results, 
as they are firmly established in the soil before the drought of 
summer commences, and the notches are not so likely to open and 
loosen the plant as when planting is done in the spring. Planting 
should only proceed in fresh, open weather, and never during 
frost or snow. 

For small plants notching is the cheapest and most expedi- 
tious method of planting, and for this the planter should be 
provided with a sharp half-worn garden spade. Inserting his 
spade perpendicularly into the soil, he makes two cuts or notches 
at right angles to each other, shaped like the letter L. He then 
lifts up the corner of the notch so as to allow the roots of the 
plant to be inserted beneath the spade, which is then withdrawn, 
and the soil falls back into its place, covering the roots, and is 
made firm with the heel. The planters should work in extended 
lines, each man taking his distance from his right or left hand 
neighbour, according to the side the leading man is on. Every 
two men should be accompanied by a boy or woman to carry the 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 1dey 


plants and insert them in the notch, the planter seeing that the 
roots are not twisted or doubled up before he withdraws his spade. 
The boys and women should be provided with aprons with large 
pockets for carrying the plants, the latter being supplied to them 
by others specially told off to carry the plants from the “sheugh” 
to the planters, so as to prevent the roots from long exposure to 
the sun and wind. 

In pit-planting much the same method is adopted as the fore- 
going, except that instead of making a notch, a small hole 
is taken out about a foot square; the boy holds the plant in 
the centre, while the planter fills in the finer soil immediately 
round the roots, leaving the worst for the top. In damp soils 
pitted plants are apt to be thrown out by the frost if planted in 
autumn, and are therefore best left until the spring. When 
planting hardwoods with coniferous nurses, they are often planted 
at their proper distances before or after the nurses, which simpli- 
fies matters for the planters and prevents mistakes. In all 
planting operations careful work should be encouraged before 
speed, and in very rough and stony ground it is better to take 
out a hole and remove the stones, than to squeeze and crush the 
roots into places where there is nothing to support them. 


Sowing in situ. 

The practice of sowing in situ, or sowing the seed on the spot in 
which it is intended to grow, is rarely resorted to in this country, 
and it has many disadvantages, compared with planting, on rough 
or waste ground. It might, however, be adopted in afforesting old 
arable land with hardwoods, such as oak or chestnut. The hard- 
wood seed should be sown in lines about 8 feet apart, or double 
that distance, if the ground is suitable for growing larch to a fair 
size, and the latter tree substituted between the hardwoods, as it is 
more valuable when young. ‘Two or three seeds should be sown or 
dibbled into each spot intended for the site of a tree, which should 
stand about 8 feet apart in the lines, thus allowing for contingencies 
in the shape of bad germination, damages by vermin, deformed 
plants, &c. If the ground be fairly clean, the intervening spaces 
might be sown thinly with larch seed, but if dirty, it would stand 
in great danger of being smothered before it attained any size, and 
planting would be preferable, the plants being put in about 3 feet 
apart. Spruce and Scots fir might also be used if the ground were 
unsuitable for larch, but the latter tree being double the value of 


118 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the former two, should always be used if possible. Other hard- 
woods than the two mentioned might be raised in this way, but 
owing to their strength and vigour as seedlings, oak and Spanish 
chestnut are better adapted for it than any others. 

When the ground is in good condition, and the heather short, 
good results might be obtained by sowing Scots fir broadcast on 
heathy moors and hill-sides, as the regularity with which this tree 
comes up on such ground where self-sown, produces almost as good 
and perfect a crop as could be secured by planting. It is only on 
heath-covered ground, however, that this would be likely to succeed, 
as grass or any other herbage is too thick and close to allow the 
seed to obtain a good hold of the soil. Of course, a large per- 
centage of the seed would be lost, and therefore this system could 
only be recommended when seed is cheap and easily obtained, but 
many barren acres of hill-side and moorland might be afforested by 
this method at a considerably less cost than planting. 


Protection from Ground Game. 


Where ground game abounds, it is necessary to protect the young 
plants by means of wire-netting. This should be supported by 
short posts, about 4 feet long, driven firmly into the ground every 
6 or 8 feet, or the netting may be attached to a wire fence when 
if surrounds the ground requiring protection. A small trench about 
3 inches deep and wide should be taken out, and the bottom of the 
netting placed in it, about 3 inches at the bottom being laid flat, and 
the scil replaced. This prevents rabbits from scratching holes 
underneath it, which they quickly do when it merely touches the sur- 
face of the ground. All holes should be ferreted and stopped after 
the netting is up, otherwise some may be left inside. To protect 
any large area from rabbits by means of netting is practically 
impossible, the only effective remedy being that of keeping them 
down by shooting and trapping, and allowing their natural enemies, 
such as stoats, weasels, foxes, &c., to restore the balance of nature. 
The settling of this question, however, is usually outside the 
forester’s jurisdiction, and he must do what he can, and leave the 
rest to take its chance. 


Management for First Twelve Years. 


The principal work to be done during the first two or three years 
after planting will be beating up blanks and keeping down rubbish. 


{HE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 119 


If a fair proportion of the trees survive, the former operation is 
often neglected on the grounds of economy, and rendering a profitless 
thinning unnecessary. When the production of large trees is alone 
aimed at, such an omission may be commendable, but when a crop of 
clean-grown timber of good quality isdesired, it has several objections. 
In the first place, it favours the growth of coarse side branches 
wherever gaps exist, which often attain considerable size before they 
are overpowered and killed by the closing up of the leaf canopy, 
causing black knots in the timber. Secondly, the stems are exposed 
to the sun, and unequal zones of soft and sappy wood are formed 
early in the season. Thirdly, the complete subjection of the 
herbage is considerably retarded, and the roots of the trees are 
deprived of a good deal of the available food. Fourthly, the 
mechanical condition of the soil produced by close shade, and a 
covering of decaying leaves, which is so eminently favourable to the 
production of roots, is not attained until the trees are in close order, 
and is therefore longer in taking place when gaps are numerous. 
The above objections more than counterbalance any advantage to 
be gained by the omission of beating up, and therefore it should be 
attended to wherever practicable. 

The subjection of rubbish depends a good deal upon its nature. 
Whins and broom must be carefully watched and kept from closing 
over and smothering the plants, and if they are cut over with a 
hand or hedge bill every two years until the plants are well above 
them, there is little danger of this taking place. Grass rarely does 
much harm, except to very young plants, which should never be 
planted amongst it. Brackens, brambles, &c., will require annual 
attention for a year or two, but the work should never be entrusted 
to careless or irresponsible hands, or more harm is likely to be done 
than good. 

After the plants are fairly established in the soil, they will 
require little attention until the eighth or tenth year, according to 
the rate of growth, but hardwoods should be gone over, and all 
double leaders removed. Oaks often refuse to start freely into 
srowth after being transplanted, and when this is the case they 
should be cut over close to the ground, and allowed to break away 
from the bottom, all but the strongest shoot being removed after a 
year or two. 

About the tenth year after planting, the first regular thinning is 
usually performed. This is generally done by cutting out every 
other plant, and leaving them about double the former distance 


120 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


apart, the nurses only being removed in the case of hardwoods. 
No doubt this method provides for the welfare of individual trees 
better than any other; but sylviculture recognises the claims of a 
mass or number of trees collectively, rather than the special 
requirements of the units which compose the mass, and aims at 
growing timber and not merely ¢rees, and therefore we might 
consider whether the usual method of thinning is the best to 
attain the object in view. In all natural forests it is evident 
that the operation of thinning by means of the axe and saw 
has never been carried out, and yet it is from such forests that 
our best timber supplies have been drawn, and an endeavour 
will be made to show the reason of this fact. Let us take the 
case of a piece of heath-covered ground that is being self-sown by 
Scots fir. Here we find the plants that show themselves first 
scattered here and there over the ground, some of them separated 
from each other by 20 or 30 feet. Every successive year a few 
additional plants appear, gradually filling up the blank spaces, until 
the whole surface of the ground is eventually covered with plants. 
By this time, however, the first plants that appeared will be con- 
siderably in advance of their youngest neighbours, and will have 
acquired a certain amount of superiority over the others, according to 
their age and vigour. It is evident that if nothing occurs to stop 
the growth of these larger plants, they will be in no danger of being 
overtopped or smothered by thei neighbours, but will continue 
growing until they have reached their full height. But although 
they may have free space for upward growth, they may be checked 
or stopped altogether from developing their lateral branches by 
smaller but equally vigorous plants that are growing up around 
them. Suppose a large plant to be 6 or 8 feet in height at the 
time a smaller plant, standing 6 feet away, is only 3. Assuming 
the lowest branch on the former tree to extend 3 feet in the 
direction of the latter, it would allow a space of nearly 3 feet 
between the nearest branches of the two trees, assuming the branch 
in question to be the longest on the side of the tree. This space 
would gradually decrease until the branches of the two trees 
touched, when their growths would be checked and ultimately 
stopped, causing their death. Other branches, higher up on the 
stems of the two plants, would, however, be meeting in the same 
way and sharing the same fate, always leaving, however, a clear 
space between the leading shoot of the smaller plant and the nearest 
branch opposite on the larger. Supposing the two plants to keep 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, Al 


their relative positions, and make uniformly equal growths until 
both had reached their full height, a system of natural pruning 
would have been carried out on the sides of both stems that faced 
each other, the branches on the smaller plant being checked and 
killed earlier in life than those on the larger one however. If small 
plants had stood on every side of the large one, the pruning process 
would have been complete, and we should have a typical illustration 
of what takes place, more or less, in a natural forest, and which 
produces pine timber of such excellent quality and almost free from 
large knots. 

It is not contended, however, that such a method is the best and 
most economical for the practical forester to adopt in the case of 
plantations, and there are several reasons for coming to this con- 
clusion. In the first place, the trees in a plantation are nearly 
equal in size, and would, therefore, be in danger of sacrificing one 
another before one could rise above the other. In the case of the 
natural forest, too, only one out of every ten may be placed in the 
way we illustrated, and therefore the proportion of well-grown 
timber trees will be comparatively small, and not sufficient to give 
a fair yield. But in spite of these objections, it is evident that the 
saine principles will hold good in the case of artificial plantations, 
as in the natural forests, although the treatment must be modified 
to suit the altered conditions. 

Even in artificial plantations, however, by the time the trees 
require thinning, they will not be found all one size. Some will 
be found 2 or 3 feet taller than others ; or, in other words, natural 
selection will be operating on the crop. The duty of the forester, 
then, will be to assist this operation as much as possible, and 
endeavour to secure a regular distribution of strong, clean-growing 
trees, by checking the tops of all trees that are competing too closely 
with those that are intended to grow until the second thinning. 
By the ordinary method, the unnecessary (?) trees would be taken 
out altogether, but the objections to this method are these :—In 
the first place, it exposes the soil to the sun and wind, and it 
becomes hard and dry and unfavourable to any roots that may 
have found their way along the surface ; Second, grass and rubbish 
again begin to grow, and appropriate the moisture and humus ; 
Third, the stems of the plants are exposed to the sun, and the 
development of side branches encouraged, causing the formation 
of inferior wood. Other objections might be raised, but these are 
the principal ones, and are thought to be sufficient to justify the 


122 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


adoption of the above method, recommended generally, although 
cases may occur where it might not be practicable. 


Conclusion. 


To go fully into every subject bearing on the formation of 
plantations, would require more space and time than could be 
expended on an ordinary essay, and therefore many subjects and 
operations are only briefly described and treated upon; but as 
their general application has been kept more closely in view, than 
their particular adoption or execution in any one locality, no 
advantage would have been gained by going too closely into 
details. 

Some of the theories propounded in this essay are based upon 
observation rather than experience, and therefore difficulties may 
be in the way which might render their practical adoption 
impossible ; but as custom without reason has been defined as an 
ancient error, the risk of committing a modern error has been 
incurred, rather than the recommendation of any customary 
operation for which no logical reason could be given. 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 123 


VIL. Zrees and Shrubs for Planting in Towns. By A. D. 
Wesster, Holwood, Kent. 


To those whose lot is cast in or near our more important centres 
of industry, this subject is of vast importance, and one which, at 
the present time, occupies a large share of public attention. 

The surprise experienced by most persons in this country on first 
visiting any of the larger Continental cities—Paris, Brussels, or 
Berlin, and where street planting would seem to be considered as a 
matter of paramount importance—is great indeed, and invariably 
leads to the somewhat pertinent question, ‘‘ Why cannot we make 
our cities beautiful by planting suitable trees and shrubs?” No 
doubt there are a few drawbacks to be encountered in so doing, 
but that very much more might be accomplished than has hitherto 
been done is clearly evident to those who have devoted even a 
small share of attention to the matter. 

The atmosphere of our larger towns and cities—London, Glas- 
gow, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield—is, it must be candidly 
admitted, impregnated to a far greater extent with noxious fumes 
and vapours than is that of any of the Continental towns above 
mentioned, and, therefore, the difficulty of establishing many trees 
and shrubs is correspondingly increased. 

Observations and experiments carried on during the last ten 
years in three of the largest towns in Britain—London, Glasgow, 
and Liverpool (a trial garden was for this express purpose instituted 
in one of the most smoky districts of East London) 
proved, however, that there are not a few trees and shrubs well 


have clearly 


suited for withstanding even the deleterious effects of the impurest 
of town atmospheres. 

Not for one moment do I wish it to be inferred that there are 
not certain districts—to wit, the environs of the Lambeth potteries, 
and some of our huge chemical works—where, do what we will, 
vegetation, be it of whatever kind, will not succeed; but as we 
recede from these centres of sickness and death, particular trees and 
shrubs flourish amazingly, and no better example can be pointed 
out than the healthy and rapid-growing specimens that adorn the 
Thames Embankment, and which are removed but a very short 
distance indeed from one of the barrenest and most miserable of 
the city suburbs—the pottery district. 

That certain trees and shrubs succeed best in particular towns 


124 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


is another strange fact, for, curious as it may seem, the smoke-proof 
London plane is by no means the best tree for either Liverpool or 
Warrington, particularly the former town, where the sycamore has 
been found to be far better adapted. In the very centre of Sheffield 
the Canadian poplar has been found to be by far the most useful 
tree, while in some of the worst localities in the colliery districts the 
chestnut and variegated-leaved sycamore are the greatest favourites. 
Even the rhododendron does well in the most smoky parts of 
the town of Bury, Lancashire. No better example could be 
adduced of how certain trees favour certain towns, than two or 
three kinds of poplars which grow with unabated vigour at Gatley, 
a small town near Manchester ; while at Bury, about equally dis- 
tant on the other side of that city, they positively refuse to 
grow, and that too after many unsuccessful attempts to get them 
established. Neither the rhododendron nor the laurel are at all 
suitable for the smoky districts of London; but casual observers 
may form a different opinion, from the appearance of such of these 
shrubs as are replanted annually, the semi-sickly subjects being 
replaced at stated times by those that are fresh and vigorous. In 
the smoky and impure (chemically) atmosphere of Glasgow the 
thorn and beam tree (Pyrus), as also several kinds of Retinospora, 
thrive amazingly, much better than they do in any of the large 
English towns, 

Why certain trees and shrubs succeed best in particular dis- 
tricts or towns is, perhaps, readily enough explained by the 
conditions of soil and situation, as well as the particular industry 
of the inhabitants. Coal smoke from the multitudinous chimneys 
of our larger centres of industry is no doubt bad enough; but 
when we have to contend with an atmosphere largely impregnated 
with the outcome from chemical, gas, or iron works, the difficulties 
to be encountered are great indeed. 

Preparation of the Ground and Planting.—In order that success 
may crown the effort, it may truly be said that no work of the 
horticulturist requires more skill and good management than the 
proper planting of trees alongside streets and avenues. 

The materials with which roads are usually made up are ill-fitted 
for sustaining a healthy condition in trees, at least for any great 
length of time, and this is well known to those who have taken 
any interest in the matter—broken stones, clinkers, and gravel 
affording but small support to vegetation, be it of whatever kind, 
but particularly large-growing trees and shrubs. Many failures in 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 125 


street tree planting from this very cause might be pointed out, and 
in not a few cases the future result will certainly be discreditable 
to all concerned, simply because the work has not been properly 
done. 

In crowded streets and squares, where the air is vitiated with 
impurities, and the soil hard and often surcharged with gaseous 
matter, tree planting is quite a different matter to what it is along 
the side of a field. In the latter case it may be sufficient to open 
a smal] pit, insert the tree, and stake it ; but in our large towns 
the case is totally different, for the soil, hard as iron, and composed 
mainly of clinkers and shingle, affords but little nourishment to a 
rapid-growing tree, and one that, moreover, has to do battle above 
ground with the deleterious effects of an impure atmosphere. 
Another fruitful cause of failure in street planting is placing the 
pavement above the roots, and in too close proximity to the stems. 
The roots should always be allowed plenty of breathing room, and 
to effect this a good-sized space should be railed off around each 
tree, and no pavement laid within it. In so doing a double benefit 
is conferred, by allowing free access of rain to the roots, and 
avoiding the accumulation of noxious gases in the ground (as has 
been proved to be the case when close pavement has been used), 
which are inimical to the welfare of the trees. 

In proof of what is said, we may refer to the trees at the Chelsea 
end of the Thames Embankment, which have been planted as above 
directed ; and that success has amply crowned the effort cannot be 
denied, for certainly that noble avenue has no equal in any British 
town. 

Where street trees are to be planted, a good-sized patch of ground 
—say, at least 6 feet in diameter and 4 feet in depth—should be 
thoroughly broken up, and if the soil is of inferior quality, which 
will assuredly be so in 90 per cent. of the pits, good fresh loam 
should be substituted. By undermining the sides of the pits a 
much larger receptacle for the fresh soil will be formed, and this 
will not occasion so much of the footway and pavement being torn 
up as if the pits were of equal diameter top and bottom, The 
plants used should be such as have been specially prepared for the 
purpose, by being frequently transplanted for some years previous 
to being placed in their final position. They should be stout, 
stocky, well-rooted, clean, and from 6 to 8 feet in height. 

In planting, spread the roots well out around the stem, and do 
not bury too deeply, the mark visible on the stem as to how deep 


126 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCTETY. 


the trees stood in the nursery border being the best criterion to 
go by. As regards the best time to plant town trees opinions 
differ, but there can be little doubt that spring is preferable, for 
the good reason that, as they start into growth at once, they 
are not so likely to suffer from smoke and other deleterious 
affections as if they remained during the winter in an inactive 
condition. 

Staking the trees so as to prevent rocking by the wind, and 
consequent damage to the roots, should be set about immediately 
planting is finished. Circumstances will be the best guide as to 
how this should be done, but it is generally found necessary, even 
when the trees are surrounded with iron railings, to drive a stout 
stake firmly into the ground on the windward side, and as close to 
the stem of the tree as possible. To this the tree should be made 
fast with teased-out tarred rope, and to avoid friction the rope may 
be crossed between the stem and stake. 

These simple matters connected with the preparation of the 
eround, planting, and staking are so important in town planting 
that they should never be lost sight of, for while they add but 
little to the cost, the advantage gained is very great. | 

Advantages of Town Trees.—Not only for the cheerful aspect 
produced by trees when planted alongside streets and thoroughfares, 
but also from a sanitary point of view, they are of special value 
and the greatest importance. That a quantity of healthy-growing 
foliage has a wonderful effect in purifying the atmosphere is a 
recognised fact, and certainly far more than compensates for any 
damage to health that might be occasioned by its decay in autumn. 
Bearing on the question of trees in towns, Dr Phené, at the Social 
Science Congress at Edinburgh, remarked as follows :— 

“To the occupants of houses in streets having a northern aspect, 
the glare of reflected light is injurious; but the effect would be 
much modified by the coolness to the eye produced by the green 
of trees. In ancient surgery, persons having weak or declining 
sight were advised to look at the emerald. In the old style of 
building, the streets being narrow, were both cooler, from the sun 
not being able to penetrate them with direct rays, and less subject 
to noxious exhalations from the scouring and purifying effects of 
the searching air to which narrow streets were subject, so that 
while there was no space for trees, there was also less necessity, 
Wide streets, on the contrary, are hotter, and require the shade 
of trees to cool them, and, as in the case of London, which has so 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 127 


far done without trees in its streets, not only are modern streets 
compulsory wide, but the enormous increase in metropolitan build- 
ings renders every sanitary question one of importance ; and the 
chemical properties of trees, as shown by experiment, gives them 
an important standing on that ground, irrespective of ornament or 
the pleasure they produce. But that which is important in such 
localities is more imperatively demanded in poorer districts on the 
score of health, as during the last year alone 21,000 new houses 
were erected in London, producing 400 streets, with 71 miles and 
468 yards of promenade.” 


TREES. 


The Oriental or Common London Plane (Platanus orientalis 
acertfolia).—This variety of the Oriental plane stands first in the 
category of select town trees. Not only does it grow vigorously in 
towns, but it is peculiarly well adapted for withstanding the smoke 
and other impurities of their atmosphere. Repeated experiments 
have clearly proved that in London this tree flourishes better than 
any other, and a visit to the Thames Embankment, and several other 
of the urban districts, will substantiate the statement ; while the 
fine old tree which still exists at Cheapside, and the equally 
beautiful specimen, which has hardly room for perfect development, 
in the Court of Stationers’ Hall, Ludgate Hill, afford other examples 
of how well suited this handsome tree is for doing battle with the 
smoke and impurities of the great metropolis. As a diversity of 
opinion has existed about which variety of plane it is that grows 
with such vigour in and around London, it may be stated that, on 
a careful examination of a large number of specimens, the variety 
P. 0. acerifolia was found not only more commonly distributed, 
but likewise better suited for town planting than the typical P. 
orientalis. This valuable variety is readily distinguished from the 
normal plant by the less deeply divided leaves; and from the 
American plane (P. occidentalis), with which it is not infrequently 
confounded, by the many fruit “ balls” which are attached to each 
peduncle, the fertile catkins of P. occidentalis being for the greater 
part produced singly. 

But not only for its value as a town tree is the Oriental plane 
much sought after ; for the giant proportions to which it attains, 
coupled with the handsome, finely cut leaves and easy habit of 
growth, renders it one of our most desirable ornamental trees. 
Then it is of the easiest culture, succeeding extremely well in soils 


128 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of the very opposite qualities. Taking everything into consideration, 
we question much whether any other of our forest trees is of greater 
or even equal value with the plane for town planting. 

The Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba).—A prolonged visit to 
the very worst smoke-infested slums of London, has now quite 
convinced me that the maidenhair or ginkgo tree is one of the most 
valuable that can be planted in the impure atmosphere of a town 
garden. Few trees, | am fully aware, can compare with the one 
in question for withstanding the deleterious effects produced on 
vegetation generally by coming in too close contact with the 
impurities of our great centres of industry. The ample delicate 
green foliage betrays—even late in the season, and when about to 
be cast off—little evidence of the fierce struggle that must almost 
constantly go on between vegetation and the smoke and filth of our 
towns and cities. That the thick leathery leaves and strong con- 
stitution of the tree play an important part in keeping it free from 
disease is clearly evident, while the fact of the leaves being renewed 
annually must go a long way towards casting off the sooty nodules 
which work such havoc on the tender foliage of most trees. 

At no less than five places in and around the great metropolis— 
and such places, too, where one is almost stifled with the fumes from 
chimneys—the maidenhair tree may be seen almost in as fresh and 
flourishing a condition as those enviable specimens on the Isle of 
Man ; indeed, about as large trunks as can be seen anywhere are 
growing in the smoke of Chelsea. Not only asa standard tree is the 
maidenhair valuable, but it is also one of the prettiest wall plants 
with which I am acquainted, and how many bare ugly erections of 
brick and stone in our city streets want a bit of greenery I would 
not like to say. 

The Ailanthus, or Tree of Heaven (Adlanthus glandulosa), may be 
seen in a flourishing condition in many of the London streets and 
byeways. By its rich green spreading foliage, the Ailanthus is, 
during the summer months, a great favourite with lovers of sylvan 
scenery, the leaves in many cases reaching to a length of fully 
2 feet. It is a tree of very rapid growth when suitably placed as 
regards svil and situation, shoots nearly 2 feet being often produced 
in a season. 

Tt has been largely planted in many Continental cities, and has 
proved itself one of the few trees that are capable of withstanding 
the impurities of a town atmosphere. The greenish-white, incon- 
spicuous flowers, are freely produced, and are succeeded by 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 129 
innumerable fruits resembling the keys cf the ash, but of a reddish- 
brown colour, which imparts to the tree a wealth of autumn glory 
that we unfortunately are seldom permitted to witness in this 
country. 

The Black Italian Poplar (Populus monilifera).—Next to the 
plane amongst forest trees, I consider the black Italian poplar to be 
the most valuable for planting in smoky towns. Asa proof of this, 
there are to be seen numerous fine specimens of this tree in a 
flourishing condition, and clothed with the most healthy foliage, in 
some of our largest cities—to wit, London, Glasgow, and Liverpool. 
The black Italian poplar may be somewhat stiff in outline, but there 
is, nevertheless, an air of grace about it that is wanting in any other 
tree I can bring tomind. It is a tree of the readiest culture, while, 
as to its rate of growth, a specimen of 100 feet in height has 
attained to that size in less than sixty years. The wood, unless for 
a few special purposes, such as cart-bottoms, brakes, &c., is not of 
great value; but the tree is, nevertheless, a profitable timber- 
producer when grown in suitable soils. 

The Canadian Poplar (P. canadensis) and its variety, P. c. nova, 
are excellent trees for planting in smoky localities. The former 
succeeds admirably in the very centre of Sheffield, in the old parish 
churchyard, where for hundreds of yards away not a particle of 
living vegetation is to be seen. The variety nova is a very superior 
tree for street planting, it being far more ornamental and of more 
rapid growth than the black Italian poplar, and equally reliable for 
retaining a healthy and flourishing cendition under the adverse 
circumstances connected with a town atmosphere. How well it 
succeeds may be seen in the beautiful avenue that was formed of it 
and the Oriental plane some years ago at Wimbledon Park. 

The Abele Poplar (Populus alba) grows with great freedom where 
subjected to smoke and foul air. In the very heart of our largest 
towns, it may be seen flourishing in a manner that is almost 
incredible. It is a pretty tree, the distinctly cut, ample leaves, 
with their cottony under surface, being at all times, but especially 
when agitated by the wind, most interesting, and causing the tree 
to rank amongst the most ornamental of its kind. It is readily 
propagated, transplants freely, grows rapidly, and is neither subject 
to disease nor particular as to the soil in which it is planted. 

The Lombardy Poplar (P. fastigiata) is another tree that has 
been planted with some success in and around many of our largest 
cities, but it cannot equal any of the foregoing for withstanding the 

VOL. XIII. PART I. I 


130 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


baneful effects of a tainted atmosphere. In the outskirts of towns, 
where the air is purer than amid chimneys pouring forth their 
volumes of smoke, the Lombardy poplar succeeds fairly well, and 
imparts an air of grandeur that could hardly otherwise be obtained. 

The Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuwminata).—Few planters are 
aware of how valuable the cucumber tree is for withstanding 
the grime and soot of large towns. Experiments have, however, 
resulted in this highly-ornamental and fast-growing tree being added 
to the list. Its ample foliage, yellowish-white fragrant flowers, and 
general contour, eminently fit it for a first place as a town tree. 
Soil of ordinary quality suits its general wants, although it prefers 
a strong, yellowish moist loam. 

The Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).—Excellent examples 
are not wanting of how valuable a tree Liriodendron tulipifera is 
for towns and streets. It seems to have a wonderful recuperative 
nature, for scorched, blackened, and encrusted as may appear the 
falling-off foliage, yet in the following spring it again puts forth a 
garb of the freshest and richest greenery. The remarkable four-lobed, 
truncate leaves render this tree almost without an equal for orna- 
mental planting, while its undoubted smoke-resisting qualities 
place it high in the rank of town trees. It is not particular as to 
soil. 

The Indian Bean (Catalpa bignonioides).—For various reasons 
this fast-growing tree is to be recommended for planting in smoky 
localities. It grows with vigour in many smoky centres of 
industry, is a tree of handsome proportions, and when fully 
established, flowers freely. The violet-white of the petals of the 
flowers is well set off by the purple and yellow of the throat. A 
valuable trait in the character of the Indian bean is that, should 
accident befall it, and the stem get injured, numerous strong suckers 
are produced, which, as they grow with great rapidity, soon take the 
place of the original. Few soils come amiss to it. 

The common Mulberry (Morus nigra) and the white-fruited 
form (J. alba) may be seen growing satisfactorily in several of the 
old gardens and nurseries of the metropolis, and where they are 
now buried alive, as might be said, in stones and mortar. That 
they are excellent town trees will be admitted by everyone who 
sees the fine specimens in Liverpool and Manchester. 

The Honey Locust (Gleditschia triacanthos) is a tall, spreading 
tree, one of great beauty, and a very suitable subject for planting 
in smoky localities. In many of the worst smoke-infested parts of 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. ou 


London and Manchester are seen goodly specimens of this hand- 
some tree—not poor, miserable trees, but from their great size, 
wealth of foliage, and general appearance, betoken perfect health 
amid their rather adverse surroundings. It grows very freely even 
when rather carelessly planted, and in soil of inferior quality. In 
autumn the long fruit-pods give to the honey locust a distinct and 
curious appearance. 

The False Acacia (Robinia Pseud-acacia).—Almost by the 
hundred can the false acacia be seen in London and many other 
English towns, thus proving that it is one of the most valuable trees 
that we possess for withstanding the injurious effects of an impure 
atmosphere. It is, likewise, one of the most ornamental of trees, 
the great wealth of pure white flowers, and beautiful pea-green 
foliage, being of the richest description. 

What renders this acacia of greatest value as a town tree is that 
it retains its rich verdure till well on in autumn. It grows freely 
in almost any soil, reproducing itself freely in suitable positions, 
and soon forms a handsome tree of almost giant proportions. The 
most suitable for town planting are the upright-growing and free- 
flowering kinds. The varieties known as Decaisneana, microphylla, 
macrophylla, sophorefolia, and the upright-habited are most to be 
desired. 

The White Beam Tree (Pyrus aria).—In many of the confined 
spaces in Glasgow, the white beam tree grows luxuriantly, and 
produces annually great quantities of its brightly-coloured berries. 
The creamy white of the under side of the leaves is particularly 
attractive when agitated by the wind, and the wealth of small white 
flowers is a treat to behold. Few trees are more readily suited with 
soil, for it may be found in a state of nature growing on dry lime- 
stone rocks, where there is scarcely a particle of soil. 

The Lime (Z%lia Huropwa).—Where the situation is not too 
confined, and where soot and smoke do not abound, the lime may 
and does succeed ; but when used in the worst parts of the metropolis, 
it soon shows signs of distress, the tips of the branches dying off, 
and the whole tree sooner or later showing the fierce struggle it has 
to endure with smoke and fumes. As an avenue tree, in the more 
airy and pure parts of a town, the lime has certainly few equals, its 
general contour and the pleasing shade it affords being points of 
special recommendation. 

The Sycamore (Acer Psewdo-platanus).—This tree may be classed 
as amongst the most useful for planting in smoky towns. In 


132 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Warrington, where the noxious emanations from alkali and other 
chemical works are most disastrous in their effect on trees and 
shrubs, the sycamore is one of the few that grow satisfactorily. 
Being a rapid and strong grower, it is thus seen to be, for a certain 
time at least, unaffected by its inimical surroundings. The 
variegated variety would seem from recent experiments to be 
preferable and better adapted for smoky localities than the normal 
form. 

The Weeping Ash (fraxinus eacelsior pendula) would seem to 
be superior to the common ash for planting in towns. It thrives 
satisfactorily in many of our largest centres of industry—to wit, 
London, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Manchester. Being of slow 
growth and dwarf in size, it is well suited for planting where space 
is confined. It is of the easiest culture. 

The Horse Chestnut (@sculus Hippocastanum) and the English 
Elm (Ulmus campestre) may be seen in a fairly satisfactory way in 
many town parks, but only where they are not exposed to smoke 
and soot to any great extent. In confined spaces both these trees 
soon show signs of distress, the points of the branches gradually 
becoming unhealthy, and the trees ultimately dying off prema- 
turely. Taking everything into consideration, neither of these trees 
can be recommended for planting in smoky districts. 

The Birch, Walnut, Hornbeam, and one or two kinds of Willow 
will succeed in the less smoky parts of a town; but they are not to 
be recommended for planting where the air is constantly impreg- 
nated with soot and dust. 

The Mountain Ash, or Rowan Tree (Pyrus aucuparia), has proved 
itself to be a valuable small-growing tree for planting in urban 
districts. It is also a tree of great beauty, whether in flower or 
fruit, one that grows almost anywhere, and with a minimum of 
attention. In many town streets where the air is vitiated with 
fumes, the mountain ash grows with great freedom. 

The Alder (Alnus cordifolia).—In this we have a good addition 
to the few trees that are really suitable for town planting, for it 
grows with great vigour, and retains much of its fresh, spring-tide 
greenness in very smoky and impure localities. Of hardy con- 
stitution, and unusually strong growth, it seems to defy the sooty 
emanations from hundreds of chimneys in two at least of our largest 
centres of industry. 

The Bird Cherry (Cerasus Padus) may be classed among the | 
most valuable of our town trees. It is a robust-growing and bright- 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 133 


flowering small tree. Few soils come amiss to it, and even where 
it is hemmed in by taller-growing trees, and constantly subjected to 
their drip, it grows and blooms with the greatest of freedom. In 
many of the back streets and slums of London may be seen well- 
grown specimens, which clearly demonstrate how well suited it is 
for withstanding smoke and dust. 

The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharinum) is a handsome, hardy, and 
fast-growing tree of moderate dimensions, and one that can justly 
claim a place in any list of town trees. It will not succeed where 
constantly subjected to smoke and fumes, but planted in the 
suburban districts it soon forms a really handsome and distinct 
tree. 

Sophora japonica is worthy of recommendation as a tree that is 
admirably suited for planting in towns. It is of large and rapid 
growth, with elegant dark green pinnate leaves. Being a native of 
China and Japan, it may not be perfectly hardy in the colder 
portions of the British Isles, but it succeeds well in southern 
England and Ireland, and it thrives admirably in the most smoke- 
infested parts of London. 

Thorns of various kinds succeed in town parks and gardens, but 
they are not to be recommended for the most smoky and confined 
localities. In Glasgow, however, I have noticed how well suited 
for planting in the squares and public gardens many forms of the 
thorn are; indeed, even in London, and where smoke and dust are 
by no means wanting, they gladden the eye with their wealth of 
flowers and bright green leaves. The single and double scarlet 
would seem to be best adapted for withstanding soot and smoke ; 
and these may not unfrequently be seen of large size and in perfect 
health. 

The Tansy-leaved Thorn (Crategus tanacetifolia) is another 
excellent member of the family for town planting. A noble 
example may be seen near the entrance to the Glasgow Botanic 
Garden. 

The English Yew (Zaxus baccata) can hardly be recommended as 
a suitable tree for smoky localities, although in suburban districts 
it grows freely, and there forms a dense, healthy dark green mass. 
From this it must not, however, be inferred that the yew cannot sur- 
vive in smoky towns, for it grows freely wherever it is not’subjected 
to an inordinate amount of atmospheric impurities. Soil of fairly 
good quality should be used when planting the yew, particularly 
where the surroundings are unfavourable. 


154 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Hollies of various kinds are very suitable for planting in cities, 
but they are not to be recommended for using in densely populated 
districts. For a time they may and do succeed, but they ultimately 
begin to show signs of distress by the tips of the branches dying 
off bit by bit. The dwarf variety of the common holly is one of 
the best for smoky districts, where it grows freely, and looks bright 
and healthy, often in most objectionable quarters. It succeeds 
much better than any of the others in the London squares 
and parks, while it is valuable in the more confined parts of 
Liverpool and Manchester. In Glasgow and Edinburgh it also 
grows freely. 

Two other species at least do well where they are not subjected 
to an inordinate amount of smoke. ‘These are 7. Balearica and I. 
Hodginsti, two very distinct and desirable hollies. 


SHRUBS. 


Of these there is rather a long list of kinds that are suitable for 
planting in smoky localities. Evidently deciduous species possess 
an advantage over evergreen kinds in the total annual renewal of 
their leaves ; and hence it follows that, as with trees, deciduous 
shrubs should have the preference. 

The following list includes only such kinds as have been proved 
suitable for town planting :— 

Osmanthus ilicifolius is one of the handsomest of evergreen 
shrubs, and also one of the few that succeed in a satisfactory way 
when subjected to the impurities of a town atmosphere. In the 
smokiest districts of both London and Liverpool, it is unquestion- 
ably the best all-round shrub. The holly-like leaves are thick and 
of firm substance, and the inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers are 
also much like those of the holly. 

Ligustrum coriaceum is a fitting companion to the last, so far 
at least as its powers of withstanding the effects of an impure 
atmosphere are concerned. Being an evergreen, it is peculiarly 
weil suited for planting in the town garden, where it grows with 
great freedom. It is easily managed, not particular as regards 
soil, is readily increased, and bears trimming in with perfect 
impunity. 

Aucuba japonica.—This well-known evergreen shrub is of great 
value for planting in urban districts, it being able to do battle 
with a more than ordinary amount of atmospheric impurities. For 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 135 


this reason it has been largely planted in town squares and gardens 
in the most crowded and densely populated parts. As an orna- 
mental shrub, too, the Awcuba is well worthy of extensive culture, 
its fine, large, glossy, and beautifully mottled leaves being at all 
times objects of admiration. It is easily raised from cuttings, and 
grows with great freedom in any soil. 

Griselinia littoralis.—Although a little-known evergreen, this is 
well suited for town planting, experiments having proved it a most 
valuable addition to the limited number of shrubs suitable for such 
a purpose. The appearance of the plant, with its deep, green, 
glossy, and somewhat succulent leaves, is most pleasing ; and as it 
grows freely in ordinary soil, and is readily propagated, it is to be 
hoped that it will receive the notice it is fairly entitled to as a 
valuable hardy shrub. 

Hibiscus syriacus.—This is one of our most valuable late 
autumn-flowering shrubs, and is also one of the few that can 
successfully battle with an impure atmosphere. In many parts of 
London, where the air is vitiated by emanations from factory 
chimneys, this pretty shrub is seen in perfect health, with plenty of 
foliage of the richest description, and quite a wealth of showy 
flowers. It grows freely in ordinary soil. It may be trimmed in 
at pleasure, and withstands frost perfectly. It is a shrub which 
town residents should plant freely, if they have a bit of ground 
that they want to look pretty. 

The Wayfaring Tree (Viburnwm Lantana).—This valuable shrub 
does not receive that amount of attention which its merits entitle 
it to. It succeeds well in some of the most filthy and smoky 
districts of our largest cities. It blooms with great freedom, and 
the flowers are succeeded by the brightest and showiest of berries, 
It is readily propagated, and no soil comes amiss to it. 

The Venetian Sumach (hus cotinus).—This is a much neglected 
shrub, but for general usefulness can hardly be surpassed. It is 
highly ornamental, whether in flower or fruit, the feathery inflor- 
escens rendering it of quaint and curious appearance, particularly 
when a well-grown plant is under notice. It is peculiarly well 
suited for planting in cities. A sound loam, neither too damp nor 
yet too dry, suits it to perfection. 

The Stags Horn Sumach (Rhus typhina).—This must on 
no account be omitted, as it is a plant of pretty and curious 
appearance, grows with freedom, and is as hardy as could be 
desired. 


136 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Leycesteria formosa is a beautiful hardy shrub, with hollow stems, 
large ovate leaves, and white or purplish flowers in pendulous 
racemes. More conspicuous than the flowers are the deep purple 
foliaceous bracts, which impart to the shrub a distinct and very 
ornamental appearance. It is a capital town plant, shooting out 
fresh and green after being subjected to a winter’s incessant fumes 
from the chimneys of the great metropolis. It is perfectly hardy, 
of free growth, readily propagated, and altogether a valuable 
shrub. 

The Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum).—Too much praise 
can hardly be bestowed on this handsome free-flowering shrub for 
the planting of town gardens and shrubberies. There it succeeds 
to perfection, and flowers with the greatest freedom. In early 
spring it breaks out fresh and strong, regardless of the noxious 
fumes and impure atmosphere. Well planted at first, it rarely fails, 
striking out its roots far and wide, and soon becoming a dense 
shrub of medium proportions. Nothing can well surpass it for the 
quantity, colour, and quality of its showy flowers, while it is the 
easiest of shrubs to propagate and cultivate. 

Skimmia japonica is a low-growing shrub that I have seen doing 
well in the heart of London, where smoke and other impurities of 
the air do not seem to affect it in the least. For beauty of flowers 
it is not remarkable, but as a handsome berry-bearing shrub it can 
well hold its own with any other. A north aspect, and half-peaty 
soil would seem to suit it. 

The Snowy Mespilus (Amelanchier Botryapium), with its racemes 
of white flowers and desirable outline, is a valuable shrub for 
' planting in towns. The flowers are produced in early spring, when 
lawns and gardens look dull and cheerless. Of free growth, it 
succeeds in any fairly good soil, and soon forms a handsome 
specimen. 

Lilacs have few equals as town shrubs ; indeed, it would be good 
practice to plant these first, whatever else might follow. They 
succeed admirably in the worst and most smoky parts of London 
aud Glasgow, and there put on an appearance during early summer 
that it would be difficult to exceed in country gardens. Recent 
experiments have proved that many of the finer forms are equal 
to the common kind for this purpose, particularly the Siberian and 
Persian. All are of free growth, non-fastidious as to soil or site, 
and easily propagated. 

The Kentucky Coffee Tree (Gymnocladus canadensis) can ill be 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 137 


spared from any list of suitable subjects for the town garden, it 
having been proved to be an excellent plant for the purpose. The 
racemes of white flowers which it bears are particularly showy and 
interesting. 

The Bladder Senna (Colutea arborescens) is entitled to rank 
high amongst town shrubs, for it may be seen flowering and fruiting 
in the most smoky parts of many of our largest cities. It does well 
in the very centre of London, and is largely planted in Liverpool, 
Manchester, and Glasgow. The pretty yellow flowers, and the 
curious bladder-like seed-pods, are both showy and interesting, and 
render the plant one of the brightest shrubbery ornaments during 
nearly half of the year. Few soils come amiss, but it succeeds best 
in a warm and sunny position, and is well adapted for use as a 
wall plant. 

Phillyrea Vilmoriniana.—This has been planted largely for 
experimental purposes in the very heart of London, and succeeds 
there in such a way as to entitle it to rank first amongst shrubs for 
town planting. It is a shrub of neat habit, is an easy subject to 
deal with, and requires the least of attention. 

Forsythia viridissima is another deciduous shrub that can with- 
stand the fumes and smoke of towns. It grows with the greatest 
freedom in very vitiated atmospheres, each spring breaking out as 
fresh and green as if it were growing in a sheltered country garden. 
Of vigorous constitution, it grows freely, and flowers most profusely 
in the largest cities. Stiffish soil suits it well, but it is far from 
particular in that way, and stands hard trimming in of its 
shoots with impunity. 

The Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Unedo) finds a congenial home 
in the great metropolis, and there may be seen flourishing, where 
daily it is subjected to poisonous emanations from chimneys. 
The thick, leathery leaves seem well able to resist the worst of 
town air impurities, for they look as fresh and green after every 
shower of rain as could well be desired. As an ornamental 
shrub the Arbutus ranks high, the creamy flowers and straw- 
berry-like fruit being peculiarly rich and attractive. Any 
soil of good quality, but not surcharged with moisture, grows 
it well. 

The Double Furze (Ulex Europeus flore pleno) is one of our 
handsomest flowering shrubs, and is of great value for planting 
in town gardens and squares. For clothing warm and dry banks, 
where few other plants would succeed, furze, does remarkably 


138 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


well, the foliage being thick and healthy, while the flowers are 
abundantly produced. It is of neat habit, and by judicious 
pruning may be kept to any desirable size. 

The Spurge Laurel (Daphne Lawreola) grows freely in many a 
town garden ; indeed, it is no uncommon thing to see large and 
well-balanced specimens where smoke and filth are the order of 
the day. It is a pretty evergreen shrub, of free and vigorous 
growth, and one that is well able to take care of itself under 
almost any conditions. It does well in the shade, and under the 
drip of other trees, though it is all the better of a sunny site, but 
not too exposed a situation. It is readily propagated, and young 
plants are usually found in quantity where old, established speci- 
mens abound. 

Cotoneasters of various kinds succeed well as town plants. All 
or nearly all are valuable for covering bare and unsightly objects, 
and as they grow well in the roughest and poorest of soils, they 
may be used in positions where other less accommodating subjects 
will hardly succeed. As ornamental plants, many of the Coton- 
easters are highly valuable, from their neat, glossy leaves and 
abundance of brightly-coloured fruit. Particular mention may 
be made of C. frigida, with its large clusters of scarlet berries ; 
C. Simonsti, with silky foliage and vermilion fruit; and our 
native C. vulgaris, a neat and hardy as well as free-fruiting 
species. 

Euonymus japonicus is another excellent shrub, one that 
succeeds admirably wherever it is planted. It bears trimming 
well, and so can easily be kept to any required dimensions. For 
free growth and a hardy nature it has few equals. It is not 
particular as to soil, and is an excellent dry-weather plant, easily 
propagated, and almost smoke-defying. 

The double-flowered variety of Prunus sinensis is hard to 
match, either for beauty of bloom or as regards its fitness for 
planting in our smokiest thoroughfares. In many of the worst 
smoke-infested districts of London and Glasgow, it and P. triloba 
appear in quite as good form and health as if they were growing 
in the open country. They are excellent hot-weather plants, for 
after hot and dry summers they do not seem so hard pressed 
as are many of what would be considered more robust subjects. 
Fairly good soil, and not too draughty a position, is all they need, 
while their after-management is of the simplest. 

The Almond (Amygdalus communis) and A. c. nana haye 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 139 


proved themselves to be useful plants for doing battle with the 
smoke and impure air of towns. They are both highly ornamental 
when in flower, not fastidious as to soil, and of neat habit. In 
and around London almonds are largely planted, as they are so 
ornamental, so free in flowering, and so easily managed. Of the 
typical A. communis there are numerous distinct varieties, in- 
cluding some with much larger and brighter flowers, one of the 
best of which is A. communis major. 

Kelreuteria paniculata is a very handsome shrub or small- 
growing tree, particularly when in flower, and it is one of the 
best of town plants. In many of our most smoke-infested 
towns—Warrington, and the outskirt districts of Liverpool and 
Manchester—it grows with great freedom, and produces in great 
abundance, during June and July, its panicles of showy yellow 
flowers. Although the Kelreuteria hails from China, it may be 
relied upon as perfectly hardy in perhaps every part of the 
British Isles. 

The Laurustinus (Viburnum Tinus) finds a congenial home in 
many a London garden, where it has proved itself to be a 
decided acquisition. It is a plant of bright appearance, and as 
free-flowering a subject as there is in the whole range of hardy 
shrubs. Cuttings inserted in sandy soil during August root freely, 
and soon form sturdy plants that in a couple of years are fit for 
transferring to their permanent quarters. 

Weigelia rosea and W. amabilis are both highly ornamental 
shrubs, of the freest growth, and well suited for planting in 
smoky localities. In many of the London gardens these shrubs 
may be seen in a satisfactory state, showing but few of the 
bad effects that generally attend town shrubs. Both are of 
simple culture, easily propagated, and not fastidious as to the 
soil. 

Deutzia scabra is another neat-growing and highly desirable 
plant for the town garden. It flowers, in such situations, with 
unusual freedom, ripening its young wood well, and showing 
but little traces of its struggle with the impure atmosphere. 
It may be trimmed in at will, is readily propagated from 
cuttings, and succeeds well in a great variety of soils and 
situations. 

The common Box (Suaus sempervirens) and the Tree Box 
(B. sempervirens arborescens) are largely used in town parks, 
squares, and gardens. The thick leathery foliage is well suited 


140 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


for withstanding impurities in the air. The tree box thrives 
better than the normal plant in the heart of our largest centres 
of industry. 

The Gum Cistus (C. Jadaniferus) and the laurel-leaved form 
(C. lawrifolius) are two highly ornamental and perfectly hardy 
shrubs. The former has large white flowers, with a distinct 
purple blotch at the base of the petals, while the robust-growing 
C. laurifolius has pure white flowers. Both are excellent town 
plants, succeeding well even in very populous localities. 

Mahonia aquifolia, M. Bealii, and M. japonica all do fairly 
well in the town garden, but are the better of being assigned to 
select positions in the open. Good vegetable mould seems to suit 
the various species of Mahonia, and when once fairly established 
they grow and flower freely. All are shrubs of great beauty, 
the bright and showy flowers, produced in rich profusion, 
are followed by abundance of clusters of rich bluish-purple 
berries. 

The Japan Quince (Cydonia japonica) is one of the most 
beautiful shrubs with which our gardens have ever been enriched ; 
and from the number of fine healthy specimens that are to he 
found in many of our largest towns, it would thus appear to be 
particularly suitable for planting where soot and smoke are 
prevalent. The brilliant scarlet flowers, which are produced at 
a season when such are most in want, impart to well-grown 
specimens a beauty which is almost impossible to deseribe. It 
is perfectly hardy, not fastidious as to soil, and of free and easy 
growth, 

Hypericum Nepalense is the best of the St John’s worts for 
withstanding smoke, dust, and heat. It is a plant of great beauty, 
the bright foliage and abundance of large golden flowers placing 
it in the first rank as an ornamental plant. H. calycunum is also 
valuable for similar purposes ; while for edging to the shrubbery, 
or for covering bare spots, it has few equals. 

Euonymus japonicus and its silver and golden forms are most 
useful town shrubs, for they succeed well in very smoky and 
filthy localities. They are plants of great beauty, particularly 
the variegated varieties, of easy culture, and not at all particular 
as to soil in which they grow. Z£. radicans is a straggling, 
decumbent shrub, and, as it stands soot and smoke well, it is 
suitable for planting as a dwarf plant in the town garden and 


square, 


TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 141 


CLIMBERS. 


Of shrubs suitable for covering walls, trellises, and arbours, and 
at the same time able to resist the dire influences of smoke and 
soot, there are a few valuable and well-tried kinds. 

The Virginian Creeper (Ampelopsis hederacea) has few equals 
as a town plant, succeeding perfectly in the midst of our busiest 
centres of industry. Many instances could be pointed out where 
this handsome climber grows with the greatest freedom in the 
most impure and smoke-laden atmosphere, constantly exposed to 
the foul air, heat, and dust. It grows freely in any soil 
of ordinary quality, and soon covers a great extent of wall. 
The deeply-cut ornamental leaves change to a _ bright red 
colour in autumn, and are then particularly handsome and 
pleasing. 

The common Ivy (Hedera Helix) is, perhaps, the most valuable 
of all climbing plants for planting in smoke-infested localities. 
In some of the courts near Ludgate Hill, a district of London 
that is by no means free from smoke and foul air, the ivy climbs 
the houses to a height of 60 feet, and surprises one by its fresh 
appearance in such a locality. It needs no training, and will 
succeed admirably in soil composed largely of old mortar, stones, 
and the smallest quantity of loam. 

The Evergreen or Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) 
is another shrub of great merit for town planting, as it thrives 
well in very confined spaces, and where the atmosphere is very 
impure. It is one of the handsomest of the honeysuckles, 
bearing a rich profusion of sweet-scented flowers in early 
summer, and requiring no special treatment or cultivation. It 
and the Virginian creeper require their young shoots to be 
fastened to the wall. 

Crategus Pyracantha is a most useful wall shrub for the town 
garden. It is of free growth, stands smoke well, and is one of 
the handsomest berry-bearing plants in cultivation. The variety 
known as Lelandii is, however, preferable to the normal plant, 
both for beauty of flowers and fruit. 

The Jasminum nudiflorum needs little description, as it is one 
of our commonest wall plants. For smoky districts it is invaluable, 
blooming freely when flowers are scarce, and seeming to heed but 
little the impurities of a town atmosphere. Of free growth, it is 
well worthy of extended culture, 


142 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The Vine (Vitis vinifera) must not be omitted from any list of 
town climbers, for it bears exposure to soot, smoke, dust, and heat 
in a surprising manner. In many towns it may be seen doing 
well, and covering large areas of wall with its large finely- 
divided leaves. There are several cut-leaved forms, one or 
two of which are, perhaps, more ornamental than the typical 
plant. 

Several other climbing wall-plants do well in large towns where 
excessive quantities of smoke are absent, but the above may be 
relied upon as those that are best suited ‘for planting where the 
atmosphere is constantly vitiated with impurities. 


ConIFEROUS TREES. 


Few of these, if any, succeed in a satisfactory way when 
constantly subjected to the impurities of a town atmosphere. 
Where the conditions are favourable, the Austrian pine (Pius 
Austriaca), Thujopsis dolabrata, deciduous cypress (Laxodium 
distichum), and Lawson’s cypress (Cupressus Lawsonit) do fairly 
well, but they are not to be recommended for general town 
planting. Letinospora plumosa aurea stood for five years in one 
of the most smoke-infested districts of Glasgow, and looked 
almost as well as it did when brought from the country. 


Oruer PLANTS. 


Yuccas of various species are to be highly recommended for 
planting, even in very smoky and confined districts. They grow 
with great freedom in many of the London gardens, as also in 
Glasgow, Liverpool, and Manchester. Irises, notably J. Ger- 
manica, do well even in very smoky and confined districts, as they 
have a marvellous recuperative power after being subjected to the 
heat, dust, and general impurities of a town atmosphere. Auriculas 
and border carnations also do fairly well, but they will not stand 
constant smoke and soot; and the same may be said of various 
species of hellebore, Virginian stock, Hranthis hyemalis, and 
chrysanthemums, 

Much may be done to keep plants fresh and healthy by free 
use of the watering-pot, syringe, and hose, aud also by carefully 
looking after insect pests, and stamping them out as they appear. 
The combination of adverse circumstances to be encountered in 


. TREES AND SHRUBS FOR PLANTING IN TOWNS. 143 


growing plants in smoky towns is great indeed, and should only be 
engaged in when special care and attention can be bestowed on 
their culture and general management. 

The foregoing list of trees, shrubs, and other plants includes 
only such kinds as can be confidently recommended as suitable 
subjects for planting in town parks and gardens, <A great 
many others might have been added to the list, but we consider 
it better only to include well-tried kinds. 

For convenience we have arranged the following list in an 
alphabetical manner, so that any one can see at a glance the 
kinds which are best suited for withstanding the deleterious 
effects of an impure atmosphere. 


TOWN TREES. 


Acer macrophylla. 

Acer pseudo-platanus. 
Acer pseudo-platanus variegata. 
Asculus Hippocastanum. 
Ailanthus glandulosa, 
Alnus cordifolia. 

Betula alba. 

Carpinus Betulus. 
Catalpa bignonioides, 
Cerasus (Prunus) 
Crategus Oxyacantha. 


Crateegus Oxyacantha flore pleno. 


Crateegus tanacetifolia. 
Fraxinus excelsior pendula. 
Gleditschia triacanthos, 
Hex aquifolium. 

Tlex Balearica. 

Ilex Hodginsii. 

Juglans nigra. 

Juglans regia. 
Liriodendron tulipiferum, 
Magnolia acuminata, 
Magnolia glauca, 

Morus alba. 

Morus nigra. 


Olea Europea. 
Pinus Austriaca. 
Platanus acerifolia. 
Platanus orientalis. 
Populus alba. 
Populus canadensis. 
Populus fastigiata. 
Pyrus aria. 
Pyrus aucuparia. 
Quercus cerris. 
Quercus Ilex. 
Retinespora plumosa aurea. 
Robinia pseud-acacia. 
Robinia pseud-acacia 
Decaisneana. 
Robinia pseud-acacia 
macrophylla. 
Robinia viscosa, 
Salix fragilis. 
Salix purpurea. 
Sophora japonica. 
Taxodium distichum. 
Taxus baccata. 
Tilia Europa, 


144 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Amelanchier Botryapium, 
Ampelopsis Virginica. 
Amygdalus nana. 
Arbutus Unedo. 
Aucuba japonica. 
Berberis aquifolia. 
Berberis vulgaris. 
Buxus Balearica. 
Buxus sempervirens. 
Cistus ladaniferus. 
Cistus laurifolius. 
Colutea arborescens. 
Cotoneaster frigida. 
Cotoneaster Simonsil. 
Cotoneaster thymifolia. 
Cotoneaster vulgaris. 
Cydonia japonica. 
Daphne laureola. 
Daphne Mezereum. 
Daphne pontica. 
Deutzia crenata. 
Deutzia gracilis. 
Euonymus japonica. 
Forsythia suspensa. 
Forsythia viridissima. 
Griselinia littoralis. 
Gymnocladus canadensis. 


SHRUBS. 


Hedera Helix. 

Hibiscus syriacus. 
Hypericum calycinum. 
Hypericum Nepalense. 
Keelreuteria panniculata. 
Leycesteria formosa. 
Ligustrum coriaceum. 
Ligustrum ovalifolium. 
Osmanthus ilicifolius, 
Philadelphus Gordonianus. 
Philadelphus grandiflorus. 
Phillyrea angustifolia. 
Phillyrea latifolia, 
Rhamnus frangula. 

Rhus cotinus. 

Ribes aureum. 

tibes sanguinem. 

Ribes speciosum. 
Skimmia oblata. 

Syringa Josikeea. 

Syringa Persica. 

Syringa vulgaris. 

Ulex Europzea flore pleno. 
Viburnum opulus. 
Weigelia rosea. 

Yucca gloriosa. 

Yucea recurva, 


THE UTILISATION OF SMALL-WOOD FOR TURNERY, ETC, 145 


IX. The Utilisation of Small-Wood for Turnery and other 
Purposes. By A. T. Witiamson, 7 Kew Terrace, Edin- 


burgh. 


The profitable disposal of the large quantities of small-wood 
necessarily produced from the clearing of large timber is a question 
that would seem to have passed beyond the reach of ingenuity to 
solve. The changed position in which this country has been 
placed has been entirely brought about by the introduction of 
manufactured small-wood goods from America; and these having 
been received by thread and textile manufacturers with a consider- 
able degree of favour, the trade has gradually developed to large 
dimensions, and now it forms a very important item in the list of 
the country’s timber imports. It is doubtful if this favour was 
bestowed on the American produce because of its superior quality 
for bobbin-making, seeing that considerable divergence of opinion 
still exists on that point. The outstanding fact that these goods 
were supplied at a price little beyond one half of that usually paid 
for the home manufactured article, was the main fact that weighed 
with the consumer in deciding to supply himself with the imported 
article. 

At first the American consignments were very limited in 
amount, only small parcels being sent as an experiment by the 
regular steamers to the principal british ports. The greatly 
reduced price at which they were sold was a point that attracted 
the attention of the consumer, and was an influence impossible to 
resist. Finding the goods suited the purposes for which they were 
intended equally well with those he had hitherto been accustomed 
to use, a successful development ensued as a natural consequence. 
The new departure had the effect of stimulating the genius of the 
turner and mechanical inventor on this side, which led to the 
construction of machinery with a greater capacity for production, 
and the invention of appliances that would reduce the cost of 
labour. In this a large advance was made in the direction of 
rapid and cheap production. Notwithstanding continued and 
renewed efforts, the home producer felt himself so largely handi- 
capped that the industry of turning to a great extent declined, and 
as a consequence reduced the value of the class of small wood that 
had hitherto found an outlet in this direction. Much machinery 
that had been constructed specially for bobbin work fell into 

VOL. XIII. PART I. K 


146 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


disuse, and great loss was occasioned to the bobbin manufacturer 
thereby. 

Constant supplies, in large quantities, of American bobbins are 
forthcoming, particularly to the Clyde and Mersey markets, and 
now appear in the weekly import list as a matter of course. To 
a limited extent, however, the bobbin-turning trade is still carried 
on, and in centres where supplies of suitable wood can be obtained, 
without being subject to excessive outlays for railway carriage, 
some large turning establishments exist. This altered condition 
of the trade has reduced the value of all kinds of small-wood to 
the lowest margin. In this paper it is proposed to describe the 
manner in which the small-wood of the various kinds of timber 
is disposed of and utilised, and sundry purposes for which it is and 
may be used in different districts of the country. 

Beginning with the oak, the amount of small-wood produced is 
very considerable, and, like the bobbin-wood trade, the outlet of 
former years for vast quantities has been shut up by the revolu- 
tion in shipbuilding. The age of our wooden walls has given place 
to iron, and the enormous consumption of tree-nails which were 
necessary in the building of the wooden ship is now no longer 
required in the iron. These tree-nails, being small in size, were 
chiefly manufactured from what may be termed the waste oak. 
A limited quantity is still consumed by turners, in the manu- 
facture of oak bungs or stoppers for barrels. These are taken 
from wood from one to two inches square, and of same length. 
Specially constructed machinery is used for the production of 
these articles, by means of which a long length is crosscut to the 
desired size of pieces simultaneously with the process of turning. 
A very important outlet for small oak wood is perhaps less gene- 
rally known in Scotland than it ought to be. This outlet exists 
in the brass and copper manufacturing districts, where large 
quantities are consumed, and that in the most effectual way. The 
purpose to which this class of wood is applied is to burn it in the 
furnace where the metal is being smelted. The wood must be 
light, down to an inch in diameter, but it is essential that the 
pieces be supplied in considerable lengths and moderately straight, 
having to pass through the narrow furnace door. The object 
served in the burning of the wood in this manner is the refining 
of the metal, and the process is by stirring the molten material 
with the oak wood. It can at once be understood that it can 
withstand this process for only a very limited time; the demand 


THE UTILISATION OF SMALL-WOOD FOR TURNERY, ETC. 147 


is therefore great and continuous, and very remunerative prices 
are obtainable for suitable wood. The only purpose to which 
short small pieces of oak can now be put is that of pit-props and 
pit-chocks—the former in any size down to 2 inches diameter and 
2 feet in length, and the latter sawn square to 2 inches and 
upwards, by 18 to 30 inches in length. 

The ash small-wood is produced still more extensively than 
the oak, but finds a greater variety of purposes in which it 
may be utilised. The turner looks on it with much favour as a 
turning wood. The serious collapse brought about in the bobbin 
manufacturing trade, through the causes already referred to, has 
curtailed the demand to such an extent as to reduce the price 
obtainable for turning wood by one half. When it can be delivered 
in those districts where bobbin-turning establishments still exist 
at the rate of 22s. to 24s. per ton, any quantity may be utilised. 
A greater restriction is, however, now placed on it in respect of 
size. In former years wood down to an inch in diameter was 
passable, but now 3 inches in diameter is as small a size as is 
deemed useful for bobbin work. A very important outlet 
for the consumption of small and waste ash is to be found in 
the agricultural implement trade. The quantity of small turned 
goods required in this industry is extensive, and these are very 
varied in their sizes and description, ranging from 1 inch 
diameter by 4 inches long to any size upwards. The items con- 
sist of handles for all kinds of implements, ornamental turned 
pieces, small shafts, etc., too numerous to detail, and all convert- 
ible from what may be termed small and waste wood, and ash is 
the wood invariably stipulated. In some of the Ayrshire estab- 
lishments, where the supply of this class of turned wood is made 
a leading feature, thousands of tons of ash are annually consumed 
in the agricultural implement department. The hay-rake is a tool 
that bears greater importance to this subject than its insignificance 
would lead one to suppose. The enormous number that are in 
constant use everywhere, and the continuous demand for them, 
constitute their manufacture an item of considerable account in 
the ash trade, and in it is worked up the smallest pieces of wood. 
Fortunately this branch, unlike the bobbin trade, has been able to 
maintain a successful competition against the American products. 
This may be explained in some degree by the inferiority of the 
quality of American-grown ash compared with our tough grown 
wood. The fancy and ornamental box and toy trade only to a 


148 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


small extent utilises the small ash, and the outlet in this direction 
is of little moment, although at the same time it must be said that 
in this direction there exists a field for consumption of small ash. 
The peculiarly pleasing figure that is producible from the manu- 
facture and polish of ash makes any ornament or fancy article 
most attractive. It is impossible, when referring to the fancy box 
and ornament trade, to omit making mention of the fact that 
cannot be overlooked, that in any district of the country where 
one may desire to purchase an ornamental article as a reminiscence 
of a visit, the words now too commonly engraved are to be found 
“* Made in Germany,” or some other Continental country, and even 
in the famed land of Burns the writer has been confronted in the 
very centre of the fancy box manufacturing trade with a fancy 
wood ornament displaying on it some event in the history of 
Scotia’s Bard, and in addition in some corner the ominous words 
above referred to neatly engraved. The remedy to counteract this 
condition of the fancy wood trade is to be found in two directions 
—first, such improvement in the mechanical appliances as will 
cheapen manufacture and production ; and second, by the stimu- 
lating of the popular mind to practise the sentiment of patriotism. 
Were the supply of such articles reasonably confined to home 
manufacture, the amount of small ash that would consequently be 
consumed would very materially affect its value, and to some 
extent remove a reproach, and mitigate the drug that it at present 
experiences in the market. Much ash wood that is at present 
forced into the pit-wood trade would thereby find a more remunera- 
tive outlet in the direction for which it is so admirably suited. 
The sycamore is the only description of wood that has fully 
maintained its position in the turning trade. The small wood — 
produced from heavy trees is a large item, and the same demand 
exists for this peculiarly fine wood for manufactured and turned 
work. The closeness of the grain makes it susceptible to a fine 
polish, and the pure white colour gives it great favour where a 
superior description of bobbin is necessary. The smallest size of 
wood is therefore utilised by the turner for the manufacture of 
small bobbins. The demand has, therefore, remained undiminished, 
the American production of bobbin coming specially in competi- 
tion with the more common quality of bobbin manufactured from 
such woods as beech, birch, or ash, has not so appreciably affected 
the sycamore. The same outlet, therefore, exists for our available 
supply, and consignments of very small wood are regularly sent to 


THE UTILISATION OF SMALL-WOOD FOR TURNERY, ETC. 149 


the various markets, both English and Scotch, where the industry 
of bobbin turning is still carried on. The outlet in the famous 
Ayrshire fancy ornament factories has greatly fallen off, but the 
loss of this has not been so grievously felt in the case of sycamore 
as in that of ash, &., seeing the open market remains for the 
sycamore for bobbin requirements. The manufacture from this 
wood of domestic utensils has for some time considerably declined, 
for the same reason that is assigned to the diminution of the fancy 
ornament trade. 

The wood that has suffered in the curtailment of demand for 
its waste and small sizes is beech, on which wood was relied the 
supply for the manufacture of common quality of bobbins, No 
other variety of timber produces such an extent of top and small 
sizes as the beech, and the proprietor of any quantity is often 
perplexed as to the course he must adopt to dispose of it. Its 
excessive weight absolutely prevents its being conveyed any 
lengthened distance, and seldom is beech secured in sufficient 
quantities in one district as to warrant the erection of sawmill 
plant for the exclusive purpose of cutting up the tops and limbs. 
In the event of a sawmill being erected for the purpose of con- 
verting other wood in which beech may be contained, it is quite 
practicable to utilise with profit every particle of small beech, by 
sawing it up into the squares from which the bobbins are turned, 
and after seasoning for a few weeks, the weight has been so 
reduced as to effect a saving of from 50 to 60 per cent. on the 
carriage. But thisis the only means where small beech in a country 
district may be disposed of, otherwise, under the present condi- 
tions, it is almost necessary to leave the wood on the ground, as is 
frequently done, or allow it to be taken for firewood at a small 
price. There are certainly other outlets for small beech, such as 
tool handles, ornamental turned pieces of furniture work, ete., but 
the supply necessary to meet this demand is more than met by the 
waste wood created in the conversion of the tree timber, which is 
always done at a town or central sawmill. Recourse may be had 
to the manufacture of pit-chocks, which are from 2 inches square 
and upwards by 2 feet long; but to make this profitable, it is 
necessary that a sawmill should be adjacent, pit timber of all kinds 
having a place amongst the lowest-priced timber goods. The 
present difficult position as regards small beech remains therefore 
unsolved. 

The remarks stated as regards beech are equally applicable to 


150 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the birch, and the wood, of a size too small for the manufacture of 
clogs, to which purpose this tree is chiefly put, is rendered unfit 
to be profitably utilised, unless grown in a district near to a saw- 
mill, where squares may be cut for the bobbin turner. 

The pit-prop trade is brought into requisition for the disposal 
of the small-wood of elm, poplar, larch, fir, etc. The horse chest- 
nut is a favourite turning wood, but meantime suffers under the 
same disabilities as the beech and birch, and is obliged to fall in 
with the others in the pit-wood market. The growing adoption 
of the cross-cutting of all small-wood immediately on the ground 
where it is grown, and stacking it up for a short period, 
effects such a saving in the cost of conveyance as to cause greater 
attention being directed to this hitherto unremunerative branch 
of the timber trade. 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER. 1a) 


X. The Manufacture of Home-grown Timber. By A. T. 
Witiiamson, Edinburgh. 


The ever-changing conditions under which the industries of our 
country are conducted, and the revolutions that are continually 
taking place in the production of commodities, naturally affect the 
demand for the raw materials that are necessary for the production 
of the manufactured article. In this respect the preparation of 
no other raw material has been more liable to change from time 
to time than that of home-grown timber ; in fact, the substitution 
of foreign for native produce, the adoption of varieties for the 
same purpose, and the new industries brought into existence by 
the inventor’s genius, have within the past few years almost com- 
pletely revolutionised the methods of conversion of timber. The 
modes of cutting-up, and the purposes to which a tree was applied, 
say, twenty years ago, would be considered by the timber mer- 
chant of to-day as utterly wasteful. In this paper I propose to 
give a brief outline of the most economical methods of cutting out 
the various kinds of timber, and the uses to which each variety is 
applied, with a few hints on the utilisation of the enormous amount 
of waste that is necessarily produced by the conversion of round 
timber into square scantlings, a matter which, in the present keen 
competition, is one that is perpetually exercising the minds of 
the convertor, and on which to many the question of a profit or 
loss in the conduct of his business altogether depends. The con- 
troversial subject of the cutting-up of timber on the site of the 
forest by means of a portable sawmill, although coming within 
the scope of such a paper as this, has so many sides to it that it 
may well form an interesting and lengthy paper by itself. How- 
ever, the remark may be made in passing that there is an increas- 
ing disposition to encourage the mechanical inventor in his efforts 
to furnish appliances better adapted for the more effective and 
economical conversion of round timber in the precincts of a forest. 

I will begin by taking up each kind of tree separately, and 
begin with that favourite tree of which it is said not an atom need 
be wasted from the root to the acorn, viz., the oak. The past fifty 
years has completely revolutionised the uses to which the oak is 
put. In the industrial world it still takes a high place, and 
innumerable are the purposes for which it is used, but the largest 


152 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


portion of home supplies find their way to the railway waggon 
shops. The conversion of a fall of oak necessitates, from the 
uneven nature of the sizes, shapes, and qualities of the trees, a 
very careful assortment. The clean and straight trees of small 
dimensions may be more profitably utilised for cleft purposes, 
more particularly spokes for wheelmaking. In some districts of 
the country, field gates are largely manufactured from cleft oak. 
These, being 9 or 10 feet long, must be taken from trees perfectly 
straight in the grain and without knots. The same class of tree 
is generally used for the purposes of cleft spokes for wheels. In 
the selection of trees for cleaving purposes, it frequently happens 
that although externally they bear every indication of straightness 
of grain, and all the appearance of being perfectly adapted to such 
work, they turn out when opened up to have such flawsas entirely 
prevent their profitable manufacture, and a large allowance for 
loss must therefore be calculated upon. In the case of cleaving for 
wheel spokes, the lengths are so very much shorter, namely, from 
1} to 24 feet, that the loss is proportionately less. These 
lengths may also often be cut out of a tree between the knots 
and curled defects, but as a rule only the root cut off a tree is 
at all suitable for any cleft purpose. The favour bestowed on 
cleft spokes by wheelmakers maintains this branch of oak manu- 
facture in undiminished volume, and notwithstanding the intense 
competition which nowadays they experience from sawn spokes, 
and prepared spokes of American finish, they still command a 
price far in excess of either. The size of the spokes in general 
use vary much, particularly in breadth and thickness, according 
to the kind of vehicle for which they are intended. The smallest 
size of carriage spoke is about 2 inches in breadth by about | inch 
in thickness. Other vehicles require heavier wood, so that every 
size is manufactured, gaining half an inch on each kind, up to 
those required for heavy lorries and gun carriages, which are often 
5 inches by 3 inches. In clearing a lot of suitable oak, it is 
therefore not only judicious but necessary that all the sizes be 
manufactured at the same time, in order that a tree may be 
altogether and profitably utilised. Afterwards the sorting of the 
spokes can be easily carried out. In the south a very popular 
description of oak cleft fencing uses up considerable quantities of 
this class of timber. These pales, as they are called, are usually 
about 3 feet high, 3 inches broad, and about half an inch thick. 
Jn cleaving any of the before-mentioned commodities, it not 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER. 153 


infrequently happens that numbers of good pieces of wood come 
off either too small, or otherwise deficient, to make a spoke, in 
which case such pieces are utilised for ladder steps or rounds, the 
common size of which is 14 inch square. Nothing can be com- 
pared with these for strength, and were they always employed by 
ladder makers, many serious accidents would be prevented. In 
converting small and suitable trees into these commodities, little 
or no waste is made, further than the necessary amount of chips 
and shavings, so that the whole is profitably utilised. 

The larger timber was principally used in former times for ship- 
building, but since “ wooden walls” have given place to iron ships, 
a very limited amount of oak is now applied to that purpose. The 
introduction of railways, however, has opened up a new field for 
the consumption of heavy oak timber in the shape of waggon- 
building, and so great is the demand from this source that our 
home supply has fallen far short of it, with the result that the 
importation of American oak has enormously developed, first by 
shipments of the logs, and conversion of them on this side of the 
water, and within recent years by having the exact sizes for 
waggon construction cut in America, and imported direct to 
consumers. In this way not only is the country deprived of the 
revenue derivable from the raw produce, but much Joss is also 
sustained from our labourers being deprived of a large amount of 
work in the sawmills. The available oak timber of a suitable size 
produced in our own country is almost exclusively utilised for this 
purpose, and from its superior quality it is held in greater favour, 
and commands a higher price, than the American oak. In the 
cutting out of waggon wood, a very comprehensive specification of 
lengths and sizes is fortunately available, otherwise the amount of 
waste would be ruinously great. The first and important item in 
the specification of a set of waggon timbers is, the sole beams or 
trams, which vary from 14 feet to 17 feet in length, but excep- 
tional lengths may be a little shorter or longer, the breadth being 
from 11 to 12 inches, and the thickness from 4 to 5 inches. 
These must be cut from absolutely straight trees, and are the first 
to be selected. The large scantling necessarily entails the throw- 
ing off of heavy slabs, or outside pieces, amounting often to nearly 
one half of the cubical contents of the tree; but, as already men- 
tioned, the specification embraces about twenty sizes of smaller 
dimensions, which are economically manufactured from these thick 
outside slabs. The smaller sizes run down to 4 inches by 1} 


154 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


inches, so that in preparing the set the whole timber is utilised. 
A waggon specification always contains a size of from 7 to 8 feet 
long, of the same scantling as the trams, which is profitably cut 
out of short butts, a class of tree which is too common in all lots 
of oak timber. The slabs, from the preparation of the principal 
trams, cut from the heavy bole of the tree, are not generally 
sufticient to complete the specification, and this affords the oppor- 
tunity of utilising the top of the tree upwards from the cross- 
cutting of the butt for the tram, and makes up the necessary 
amount of raw timber to complete the smaller sizes of the specifi- 
cation. When the specified timber is completed, there will be 
found odd pieces left over, mostly of smaller sizes. These are 
usually converted into railway sleeper keys, of varying lengths, 
down to 6 inches, and thus work up all these pieces. With a 
little study and care the manufacture of waggon timber can be 
thus carried on without entailing any appreciable amount of loss 
or waste, The cubical contents of the manufactured scantlings 
may with care amount to the cubical contents found by the taking 
the quarter girth of the round tree, and sometimes to even 
more. 

Turning to crooked oak timber, the demand for which has been 
very much restricted by the substitution of iron for wood in ship- 
building, there is sometimes experienced difficulty in getting 
immediate use for it. On the whole, however, there is still 
sufficient demand to absorb the supply, certain classes of special 
vessels necessitating the consumption of what produce is generally 
forthcoming outside of ordinary shipbuilding. Vessels for the 
African trade, and those similarly built, using up the most of the 
timber of this description. Although the field of outlet is limited 
for this class of wood, it is never likely to be subjected to the 
competition of foreign supplies, as the expense of importing a cargo 
of crooked timber is too serious to be entertained; the carrying 
capacity of a ship could not be profitably utilised by loading a 
cargo of crooks. 

Very heavy oak of large dimensions, say 2 feet and upwards, 
retains its high value, and is utilised for cabinet work and other 
special purposes. For these the tree must be sawn across the 
quarter, in order to produce the “figure” for which the oak is 
famous. To obtain the full volume, it is absolutely necessary that 
the tree be eut over the quarter, and, if properly done, no other 
oak can compare with our home produce for beauty and excellence, 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER. 55 


Several systems are adopted for the procuring of the richest and 
fullest figure, but it is generally admitted that the best and most 
profitable is shown by the following diagram :— 


By this means every board is obtained as nearly across the grain 
as Ingenuity can devise. It will be seen, that in order to get 
boards of a certain size, a tree of double the size required is 
necessary, Thus a tree 2 feet across will produce a few boards 
about 12 inches broad, gradually diminishing from the centre 
outwards, and it is seldom therefore that a tree under 2 feet 
through is used for cabinet work, the favourite size being from 
30 inches upwards. Timber suitable for this purpose commands 
the highest price, varying from 6s. to 10s. per cubic foot. 

In a lot of oak it is invariably found that there are a certain 
number of trees which must be classed as secondary in point of 
size, shape, and quantity, and the disposal of these is often a source 
of some difficulty. The slightness of the crook may incapacitate 
their use for waggon timber, and at same time it is not fit for 
ship crooks. With this class of timber the wheelwright is a 
necessity ; cart timbers, being short and of a small size, are manu- 
factured from it, such as slots, trams, etc., while the smaller 
scantlings are converted into sawn wheel spokes, These spokes 
are, however, much inferior to the cleft spokes previously described, 
and command only a fraction of the price. This class of oak 
timber is consequently of the smallest value for manufacturing 
purposes. 

The only part of the oak tree now remaining unutilised is the top, 
limbs and branches, and these unfortunately have now been placed 
in the lowest category, the former uses to which they were applied 
by turners having become almost extinct. A wholesale conversion 
into pit-props is therefore commonly resorted to, the smaller sizes 
down to 2 inches being used whole, while the larger sizes are 
quartered or reduced to meet the demands of the numerous 
requirements in coal and iron mines. 

In some parts of the country a favourite item in agricultural 
districts is oak gate-posts. These are manufactured from the 
heavy wood of the class last referred to, and being from 5 to 8 


156 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


feet long, and from 5 inches square upwards, the trees are econo- 
mically utilised in this way. The part to enter the ground is left 
in its rough state, and that above ground is sawn square to the 
desired size. 

The preceding gives a description of the principal uses to which 
the oak is put, but there are many others, a description of which, 
however, would only be a repetition of those given. The oak 
forms the staple article in the woodyard, and certainly in its 
conversion requires more study and ability, acquired by practice, 
than that of any other tree, to enable the full amount of the tree 
to be profitably utilised. 

The ash ranks high in importance and usefulness amongst our 
native trees. Its elastic properties, and the toughness of its fibre, 
makes the tree of great value for numerous industrial purposes, 
and this fact has maintained for it the high value at which it is 
rated. Equivalent substitutes in respect of these qualities have 
not been found in importations from abroad. The insufficient 
home supply has for many years necessitated the substitution of 
foreign wood to meet the growing requirements, but its inferiority 
is grievously felt. 

In the manufacture of ash, long lengths are not the great 
consideration, and crooked growth is no objection for many 
purposes to which it is applied, especially for shaft wood. Cart 
and waggon shafts consume a considerable portion of this timber. 
These vary in length from 8 to 12 feet, and from 2} inches to 
4 inches thick. They are cut from the best butts, which as a rule 
contain a bend suitable for the article required. Straight clean 
butts are also largely used for broad hoops, which are more 
frequently cloven in long lengths from 6 to 10 feet. In their 
manufacture a process of steaming has to be undergone, making 
the piece perfectly pliable, so as to make a regular circle. Timber 
suitable for this purpose commands the highest price, and in its 
manufacture by cleaving little or no waste occurs. 

A large quantity of ash timber is used for handles for spades 
and shovels. The timber for this purpose is planked to 13 inch, 
and sawn out by a band-saw to the shape required in the handle. 
These being generally of a bent shape, there is necessarily a con- 
siderable amount of waste wood, but this is converted into bobbins 
and other small turned goods, for which the demand is practically 
unlimited in the manufacturing districts. The coach-building 
trade makes large demands on ash timber, but these lie in the 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER. Poy. 


direction mostly of boards and planks, which in their production 
require no great amount of study or skill, the tree being’ merely 
planked to the desired thickness without having regard to the 
nature of the bend. 

Cabinetmakers consume considerable quantities of choice ash 
wood, and for this purpose the cutting of the tree on the quarter 
is a desiderata. The figure of the ash thus shown, although not 
to be compared with the oak, has a peculiarly rich and satiny 
appearance. The same industry consumes its full share of second 
class wood, in the shape of turned pieces of furniture ; and being 
used in short lengths, it largely assists in utilising waste made 
from the manufacture of more important articles. 

The trade which consumes perhaps more ash than any other is 
that of the wheelmaker, for felloes. These being segments’ of a 
circle, must be cut from trees having the necessary crook. The 
breadth of felloes vary by half inches from 2 to 6 inches, and the 
tree is planked with the bend to these thicknesses, after which the 
pattern is drawn, and the planks reconverted by means of the 
band-saw. A tree with the proper crook entails little or no waste, 
but this cannot at all times be obtained, and considerable quantities 
of odd pieces are consequently created, and to utilise them recourse 
is had to the turner, who manufactures bobbins, etc., from them. 
In cutting out felloes it is necessary that only the very crooked 
timber be used. Cartwrights consume considerable quantities, 
but the increasing price of this wood, consequent on its scarcity, 
has of recent years sent them to the elm for the principal part of 
their wants. The common or smaller class of ash timber is used 
in some districts for staves for dryware casks, which vary in 
length from one foot upwards. In other districts it is exclusively 
used for turning purposes, while small branches and very rough 
pieces are utilised for pit-props. The coppice wood of the ash is 
also a valuable commodity, its yielding nature making it peculiarly 
suitable for crate-making, and for this purpose larger quantities 
are consumed, and commands for it a remunerative price. It also 
commands the highest rates for poles in hop-growing districts, and 
is largely grown in the south for this purpose. 

In the manufacture of ash less skill is necessary for the utilisa- 
tion of the whole tree, and, with the exception of the cutting out 
of felloes and handles, the exercise of great ingenuity is not 
required, as is the case in the conversion of the oak. 

Turning to the elm, we have two kinds to deal with, viz., the 


158 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


English and Wych, which resemble each other in some degree. 
They have several of the characteristics of the ash, being tough 
and durable, and are more easily bent. The chief purposes to 
which elm wood is put are naves and felloes for wheels, the 
manufacture of which, being already described in reference to ash, 
does not require repetition. The elm is largely converted into 
boards for packing cases, large quantities being merely sawn from 
all sizes of trees into the required thickness, without regard to 
width. The larger trees of clean and good quality are frequently 
cut on the quarter for coftin-making—elm-wood displaying a 
peculiar figure, which when polished presents a beautiful appear- 
ance, and when washed over with a chemical mixture, as is some- 
times done, very much resembles mahogany, and is in this way 
often passed off for that wood. In the cutting up of straight well- 
grown trees into boards for packing cases, the yield considerably 
exceeds the quarter girth measurement of the rough tree, so that 
the cost of sawing may almost be reckoned as compensated for in 
this way. 

In the preparation of naves, the general custom is to crosscut 
the tree to the desired lengths, which vary from 15 to 18 inches, 
and from 8 to 15 inches in diameter. <A large hole is then bored 
to extract the heart, which prevents the probability of the nave 
cracking while undergoing the process of seasoning, which is 
necessary before going into the turner’s hands. The warping 
nature of elm prevents its use to any great extent either in the 
cabinet or coach-building industries. Shipbuilders continue to 
consume large quantities in a variety of sizes—for ships rails, 
9 inches by 3 inches and upwards; covering boards, 12 inches by 
4 inches and upwards; and catheads, which are short, run up to 12 
inches square. Crooked elm is not common, as in oak and ash, 
but what is produced is converted into waterways for ships, which 
must have the natural and well-grown bend, and their scarcity 
makes this class of wood much sought after. The tops and very 
rough pieces go for pit-props. The elm is not a favourite wood 
with the turner, its warping and twisting nature being highly 
objectionable, and for cleaving it is absolutely useless. 

The sycamore, or plane tree, promises to become extinct, from 
the large demand and the enormously increasing price obtainable 
for it. The supply is far short of meeting the industrial require- 
ments, and the annual imports of inferior American timber of this 
kind is of necessity increasing. The large clean butts are almost 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER. 159 


exclusively made into rollers for calico manufacturers, and are 
generally from 18 inches diameter upwards. The pleasant appear- 
ance of the wood, with its clear white colour, makes it peculiarly 
suitable for mangle rollers and other purposes for contact with 
cloth, and the bulk of the ordinary-sized trees of about 12 inches 
are converted into these commodities. With reasonable care and 
management there requires to be not a particle of waste in its 
manufacture. The larger sizes of rollers taken out, leaves the odd 
pieces no less valuable than in the tree—brush backs, ornaments, 
domestic utensils, and numerous small ware being regularly made 
from this wood. The cabinetmaker consumes a considerable 
quantity of medium-sized wood for panels and furnishings of 
furniture, and, being susceptible of a fine polish, it is highly 
esteemed in this department of industry. Shipbuilders make 
extensive use of the sycamore for blockmaking, from 3 inches 
square up to a foot. In manufacturing sycamore, the greatest 
care 1s necessary in the seasoning of it, the wood being specially 
liable to draw damp, which immediately begins to stain and 
deteriorate its value to a serious extent. Exposed to wet, it 
decays and rots ina short time. The tops and branches of the 
sycamore have a greater value than any other wood for turning 
purposes, the smallest size, down to 2 inches, being equally useful 
for bobbins, etc., to the larger waste. As will be seen, there is 
little difficulty in converting this wood, and little or no ingenuity 
required. 

The manufacture of the larch presents very little difficulty, being 
generally straight and regularly grown. The importance of this 
tree in the industrial world goes on increasing every year, and 
notwithstanding the large supplies available in the country, the 
demand keeps more than pace with them. 

The railway requirements form the chief outlet for this wood. 
Sleepers consume immense quantities, the common size of which 
are 9 feet by 10 inches by 5 inches, and 9 feet by 9 inches 
by 44 inches. The sawing of these being conducted on a large 
scale, special appliances are used for the saving of labour, and 
sawmill machinery is specially constructed for this class of 
work. In cutting out these sizes from the full tree, consider- 
able sized slabs are produced, which are converted chiefly into 
pit-sleepers, which run from 6 inches by 4 inches down to 2 
inches by 24 inches. For lining railway waggons larch planks 
are the favourite wood, as no other can compete with it for tough- 


160 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


ness. It is necessary to select large timber for planks, as they 
are generally required in long lengths, 12 feet and upwards, the 
thickness being from 1 inch up to 23 inches, and from 6 inches 
broad upwards. In cutting out long planks, the tapering nature 
of the tree necessarily produces heavy slabs, which are converted 
into fencing. Where odd or short lengths are not of much con- 
sideration, they are always available for pit-sleepers, the demand 
for which is continuous. Light railway waggon framing is some- 
times cut from larch instead of the oak, but it is necessarily of a 
light and small kind, as larch is unable to withstand the rough 
usage to which heavy waggons are subjected. Wheelwrights 
frequently use larch for cart shafts, and for cart lining it is highly 
popular. 

The most valuable wood is used for boat-building, and the 
slight bend generally found at the base of the larch adds to its 
value for this purpose, being found suitable for the general shape 
of fishing boats and the curves round their stems and sterns. The 
full tree is planked with the bend in various thicknesses, from 
three-eighths of an inch up to 2 inches, and is usually done by 
vertical saws. The tapering in the width of the tree is no loss 
or objection, so that more than the quarter girth measurement of 
the tree is produced by conversion. The larch is also in great 
request for purposes where the round wood is used whole, such as 
telegraph poles and pit-wood. 

In referring to Scotch fir and spruce, it is needless to say that 
their chief use is for boarding, and railway and pit sleepers, and 
the small wood for pit-props, so that little experience is necessary 
in the manufacture of any item connected with them, 

In referring to beech wood, the remarks made on sycamore 
apply very much to it. The large and clean butts are made into 
rollers for calico manufacturers. It is also much used in the tool- 
making trade, and engineers use a small quantity. The bulk of the 
rougher and smaller wood is utilised for bobbins, and brushmaking 
forms a large outlet for the same description. It is one of the 
most difficult woods to cut up, its clinging nature necessitating 
more than ordinary power on the saw to drive it through. 
Cabinet work takes a share of good timber for chairmaking. The 
grain of the beech when sawn on the quarter is very brilliant, and 
displays a pleasant picture in ornamental furniture. 

The alder and birch still maintain their old position in the clog 
trade, in which their wood is almost exclusively used. 


THE MANUFACTURE OF HOME-GROWN TIMBER, 161 


The foregoing are the staple woods of home production used for 
general industrial purposes. The uses of other woods, such as 
chestnut, lime, walnut, poplar, and willow, have been of recent 
years quite revolutionised, and render their conversion for manu- 
facturing purposes of little importance. 

Notwithstanding the changed condition of our industrial wants, 
it will be seen that such timber as the oak, ash, sycamore, larch, 
and fir maintain an increasing usefulness, demonstrating the 
necessity of a greater development in the cultivation of our vast 
areas of waste lands to meet the growing demands of industry, 
and conserving to the nation as much as possible the wealth of 
which it is capable of producing. 


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150-000 yb ey Kilometre ( Ya of a Mile ) ae = CULTIVATION (Rye. Vineyards de EF) 
SCALE 


THE TAUNUS MOUNTAINS OF NASSAU 


ao VE RTs k MENTS 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Grown from Seed collected in the 
North of Scotland, on high-lying 

az ey a 
grounds, and under the exposure of 
a rigorous climate. 


Hardy Ornamental Conifers, 
Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, 
Plants for Game Coverts, Hedges, &c. 


All are Fibrous-Rooted, Robust, and Grown Unsheltered. 
SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. 
SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES, and Carriage Rates Reduced. 


CATALOGUES POST FREE. 


BENJAMIN REID & CO, 
FOREST-TREE NURSERIES, ABERDEEN. 


AGRICULTURAL SEEDS. 


THOS. EDMONDSTON & SON, 
GRASSMARKET, EDINBURGH. 


GRASSES AND CLOVERS of all sorts, thoroughly cleaned 


and carefully selected, and may be relied upon as fresh and genuine. 
TURNIP SEEDS of all the most approved kinds, and of 
reliable stocks. 


FARM IMPLEMENTS AND TOOLS. 
Farm and Garden Implements of all Sorts. 


THOS. EDMONDSTON & SON, 


Seed and Iron Merchants, 
GRASSMARKET, EDINBURGH, 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


‘CERTIFICATE OF MERIT,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION, CARLISLE, 1880. 


“SILVER MEDAL,” Highest Award for Hot-Houses, at the INTERNATIONAL 
Forestry EXHIBITION, EDINBURGH, 1884. 


‘“*‘GOLD MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL 
EXHIBITION, EDINBURGH, 1886. 


MACKENZIE & MONCUR, 


HORTICULTURAL BUILDERS 


AND 


HEATING AND VENTILATING ENGINEERS, 
UPPER GROVE PLACE, EDINBURGH, 


AND 


ST ANDREW’S CROSS, GLASGOW. 


Conservatories, Greenhouses, Vineries, Forcing 
Houses, and all kinds of Horticultural Buildings 
erected in wood or iron in the most approved 
manner in any part of Great Britain or Ireland, 
at strictly Moderate Rates. 


Illustrated Sheets on Application. Splendid Illustrated 
Catalogues, Price 3/6. 


PLANS, AND SPECIAL DESIGNS. 


Heating with Hot-Water, Low and High Pressure, 


Steam heating on the return gravity and expansion 
system, for Hot-Houses, Swimming Baths, Private 
and Public Buildings. 


Ventilating Apparatus, Atmospheric and Mechanical. 
Satisfactory Results in all Cases Guaranteed. 


ADVERTISEMENTS, 


DOUGLAS  & FO UIs 
ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LIBRARY 


9g Castle Street, Epinzurcu 


Subscriptions, from 21s. per annum, may commence at any date 


~—eye 


eS Newest and best Books sent to any part of the Country 
and Changed at convenience of Subscribers 
COUNTRY SUBSCRIPTIONS From TWO GUINEAS per AnNuM. Boxes FREE 
Further particulars and Catalogues of the Newest Books on Application 


SPECIAL TERMS FOR BOOK CLUBS 


Il. CLEARANCE CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
at Greatly Reduced Prices 
BEING SURPLUS COPIES WITHDRAWN FROM LIBRARY 
Including many other Works of Interest, offered at affixed Cash Prices 


II. CaraLoGuE or ANCIENT AND MopErN Books 
Containing many important Works on History, ARCHAHOLOGY 
TopoGRAPHY, Poetry & BALLADs, BiloGRAPHY, &c. 


és III, A Reference Catalogue of Publications on Forestry 
Gardening, and Farming 


36 pages 8vo, containing about 1000 Titles 


Post free to any address 


MCFARLANE & ERSKINE, 


Lithographers, Engravers, & Letterpress Printers, 


19 ST JAMES SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 


Having an efficient Staff of first-class Artists and Printers, execute every description of 


ARTISTIC & COMMERCIAL WORK, AND BOOK, LAW & GENERAL PRINTING, 


WITH TASTE, ACCURACY, AND DESPATCH. 


Printers to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Royal Physical Society, etc. 


a 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF THE 


ROYAL 
SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


VOL. XIII.—PART II. 


SECRETARY AND TREASURER, 


WILLIAM J. MOFFAT, 


FELLOW OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH. 


EDINBURGH: 
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 
i> SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 
MDCCCXCII. 


BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT. 


THOMAS METHVEN & SONS, 


Hurserymen and Seedsmen 
TO THE QUEEN, 


| eeeres the attention of intending Planters to their large 
Stock of Seedling and Transplanted Forest and other Trees 

and Shrubs. They are this season in a healthy and vigorous 

condition, and well suited for successful transplanting. 


EVERGREEN AND DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. 
SHRUBS FOR GAME COVERT, AND UNDERWOOD. 
TREES AND SHRUBS FOR SEA-SIDE PLANTING. 
THORN AND OTHER HEDGE PLANTS. 


Specimen Ornamental Trees for producing immediate 
effect on LAWNS and AVENUES. 


RHODODENDRONS~— all the Best Varieties. 
FRUIT TREES of the Best Kinds. 
ROSES—all sorts worthy of cultivation. 


SAMPLES ON APPLICA eSe 


Special Prices for large Quantities. 


Seed Warehouse: 15 PRINCES STREET. 
Nurseries: LEITH WALK, WARRISTON, AND FETTES. 


EDINBURGH. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


DOUGLAS & FOULIS 
ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LIBRARY 


9 Castle Street, Eprvpurcr 


Subscriptions, from 21s. per annum, may commence at any date 


es Newest and best Books sent to any part of the Country 
and Changed at convenience of Subscribers 
COUNTRY SUBSCRIPTIONS From TWO GUINEAS per ANNUM. Boxes FREE 
Further particulars and Catalogues of the Newest Books on Application 
SPECIAL TERMS FOR BOOK CLUBS 


SO Rt IIPS AALAND AP ADA 


1. CLEARANCE CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
at Greatly Reduced Prices 
BEING SURPLUS COPIES WITHDRAWN FROM LIBRARY 
Including many other Works of Interest, offered at affixed Cash Prices 
(Issued Feb. 1, Mar. 15, May 1, June 15, Sept. 1, Oct. 15, and Dec. I) 


I]. Caratocue or Ancient AND Mopern Books 
Containing many important Works on History, ARCHOLOGY 
TopoGRAPHY, PoETRY & BALLaDs, BIOGRAPHY, &c. 


tr III. A Reference Catalogue of Publications on Forestry 
Gardening, and Farming 


36 pages 8vo, containing about 100° Titles 


Post free to any address 


MCFARLANE & ERSKINE, 


Lithographers, Engravers, & Letterpress Printers, 
19 ST JAMES SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 


Having an efficient Staff of first-class Artists and Printers, execute every description of 


ARTISTIC & COMMERCIAL WORK, AND BOOK, LAW & GENERAL PRINTING, 


WITH TASTE, ACCURACY, AND DESPATCH. 


Printers to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Royal Physical Society, etc. 
q 


ADVERTISEMENTS, 


Established 1801, 


SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES. 


Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Roses and Fruit Trees. 


JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 


32 HANOVER STREET and INVERLEITH ROW, 
Daren BU R GABE 


CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. 


JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers”’ and 
**Hardy Plants” at the International Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Edinburgh, 
1889 ; and again at the great Chrysanthemum Exhibition of 1890. 


FOREST AND ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS. 


Fruit Trees, Roses, Herbaceous Plants, Ete. 


FOREST AND GARDEN IMPLEMENTS OF ALL SORTS. 


Priced Catalogues Free on application. 


IRELAND & THOMSON, 


Hurserymen, Seedsmen, and Dew Plant Merchants, 


Craigleith Nursery, Comely Bank, Edinburgh. 
New Golden Acre and Windlestrawlee Nurseries, 
Granton Road. 


Seed Warehouse, 81 Princes Street. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


“CERTIFICATE OF MERIT,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL 
EXHIBITION, CARLISLE, 1880. 


“SILVER MEDAL,” Highest Award for Hot-Houses, at the INTERNATIONAL 
Forestry Exuisirion, Epinpureu, 1884. 


‘GOLD MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIAL 
EXHIBITION, EpInBuRGH, 1886. 


MACKENZIE & MONCUR, 


HORTICULTURAL BUILDERS 


AND 


HEATING AND VENTILATING ENGINEERS, 
UPPER GROVE PLACE, EDINBURGH, 


AND 


ST ANDREW’S CROSS, GLASGOW. 


Conservatories, Greenhouses, Vineries, Forcing 
Houses, and all kinds of Horticultural Buildings 
erected in wood or iron in the most approved 
manner in any part of Great Britain or Ireland, 
at strictly Moderate Rates. 


Illustrated Sheets on Application. Splendid Illustrated 
Catalogues, Price 3/6. 


——1I2r oe 


PEANS AND SPECIAL DESIGNS: 


Heating with Hot-Water, Low and High Pressure, 


Steam heating on the return gravity and expansion 
system, for Hot-Houses, Swimming Baths, Private 
and Public Buildings. 


Ventilating Apparatus, Atmospheric and Mechanical. 
Satisfactory Results in all Cases Guaranteed. 


CONTENTS. 


The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or 
opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority 
of the respective authors. 


PAGE 
XI. Address delivered at the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting, 4th August 


1891. By Isaac BayLry Batrour, Se.D., M.D., F.RB.S., 
Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany in the 
University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal Botanic 
Garden, . 3 6 : . . ; . 163 


XII. Introduction to Course of Forestry Lectures, Edinburgh University, 
Session 1891-92. By Colonel Battery, R. E., University Lecturer; 
Conservator of Forests, and Director of the Indian Forest 
School; formerly Acting Inspector-General of Forests to the 
Government of India, . ; : : ; <2 UTA: 


XIII. Management of Scots Fir Forests in North Germany. By A. C, 
Forses, Farnham Royal, Slough, Bucks, : A ltsi7f 


XIV. On the Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus Libani; syn. C. atlantica, and 
C. Deodara. By Roperr Hurcuison of Carlowrie, F.R.S.E., 
University Club, Edinburgh, . c ; é . 200 


XY. Notes on Tree Planting at San Jorge, Uruguay, South America. 
By Cuarves E. HAtt, of San Jorge, . . . - 220 


XVI. The Forest School at Eberswalde. By A. C. Forbes, Farnham 
Royal, Slough, Bucks, . : : n : . 284 


XVII. Trees Best Adapted for Various Soils. By A. D. WEBSTER, 
Hollydale, Keston, Kent, ‘ c : : . 254 


XVIII. The Formation of Plantations. By Joun FowLErR ANNAND, 
Assistant Forester, Brucklay Castle, Aberdeenshire, . >, 1268 


XIX. Arboriculture in the Counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and 
Wigtown. By ALEXANDER PITCAITHLEY, Forester, Sudbourn 
Hall, Wickham Market, Suffolk, A é c e293 


Apstract of Accounts of the RoyAL ScorrisH ARBORICULTURAL 
Socrgry for Year ending 31st December 1891, : eo 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF THE 


ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XI. Address delivered at the Thirty-eighth Annual Meeting, 4th 
August 1891. By Isaac Bayutey Batrour, 8c.D., M.D., 
F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany 
in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal 
Botanic Garden. 


Our annual meeting, of which we to-day inaugurate the thirty- 
eighth, affords us the only opportunity which as a Society we have 
of reviewing our position with reference to the aims for the 
attainment of which we were incorporated, of considering how far 
we have progressed towards an immediate goal, and of discussing 
the lines along which we may hope to make further advance in 
the near future ; and it has appeared to me, therefore, that it would 
be fitting were I from this chair on this occasion to say something 
regarding matters which have very particularly engrossed the 
attention of the Representative Council of the Society during the 
past year, and which it is certain will demand even more attention 
during the forthcoming one. 

Into any retrospect of the work of a Society such as ours, there 
must always enter an element of sadness, As one anniversary 
after another comes round, and we measure our progress, we are 
conscious of gaps in the ranks of our comrades in work. Some 
veterans, or it may be youthful members, are no longer here to 
answer to the roll-call. And amongst those whom we miss at 
this annual meeting is one, the doyen of Scottish foresters, by 
whose death the Society has lost one of its oldest and most valued 
members. It is difficult to estimate the services which Mr William 
M‘Corquodale rendered to forestry and to this Society. His 

VOL, XIII, PART II. M 


164 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


reputation was not Scottish only, it was world-wide, and the 
woods under his charge at Scone had become the Mecea of those 
who desired to witness good forestry in this country. An original 
member of our Society, it may be truly said that to his indomit- 
able perseverance and determination we owe it that the Society 
lived through those early vears after birth which are fatal to 
many like institutions. The presentation made to him in 1878, 
which will be in the recollection of most of those present here 
to-day, and his election as an honorary member of our Society, 
illustrate the high estimation in which he was held by his fellow- 
workers ; the pages of our publications will witness to posterity 
his energy in behalf of, and his interest in, the progress of our 
Society and of forestry, and generations yet unborn will appre- 
ciate his skill and foresight as a practical forester. He has gone 
from us in the fulness of years, leaving a record of a life well 
and usefully spent, and the stamp thereof on the forestry of his 
time. If I content myself with this brief tribute, and do not 
refer to particulars of his life and work, it is not because I do not 
think I might have usefully dwelt on these, but because I think 
that some pen better qualified than mine may well recount the 
story of his life, for incorporation in the publications of our 
Society, as one eminently calculated to be a stimulating example 
to younger men. 

IT must not omit to notice also that in Mr John M‘Laren this 
Society has lost another veteran member, who did it yeoman 
service in its early days as an office-bearer, and died in office as 
a councillor. 

In such men as these the Society loses those whom it can ill 
spare, and their removal should remind the younger men of the 
Society that upon them is now coming the burden of the work 
so well carried on by the preceding generation. May they acquit 
themselves as well. 

I congratulate myself, in addressing the Society to-day, that I am 
able to speak in the hope that, within a very short period from now, 
the Society will have secured another and most important position, 
for which it has so long striven in its fight for the cause of forestry. 
I think all of you will agree with me that at no preceding time 
within recollection has the subject of forestry been so prominently 
before the public of the United Kingdom as it is at the present 
moment, and that not as a mere matter for discussion and talk— 
the time for that is past. Forestry is now within the range of 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4, 1891. 165 


practical politics, and something must shortly be done which shall 
give the means for ensuring the permanent and _ progressive 
improvement of wood-cultivation in this country. That this is 
so must be a source of peculiar satisfaction to the members of this 
Society, which for now thirty-eight years has been crying out, 
unfortunately for long in unsympathetic ears, the need there is 
for more attention to scientific principle in the method too 
frequently in operation in dealing with our woods, And more 
than this, our Society may fairly claim that not only has it been 
pointing out during all these years that there is room for im- 
provement in forestry practice, and doing what it could to give 
effect to its teaching, but it has also from the first perceived 
that the real way to secure the betterment that is desirable is by 
giving to those who are to have the care and management of 
woodlands a knowledge of the scientific principles that underlie 
their work ; and has advocated the establishment of a school for 
forestry teaching. It is, I think, not uninteresting to trace the 
successive steps by which the persistent efforts of our Society ~ 
has enabled it to approach the goal to which it has been pushing, 
and which, shall I say, is all but attained to. 

When the Society was founded but little general interest was 
taken in forestry, and in the first years of its existence it had 
much to do to furnish evidence of the need for its creation. 
These were, however, the days of inflated land-values and pros- 
perous trade, and no indication of the depression shortly to set 
in warned proprietors of woodlands that ere many years the 
neglected trees would have to be looked to as carefully as the 
annual crops as a source of revenue. Gradually, however, the 
Society gained the confidence and interest of working foresters, 
and it is one of the features of the Society that it has been 
essentially a Society of practical men. The practical foresters 
of the country have been its backbone, and when the object 
is achieved which we all look for in the immediate future, and 
a Forestry School is established, it will be remembered that 
its institution eventuated from the efforts of practical men to 
obtain that education which would enable them to better their 
practice. 

With its strong following of foresters, the Society prospered, 
stimulating by its prizes intellectual effort on the part of its 
members, and all the while crying out for means of education 
in forestry. It was not, however, until it had reached the 


166 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


appropriate period of its life—its majority—that the Society saw 
a definite step taken towards the furnishing of the much-needed 
forestry teaching—the acquisition of Inverleith Grounds by the 
Town Council of Edinburgh and by the Crown to form an arboretum 
of the Royal Botanic Garden, and to be used for scientific instruc- 
tion. In the negotiations which led to this purchase, the influence 
of the Society made itself felt. 

It is now some years since the Arboretum was acquired, and 
some, I know, have been inclined to question whether it has 
fulfilled the object for which it was secured. Well, to them and 
to you I would say that, if as yet everything that the more sanguine 
expected has not come about, the institution of the Arboretum has 
already given considerable impetus to the cause of forestry. It 
has acted as a centre upon which ideas of progress could focus, 
and, as I shall presently point out more fully, it is destined, I 
hope, to satisfy in the near future the claims, in respect of teaching, 
which the most enthusiastic of us could urge. 

Following upon the establishment of the Arboretum, which had 
set people talking of forestry in a way they had not previously 
thought of doing, the Society made another important move in 
promoting the Forestry Exhibition 
the eyes of many people to the interests involved in forestry. 


an exhibition which opened 


Unfortunately, the financial result did not provide a surplus 
sufficient for the object the Society had in view when it entered 
on so large an undertaking—viz., the endowment of a system of 
forestry teaching in Edinburgh. But although the hopes that 
had been formed in this respect were not realised, the exhibition 
contributed largely to the advancement of interest in forestry 
questions, and strengthened the Society for its further efforts to 
obtain what it had so long sought after. 

Soon thereafter there came to the Society an honour, a not 
unmerited one—its Royal Charter. I need hardly say we are all 
proud of the distinction, and we are glad of it alike because it set 
a seal of approval upon the work done by the Society in the past, 
and because it gives greater weight to the endeavours of the Society 
in the future. 

I have singled out these three events in the past of the Society 
as worthy of special notice, and you will, I believe, share with me 
the opinion that they, each of them, fix important positions in 
our march onwards in the cause of forestry. And during all this 
time, what of interest in forestry elsewhere? In our own town 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4, 1891. 167 


the Highland and Agricultural Society had been endeavouring to 
rouse interest in forestry by granting diplomas after examination, 
and proposals had been made for teaching in this country of the 
young foresters for the Indian Government ; but otherwise I am 
not aware that any society or body of individuals was interesting 
itself in forestry. But the effect of the work of our Society was 
making itself felt elsewhere, and the appointment of the Select 
Committee on Forestry of 1885 may, I believe, be traced to our 
efforts. You all know what are the proposals of that Committee. 
After hearing of a great deal of conflicting evidence, the Committee 
devised a scheme which, if carried out in all its details, would have 
gone far to supply what we, as a Society, have been seeking for. 
But, alas! five years are elapsed since the recommendations of 
the report appeared, and there is no sign of any action being taken 
on the lines laid down, and it appears as if the only result of the 
Forestry Committee, so far as we are concerned, will have been 
the temporary cessation of effort to establish independent teaching 
of forestry in Edinburgh in expectation of the advantages which 
it was hoped the deliberations of the Committee would confer. 

We were in this state of expectancy in 1889, when a new 
impetus was given to our energies by the arrival of Dr Somerville, 
fresh from the training he had enjoyed under the master of German 
scientific forestry, Professor Hartig of Munich. From the moment 
of his advent we have, I may say, felt that our hopes of the 
establishment of forestry teaching were near realisation. In Dr 
Somerville we had just the man required—one devoted to his 
subject, with full knowledge of it, ready and competent to 
impart his knowledge. And here you will allow me, whilst con- 
gratulating him on his election to the important and prominent 
position he now occupies, to express our sense of the great loss 
we have sustained in his migration to Newcastle. We all know 
how generously, for small pecuniary return, he worked for forestry 
in Edinburgh, and we recognise that it is a misfortune there was 
not, and is not yet, a post with sufficient remuneration attached 
to it to keep so good a man in Edinburgh. Let us hope that 
ere long conditions will be altered, and that we may yet see so 
admirably qualified a man as he occupying a chair of forestry in 
our university. 

The cause of forestry has benefited to a very great extent by 
the two short years in which Dr Somerville has worked amongst 
us. For so good a man there was no difficulty in instituting in 


168 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the university a lectureship in forestry, and under this appoint- 
ment Dr Somerville delivered complete course of lectures on 
forestry during the winters of 1889-90 and 1890-91. These were 
open to any student in the university, and I believe I am right 
in saying that they were the first courses of the kind delivered in 
the United Kingdom, and that Edinburgh has thus given the 
lead in forestry teaching. Dr Somerville’s work was in the main 
a labour of love: the fees provided a mere pittance, which of itself 
could not support a lecturer, and our Society therefore applied to 
the then recently established Board of Agriculture for a subven- 
tion under section 2 of the Board of Agriculture Act, 1889, in aid 
of the lecturer. Its application was successful, to the extent that 
in each of the years the lecturer received £100 out of Government 
funds. 

Dr Somerville’s labours did not, however, end with the opening 
up to students of the university of an avenue to a knowledge of 
forestry. They went further. The members of the Society will 
recollect that a circular sent to them last year informed them that 
a short course of lectures on botany and forestry for practical 
foresters would be given by Dr Somerville, and by the Keeper of 
the Royal Botanic Garden, during the winter months in the 
Botanic Garden. The course was opened, and twenty-two 
working-men were enrolled in the class—suflicient evidence, were 
it required, that lectures of the kind, if regularly and systematically 
supplied, would be greatly appreciated by a large body of men. 

In these ways, then, after so many years of struggling, the 
Society has seen, thanks in large measure to its efforts, the 
initiation of a system of forestry teaching, and the beginning, 
shall I say, of a forestry school. This is matter for hearty con- 
gratulation. The movements, so far as they have gone, can only 
be regarded as initial. I hope and believe that they mark the 
beginning of what is to be a permanent and flourishing forestry 
school. But, if this is to be so, effort is still wanting. I have 
endeavoured in outline to point out to you how our progress has 
been a gradual one, slow at times, but persistent, until, as it 
appears to me, we are near the goal towards which we have been 
striving for so long, the foundation of a forestry school. How 
then are we to proceed? How are we to pass beyond initiation 
to settled permanency 4 

It is fortunate we no longer require to adopt the militant 
attitude in respect of the claims of our subject. The importance 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4, 1891. 169 


of forestry is now recognised in the country, and it is unneces- 
sary nowadays to reiterate arguments in support of what is 
an accepted belief. What we have now to do is to induce those 
whose interest it is to encourage and foster good forestry to give 
practical support to the schemes by which alone it is possible to 
secure it. Circumstances have in a measure settled the lines 
upon which we must work, and the drift of events has cleared 
away many of the difficulties which up to a comparatively recent 
period beset the question of procedure. I think I shall carry you 
with me when I say that we must utilise, so far as may be possible, 
existing institutions for forestry teaching, and that our endeavour 
should be to graft any scheme of teaching we may consider 
adequate upon establishments already engaged in or adapted to 
cognate work, And this being so, I will go further and say that, 
so far as Scotland is concerned, there is now no doubt but that 
Edinburgh must be the seat for the first foundation on enduring 
lines of forestry teaching. Schemes for the creation of a forest 
school in a district more surrounded by forest land than is Edin- 
burgh are very inviting on paper, but the carrying out of any 
one such as has been proposed would involve a maximum of cost ; 
and it is open, I think, to question whether the special advantages 
claimed for a.school in such a site would compensate for the great 
additional outlay that would be incurred compared with that 
required by an adequate scheme in a university town such as 
Edinburgh. What we have to aim at in our scheme of forestry 
education is the inculcation of the scientific principles underlying 
forestry practice, illustrated by reference to practical operations. 
In a country such as ours, without large State forests, it is not 
possible to contemplate, in the meantime at least, a system of 
official practical training such as is compulsory on the State 
forester on the continent of Europe. For practical experience our 
men, of whatever class, must, as now, undergo apprenticeship to, 
or work with, men capable of instructing them in their art. But 
what we want to do is to raise the practice of forestry every where 
from the position of empirical routine, to have it practised as a 
science as well as an art. 

In connection with our aim, it is necessary even now to 
emphasise the point, that in any complete scheme of forestry 
education there are two groups of men to be provided for, for 
their confusion has led to frequent misconception on the part of 
those professing interest in forestry. 


170 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


There are in the first place proprietors, land agents, factors, 
and others of similar position, to whom a knowledge of forestry 
will be of immense assistance in the performance of their duties, 
but who will not look to forestry as in any sense a profession, and 
with them may be classed those who propose to enter the forest 
service of the State in its higher grades in India and the colonies, 
and who will therefore make forestry a profession. To all these 
men an university education is essential. And then there is the 
practical forester—the man who, unless in exceptional circum- 
stances, cannot look to the advantages of an university education, 
yet whose training is a matter of national importance, as upon 
his skill depends the proper management of our woods and plan- 
tations. The subjects of study involved in the education of both 
sets of men are the same, but under existing conditions combination 
of their teaching is an impossibility. 

The practical point that comes up then for settlement is, how 
can we in Edinburgh provide for the teaching of all these men ? 

In the university here, a student can already obtain instruc- 
tion in some degree in all the sciences underlying forestry 
practice, and the institution of lectures on forestry has furnished 
opportunity for his learning their application to the practical 
management of woods. But a fortuitous attendance on science 
classes, without prospect of the application of a university test and 
the award of a mark of university training, does not meet the 
requirements of our time. What we desire is that forestry shall be 
recognised in the university as an applied science, on equal footing 
with engineering and agriculture, and that so important a subject 
shall not be left to the care of an unpaid lecturer—we could not 
always hope to have so unselfish a devotee as Dr Somerville to 
occupy the position—but that, like the other subjects I have men- 
tioned, it shall be entrusted to a professor occupying a distinct 
Chair of Forestry. As you are aware, this matter has been brought 
before the Universities Commissioners. How far they will be 
disposed to recognise the claims of forestry, and assent to its intro- 
duction in a curriculum of study, we are not able yet to say; but 
of this we may be assured, that the Universities Commissioners 
will not be prepared to provide all the money for the foundation 
of a chair of forestry. To this end, therefore, our energies must 
be directed. Already steps have been taken, not only by this 
Society but also by the Highland and Agricultural Society, with 
the purpose of raising a sum for the endowment of a chair, I see 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4, 1891. 171 
that the secretary will, at a later period of this meeting, give you 
some account of what has been done, and what has to be done, in 
this matter, and I shall not, therefore, say more regarding it now. 
I would only point out the considerable sum already promised 
gives us hope of ultimate success. It is well that it should be 
known that the grant of £100 by the Board of Agriculture to the 
university lecturer during the past two years, has been only a 
temporary one, pending the result of our own efforts and the 
action of the Universities Commissioners, Whatever the latter 
may be, it seems to me that what we have already done affords 
evidence of the interest that is taken in forestry here, and should 
convince the Board of Agriculture that our local effort is deservy- 
ing of further and greater support from it. With the foundation 
of a chair of forestry in the university, and the institution of 
lectureships on plant-pathology and on plant-physiology, desired 
by the university as auxiliary to the chair of botany, we should 
have in Edinburgh a fairly efficient equipment for teaching the 
principles of forestry to those desirous of an university education. 

But this university teaching does not give us all we want. 
There is still the question of instruction for practical foresters, and 
in considering how this is to be secured, we are confronted with 
a difficulty which has always appeared an obstacle in the way of 
their education—that, namely, of the maintenance of the forester 
during the period of instruction, apart altogether from the cost of 
the education itself. No doubt, were such education for foresters 
available, there would be found employers who would consider the 
sum needed to educate and support their foresters an investment 
good enough to justify them in making it, and large-minded bene- 
factors might establish bursaries, through which foresters might be 
enabled to gain the advantage of the instruction offered to them. 
But these possibilities are not sufficient basis for the building up 
of a regular system of forestry teaching, and I am justified, I think, 
in saying that no scheme of education for practical foresters can 
hope for success unless it ensures at the same time that the 
forester shall be able to have sufficient for his support during the 
time of pupilage. Can this be accomplished in Edinburgh? I 
believe it to be possible by utilising the Royal Botanic Garden, 
and I shall now describe a scheme I have submitted to my Depart- 
ment, by which the difficulties referred to may be overcome. I 
start with the assumption that the subjects of elementary 
scentific education, with which it is desirable every practical 


172 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


forester should have some acquaintance, are these :—chemistry, 
physics, meteorology, geology, surveying and mensuration, ento- 
mology, botany, forestry, and horticulture; and I propose that 
courses of lectures on these subjects should be given in the garden 
in the evenings, under a curriculum extending over from two to 
three years, the subjects being arranged so that no more than two 
lectures would be given in any one week. The subjects taught 
would, of course, be illustrated practically so far as possible. 
Foresters desiring to attend the course of study prescribed would 
be enrolled as workmen in the garden, and would receive the usual 
weekly wage, and they would pass regularly through the curri- 
culum of study, receiving the education free of charge. Of course 
they would have to take their part in all the work of the garden 
as do our employees at present. At the end of the curriculum the 
forester would leave the service of the garden, receiving when 
deserved a certificate of proficiency. It would be possible, of 
course, to receive only a limited number of men as garden-pupils 
of this kind, but others might be admitted to the advantages of 
the course under suitable arrangements. 

I have referred in the briefest manner to the proposals I have 
made, but you will see that the gist of the whole scheme is that, 
whilst the forester gives his labour, which will be paid for at the 
normal rate, he will receive education in the scientific principles of 
his work, free of charge to himself. The scheme is one that could 
be carried into effect at a very small annual expenditure. The 
existing equipment for teaching at the garden furnishes most of 
what is required in this respect. The payment of the lecturers 
would be the chief item of expense, and for the amount required, 
not more than £150 per annum, I look to Government, and have 
reason to be hopeful for the success of the application that has 
been made. 

In placing these proposals before this assembly of practical men, 
I venture to think that they are of a nature which will commend 
themselves to them, and that if carried into effect they will solve 
in a satisfactory manner the question of the education of the 
practical forester in the scientific principles of his work. They will 
not replace his practical training as a forester—I beg of you to 
remember that—for actual experience in the management of 
woods he will have as heretofore to learn under an expert 
forester. 

Were such a scheme inaugurated, we should have the Botanic 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 4, 1891. 173 


Garden and Arboretum at last established as a centre of forestry 
teaching, and realising the expectations formulated now many 
years ago of their possible future. In conjunction with the work 
carried on in the University, the development of teaching such as 
I have sketched at the Botanic Garden, would complete the 
Edinburgh Forestry School, the creation of which would be a 
lasting monument to the determination and indomitable persever- 
ance of the members of this Society—the practical foresters of 
Scotland. 

Gentlemen, I have endeavoured to lead up by reference to the 
past of this Society to the position it occupies at present with 
reference to the question of the development of forestry in this 
country. I trust I have made clear to you that whilst we may 
congratulate ourselves on what has been done in the past, and 
may look hopefully to the future, yet our hopefulness must rest on 
our determination to succeed in what we have set our hands to do. 
Because we are so near the attainment of what we have worked 
for so long, we must not allow our efforts to relax, but rather with 
redoubled energy continue our struggle, with the intent that before 
another anniversary meeting comes round we may possibly crown 
our work of thirty-nine years with the success it deserves. 


174 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XII. Introduction to Course of Forestry Lectures, Edinburgh 
University, Session 1891-92. By Colonel Batney, R.E., 
University Lecturer; Conservator of Forests, and Director 
of the Indian Forest School; formerly Acting Inspector- 
General of Forests to the Government of India. 


In early times the greater part of the dry land was no doubt 
covered with trees and shrubs of various kinds, each kind 
flourishing and maintaining itself in the locality best suited to its 
special requirements. As the older trees fell to the ground, their 
places were taken by others of the same or of associated species, 
which grew up in the openings thus afforded to them, and an 
unbroken succession of trees and shrubs was in this manner 
maintained ; for at that remote period but few of those destructive 
agencies were at work which have raised Forestry to a science, 
and have led to its inclusion among the subjects to be taught at 
this University. 

What is the foremost among these destructive agencies? 
Unquestionably Man; and had we foresters lived in the days 
when his energies in this direction were most actively employed, 
and had we endeavoured to arrest the havoc he was committing 
among his natural forests, we should have found him a very 
difficult being to deal with. 

It is no doubt true that natural phenomena, such as storms 
of wind, have always occurred from time to time; but the 
forest growth would, in most cases, surely if slowly re-establish 
itself after each visitation, and the damage done by four-footed 
animals, insects, and noxious plants, such as fungi, would not 
be likely to make much impression on the vast extent of forest 
which then covered the earth’s surface. The human population 
of the world was small, and the requirements of man were by no 
means so varied and extensive as they are at present. But as 
population increased and civilisation advanced, the older order of 
things gradually and of necessity passed away; man had to 
extend the small patches of cultivation which were the scene of 
his first efforts in the art of agriculture, and he wanted timber 
and firewood for domestic use. He also needed grazing grounds 
for his flocks and herds, and much ground was permanently 
cleared of forest in order to satisfy his ever-growing requirements 


t 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES, 17 


of this nature. Then in course of time he began to build better 
houses with larger timber; he made boats and ships; and, later 
on, he constructed railways, and developed numerous industries 
which consumed vast quantities of wood of all species, qualities, 
and sizes; at the same time he largely extended his cultivation 
and increased his flocks and herds ; and before every one of these 
advances, portions of the natural forest went down, and dis- 
appeared for ever from the face of the land. But the process was 
a very gradual one, extending over many centuries. It proceeded 
slowly at first, and not until comparatively recent times did the 
country begin to assume its present appearance. It is not so very 
long ago that the road from London to Edinburgh was an unsafe 
one to travel over, in consequence of the gangs of robbers who 
found shelter in the thick forests through which it passed. I 
nave no figures before me from which I can trace the progress 
of denudation ; but I have no doubt that a marked change com- 
-nenced from the time that these islands began to enter upon that 
narvellous development of their trades and industries, which has 
laced the British race in the foremost place among the nations 
vf the world. Do not misunderstand me to pretend that these 
vere changes for the worse ; you do not require me to tell you 
that up to a certain, and, indeed, a very advanced point, they were 
very much for the better. 

Long before this stage of development had been reached, how- 
ever, a time had come when it was found impossible for every 
one to continue to help himself with a free hand ; claims to 
ownership of forest and waste lands had been set up, and 
established by the law of Might, and some sort of restrictions had 
begun to be enforced. But these were quite inadequate to arrest 
the progress of the destruction of the natural forest, which at 
length reached a point at which the supply of forest produce 
became insufficient to meet the requirements of the population ; 
and measures then began to be taken not only to secure some 
tracts of forest from further encroachment, but also to increase 
the wood-bearing area by sowing and planting. But it is not to 
measures of this nature that many of our largest forests owe their 
existence at the present day. Their continued maintenance is 
due rather to the protection they received under strict laws for 
the preservation of game, than to any endeavour to guard them 
for the sake of the timber they could yield. The New Forest in 
Hampshire is a good example of this, and the same may probably 


176 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


be said of the Windsor Forest, and of the Forest of Dean in 
Gloucestershire, as well as of others in Scotland. 

It will easily be understood that the countries in which 
civilisation advanced with the most rapid strides were those from 
which the natural forests disappeared the soonest; and at the 
present time these islands have a smaller percentage of wood- 
producing area than is found in any other European country, with 
the solitary exception of Denmark. The actual proportion is as 


follows :— 
tussia, . . 40 per cent. Greece, . - 14 per cent. 
Sweden, . . 934 - Spain, . a re ap 
Norway, . SPUQIEL s,, Belgium,. een => 
Germany, <wa26 33 Holland,. if a 
Turkey, . 22 - Portugal, 5 sf 
Switzerland, . 18 a British Isles, 4 Re 
France, 17 Me Denmark, oye Gn 


The average is 29} per cent., and includes orchards and isolated 
trees in parks, hedgerows, and elsewhere. 

Countries which, like ours, have a very small wooded area of 
their own, have to supplement their home-grown supplies of 
wood from other countries which are still able to produce more 
of this commodity than their population can consume ; and, on 
reference to Dr Schlich’s Manual of Forestry [which I shall very 
often have occasion to refer to, and on the general lines of which 
I propose to direct this course of lectures], I find that the United 
Kingdom annually imports— 


Timber to the value of about . f .  £15,000,000 
Minor forest produce to the value of about £8,000,000 


Total, about £23,000,000 . 


These facts have not, up to the present time, led to any very 
great amount of inconvenience. /%rstly, because our insular 
position affords us great facilities for the importation of timber; 
secondly, because we have a plentiful supply of coal ; thirdly, 
because our climate does not demand modifications of the nature 
which extensive forests are able to effect, nor do we, as a rule, 
suffer from any deficiency of the water-supply in our wells, 
springs, and streams; and fowrthly, the geological formation and 
the configuration of these islands, and the climatic conditions 


= { 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES, iG 


under which we live, do not render it as necessary as it 1s in many 
other countries, that large areas should receive the protection 
against the effects of violent and continuous falls of rain, which 
is so well afforded by a crop of trees and shrubs. 

It is true that a part of Scotland has recently suffered severely 
from floods ; a large number of bridges have been broken down, 
railway embankments and roads have been damaged, large stretches 
of agricultural land have been denuded of soil, and potatoe 
and turnip crops have been washed away; felled timber has also 
been swept off, and along the courses of all the rivers from Perth- 
shire to Ross-shire more or less damage has been done. The 
country between Edinburgh and Hawick, and especially about 
Galashiels, suffered severely last autumn, as we all know. ‘These 
floods constitute a serious calamity; but I am not at present 
prepared to offer an opinion on the difficult problem whether it 
would pay to regulate them by means of planting up the hill- 
sides, or by constructing engineering works, I believe that 
calamities of this nature are, fortunately, of comparatively rare 
occurrence. Such matters are always difficult to deal with 
otherwise than by State intervention, because it often happens 
that the seat of the evil lies within the property of one set of 
proprietors, while its effects are felt most severely on the 
property of others. 

The effects of the Scottish floods, however, bear no comparison 
with those produced by denudation in some other parts of the 
world, where the rain is heavier, the sun hotter, and the rock and 
soil are less consistent than with us. 

Whilst employed by the Secretary of State for India at the 
French Forest School at Nancy, I visited the southern French 
Alps, which have been subjected to excessive grazing, and from 
many parts of which not only the trees and shrubs, but even 
the very grass has disappeared. The surface is therefore no 
longer bound together by roots ; and when the heavy semi-tropical 
rain falls directly upon it, the soil, and subsequently the loose 
rock, slip down into the valley below. The water charged with 
these substances runs off with great rapidity, and suddenly fills 
the torrent beds. These latter soon become deepened by the 
“scour,” when their sides, deprived of support, fall in; and the 
effect of this action, going on throughout the whole system of 
watercourses which traverse the mountain sides, is that, over 
enormous areas, the upper strata of the soil, with its fields, houses, 


178 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


and even villages, are borne down into the valleys, and the whole 
region, which presents to the eye little but a series of unstable 
slopes of black marl, has an extremely desolate appearance. 
But the damage does not stop here; for the débris is carried 
down to the comparatively level valleys and open country below, 
where it is deposited over fields, roads, railways, and villages, thus 
doing an enormous amount of harm. 

In order to mitigate these terrible evils, the French government 
has undertaken the vast enterprise of regulating the torrent beds 
by means of engineering works, and of afforesting the mountain 
slopes over an area of more than a thousand square miles, 
including nearly two thousand linear miles of torrent beds. The 
cost of such an undertaking is of course very great, but the 
circumstances warrant the expenditure. I had an opportunity of 
studying these works for a fortnight in company with M. 
Demontsey, Inspector-general in charge of them. 

A very similar condition of things prevails in the Hoshiarpur 
district of the Punjab, on which I had a short time ago to submit 
a report to the government of that Indian province. J have 
conversed with men who remember this range of hills covered 
with trees and tall grass, which were the home of the tiger and 
other wild animals; but now there is hardly a blade of grass to 
be seen, and the hills are gradually being washed away and 
deposited on the plains below. T am told that the bed of the 
Mississippi is being blocked by sand and soil brought down from 
the mountains of the “Far West” in consequence of the extensive 
clearings that have been made there during recent years. 

I have not now time to speak longer on these very interesting 
questions, but hope to be able to treat of them in more detail in 
subsequent lectures, as well as to give some account of the works 
undertaken by the French government in Gascony, to arrest the 
progress of the dunes or moving sandhills of the west coast, 
which I had an opportunity of studying a few years ago. 

But although the absence of sufficient home-grown produce has 
not hitherto caused much inconvenience, there is no doubt that, as 
time goes on, we shall have to go farther and farther afield 
for our supplies of timber ; and that, partly owing to increased 
local demand in the foreign countries whence we have been 
accustomed to draw them, and partly to the productive power 
of the forests having become impaired by over-cutting and other 
injurious treatment, our importations from several of the most 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES. 179 


important of those countries are falling off; and it may be safely 
predicted that these supplies will, in course of time, considerably 
décrease, and that the price of imported timber will rise in a 
corresponding degree. We may, of course, eventually be able to 
bring to market the produce of even the most inaccessible forests 
of the Dark Continent to supply our ever-increasing needs ; but it 
must be said that our future supplies are by no means secured, 
and that the time has arrived at which it has become our duty to 
take stock of the situation, and to consider what can advan- 
tageously be done to increase the timber production of our islands, 
so that we may be in a better position than we now are to meet, 
as far as possible, any interruption in the steady current of our 
importations which might occur owing to a partial failure of our 
foreign sources of supply, to the outbreak of war, or otherwise. 

Dr Schlich estimates that we might be able to grow at home 
£13,000,000 worth out of the £23,000,000 worth of forest 
produce we import annually; and the forests created with this 
main object would give employment to a very large number 
of labourers, and would at the same time serve to protect 
agricultural crops from the effects of injurious winds, and to 
afford shelter to cattle and useful species of birds. 

The desired increase in the amount of home-grown timber might 
be obtained by taking measures—Virstly, to obtain from our 
existing woodlands the maximum quantity of the best kind of 
produce that the soil is capable of yielding; and secondly, to 
increase the wooded area by planting and sowing up such 
portions of our waste lands as cannot be more profitably utilised. 
It must be confessed that to accomplish either of these things is 
not an easy matter in many parts of the kingdom, because, while 
some existing woods are maintained principally on account of 
their picturesque beauty, a much larger number are kept up as 
game preserves, and their proprietors have no wish that they 
should be treated with a view to obtain from them their maximum 
yield of wood. Again, vast areas of ground in Scotland are 
kept under heather as grouse moors and so-called deer ‘ forests” 
(which have hardly a tree upon them), and these are greatly 
valued for the sport which, in their present condition, they afford, 
so that their owners do not desire to convert them into forests of 
trees. But in spite of these disadvantages, the area of woodland 
now available for systematic treatment is very considerable ; and 
it might certainly be largely increased with great advantage to 

VOL. XIII. PART II. N 


180 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the proprietors of the land, as well as to the country at large, not 
only on account of the increased production of forest produce, but 
also by reason of the larger employment of labour, that would 
follow a movement to extend the forests. The following sentences 
are taken from a recent article in the 7imes newspaper on “ Men 
and Deer in Scotland ” :—‘‘ Deer forests by no means bring their 
owners the large rentals popularly supposed. The famous Black- 
mount Forest does not yield, it would appear from the Crown 
agent’s figures, 6d. an acre. The group of forests in Inverness- 
shire, belanging to Mrs Chisholm, is let at about 3d. an acre. 
Even ld. an acre is not an unknown rate. In Sutherlandshire 
sporting rents seem to be, on the whole, higher than elsewhere. 
But 1s. an acre would appear to be quite unusual; and we have 
no reason to think, notwithstanding the popularity of deer- 
stalking and the growth of wealth, that rents will improve. 
Many Highland proprietors let their shootings as regularly as they 
let their farms, and these are not times in which they are likely 
to turn a deaf ear to people who say, with any show of good sense, 
‘I can tell you how to make more out of your estate than by 
afforesting it.’” 

It is not necessary for me to say that “afforestation,” in the sense 
in which it is here used, is the exact opposite of the kind of 
afforestation that we are assembled here to study; and how such 
a misleading term as ‘‘ forest” came to be applied to a tract of 
land which is devoid, or almost devoid, of trees, and on which it 
is not intended to promote the growth of trees, I cannot explain.} 
If the figures given in the Z7zmes are anything like correct, the 
rate per acre derivable from a deer forest cannot be called high. 
The average profit on the whole of the French forests, taken 
together, was, for the three years immediately preceding 1886, 
about 7s. an acre. But of course the really important point is the 
rate of interest on their capital value, which shootings and forests 
respectively yield. Dr Schlich, basing his calculation on Weise’s 
Yield Tables for the Scots Pine, concludes that land which 
cannot be let for the raising of field crops, for shooting or other 
purposes, at a minimum rental of 24 per cent. on the value of the 
land, may with advantage be planted up with Scotch pine or other 
similarly remunerative tree ; and I fancy that, even after excluding 
bare upper ranges, which it would not pay to deal with, a good 


1] have since been told that the ground is supposed to carry a ‘‘ forest” 
of antlers ! 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES. 181 


deal of land in Scotland would be found to fall within this 
definition. 

It is said that an additional area of six million acres of forest 
migh# produce the whole of the timber (excluding mahogany, teak, 
and fancy woods) that we now import; and we have nearly 
27 million acres of waste lands in the British Isles, of which 
about 13? millions, or one-half, are in Scotland. The question is 
one with which I am not yet ina position to deal at all fully; but 
it is evident that even if the establishment of additional forests on 
a large scale in the near future be unlikely, it is not too soon to 
exercise forethought in the matter of our timber supply, and to 
‘endeavour to arrive at some safe conclusion as to what measures 
might most advantageously be taken to secure it. I may, how- 
ever, say that it appears, from the agricultural returns of 1891, 
that while the area of corn-growing land in Great Britain has 
considerably decreased, the area of woods and plantations has 
increased by nearly 100,000 acres in the last three years, and the 
increase would probably have been larger had not the rating of 
woodlands to some extent discouraged it. In Scotland the greatest 
increase has been in the counties of Aberdeen, Inverness, Ross 
and Cromarty. Forests are not so exhausting to the soil as 
agricultural crops ; for in the case of the latter the entire plant, 
except the roots, which are sometimes also taken, is removed ; 
whereas in the case of a crop of trees, the leaves, flowers, and fruit, 
which are far richer in nutritive elements than the wood, are 
annually returned to the soil, and thus serve to maintain its 
productive power, as well as, by their protective action, to keep 
it in a good physical condition. Hence forests can flourish on 
comparatively poor soil; some kinds of trees, notably most of 
the conifers, including the Scots pine, being able to grow on 
ground that would be quite incapable of producing a series of 
remunerative agricultural crops. It is therefore, generally speak- 
ing, not necessary to select rich fertile soils for the raising of 
forests, which ought rather to be established and maintained on 
ground which cannot be profitably cultivated. Scotland has a 
large extent of land of this kind, which could be planted up 
without detriment to the sporting interests; and there seems no 
reason why this country should not be able to produce as fine and 
valuable timber as is obtained from the shores of the Baltic and 
from other parts of Northern Europe. There is, then, plenty of 
work before Scottish foresters, both in the way of making the most 


182 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of existing woodlands and of planting up new areas; and the 
object of the present course of lectures is to impart to the younger 
aspirants after fame in this direction some of the leading principles 
that should guide their endeavours. 

It seems, at first sight, marvellous that the United Kingdom 
should, until very recently, have been without the means of 
imparting any regular instruction in this important science ; but 
the fact appears less remarkable when we consider how far culti- 
vated land and pasture have with us taken the place of forest, 
the large extent to which we have drawn our supplies of timber 
from abroad, and the comparatively small amount of wood we 
consume as fuel. There is, however, no doubt another reason why 
progress in this direction has been so long delayed, and that is the 
very small area of forest land in these islands which is owned by 
the State. In countries where extensive forests are State property, 
forest schools were long ago established, I will instance the case 
of France, with the forests of which country I am better acquainted 
than I am with those of any other. The forests of France are 


thus owned :— 
Sq, miles. 
By the State, . C : : : 3,734 = 10°7 per cent. 
», communes or parishes, and public 
institutions under State control, 83073) = 2257 


», private proprietors, . : 3), 20,657. = 6656 


Total, . F . 385,464 


Although the State and the communes or parishes together 
possess only about one-third of the total forest area, the extent of 
their property is very large, amounting in all to 11,807 square 
miles. To carry on the management of these large domains, the 
State maintains a body of highly skilled foresters, who, before 
their appointment, have received two years’ training at the 
National Forest School at Nancy, at which institution, until 
a few years ago, candidates for the Indian Forest Service also 
received their professional education, But it is a remarkable fact, 
that although private proprietors own no less than 23,657 square 
miles of forest, or double the amount owned by the State and 
the parishes together, there is not a single private forest school 
or class throughout the country ; and further than this, although 
the lectures at the State Forest School are open to the public, 
advantage is very rarely taken of this privilege by private 
proprietors, This fact is doubtless due in a large measure to 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES. « 183 


the succession laws of France, which tend to form very small 
properties ; but there are still many large properties with valu- 
able forests upon them ; and the explanation of the abstention of 
private proprietors from any attempt to avail themselves of the 
means of instruction in Forestry which are afforded to them and 
to their wood-managers is said to be that, as the State forests 
and the officials in charge of them are scattered about the country, 
the art of forest management is more or less popularly known ; 
that private owners have before them the State forests, which 
serve as models for the management of their own timber estates ; 
and that they can get a certain amount of advice and assistance 
from State officials, who are occasionally permitted to render aid 
in this way. But in many localities the private woods are too 
distant from State or parish forests to permit of their owners 
obtaining any assistance from the government officials ; and they 
are then thrown entirely on their own resources, with the result 
that although, speaking generally, the principal private forests 
are well managed, mistakes, and grave ones, are frequently 
made, 

I may perhaps here mention that in France private proprietors 
cannot clear any wooded area without notifying their intention to 
do so at least four months beforehand; and the government 
officials can, with certain exceptions, successfully oppose the clear- 
ance, if the continued maintenance of the wood is considered 
advisable on any of the following grounds, viz. :— 


1. To protect mountain slopes. 
2. To protect the soil from erosion, and to hinder encroach- 
ments by rivers, streams, or torrents. 


G2 


To preserve springs and watercourses. 

4. To protect coasts against erosion by the sea, and against 
the encroachments of moving sand. 

5. For the defence of the national frontier, 

6. For sanitary reasons, 


But although private proprietors in our country are not subjected 
to any such interference with the disposal of their property, they 
have none of the advantages which the existence of extensive State 
forests, and the presence among them of State forest officials, gives 
to private proprietors in France ; and in these islands the science 
of Forestry is almost unknown outside a small circle of professional 
men, who, to their credit be it spoken, have acquired the valuable 


184 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


practical knowledge they possess without any of the advantages 
afforded by a previous study of the principles evolved by experience 
in countries where systematic forest management has been long 
practised. 

But, in spite of these disadvantages, Scotland can show numerous 
well-managed forest estates—such, for example, as those of the 
Duke of Athole, of the Earls of Mansfield and Seafield, of Lord 
Lovat, and of other proprietors who might be mentioned ; and it 
is universally admitted that the art of raising nursery plants, of 
establishing plantations, and of rearing park trees is here carried out 
with a success unsurpassed by the foresters of any other country. 
Our Forest Class has thus the great advantage that excellent practical 
instruction in work of this kind can conveniently be given to it. 

It is impossible to mention the Duke of Athole’s forests without 
alluding to the loss we have recently sustained by the death of Mr 
John Macgregor, a representative Scottish forester, who has done 
much to forward the progress of Forestry in this country, and whose 
well-known figure will be missed from among us for many a year 
to come. 

But I believe I am justified in saying that certain branches of 
the science have unavoidably received less attention than is desir- 
able. I allude principally to regeneration by natural means (2.e., 
felling in such a manner that the old trees may be caused to 
produce. their successors in the form of self-sown seedlings), and to 
the preparation of working plans or schemes of management, by 
means of which continuity in the system of treatment is secured, 
the forest is made to yield the maximum quantity of the most 
paying kind of produce, and provision is made for the removal of 
a regular annual or other periodical yield ; at the same time the 
owner is enabled to realise the full yield with confidence, and his 
forest is secured against damage by over-felling. 

But if insufficient attention has hitherto been paid to these 
questions, the reason is to be found in the entire absence of means 
of acquiring a sound knowledge of the principles on which they 
should be treated, and of the way in which these principles should 
be put into practice. And here I am afraid I must admit that 
we are placed at a disadvantage, in that we shall find it difficult, if 
not impossible, to give our students practical instruction in forests 
where the principles of scientific Forestry have guided the manage- 
ment for a sufficiently long time to enable us to point to the results 
they lead to. The life of a tree extends over a long period of years, 


INTRODUCTION TO COURSE OF FORESTRY LECTURES. 185 


and the effects of a system of management cannot be fully studied 
in any forest until that system has been in force throughout at least 
one life-period of the principal species of which the forest is com- 
posed. As a rule, it is only in forests owned by the State that 
studies of this kind can be carried on to the best advantage, for 
such forests alone are free from liability to deviation from the plan 
of management, due either to the varying fortunes of a succession 
of owners, or to changes of policy which each owner in his turn has 
full power to introduce. 

The only important State forests in the British Isles are situated 
in the south of England. I understand that 800 acres of Windsor 
Forest have recently been made over for management to the 
authorities of the Indian College at Cooper’s Hill, and this tract 
will, in course of time, become a most valuable field of instruction ; 
but I believe that nothing has yet been done towards framing 
working plans for the New Forest or the Forest of Dean. 

Unfortunately all of these forests lie at such a distance from 
Edinburgh that I fear we cannot avail ourselves of them very 
often, The students of the Indian College spend one college term 
in visiting and studying, under Sir Dietrich Brandis, selected State 
forests in Germany ; but I am afraid such distant excursions are 
beyond our reach, and we must rely for practical instruction on 
such woodlands, comparatively near at hand, as the courtesy of their 
owners and foresters may enable us to visit. It may eventually 
be possible to effect some arrangement similar to that recently made 
at Cooper’s Hill, and to place some conveniently situated woods at 
the disposal of the University Professor for the instruction of the 
students in Sylviculture and other branches of Forestry ; but this 
cannot be done at present. 

I will now bring these introductory remarks to a close; but 
before proceeding to enter upon the detailed study of my subject, 
I will indicate what the Course would have been had I been able 
to commence it in October. I should then have taken up the 
several branches in the following order, viz. :— 


1. Utility of Forests. 

2. Sylviculture, or the Culture of Trees when growing together 
and forming Woods or Forests. 

3. Mensuration. 

. Valuation of Woods. 

5. Working Plans or Schemes of Management. 


ne 


186 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The time before me this year is very short, and I am afraid to 
make promises as to what I shall get through ; but I hope very 
much to be able to complete a condensed course down to the end 
of Sylviculture. 

I hope also to arrange excursions on Saturday mornings to 
woods in the neighbourhood, varied by visits to the Arboretum, 
the Royal Botanic Garden, and the Museum of Science and Art, 
which contains a valuable collection of wood specimens and other 
objects of interest to foresters. 

I feel greatly encouraged by the comparatively large attendance 
of students to-day. I hope the numbers may be not only maintained 
but increased, and that in the course of time we may be able to 
attract surveyors, land agents, and landowners from this as well as 
from other parts of the United Kingdom. 

It may perhaps not be out of place if I say, in conclusion, that 
I am sure the departure of Dr Somerville, my predecessor, and 
the first lecturer on Forestry at this University, is much regretted. 
I can only hope that I may prove as successful an instructor as 
he was. 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. 187 


XIII. Management of Scots Fir Forests wn North Germany. 
By A. C. Forses, Farnham Royal, Slough, Bucks. 


The following outline of the management of Scots fir forests is 
based upon personal observations made in the districts between 
Berlin and the towns of Stettin and Stralsund, on the northern 
coast-line ; and although the area embraced is comparatively small 
when compared with that of which it forms a part, yet it contains 
one of the most richly wooded districts of the whole of North 
Germany ; and, so far as soil, climate, and geographical features 
are concerned, may be said to be perfectly representative of the 
region occupied by Scots fir in the north of Prussia. 

The general aspect of this part of the German empire cannot be 
called particularly picturesque, as no lofty mountain ranges stand 
out in bold relief against the sky, or form a pleasing background to 
the landscape, but still it cannot be termed monotonous in any sense. 
The surface is generally undulating, with large tracts of perfectly 
level, marshy land occurring frequently, and usually in conjunction 
with extensive lakes, some of which almost attain to the dimensions 
of inland seas. The geological formation belongs to the Post- 
Tertiary, forming a surface soil of white, fine, diluvial sand, almost 
entirely free from stones, beneath which lie extensive beds of marl 
and clay, and which account for the prevalence of the lakes. The 
rivers are not particularly numerous, but are all navigable for small 
craft for a considerable distance inland, and are connected by 
numerous canals. 

One of the greatest industries in a small way appears to be brick- 
making, for which the clay-beds provide abundant material, while 
extensive saw-mills exist in the vicinity of the water-ways. The 
land is entirely devoted to agriculture or forestry, the nature of the 
soil causing one or the other to predominate, according as it is good 
or bad; and the character of the ground can be pretty accurately 
surmised by the way in which it is utilised, totally waste ground 
being rarely met with. This probably accounts for the somewhat 
irregular distribution of the forest land over the whole area, many 
large tracts of country being almost treeless (with the exception of 
road-side trees), while others again are almost entirely covered with 
timber, shelter belts or small plantations being rarely seen, The 
practice of planting the road-sides with fruit or other broad-leaved 
trees is very common, and renders travelling in hot weather less 
fatiguing than it would otherwise be. 


188 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Although the Scots fir predominates largely over all other timber 
species, yet many extensive tracts are covered with beech, oak, and 
other hardwoods, wherever the soil is suitable for their growth. 
Spruce is the only other conifer in any quantity, silver fir or larch 
being rarely met with. The marshy land is principally occupied 
by birch, alder, or osiers, the latter being extensively cultivated 
along the banks of the Elbe, near Hamburg. ‘The area occupied 
by the hardwoods is gradually increasing, owing to the practice of 
undersowing the fir with beech or hornbeam, which, in certain 
cases, afterwards takes the place of the fir, although it is doubtful 
if the change is of great advantage from a financial point of view, 
except under the most favourable circumstances. 

On the poorer soils the Scots fir is grown entirely pure, and on 
these it forms unbroken masses many thousands of acres in extent, 
small patches of birch, alder, or willow in the boggy places being 
the only variation met with. Travelling through these extensive 
forests proves very monotonous, and a pleasant relief is experienced 
when one passes into a part stocked with hardwoods, or a mixture of 
fir and beech. The surface is principally covered with a thick 
grassy vegetation, heather existing in comparatively small patches 
only, although it probably formed the principal vegetation at one 
time. The bilberry (V. myrtil/ws) is also very abundant, and 
many other plants associated with dry sandy soils. Patches of a 
large coarse grass (Calamagrostis epigeios) are common, and it 
appears to be a suitable grass for fixing loose sand. Owing to this 
surface vegetation, natural regeneration is impossible on a large 
scale, although small patches may be seen here and there in thin 
places, and where the ground has been broken up by the extraction 
of roots, or other causes. In many cases, however, after clear fell- 
ings, and where the surface has been well stirred and broken, there 
appears to be no reason why it should not prove successful ; but, as 
re-sowing is more certain, and can be done at a small cost, the latter 
method is always adopted for restocking purposes. The game 
existing in these forests is principally represented by roe-deer, which 
are very numerous ; red deer, wild swine, and hares being also 
present in smaller numbers, while rabbits are comparatively scarce. 

In addition to the State forests, which constitute the main mass, 
every town and village possesses its forest of several hundreds or 
thousands of acres, as the case may be. Common rights to the pastur- 
age, dead wood, and litter exist in regard to these forests, and the 
miserable appearance presented by the portions so exposed, provides 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. 189 


ample proof of the importance of forest litter in the early stages of 
a plantation’s growth. 

The rotations adopted in the State forests for the Scots fir vary 
with soil and situation, from sixty years on the worst, to one hundred 
and forty years on the best localities, one hundred years being 
perhaps the most common. Fellings on the even ground, where the 
soil is pretty uniform, are made in long narrow strips, which run 
along the whole length or breadth of the compartment, and are 
about 50 yards in width, the length of the compartment varying 
from 600 to 800 yards, or rather metres, and usually having a 
quadrangular form. The cutting is usually commenced at the side 
of the strip, and the trees thrown with their crowns pointing away 
from the centre of it, so that the brushwood, etc., does not inter- 
fere with the throwers. The trees are cut about 6 inches above the 
surface of the ground, no chipping round being done or required, 
as “toes” are seldom-seen. The saw is put through as far as 
possible, a wedge driven into the cut, and the rest of the work 
done with the axe in a rough and ready style. Although the 
workmen appear to be less neat and expert with the axe than is 
the case with the British woodmen, they are very expert in taking 
out trees without injuring surrounding young wood in any way, 
although the thin crowns possessed by most of the trees render this 
less difficult than in the case of rough timber. The trees are cross- 
cut at various diameters, according to the class into which the 
timber is placed, while the tops and all branches up to 2 inches in 
diameter are sawn up into metre lengths, and stacked up into cords 
between posts, the larger pieces being split; the brushwood being 
stacked up also in the same way. All the trees and lots are 
numbered with an apparatus for the purpose, the former having 
the length and cubic contents also stamped on the butt end. The 
wood is sold by auction by the forest officials at some convenient 
inn ; the number, size, and class of the tree or lot being called out 
by an assistant in place of a catalogue. The timber is sorted into 
five different classes, according to the cubic contents, all trees being 
included in the first class which contain over 70 feet (true contents) ; 
and those that contain less, or not more than 18 feet, going into 
the fifth class. 

According to Schwappach,' the following prices are about an 
average for the several classes :— 


1 «*Wachstum und Ertrag normaler Kiefernbestande, in der nord-deutschen 
Tiefebene.” (Berlin, Julius Springe.) 1889. 


190 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Class I., 19 m. 6 pf.; IT, 17 m. 6 pf; IIL, 14m: 69piaiee 
12 m. 6 pf.; V., 10 m. 6 pf. per cubic metre (35 feet) ; or, when 
reduced to British equivalents—7d., 6}d., 5d., 43d., and 33d. per 
foot respectively. These figures are obtained after deducting felling 
expenses, so that the prices approximate closely to those obtained 
for Scots fir timber in Scotland, where the greatest number of the 
trees would probably come under Class III. (1 cubic metre, or Scot, 
28 feet). The timber is usually removed from the ground where 
cut by the buyer, generally by means of small timber carriages. 
These are very light, and not much larger than a good-sized hand- 
cart, and are easily moved about by one man when unloaded. 
They consist of two wheels, with a short bar fixed to the axle, two 
of these carriages being required for each load. The method of 
loading them is rather ingenious, and is done with little expenditure 
of labour. It is accomplished by means of a large square wooden 
post, about 6 feet 6 inches in height, which is solid for about a foot 
from the top, and about the same distance from the ground. The 
remaining portion is divided in the centre by a slit about 3 inches 
wide, the two sides being perforated by a double row of holes for 
the reception of iron pins. This post is set up perpendicularly 
beside the tree to be loaded, and propped up by a long wooden 
pole, which fits into a notch at the top. A chain is passed round 
the tree at the point where the post is set up, and the end fixed 
into a hook attached to the end of a short handle about 4 feet long. 
On each side of the point at which the hook is attached are two 
grooves for fitting into the pins which go through the post. The 
end of the handle or lever being placed in the slit, the pins are 
placed beneath it as far up the post as the chain will permit. By 
now alternately raising and depressing the other end of the handle, 
and moving a pin up after each stroke, the end of the tree is 
gradually raised from the ground to the required height, and the 
carriage run beneath it. The tree is then lowered to the axle of 
the carriage, and made fast with a chain, and the other end raised 
in the same way. By these means a man can raise one end of a 
tree, 60 or 70 feet long, and containing 50 feet of timber, 5 or 6 feet 
from the ground, in about a minute after putting the post into 
position ; and the whole tree can be loaded by two men in about 
ten minutes. Two stems usually form a load, one above and one 
slung below the axles, a couple of horses being yoked to the fore 
carriage, to which a pole is attached. 

For removing the timber to the margius of the forests, tramways 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. TO 


are sometimes used where the ground is sufficiently level for their 
proper working. One of these tramways used in the Eberswalde 
forest is of the following description. The rails are attached to small 
wooden sleepers, and are placed about 2 feet apart. These rails and 
sleepers are in sections 20 feet long, so that all that is necessary for 
their laying down, is to place the end of one section against that of 
another, the fore part of one rail fitting into the hinder part of its 
neighbour. Special sections are provided for sidings, so that the 
trucks can pass one another on the road. These trucks are made 
entirely of iron, and are about 4 feet in length, standing about 18 
inches above the rails. Across the centre of the framework is an 
iron perforated bar, on the underside of which is a pin, which is 
let into the centre of the framework, so that it can revolve in any 
direction when going round curves, etc. ‘This bar carries the 
timber, a pin on each side keeping it in position. In loading, the 
trees are simply rolled up long tressles on to the trucks, two of the 
latter, connected by a long pole, being required for a tree length. 
They are usually drawn by horse-power, although small locomotive 
engines can also be used on the tram-lines if required. 

After the felling is completed, the roots are grubbed up, and as 
many as can be taken out without too much labour. ‘This is done 
by clearing away the earth from the stump with the spade, and 
cutting the large roots, special appliances for lifting them out being 
in use. They are split, and stacked up in the same way as the 
other firewood, although they are principally turned into charcoal 
by the purchasers, which is made on the spot, every fragment of a 
root being collected and used up. ‘The nature of the soil renders 
the extraction of the root much easier than is usually the case, so 
that the work is done without any loss, although the profit may not 
be great. . 

After all the work in connection with the felling and removal of 
the timber is completed, a trench is cut round the cleared area for 
the purpose of excluding the pine weevil and other injurious 
beetles which attack the young plants. This trench is about 6 
inches wide, and about the same depth, with perfectly perpendicular 
sides. About every 12 yards deeper holes are taken out, into 
which the insects fall when travelling along the bottom of the 
trench, all attempts to scale the sides being quite unsuccessful if 
the trench has been properly cut. This precaution proves very 
effective, as may be seen from an inspection of one of these 
pit-falls, in which dozens of weevils and beetles of all kinds may be 


192 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


found, forming splendid depots for the entomologist. From these 
pits the beetles are either collected and destroyed, or remain there 
until they die from starvation. 

The ground having been cleared of timber and roots during the 
course of the summer following the felling, it is re-sown or planted 
the following spring; usually in April. Sowing is by far the more 
common method of the two, planting being only resorted to for 
beating up and such-like purposes. For preparing the ground a 
forest plough is used, which has a broad flat sole and two large 
mould-boards, and makes a furrow about 2 inches deep and about 
9 inches wide. The furrows are made about 4 feet apart, and as 
straight as any existing roots, stones, ete., will permit; the small 
surface roots of the former crop, however, being the only obstacles 
encountered on properly cleared ground. The head of the plough 
is attached to the axle of two wooden wheels, whereby the depth of 
the furrow is regulated. The seed having been dressed with red- 
lead to protect it from birds, is either sown by hand, or by means 
of the numerous seed barrows and machines for the purpose; the 
method adopted varying with the nature of the ground and other 
circumstances. On flat, fully cleared land, a seed-barrow is usually 
made use of, which deposits the seed in one or two drills; a small 
rake dragged in the rear covering it in. These machines are of 
various sizes, the larger requiring two men, and the smaller one man 
to work them. On average ground they can get over about an acre 
or more per hour, according to the width between the rows. For 
sowing rough ground a seed-box is sometimes used, which is a long 
narrow box about 4 feet in length, and about 3 inches broad and 
deep. This box is slung over the shoulder by a strap, and the seed 
ejected by working a spring at the bottom of the box. The most 
common method employed in rough ground, however, is hand- 
sowing, for which women are employed. The workers are divided 
into two squads, one sowing, and the other covering in the seed 
with rakes, the former carrying the seed in small earthenware jars. 
They are usually preceded by two men with a heavy narrow roller, 
on the face of which are ridges for the purpose of making small 
furrows for the reception of the seed; but where many small 
surface roots exist, the latter interfere greatly with its effectiveness. 

The quantity of seed used is about 6 kilogrammes per hectare, 
or about 6 pounds per acre, which rarely proves too much by 
the time the young plants have gone through the critical periods 
of their early life. The greatest enemy that they have to contend 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY, 193 


with is probably the rough grass, which rapidly grows over the 
opened furrows, and often smothers up the seedlings before they 
can get their heads above it. To provide plants for beating up 
such places, small nurseries are usually established at the time of 
sowing by enclosing a small piece of ground with rough wooden 
hurdles, or a fence about 5 feet in height, so that deer, etc., are 
excluded. These fences are made from Scots fir thinnings, about 
2 inches in diameter, with stronger poles for posts, and cost about 
3d. per yard. If the nursery is likely to be required for several 
years, and serve for several successive fellings, a more durable 
fence of split fir poles of a larger diameter is erected, and costing 
about 5d. per yard. Branches of pine or spruce are interwoven 
through the lower bars to exclude hares and rabbits where they 
exist. The ground in these enclosures is trenched, and all roots 
and stones thrown out, and then sown with Scots fir or other species 
as required. The seed is generally sown here in shallow drills 
made by a kind of rake with broad thin iron teeth, which is drawn 
lightly over the surface. The seedlings are usually transplanted 
the first year, either into rows in the nursery or into the gaps in 
the re-sown area. For the former work an ingenious machine is 
sometimes used, which is well adapted for the light sandy soil. 
In appearance it resembles a small handcart without the body, the 
wheels and handle only being present. On the axle is a seat for 
the workman, who sits facing the handle, the latter being supported 
by a leg with a broad wooden foot. From the centre of the handle 
falls a short iron bar, on which is suspended a long horizontal iron 
rod, the extremities of which are bent down at right angles. On 
these two extremities are hung the handles of a broad species of 
scoop with a toothed cutting edge. The handles being suspended 
at a point about their centre, the ends are within a convenient 
distance of the workman, who, by lowering or raising them, can lift 
or dig the scoop into the ground with ease, while the soil can be 
drawn towards him or pushed in the opposite direction, by similarly 
working the handles. By this means he can take out a trench 
about 3 feet in length and about 6 inches deep, with a_per- 
fectly perpendicular side, in three or four strokes of the scoop. 
T'wo women are employed putting in the plants, which are placed 
on wooden bars of the same length as the trench. These bars have 
a toothed zinc edge, between the teeth of which the plants are 
hung, so that their tops are above and their roots below the edge. 
The bar is then placed on the edge of the trench, so that the roots 


194 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


hang down its perpendicular side, and the trench filled up by the 
machine. By drawing the bar carefully back the tops of the plants 
are released, and the work completed, the filling up of the trench 
having left the surface perfectly level. This machine gets over the 
ground more rapidly than the spade, but is only suitable for the 
very finest soils, free from stones and other obstacles. The cost of 
planting with this machine is reckoned to be about 3d. less per 
1000 than by hand and spade. 

Planting in the forest is done with a planting iron in the form 
of a wedge, a smaller wooden implement of the same shape being 
used for the seedlings. Three or four plants are usually put in on 
every square prepared patch, from which the grass has been removed 
by a kind of broad hoe, the corners of which are turned down. 
This hoe is a very handy implement for removing the turf, and is 
also used for clearing lines for sowing where the plough cannot be 
used. The larger plants (two years) are put in by women, a man 
preceding them and making the holes with the large iron, which 
the women fill in with the hand in the sandy ground, The seedlings 
are put in in the same way, except that the large implement is dis- 
pensed with, and the worker makes the holes and plants at the 
same time. Slit-planting seems to be never adopted, although pit- 
planting is practised in underplanting and similar cases, The cost 
of sowing a hectare in the manner described is about 40 marks, 
of which the ploughing costs 15 marks and the seed 18 marks, 
so that the labour does not come to much. Planting costs about 
60 marks per hectare. 

After the ground is once stocked with young plants, nothing 
more is done until the first thinning takes place, which is usually 
between the twenty-fifth and thirtieth year after sowing. If the latter 
has been a successful one, the young plants will not stand more 
than 3 or 4 inches apart in the rows at the age of four or five 
years, so that by the time of the first thinning the struggle for 
existence will have been a very severe one, and none but the 
stronger plants will have survived it. This thinning, however, is 
chiefly confined to the cutting out of dead wood and suppressed 
trees, and any dominant trees that stand immediately beside each 
other, so that it can hardly be termed thinning in the ordinary 
sense of the word. ‘The larger trees at this age will not average 
more than 6 inches or 7 inches in diameter at the surface of the 
ground on soils of the best class, while the majority are below this 
size. Their height growth, however, is very marked, and is greater 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. 1995 


than is usually found in more freely thinned woods. During the 
next forty years the smaller suppressed trees are taken out from 
time to time, after which little is done until the end of the rotation. 
The first thinnings yield little but brushwood, and this is dragged 
out to the forest roads and lotted up in cords, the trees remaining 
as they were cut. The thinnings after this will be large enough 
for pit-props, or the smaller trees for poles which are sold entire, 
all wood not suitable for these purposes being cut up into firewood. 
After the sixtieth year or so small quantities of low-class timber 
will be produced, and the roots will be large enough for removal. 
About this time, too, the undersowing with beech or hornbeam 
occurs, which may either be done with the intention of changing 
the crop after the firs are. removed, or for purposes in connection 
with soil preservation and fertility, wind breaks, filling up thin 
stockings, etc. This sowing is also done by women, who break 
the surface with a small hoe in patches about a yard or so apart, 
and sow about a dozen seeds in each patch. These trees thrive 
remarkably well under the shade of the firs after they once get a 
fair start, and exert a powerful influence on the soil fertility. If 
it be intended to change the crop from pine into beech forest, the 
pines are gradually thinned out as the hardwoods grow up, but if 
the conditions are not suitable for this, the latter get little con- 
sideration, and grow as they can until the end of the rotation, 
when they yield considerable quantities of firewood. 

Constant watchfulness against insect ravages is necessary in these 
forests, especially in regard to the attacks of Liparis monacha, 
Gastropacha pint, etc., the caterpillars of which moths sometimes 
commit frightful devastations in the fir forests. Acres of forest 
may be frequently seen in which every tree has been ringed with 
a band of pitch for the purpose of preventing the caterpillars of 
the latter from ascending the trees, and the decaying remains of 
the creatures may be still seen sticking on the ring by the hundred, 
in company with many other beetles, etc., which had evidently been 
bent upon a similar errand. For the purpose of destroying the 
larvee of cockchafers and other pests, swine are allowed to be 
herded in the forests in suitable places. 

Although great quantities of the produce of the forests are con- 
sumed in the districts where grown, a large proportion is transferred 
to Stettin and other seaports for shipment, or to Berlin for home 
use. For this purpose, use is made of the numerous canals and 
rivers which intersect the country. All the unhewn timber is 

VOL. XIII. PART II. fc) 


196 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


floated to its destination, while the sawn is placed on barges. 
The logs are made up into rafts, each raft consisting of about 
fifty stems, in eight sections, a section having six or seven logs 
abreast, which are kept together by a piece of wood nailed across 
the ends. ‘The sections are attached to each other by willow or 
birch withes, which are fastened to a stout peg driven into the 
end of the stems. Three men will navigate a raft 250 or 300 feet 
in length, a horse usually assisting in towing on the canals. The 
men wear spikes strapped on to the bottoms of their boots to pre- 
vent them from slipping on the wet wood, and work the raft with 
long poles, with sharp hooks at the end for sticking into a stem 
when necessary. In going through the locks the sections must be 
disconnected, although the whole raft can be accommodated when 
they are abreast. The cost of this method of transport is reckoned 
at something like one farthing per ton per kilometre, or a little over 
1}d. per four miles. 

All the principal saw-mills stand on the banks of these canals 
and rivers, and have large timber docks leading off the main stream 
for the reception of the timber. From these docks the wood is 
dragged out as required, by simply passing a chain round two or 
three stems, and connecting it with one from the machinery, which 
drags them up a sloping gangway to a cross-cutting machine. After 
being cross-cut they are rolled right and left on to timber stagings, 
thence they are taken up into the mill by a small trolley drawn by 
the machinery. The sawn wood is taken out at the opposite side 
of the mill, and stacked up into piles in the yard to remain until 
wanted. ‘Tram-lines lead from these yards to the water’s edge, 
where the deals, battens, etc., are loaded on the barges for further 
transit. Immense quantities of timber can be seen in the vicinity 
of these mills, wherever a wide part of the stream or natural lake 
offers facilities for being utilised as a depot; the grass and weeds 
growing on the rafts bearing testimony of a long sojourn in the 
water. 

On drawing a comparison between the condition of the North 
German pine forests and that of Scots fir woods in Scotland, two 
main features strike one at once, and these are the crowded con- 
dition of the former during the earlier stages of growth, and the 
open and thin stocking in the later periods, being almost exactly 
the reverse of what is usually found in the case of the latter. In 
Scotland the custom prevails of thinning freely during the first 
thirty or forty years, and little or not at all afterwards, whereby 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. 197 


every tree remaining at the end of that time has had every oppor- 
tunity for full development. The German system, on the other 
hand, results in the survival of the fittest only, and gives no 
artificial aid to individual trees, but allows them to fight it out 
between them. Thus it is that the dominant and vigorous trees 
are the only survivors at the end of the rotation, and these, on an 
average, will not exceed 100 to 150 trees per acre at the end of 100 
years, and the better the soil the smaller the number. A fully 
stocked acre of Scots fir in Scotland will often contain about double 
this number, or between 200 and 300 trees on soil of average 
quality, with an average volume of 25 cubic feet, or 5000 to 7000 
cubic feet per acre. Schwappach, in the work already quoted, 
gives the following figures as the normal yield and dimensions of 
Scots fir in North Germany per acre :!— 


Som I. Quatiry. 


MAIN CROP. | PERropic THINNINGS. 
Average 
fe . ‘ Average | Diameter, | True Cubic | neape | Prue Cubic 
Age. No. of Trees. Height. Breast Contents |No. of Trees. earner 
Height. | 
~ Feet, “Inches. | Cubic Feet. |Cubie Feet. 
20 1716 27 BEY GoM iE Melee, # 
40 704 51 6°50 38572 =| 1012 713 
60 332 70 10°15 5457 | 372 1063 
80 220 84 12°81 6831 | 111 1014 
100 181 91 14°42 7760 39 729 
120 155 102 15°83 8446 25 728 
140 137 106 17:09 9046 1g") 493 | 


These figures tend to show that the final felling is not so heavy 
as might be obtained by earlier thinning ; but the total yield is prob- 
ably as great, if not greater, than that obtained by the British 
system. By reckoning up the total yield of timber from an acre at 
the end of 100 years, we get 11,279 cubic feet from the best quality 
of forest land in North Germany, which is equivalent to 8984 cubic 
feet according to our system of measuring, assuming the latter to 
give 20 per cent. less than the true contents. The number of trees 
standing at the end of this period is 181, which have a total volume 
of 7760 cubic feet true measurement, or an average of 42 feet per 


1 The actual figures are in metres, cubic metres, ete., per hectare, but I 
have reduced them to British equivalents as near as possible. 


198 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


tree. These 42 reduced by 20 per cent. are brought down to 34 
cubic feet, so that the average size is rather greater than that 
assumed for Scottish timber of the same age, although the latter 
may be too lowly estimated. The fact must also be taken into 
account that the greater part of the earlier thinnings from the 
German woods are little but firewood, although the accumulating 
interest on the sums realised for the latter gives them considerable 
importance by the end of the rotation. Taking everything into 
consideration, it is probable that, after all, there is not so much 
difference between the total yields in both cases; but when quality 
is considered, the German timber would probably have the prefer- 
ence. The constant struggle which goes on during almost the whole 
period of growth causes a natural pruning of side branches to go 
on continually, so that it is rare to find a branch or large knot on 
the stems of the larger trees at a less height than 60 or 70 feet 
from the ground. The growth of the wood, too, is remarkably 
uniform, and eccentric wood-rings are rarely seen, even in the centre 
of the butt end. These two conditions are about all that are 
necessary for producing the best class of fir timber, and were the 
timber grown under the two methods in the same market, the 
German growth would undoubtedly fetch a higher price, as a rule, 
where quality and size were most in demand. 

I have compared soils ranked as belonging to the first class, or 
best quality, in Germany with average plantation soils in Scotland, 
because I consider the latter to be superior to the former as a rule. 
In Germany only the worst description of soil is devoted to forestry, 
while in the lowlands of Scotland many plantations exist on soil 
that might be, and in many cases has been, devoted to agriculture, 
so that an average would probably be struck at about the same 
quality of soil in both cases. In regard to climate and elevation, 
the German woods probably have the best of it, in so far as their 
ultimate height growth is affected, but the difference is too slight 
to justify a proper comparison being made, as the length of the 
growing season makes less difference to the Scots fir than is the 
case with many trees. 

Although this system of natural selection appears to give the 
best results on good soils, and where the trees are sufficiently 
vigorous to carry on a lengthened struggle, it is questionable if 
it is the best method of treatment on the inferior soils, where 
the trees can derive little nourishment from the ground. In such 
cases the retention of a certain proportion of branches is of much 


MANAGEMENT OF SCOTS FIR FORESTS IN NORTH GERMANY. 199 


greater importance than where the trees are deriving a plentiful 
supply of mineral matter from the soil, because in the former case 
a larger proportion of water must be taken up in order to get an 
equivalent quantity of inorganic constituents, and consequently the 
former element must be again evaporated from the leaves. This 
necessitates a larger leaf surface and a freer circulation of air, which 
the crowded condition is not calculated to provide, and in conse- 
quence the vigour of the trees gradually declines, and their chances 
of development are small. This is more easily seen when the 
stocking of such ground is considered, and the large number of 
undersized trees which are present examined. It is then seen that 
the struggle for supremacy has not resulted in the survival of the 
fittest, but in the gradual weakening of the whole; and instead 
of the stronger trees making room for themselves by smothering 
their smaller neighbours, they have only been injured in the 
attempt. Schwappach gives 1600 trees per hectare as the average 
for soils of the fifth quality at the age of eighty years, which is 
equivalent to 647 per acre. The average diameter of these 647 is 
only 5} inches, and the height 35 feet, so that timber dimensions 
are not reached, and quality need not be considered, as in the case 
of the better qualities. Without actual proofs one cannot say 
whether such trees would have reached a much greater size had 
they been duly thinned or not, but there is every reason to suppose 
that want of space has had as much to do with their small size as 
inferiority of soil. Thinning is a subject upon which no two men 
can be found to agree in every detail, and in spite of all experiments, 
no hard and fast rules can be laid down for its guidance, so that it 
is possible for errors to be committed under the most careful and 
scientific management, although the general results may be good. 


200 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XIV. On the Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus Libani; syn. C. 
atlantica, and C. Deodara. By Rosert Hutcuison of 
Carlowrie, F.R.S.E., University Club, Edinburgh. 


Name of the Species.—(1) Pinus Cedrus, Linneus ; (2) Cedrus 
Inbani, Barrelier. Linnzus having included pines, firs, larch, 
and cedars in one class, under the denomination Pinus, gave the 
designation of Pinus Cedrus to the Cedar of Lebanon ; but I am 
surprised that some of those botanists who believed it better to 
divide these trees into several classes, should have included the 
Cedar of Lebanon among larch and fir: thus Tournefort, 
Duhamel, Miller, etc., class the cedar under the larch; Poiret, 
Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, Lindley, etc., under the fir. I think 
with Barrelier, A. Richard, and others, that it is preferable to 
make it a class by itself. 

Sap and Leaves.—The Cedar of Lebanon has two flows of sap 
in a year, like the larch. The first begins early in May, and ends 
in July; the second begins about fifteen days after the first has 
stopped, and ends in September. 

The leaves of the cedar are stiff, and of a deep green; they 
are, like those of the larch, disposed upon the tree in two different 
ways, one by one and in bunches. The first surround the shoots 
of the year, and the second spring from buds on wood of one 
year’s growth, or from shoots on older wood which has borne 
leaves on preceding years. 

Flowers and Cones.—The Cedar of Lebanon usually bears male 
and female flowers, but it will be seen from observations related 
further on, that some trees bear only male flowers and others 
female, 

The male flowers are disposed in simple erect catkins, about 
} inch in diameter at the base, when the flowers have attained 
their maturity. These catkins are produced on the upper surface 
of the branches, and have no resemblance to those of any other 
tree. The flowers which compose them are ripe in October, and 
are then of a pale yellow, and give off an abundance of yellow 
pollen dust. 

The female flowers, disposed in simple catkins like those of the 
pines, are also stiff, and are egg-shaped and reddish ; they ripen 
at the same time as the male flowers, and are transformed into 
cones shortly after being fecundated. 

The cones of the cedar are egg-shaped, and are from 2 to 3 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 201 


inches in length. The seed is furnished with a wing, and is of 
the same colour and size as that of the silver fir. 

Fructification.—According to M. Louis Vilmorin, who has 
observed with much care the fructification of the Cedar of 
Lebanon, in the climate of Paris, the male and female flowers 
usually begin to appear in May, but it is necessary to examine 
them closely in order to distinguish them. The male flowers require 
for their growth till the end of September, or even the beginning 
of October, by which period they are perfectly distinct, and throw 
off a yellow powder. The female flowers require the same period 
for their growth, but are less visible because they are smaller, and 
they are transformed into cones after their fecundation. These 
cones begin to grow the following year when the sap rises. They 
are at first light green, then they assume a violet tint; they attain 
full size by the end of the autumn, and during the winter they 
acquire a brown-grey colour. The following year they remain 
upon the tree ; and it is only during the months of February and 
March of the third year that the scales with the two seeds attached 
to each burst from the cones and fall to the ground. Thus, sup- 
posing that the cones are formed in December of the year of 
flowering, they will remain about twenty-seven months on the 
tree before the scales and seeds fall. 

M. Duhamel de Fougeroux has, in the park of his chateau of 
Vrigny, near Pithiviers (Loiret), five cedars which were planted 
by his grand-uncle Duhamel-Dumonceau, one in 1757, the other 
four in 1770; and he has sent me the following observations 
which he made of the flowering and fructification of these cedars, 
The male flowers are observable towards the end of September, 
and they attain maturity and give off a yellow powder in October, 
by which time the female flowers are also distinguishable. The 
following year the cones attain to nearly their full size, and during 
the winter assume the brown colour which they retain. In the 
following July the seed has acquired its maturity, but it is very 
difficult to extract it from the cone. In the month of June or 
July following, that is, about the middle of their third year, the 
scales fall with the seeds, and in August there is nothing left but 
the bare stems of the cones on the branches, as in the silver firs. 
Thus the cones remain about thirty months on the tree from the 
time they are put forth till the scales and the seeds fall. If the 
cones are gathered a short time before the period when they 
should burst and the seeds fall, the scales can be detached from 


202 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the stems with the utmost ease. The seeds, which are soft before 
they attain maturity, are almost as hard then as those of the 
silver fir, and they have begun to germinate. Thus on opening 
them the embryo is found nearly changed into a plantlet, and if 
it is put immediately into the ground it will spring up very 
quickly. This must be done, for after the process of germination 
has commenced, it would be impossible to preserve them till the 
following year. There springs up around the cedars at Vrigny 
many self-sown plants which perish, choked in the oak forest 
which surrounds the cedars, trampled under foot, cr destroyed by 
other causes; nevertheless, after two or three years some are 
found big enough to be put into the nursery. 

On August 12, 1844, I visited the Cedars of Lebanon in the 
beautiful garden of M. Guy, at St Germain-en-Laye (Seine and 
Oise), and I saw a great number of male flowers upon several of 
the cedars which stand isolated; these flowers, which wanted 
some weeks of attaining maturity, were upon the lowest branches, 
They were hard, conical, of a pale green, and the longest were 
about an inch in length. M. Guy told me that they would 
give off the pollen in the course of October, that it was very 
abundant, and of the colour of sulphur. I did not see the female 
flowers, which are much less numerous, and are usually produced 
on the branches towards the top of the tree, but they reach 
maturity at the same time as the male flowers with the pollen 
of which they are fecundated, and in a short time after they are 
transformed into cones. M. Guy told me that it is necessary to 
gather the cones in the spring of the second year, as the seed was 
then very good, and that the buyers would not have it from cones 
gathered later. If the cones remain upon the tree, the scales and 
seeds fall during the autumn of this year, or about twenty-four 
months from their first appearance. 

The cedars in M. Guy’s garden are twenty-two in number, and 
their age is about seventy years, all situated near the house, some 
in clumps, where they have grown close together, others standing 
alone upon the lawn, the latter producing the greater number of 
flowers and cones. I noticed upon some of the isolated cedars a 
great number of cones of the preceding year, which had attained 
to almost their full size, and which were of a dull white colour, 
Many of these cones were on the top of the principal tiers of 
branches, and so close that they almost touched one another. 
One of the cedars standing alone had been transplanted when 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 203 


about three feet in girth, from a grove which was being thinned. 
The transplanting did not appear to have hurt it, for it was as 
fine as those in its neighbourhood. M. Guy’s cedars produce an 
abundant crop of self-sown seedlings on the walks, lawns, and 
borders, but they all seem to perish, crushed by feet, cut down by 
the scythe, or otherwise destroyed, so that none are found two 
years of age. I observed in the borders some seedlings that had 
sprung up some months before, and which were as fine as plants 
T had obtained from seed of the same year from the cones on the 
cedar in the Jardin des Plantes. 

M. Pessin, head of the botanical school in the Jardin des 
Plantes at Paris, having observed in 1844 the dissemination of 
the seed of the Cedar of Lebanon in that garden, made a com- 
munication on the subject to the ‘Societé Royale et Centrale 
d’ Agriculture.” It appeared in the Bulletin des Seances of that 
Society, 20th March 1844, as follows :—“M. Pessin, correspond- 
ing member for the department of the Seine, sends some seeds 
of the Cedar of Lebanon gathered from the tree planted in 
1735 in the Jardin de Roi by Bernard de Jussieu, which have 
germinated in the cones still adhering to the tree during this 
winter, and fell to the ground during the latter part of January. 
This germination, which is doubtless due to the mild and damp 
temperature of the winter, has been observed for the first time 
this year. Among the seeds already developed there are some 
whose stemlets are not less than half an inch in length. Several 
hundreds gathered in this state from the ground, and sown in 
February, have succeeded perfectly well.” The natural seed-bed 
resulting from this dissemination of seed had given birth to a 
great number of plants, which I visited on the 29th of April 
1844, They were growing under the shadow of the mother-tree, 
or quite near it, where the raking and the trampling of the work- 
people had probably killed them, for I could find none on the 
25th of June in the same year. I have never observed nor 
heard of any other resinous tree producing a similar germination. 

M. Renou, inspector of the Algerian forests, has published a 
““ Notice sur les forets de Cedres de Algerie” in the Annales 
Jorestieres for the year 1844, page 1, from which I quote the 
following observations upon the flowers and cones of the two 
kinds of cedars noticed by him :—‘ The flowers of the two sexes 
appeared in September and October; in the following June the 
female ovaries presented already the appearance of a greenish 


204 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


cone of half an inch in length, and of an average diameter of one- 
third of an inch. These young cones are, so to speak, still in the 
herbaceous state, and they bend with the slightest pressure. By 
the month of July in the following year the cones have acquired 
a woody consistency, and enclose seeds of perfect maturity; but 
they do not begin to shed their seed till the autumn rains, and 
some cones retain their scales even till the end of winter.” 

My conclusion from these statements is—that the flowers of the 
Cedar of Lebanon usually ripen in the climate of Paris in the 
course of the month of October; that the cones remain twenty- 
four months upon the tree before they shed their scales and seeds; 
that the time at which the scales and seeds fall varies from the 
twenty-fourth to the thirtieth month, if the information which I 
have procured is correct ; and lastly, that when the seed does not 
fall till after the winter, or till towards the end of a mild winter, 
it begins to sprout in the cones, 

Loudon says (Arboretum, vol, iv., p. 2423) that the cones of the 
cedar do not attain maturity till the third autumn, and that they 
may be gathered and preserved for five or six years, without 
the seed being impaired. This last statement seems to me an 
error, if it refers to cones gathered shortly before the fall of 
the scales, and especially if they did not fall till after the 
winter, for then the seeds have already begun to undergo the 
process of germination; but if they have been gathered some 
months before this period, they will remain healthy in the cones 
for a longer or shorter time, which, however, I cannot indicate, 
even approximately. According to the same author (vol. iv., 
p. 2404), the cedar does not bear cones until it is twenty-five to 
thirty years old, and that the most of the seed then produced is 
barren; and that only from cones of older trees is fertile seed 
obtained. He says that some cedars bear only male flowers, 
others only female, but that some produce both, and these obser- 
vations have been made on cedars more than one hundred years 
old. Thus some of these trees would have diccious flowers. M. 

Zenou has observed the same thing in the Algerian cedar forests, 

and has mentioned it in the paper already quoted. There are, 
says Loudon, in his Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2404, “some cedars at 
Whitton and Pepperharrow, and in other places, which although 
more than one hundred years old, and in a vigorous condition, 
have scarcely yet borne male and female flowers.” 

Miller says that four cedars, which were planted in 1683, when — 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 205 


they were 3 feet high, in the Botanic Gardens at Chelsea, and 
which are believed to have been among the first planted in 
England, ‘‘have produced during several years a great number 
of male flowers, but that three only have yielded cones, which 
only attained maturity after thirty-five years ; that now (in 1766) 
the seeds which fall from the cones produce plants in abundance 
and without any care.” 

M. Vilmorin has, on his property of Verrieres, about fifteen 
miles from Paris, a cedar which began to produce male flowers at 
twenty-three years old, and cones at twenty-eight years. He says, 
“T have noticed in the park of Fromont that cedars about twenty- 
eight years old bore cones. I have a cedar which was planted in 
1804 by my father, and which, as yet, has yielded no flowers. 
M. Gayau has some cedars thirty miles from here, which were 
planted in 1815, and which have not yet fruited. It is possible 
that these trees bear flowers and cones less regularly in France 
and England than in those countries to which they are indigenous.” 

Seeds and Natural Seed-bed.—I have already said that plants 
have been raised from the natural seed-beds round the cedar in 
the Jardin des Plantes, round the cedars at Vrigny, and round 
those in the garden of M. Guy. A friend tells me that he has 
remarked cedars at Marcigny (Saone and Loire), the property of 
M. Polissard, which yield an abundance of plants from the natural 
seed-bed, and that among these plants there are some already over 
six feet in height. M. Vilmorin, in a note on the TZraité 
Pratique de la Culture des Pins, by Delamarre, page 319, says 
that he has seen a quantity of young plants spring up under the 
fine cedars in the park of Bellevue, near Meudon, and that a cedar 
planted by his father in a garden he had in Paris in the Faubourg 
Saint Antoine has also often produced young plants which were 
self-sown in the grove where it grew. It is probable then, that 
the cedar may be able to perpetuate itself in France by self-sown 
seeds as in its native country. 

From what has been stated, there is not sufficient data to 
indicate the exact age at which the cedar begins to yield fertile 
seed to supply a natural seed-bed, but it can scarcely be before it 
is sixty years old. As to the proper age of cedars when the cones 
may be gathered for the seed, I think it would be prudent never 
to gather any from a tree less than sixty years old. We have 
seen that the seed in the cones is fertile in the spring of the 
second year; and it is from these, and even from younger cones, 


206 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


that the seed is oftenest gathered. Have these seeds then reached 
their full maturity? Some trustworthy experiments should be 
made to clear up this point. These experiments might simply 
consist of sowing in the same border seeds taken from cones 
gathered in the spring of the second year, and seeds from cones 
gathered from the same tree shortly before the seeds would have 
been shed naturally; and then to closely observe the growth of 
the trees produced from each sowing, in order to see if they were 
equally good and equally able to withstand the vicissitudes of the 
seasons. Until these experiments have been made, it is mani- 
festly better not to gather the cones for the seed till just before 
the time when the scales with the seed would naturally fall to 
the ground. It is almost impossible to get from seed-shops any 
cones but those which have been gathered too soon, often much 
too soon, the scales of which adhere so firmly to the stem, that in 
order to extract the seed one has to use a centre-bit to pierce the 
cone close at the stem. M. L.-Deslongchamps advises to begin 
by sawing off six or eight lines from the bottom and as much 
from the top of the cones, these portions containing only abortive 
seeds; by this operation the extraction of the seed is rendered 
much more expeditious. 

Mode of Vegetation and Dimensions.—The Cedar of Lebanon 
has a tap-root, and is very firmly rooted, otherwise it could not 
resist the wind, since its head is very wide-spreading when it 
stands alone. The trunk is straight, but when the tree stands 
alone it almost always divides at a greater or less distance from 
the ground into several branches, which usually assume the per- 
pendicular soon after they leave the trunk. When the trunk 
rises to a greater height, it diminishes rapidly in diameter, because 
the tree is furnished with branches from the ground like the firs, 
and amongst the number there are always some very thick ones. 
The leader is at first very brittle, and generally leans to the 
north or east, but the following year it straightens itself. 

The principal branches spread widely, and are covered on the 
upper side with thick foliage ; they are palm-shaped, which gives 
the Cedar of Lebanon a remarkably majestic appearance, easily 
distinguishable at a distance. The bark is of a deep brown-grey 
colour, and furrowed rather than rugged. 

The cedar grows well in a confined situation, where its trunk is 
straight and bare of branches; and it changes its appearance so 
much that it can scarcely be recognised, because, independently of 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 207 


the difference which exists in all trees grown in confinement and 
those grown in an open space, its leaves are not so closely huddled 
together upon the branches, and are of a much lighter green. 
The trunk of the cedar grown in a confined space appears to 
acquire a much greater bulk than the larch does, judging by 
what I have seen in the park of Fromont and in M. Guy’s garden, 
the only places in France where I have found cedars grown in a 
confined space, and I compared them with larches similarly 
situated in my own park. ‘‘ When cedars are grown in clumps,” 
Loudon says, Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2425, “either by themselves 
or mixed with other trees, they increase in size almost as rapidly 
as the larch or the silver fir when exposed to the same treatment; 
and perhaps it suffers no more than any other pine or fir from the 
loss of its side branches.” 

M. Renou says that in the forest of cedars situated near Blidah, 
there is a mixture of these trees, from those of a venerable age to 
plants of one year’s growth, but in some portions the clumps are 
all of one age. 

In the Bulletin des Seances de la Societé Royale et Centrale 
d@ Agriculture, of the month of May 1844, there is a note about 
the cedars of Mount Ciga near Teniat-el-Haad, Algeria, addressed 
by the Minister of War to the President of the Society, in which 
it is stated “the cedars which grow upon the Djebel-Ciga are 
very abundant, and generally very large, but they are found of 
all ages. The cedar propagates itself by seed; this propagation 
is extremely easy, judging by the immense quantity of very young 
cedars with which the ground is covered; but these young trees 
are destroyed during the time of the great heat by the fire which 
the Arabs light in the forests. In those parts of the mountain 
which the fire has spared, the cedars, of from 15 to 20 feet in 
height, are so close together that there is difficulty in getting 
through. The cedars grow upon the northern slope of the moun- 
tain. The ground that they occupy forms a horizontal zone of 
from 600 to 700 yards in breadth by 4 leagues in length; this 
zone of ground is about 1200 feet above the level of the sea.” 

The Cedar of Lebanon can live for a long time upon high 
mountains without decaying, as it is nearly four hundred years 
since mention was first made by modern travellers of the cedars 
on Mount Lebanon ; and these cedars, so remarkable on account 
of their great size, are still in vigorous health. It appears that 
the Cedar of Lebanon cannot survive so long in the plains of 


208 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Europe. The two cedars in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, which 
remain out of the four planted in 1683, are, says Loudon 
(Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2406), in a state of decay, which shows 
that they had passed their maturity; but they are growing in a 
poor sandy soil, mixed with gravel, resting at 2 feet deep on a 
hard subsoil. The same author says (Arboretum, vol. i., p. 48) 
that there is at Enfield a cedar which was in a state of decay in 
1821, and this cedar is only at the utmost as old as those at 
Chelsea. Amongst a great number of cedars planted in France 
in 1735, the same year in which was planted the one in the 
Jardin des Plantes, those growing in deep loam show no sign of 
decay. 

The cedar acquires during its early years a larger girth of stem, 
but I do not believe that it attains to the same height as several 
firs and pines in Europe; and in support of this belief, I give the 
following measurements :— 

Varennes de Fenille reports that the cedar in the Jardin des 
Plantes in 1786, that is to say, fifty-two years after it was planted, 
was 6 feet 7 inches in girth at 4 feet 6 inches from the ground. 
M. L.-Deslongchamps says that he measured this cedar in 1812 
at the same height, and that it then girthed 8 feet 8 inches; 
in 1837 he measured it again, and found it 10 feet. I measured 
this tree on the 27th of May 1844, when it girthed 10 feet, having 
made no increase in the interval since 1837. I could not take its 
girth at the ground, because it was surrounded with a bank of 
stones, and its height was only 56 feet. I ought to mention that 
they had earthed up the base of the tree, an injurious practice 
which should be avoided, and in measuring the girth, allowance 
had to be made for the height above the primitive soil. The 
height of the tree would have been greater if its head had not 
been broken about fifty years before by a musket shot. The soil 
in which it grows is poor, and contains a great deal of plaster 
brought from the demolitions in Paris. Allowing it to be one 
hundred and fifteen years old in 1844, its leading shoot had made 
an annual growth of nearly 6 inches to that date. 

The cedar at Vrigny, planted in 1757 by Duhamel-Dumonceau, 
was about eighty-four years old in 1844; and in the autumn of that 
year its diameter at 3 feet from the ground was 5 feet, its height 
was 80 feet, and the spread of its branches was 76 feet. At 13 feet 
from the ground it divides into several forks, but as one of these 
continues the trunk, the tree has a straight stem, The annual 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 209 


increase in bulk of this cedar, calculated by its diameter at 3 feet 
from the ground, has been one-sixth of an inch. Of the four 
cedars planted also at Vrigny by Duhamel-Dumonceau in 1770, 
the largest has a diameter of 3 feet 6 inches at 3 feet from the 
ground, it is 78 feet in height, and its trunk is straight to the 
very top. These trees are growing in a free and nourishing 
sandy soil, mixed with heath-mould. 

There is in the kitchen garden at Vrigny a cedar which was 
raised in 1808 from the seed of the fine cedar just mentioned, 
and was thirty-seven years old in 1844; it had borne for several 
years male catkins, but it had not produced cones; it was 48 feet 
in height, and its diameter was 20 inches, and its annual increase 
till 1844 had been one-eighth of an inch, 

Jaume Saint Hilaire has given, in the Annales de l Agriculture 
Francaise for 1841, p. 204, the girths of a Cedar of Lebanon 
planted in 1743 by Duhamel-Dumonceau on his estate of 
Denainvilliers, near Pithiviers (Loiret). These measurements 
were taken at 1 foot from the ground, at the following dates :—in 
1753 it girthed 0°76 metre; in 1779, 1°86 m.; in 1786, 2:03 m. ; 
in 1799, 2:35 m. ; in 1809, 2°65 m. ; in 1822, 3:14 m.; in 183], 
3°44 m.; in 1835, 3:50 m. It is easy to calculate the annual 
increase of this cedar at these different dates, supposing it was 
six or eight years old when it was planted. 

There is, in the district of Courteilles, in the garden of M. A. 
Richard, a cedar which in 1843 was about fifty-one years old. I 
found its diameter then to be 2 feet 8 inches, and its height 53 
feet ; its trunk was divided at 7 feet 6 inches from the ground 
into five large branches, almost vertical at their junction. The 
annual increase of this tree had been up to 1843 one-seventh of 
an inch. 

Delamarre says, in the second edition of his Zvazté Pratique des 
Pins, that the three largest cedars in France are the cedar in 
the Jardin des Plantes, the cedar at Vrigny, and the cedar at 
Montigny-Laucoup, Provins (Seine and Marne), planted by 
Duhamel in the garden of M. de Trudaine. I have given the 
dimensions of the two first of these trees. Delamarre says that 
the last was then (1827) 13 feet 2 inches in girth at 4 feet 6 inches 
from the ground. M. L.-Deslongchamps speaks of the same tree 
in his Histoire du Cedre du Liban, and says that it required four 
people to clasp it with their arms ; consequently the girth cannot 
be less than 20 feet. This cedar grows in very good soil. 


210 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


The park of Fromont, at Ris (Seine and Oise), which belongs to 
the Chevalier Soulange-Bodin, occupies a hill-side exposed to the 
north, and which extends to the banks of the Seine. The soil on 
the hill-side is of good free texture, on a calcareous rocky subsoil ; 
in the valley the soil is deep, but it is sandy, flinty, and very poor. 
There are, near the castle on the hill-side, two cedars planted in 
1813, which, when measured on the 31st of July 1844, were—No. 
1, 7 feet 3 inches in girth, and No. 2, 6 feet 2 inches; the 
thickest was well branched, but did not appear to me to be more 
than 55 feet in height, and the smallest 65 feet. Other cedars 
had been planted ten years later, some singly, others in clumps. 
Those which were in the middle of the park, that is to say, in the 
most fertile soil, and which stood alone, girthed from 5 feet to 
5 feet 6 inches ; and those grown in a confined state in the same 
soil, girthed from 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet, and about 50 feet in 
height. Those on the highest part of the hill-side, where the 
calcareous rock is nearest the surface, are grown close together, 
and girthed from 3 feet to 4 feet, with a height of about 55 feet. 
Lastly, those in the valley on the bad soil, and which stood alone, 
girthed from 4 feet to 4 feet 6 inches, and from 3 feet to 4 feet 
where they stood close together. The firs and pines, planted at 
the same time as the cedars, were far from having attained similar 
girths, and their height in clumps was also less, 

M. Guy’s garden is situated upon a hill-side exposed to the 
south-east, the soil has little depth, and the subsoil is a calcareous 
stone, impenetrable by roots ; but in some places they have laid 
down rubbish from the buildings pulled down in St Germains, 
where they use plaster for building, the same as in Paris. Thus 
this forced earth, upon which twenty-two cedars have been planted, 
is of pretty much the same nature as the soil of the labyrinth in 
which the cedar in the Jardin des Plantes is growing. It is 
noticed that the cedar succeeds well here in such soil, and the 
Pinus Laricio does middling, while the silver fir, Scots fir, and 
larch are stunted, and the Weymouth pine does not do at all. 
M. Guy, the father of the present proprietor, made the garden in 
1775, and the cedars date from about that time. Several cedars 
standing alone were, when I measured them on the 12th of 
August 1844, more than 6 feet 6 inches in girth, the largest 
being 7 feet 6 inches; and their height was from 40 feet to 50 
feet. The cedars which were grown close together were less 
thick, but they were taller. They appeared to be from 65 feet 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 211 


to 70 feet in height, the girth of the thickest being 6 feet 7 
inches. 

Loudon (Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2426) gives the dimensions 
of several Cedars of Lebanon growing in Great Britain, I will 
mention those of which he gives the age, and that have attained 
a large size relatively to their age, and from these the annual 
increase can easily be calculated. 

At Luscombe, a cedar thirty years planted was 47 feet in 
height, the trunk 2 feet 6 inches in diameter. At Farnham, 
fifty years planted, 70 feet in height, diameter 4 feet. At 
Ockham Park, thirty-four years planted, 45 feet in height, 
diameter 2 feet 6 inches. At Bowood, fifty years planted, 60 
feet in height, diameter 3 feet 6 inches. At Donnington Park, 
eighty years planted, height 62 feet, diameter 8 feet 6 inches. 
At Ditton Park, ninety years planted, 80 feet in height, diameter 
5 feet. At Castle Ashby, age eighty years, height 72 feet, 
diameter 5 feet. At Croome, eighty years planted, height 100 
feet, diameter 5 feet. The same author says that at Whitton, 
the Pinus maritimus, Scots fir, silver fir, and larch, growing in the 
same soil and situation as the cedar, have not made nearly as large 
a bole. It appears probable that many of the cedars in France 
and England have been grown from seed prematurely taken from 
the cones, and in consequence they cannot have attained the 
dimensions they would have done had the seed been perfectly ripe. 

In order to know the largest size to which these trees can attain, 
we must examine them in their native habitats,—and first of all on 
Mount Lebanon, where the oldest known cedars are found. M. 
L.-Deslongchamps says that Corneille Le Bruyer, a Dutch traveller 
who visited these cedars in 1682, measured one which was 57 
palms, or about 40 feet, in girth; that Maundrell, an English 
traveller, who visited them in 1697, measured one which he found 
36 feet 6 inches in girth; and quotes a letter in which Dr Pariset, 
a French traveller, who visited them on the 2nd of August 1829, 
says that he did not measure any of them, but that they appeared 
to him to be as large as the pillars in the Palace of Carnac at 
Thebes, which are 42 feet in circumference. In the forest of 
cedars that M. Bové found in travelling from Tiberias to 
Damascus, these trees were, he said, from 3 feet to 18 feet in 
girth, and their height over 50 feet. In Africa, in a forest of 
cedars near Blidah, there are some from 12 feet to 16 feet in girth 
at 3 feet from the ground. In the forests of Ouarenseris, cedars 

VOL, XIII. PART II. E 


212 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


have been cut down whose diameter was so great that it was 
necessary to join two blades of a saw, each 6 feet 6 inches long, in 
order to fell them. The largest cedar upon Ciga was said to be 
95 feet in height from the ground to the first branches, and the 
stem varied from 5 feet 6 inches in diameter at the ground to 
3 feet at the top. Cedars being more remarkable for their girth 
than for their height, this height of 95 feet without branches, 
appears to me extraordinary. It is probable that when all the 
forests of Algeria are fully explored, cedars of a still larger 
diameter will be found. 

Loudon (Aboretum, vol. iv., p. 2426) says that the largest 
of two cedars which then remained in the Botanic Garden at 
Chelsea, was about 60 feet in height, and 5 feet in diameter at 
4 feet 6 inches from the ground, and the other was nearly as large. 
At Wilton House there were several fine cedars one hundred and 
seventy years of age, and one of them 8 feet 8 inches in diameter 
at 1 foot from the ground. The cedar at Donnington, which 
is only eighty years old, and which I have mentioned already, 
on account of the rapidity of its growth, is only 2 inches less in 
diameter. At Chiswick there was a cedar 70 feet in height, with 
a diameter of 4 feet 6 inches. The tallest cedar in England 
appears to be at Strathfieldsaye ; it was 108 feet in height, with a 
diameter of 3 feet. The tallest in the neighbourhood of London 
was at Claremont; it was 100 feet in height, with a diameter of 
5 feet 6 inches. The finest cedar in England is probably, aecord- 
ing to Loudon, at Syon; it is 92 feet in height, with a diameter 
at 3 feet from the ground of 8 feet, and the diameter of the spread 
of its branches is 117 feet. 

Climate, Exposure, and Soil.—It was believed for a long time 
that the Cedar of Lebanon was only indigenous to Mount Lebanon 
proper, about 18 miles east from Tripoli in Asia Minor. Miller 
says (Gardener's Dictionary, vol. iv., p. 348, 1768), “The cedar 
of Lebanon, celebrated from the earliest days, and which, a very 
remarkable fact, is not found in any other part of the world except 
on these mountains.” Nevertheless Pierre Belo, who travelled in 
the Levant towards the middle of the 16th century, and who 
first visited these cedars, saw some afterwards on Mount Amanus 
and on Mount Taurus. M. Bové, formerly director of the farm of 
Ibrahim Pacha at Cairo, during a botanical journey in Syria, in going 
from Tiberias to Damascus, found on the 11th of October 1832, 
between Sakhléhé and Der-el-Khamar, a forest of Cedars of Lebanon 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 213 


covered with flowers; it occupied the top of a mountain on the 
right hand of the road. Lastly, since the occupation of Algeria by 
the French, this tree has been found in each of the three provinces, 
Alger, Oran, and Constantine. There are forests of it, several 
square leagues in extent, on the mountains of Ouarenseris, situated 
in the province of Oran. There is also a magnificent forest of 
cedars not far from Algiers, near Blidah, which covers about 
12,644 acres. 

Authors, such as Baudrillart, who say that Pallas found the Cedar 
of Lebanon on the Altaian mountains in Siberia, are mistaken. 
Pallas does not mention it in his Flora Rossica, and they must 
have been misled by the common name of the Pinus cembra, 
called ‘‘ Kedr” in Russian, a tree which is common on the Altaian 
mountains; besides, the cedar could not stand the Siberian frost. 

The Cedar of Lebanon has hitherto been only found a native 
of warm climates, and there only on the highest slopes of the 
mountains. Those on Mount Lebanon are at an elevation where 
the snow lies for a long time, and where there are no habitations. 
The large cedar forest in Atlas, near Blidah, is more than 1200 
feet above sea-level. In Europe this tree has been successfully 
cultivated, even in Scotland, where Loudon mentions (Arboretum, 
vol. iv., p. 2427) some from 3 to 5 feet in diameter. They 
have succeeded in growing it in Saxony, since, according to 
Loudon, there was one at Worlitz planted sixteen years before, and 
which was 25 feet in height. 

The cedar appears to be sensitive to severe cold, and to the 
alternations from frost to thaw so common in temperate climates, 
as for example in France. Varennes de Fenille, in the article 
‘“‘Tarix orientalis,” in his Memoire sur ladministration forestiere 
(vol. ii, p. 447), says—“the winter of 1789, which was so 
severe, killed most of the young cedars, whether they were covered 
with snow or not; and though many of the large cedars survived, 
they lost their leaves but put out new ones. All my cedars, the 
oldest of which were planted in 1804, lost their leaves in the spring 
of 1840, in consequence of a very mild February, which set the 
sap flowing, being followed by very cold weather in March; they 
became brown and fell off; but by far the largest number of cedars, 
both in my neighbourhood and in the other central parts of France, 
kept their leaves, as, for example, at two leagues distant, the cedar 
at Courteilles did not suffer at all from the change from a high 
temperature to a low one.” 


214 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


According to Loudon (Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2412), the date of 
the introduction of the cedar into England is uncertain. Aiton, in 
his Hortus Kewensis, says that it had been introduced in 1683; but 
as this was the year in which the Chelsea cedars were planted, which 
were already 3 feet in height, they must have been introduced 
some years before 1683. The cedar is much more largely cultivated 
in England than in France, but only as an ornamental tree. 

I cannot indicate the best exposure for the Cedar of Lebanon ; 
it appears to thrive in all exposures in the centre of France, but it 
may be otherwise on high mountains, such as the Alps. The finest 
cedars in France are in the valleys; it is the same in England. 
The Cedar of Lebanon is not particular as to soil, and it seems 
possible to grow it in almost any soil. In the old gardens of the 
Tivoli Palace, in Paris, there were a dozen which were thriving well 
in 1844, though the calcareous subsoil was in some places at only a 
foot from the surface. The cedars in the Bois de Boulogne, near 
Paris, were also thriving tolerably well in a very poor soil, but it seems 
that this tree cannot be grown in siliceous soil as poor as that in 
which the P. sylvestris, P. Lavicio, and above all the P. marituma 
can be successfully cultivated. M. de Larminat planted two hundred 
and fifty cedars in 1825, in the forest of Fontainbleau, at the place 
called Gorge-du-Houx, in very poor soil composed of white sand 
under a layer of peat; P. sylvestris and P. maritima being also 
planted there at the same time. In 1844 there only remained 
thirteen out of the two hundred and fifty cedars, and five of these 
had not grown at all, but were quite stunted. The tallest of the 
other eight was 13 feet in height and 1 foot in girth; the P. 
sylvestris of the same age, in the same place, were 35 feet in height 
and 3 feet in girth; the P. maritima, 32 feet and 2 feet 6 inches. 
The bad success of this plantation of cedars must be attributed to 
the aridity of the site, because some which were transplanted by 
M. Bois-D’hiver into good soil, throve afterwards. The soil which 
seems to suit the Cedar of Lebanon best, is a deep sandy loam. It 
is in soil of this nature that the fine cedar at Vrigny is grown ; 
and near London, it is also, Loudon says, in a deep sandy loam 
that they succeed best, as at Syon and Whitton. 

Culture.—It is generally thought in France that it is impossible 
to raise the Cedar of Lebanon successfully, except in pots or in 
boxes which can be protected in winter. Delamarre says, in his 
Truté Pratique, p. 139, “that the repeated attempts he has made 
to raise cedars from seed sown in the open border have failed, and 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 215 


that he has only obtained specimens from seeds sown in pots and 
protected.” I think he is mistaken, because so many self-sown 
plants spring up, which brave the severity of the winter, and succeed 
as well as if they were protected, provided they are not destroyed 
by accident. I have raised Cedars of Lebanon in the open border ; 
but I have lost many of them, which may have been caused by the 
seed which I had extracted with difficulty from the cones not being 
thoroughly ripe. 

I do not know whether it has ever been attempted to sow the 
Cedar of Lebanon on a large scale in the open border. I presume, 
however, that it could be done successfully if the seed employed was 
perfectly ripe. The principal obstacle would be the difficulty of 
procuring the seed in suflicient quantity. In fact, the seed which 
is extracted with so much difficulty from the cones is generally soft, 
and probably only retains its germinating powers for a short time. 
If it is desired to gather the cones a short time before they would 
shed their scales and seeds, in order to be certain that the seed was 
perfectly ripe, it would be difficult to procure much, as the time of 
ripening is so variable ; and, besides, if the process of germination 
has commenced, the seed must be sown immediately. 

Pruning appears to be more hurtful to the cedar than to any of 
the other resinous trees; at least Loudon, who quotes Miller and 
Boutcher, brings facts in support of this opinion. I have found that 
the nibbling by hares of the lateral branches of newly planted 
young cedars has generally killed them, whilst it has only retarded 
the growth of pines, firs, and larches. Cedars must therefore be 
pruned with the utmost reserve, beginning upon isolated trees, at 
twelve years old, on the branches nearest the ground, at the rate of 
one or two branches only in the year. When these trees are grown 
close together, they prune themselves, but branches which are sickly 
may at once be cut off, as they would soon perish. 

Qualities and Uses of the Wood.—It was long believed, on the 
authority of ancient testimony, that the wood of the cedar was 
incorruptible, and that it was one of the best trees both for building 
and fitting up ships. ‘The wood of this famous tree,” says Miller, 
“is regarded as incorruptible.” We know assuredly that its wood 
is light, because Varennes de Fenille found that a cubic foot of it, 
when perfectly dry, only weighed 32 lbs. Baudrillart states that 
Mussenbrack gives the weight of the cubic foot of this wood at 
42 lbs. 14 0z., and Hassenfratz at 57 Ibs., differences which 
were probably caused by the unequal dryness of the wood, 


216 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


M. L.-Deslongchamps says that it has a strong resemblance to the 
wood of the pine, and still more to that of the fir; that the section of 
the trunk of a cedar is more like that of a silver fir than any other 
resinous tree. ‘‘ The wood of the cedar,’ says this author, “ burns 
quickly, crackling a great deal, and does not give as much heat as 
the oak, hornbeam, wych elm, or beech; its charcoal is very light, 
and yields very little heat, and is quickly reduced to ashes, like that 
of the poplar and the willow.” Loudon, who was in a position to 
gather a great deal of information on the subject, since the cedar 
was cultivated sooner and in much larger quantities in England 
than in France, says (Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2417)—“ the wood of 
the cedar is of a reddish-white ; light and spongy, easily worked, 
but very apt to shrink and warp, and by no means durable. A 
plank of cedar compared with planks of Scots fir grown in England, 
was found to be inferior to them in strength.” 

Diseases and Accidents.—In reference to these I cannot do better 
than quote the words of Loudon (Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2425) :— 
“The strong and spreading branches of the cedar are liable to be 
broken by the weight of the abundant snow which sometimes over- 
whelms them; but this tree is less liable to be blown down by the 
wind than the pine, fir, or larch, which have not, as this has, large 
and strong branches near to the ground. It is not subject to 
disease, and from what we have observed is less liable to be attacked 
by insects than any other species of the pine tribe.” 

Cedrus atlantica.—I believe that only two authors have yet 
written on the Silver, or Mount Atlas Cedar—M. Renou, in his 
‘“‘ Notice sur les foréts de Cédres de l’Algérie,” from which I have 
quoted some passages; and M. Durien de Maison-Neuve, Mem- 
ber of the Scientific Commission of Algiers, The observations of 
M. Durien were transmitted to the Academy of Science by 
M. Bory, of St Vincent, in a memoir entitled “Sur les Cédres 
de l’Atlas et l'emploi de leur bois dans les constructions mauresques 
d’Alger ;” and this memoir has been inserted in the Compte rendu 
des séunces de ?Académie Sciences, vol. xviii., No. 24 (June 10, 
1844). 

Loudon, in the article on ‘ Cedrus Libani” (Arboretum, vol. iv., 
p. 2402), mentions a variety Foliis argenteis, but he says that the 
leaves are of a silvery colour on both sides, while those of the Silver 
Cedar of Algeria have this colour only on the under side. He adds 
that there are some beautiful trees of it at Whitton and at Pains 
Hill, and he is astonished that the nurserymen have never taken 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 217 
the trouble to increase this beautiful variety. M. Renou thinks 
that the Cedar of Lebanon and the Silver Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) 
form two well-defined varieties, while M. Durien says that the 
silver colour of the leaves is only an accident, 

M. Renou, who was the first to mention the Silver Cedar, says, in 
the notice before referred to, that these trees occupy the forest near 
Blidah, which covers an area of about 12,000 acres, and there attain 
greater dimensions than the Cedar of Lebanon. It is not rare, he 
says, to find them 8 to 10 feet in girth, standing a few feet apart ; 
and far from presenting any signs of decay, appear on the contrary 
making their greatest growth. M. Renou gives some drawings of 
the flowers and cones of the two varieties of cedars, and it is seen 
that the flowers and cones are perfectly alike ; also, he has given 
but one description of these organs. He points out the difference 
between the two varieties, as follows :—‘‘The cedars in this forest 
present two well-defined varieties. The first appears to resemble 
exactly the species acclimatised in France for a century under the 
name of ‘Cedar of Lebanon.’ The second differs considerably 
from the first; the leaflets are broader, yet not longer, they straighten 
themselves in taking their proper contour, as if they intended to 
converge to a common summit, which gives to the small clusters a 
roundish form, The decided character of this tree is that upon the 
top of these leaflets is a dull white colour, which produces upon the 
green shade of the leaves a silvery whitish appearance. The cones, 
before their maturity, have at the point of their scales a patch of 
this silvery tint, which is always less apparent than that on the 
leaflets. The branch which supports the cluster of leaves also 
presents a rather decided contraction of its lower part; but it is 
thicker than in the first variety, and the small crowns which remain 
after the fall of the leaflets are more decided. The branches extend 
themselves equally in horizontal layers ; but they bend much more 
towards the ground than those of the first variety. This peculiarity 
appears, besides, to have been attributed to the difference in the 
weight of the leaflets, which in the Silver Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) 
are thicker and more covered with leaves, the lower layers bend 
much less than those of the Green Cedar (Cedrus Libant), and there 
is less disproportion between the length of the branches as they near 
the top. Its bark is of an ashy grey, thick, rugose, and formed of 
scales, which break off in particles when the tree has attained a 
certain age.” 

The wood of the Silver Cedar is of a whitish shade of yellow; its 


218 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


texture is rather close, and presents a certain homogeneousness, but 
is less heavy than that of the Green Cedar. 

The differences which exist in the height and the colour of the 
leaves of these two trees are, besides, so apparent, that, to an eye 
a little practised, the difference between them may be easily dis- 
tinguished at a distance. 

M. Durien went over the same forest of cedars that had been 
gone over by M. Renou, and found there were not two species, as 
had been presumed on entirely incorrect information, and it was 
difficult to consider them even as simple varieties. The colour of 
the foliage depended upon various circumstances, but principally 
upon the age of the tree. In fact, says our learned traveller, I 
have observed a large number of cedars which present the two tints 
of foliage strongly marked, with intermediate shades, on the same 
tree ; yet some of the largest, and consequently the oldest, trees 
presented only the silvery colour, which gave to them an appearance 
quite peculiar. 

If the observations made by M. Renou are exact, it appears 
evident that there are two varieties of cedars in the forest of Blidah, 
the Green Cedar, and the Silver Cedar, and admitting the accuracy 
of the observations of M. Durien, they do not prove that M. Renou 
is mistaken. It may, in fact, be possible that the leaves of the 
Silver Cedar do not take the silvery tint until a certain age. It is 
not known that the leaves of the Cedar of Lebanon take the white 
colour when they grow old. Nothing of this is recorded as having 
been observed upon Mount Lebanon, where there are very aged trees ; 
nor in England, where some are already in a state of decrepitude ; 
nor yet in France, where many are approaching maturity, if they 
have not yet reached it. 

Cedrus Deodara (the Deodar, or Indian Cedar).—Roxburgh, 
the first naturalist who observed the Indian Cedar, gave it the 
name of Cedrus Deodara. The common name, ‘ Indian Cedar,” 
recalls its native country. The Indians call it “ Devadaru” or 
“ Devdar,” says Roxburgh, and they consider it a sacred tree. This 
tree is chiefly known from what has been said about it by Lambert 
and Loudon, and from botanists and travellers, who have observed 
it in its native habitats in India. From these sources we learn that 
the Indian Cedar is a native of the north of India, in Nepaul, and 
the Indo-Tartar mountains, where it is sometimes found growing at 
the height of 4500 feet above the level of the sea. Its botanical 
characters are the same as those of the Cedar of Lebanon ; but its 


ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 219 


cones, flowers, and leaves differ a little from that tree in colour, and 
its cones are also thicker and its leaves larger. It is distinguished 
from the Cedar of Lebanon at first sight by its young shoots, which 
hang down like those of the weeping willow, but which become 
straight in the autumn and following spring. This disposition of 
its shoots, and the pyramidal form of the tree, give to it a most 
graceful appearance. It acquires magnificent proportions in India, 
where it attains the height of 150 feet, with a circumference of 
30 feet. 

Its wood differs much from that of the Cedar of Lebanon ; it is 
very compact, very resinous, diffuses an agreeable perfume, and 
appears possessed of qualities which the ancients attributed to the 
wood of the Cedar of Lebanon. It takes such a beautiful polish 
that a section 4 feet in diameter, sent by Wallich to Lambert, 
appeared to be a piece of agate. The wood of this tree is employed 
in the manufacture of all kinds of things. It is so lasting that it is 
used as a shelter exposed to the air or in water. It has been found 
perfectly sound in the timber-work of Indian temples, which were 
not less than two hundred years old. Dr Lindley says that Moor- 
croft sent him a piece of this wood, which was part of the bridge of 
Zein-ool-Kuddul at Ladak, where it had been exposed to the water 
for almost four hundred years. Loudon, who tells this fact 
(Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2431), does not say in what condition this 
wood was. ‘The same author repeats after Moorcroft, that Rajah- 
Schah had employed in the construction of a house some of this 
wood, still quite sound, although procured from the ruins of an 
edifice built two hundred and twenty-five years before by the 
Emperor Akbar. 

The Deodar, or Cedar of India, was introduced into Britain, 
in 1831, by Mr Leslie Melville. It has grown and thriven per- 
fectly in the open air, even in the north of Scotland, and it has been 
found more robust than the Cedar of Lebanon, and does not 
appear to suffer much from the severe winters nor late frosts. 

Loudon says (Arboretum, vol. iv., p. 2432) that the price of 
cedar plants in the London nurseries in 1838 was two guineas 
each. 


220 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XV. Notes on Tree Planting at San Jorge, Uruguay, South 
America. By Cuartes E. HALL, of San Jorge. 


Sitwation.—The estate of San Jorge lies in lat. 32° 43’ §., 
long. 56° 8’ W., about 160 miles N. of Monte Video, and about 
the same distance from the sea, the river Uruguay, and the 
Brazilian frontier. The altitude of the highest ground above 
sea-level is probably 400 feet, falling to 280 feet on the lowest 
ground. 

Preliminary.—San Jorge was originally the name of an estate 
of about 330 square miles, belonging to the late Mr Thomas Fair 
of Edinburgh, sold off in portions and at various dates since the 
year 1867. The head station became my property in 1876, and 
now, with about 10} square miles of land, retains the old name. 
In 1876, in the garden-ground round the house, there were about 
180 robinias (2. Pseud-Acacia), 120 Lombardy poplars, 50 
paraisos (Melia Azedarach); a few ornamental trees, perhaps 20 ; 
and about 320 fruit-trees, chiefly pears, apples, oranges, figs, 
peaches, and quinces, also a few apricots, plums, cherries, pome- 
granates, and vines, I shortly after planted a few more fruit- 
trees; andin July 1880 made my first small plantation of trees 
for business purposes. 

Character of Country.—Uruguay is almost universally bare of 
natural woods, save along the margins of streams and rivers. 
The country is undulating, generally pretty well watered, with 
low hill-ranges, some rather stony, some with no surface stone, of 
no great elevation over the dividing water-courses, in few cases 
rising more than 100 feet over the nearest running water, and 
generally descending to the water-course levels by easy slopes, 
These water-courses do not invariably and always contain water. 
Such is the character of the San Jorge district, and of much of 
the western and southern parts of Uruguay. To the north and 
east the land is more rocky, the hills bolder and higher, wood 
more frequent, and not entirely confined to the banks of streams, 
being sometimes found in clumps in rocky dells. But even in 
Southern and Western Uruguay, tala (Celtis Tala) and espinillo 
(Acacia Farnesiana) are in a few parts found on dry stony hill- 
tops or plateaux. The imperishable “jfiandubay,” which no 
drought affects, is also an exception to the rule that woods grow 
exclusively on the banks of streams, 

Indigenous trees, besides the three above mentioned, are not 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 221 


very numerous ; the most valuable being coronillo (Scutia buai- 
folia), molle (Duvaua dependens), ‘‘vivaré,” guayavo (Letjoa 
Sellowiana), and willow (Salia Humboldtiana). There are 
other kinds that seem to be useless except for firing; and the 
“mataojo” (kill-eye) (Lucuma Sellowti) is not even useful for 
that, so pungent is its smoke. When the water in a stream 
begins to be fairly permanent, the Sarandi shrub (Cephalanthus 
Sarandi) is to be found, interspersed a little farther down with 
mataojos, willows, molles, possibly some ceibos (E£rythrina 
Crista-galli) or laurels (Oreodaphne acutifolia); and as the 
stream gains in width, so does the belt of trees on the banks, 
until it reaches the main water-course, which for the San Jorge 
district is the Rio Negro. But the last thirty years have seen 
many streams, formerly well wooded, denuded of their trees; and 
even in the woods of the Rio Negro, that vary from two or three 
hundred yards to, in some parts, more than a thousand yards in 
width, the felling of wood, in season and out of season, has been 
carried on so recklessly that the best qualities of wood are now 
becoming very scarce, and all wood sensibly diminished in 
quantity. There are parts of the Rio Negro where the banks are 
not wooded, but these are few and far between; and they occur 
where the banks are high, and are never overflowed, even when 
the river is swollen with excessive rain, A small stream some- 
times collects the rainfall from a large district, and is promptly 
converted by heavy rain into an impassable furious flood, over- 
flowing its banks to a very great width in some places, and 
sometimes covering the tops of all but the highest willows ; these 
streams run into each other, and eventually the Rio Negro 
receives them all, and its stream is enormously multiplied ; what 
might in ordinary weather be a stream of 80 to 200 yards width, 
after heavy rain becomes in some parts a river 4 miles broad or 
even more. ‘This periodical, or rather occasional, inundation 
leaves much debris of vegetable matter among the woods on the 
banks ; and the trees, though many of them are entirely sub- 
merged for a period of from two or three days to perhaps as 
many weeks, do not seem to suffer at all. Nor do they appear 
to suffer when, as has happened, more than two years have 
elapsed without any flood. Grassy glades exist here and there 
among these natural woods of the Rio Negro, and cattle come in 
to browse, but do not appear to do serious harm even to the 
young plants, that follow the path of the woodcutter’s axe, 


222 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


‘These occasional inundations effectually prevent the formation of 
the nests of the black or leaf-cutting ants, probably the greatest 
foe to wood-planting in Uruguay. 

The soil of San Jorge district is of very varied character, in 
some parts a deep, stiff, black clay, difticult to work, but very rich; 
in others light black loam, intermixed with sand; there are also 
some patches of gravelly soil, apparently old moraines, excellent 
for trees ; and in some parts a cold grey clay occurs, pretty deep, 
that holds water long, never grows good grass, and is our worst 
land. The stone is chiefly amygdaloidal; there is also a good 
deal of conglomerate sandstone ; some true felspathic sandstone, 
approaching tuffa in composition ; a little quartzite, grey and liver 
coloured ; and there is also a dyke running across, of close-grained 
voleanic rock, 

Meteorological.—The mean annual temperature, as ascertained 
by me from nine years’ observations, taken at San Jorge by the 
generally received scientific methods, is 60°°9 F.; spring and 
autumn averages running from 72° maxima to 49° minima, 
summer from 84°°7 to 58°-4, and winter from 60°5 to 41°:3. 
December, January, and February are taken as summer months, 
June, July, and August as winter months. The highest shade 
temperature recorded in nine years is 101°, and the lowest 23°. 
The daily range of temperature for spring and autumn is 22°3, 
for summer 26°°3, and for winter 19°°2, The average annual 
rainfall is 46 inches, falling on 94 days, and with a duration of 
329 hours per annum, April is the rainiest month, and then 
September ; February being the driest. There is an amount of 
cloud of 1670 out of a possible 3650; thus it may be said that 
on 4 days out of 9 clouds hide a sky, which for the other 5 days 
is cloudless. There is an annual average of 2836 hours of sun- 
shine out of a possible 4368} hours. The average dew-point 
ranges between 48°°3 for winter to 60°-9 for summer, and relative 
humidity from 53°°6 for summer to 78°:2 for winter; spring and 
autumn averages being at almost equal points between summer 
and winter. It is not at all infrequent to find an inch of rain 
falling in one hour; 3 or 4 inches have also been measured for 
durations of five and six hours, The two years July 1886 to June 
1888 gave 65 inches of rain, or 32} inches per annum, whereas 
the twelve months July 1888 to June 1889 gave 79 inches. 
These meteorological notes, extracted from a record of nine years, 
show that the climate is variable, and its extremes accentuated. 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 223 


Long droughts prevail sometimes, and sometimes long-continued 
rains; and neither can be forecasted. In 63 days, between 
lst February and 4th April 1881, only 0°86 inch of rain fell ; 
in such hot weather this amount would have no perceptible 
influence on growth; it might suffice to wash dust off leaves and 
grass, and on the parched ground would run into the land-cracks. 
As there is a decided growth of grass in autumn, when rains 
assist, that year there was but poor winter feed for cattle. In 
65 days from 28th June to 2nd September 1886, only 1:01 
inch of rain fell. This drought caused little or no harm, as 
little or no growth can be expected in these months. A more 
serious drought succeeded from 21st September 1886 to 13th 
January 1887, 114 days, when only 6°40 inches of rain fell ; this 
term following a dry winter, and embracing all spring and half 
summer ; and this was not all, as the remaining half of the same 
summer, with the following autumn and the beginning of winter, 
167 days from 14th January to 30th June 1887, only obtained 
12°76 inches of rain. 

There was plenty of rain in spring 1880 and early summer 
following ; but had the season, July 1880 to June 1881, when I 
first began tree-planting, proved as dry as the seasons 1886-87 
and 1887-88, I should probably not have repeated the experi- 
ment; the season, however, on the whole, was fairly moist, and 
the rains were distributed with some degree of equality. Thus, 
though we had had no experience as to the best mode of planting 
trees, our success encouraged us to try again; and when in after 
years newly-planted trees, on two or three occasions, suffered 
from long-continued frosts, or from prolonged summer droughts, 
I have looked on these failures as on incidents that may occur in 
all businesses. As examples of frosts, I extract from my records 
that for five nights running in July 1886 the average minimum 
thermometer was 32°, the highest minimum record being 34° in 
a sheltering instrument box, 4 feet above grass. In this same 
July, for another period of seven nights running, the average 
minimum was 29°:3, the highest minimum record being 33°, In 
the following August, one period of five nights averaged 31°, with 
a highest minimum of 34°; and another period of six nights 
averaged 30°°3, with a highest point of 32°. The lowest tem- 
peratures to which the trees were exposed on different nights of 
these periods were 29° four times, 28° twice, 27°, and 24°. 

Amount of planting done, chiefly since July 1880, for though 


224 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


a few trees were previously added to the 700 existing in January 
1876, I do not think they were more than 100 or 200. My 
“Plantation Estimate” for April 1889 shows that I have, on 
about 150 acres, at least 74,200 trees, as thus :— 


33,250 robinias (2. Psewd-Acacia), 
18,260 blackwoods (Acacia melanoxylon), 
19,560 Lombardy poplars, 

3,130 sundry trees, 


and I have since then planted about 5000 more, on about 10 
additional acres. But I have not ventured to estimate the multi- 
plication of trees, resulting from replacing the felled robinias, 
poplars, or blackwoods ; there are doubtless many thousands of 
these young plants. 

The earliest, and the subsequent methods of planting, differed 
slightly. The first trees were planted thus: holes about 2 feet 
wide and 15 inches deep were dug in lines, 10 feet apart, and the 
earth heaped up alongside; after a month or so we began planting 
out young robinias, being plants that had sprung from the cut 
roots of other robinias ; also blackwoods, plants grown from seed 
by ourselves, and about ten months old; we filled in the earth 
with care. Robinias did well, but many blackwoods died. 

The next season, having found that leaving the holes open 
sometimes gave extra work in baling out water after heavy rain, 
we dug the holes just as they were required to receive the trees, 
and filled in with surface mould; also, we were much more 
careful to keep the soil in which the young blackwoods were 
growing still well adherent to their roots, carrying the plants 
carefully in boxes, ete. This season we were more successful, and 
arrived at the conclusion that robinias bore transplantation so 
well that no special care was wanted for them. We then tried a 
poplar plantation on a dry slope of ploughed ground, putting in 
cuttings 4 feet apart, with about three eyes above and three eyes 
below ground, ‘These did fairly well; better about the middle of 
the slope than where it died off to a level. But we unwisely 
utilised the ploughed land by sowing pumpkins, melons, etc., 
among the cuttings, and the strong winds blowing their vines 
about the young tree-cuttings did harm. We also had extra 
work with weeds, not having kept them well hoed down. 

The succeeding season we ploughed up about 9 acres in January, 
cross-ploughed and harrowed in May or June, and then put in 


or 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 22 


blackwoods and robinias in 10-foot lines, digging but small holes, 
the earth being nicely pulverised for filling in. We had heavy 
rains whilst this work was going on, and the ground being 
sloping, our young plants were frequently washed out and carried 
down to the bottom of the slope,—doubtless many plants were 
thus replanted two or three times,—but as a whole the plantation 
was fairly successful, and I have since invariably ploughed up 
land in midsummer for plantation at the end of winter with 
rooted tree-plants. 

Forms of Plantations.—The first plantation on land purposely 
ploughed up for it was an irregular quadrilateral ; and in subse- 
quent years I planted some parallelograms, some 120 yards, some 
100, and one 80 yards broad, ploughing prairie-land in January, 
cross-ploughing and harrowing in May and June, when the land 
was fenced in with a five-wire elastic fence, and the trees planted 
in rows 10 feet apart. These tree-plants were obtained from 
nurseries made the previous August or September, almost 
entirely of robinia and blackwood. For the very first planta- 
tions I availed myself of young plants of robinia that had sprung 
up from roots of older trees cut down; and every season I have 
some of this class of young plant to put out. 

For the last three or four years I have preferred to plant long 
belts, 40 yards wide; these belts I do not cross-plough ; but a 
second ploughing in May leaves the ground in fair condition. I 
do not think the trees do so well in the narrow belts as in the 
wider plantations; but consider that other gains balance this loss. 
The belts are planted along the side of a field, utilising the field 
fence for one side, and the belt thus soon gives shelter to two 
fields ; and for the same outlay for young trees and plough-work, 
the length of doubled fence, filled in with woods growing between 
two fields, is doubled in proportion to whether the belt be 40 or 
80 yards wide. Thus a narrow belt will sooner completely 
separate the stock of two adjoining fields; and a scabby sheep in 
one field (they always will rub against wires and fence-posts) will 
not then communicate the disease to sheep in an adjoining field. 
The advantage of this especially applies to boundaries with 
neighbours, from whom before long my land will be separated by 
belts of trees. 

Classes of Trees Planted; and Where, and Why.—When the 
ground of a plantation dips, where it crosses a stream or hollow, 
I plant cuttings of poplars and willows about 4 feet apart, even 


226 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


where the plough has not been able to turn over the uneven 
ground, 

Experience has shown that in hollows the blackwoods suffer 
and even die from the severer frosts, so we now keep them chiefly 
to the slopes and higher grounds, where the frosts do them little 
or no harm. 

Robinias do not perceptibly suffer from frosts, but do not like 
marshy or low ground, where, even if they grow at first, many 
plants subsequently die out. 

I have planted poplars on high ground with good success, but 
none do so well as those planted in low ground with good surface 
natural drainage. 

I have also planted a few paraisos ; they do fairly well; also a 
few sorts of coniferee, some blue gums, and others eucalypti, 
catalpas, mulberries (from cuttings), and many other trees, some 
few indigenous, but only a few of each sort. Lately I have 
planted out one hundred or more young English oaks from acorns 
produced by some few older oaks on the place, and purpose con- 
tinuing the plantation of these, of mulberry cuttings, and of 
cuttings of Carolina poplar (cotton wood?), which grows very 
fast, and which I think a convenient plant to put in where young 
transplanted trees have failed; a man can easily and quickly fill 
in gaps with cuttings, but to fill in gaps with young rooted trees 
is a long and costly job. 

Acacia mollissima or dealbata (silver wattle) grows wonder- 
fully fast, but is troublesome to rear as a young plant; the same 
is true of the Eucalyptus family. Acacia lophantha grows par- 
ticularly fast, but I fear will not suit: I planted out 1000 
rather well-grown plants in August 1889, and am informed that 
all subsequently died, probably, or certainly, from a severe 
succession of frosts. 

Economic Reasons for and against certain Trees.—I want trees 
to give shelter to stock, to yield serviceable posts for wire-fencing, 
and timber for hut or rancho building, and roofs thereof, and 
eventually perhaps planking for various purposes, also for fire- 
wood. Robinias give excellent durable posts at ten or twelve 
years old; if the tree is cut in proper season it grows up quickly 
from the roots. It yields trifling shelter in winter-time, but its 
topwood is excellent for firing. It is not very greatly persecuted 
by the black leaf-cutting ant, or by other insects. 

Blackwood gives excellent shelter, being evergreen, and is very 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 227 


good firewood ; as a post, it does not last in the ground, but it 
splits up most readily into the light bars, through holes in which 
the wires of our so-called swinging or elastic fences are passed, 
and for which there is a considerable demand. It would saw up 
into useful planks at ten years old. Poplars sell easily for hut or 
rancho roofs, and if allowed to grow long enough, would doubtless 
give good planks for flooring, for sheep-hurdles, etc. A four or 
five year old poplar plantation, at 4 feet between the trees, 
breaks the wind admirably, even when the trees are bare. 
Poplars suffer from ants, but generally manage to survive their 
attacks ; they are most easily planted, and reproduce themselves 
manyfold after cutting. The same is true of the blackwood, and 
this, according to our experience, does not suffer from black ants, 
though I am told that some people have found that the ants do 
cut the leaves of this tree. 

Firewood is always saleable. Quick-growing trees that reproduce 
themselves are of course best for this purpose. Acacia mollissima 
(silver wattle) is, I think, the quickest grower we have, unless 
it be Acacia lophantha, and it reproduces itself when cut in good 
season ; but it is especially persecuted by ants, which makes it 
a very expensive tree. The same holds good of the Eucalyptus 
family, so far as I have tried them; moreover, these do not seem 
to reproduce themselves when cut; they are susceptible to frost 
in low grounds, and when well grown, trees are troublesome to 
split for firewood. Pinus pinea grows handsomely, but is greatly 
troubled by ants, as are also P. insignis, P. maritima, P. 
canariensis, and others I have tried. The only conifer I have 
that the ants don’t attack is a small but healthy specimen of 
Norway spruce brought from Chester nine years ago, and now 
about 5 feet high. If Acacia lophantha will not suit, I believe 
the best trees to grow for firing purposes will be found to be 
blackwoods and Carolina poplars. 

The indigenous trees grow very slowly when transplanted from 
their natural habitats, the occasionally submerged margins of 
streams. Ants damage some of them, but not very much. The 
moist air along the river banks, and the cooler ground under the 
trees of the native woods, must offer to a young tree a pleasing con- 
trast to a hill-side, or even valley, in the open ground, where no 
trees keep the soil cool or retain moisture, and where the heavy 
rains tend to carry fertilising vegetable matter to the river-courses, 
where much of this is deposited among the growing trees and 

VOL, XIII. PART II. Q 


228 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


brushwood, and much, unfortunately, swept away to be deposited 
miles out at sea. I hope to be able to secure ripe seeds of some 
of the indigenous trees, and when some of the hollows now 
planted are partly covered with wood, to try young indigenous 
plants in gaps therein. I could not count upon getting young 
plants from the natural woods in any number, nor at the time 
when required, and they would undoubtedly prove costly. 

The tala (Celtis Tala), indigenous on the Campos, grows well 
from cuttings, though I have not been very successful myself ;_ 
but we plant cuttings of this and mulberry in nursery beds, and 
then plant out after a year. The tala grows fairly fast, and is a 
useful wood. 

Acer pseudo-platanus grows tolerably well, and is not much 
troubled by ants ; the same may be said of the paraiso. But all 
these are slow-growing in comparison with blackwood, and do not 
give the same shelter as that evergreen. Though I have not tried 
Acer pseudo-platanus as a post, I am sure neither it nor any of 
the others can compare with robinia for duration below ground. 

Nine years ago I had a consignment of British trees from 
Messrs Dickson of Chester, for curiosity and ornament. Several 
sorts of sycamore have done fairly, beeches also, and a lime sur- 
vives ; some elms and ashes are growing, andalsoa holly. Horse- 
chestnuts live, and that is all they do. Birches died; lilacs and 
others were quite killed by ants. Ashes also suffer much from ants. 
But all these trees are very small. They all look lively towards 
end of autumn, get along well through winter, and burst out 
bravely in spring; but when the hot north winds blow and 
drought is felt, their leaves get dry, fall off, and the tree gives in 
until the cooler autumn returns. The beech and holly I think 
do the best, and then the elm. 

These British trees are planted on a rising-ground, and have 
never had any “nurses”; if they had had, possibly they might 
have grown very much better. 

When I made my first nine-acre plantation on ploughed land, I 
utilised the ground by sowing three rows of maize between the 
rows of trees. In summer the maize overtopped the trees and 
kept the ground cool; in winter the dry stalks (for I pulled the 
maize-cobs instead of cutting down the stalks) sheltered the 
young trees to some extent from winds. And this I did a second 
year also, but feared to do it a third year, the trees being well 
grown-up and liable to injury by our clumsy oxen working the 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 229 


plough among them. And in every plantation of trees grown 10 
feet apart, I have continued this practice of sowing three rows of 
maize for two years, partly for nursing purposes, and partly to 
recoup my expense in ploughing and fencing the land. I have 
also latterly sometimes sown two rows of maize only in the third 
year. 

Damages to plantations, except from droughts and frosts, are 
not numerous. The black leaf-cutting ant is certainly the worst ; 
and it is only by choosing for planting the trees not greatly affected 
by them, that this trouble may be almost avoided. However, 
even with trees that greatly suffer from the black ant, success 
may be obtained, but at an enhanced cost. Ants of course do 
their damage in the early years of a tree’s life, and protection 
may be afforded a tree by isolating its trunk from the surrounding 
ground with a 4 inch wide zinc cylinder, 6 inches high, with a 
2 inch “brim” soldered to the top of the cylinder at an angle of 
45°; the ants cannot turn the angle where the brim is united to 
the cylinder. 

Other mechanical devices are used to keep the ants from getting 
at a young tree stem, all troublesome, all more or less expensive, 
and all requiring attention, to see that no casual bridge is formed 
anywhere.1 The radical cure is extirpation of the ants ; and 
though that can be done where there are many neighbours, all 
helping, in valuable land near towns, it is impossible in the open 
country—and even the destruction of nests is expensive, though 
we do it in the neighbourhood of seed-beds of the gardens and 
orchards, etc. This ant cuts off and carries to its nest leaves and 
twigs at its own discretion, carefully discriminating between 
classes of plants; it is my belief that all this harvest is stored 
in the subterranean nests, and subsequently devoured, and 
that probably after having undergone some fermentation. For 
this idea of the necessity of fermentation I am indebted to a 
friend, a doctor, and most observant man, who lived for some 
years on San Jorge land. It is certain that ants like working in 
early morning whilst the dew lies, desist during the hot hours of 
the day in summer, and are most noticeably active just after a 
shower. In winter they do not work until the frost has quite 
disappeared. When a nest has-been destroyed, in the efficient 
way in which we do it, some ants certainly escape, perhaps chiefly 

1 Cyanide of potassium and other poisons are useful to keep down their 


numbers. 


230 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


in the long tunnels connecting their nests with the open air, and 
these scatter abroad, and probably form three or four new colonies, 
small to begin with, but very revengeful of the wrong done 
to the parent nest. 

In the San Jorge district the great devouring locust has as yet 
appeared only in very small numbers, and very rarely, I am 
grateful to record. The smaller locust, perhaps more properly a 
cricket, though a terrible scourge to pasture, does no harm, so 
far as I have observed, to trees, but I think it might do so. 
This insect plague is not, however, always with us, like the 
ants, and years may elapse before a destructive season or two is 
repeated. 

A white borer-worm, or grub, perforated in all directions the 
trees in an avenue of paraisos I made perhaps ten years ago, and 
the young branches decayed and fell off, but after a year or two 
the plague or borer-worm apparently left the trees, and they have 
grown since excellently well. I think the trees were perhaps 
three years old when this attack was made on them. In planta- 
tions made where long coarse grass is abundant, either inside or 
outside the plantation, the young trees are liable to be barked to 
death by the wild guinea-pig (Cavia aperca). I have also had 
willows and osier-willows, planted in boggy islands in the middle 
of swamps made by streams, barked and killed by, I certainly 
believe, the nutria (Myopotamus coypus); now, I am sorry to 
say, rather a rare animal with us. If cattle get into the fenced 
plantations they rub off branches, and do damage; and at one 
time I purposely admitted sheep into plantations, partly to keep 
down grass and partly for the shelter; but they nibbled off 
young shoots coming up from cut-down trees, and rubbed 
themselves against the bark of well-grown trees, and have 
since been banished as much as possible from the inside of our 
plantations. 

General Remarks.—The grass naturally grows very rank and 
long in these ploughed plantations, and I always fear what the 
accidental or intentional dropping of a lighted match or cigarette 
might do: so far no loss has occurred thus. But I hope that I 
may now obviate this great danger to some extent by cutting the 
grass for hay, baling it up, and possibly obtaining a sale sufficient 
at any rate to pay the expenses of this partial insurance, I have 
tried hedge-making or planting inside the wire fence, but have 
not yet succeeded in getting a good hedge, partly perhaps from 


NCTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 231 


having been too chary of expense in the first planting of the 
hedges, and partly perhaps because I have not yet found out any 
plant sufliciently good for the purpose. 

I invariably prune robinias and poplars, the former up to 
perhaps 5 feet high, thinning out upper branches also, when too 
numerous, and the latter up to 7 feet high. The blackwoods, I 
consider, are better when left unpruned, having tried pruning 
them up to 5 feet or so. The various other trees I have planted 
in small numbers have also been attended to in this fashion. 
And for this sort of pruning I like to choose the height of 
summer, as the trees do not then send out from the cut branch a 
multiplicity of young branches. 

When preparing wood for sale, I have made a practice of 
barking the trees within twenty-four hours of cutting them down. 
The bark comes off most easily, and I daresay its economic value 
as fuel, when dry, nearly pays the expense of barking; and I 
believe the wood for posts, or for roof, rafters, etc., lasts better 
when peeled. I believe the very end of summer and all autumn 
is the best time for felling blackwoods, robinias, and poplars, 
taking into consideration that I wish for well-ripened wood, and 
for reproduction from the tree-stumps. 

All the lop-wood is serviceable for firewood. In future days, if 
the amount of lop-wood becomes unmanageable, I fancy a large 
proportion might be convertible into charcoal, and think that this 
would be easily saleable. 

Almost all European fruit-trees do well, pears perhaps the best 
of any. Oranges are not so sweet as those of Paraguay and 
Brazil, tropical climates, but are particularly clean and free from 
the sort of mildew that marks with small dark specks or lines the 
generality of tropical-grown oranges. Apples are not particularly 
good ; peaches, nectarines, and apricots, if carefully cultivated, are 
good, but by no means equal to British fruit. Walnuts and 
olives do well. Quinces suffer much from worms inside them 
in many seasons; the plant itself grows so freely from cuttings 
that I have made hedges of quince; and where protected 
from sheep and cattle it makes a fine thick hedge, but of 
course of no great utility. Figs grow most luxuriantly, 
so do vines, where the science of viticulture is understood. 
Wine-making will probably before long become an important 
industry in Uruguay. 

For some few years I have been taking monthly measurements, 


232 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


at a marked line, of sundry trees, and find that the average 
annual increment in girth at 3 feet from the ground of— 


Blackwoods is about 3 inches. 
Poplars a 24, 
Robinias - 1b ee. 
Silver Wattles pe bt Cs, 
Oaks and Paraisos ___,, oe ee 
Kucalyptus . 34s, 


The evergreens seem to have no distinctly marked period of rest ; 
the deciduous rest from middle of April to middle of September 
as a rule, some beginning and some ending their rest a little 
earlier or a little later. Between middle of April and middle of 
May there is a slight shrinkage of measurement in paraisos, 
robinias, and especially poplars. 

For the benefit of my neighbours in Uruguay, I may state that 
the expense of planting trees as I have described is but small, and 
greatly reduced when two or even three crops of maize can be 
taken off the first ploughing and fencing expenses. Though I only 
began planting for business purposes in 1880, I have made a 
considerable number of small sales of wood during the past two 
years, and see no reason to doubt that in two or three more 
years, the balance now to debtor of plantation account will have 
been cleared off, leaving me with probably 150,000 trees of 
various ages and values, of which I might fell one-tenth annually, 
and still leave a good proportion to grow up to large wood, for 
planks, beams, ete. 

Apart from the pecuniary returns from these woods, the shelter 
afforded to stock in our occasional bitter cold winds and wet 
storms from §8.W., §., and S.E., must tend toward maintaining 
the condition of the stock, and consequently towards the returns 
from the estate. 

It is perhaps too much to suppose that such a trifling area of 
plantation, in an almost woodless country, can affect the rainfall, 
but I am bold to dream that a passing rain-cloud is more likely 
to discharge some of its contents over San Jorge than over neigh- 
bouring lands entirely bare of trees, excepting in some cases a 
few round a house, rarely so much as an acre. The estates 
within 50 miles of San Jorge that have as much as 20 acres 
of planted trees could probably be counted on the fingers 
of one hand; I am not sure that any have as much as 20 


NOTES ON TREE PLANTING AT SAN JORGE, URUGUAY. 233 
acres, but possibly one or two may have as much, or even a little 
more, 

The government of Uruguay recognises the utility of tree 
plantation, and exempts from the yearly land-tax land planted 
with trees of a minimum area of (I believe) 100 acres. I claimed 
exemption two years ago, which was granted. I do not think 
any other exemption was made in our department, but there may 
have been in other departments. 

With one or two exceptions all the labourers who have been 
working for me at plantation and other work are natives of the 
country—I might almost say, of San Jorge. 


234 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XVI. The Forest School at Eberswalde. By A. C. ForBEs, 
Farnham Royal, Slough, Bucks. 


The Royal Forest Academy at Eberswalde, in the province of 
Brandenburg, is (in conjunction with the Forest School at Munden, 
in Hanover) specially intended for the training of candidates for 
the Prussian forest service, and is controlled by the Minister of 
Agriculture, Domains, and Forests. Neustadt, Eberswalde, in 
the centre of which the academy stands, is a thriving and rapidly 
increasing town, about thirty miles north of Berlin, and is con- 
nected with the capital by the railroad between Berlin and Stettin. 
It possesses a population of about 16,000 inhabitants, and contains 
several extensive manufacturing works, which together employ a 
great number of hands. It doubtless owes much of its prosperity 
to the fact that it lies along the route of the Finow Canal, which 
skirts the north side of the town, and which affords cheap transit 
of goods either to Berlin or Stettin. This canal joins the river 
Oder at Oderberg, a town about twelve miles from Eberswalde, 
where many large saw-mills exist ; and large quantities of timber 
are floated down to Stettin, there to be manufactured and shipped. 
Several large saw-mills also exist at Eberswalde, for which the 
surrounding district provides abundance of raw material. The 
general appearance of the country, for miles around, closely resembles 
the counties of Moray and Nairn, although it is more heavily 
timbered, and none of those characteristic heathery moors are to 
be seen, the State being under the impression that timber-growing 
pays better than heather. The soil is extremely dry and arid, 
being little but white sand, although beds of clay and marl are met 
with here and there. Agriculture, in the immediate vicinity at 
least, cannot be said to be very highly developed, being chiefly con- 
fined to the cultivation of rye, potatoes, etc., the damper portions 
laid down to pasture, the nature of the soil being rather infertile 
generally. 

The town of Neustadt, Eberswalde, consists of two portions, the 
older lying to the east, with the streets rather narrow and badly 
paved, but they are kept very clean, and appear to have been laid 
out with some regularity. The older houses are almost entirely of 
wood, and substantially built. In the newer portion the streets 
are broader, and planted with trees, the principal street leading to 
the railway station being fully a quarter of a mile in length, while 
a still longer one has been anticipated by planting a double row of 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 235 


trees, extending in a westerly direction from the town. On the 
south side the ground rises rapidly to the margin of the forest, 
which extends both right and left for several miles. The ground 
on the left side of an oblong sheet of water, formed by the widening 
of a small stream, and which lies close to the old town, is laid out 
with beds of shrubs; a broad walk planted with trees, running 
through its entire length, being the most frequented promenade in 
the town. In the centre a small cairn of boulders has been erected 
to the memory of those natives of the town who fell in the wars of 
1864-66 and 1870-71. A continuation of this promenade leads to 
the forest garden of the academy, which is open to the public. 
Numerous restaurants and hotels are erected along the road leading 
to the garden, the special facilities for enjoyable walks and drives 
which the district provides causing a great number of families in 
Berlin, etc., to make it a summer resort. The town also possesses 
several thousand acres of forest land, part of which is laid out with 
walks, and provided with seats, etc., and contains several small 
sheets of water in which aquatic plants, etc., have been placed, 
while a shooting range and gymnasium provide recreation for the 
male sex. This town forest is managed very much in the same 
way as the surrounding State forests, except that clear fellings are 
not performed in the part devoted to the public, and no removal of - 
trees allowed that would interfere with the amenity of the forest ; 
and, at the same time, no extravagant “landscape” improvements 
have interfered with its natural aspect. A few acres near the rail- 
way station, which command an extensive view of the surrounding 
country, are being laid out as a public garden, with beds and 
miniature lakes. 

The original commencement of forestal instruction at Eberswalde 
was in 1830, the school itself having been in existence at Berlin for 
the previous ten years, being connected there with the university. 
The cause of its removal from that city was solely on account of 
there being no available forests for practical demonstrations, it 
being found that the references to forestry work and administration 
were in many cases imperfectly understood by the students, while 
the instruction given was of too theoretical a nature. This led to a 
large private residence being purchased in Eberswalde, and converted 
into a school in 1830, the number of students transferred to it from 
Berlin being twenty-five, while the teaching staff consisted of three 
professors only—one for natural history, mathematics, and forest 
science respectively. The following outline of the ultimate develop- 


236 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


ment of the school, extracted from a work published by Dr 
Danckelmann in 1880,! may prove interesting :—‘‘ The number of 
new students admitted during the first session of 1830 was thirteen, 
making a total of thirty-eight altogether. In 1831-32 the forest 
garden was laid out, partly as a botanical garden, and partly as an 
experimental garden in connection with forest trees. In 1836 a 
lecturer on civil law, in relation to forests, was appointed. In the 
following year a seed-kiln was erected in the forest garden (a model 
of which is in the museum of the academy). In 1850, twenty 
years after its removal from Berlin, arrangements were made for 
imparting the whole of the scientific instruction at the academy, 
the students hitherto being required to attend the university at 
Berlin for certain subjects, before they were admitted to the higher 
branches of the State service. The following year a second professor 
of forest science was appointed, and another forest garden was 
formed at Chroin,in one of the Oberforstereien in which instruction 
is given. In 1866 a chemical laboratory was erected, and a pro- 
fessor and assistant of inorganic chemistry appointed. In this year, 
also, a regulation was made to the effect that students who intended 
to go through a full course of instruction should only be admitted 
at the beginning of the summer session of each year, they having 
- previously been taken in at any period of the year. In 1867 an 
assistant to the professor of natural science was appointed, and 
two years later the appointment of a professor of zoology caused 
the botanical and zoological departments to become distinct 
branches, they having up to this time been combined under one 
professor. In 1871 a special lecturer on forest formation was 
appointed ; and from July 20th of the previous year, until the 
lst May of this year, the school was closed in consequence of the 
Franco-German War, many of the students being required to take 
up arms. An important further development of the work of the 
academy took place in 1872, by the organisation of five depart- 
ments for carrying on researches in forest technology—chemistry 
and physics, meteorology, plant physiology, and zoology—all con- 
ducted by the professors connected with the academy. In 1873 the 
increasing number of students, as well as accommodation for the 
various researches and collections, rendered the erection of new 
buildings necessary, and a commencement was made with the present 
buildings, which were finished in 1876. In this year also important 
alterations were made in respect to the admittance of students, 
1 ‘Pie Forstakademie Eberswalde vom 1830 bis 1880 ” (B. Danckelmann). 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 237 


which are still in force. In 1874 a lecturer on forest road con- 
struction, plan drawing, etc., was appointed, which brings the staff 
of teachers nearly up to its present strength. The establishment of 
a station for fish-breeding trials was brought about in 1877, when 
the completion of the various provisions for instruction may be 
said to have been accomplished. ‘The increase in the number of 
students has been very gradual, the smallest number that attended 
during any session being three years after its removal from Berlin, 
when only twenty-one were attending the winter session of 1833. 
For the first ten years the average number for each session was 
only thirty-three, or five less than the attendance during the first 
one. During the next ten years the average for the whole time 
amounted to fifty-seven. At the end of 1860 it was seventy-six. 
The end of the next decade showed a diminution to fifty-five, these 
years being the period in which the Forest School at Munden was 
opened, resulting in the removal of many students from Eberswalde 
to that place. At the end of 1880 there were eighty-three attend- 
ing, and at the present time one hundred and twenty (of whom 
thirteen are foreigners), or an increase of about eighty students 
since its commencement in 1830.” The above figures may not be 
of great interest in themselves, but they serve to show what has 
been gradually built up from a small beginning, and may throw a 
little light on the long-disputed question regarding the feasibility of 
a Scottish school of forestry. 

The present academy, finished in 1876, is a handsome red _ brick 
structure three storeys in height, having a frontage of 110 feet 
and a width of 85 feet. It stands immediately outside the old 
town, and in front of it, on the opposite side of the road, is a small 
piece of ground, laid out with flower-beds and shrubs, which is 
under the charge of the director. The old buildings (now the 
residence of the director, and also containing the library and 
bureau) stand a few yards to the left of it, while a church occupies 
the ground to the right, so that no incongruous erections are 
possible. ‘The entrance is in the form of a portico, supported by 
two brick columns, to the right and left of which are the rooms 
occupied by the ground-oflicer and laboratory attendant, the remain- 
ing portion of the basement being occupied by wood and coal stores, 
lumber rooms, ete. A broad flight of stone steps leads up to the 
entrance hall, in which notices of excursions, lectures, etc., are 
posted up in a frame provided for the purpose. On this floor are 
the reading-room for the students, lecture-room for chemistry and 


238 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


mineralogy, experimental workroom, chemical laboratory for in- 
struction, room for weighing, and chemical hand collection, geological 
hand collection, geological and chemical laboratory for researches, 
mineralogical workroom for the professor, and geological museum. 
From the entrance hall a broad flight of stairs leads up to the 
second floor, which, so far as arrangement goes, is a counterpart of 
the one below and above it. This floor contains the forestry and 
chase museum, geodesy and physical collections, meteorological 
workroom, conference and reading-room for the professors, and 
lecture-rooms for forest science and physics and mathematics. The 
top floor holds the botanical and zoological museums, lecture-rooms 
and workrooms for the same department, drawing-room for plan 
drawing. The lecture-rooms are fairly large, well-lighted rooms, 
with desk accommodation for about one hundred students; the 
lecturer’s desk being placed at the end, at the back of which 
hangs a black board. In each lecture-room is a plan of the 
seats, which are ali numbered, and each student must write 
his name on the space representing the seat he wishes to occupy 
during the session, the senior students having the right of pre- 
ference in regard to their choice and retention of formerly occupied 
seats. 

The museums are of great interest and value for purposes of 
instruction, and are very complete. The forestry, botanical, and 
zoological collections are available for inspection by the students at 
all times ; the others require special permission from the respective 
professors. The forestry museum occupies the whole width of the 
building, two rooms and a portion of the end of the passage which 
runs through the floor being fully occupied. It is divided into 
nine divisions for the sake of convenience, viz., forest construction 
tools ; appliance and contrivances for forest protection ; manipula- 
tion of wood and bark in the forest ; wood transport ; raw products 
of the forest; wood manufactured articles; utilisation of forest 
bye-products ; forest mensuration; and the chase department. 
Under the first heading are arranged all the numerous tools and 
machines for planting and sowing, as well as for the preparation of 
the ground, These consist of many tools and implements that 
would be well worth describing if space permitted, as they are 
probably rarely seen outside the district in which they are used. 
Planting spades, rakes, ground preparers and breakers, models of 
ploughs and harrows specially invented for breaking up forest land, 
sowing machines, pruning tools, ete., are all represented, while the 


- 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 239 


price of the implement is always stated on the label. The forest 
protection department contains models of erections for protecting 
young plants from frost, insects, animals, etc. The third division 
is rather a large one, containing the various tools used for felling 
timber and preparing it for sale, such as axes, saws, apparatuses 
for numbering felled timber, bark stripping tools, etc. The wood 
transport section is perhaps the most interesting of the whole, and 
consists principally of models of timber slides, sledges, rafts, 
tramways, etc., for the removal of timber from the forest, many of 
the specimens being models from actual erections in the Black 
Forest, and are very ingenious contrivances. The raw product 
division comes next, with specimens of the various barks and 
tanning materials in the raw condition, together with the smaller 
woods which are less frequently utilised. The wooden products 
occupy a considerable space, with specimens and models of almost 
every imaginable article that wood can be turned into, with the 
tools necessary for their manufacture. The seventh division, 
utilisation of raw products, exhibits the various ways in which 
seeds, etc., can be utilised ; models of factories, and inventions for 
the extraction of tar, resin, etc.; specimens of coniferous timber 
tapped for resin, wood paper, peat, charcoal burning, and various 
other specimens and models of great interest in forest economy. 
The eighth division is devoted to the various instruments used in 
calculating the height and cubic contents of trees, and also a 
number of specimens and sections showing the growth at different 
periods in various timber species, and the results of thinning, ete. 
The last division is devoted to the relics of the chase, or rather its 
bearing on forest management, containing specimens of traps and 
snares used for trapping the injurious animals, and means of 
encouraging the useful animals and birds. Casts of the footprints 
of various animals are shown in plaster of Paris; and nesting 
boxes and other means and appliances for providing accommodation 
for the insectivorous birds show the great importance attached to 
their encouragement in German forests. In addition to these nine 
departments are a few cases containing specimens of the more 
common fungi and parasites which injure standing trees and seed- 
lings, and also diagrams and tables setting forth the result of 
various experiments in transplanting and thinning. A complete 
catalogue of the whole collection is to be found in the museum for 
reference, while several other explanatory books and pamphlets are 
laid about here and there for providing further information. The 


240 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


total number of specimens in this collection is about twelve 
hundred. 

The botanical collection consists of two divisions, one general, 
and the other containing specimens relating more particularly to 
forestry. The latter contains specimens of all the various fungi 
that attack dead or living trees, both in wood, bark, and leaf. 
Abnormal growth in trees, and the sections showing the healing of 
wounds after natural or artificial pruning, are numerous, and many 
extraordinary specimens are to be seen. The fruit and seeds of all 
the various trees and shrubs occupy the centre of this room, either 
dried or preserved in spirits. On a table beneath the window lie 
small sections of all the indigenous and introduced timber trees and 
shrubs. These sections are numbered, while the names are to be 
found on a card beside them, and also a large tabulated summary of 
their most prominent characteristics which are recognisable by the 
naked eye. The advantage of this system over that of naming the 
sections at once, is that the student is able to use his power of dis- 
crimination between the various species more easily than if the name 
were straight before his eyes, and thus is more likely to become 
acquainted with their characters. The other division of this collec- 
tion occupies another room, and consists chiefly of dried specimens 
of the indigenous plants of Europe, together with large wax models 
of representative species of the chief natural orders. This room 
also contains a collection of dried fruits of forest trees in boxes, 
numbered and named in the same way as the wood sections. An 
adjoining room, which is used partly as a workroom by the pro- 
fessor, contains a valuable collection of woods in four large eases, 
timbers from all parts of the world being represented. A large 
herbarium stands in the passage of this floor, the plants being placed 
in boxes opening like a book, and arranged in cases in the same 
way as in a bookcase. Large radial sections of typical growth of 
the common forest trees stand in the passage of the second floor, 
with particulars of their age, height, and locality in which they 
were grown. 

To the general observer, the zoological collection would probably 
prove the most interesting of the whole of the museum in the 
academy. It also occupies two rooms, aud, like the botanical, 
contains both a general and special division. The great feature 
of the former is the splendid collection of European birds, which 
occupy the greater part of one room, and contain many rare and 
interesting specimens. Of equal interest to the forester is the 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 241 


large collection of specimens of bark and wood injured by various 
animals and insects. These consist both of small specimens under 
cases and also of larger blocks arranged round the walls, showing 
the characteristic way in which the insect works. Specimens 
illustrating the work of woodpeckers and other kindred species are 
also shown, and also the dust left in the galleries of wood-boring 
beetles, etc. The insects themselves, together with many others of 
less importance, are arranged in cases fixed on a revolving stand. 
The other part of this collection consists chiefly of forest mammals 
and skeletons of the same, and also a collection of horns of 
different species of deer. It is rather interesting to note in 
connection with this collection, the great number of specimens of 
seedlings and young trees injured by the various members of the 
mouse family, and by the extent of the injuries inflicted one might 
easily mistake them for the work of a larger animal. As in 
connection with the insect pest, so here also are shown the remains 
of seeds and fruits after their edible portions have been devoured 
by the animals. Specimens of hoofs and paws of the larger 
animals are exhibited in order that their remains may be recognised 
if met with in the forest, great importance being attached to 
everything in connection with the chase. 

In the chemical and physical museum are shown the majority 
of the various organic and inorganic elements commonly met with, 
and also a small collection of metals. The physical portion consists 
of instruments used in various scientific observations in connection 
with meteorology, chemistry, electricity, and microscopy, besides 
various inventions for the purpose of demonstrating the laws of 
physics and mechanics. 

The collections in connection with mineralogy and geodesy con- 
tain specimens and instruments relating to those sciences, and do 
not require detailing. 

In the drawing-class room are several very interesting maps of 
forest districts, and also models in plaster of the principal mountain 
ranges in Germany, showing the arrangement of the forest com- 
partments. 

The library, which is placed in a portion of the old buildings, 
contains between five and six thousand works on all subjects con- 
nected with forest science, and also on the allied branches of 
agriculture and gardening. According to the catalogue of 1885, 
the following number of books on the various branches were 
present :—250 on forest and chase history; 134 text-books on forest 


242 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


science ; 225 on forest formation and tree culture; 87 on forest 
protection; 167 on forest utilisation; 289 on forest valuation; 244 
on forest administration; 66 on forest engineering; 291 on 
mathematics ; 47 on natural science in general; 128 on physics; 
27 on mechanics ; 19 on astronomy; 148 on meteorology ; 182 on 
chemistry ; 395 on geology; 376 on political economy; 251 on 
agriculture, gardening, etc. ; 380 on botany ; 293 on zoology; 456 
on law; 353 on geography; 194 on the chase; 198 copies of 
reports, periodicals, etc.; and 156 miscellaneous works. It is 
open on two days in the week for the taking out and return of 
books, the numbers of those required having to be written on a 
piece of paper, and dropped into a box provided for the purpose. 
The forest garden, as it is called, is about half a mile from the 
academy, and is in reality part of the Eberswalde forest. It 
contains about 15 acres, the greater part of which is under fir and 
beech forest, the introduced species being planted in clumps here 
and there, with rustic fencing round them for protection, At 
the back of the ‘seed-kiln is a large nursery for raising the plants 
required, and the shooting ranges for the use of the students are 
also here. This nursery is partly taken up by clumps of various 
conifer, which are never mixed with each other, but always kept 
in separate clumps, so that their behaviour under ordinary forest 
conditions may be observed. A smaller nursery for raising the 
ordinary forest trees also exists a few yards from this one, and 
which contains high spruce hedges along both sides of the walks. 
The botanical garden, which is placed on the margin of the 
forest garden, and forms part of the latter, is about three acres in 
extent, and is bounded on the lower side by the small stream which 
flows through Eberswalde. In outline it is somewhat oval, while 
the surface in the centre is high and undulating, and on the right 
and left sides low and flat, so that it presents a great variety of 
surface for treatment. About the centre stands a handsome 
granite column, surmounted by a white marble cross, erected in 
1873 to the memory of those forest officers and former students of 
the academy who fell or died of wounds in the wars of 1864-66 
and 1870-71, twenty-one names in all being inscribed upon it. 
At the lower side of the garden a clump of beech and Scots fir 
provide suitable accommodation for a rustic summer-house, while 
on the ground beneath the trees are planted numerous shade-loving 
and herbaceous plants natives of the forest. The undulating 
portion in the centre is laid out in irregularly-shaped beds, which 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE, 243 


are bordered with neatly trimmed spruce hedges, between which 
are dry gravel walks. In these beds are arranged the different 
species of the smaller genera of forest trees and shrubs, and also 
the majority of the conifers, the lower lying portion of the garden 
not being suitable for the healthy growth of the latter. Each bed 
contains one or two complete genera, which are planted sufficiently 
wide apart to allow their natural habit to be seen, the larger species 
occupying the centre, and the smaller the margins of the beds. 
The surface between the plants is kept neatly raked or planted 
with annuals or herbaceous plants. The names are painted in 
legible black letters on white porcelain tablets, which are affixed 
to stout wooden pegs. To the right and left of this central portion 
the ground is laid out in grass, and is of rather a peaty nature, the 
central portion being sandy. The left-hand portion is intersected 
with gravel walks, between which the larger deciduous genera 
have been planted, while a number of the specimens of the spruce 
family are also planted here. The right-hand side is not yet laid 
out, except the portion occupied by the collection of willows at the 
lower side, and a few beds of herbaceous plants. Altogether this 
garden has been laid out in a highly pleasing manner, and contains 
a very complete collection of plants, and thoroughly well accom- 
plishes the purpose for which it was intended. The plants 
throughout are very healthy, and appear likely to produce good 
specimens in time, although they have not as yet had time to reach 
a great size. 

On the high ground above the town is the Meteorological Station, 
which stands in a thick part of the Scots fir forest. It is one of 
thirteen stations distributed over Prussia, and which are placed in 
either spruce, pine, or beech forests. The Eberswalde station 
stands about 140 feet above sea-level, and on a dry sandy soil, and 
consists of two sets of instruments, one in the forest, and the other 
set about 100 yards from the margin of the forest, on an open, 
freely exposed piece of ground, the two sets being about 300 yards 
distant from each other. They are both enclosed by strong wooden 
fences, and contain complete sets of instruments for observations 
on the temperature of the air, moisture, rainfall, evaporation, 
temperature of the soil at six different depths, direction and 
strength of the wind, amount of shade and sunshine, etc., both in 
and outside the forest, and other special meteorological events. 
The observations are under the direction of the professor of 
physics, and are published at regular periods. In the forest station 

VOL, XIII. PART II. R 


244 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


observations are also made at a height of about 50 feet from the 
ground by means of a stand nailed to the trees, access to which is 
obtained by means of a set of ladders nailed from tree to tree. 
Each enclosure also contains a small office for making the necessary 
entries on the spot, the principal work being carried on in a room 
provided for the purpose in the academy. 

A small fish-hatching station has been erected about an hour’s 
walk from the academy, in a portion of the Eberswalde forest, in 
which artificial trout-breeding is carried on, while several small 
ponds in the vicinity are stocked with trout and carp. 

A small vegetating house at the back of the academy is used 
for experiments in connection with the botanical and soil analytical 
departments, the mentioning of which brings the description of the 
academy’s subsidiary belongings to a close. 

As may be expected, the forests in the vicinity are very extensive, 
and afford a wide field for excursions and instruction. The Ober- 
forstereien specially made use of for purposes of instruction are four 
in number, viz., Eberswalde, Biesenthal, Chroin, and Trienwalde. 
The two former adjoin, and lie to the south and east of the town, 
Chroin lies to the north-east, while Trienwalde lies at a consider- 
able distance to the south-east. The three former are intersected 
by the railway between Stettin and Berlin, while the last-named is 
also connected with Eberswalde by a branch line, so that every 
facility is afforded for reaching their farthest limits without loss of 
time. Other extensive forests lie within a short distance, so that 
no lack of material for observation exists in any direction. The 
total area of the three Oberforstereien in the immediate vicinity is 
about 40,000 acres, the greater part of which is under Scots fir 
forest, although large areas are also under beech and oak, while 
much of the better class of soil is gradually being converted into 
permanent beech or oak forest by underplanting or undersowing 
the fir. The surface of the Eberswalde and Biesenthal portion is 
flat or only slightly undulating, while the other parts are generally 
hilly, and contain a greater variety of localities, The greater part 
of the soil in all four is sand, and nothing but sand, although 
numerous beds of clay, marl, etc., exist here and there over the 
whole, and much of the low-lying land is peaty. The chief 
feature of the district is the number of large lakes which occur in 
the hollows, several of which are over 100 acres in extent, and 
form noteworthy objects in the landscape. The forests are under 
the control of the director of the academy, while the principal 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 245 


forest officers are lecturers in the same, so that both the working 
and arrangements for excursions are made as complete as possible. 

In the Chroin Oberforsterei is a large nursery in which plants 
and trees are raised for sale, and for the requirements of the 
forest. Large quantities of trees for road-side planting are also 
grown here, the practice of rendering the highways more agreeable 
to travellers, and at the same time a source of profit, being one 
which might be extended to our own country with advantage. 
The false acacia (Robinia pseudo-acacia) is largely used for this 
purpose, its moderate size and prickly nature rendering it especially 
suitable for furnishing a medium shade, while a more ornamental 
tree could scarcely be found. Adjoining this nursery are the ruins 
of a large Cistercian monastery, built in the purest Gothic style, 
and existing in a fair state of preservation. 

Numerous experiments are being carried out in these forests 
with the various introduced coniferze and deciduous trees. These 
are planted in enclosures of about 5 or 6 acres in extent, and are 
both planted alone and mixed with other species. The Douglas 
fir appears likely to thrive remarkably well here, judging from its 
appearance at present, although it must be said that it is no excep- 
tion to the other species in this respect, for the poor character of 
the soil appears to be balanced by its great depth and free nature, 
which allows root development to proceed unchecked. It is 
rather surprising that larch has not been more extensively planted 
here in the past, as from what can be gathered by the appearance 
of the few clumps that are to be seen occasionally, the soil appears 
to suit it remarkably well. It is, however, being gradually intro- 
duced into the recent sowings and plantings, and the Weymouth 
pine and the various American spruces are also being tried. 

The district contains a very rich forest flora and fauna, and a 
wide field exists for botanical and zoological excursions. Roedeer, 
wild swine, and reddeer are the chief features in the sportsman’s 
line, and hares are also rather numerous. Rabbits are conspicuous 
by their absence. Squirrels are very numerous, but appear to do 
little damage to the Scots fir here, probably owing to the abund- 
ance of beech and hornbeam, which provide them with plenty of 
more attractive food. Birds are very numerous, and many fine 
specimens of the larger woodpeckers are to be seen by the observer. 
Insects of all kinds, injurious and harmless, abound everywhere, 
although the natural condition and proportions in which bird and 
insect life are maintained, prevent any great damage being done by 


246 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the latter. Both for their preservation, and also to prevent damage 
to the trees, the deer are provided with hay in very severe winters 
in the vicinity of the recently planted ground, although it is rare 
to see any damage done to the Scots fir, the hardwoods being the 
principal sufferers. 


The Subjects on which Lectures are given, and Howrs per Week 
devoted to each, over a Two Years’ Course of Instruction at 
the Forest Academy, Eberswalde, are as follows :— 


First YEAR, SECOND YRAR. 
Subjects. Summer. Winter. || Subjects. Summer.| Winter. 
HT 
Physics, 4 | Analytical benign : ee 2 
Mechanics, : 2 Soils, : 2 e 
Chemistry (Gener al), - | 2 Compar ative value of 
fe (Inorganic and 4 important trees in 1 
Organic), | forest formation, 
Mineralogy, . 2 || Forest Valuation, 1 
Botany, 4 | ,, Ground Rent, 2 
Zoology, : : 5 oe ;, Protection, 3 ee 
Forest Formation, . ‘ = 4 | sarees Utilisation, 3 
Civil Law, 2 5 EListorys 2 
Meteorology, . : ; ne 1... iil» 450 eStatsshics = a 1 
Wood Measuring, . : 5b 2 | Plan Drawing, . 2 
Geodesy, 4 Redemption of Forest 2 
Geology, 2 : | 7 | Ground Rights, } 
Anatomy and Physio- | 4 | Repetitoriums overt 
logy of Plants, _ Physics, Mathematics, [ | 4 3 
Microscopic Demonstra- \ > || Chemistry, Botany, 
tion, - - : oF “|| Zoology, and Forestry, 
Plan Drawing, 2 || 
| | 
Total per Week, . 23 23 || Total per Week, . 16 12 


Excursions take place on three days in the week during the 
summer session of first year, and on four days during the summer 
session of second year, in connection with forestry, botany, and 
zoology. During the winter sessions, on two days in the week, in 
connection with forestry only. 

The teaching staff at the academy at the present time consists of 
thirteen professors and lecturers, in addition to the director. These 
comprise professors of physics, mineralogy and geology, chemistry, 
botany, and zoology, four forstmeisters as lecturers on forestal 
subjects, a lecturer on civil law, and two private lecturers, one on 
zoology and the other on field engineering. As already men- 
tioned, the forstmeisters have duties to perform in connection with 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE, 247 


the surrounding Oberforstereien, but, generally speaking, the greater 
part of their time is free for instruction purposes, or for the various 
researches which are carried on both by the practical and scientific 
departments of the academy, and which have resulted in many 
valuable and interesting reports.! As indicating the nature of these 
researches, the following may be cited as specimens of those carried 
out in the practical departments :— 

On the raising of seedling plants, quantities of seed required for 
given areas, preparation of the seed, and effects of transplanting on 
the growth of the plants. 

On the depth of the earth-covering of seeds. 

Trials of planting tools, seed-sowing machines, ete. 

Trials of germinators. 

On the thinning of oak, beech, Scots fir, and spruce forests. 

On pruning forest trees. 

On the behaviour and value of Douglas fir in the German forests. 

On the grubbing and removal of tree roots. 

On the comparative value of saws. 

On the yield of oak and beech seed. 

On the height growth of different species. 

On the proportion of branches to stem at different ages and 
periods of the year, etc., etc. 

The other experiments in connection with the scientific side are of 
an equally important nature, and all tend to show the great value 
of the work carried on at the institution in connection with forest 
science in all its various branches. 

In addition to his other duties, the director also edits a forestry 
periodical, which is issued monthly, and usually contains contribu- 
tions from the various professors and others outside the teaching 
staff. In his clerical duties he has the assistance of two clerks, 
one of whom acts as librarian. A conference is held weekly by 
the director and professors for the purpose of making arrangements 
and necessary alterations in connection with the instruction, and 
other business matters. At the commencement of every session a 
plan of study and lectures is drawn up by the director after con- 
sultation with his colleagues, and printed copies posted up in the 
lecture-rooms, etc. This plan includes two courses, in order to 
meet the requirements and convenience of those students who enter 

1 In this work they have the assistance of seven forest assessors, who are 


employed chiefly in attending to the details of the experiments, and keeping 
the necessary records, 


248 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the academy in different years, and also to prevent the lectures 
overlapping. A student who wishes to do so may, however, take 
up any subject he chooses, independently of this plan, although 
those who intend to take a full course must follow it to a certain 
extent, otherwise they will be unable to finish their studies within 
the prescribed time. The average number of hours per day spent 
in the lecture-rooms are not more than five for the five days in the 
week on which lectures are given, and these are almost entirely 
confined to the morning in the summer session, a commencement 
being made at 7 a.m. A lecture which occupies more than one 
hour is always divided into two parts, by a break of a quarter of an 
hour in the middle, in order to prevent any weariness or inattention 
resulting from a long sitting. Great importance is attached to 
“‘yepetitoriums,” in which the ground of former lectures is glanced 
rapidly over, bringing out the most important points in the various 
subjects. These are given frequently during the second part of the 
course, so that the student may be kept up to the mark in every- 
thing from the beginning. 

The afternoons of two days in the week, and the whole of the 
Saturday, are devoted to excursions during the summer session, 
while for the students of the second course, the Wednesday also is 
taken up in this way. In the winter session excursions only take 
place on the Wednesday and Saturday. These excursions rarely 
occupy more than half a day, the forestry excursions being of course 
the longest and farthest afield. They are duly notified in the hall 
of the academy some few hours or days beforehand, the time and 
place of rendezvous and also the theme being given. The lecturer 
there meets the students, and a lecture lasting the best part of an 
hour is given if the subject is in connection with any special work 
or sylvicultural system, in order to explain its adoption and the 
conditions under which it must be modified. In the case of 
practical work, such as sowing or planting, the cost of the work 
under different methods is stated, and the older students are 
usually invited to show their proficiency in the work. Sometimes 
the excursions are of a more rambling character, and several miles 
have to be traversed in order to demonstrate the subject in different 
parts of the forest, anything met with on the way that calls for any 
special notice being duly observed and commented upon, At every 
excursion a reporter is selected from among the students, who is 
obliged to draw up a complete report of the excursion and the 
explanation given, so far as they relate to the theme. These 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 249 


reports are passed by the director, and are then pasted into a book 
placed in the reading-room of the academy, and prove of great 
value for reference, as well as for furnishing information to the 
students of the other course, the two courses having each a set of 
excursions distinct from each other, the first course excursions being 
of a more elementary character than those of the second. Frequent 
visits to the botanic garden are also made during the summer 
session under the professors of botany, when the various trees and 
shrubs are in flower, and their different characteristics pointed out, 
or a number of specimens may be laid down with numbers attached, 
and the students required to write down the names in their note- 
books, the professors afterwards reading out the names.! 

The course of study at the academy extends over two years, or 
four sessions, beyond which a student is not allowed to remain, 
except under exceptional circumstances. The summer session 
begins at Easter and finishes at the latter end of August. The 
winter session begins in October and finishes a fortnight before 
Easter, a week at Whitsuntide and Christmas being the only inter- 
sessional holidays allowed. The instruction given in these two 
years is very comprehensive, and includes subjects in the funda- 
mental, technical, and accessory branches. Under the first-named 
are comprised physics, meteorology and mechanics, chemistry, 
mineralogy and geology, botany, zoology, and mathematics. The 
technical subjects taken up are the history and literature of forests, 
position of forestry in political and rural economy, regeneration 
of forests, preservation and utilisation of forests and forest pro- 
duce, forest mensuration and valuation, forest statistics, forest 
politics and administration, and redemption of forest ground 
rights. The accessory are civil law, forest roads and timber 
transport, the chase and fish-breeding. The fundamental and 
accessory subjects are not gone into further than their bearing on 
forestry necessitates, while much of the former division has been 
imparted to the student in a general way before he reaches the 
academy. 

The conditions under which candidates for the State service are 
admitted to the academy are fairly strict, but are not connected 


1Jn addition to these local excursions, a more protracted one, lasting 
about a fortnight, is undertaken at the close of the summer session of every 
alternate year, the locality chosen being one in which different methods of 
culture and varieties of soil exist which are not represented in the vicinity 
of the academy. 


250 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


with competitive examinations. The candidate must possess 
certificates of having passed satisfactorily through a gymnasium or 
high school under the control of the State, and special proficiency 
must have been shown by him in mathematics. He must have 
served an apprenticeship of at least one year under a State forester, 
and show the necessary certificates of the same. He must have 
led a blameless and strictly moral life, and possess medical testi- 
mony in regard to his physical soundness and constitution. He 
must not be above twenty-five years of age at the time his studies 
at the academy begin. He must furnish proof of his possession of 
sufficient means to bear the necessary expenses of his course at the - 
academy. And further, he must have already passed a session or 
so at some university, have served his term of military service, and, 
in addition to his apprenticeship, have passed a certain time in the 
forests employed in the various work connected with wood-measur- 
ing, surveying, levelling, etc., special importance being attached to 
the two latter subjects. He may either go through the whole 
course at the academy, or he may spend one year at Eberswalde 
and the other at Munden, the plan of instruction at both academies 
being so adjusted as to render this course available without great 
inconvenience, and is recommended by the authorities, as, although 
the theoretical and scientific instruction is practically the same at 
both, the different districts in which they are situated furnish a 
variety of practical work and methods for the excursions. After 
the necessary certificates, etc., have been produced by the candidate, 
he receives a matriculation ticket from the director, which he is 
required to carry about with him at all times, and to produce if 
necessary. This ticket must be given up again before the student 
leaves the academy, and if he should happen to lose it, must apply 
for a fresh one at once. At the commencement of his studies he 
has also to fill in a form with the subjects he intends to take up 
during the session, which must then be signed by the respective 
professors both at the commencement and end of the session 
or course, the date on which the respective signatures were 
made being also entered. ‘This form takes the place of a roll- 
call, the regular attendance being left to the student’s common 
sense.! 


1 The matriculation fee for State candidates and all others intending to 
take the full course is fifteen marks, while the fees for the whole lectures are 
seventy-five marks each session, or less if only a portion of the lectures are 
taken. Hospitanten who are admitted to the academy pay a matriculation 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. Oi 


The students find their own lodgings in the town, but are 
obliged to conform to the rules of the academy drawn up for their 
control by the director, although they are rather precautionary than 
intended for strict observance. He must notify his address to the 
director within twenty-four hours after receiving his matriculation 
card, and this address is inserted in a list opposite his name, which 
lies in the reading-room. The life of the forest student is in almost 
every respect similar to that led at any of our Scottish universities, 
and is, generally speaking, a very pleasant one. The majority wear 
the forest uniform, consisting of light green tunic and trousers and 
dark green peaked cap, but its adoption is quite optional, and must 
be provided at the student’s expense. 

At the expiration of the two years’ course at the academy the 
candidate has another session to pass at some university before 
being allowed to stand for the first forestal examination which 
takes place at the academy, and embraces the majority of the 
subjects in which instruction has been given. It is held bya 
special commission appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, and 
is both written and oral, and also practical, the latter taking place 
in the forest. The passing of this examination ranks the candidate 
as a “‘ Forest referendar,” and in the event of his failing to pass, he 
is allowed to come up again the following year, but if failing to 
pass within two years after the first attempt, he is excluded from 
further probation. Before being admitted to this examination, he 
has also to produce a special plan of not less than 100 hectares of 
forest, a working plan of 500 hectares, and a lineal section 2 kilo- 
metres in length, all prepared by himself without assistance. The 
next move that he is obliged to make is to get himself placed under 
a. State forester for two years further practice. The first six 
months of this period are passed in the performance of all the 
duties connected with the practical management and superintend- 
ence of forest operations, under the direction of the Oberforster of 
the division he is in. The next five months are passed in the 
same division ; but during this period he has complete control over 
the superintendence, and receives no assistance from, and ig not 
interfered with by, the Oberforster, unless exceptional causes for 
such arise. The succeeding four months are passed in work 


fee of ten marks for every session, and the same fees for the lectures as the 
other students. These fees are paid into the academy bureau, the professors 
having nothing whatever to do with them, either directly or as a portion of 
their salaries, 


252 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


connected with the higher branches of forest administration, as the 
preparation of working plans, valuations, ete. The remaining 
period of his training is passed under different Oberforsters in the 
same sort of work, and he is then, seven years after commencing 
his forestal training, allowed to stand for the State examination, 
after passing which he becomes ‘ Forest assessor,” and practically 
enters the forest service as a salaried officer. During his last two 
years probation he must keep a diary of his daily work and 
occupation, noting the division which he was in, and also any 
special incident that came under his observation. This diary must 
be inspected and signed by the Oberforster before he leaves his 
district, and must be produced at the final examination. 

In addition to the above ordinary course of entering the forest 
service are two others connected with service in the Feld and 
Foot-Jager Corps. The former course involves a seven years’ 
service in the Feld-Jager Corps after the yearly apprenticeship in 
the forest, the corps being stationed in the town of Eberswalde, so 
that the necessary facilities for receiving the instruction at the 
academy are present. The members are provided with free quarters 
and firing, their other necessities they must furnish themselves, the 
ability to do which they must furnish proof of before their admis- 
sion to the corps. In the case of the Foot-Jager the military 
service is shorter, and the conditions somewhat different, but in 
both cases the service, or part of it, counts as student time in 
qualifying for the examinations, the latter being the same in all 
three cases. 

Such is a brief outline of the training to which the aspirant for 
forest service in Prussia is subjected, and it is rather surprising 
that so many are found willing to pass through it, in consideration 
of the comparatively small remuneration given at the end of it. 
The advantages are, however, greater than would appear at first 
sight. In the first place, the life of the forest officer is not one of 
very severe work, either physically or mentally, and has many 
attractions for a lover of sport. Everything in connection with 
the administrative duties are all cut and dried, it may almost be 
said, years beforehand, while the formule for the necessary revisions 
and alterations in the working plans, etc., have been well instilled 
into him during his long training. He has the results of centuries 
of observation and research at his finger ends, and scarcely a con- 
tingency can arise but what he has already been warned of its 
liability to occur. When he takes charge of a division he finds 


THE FOREST SCHOOL AT EBERSWALDE. 253 


everything in the same order in which he is expected to leave it, 
and he is not handicapped during the first few years by having to 
make up and overtake arrears of work, ete. 

The life may appear monotonous, and probably would be to one 
with no taste for the profession, but the conditions under which he 
enters the service render this almost impossible, as unless he has 
considerable interest in his work, the acquirement of the knowledge 
necessary in order to pass the examinations is almost too great a 
task to be undertaken. The training of the forest officer is of such 
a nature as to develop his powers of observation to the utmost, and 
his acquaintance with- the habits and life-histories of the various 
birds, insects, ete., and their bearing on his profession, tends to 
occupy his mind in a manner quite unknown to the ordinary 
individual. 

That such a thorough training is absolutely necessary is a 
matter of opinion, but the results which have followed it tend to 
prove that it is not thrown away. At first sight there is nothing 
remarkably striking in German forests to lead one to suppose that 
they are managed on the scientific principles that they are, but 
when the detail with which they are worked is once understood, 
and the minute researches which have been carried out in every 
branch of the science, it must be admitted that little has been left 
undone that the most exacting could desire. 


254 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XVII. Trees Best Adapted for Various Soils. By A. D. 
Wesster, Hollydale, Keston, Kent. 


There is, perhaps, no soil so bad or barren that may not be 
rendered profitable by judicious tree-planting ; but, as might be 
expected, there is often a great want of knowledge as to the 
proper kind of trees to be chosen to suit a particular soil. Where 
the plantations are intended mainly for profit, grouping of the 
trees according to soil and situation will be found the surest 
method of attaining such an end. 

In looking over a large extent of woodland one will generally 
be struck with the great disproportion in size of the individual 
trees of a species ; but it will generally be noticed that where the 
largest and healthiest occur the tree is usually growing upon its 
own soil, and is found to be flourishing at the expense of all 
around it. 

Thus the finest oaks will be found where the soil is deep and 
loamy, resting on clay; beech upon a calcareous gravel, resting 
on a bed of chalk; ash and elm on a dampish loamy gravel ; 
birch in a light black loam, with a gravelly substratum ; Spanish 
chestnut in a good loamy soil, not too damp; the mountain ash 
at a good elevation, in a rather light soil ; horse-chestnut in deep 
loam, dry at the bottom; the Scots and Corsican pines, Pinus 
sylvestris and P, Laricio, at fairly high altitudes, and in gravelly 
well-drained soils; and the Cluster and Aleppo pines (P. Pinaster 
and P. halepensis) in almost pure sand on the sea-coast. 

Some trees grow rapidly enough for a few years in almost any 
soil, but after a time they gradually show signs of distress, make 
little or no progress, and ultimately become stunted and ill- 
grown; or, should the soil be very unfavourable, they die outright. 
Instances of such are unfortunately far too common wherever 
one travels over the country, trees of a kind that are utterly 
unfitted for the particular class of soil being planted in a kind of 
haphazard way, and without any consideration of their individual 
requirements. 

For all practical purposes with reference to tree culture, soils, 
generally speaking, may be divided into six distinct classes— 
peaty, chalky or limey, gravelly, clayey, loamy, and such as con- 
tain ironstone, coal, etc.,—and so as to render the subject as 
concise as possible we will treat each soil separately, giving a 
list of the trees best suited for growing thereon. 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 255 


Peat.—Few trees will succeed well on an unreclaimed peat bog, 
but where draining and soiling have been attended to at the out- 
set, the numbers that grow and produce a fair amount of valuable 
timber are almost without limit among our generally cultivated 
trees. On recently examining several large plantations that were 
formed eighteen years ago on deep peat, on an estate in Ulster 
within a few miles of Lough Neagh, a useful lesson was learnt as 
to the best trees for planting on this kind of soil. Previous to being 
planted, the peat was generally of the kind which is largely used 
for fuel in Ireland, deep, damp, and in some places almost a quag- 
mire, yielding to the tread, and unsafe to stand upon. A wide 
and deep ditch was opened along the lowest part of the ground, 
and smaller drains run at nearly right angles to the main, usually 
in the damper places where they were most required. This was 
carried out fully a year before planting, and it had a decided 
effect in consolidating the ground for pitting in the following 
autumn. In summer the heath, in many places fully a yard in 
length, was closely burned. Pits, about 18 inches square and 
nearly as deep, were then opened at 3 feet apart, and left exposed 
to the frost during the winter. The following March and April 
soiling and planting were carried on at the same time. ‘The soil 
used was rather stiff clayey loam brought from some distance, 
spadefuls of which were incorporated with the peat previous to 
filling the hole. 

The cost of preparing the ground before planting is apart from 
the subject of this paper, suffice it then to say that the results 
thus obtained warrant the recommending of such a method in 
connection with this class of soil. 

Among conifers that have proved themselves suitable for bog- 
planting are the Larch, Scots Pine, Common and Black Spruces 
(Abies excelsa and A. nigra). The Larch grows rapidly, and is 
perfectly free from disease ; indeed, I cannot remember having 
seen a trace of any of the diseases which have rendered the larch 
so precarious a tree in this country. In thinning a larch planta- 
tion of fully sixty years’ growth I found the trees felled to be 
perfectly healthy, and of exceptional quality, with on an average 
72 feet of wood in each. The subsoil was clay, and the bog 
previous to being planted had been cut over for fuel. Drainage 
and soiling of the pits had been duly attended to. In young 
larch plantations on deep peat bog, previously drained and soiled 
in the way above described, I have found the cubic contents to be 


256 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


fully 2} feet in eighteen years. The Scots pine grows almost as 
fast as the larch—the average in over fifty trees measured being 
about an eighth less—under similar conditions. 

Natural reproduction of the Scots pine goes on so rapidly on 
peat bog that it must be considered one of the very best trees for 
planting on it. As an example of this I may state that five acres 
of partially drained peat bog on the side of a large lake in Ireland 
is now quite clothed with a thriving crop of self-sown Scots fir, the 
seeds being carried from a clump of old trees growing at a short 
distance away. Seeing how well the young trees were thriving, 
principally along the edge of the drains, I had all the damper 
portions of the ground thoroughly drained, with the result being 
that there is now a healthy crop of fast-growing trees all over the 
ground. In order, however, to avoid bare patches, I had a few 
young trees notched in here and there wherever gaps occurred. 
I am quite aware that the wood of Scots fir is of less value than 
that of the larch, but my object here is to point out the most 
suitable trees for growing on the soil under consideration. The 
Spruces are excellent trees for planting on reclaimed peat bog, 
where they produce a fair amount of timber, and afford excellent 
shelter to other trees. 

Of hardwoods, the Beech is one of the best for bog planting, as 
it grows rapidly and produces a great amount of clean timber. 
Several trees felled in thinning a plantation of sixty years’ growth 
on deep peat, resting on clay, had straight, clean stems for 30 feet, 
and contained 75 feet of timber. The Alder grows luxuriantly on 
peaty soils, and in the plantation with the beeches just referred 
to, the greater portion of the trees were 60 feet in height, girthed 
5 feet at a yard from the ground, and showed no trace of disease. 
Another excellent bog tree is the Cherry, and the same may be 
said of the Holly. Ash and Oak are not generally of large size, 
nor are they always healthy on peat bog, even when it has received 
a great amount of attention in reclaiming. Birch, Lime, and Poplar 
of various kinds are all suited for planting on well-drained peat. 

Among the newer conifers, a large number of them are well 
suited for planting in reclaimed peat bog. By way of experiment, 
I have planted specimens of various kinds in newly formed 
plantations, and in nearly every case the trees have grown well, 
particularly when partially sheltered. Cupressus macrocarpa is 
one of the best, and not a whit behind it are C. Lawsoniana and 
C. Goveniana. Wellingtonia gigantea and Sequoia sempervirens 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 257 


have done well, while Pinus Laricio and P. austriaca grow freely. 
I find that a large number of the recently introduced conifers do 
well on prepared peat bog—that is, where a quantity of loam 
has been incorporated with the bog, and all superfluous moisture 
drained away. 

Chalky Soils.—The Beech is peculiarly well suited for planting 
in chalk districts, for it will grow and produce a large quantity 
of timber where but a few inches of loam overlie the chalk—a 
fact exemplified in Holwood Park, Kent, where trees containing 
fully 200 cubic feet of wood, with stems girthing over 20 feet, 
may be seen. It is a fact that, in order to find where the chalk 
beds lie, one has only to be guided by the line traced out by the _ 
largest and most luxuriant beeches. As to planting the beech 
on pure chalk, or where no surface soil exists, I would not think 
of doing so, at least if the production of timber was of importance. 
The beech will no doubt grow on pure chalk; but where we have 
noticed it doing best is where loam, from 1 foot to 3 feet in depth, 
overlies the chalk, or is incorporated with it. In several instances 
that have come under my notice lately in stubbing out old field 
boundaries, this was the only hardwood tree that had attained to 
a respectable size of the many natural or planted kinds; but in 
some parts the chalk cropped through, while no part had more 
than 3 or 4 inches of loam or clay overlying the chalk. 

The Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) revels in a chalky soil, 
and so does A. colchicum rubrum, which are both handsome, hardy, 
large-growing trees, and well suited for extensive forest planting 
under certain conditions of soil. White Poplar (Populus alba) is 
an excellent tree for planting in chalky districts—indeed it is 
surprising to see to what an immense size it attains on almost 
pure chalk. Where but little soil covers the chalk, however, it 
does not attain to so large dimensions as where there is a depth 
of 2 feet or so; but it will grow to a fair size even on the hard, 
dry chalk, where a particle of soil is scarcely seen. Other 
poplars that do almost equally well on the chalk formation are 
P. monilifera and P, canadensis, both excellent free-growing trees. 
Elms, particularly the Huntingdon and the American, grow 
rapidly, and attain to a large size, where but a small quantity of 
loam is present in the chalk. The Wych elm grows freely in 
chalky districts, and I was surprised, some days ago, to notice it 
growing on the side of a chalk pit in only 7 inches of gravelly 
loam. The Lime grows very freely, and attains to large size, 


258 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


where chalk abounds in the soil. False Acacia (Robinia Pseud- 
acacia) is an excellent tree for chalky soils, and there attains a 
greater size than on almost the richest of loams. The alder and 
birch also thrive with vigour on chalky soils, Indeed, most trees 
which in a state of nature grow in damp or marshy soils are well 
suited for planting where chalk is the main component of the soil, 
and this is explained as follows:—Chalk, although sufficiently 
porous to allow water to percolate through it, has, like all other 
calcareous matter, a strong attraction for water, and acts like a 
sponge in holding it in considerable quantity for a very long time. 
The alder is very largely grown in the southern counties, par- 
ticularly in Kent, for hop poles, and I have been surprised at its 
luxuriant growth on the warm chalk. 

Among the conifers that are suitable for chalky soils the Spanish 
Fir (Abies Pinsapo) is one of the best. In the chalky districts of 
Kent it thrives with unusual luxuriance. At the Rookery, near 
the village of Downe, we were shown, the other day, some of the 
largest trees of the Spanish fir that we have ever seen. The 
largest was fully 60 feet in height, with a beautifully rounded 
tapering stem, girthing at 3 feet and 5 feet from the ground 
7 feet 10 inches and 7 feet respectively. From base to tip this 
symmetrical tree is thickly furnished with branches, whose 
diameter of spread where they sweep the greensward is exactly 
35 feet. The bole contains 69 feet of timber. When we consider 
that the Spanish fir was only introduced in 1839, or little over 
fifty years ago, it must be admitted that the specimen whose 
dimensions we have just recorded has made no bad use of its 
time. The upward rate of growth has been about 15 inches 
annually, assuming it was planted in the year it was introduced, 
and the annual increment of wood fully 1 foot 3 inches. The 
soil on which this fine tree is growing is a sandy loam mingled 
with chalk, resting on pure chalk, while the situation is fully 
exposed to the worst winds of the district. Nota hundred yards 
from this specimen grows another of almost similar dimensions, 
the bole of which girths 5 feet 11 inches at 3 feet up, while the 
branches cover a diameter of nearly 30 feet. The same bright, 
healthy look characterises both trees, while the luxuriant foliage, 
particularly of the latter, quite hides the stem from view. In 
various other Kentish gardens, where only a few inches of loam 
overlie the chalk, I have noticed how rapidly the Spanish fir 
grows, and how healthy and bright is the abundantly produced 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 259 


foliage. In districts with not a particle of lime in the soil I 
have noticed this fir thriving well; but, in comparison with 
those growing on warm chalk or limestone soils, the differences 
are markedly in favour of the latter. The Mount Enos Fir (Abzes 
cephalonica) is well adapted for growing in chalky districts. In 
some places where it is of unusually robust growth, the soil is 
little else than pure chalk, with a small admixture of loam or 
vegetable matter, but yet its appearance and vigorous growth 
are such as betoken perfect health. The number of evergreen 
trees that succeed on chalky soil is well known to be limited, 
and it is important that two such beautiful conifers as the 
Spanish and Mount Enos firs should there find their most con- 
genial home. 

The Weymouth Pine (Pinus Strobus) has been recommended as 
a suitable tree for calcareous soils, which I can corroborate, for 
on the chalky downs of Kent and Surrey it grows with great 
vigour, if partially sheltered from cold, cutting winds. The Scots 
pine ranks high as a tree for planting in chalky soils. Near the 
chalk pits at Downe, in Kent, grows a noble clump of the Scots 
pine. I have never seen a better example of the “survival 
of the fittest” than is here presented, for, nature being allowed 
her freedom, the strongest trees are gradually exterminating the 
weaker. But this is not all, for by such a course of natural 
treatment clean, straight, and almost branchless trees are 
produced, which, when compared with such as have been 
allowed room to develop their side branches, are vastly 
superior in economic value. ‘This clump of Scots pine is 
growing on a bed of chalk, with only a small quantity of loam 
on the surface. 

The Giant Arbor-Vite (Zhuja gigantea) is peculiarly well suited 
for planting in chalky soils. This beautiful, quick-growing, and 
valuable timber tree is fast coming to the front for forest purposes, 
and it is often found difficult to meet the ever-increasing demand 
for young plants. The American Arbor-Vitz (7’. occidentalis) 
also does well when planted on chalky soils, if not too dry. For 
forming a screen this tree is admirably adapted ; but for timber 
or ornamental purposes we cannot say much in its favour. The 
Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Libani) is a first-class tree for the 
chalk, for finer trees than those at Goodwood, in Sussex, could 
not be seen ; and equally fine are those at Wargrave, in Berk- 
shire, where only a thin Jayer of soil overlies the chalk, The 

VOL, XII. PART Il. s 


260 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Wellingtonia (Sequoia gigantea) is also an excellent tree for 
chalky soils, in which it grows with great vigour and a very 
healthy appearance. 

Gravelly and Sandy Soils.—The Corsican pine is an excellent 
tree for planting on gravelly soils, and some of the finest specimens 
in this country are found at Penrhyn Castle, in North Wales, 
where it grows quickly to a large size in shingly gravel, and the 
timber produced in such a soil is of good quality. Some years 
ago several trees of this kind were felled, and the timber used 
for various purposes on the estate with the most satisfactory 
results. I have always noticed its preference for deep gravelly 
soil, or that of a loose porous nature. One of the trees referred 
toe growing on such soil, had attained a height of 60 feet in 
thirty-four years, while the butt end was 32 inches in diameter, 
and at 9 feet it girthed 6 feet 2 inches. The butt was free of 
branches for 18 feet, and straight as an arrow, and contained 
exactly 40 cubic feet. This fine tree was growing on the margin 
of a disused gravel pit, with hardly 3 inches of decomposed 
vegetable matter on the surface. Other examples of an almost 
similar kind might be given, but suflicient has been said to prove 
that the Corsican pine is peculiarly suitable for planting on pure 
gravel. The Scots pine on poor thin gravelly soils reproduces 
itself so freely from seed, and grows with such vigour, that it 
may be considered an eXtra well-suited tree for the afforesting of 
thin gravelly commons and similar tracts of land. The Pinaster, 
or Cluster Pine, is a most valuable tree for planting either in 
sand or gravel, as its growth in these in many parts of the 
country clearly points out. The great value of this tree in 
reclaiming sandy tracts, both at home and abroad, has been so 
often described that further reference here is not required. The 
Aleppo pine is a good companion to the Pinaster, and grows 
with greatest freedom in a sandy or gravelly soil, within the 
influence of the sea. Gravelly soil also suits the Weymouth pine 
well, for we have it growing to a large size, and looking well upon 
it here. Judging from the specimens we have cut up, the timber 
appears to be of excellent quality, and largely impregnated with 
resin. 

Beech and oak both produce a fair quantity of timber on poor 
gravelly soil. ‘The former in particular grows here with unusual 
freedom on rough gravelly soil, where hardly half a foot of loam 
overlies the gravel. To the south of Holwood House, in Kent, 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 261 


are numbers of large beech trees growing on a deep bed of gravel, 
overtopped by a few inches of yellow loam. 

Clay Soil.—The soil here referred to was genuine clay, entirely 
devoid of stones, and without a particle of sand or loam in it. It 
occurred on the slopes, and for some considerable distance from 
the sides, of one of the park roads on an estate in England; and 
as the drive was likely to be largely used by the owner of the 
property, the getting up of shelter and an ornamental fringe at 
the same time, was a matter of much importance. Pits were dug, 
and the soil taken out was thrown loosely up for about a month 
previous to planting. No fresh soil was added at time of planting. 
Nearly fifty kinds of trees and shrubs were used, but out of all 
these only about half-a-dozen are doing well, the others having 
gradually died out, or become so rusty and miserable-looking 
that their removal was compulsory. First among the trees that 
have succeeded is the Giant Arbor-Vite, which seems to revel in 
what is generally considered the most unkindly of soils. For 
some years after being planted the annual shoots measured 
15 inches in length, and the only difference between these 
trees and others of the same kind planted on rich alluvial 
deposit was the rather paler hue of the foliage. The branches 
and foliage were plentifully produced, while the stems were 
as straight and clean as could be desired. Even at the present 
time, after being planted fourteen years, all the specimens are 
in excellent health, and seem quite at home on their exposed 
and clayey site. Cryptomeria japonica has likewise done well ; 
but there were not half so many planted of it as of the Arbor-Vite. 
The trees are hardly so tall as might be expected, from the number 
of years they have been planted; but they are bushy and well- 
furnished specimens. In colour of foliage these Cryptomerias are 
not so intense a green as others growing under more favourable 
conditions. Cupressus macrocarpa has done fairly well on the 
clay; the growth certainly has not been rapid, but for all that the 
general appearance of the tree is the reverse of what one might 
expect from the unfavourable nature of the soil. Generally 
speaking, the trees of this kind are bushy and picturesque, and 
with bright healthy foliage. he Indian Cedar (Cedrus Deodara) 
we have found to be peculiarly well suited for planting on a clay 
soil. Not only is the bright silvery tint, that is so characteristic 
of this cedar when well grown, discernible in these clay-grown 
specimens, but the rate of growth is fairly rapid, and the drooping 


262 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


branchlets are shown off to perfection. Pinus austriaca has in a 
few instances where strong plants were used done remarkably 
well, the foliage being of the usual dark yew-green, and the trees 
well clothed with branches down to the ground. 

Between the groups of trees were planted clumps of ornamental 
shrubs, and the best of these is the double-flowered gorse (Ulex 
europea flore pleno). On pure clay it has grown and increased 
as freely as it will on a dry chalky bank, which is usually con- 
sidered as its natural element. 

These may be considered as the trees that have done best in 
the clayey soil under notice; a few others still exist, but their 
present appearance causes me to exclude them from this list. 
Few of the Pine tribe did well, and this may also be said of the 
spruces, cypresses, yews, junipers, arbutus, dogwood, cotoneasters, 
hollies, and others planted. It is far from advisable to plant 
trees or shrubs in such unkindly soil without first adding other 
of better quality; but it is of great value to know that there area 
few plants that will thrive almost in defiance of the stubborn and 
unkindly nature of a stiff clay soil. 

Ironstone Soils.—The district to which I mainly refer, and 
where a few trees seem to be quite at home, is on the coal and 
ironstone formation, where the top soil is shallow, and the subsoil 
consists of a loose yellowish rag that is largely impregnated with 
iron. In most places but a very small quantity of soil exists, and 
this is of the poorest description, and varying in depth according 
to the lie of the measure. For all this, several of our largest forest 
trees seem to do well, but it is principally such kinds as root deeply 
that succeed in the most satisfactory way, and are able to eke out 
an existence in such a poor and shingly soil. The Spanish Chestnut 
is one of the very best trees for this soil, growing with freedom, 
and producing a fair amount of good timber, while its appearance 
indicates perfect health. Birch and Beech do well, although neither 
of them attain to a large size. The latter reproduces itself freely 
from seed, and soon spreads wherever a footing can be got. 
Sycamore grows freely, particularly where the pan is broken up, 
and produces good timber. Another tree that seems perfectly at 
home on the coal and ironstone is the Wild Cherry, for there it 
grows to a fair size, flowers freely, and produces excellent timber. 
Larch cannot be recommended for this soil, but, in places where a 
small quantity of loam overlies the coal and ironstone, it grows 
with great freedom for a number of years, and the timber, if cut 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 263 


early, is of good quality. The Spruce soon dies out, although it 
may, for a number of years after being planted, grow freely enough 
and wear a healthy appearance. Oak and Ash do fairly well, but 
they rarely attain to a large size or produce first-class timber. 
Rhododendrons almost revel in this soil, and some of the largest 
and healthiest are growing with their roots in close contact with 
the coal and ironstone. 

Concluding Remarks.—In conclusion, it may be pointed out 
that it is only by a careful selection of soil that we may expect 
tree-planting to be successful, and I have no hesitation in saying 
that many failures can be clearly traced to errors in judgment in 
the selection of trees for planting on particular soils. The subject 
is a wide and complicated one, and it must be admitted that very 
perplexing diversities occur with the same kinds of trees on what to 
all appearance is the same class of soil. There are of course other 
considerations beyond the soil itself which must be taken into 
account, such as aspect, elevation, and whether the ground is 
inland or on the coast. 

With reference to some of the newer conifers, it must be 
admitted that soil and situation have a wonderful influence on their 
successful culture, and this applies in particular to such kinds as 
are not perfectly hardy and liable to injury by unseasonable frost. 
The too common practice of selecting warm and sheltered spots is 
in the main to be condemned. I have on several occasions removed 
trees from low-lying sheltered sites to more upland breezy situations, 
and with marked beneficial results. Abies Webbvana and A. 
Pindrow when planted on warm rich soil, at a low elevation, 
rarely ripen their young wood sufficiently in autumn to withstand 
severe frost ; and as both of these trees are apt in such places to 
start into growth early in spring, it is the general rule that the 
young growths are seriously damaged. For these and other trees 
of a similar nature a northern aspect and fairly rich soil is to be 
recommended, as in such they do not start growing too early in 
spring, and are thereby exempt from injury. 

In a plantation at 950 feet above sea-level, and planted with 
many of the newer conifere, it is interesting to note the differences 
in growth between trees of the same genera. Abies Nordmanniana 
aud A, pectinata, the former hailing from the Crimea, do badly; 
while A. nobilis and A, lasiocarpa are thriving apace, and under 
exactly similar conditions with the former, The soil is a loose 
gravelly loam resting on rough, shingly gravel; and from this 


264 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


we may infer that A. nobilis and A. lasiocarpa can subsist on 
a drier and poorer soil than can A. Nordmanniana and A. 
pectinata. 

It may be said that A. cephalonica and A. Pinsapo are not worth 
growing, and in many places they are not, but when growing on 
limestone or chalk they are highly ornamental. The same holds 
good with A. Albertiana, A. Menziesti, and A. excelsa, which are 
rarely seen in good form except on soil of a peaty description. 
Everyone interested in trees and shrubs knows that there are 
certain kinds which in a state of nature are only found growing in 
a peaty soil, mixed, it may be, more or less, with sand, and any 
attempt to cultivate them in other soils is productive of very 
unsatisfactory results. Who would ever think of planting the so- 
called American or peat plants, Cape Heaths, and the Epacris in, 
say, leaf soil, gravel, or loam; or Rhododendrons where lime is 
present in the soil? and these facts show us that there is something 
in the composition of certain soils only suitable for the roots of a 
certain class of plants. Another curious fact is this, that when 
growing on certain soils the timber of one species of tree is found 
to be far more durable than in others. Deep loamy soil and soft 
peat produce timber that is usually of a second-rate description, 
being deficient in firmness. 

I have long felt convinced that a great amount of good in point- 
ing out the trees that are best suited for various soils and formations, 
might be brought about by a careful study of the geological strata. 
As an illustration, we are here a distance of some seventy miles 
inland, and at varying altitudes from 300 feet to 700 feet above 
sea-level. Generally speaking, the soil consists of the different 
strata of the middle oolite; and to determine which trees thrive best 
upon it would be a most interesting study, as well as of the greatest 
value from a forestry point of view. As this stratum runs for a 
considerable distance and at greatly varying elevations, it would 
be valuable to learn what difference in the species of trees upon the 
various districts of it can be noted. The variation in certain trees, 
say, between the Kentish rag and chalk formation, or between the 
coral rag and the Oxford clay, lying next to it, is very striking, and 
well worthy of the attention of planters in these districts. There 
would be little difficulty in getting together a mass of informa- 
tion in this way, as reports from various districts throughout the 
country would be of almost universal interest in affording data to 
planters, 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS. 


The following alphabetical tables show at a glance the trees 
which I have found to be well suited for planting in the class of 


soil under which they are enumerated. 


RECLAIMED PEAT BOG. 


Alnus glutinosa. 
imperialis. 
laciniata. 


9 99 


9 


99 
Betula alba. 
Cerasus Padus. 
5» Vulgaris. 
Fagus sylvatica. 


” 29 purpurea, 


Abies excelsa. 

»» nigra. 
Cedrus Deodara. 
Cryptomeria japonica. 
Cupressus Goveniana. 


of Lawsoniana. 

‘9 macrocarpa. 
Juniperus chinensis. 

Pr recurya, 

Pn Sabina. 


Larix europea. 
», Kempferi. 
Picea nobilis. 


Hardwoods. 


Conifers. 


Populus alba. 

fi balsamifera. 

AD canadensis. 
Quercus robur and vars. 
Salix fragilis. 

Tilia europea. 
Ulmus alata. 
>> montana. 


Picea Nordmanniana. 
Pinus austriaca. 

», excelsa. 

55 Waricio: 

33  Sylvestris. 
Retinospora ericoides. 
plumosa. 


7 
i y aurea. 
Taxus baccata. 
Thuja gigantea. 

», occidentalis. 
Thujopsis borealis. 


Wellingtonia gigantea, 


CHALKY or CALCAREOUS. 


Acer colchicum rubrum. 
dasycarpum. 
Negundo. 
platanoides. 
Pseudo-Platanus. 

,, rubrum. 

,, striatum. 
ZEsculus Hippocastanum, 


Hardwoods. 


Alnus glutinosa and vars. 
Amelanchier Botryapium. 
Amygdalus communis. 
Betula alba. 

Castanea vesca. 

Catalpa bignonioides. 
Cerasus Padus. 

Cratzegus (nearly all). 


266 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL 


Cytisus Laburnum. 
Fagus sylvatica. 


29 39 


Fraxinus excelsior. 

ss ornus. 
Gleditschia sinensis. 

os triacanthos. 
Kolreuteria paniculata. 
Populus alba. 

.,  balsamifera. 

;, canadensis. 
candicans. 
monilifera. 

,, tremula. 
Pyrus Aria, 


3? 


Abies excelsa. 
Cedrus atlantica. 
Deodara. 
3) inbanis 
Cupressus Lawsoniana. 
is macrocarpa. 
Juniperus chinensis. 


29 


communis. 
Sabina. 


2? 

9? 

99 
Larix europea. 

Kempferi. 

,», leptolepis. 
Picea amabilis. 


3? 


29 


magnifica, 
nobilis. 
Nordmanniana. 
Pinsapo. 
Webbiana, 


2 


Ailantus glandulosa. 
Alnus cordata. 
3etula alba. 
Carpinus betulus, 
Fagus sylvatica. 


purpurea, 


SCOTTISH 


Conifers. 


tamariscifolia. 


ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Pyrus aucuparia. 

Malus floribunda. 
;;  spectabilis. 

Quercus Ilex. 

Mirbeckii. 

rubra. 

Turneril. 


39 


29 


9 


be) 


Robinia Pseud-Acacia and vars. 


Salix alba. 
Tilia argentea. 
>, europea. 

Ulmus alata. 
glabra. 
,, montana, 


Virgilia lutea. 


9 


Pinus austriaca. 
Cembra. 
excelsa, 
Laricio. 
Pinaster. 
Strobus. 
sylvestris. 

,,  tuberculata. 
Retinospora ericoides, 
filicoides. 
plumosa. 


3? 


2 


99 


29 
3? 
33 aurea. 
Salisburia adiantifolia. 
Taxus bacecata and vars, 
Thuja gigantea. 
Lobbii. 
occidentalis, 

», Wareana. 
Thujopsis borealis. 


99 


De) 


>? 


GRAVELLY AND SANDY. 


Hardwoods. 


| 


| 


Fagus sylvatica purpurea. 
Fraxinus ornus. 
Gleditschia horrida. 

Ilex, many vars. 

Juglans cinerea. 


TREES BEST ADAPTED FOR VARIOUS SOILS, 


Juglans nigra. 
Magnolia acuminata. 
Morus nigra. 

Platanus occidentalis 
Populus Bolleana. 
Quercus robur and vars. 


pene Swaer. 


Juniperus communis. 
‘A Sabina. 
Pinus austriaca, 
halepensis. 
Laricio. 


9? 


99 


Carpinus betulus. 
Castanea vesca. 
Cryptomeria elegans. 

5 japonica, 
Gleditschia triacanthos, 


Acer Pseudo-Platanus, 
Betula alba. 

Castanea vesca, 
Cerasus Padus, 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, 
Fraxinus excelsior. 
Juniperus communis. 


Conifers. 


CLAY. 


IRONSTONE AND 


267 


Robinia Pseud-Acacia. 
Sambucus nigra, 
Tilia cordata. 
Ulmus alata. 
campestris, 

>», Montana, 
Virgilia lutea. 


> 


Pinus Pinaster, 
pumilio, 
5, sylvestris. 
Taxus baccata. 
Thuja gigantea, 


9?) 


Quercus Ilex. 
pannonica. 
53 tobur: 
Thuja gigantea, 
Lobbii. 


2? 


” 


COAL. 


Larix europea. 
pendula, 


99 a9 


Pinus cembra. 

>, montana. 
Quercus robur. 
Thuja gigantea. 
Ulmus montana. 


268 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XVIII. The Formation of Plantations. By Joun Fowter 
ANNAND, Assistant Forester, Brucklay Castle, Aberdeenshire. 


1. IntrRopucToRY REMARKS. 


In earlier times, when there was a plethora of forest supplies, 
felling was carried on without any regard to the maintenance of 
the forest, regeneration being left entirely to nature. But by and 
by nature ceased to fill up the gaps caused by man’s indiscretion, 
and artificial means had therefore, of necessity, to be resorted to. 

In this country, at the present time, restocking the ground by 
planting is almost the only system practised. It is not from any 
peculiarity of soil or climate that reproduction by self-sowing is 
impracticable. That this is so seems evident from the fact that, 
wherever a plantation is formed in a situation favourable to its 
healthy development, when the trees are of seed-bearing age, such 
a quantity of seedlings spring up, whenever an opening presents 
itself, as would prove all-sufficient for a future crop, if only the 
necessary protection were afforded for their preservation and future 
growth. But with a superabundance of ground game, such 
protection, on an extensive scale, at all events, is practically 
impossible, 

On an estate in West Aberdeenshire, with which the writer is 
acquainted, a considerable tract of land was entirely cleared of a 
heavy crop of larch, Scots pine, and spruce. The work extended 
over a number of years, and during that time, although nothing 
was done to encourage them, seedlings of the kinds mentioned, 
along with birch, sprang up all over the ground, and would have 
required little artificial assistance to have restocked the plantation ; 
had not the bulk of them been destroyed by hares, rabbits, and 
sheep. -And although much of this land is again covered with 
thriving plantations, yet a considerable saving could have been 
effected had circumstances been more favourable to the growth of 
the self-sown trees. 

I may mention another instance which came under my notice 
more recently. Part of a small mixed hardwood and spruce 
plantation was cut down and immediately replanted. But rabbits 
were numerous, and the result was, that almost the whole of the 
plants were destroyed by them. After this, the ground was enclosed 
with wire-netting and effectually fenced against game, whereupon 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 269 


a close crop of sycamore, birch, willow, alder, ash, ete.—the off- 
spring of surrounding trees—came up in such abundance as 
rendered artificial aid unnecessary. I do not think the examples 
I have taken are exceptional. All the broad-leaved timber trees 
usually cultivated in Scotland, with the exception of oak, which 
only ripens its seed (in Aberdeenshire, at least) in very favour- 
able seasons, produce abundance of seeds, which germinate 
readily when conveyed by natural agencies to a suitable seed-bed ; 
and the same can be said of Scots pine and larch. 

It is generally admitted that for woods which are to be per- 
manently maintained for economic purposes, a well-organised system 
of natural regeneration is most desirable, affording as it does a 
more compact condition in the earliest stages of growth, and hence, 
as a consequence, a straight clean stem, free from large lateral 
branches, which conditions are, to some extent, wanting in the 
artificially formed wood. But it is evident from what has been 
already noted, and for other reasons which need not here be entered 
upon, that such a system, however desirable, cannot in its entirety 
be practised in this country ; and it is clear that we must largely 
depend on artificial planting for the renewal of our woods. Every 
advantage should, however, be taken of natural growth, when such 
ean be preserved. Planting or sowing must, of course, be resorted 
to when dealing with land previously unoccupied with a crop of 
trees, and in the introduction of exotics. 

The primary object kept in view in the formation of plantations 
is that of profit. It has been repeatedly proved, from reliable 
statistics, that substantial returns can be obtained from plantations, 
after deducting every item of expenditure connected with their 
formation and management, 

Our foreign trade in timber may soon be attended with 
difficulties. Our principal sources of supply at present are Canada, 
and the northern part of the Continent of Europe. The United 
States can now do little more than supply their own wants. 
Owing to forest fires, and the generally wasteful system of forestry 
earried on in Canada, our supplies from that quarter are likely to 
be very much reduced in the near future. Although the forests of 
America are still of vast extent, the parts of them available are 
probably confined within comparatively narrow limits. It is only 
when the timber is situated in the neighbourhood of navigable 
rivers that it will pay to cut it for exportation, and as these 
are just the most suitable places for settlers to occupy, so are 


270 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


they cleared out to make room for corn-growing as the population 
increases. At the same time, as a natural consequence, more and 
more timber is required for structural and other purposes within 
the country. The supplies of the larger-sized timber from the 
north of Europe are also considerably reduced. It is highly 
probable, therefore, that in the course of the next fifty years our 
supplies of timber from abroad will be very greatly curtailed. 

We cannot grow all the timber we require at home, but a very 
considerable proportion can well be produced. Large tracts of 
land at present worth only a few shillings per acre for grazing 
purposes, but which are capable of producing Scots pine and larch 
of the finest quality, are available for plantation purposes. 

Mr D. F. Mackenzie, in his address delivered at the thirty- 
seventh annual meeting of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural 
Society, put the area thus available, in Scotland alone, at no less 
a figure than eight million acres ; the planting and management of 
which he considers would give employment to forty thousand persons. 
Of late the home timber trade, in common with other industries, 
has been very much depressed, and proprietors have found con- 
siderable difficulty in getting a market for certain classes of forest 
produce. But, with a general revival of trade, prices are certain 
to improve. Even at present prices, land now lying comparatively 
waste can be made to yield, if properly planted and managed, an 
annual rental of from 15s. to 30s. per acre. 


2, LAYING OUT THE PLANTATION. 


In laying off the boundary line of a plantation, the prevailing 
winds of the district should be carefully studied, and precautionary 
measures taken to counteract their destructive effects. In these 
latitudes, the most violent and frequent winds blow from a 
westerly direction. On the eastern coast of Britain, however, the 
most damage is done by northerly and easterly winds. The 
greatest breadth of the plantation should, if possible, be laid off 
in the face of the prevailing winds, and on the highest parts to 
be planted. 

As regards the actual form a plantation should take, the 
individual tastes of the owner, and other attendant circumstances, 
have to be considered. The best form that can be adopted on the 
exposed side is the convex, the tendency of which seems to be to 
divide and weaken the force of the storm, Straight lines are, 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, HT | 


if possible, to be avoided; for, besides presenting an unnatural 
appearance in the landscape, they are less able to resist outward 
pressure. As a matter of convenience, however, they have often 
to be adopted when the plantation is formed in immediate 
proximity to agricultural land. Apart from esthetic considera- 
tions, it is immaterial what form the plantation should take on the 
side sheltered from the prevailing winds, The chief aim should 
be to give its general contour as natural an appearance as possible, 
in conjunction with the securing of strength to resist storms, the 
curves of the outline being adapted to the configuration of the 
ground—the convex form prevailing in rising ground, and gradually 
giving place to the concave, as it again recedes. I cannot agree 
with those who attach little or no importance to scenic effect when 
laying out a plantation. Much can be done to secure beauty of 
scenery by a suitable arrangement of even the commonest of our 
forest trees. Each kind possesses shades and beauties peculiarly 
its own. ‘To use the words of the poet Cowper, 


** No tree in all the grove but has its charms, 
Though each its peculiar hue; paler some, 
And of a warmish grey; the willow such, 
And poplar, that with silver lines his leaf, 
And ash, far stretching his umbrageous arm: 
Of deeper green the elm, and deeper still, 
Lord of the woods, the long-surviving oak, 
Some glossy-leav’d, and shining in the sun, 
The maple, and the beech of oily nuts 
Prolific, and the lime at dewy eve 
Diffusing odours; not unnoted pass 
The sycamore, capricious in attire, 

Now green, now tawny, and ere autumn yet 
Have changed the woods, in scarlet honours bright.” 


A great deal can be accomplished by judicious grouping. 
Although it is often necessary in profitable wood culture to have a 
mixture of different kinds of trees in young plantations for the 
sake of providing suitable nurses, or for the production of timber 
likely to prove remunerative when removed as thinnings, there is 
no reason why this order should be maintained with the permanent 
crop. Viewed as a whole, and as a prominent object in the land- 
scape, a plantation will produce the best effect at every season of 
the year when the trees are grouped or massed together according 
to their several varieties and shades of foliage. 


272 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


3. FENCING. 


It is absolutely necessary, before commencing to plant any piece 
of ground, to have it thoroughly fenced against sheep and cattle. 
Many different methods of fencing are in use at the present time, 
each one possessing peculiar advantages, according to the cireum- 
stances in which it may happen to be required. 

Where shelter is of importance, nothing answers so well as 
thorn hedges or stone dykes. In good land the thorn hedge makes 
a very permanent and ornamental fence. If, however, the svil is 
of a light character, or the situation very exposed, it will be 
necessary to introduce a mixture of beech, one beech to two thorns 
being the best proportion. The beech thrives in a much lighter soil 
than the thorn, and also retains its leaves during the winter. In 
this way, by the shelter and nursing affurded by the beech, the 
thorn can be successfully cultivated where otherwise it would not 
grow freely. The bed for the hedgerow should be thoroughly 
treuched, at least 18 inches deep, and all weeds and _ large 
stones carefully removed. If the subsoil be of a stiff or retentive 
nature, it should be thoroughly loosened with the pick, but in 
general it is not advisable to bring much of it to the surface, unless 
the ground is of a peaty nature, in which case it will supply the 
necessary mineral matter so deficient in such soils. The quality 
of the soil should be equalised as much as possible, that of an 
inferior nature being removed, and richer put in its place. In this 
way a more equal growth is at once secured and maintamed. <A 
temporary fence must be erected to protect the hedge until it is 
able to act as a fence itself. It should be neatly trimmed at least 
once a year, and all encroaching branches from the neighbouring 
trees kept in check. 

Stone dykes ave probably the best fences in use for enclosing 
plantations, and if stones are plentiful within a reasonable distance, 
are ultimately the cheapest. They possess the great advantage 
over hedges of at once affording considerable shelter to the young 
trees. 

The dry-stone dyke (as the term implies) is built without mortar, 
with the exception of the cope or top stones, which should be all 
well bedded and pointed with lime. By attending to this matter, 
the fence is much less apt to be broken down. Dykes are built 
vf various heights, but 4 feet, including cope, is usually sufficient 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 273 


for enclosing plantations. To make the fence thoroughly efficient 
and proof against Highland sheep, two wires fastened to small 
iron standards should be placed on the top. The standards should 
be set 9 feet apart, and firmly “batted” into the stones with 
lead or cement; pillars for straining the wires being placed in the 
dyke 150 yards apart. 

Turf dykes were formerly much in use for enclosing plantations. 
In many high-lying districts of the country, where stones are not 
easily procurable, and where, from the nature of the sol and 
situation, hedges are not likely to succeed, they are still not 
infrequently used. They form at best a very insufficient fence, and 
in order to make them proof against sheep and cattle, they must 
be surmounted by a wire fence. But when we consider that 
wooden posts so situated will not probably last half so long as 
when fixed in the natural ground, and that only a very little saving 
in wood and wire can be effected at the outset, it is questionable if 
very much advantage is to be gained by the erection of turf dykes 
at all, except, of course, as shelter for the young plants. 

The form of were fencing most generally in use for enclosing 
woods in Scotland is that with wooden posts and strainers. The 
straining posts should be made of thoroughly seasoned larch of 
mature growth. They should be 7 feet long, 6 inches square, 
or, if round, 7 inches in diameter. The intermediate posts 
should also be made of larch, 5} feet long by 3} inches by 
3 inches, or, if round, 34 inches in diameter at the smallest 
end. The strainers should be pitted into the ground 150 yards 
apart, with an additional one at every sharp curve that occurs 
in the line of fence. Brackets for straining the wires should 
also be attached to the strainers. The brackets possess the 
great advantage of permitting the wires to be slackened or 
tightened at pleasure. This is a matter of great importance when 
any accident befalls the fence, or when temporary openings are 
required. ‘The intermediate posts should be pointed and driven 
into the ground 6 feet apart. In order to make a substantial 
fence against cattle or sheep, it should be provided with six No, 7 
wires, and should measure, when completed, 3 feet 6 inches high. 
The distance between the two upper wires should be 10 inches, 
and the remaining spaces respectively 8, 7, 6, 5, and 6 inches 
between the lower wire and the ground, The tops of the posts 
should be rounded off to prevent the lodgment of water. This 
fence can be erected at a cost of 5)d. per yard. 


274 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


4. DRAINAGE. 


An elaborate system of drainage, such as is required for the 
growth of agricultural crops, is neither necessary nor practicable 
when dealing with land to be occupied with a crop of trees. For, 
when once established, the trees perform for themselves, in a great 
measure, the necessary drainage. No sooner do they rise to a 
height sufficient to be affected by the wind, than by their own 
movements the soil is loosened around the roots and the superfluous 
moisture readily sinks to a depth at which in most subsoils it 
cannot injuriously affect the health of the trees. By the gradual 
enlargement of the roots also, the soil is more and more broken up, 
and its porosity increased. In planting for ornament alone, the 
ground is generally trenched and drained at a cost equal to what 
is necessary in agricultural practice, but in this case the soil may 
be quite unsuited to the varieties of trees to be planted, without 
such preparation. But, of course, objects other than profit are kept 
in view in such instances. By a proper distribution of the various 
kinds of trees over soils suitable for their respective requirements, 
the expense of draining may be reduced to a minimum. Trees 
which thrive in soils of a dry nature should not of course be 
planted on those of a directly opposite character, and wice versa. 

In general, all that is required is to form surface drains to carry 
off stagnant water. It is very seldom that all the land in large 
enclosures requires draining, but where necessary this should on 
no account be neglected, as no preparation of the soil is of so 
much importance to the health of the trees in the earliest stages 
of their growth. The nature of the soil will determine the 
dimensions of the drains, and the distances at which they should 
be placed apart. If the soil is of a stiff clayey nature, they will 
require to be deeper and closer than in other cases. In general 
it will be sufficient to have the drains cut at from 30 to 40 feet 
apart. The main drains should always be made on the lowest 
part of the ground, and where the easiest natural outfall can be 
obtained. They are usually made 24 inches deep, 30 inches wide 
at the top, and 10 inches at the bottom, and the subdrains 
15 to 18 inches deep. On soils where moorband pan is present 
and in the course of formation, the drains should be made at least 
one year before the ground is planted, in order that the stagnant 
water may get time to drain off, and the soil be made pervious tu 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 275 


air and rain-water, both of which greatly assist in breaking up 
the pan, and checking its further formation. In preparing peat 
mosses for the growth of trees, the drains will require to be made 
much deeper than in ordinary cases, in order to make allowance 
for the subsidence that usually takes place when the water is 
removed. Owing to the soft nature of the ground, however, they 
can be made at a much cheaper rate than they could be in soils of 
a different character. Where practicable, a little of the sub- 
stratum on which the peat rested should be brought to the 
surface and spread equally over the ground, thus providing for the 
necessary supply of mineral matter usually so deficient in such soils. 
The cost of making ordinary surface drains will vary from 5s. to &s. 
per hundred yards, according to the condition of the ground, and 
the price of labour in the locality. 


5. Maxine or Roapbs. 


It is a matter of paramount importance, before commencing to 
plant any piece of ground of large extent, to have the principal 
lines of roads at least marked off, if the work of construction is to 
be delayed till a later date. If this precaution is neglected, and 
the whole of the ground planted, it will often be a matter of 
extreme difficulty to fix upon the best route for the road after the 
trees have attained a height sufficient to obstruct the view; and 
what may appear to be the best line of road at one point is quite 
impracticable at another. It is not necessary to have the principal 
roads laid off in straight lines. In fact, it is very undesirable to 
have them so constructed, affording, as they do, an unrestricted 
passage to the wind. 

The object aimed at in forming the roads is to provide as easy 
an access as possible to every part of the plantation. It is not 
necessary that all the roads should be constructed on an expensive 
scale, but only those which have to undergo constant tear and wear. 
For those of minor importance, it will be sufficient to have ditches 
cut to carry off stagnant water from the surface. The principal 
roads should be of sufficient breadth to enable two carts or waggons 
to pass each other without inconvenience. 

The great secret of success in the maintenance of roads is to 
have them as nearly free from moisture as possible. On _ hilly 
ground, where the soil is of an open and gravelly nature, metalling 
can often be dispensed with altogether. If the road is formed 

VOL. XII. PART II. in 


276 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


along the slope of a hill, sufficient material is usually found on the 
highest part to make up the deficiency on the lower, and complete 
the construction of the road; and, if it is kept smooth and dry, it 
will be found to be as permanent as if it had been metalled at 
great expense. When it is found necessary to convey material for 
the construction of the road, a box or longitudinal trench should be 
cut out for its reception. The metal may either be broken and 
carted on, or the stones may be carted on whole and broken into 
the road. It is necessary to have a bottom layer of 5 inches, and 
an upper one of 3 inches, the size of the stones not exceeding 
3 inches in the former, nor 23 inches in the latter. The road 
should be thoroughly pressed together with a heavy roller. A 
“blinding” of sharp gravel may then be spread on the surface, and 
the rolling repeated. ‘“ Trail” roads should also be provided for 
conveying the produce to the principal thoroughfares. As they 
are much narrower than the cart roads, they may be made in straight 
lines. They can be so laid out as to divide the plantation into 
convenient working blocks. They are also handy for sportsmen. 


6. PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 


In Scotland, waste land is generally covered with heather, whins, 
or broom. 

The best and cheapest method of clearing land of a heavy crop 
of heather is to burn it. This is a very dangerous operation when 
conducted in the immediate vicinity of plantations. Much damage 
is often done by the fires being allowed to enter the woods. This 
evil can easily be guarded against by having men in attendance 
with brooms or other suitable appliances to keep the fire within 
due limits. If the situation is very much exposed, strips should be 
left at intervals to shelter the young trees. This work is best 
accomplished in autumn or early in spring. It should be done at 
least three years before the ground is planted. 

This interval is necessary in order that the surface may again be 
covered with vegetation. Young trees seldom do well when planted 
while the ground is entirely bare from the effects of burning. The 
reason of this is that the soil is in too loose a condition, and admits 
drought and frost too readily. If the heather does not exceed 
6 inches in length, it is quite unnecessary to burn it, as it offers no 
impediment to the planting of the smallest trees in use. Whins 
and broom are more difficult to get rid of. They can of course be 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 200 


burned, but this seems rather to foster than check their growth. 
Not only do the old plants spring anew from the roots, but, owing 
to the condition of the ground after the burning takes place, seeds 
lying dormant are enabled to germinate ; and both crops coming 
up together, the ground is in a worse state than ever. No doubt 
the most effectual way of getting rid of them is to grub them up 
entirely by the roots, but this is a very expensive operation, and 
often necessitates an expenditure of as much as £4 per acre. A 
cheaper method may be adopted. When the ground is entirely 
covered with whins or broom, strips about 2 feet wide, and from 
3 to 4 feet apart, are cut through them, and the plants put in along 
these. By a little attention for the first few years the whins and 
broom will easily be prevented from unduly interfering with the 
growth of the plants. Where tall grass occurs it is necessary, if 
the plants are to be notched into the ground, to pare off patches of 
the surface about 15 inches square, on the spots where the plants 
are to be inserted. This will enable the plants to get a good start 
before the grass can again grow with its usual luxuriance. 

Trenching is an expensive operation, and is seldom resorted to 
as a preparation for young trees. When planting is done with a 
view to profit, it is better to leave the land in its natural condition, 
not only on the ground of economy, but that the timber may not 
deteriorate in quality, which, in the case of conifers at all events, 
it certainly will do, if growth is unduly accelerated by artificial 
means. In forming shelter plantations, however, on the sea-coast 
trenching may with advantage be resorted to; and it very often 
happens that trees are made to grow by thus preparing the soil, 
when attempts to follow the ordinary method of planting result in 
failure. 


7. SOIL AND CLIMATE. 


When it is considered that a period of fifty, sixty, or one hundred 
years must elapse before the full value of a crop of trees can be 
realised, it is obvious that great forethought and careful dis- 
crimination must be exercised by the planter. Errors committed 
at the outset cannot, as a rule, be remedied during the whole life 
of the trees composing the plantation. One of the most serious 
of such errors is committed when planting operations are carried 
on without sufficient care being taken to select each variety of tree 
for the soil for which it is naturally fitted. Nothing is more 
common than to find trees, which nature has adapted for a light 


278 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCTETY. 


dry soil, planted on the stiffest and most tenacious of clays, while 
those that would flourish, and attain to large dimensions, on stiff 
ground are planted on the lightest of gravelly or sandy soils. 
What wonder then if, in such cases, planting should result in 
comparative failure? The nature of the soil, therefore, is the most 
important consideration when the formation of a plantation is 
contemplated. 

Another consideration of scarcely less importance is that of 
the climate, which may be influenced by the nature of the soil, 
configuration of the district, altitude, proximity to the ocean, 
exposure, aspect, etc. The effect of elevation on the growth 
of trees is very noticeable. It is well known that as we ascend in 
height the temperature gradually and regularly decreases, and trees 
thriving at the foot of a mountain will not be found at the top. 
Even in a country possessing so little variation in height as our 
own, this effect is well seen. Abundant proof of this natural 
distribution of trees is to be seen in the forest remains found 
embedded in existing peat mosses. The low fertile ground is 
seen to have been covered with oaks, while the pine, birch, and 
willow had occupied the high elevations. It is only by an 
approximation to this natural distribution that we can hope to 
attain to great success. The greatest height at which the Scots fir 
is said to grow is 2000 feet above sea-level, but it cannot be 
expected to grow to timber size at such an elevation. Probably 
700 feet is the utmost limit at which timber can be profitably 
grown within 12 miles of the sea-coast. ‘Trees are said to thrive 
at a higher elevation in Perthshire than anywhere else in Scotland. 
This is no doubt owing to the distribution of the mountain ranges, 
and the perfect immunity from sea blasts enjoyed by that county. 
Taking the county of Aberdeen as an example, it may be noticed 
that more difficulty is likely to be experienced in forming planta- 
tions at an elevation of 400 feet in the Buchan district of the 
county, than would be the case at twice that elevation in the 
western part along the hill-sides of the Dee and Don. The reason 
is obvious. Buchan is fully exposed, both on the north and east, 
to the sea blast, the damaging effect of which is noticeable at least 
12 miles inland. Owing to its situation, the western part of the 
county is not affected by the sea, the hill ranges being so situated 
as to break the force of the storm, and rob the wind of much of 
the saline matter so fatal to certain classes of trees. Hence timber 
can be grown at a much greater elevation in this part of the county. 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 279 


Aspect and exposure exercise a modifying influence also on tree 
growth. One would, on first thought, naturally conclude that, for 
trees of a delicate nature, or for those that are liable to be injured 
by spring or autumn frosts, a southern exposure would be most 
congenial. This is not, however, in accordance with facts, and it 
is allowed that, if soil and elevation be favourable, a northern 
exposure answers equally as well as, if not better than, a southern. 
Although in the former case the full benefit of the sun’s rays is 
not always obtained, yet it has compensating advantages not 
possessed by the latter. It is less influenced by the violence of 
south and east winds, which frequently prevail, and are so very 
destructive to vegetation during the growing season. The north 
winds most frequently occur during the period of rest, and seldom 
prove so injurious. Hence we find that even the broad-leaved 
timber trees, which require a higher degree of heat than conifers to 
bring them to maturity, grow as freely, and attain to as great 
height, in a northerly as in a southerly exposure. 

Our British climate is proverbially variable and uncertain. This 
is more noticeable in the spring months than at any other time 
during the year. From March to June it is no uncommon 
experience to have intense heat, mild showers, frost, hail, snow, 
cold and destructive winds, all following each other in rapid suc- 
cession, and very often within the space of twenty-four hours. 
These may be said to constitute our usual spring weather. Our 
native plants are by constitution adapted to these changes, but 
the successful cultivation of exotics, accustomed to a more equable 
climate, is often a precarious undertaking. In selecting trees of 
foreign origin for plantation purposes, preference should be given to 
those which most readily adapt themselves to the variableness of 
our climate, and they should if possible be placed in exposures, 
such as north and west, where they are least likely to be damaged 
in the early part of the growing season. 

With these remarks on soil and climate, we now proceed to con- 
sider more in detail the soils and situations best adapted for some 
of the more commonly cultivated of our forest trees. 


8. Common Forest TREES. 


The Oak (Quercus Robur). The soil most suitable for the oak 
is a strong clay loam resting on a clay subsoil. But though a soil 
of this description is required to bring it to its greatest dimensions, 


280 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


we often find it growing to considerable perfection on land of a 
sandy or gravelly nature. Being of slow growth, and of little 
value when young, it need not be planted closer than 12 feet 
apart, with nurses between of a suitable kind. In order to pro- 
duce tall, well-grown trees, it is an indispensable condition that 
the plants be provided with shelter, either natural or artificial. 

The Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). This tree requires a soil of a 
moist nature to bring it to perfection. It grows well on any good 
loamy soil, if the subsoil is of a moist nature. Excellant quality 
of ash is also to be found growing on soils of a peaty nature, if the 
subsoil is clay. It does not succeed at high elevations, and it is 
vain to attempt to grow it on poor, thin land, such as is likely to 
suffer from drought in summer. But if planted in a favourable 
situation it will be found to give quicker, and perhaps larger, 
returns than any other deciduous tree. 

The Wych Elm (Ulmus montana). Poor shallow land is as 
inimical to the growth of the elm as the ash. Its favourite soil 
seems to be of a rich clayey nature, with a moist subsoil. If 
provided with a sufficient depth of earth, and within the reach of 
water, it will succeed well on a great variety of soils. The best 
specimens are almost invariably to be found on the banks of a 
running stream, where they are provided with sufficient moisture 
without having stagnant water about the roots. If grown by itself, 
the elm may be planted at 12 feet apart, but it is more commonly 
mixed with other timber trees. It requires shelter to bring it to 
useful size. 

Sycamore (Acer pseudo-platanus). Perhaps no tree is more 
accommodating as to soil and situation than the sycamore. The 
soil on which it attains to its largest size is a light loam 
resting on gravel, but it thrives almost equally well on soils of a 
tenacious quality, if these are not surcharged with moisture ; and 
it will-also attain to a fair size on peaty soils. It is most valuable 
for planting on exposed situations, and for forming shelter to 
timber trees of a more delicate character. Not only does it thrive 
at high elevations and on severe exposures inland, but it is perhaps 
the best tree that can be planted for shelter where the influence 
of the sea-breeze is much felt. Its timber is most valuable when 
of large dimensions. 

Beech (Yagus sylvatica). Soils of a light sandy nature are best 
suited to the growth of the beech. It will also grow to fair size on 
rather stiff clay, if thorough drainage is effected. It is not suitable 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS, 281 


for planting on wet or mossy soils. It grows at a high elevation 
inland, but does not stand the sea-breeze so well as the sycamore. 

The Horse-Chestnut (dsculus Hippocastanum) and the Lime 
(Tila europea) thrive on a great variety of soils of a dry loamy 
nature, but will not succeed in very exposed situations. They are 
more useful as ornamental trees than for producing timber. 

Birch (Betula alba). The birch delights in mountainous 
regions, and is to be found growing naturally almost everywhere in 
the Highlands of Scotland. It succeeds at a great elevation, and 
in a variety of soils. It seems to grow equally well on loamy, 
sandy, gravelly, or peaty soils, and will thrive in loftier situations 
than the native pine or any other of our cultivated trees. 

The Alder (Alnus), the Willow (Salix), and the Poplar 
(Populus) are not of first-rate importance as timber trees, but 
they thrive in a great variety of poor soils of a damp character, 
and form valuable shelter belts in such situations. 

Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris). Among conifers, the Scots 
pine claims first attention. It is the only pine indigenous to 
Britain, and is one of the hardiest timber trees in cultivation. It 
is highly probable that in early times the greater part of Scotland 
was covered with forests of this tree, and in any scheme of re-afforest- 
ing in the Highlands, it will be more largely used than any other. 
It thrives in very poor soils, and at high elevations. Dryness is 
the most indispensable condition land can possess in order to 
produce a full crop of Scots pine. The most suitable soil is 
perhaps a sandy or gravelly loam on a rocky subsoil, but it will 
grow on any well-drained soil, with the single exception perhaps of 
chalk. It is impatient of the sea-breeze, and if planted where this is 
much felt, shelter belts of deciduous trees should always be provided. 
In mountainous regions inland, it will produce valuable timber 
at a higher elevation than any other timber tree, except the birch. 

Larch (Larix ewropea). Although good specimens of this tree 
are often found in clay soils in flat districts, it is along the hill- 
sides, on open rocky soils, where a free supply of moisture is 
obtained, in combination with a thorough natural drainage, that it 
grows to the greatest perfection. It affects cool, moderately 
elevated situations, with a clear, dry atmosphere. Perhaps no 
better example of the successful cultivation of this tree is to be 
found than on the hillslopes along the valleys of the Dee and 
the Don, in Aberdeenshire. Magnificent specimens are to be 
seen at Paradise, on the Monymusk property, at an elevation of 


282 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


about 350 feet above sea-level. But apart from individual 
specimens, extensive thriving plantations of the larch have been 
formed on most of the wooded properties in the western part of 
the county. But in these situations it is by no means free from 
disease, and, where due regard has not been had to the proper 
selection of sites, the results have been anything but satisfactory. 
I cannot agree with those who declare that it will thrive at higher 
altitudes than the native pine. It certainly will “ve, but it cannot 
be profitably cultivated. 

The larch is much subject to disease, the great predisposing 
cause of which can apparently be traced to the variableness of our 
spring weather. No degree of cold ever experienced in this 
country can injure the tree in winter, but few are so sensitive 
when in foliage. The fine weather often experienced in early 
spring brings the larch into leaf, only to be checked, perhaps 
ruined, by cold east or south-east winds, or late frosts. To prevent 
this as much as possible, it should be planted on north or north- 
west exposures, and preference should be given to home seed, the 
produce of foreign growth being less suited to the changeable 
nature of our climate. 

The Spruce (Abies excelsa). The spruce requires shelter to 
bring it to useful timber size, and is more suitable for valleys 
than mountain sides. Although it endures any degree of cold 
during winter, it seldom grows to large size in exposed situations, 
and it is one of the worst trees for planting within the influence 
of the sea. The spruce is very shallow rooted, and is best adapted 
for soils of a cool moist character; and it is one of the few trees 
that will succeed where the subsoil is of a wet, retentive nature. 
It also grows well on peaty soils, if provided with shelter belts of 
deciduous trees, such as the birch or sycamore. 

Silver Fir (Picea pectinata). The silver fir attains to greatest 
perfection on loamy soils of a moist nature, but it will thrive on 
most soils that are not liable to be affected by severe drought. It 
does not grow at so high an altitude as the native pine, being 
found in its native habitat in association with the oak. It is very 
liable to be damaged by spring frosts, and it should be protected 
from this by being grown in the shade of other trees in the early 
stages of its existence. It thrives with an amount of shade that 
would entirely destroy other trees. For this reason it is very 
valuable for growing under the shade of old trees which are to be 
removed at a later date. When it is once established, and has 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 283 


reached the height of 15 or 20 feet, it assumes a more robust habit 
of growth, and the buds on the top shoots being later in coming 
into leaf, it is much less liable to be damaged by late frosts. 

The Newer Coniferw.—A great variety of these exotics is now 
cultivated in this country, but chiefly for ornamenting lawns and 
pleasure grounds. A few bid fair to prove valuable as timber. 
Among these may be noted Abies Douglasit, Abies Menziesia, 
Picea nobilis, Picea Nordmanniana, Pinus Laricio, Wellingtonia 
gigantea, Cupressus Lawsoniana, Thuia gigantea. 

The various species of Picea, Pinus, Cupressus, Wellingtonia, and 
Thuia seem to thrive best on light dry soils, while those of Abies 
prefer moist or peaty soils. Perhaps as regards quality of timber 
the first place must be given to the Douglas fir, and if accorded 
the proper sylvicultural treatment, it may yet prove a formidable 
rival to the larch, the timber of both very much resembling each 
other. The Douglas fir will not succeed on exposed situations, 
nor within the influence of the sea-breeze, but the same remarks 
may, with equal propriety, be applied to the common spruce fir. 
One thing is evident, the Douglas fir will flourish where the larch 
almost refuses to grow at all. In a soil and climate far too moist 
for the larch, it will form valuable timber if provided with sufficient 
shelter. It should be observed, however, that until we are better 
acquainted with the timber-producing qualities of the pines and 
firs of recent introduction, they should be used experimentally 
rather than generally. It certainly would be an egregious 
mistake, and one that would likely lead to great disappointment 
and loss, to use them promiscuously until we have acquired some 
such knowledge. 


9. GENERAL REMARKS. 


When planting is done with a view to profit, the more valuable 
of the broad-leaved timber trees should not be used in situations 
where their growth is known to be slow, for not only is there a 
loss in quantity of timber in such cases, but the quality also is 
of an inferior description. Some of the hardier of them may very 
properly be used in forming shelter belts for the more surface- 
rooted coniferous trees; for though they will not form valuable 
timber, they afford sufficient shelter to permit of plantations of 
conifers being formed, with much better prospects of success, 
Trees can be grown at a much greater elevation inland than near 
the coast. Deciduous trees withstand the sea-breeze better than 


284 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


pines and firs. The sycamore is the hardiest of all in such situa- 
tions, the beech, willow, ash, and poplar following in succession. 

Coniferous trees form valuable timber in much poorer soils 
than hardwoods. In fact, the quality of the wood is generally 
inversely as the quantity, and is accordingly impaired when the 
trees are planted where their growth is very rapid. As has 
been already remarked, a north or north-west exposure is to be 
preferred for the growth of exotics, as they are less excitable in 
the early part of the growing season in such situations, and hence 
are less liable to injury from late frost, cold south-east winds, ete. 
As regards the propriety of having woods in a mixed or in a pure 
condition, much might perhaps be said in justification of either 
method ; but, ceteris paribus, if the soil is suitable for different 
varieties of trees, it is always safer to use different varieties than 
to depend on one, although this mixed condition need not 
necessarily be maintained throughout the whole life of the trees 
composing the plantation. 


10. SELECTION oF PLANTS. 


Much of the future success of a plantation depends on a 
careful selection of plants. It is only when the planting of large 
enclosures is contemplated that it will pay to form nurseries in 
their vicinity for the purpose of raising the necessary plants ; 
although it must be admitted that trees so raised are hardier, 
and have a better chance of at once establishing themselves when 
permanently planted out. Some condemn the system of procuring 
plants from public nurseries suitable for immediate planting, and 
recommend as an improvement the purchase of seedlings there- 
from, and the growing of them in a home nursery till they attain 
to size suitable for planting in the woods. Now, as the home 
nursery, as a matter of convenience, is often located in the most 
sheltered part of the estate, it is very questionable if any 
advantage can be secured by such a course of procedure. If, 
however, it occupy a well-exposed site, or is situated in the 
vicinity of the land to be planted, the practice has much to 
recommend it. 

From the extensive nature of the operations in a public 
nursery, the professional nurseryman can always command at 
the cheapest rate the amount of skilled labour and attention so 
necessary for the successful rearing of seedlings. These he can 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 285 


therefore supply at a cheaper rate than they can be produced 
in a home nursery, where the same amount of attention cannot 
so readily be given them. But when the plants are removed 
from the seed-bed, and transplanted into lines, they necessarily 
occupy a large space of ground, and a proportionately heavy rent 
charge must be laid on them; and when it is considered that 
land occupied as public nurseries is generally near some large 
city, and is worth perhaps ten times more than the home nursery 
ground, it is easily understood why large transplanted trees from 
the public nurseries must be dearer than those grown at home. 

It is our own opinion, therefore, that when the planting 
operations are not so extensive as to warrant the establishing 
of nurseries on the site of the projected plantations, the most 
economical method is to procure seedlings from the public 
nurseries, and rear them in a well-exposed home nursery to a size 
suitable for the enclosure to be planted. When purchasing plants, 
it must be observed that a due proportion should always exist 
between roots, stem, and branches; and preference should not 
always be given to those which apparently are the most vigorous 
and free-growing, for very often these are sparsely rooted, and will 
not readily establish themselves when transplanted. It is an 
indispensable condition that the plants be possessed of one un- 
blemished leading shoot, and only one. Conifers may be considered 
useless when their leaders are damaged. It is quite a simple 
matter to introduce any disease or insect pest into a plantation, 
but it will usually be found to be an impossibility to eradicate 
either when once established. Those plants exhibiting the 
slightest symptoms of disease or insect attack should therefore, 
in every case, be rejected. It is of paramount importance, then, 
to select healthy, well-proportioned plants, entirely free from 
defects of even apparently the slightest importance. 


11. Size or Pxiants, AND DISTANCES AT WHICH EACH VARIETY 
SHOULD BE PLANTED APART. 


On high, exposed sites, where rank herbage has not to be 
contended with, small plants should always be used. It is a 
very common mistake to use too large plants for such places. 
Their age should not exceed two years. Two-year seedlings, or 
one-year seedlings one year transplanted, are much more likely 
to prove successful than if large transplanted trees were used, 


286 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISIZ ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


their roots having ample time to establish themselves before 
they grow to a size sufficient to be affected by the wind. These 
remarks apply to conifers only, it being assumed that the more 
valuable of the broad-leaved trees will not be planted in such 
places. In sheltered situations, where tall grass and similar 
hindrances to plant growth have to be guarded against, plants 
of considerable size must be used. ‘Two-year seedlings two years 
transplanted will often be found small enough. The longer 
conifers remain in the nursery lines after they reach the age of 
four years, the less likely are they to succeed when removed to 
their final destination. The roots of firs become more and more 
woody as they advance in years, and fewer fibres are developed. 
As much of the success in transplanting depends on the plenti- 
fulness of these fibres on the roots, it will be easily understood 
how precarious an operation this becomes when the trees are of 
considerable age. Deciduous trees are much better provided with 
fibrous roots at every period of their existence, and can thus be 
removed at a greater age than firs. But economy at the outset, 
and after success in the growth of the plantation, decide us in 
using the smallest size of plants compatible with the natural 
condition of the ground. 

In forming plantations of deciduous trees, these are usually 
planted at wide distances apart, and the intermediate spaces filled 
up with conifers, If the plantation is a mixed one, the trees are 
planted at from 9 to 18 feet apart, according to soil, varieties 
selected, local demand for small-sized timber, etc., the ground 
being of course filled up with coniferous “nurses.” When each 
variety for the ultimate crop is planted separately, oaks are placed 
at 9 feet apart, ash at 7 to 8 feet, elm at 12 feet, beech at 6 to 
8 feet, sycamore at 9 feet. When plantations are formed purely 
of conifers, Scots pine and spruce are placed at from 3 to 4 feet, 
larch and silver fir at from 34.to 5 feet, and Douglas fir at 8 feet, 
with cheaper trees as nurses. 


12. Season oF PLANTING. 


Planting operations of an extensive nature may be successfully 
carried on in this country at any time from November to April, 
both inclusive. On dry, hilly ground, autumn planting proves 
most successful, the plants having time to establish themselves 
before the drought of the ensuing summer sets in. Planting in 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 2heMi} 


the dead of winter is by some objected to, but I have failed to 
observe any bad effects result from this, and very often the 
weather is much more favourable at this period than any other 
time during autumn or spring. When dealing with wet land, 
where sufficient time has not elapsed after draining to permit of 
the stagnant water being properly removed from the surface, 
planting should be deferred till spring. The same plan should be 
adopted where no natural herbage is present on the ground, as in 
the case of exhausted peat bogs. 


13. Metruops oF PLANTING. 


Three distinct methods of planting may be enumerated, 
namely—putting, double notching with the spade, and single 
notching with the hand-iron. 

The pitting system should always be used in the case of 
deciduous trees, and of large-sized conifers. The pits or holes 
made for the reception of the trees should always be large enough 
to contain the roots of the plants when extended at full length. 
The earth removed from the pit is laid aside, and the surface turf 
placed in the bottom. This has the double advantage of placing 
next the roots of the planta better quality of soil than is generally 
to be found at any considerable distance from the surface, and 
also of effecting a considerable check on the growth of weeds till 
the plant has time to fix itself in the ground, and be in a position 
to smother all undergrowth. In putting in the trees, two persons 
are employed. One holds the plant in a vertical position in the 
centre of the pit, while the other shovels in the earth till all the 
roots are sufficiently covered. The earth is then subjected to a 
firm treading with the feet to secure the plant in its proper 
position, and the operation is completed. 

Notching is a much cheaper and more expeditious method of 
planting, but.can only be practised in the case of conifers. For 
double notching no better implement can be used than the 
common garden spade. To produce satisfactory results, the spade 
should be provided with a straight handle. Striking the spade 
smartly into the ground, the planter forms two cuts as nearly as 
possible at right angles to each other, thus L. Care should be 
taken to make the first cut as nearly perpendicular as possible, 
otherwise it will be impossible to place the plant in proper posi- 
tion. After having made the two cuts, the planter depresses the 


288 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


spade towards himself, and turns it in such a way as to raise the 
angle of turf formed by the cuts. An assistant then draws in 
the plant with the roots below the spade. The spade is then 
withdrawn, and the turf springs back and covers the roots. A 
smart stroke with the heel to fix the plant completes the opera- 
tion. In this way a man and a boy will insert from eight hundred 
to twelve hundred plants a day. This method of planting is suit- 
able for transplanted firs too large for being inserted with the 
hand-iron, but for which it is unnecessary to provide pits; and 
it is perhaps more generally in use for planting moorland than 
any other. 

The hand-planting iron is not in general use south of the county 
of Aberdeen. The implement resembles a common garden spade, 
but is so small as to be used quite easily with one hand. It 
measures from 17 to 18 inches in length, and weighs three 
pounds, The planter holds the iron in his right hand, and 
strikes it into the ground with a force sufficient to make a 
cut about 3 inches deep. Then pressing the iron down towards 
himself, he gives it a slight turn to the right. The plant is 
then put in at this opening, and the iron withdrawn. The 
planter then fixes the plant by giving the cut turf a smart 
stroke with the heel as he steps forward. In this way an 
experienced workman will insert from two to four thousand 
plants a day. The plants are carried in a bag slung across the 
shoulder, and hanging down at the back within easy reach of the 
left hand. Five hundred seedlings can thus be carried without 
inconvenience to the planter. 

This method of planting is certainly the cheapest in practice, 
and can often be used when other means are impracticable. It 
must be clearly understood, however, that it is only suitable for 
planting seedling conifers, where the heath does not exceed 
perhaps 8 inches in length, It can never be practised with hard- 
woods nor large transplanted conifers. If this is attempted, 
failure only can be the result. But as has been already stated, 
in bleak exposures and rocky situations, almost unmanageable in 
any other way, planting with the hand-iron is the cheapest and 
most efficient system in practice, and the cost will seldom exceed 
twenty shillings per acre. 

Planting operations should never be carried on when the 
ground is affected with frost in the slightest degree, and many 
failures in planting, often attributed to other causes, could very 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 289 


likely be traced to this, Dull, moist weather is the most suitable 
of any, and if such weather is selected for the work, planting 
operations can successfully be carried on from early autumn to 


the end of April. 
14, Sowine. 


This method of forming plantations is subject to many of the 
objections already noted regarding natural reproduction, and can 
seldom be taken advantage of in this country. There is one case 
in which it is infinitely to be preferred to planting, namely, when 
forming plantations of oak. 

As every one knows, the oak is a distinctly tap-rooted tree, and 
when one or two years old, its roots are very destitute of fibres. 
It is therefore almost an impossibility to successfully transplant 
it. A great many will die off at once, and many of those which 
survive the operation are generally so much injured as to assume 
a stunted habit of growth, and seldom attain to full size. Instead 
of being transplanted, the oak should then be raised from the 
acorn in the spot where it is intended to grow. The ground 
may be prepared in the same way as for the reception of other 
hardwood plants, pits being made at 9 feet apart. Two or three 
acorns should be ‘“ dibbled” into each pit, allowance in this way 
being made for bad germination and other accidents. All the 
plants but one in each pit should be removed after a year or two. 
If the ground is suitable for their growth, the intervening spaces 
may be filled up with larch plants, If it is too stiff for the larch, 
Scots pine or spruce is to be preferred. In either case, two-year 
seedlings two years transplanted should be used in order to pro- 
vide sufficient shelter for the oak seedlings by the time they 
appear above ground. 

There seems little reason to doubt that the finest quality of all 
kinds of timber is to be obtained in the plantation formed directly 
by seeding, and we have only to look to the natural pine and birch 
forests in the north of Scotland, or to those of the oak in England, 
for illustrations of this fact. It is much to be regretted that the 
practice cannot more generally be adopted. 


15. MANAGEMENT FoR THE First TWELVE YEARS. 


“ What is worth doing, is worth doing well.” It very frequently 
happens, when there is a fair appearance of a crop of trees on the 


290 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


ground, that the making up of failures is entirely neglected. Now 
this is a great mistake when the rearing of a full crop of clean- 
grown timber is aimed at, The more space trees are allowed for 
the growth of side branches, the coarser and knottier will be the 
timber. It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that every 
blank should be filled, and the ground completely stocked. Grass, 
whins, briers, and other rubbish should be kept down when they 
are likely to overtop or damage the plants in any way. When 
once properly established in the ground, and growing freely, the 
trees are able to take care of themselves, and ultimately smother 
out undergrowth of every sort. 

Pruning.—This will commence the first year after planting. 
All the plants should be carefully examined, and wherever one is 
found to have become sickly, from any cause, it should be cut over 
at the surface of the ground. This will cause it to send up a few 
shoots from the root. These shoots are all cut away the follow- 
ing summer, except the strongest one, which is retained as the 
future tree. Moderate annual prunings are better than severe 
prunings at long intervals. What is aimed at is to restrict the 
plant to one leading shoot, and to prevent the laterals from 
developing too much at the expense of the stem. If a proper 
stocking of trees is maintained on the ground, this is all the 
pruning that is required. It is an expensive operation, and 
requires a greater amount of skilled labour than is generally 
obtainable. Although it cannot altogether be dispensed with in 
the case of hardwoods, the less pruning trees require the better. 
No doubt trees are benefited by having limbs and large branches 
removed, as much of the nutriment that would go to feed these is 
utilised by the stem, and evaporation by the leaves is restricted, 
but the blemishes caused in the timber by the operation of pruning 
more than counterbalance any such benefit. By maintaining a 
proper distribution of the trees on the ground, the necessity for 
pruning will be greatly lessened. 

Thinning.—We frequently hear the advice given, ‘‘thin when 
the branches begin to touch.” ‘This is wrong. Take, as an 
example, the Scots pine. By thinning to the extent indicated, 
the branches are allowed to spread and enlarge to a considerable 
size. These branches will, in the course of time, die and drop off, 
but before this takes place, large black knots will be enclosed in 
the stem, and the quality of the timber will suffer in consequence. 
Light is also too freely admitted to the lower part of the stems in 


THE FORMATION OF PLANTATIONS. 291 


the early part of the growing season, and consequently an undue 
proportion of ‘spring,’ or porous, wood is present in the annual 
wood increment. When Scots pine was used almost entirely for 
railway sleepers and similar purposes, large sizes rather than fine 
quality was a desideratum, and it was perfectly justifiable to sub- 
mit the woods to severe thinnings in order to attain this object. 
Now all this is likely to be changed, and timber of all kinds, but 
especially Scots pine, must be of good quality, and as free from 
knots as possible, before it can meet the requirements of the 
market, or directly compete with the foreign product. Wecannot 
afford to overlook the fact that by far the greatest amount of 
timber imported from abroad has been produced in the natural 
forest, and the quality of this timber is such that it occupies the 
first place in the market, and in many cases to the entire exclusion 
of the home article. 

We cannot entirely copy nature when dealing with artificially 
formed plantations, but many important lessons are nevertheless 
to be learned, In the natural forest, trees are present of every 
age, from the seedling to the centenarian. Now, while those of 
older growth have ample opportunity of developing in an upward 
direction, the smaller but equally vigorous plants growing up all 
around, entirely prevent the growth of laterals in the lower part 
of their stems, and at the same time the necessary shading, so 
indispensable to the production of fine quality in timber, is pro- 
vided for, and this process goes on ad infinitum. 

In the artificial plantation, on the other hand, the trees are all 
of the same age, and nearly of the same height, and the destruction 
of the whole plantation would result from entirely neglecting to 
thin, as in the natural forest. But the artificial plantation must 
always possess one great condition in common with the natural 
forest, namely, a sufficient closeness in the order of the trees, to 
provide for the shading of the lower parts of the stems, and the 
production of clean-grown timber. 

By preserving the plantation in such a condition, the following 
advantages may be secured :—/irst, grass and weeds of every sort 
are entirely kept in check; second, the fertility of the soil is main- 
tained and increased by a proper retention of fallen leaves and other 
litter; ¢hird, the mechanical condition of the soil is improved ; 
fourth, the lower part of the stems are shaded from the sun, and 
hence a complete system of natural pruning is provided for, and a 
generally superior quality of timber is the result. It is impracticable 

VOL. XIII. PART II, U 


292 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


to plough, or dig, or manure the forest, but by preserving a close 
canopy of foliage in the plantation, a natural substitute is pro- 
vided for the cultural operations mentioned. Natural pruning is 
more efficient and more economical than any scheme of artificial 
aid that can be devised. When trees are planted at 3 or 4 feet 
apart, all the lower branches, after they attain the length of 2 feet, 
begin to press upon one another, and check each other’s growth. 
Then when the branches above close, and exclude the light, the 
lower ones die and drop off before they grow to a size sufficient to 
occasion appreciable defects in the timber. This is the only prac- 
ticable system of pruning when dealing with plantations of large 
extent—say a thousand acres or more. 

In managing plantations for timber purposes, the thinnings 
should be so moderate as to ensure the fulfilment of the conditions 
above indicated. A definite rule cannot be laid down as to when 
thinning should commence. The condition of the plantation only 
can decide this. There is, of course, a danger of the trees being 
drawn up too much, and their stems becoming too long and bare of 
branches for their girth, but by cautious and timely thinning, this 
danger can easily be averted. The margins of the plantations 
should always be more severely thinned, in the early stages of 
growth, than the rest of the wood. This is necessary in order that 
the trees may become well branched and firmly rooted, so as to 
be able to resist the force of the storms which so frequently sweep 
across the country, and occasion so much damage to the woods. 
In the after management of the plantations, the margins should be 
left entirely undisturbed. 


ARBORICULTURE IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY. 293 


XIX. Arboriculture in the Counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, 
and Wigtown. By AurexanvEer Pircaituuey, Forester, 
Sudbourn Hall, Wickham Market, Suffolk. 


The south-western district of Scotland, comprising the counties of 
Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and Wigtown, is bounded on the south 
by the Solway Firth, Wigtown Bay, and Galloway Bay ; on the 
west by the North Channel; on the north by the counties of Ayr 
and Lanark; and on the east by the county of Roxburgh. The 
extreme length from east to west is about one hundred miles, and 
the greatest breadth from north to south about fifty miles. The 
total area is about 2569 square miles, or 1,644,195 imperial acres, 
apportioned thus—Dumfriesshire, 705,946; Kirkcudbrightshire, 
610,343 ; and Wigtownshire, 327,906 acres. 

The general aspect is very hilly, with the exception of the level 
tracts of rich alluvial land along the valleys and estuaries of the 
rivers. Among the principal rivers are the Esk, Annan, and Nith, 
in Dumfriesshire ; the Urr, Dee, and Cree, in Kirkeudbrightshire ; 
and the Bladenoch, in Wigtownshire. The chief lochs are Loch 
Ken, in Kirkcudbrightshire ; and Lochmaben, in Dumfriesshire. 

The Lowther range of hills, and their outlying spurs, extend 
along the whole of the northern boundaries of these counties. The 
most elevated points are Mount Merrick, in Kirkeudbrightshire, 
2764 feet high ; and Hartfell, in Dumfriesshire, 2650 feet. Nearly 
all those hills are clothed to the summits with green grass, present- 
ing a striking contrast to the heath-covered mountains in the 
northern parts of Scotland. 

The soil is exceedingly variable, as is also the geological formation. 
In Dumfriesshire red sandstone predominates, and being of excellent 
quality, the quarries form a considerable item in the revenue of 
several estates. In Kirkcudbrightshire the granite formation pre- 
vails ; and Cairnsmuir raises its rounded summit of smooth granite 
to a height of 2000 feet above sea-level. 

The soil and climate are well adapted to the growth of timber. 
Oak, ash, beech, chestnut, sycamore, and all the other ordinary kinds 
of hardwoods are found growing to a great size, and still retaining 
their vigour. One of the largest oaks in Scotland grows on the side 
of the road on the estate of Carnsalloch in Dumfriesshire, while the 
other timber on the same estate is not equalled in the county for 
size, the soil here being a good loam resting on sandstone. Perhaps 
the finest avenue of limes to be found in Scotland stands at Kenmuir 


294 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


Castle, in Kirkeudbrightshire, which is also famed for its beeches, 
scarcely surpassed anywhere for their size and symmetry. Many 
other beeches of large size are met with on several estates in 
Dumfriesshire, particularly in Annandale. 

Yet, under such favourable conditions, arboriculture has not 
received the same amount of attention which has been paid to it 
in many other districts in Scotland. The total acreage under wood, 
according to the agricultural returns of 1882, in the three counties 
is — Dumfriesshire, 31,162; Kirkcudbrightshire, 19,714; and 
Wigtownshire, 8009 acres; or a total of 58,885 imperial acres. 

The year following that on which these returns were made, the 
south of Scotland was visited by a series of terrific gales, on the 
11th December 1883, and again on the 23rd and 24th January 
1884, which caused great destruction of the woods on many estates 
in these counties, and have thus reduced the acreage of them by 
at least one-third. Those woods which suffered most were com- 
posed of the healthiest well-grown trees, and consequently they were 
most valuable. Nothing approaching this has been experienced 
since the disastrous gale of 7th January 1839, at which time the 
woods in the south of Scotland suffered, it was estimated, to the 
extent of more than £20,000. 

On several of the larger estates the proprietors have paid con- 
siderable attention to their woodlands, particularly the Duke of 
Buecleuch, the Earl of Mansfield, and Sir Robert Jardine, Bart., in 
Dumfriesshire ; the Earl of Selkirk, and Murray Stewart, Esq., in 
Kirkeudbrightshire ; and the Earl of Stair, in Wigtownshire. On 
these and a few other estates, the forester’s department is managed in 
a thoroughly systematic manner. There are, however, at the same 
time many medium sized and smaller estates possessing a consider- 
able area of woodlands, where no experienced forester is kept, 
and where there is no proper or systematic management of the 
woods, 

There is a fair proportion of the woodlands under hardwood, the 
majority of which, however, is aged; and, on the whole, there isa 
rather insufficient succession crop, as they have not been planted so 
profusely as is advisable. Where recently planted they have often 
been set along with fir, spruce, etc., as nurses, and afterwards left to 
themselves for several years, when the conifers have overgrown, and 
eventually destroyed the hardwoods. 

The kinds of trees most extensively planted are pines (including 
several of the newer species), spruce, and larch. Of the pines, 


ARBORICULTURE IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY. 295 


Pinus austriaca, P. Laricio, and P. Pinaster have done remarkably 
well; the P. Pinaster especially on light open soil near the Solway, 
where many good specimens of it are to be found. 

Spruce has not been so extensively planted, although it thrives 
and grows well. <Alies Douglasii has not been much planted as a 
forest tree, but where it has been inserted in a favourable soil, with 
moderate shelter, it has grown uncommonly well. One of the 
oldest, and probably among the largest, specimens in Scotland, 
stands on the lawn in the flower-garden at Jardine Hall, Dumfries- 
shire, and is a picture of health. 

Larch has thriven well in former years, though that of recent 
planting has not done so well. The principal causes of failure are 
blight and blister, though in many cases it is traceable to being 
planted on stiff, retentive, clayey soils, altogether unsuitable to the 
successful growth of the larch. 

Silver fir grows to a large size, and several are to be found over 
one hundred feet high, with large clean boles. 

Considerable attention has been paid to the planting of Coniferze 
of recent introduction, fine collections being found at nearly all the 
large mansions in the three counties. Perhaps the most com- 
prehensive collection is to be found in the pinetum at Castle 
Kennedy, Wigtownshire, the property of the Earl of Stair, in 
which there are many rare and beautiful specimens. One of the 
finest collections of coniferous trees in Dumfriesshire lately stood at 
Lann Hall, but it was unfortunately destroyed by the storms of 
1883-84. Any one visiting the counties will be astonished at the 
great amount of damage done by these storms to the woods. Where 
there previously stood many waving plantations, there is now to be 
seen nothing but upturned roots and broken trunks, with here and 
there a lonely survivor. While trees that had stood for ages were 
blown down, those which suffered most were from thirty to seventy 
years of age. Perhaps the greatest damage was done on the Duke 
of Buccleuch’s estates. On the Langholm estate over 20,000 trees 
were upturned, and on Drumlanrig estate it was estimated that 
120,000 trees were blown down in the December gale, and as 
many more on the 26th January. Several thousand pounds’ worth 
of timber was also destroyed on Sir Robert Jardine’s Castlemilk 
estate in Dumfriesshire ; while Lord Selkirk’s estate in Kirkeud- 
brightshire suffered the loss of 20,000 trees, and mostly every other 
estate suffered proportionally as great a loss. 

So much fallen timber at one time caused a great glut in the 


296 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


market. It was mostly sold where it lay by private tender, and 
generally realised but indifferent prices, owing chiefly to the in- 
extricable confusion in which the trees lay ; good firs in many cases 
only realising a few pence per tree. There was not sufficient fore- 
thought exercised in this crisis, else proprietors would have had a 
large quantity of the fallen wood cut up into the lengths and sizes 
generally employed for estate purposes, and stored them away in 
open sheds, and thus saved the present heavy drain on many 
sadly depleted woodlands. 

Severe as these storms were, I believe that four-fifths of the 
damage done might have been obviated had the plantations been 
judiciously managed from the beginning. In laying out the planta- 
tions on many estates there had been no attempt made to establish 
screens from the blast, which would have saved much of the 
damage; as I have noticed, particularly in Dumfriesshire, that 
where natural birch, etc., happened to be growing on the exposed 
side of a plantation, the damage done has been comparatively 
trifling. 

Another source of damage from neglect was the absence of 
thorough drainage. Instances were to be found of plantations of 
from thirty to sixty years of age, the drains in which apparently 
had never received any attention since they were made. The grouud 
being swampy, the trees, though well grown, were necessarily 
surface rooted, and readily succumbed to the storm. The want of 
timely thinning was also the cause of a considerable amount of 
damage. In many cases the trees were crowded together, fifty to 
sixty feet in height, with long slender stems scarcely a foot in 
diameter. When once an opening was made these quickly yielded, 
and were either blown down or broken in the middle. The Scots 
fir plantations suffered most from this cause. 

The prevailing winds are westerly ; that of December 1883 was 
from the south-west, while those of January 1884 were from the 
west and north-west. The gale of 1839, however, was from the 
south-east. 

Since these storms a number of proprietors have done a great 
deal to repair the condition of their woodlands; perhaps Sir 
Robert Jardine, Bart., more than most others. ‘The plan adopted 
by Sir Robert was to trench out all the roots, which were after- 
wards collected into huge heaps and burned, and the ground 
replanted. This is undoubtedly the best system, but the great 
expense has deterred some from adopting it, while on many estates 


ARBORICULTURE IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY. 297 


little or nothing has been done in the way of repairing the 
damage. 

One great drawback to the more general development of the 
woods is the entire absence of home nurseries. As far as the writer 
is aware, there is no estate in the three counties in the possession of 
one, There are, however, excellent public nurseries at Annan, 
Dumfries, Maxwelltown, Stranraer, etc., where good collections of 
all kinds of forest trees are kept in stock. A common custom 
on many, and the general rule on small estates, is to have the 
planting executed by contract by nurserymen ; the contract price to 
include plants and labour per acre, and the plantation to be upheld 
for three years, that is, the filling up of all blanks from natwral 
eauses. The general system adopted for all classes of trees is 
pit-planting ; Scots fir, etc., being usually inserted at four years 
of age, 

Ground game are too numerous on nearly every estate, and 
plantations suffer much from their ravages, the only effectual cure 
being wire netting, which consequently increases the expense. Yet, 
although the woods abound with squirrels, I have never noticed any 
damage done by them barking the trees, as is so common in the 
north of Scotland. 

A ready sale is found for wood of good quality ; ash, elm, and 
oak readily fetching from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per cubic foot. Clean larch 
of suitable size is in demand for boat-building, and commands a 
good price. Birch and alder might be more extensively grown, as 
there is always a ready sale for this class of wood locally to the 
cloggers. The usual prices of spruce and Scots fir is 6d. to 8d., 
and larch 1s. per foot. 

Pruning hardwoods is very little practised, the result being that 
short boles with widely ramified limbs are the rule. This is the 
case particularly among hedgerow timber, and forms a cause of con- 
tinual complaint by the agricultural tenant, and not without reason, 
as the spread of branches over the land renders, on some farms, 
several acres useless. In some instances the trees have had their 
lower branches cut off where they have interfered too much with the 
land, and in almost every case they have been amputated close to 
the trunk, causing a large wound, which in a few years entirely 
ruins the trees. The majority of this damaged class of timber 
when cut can be disposed of only to the bobbin-maker, usually 
realising from 4s, to 6s. per ton. Many of the trees are rendered 
useless even for this purpose, by having nails and staples driven 


298 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


into them by the farmers who are in the habit of using hedgerow 
trees as posts when repairing their fences. This bad custom is 
notoriously common in Dumfriesshire. 

The fences are of various kinds. Red sandstone abounding on 
many estates, it has been used extensively in forming stone walls. 
Tron and wire, and also wood and wire, are commonly used. Wooden 
pailings are also numerous, more especially in Dumfriesshire. This 
is partly accounted for by the great quantity of wood that has been 
blown down in recent years, much of which has been used for this 
purpose, but more particularly by it being a fox-hunting district, 
where wire-fences would be troublesome as well as dangerous, and 
very few fences are met with over three feet high. Hedges have 
been planted extensively at one time, principally of hawthorn, and 
several good ones are seen where they have been well kept. 
Hedges have been generally used as dividing fences on the farms, 
and add considerably to their amenity. The customary system is 
to have them trimmed every fifth year, just before breaking up the 
lea-ground ; five years rotation being the rule in cropping the land. 
This system of cutting hedges has the effect of damaging their 
usefulness and appearance, giving them a strong growing top with 
a poorly furnished bottom. They also suffer much by the sheep 
when eating the turnip crop; for although it is specified in most 
leases that the farmer shall net the hedges at this season, yet on 
very few estates is the clause attended to. On exposed grazing 
ground, where there is a scarcity or absence of belts of plantation, 
these neglected and overgrown hedges form a good shelter for 
stock, the only useful purpose they serve. 

There is no part of Scotland better adapted to the growing of 
timber, and no district more in need of the friendly shelter of 
woods, especially in the northern parts of Dumfriesshire, and on 
the open wind-swept hills of Galloway. It is true that a few 
proprietors have done a considerable amount of planting, but 
landowners in general have not yet fully realised the importance 
and benefit of the extension of their woods. It is to be hoped 
that the visit of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to the 
district this season will be the means of more effectually drawing 
the attention of landowners to this important department of estate 
management. 


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Aopal Scottish Arboricultural Society. 


YEAR. 
1854. 


1855. 
1856. 
USS 
1858. 
1859. 
1860. 
1861. 
1862. 
1863. 
1864. 
1865. 
1866. 
1867. 
1868. 
1869. 
1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 


1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 


1883, 
1884, 
1885, 


Patron—HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN, 


ee ee a ae a 


1.—FORMER PRESIDENTS. 


JAMES Brown, Deputy-Surveyor of the Royal Forest of Dean. 
Ditto, Wood Commissioner to the Earl of Seatield. 
Ditto, ditto. 

The Right Hon. THE EArt or Ductr. 

The Right Hon. THe EARL OF STATR. 

Sir Joun Hatt, Bart. of Dunglass. 

His Grace THE DuKE oF ATHOLE. 

Jonn J. CHALMERS of Aldbar. 

The Right Hon. Tar Earn or ArRutn. 

The Right Hon. T. F. KeENNEpy. 

Rogert HurcH ison of Carlowrie, F.LR.S.E. 


Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Hueuw CrecHorn, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E., of Stravithie. 
Ditto, ditto. 


JoHn Hurron Batrour, M.D., M.A., F.R.SS. L. & E., Professor 
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh. 


Ditto, ditto. 

The Right Hon. W. P. ApAm of Blairadam, M.P. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 

The Most Hon. THe Marquis or Lorian, K.T. 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto. 


ALEXANDER Dickson, M.D., F.R.S.E., of Hartree, Regius Professor 
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh. 
Hucu Ciecuorn, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E., of Stravithie, 
Ditto, ditto. 
Ditto, ditto, 


lo 


APPENDIX. 


YEAR. 


1886 


1887. 


1888 
1889 


. Sir Hersert Evstrace MaxweE tt, Bart., of Monreith, M.P. 

Ditto, ditto. 

. The Right Hon. THE Eart or Hoperoun, Hopetoun House, Linlithgow. 

. His Excellency The Right Hon. Toe Earn or Hopetoun, Governor 
of Victoria, Australia. 


1890. IsAac BAyLEY Ba.rour, M.D., Sc.D., F.R.S., Professor of Botany in 
the University of Edinburgh. 
1891, Ditto, ditto. 
2.—LIST OF MEMBERS. 
Corrected to March 1892. 
Date of 
Election. HONORARY MEMBERS. 
1873. Branpis, Sir Dietrich, K.C.S.I., Ph.D., z-Inspector General of 
Forests in India, Bonn, Germany. 
868. BULLEN, Robert, Curator of the Botanic Garden, Glasgow. 
1886. CAMPBELL, Sir James, Bart., Whitemead Park, Lydney, Gloucester- 
shire. 
1865. CLeGHOoRN, Hugh, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E., Stravithie, St Andrews, 
Fife (also a Life Member by composition). 
1886. Hooker, Sir Josepa D., M.D., K.C.S.L, The Camp, Sunningdale, 
Berks. 
1864. Hurcuison, Robert, F.R.S.E., of Carlowrie, University Club, Edin- 
burgh. 
1886. Jack, Edward, St John, New Brunswick. 


. JoHORE, The Maharajah of, Johore, Malay Peninsula. 


1856. Lawson, George, LL.D., Ph.D., Secretary for Agriculture, Govern- 
ment of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

1869. LorH1aAn, The Most Hon. the Marquis of, K.T., Secretary of State for 
Scotland, Newbattle Abbey, Dalkeith (also a Life Member by 
composition). 

1886. Luxsock, Sir John, Bart., M.P., D.C.L., High Elms, Down, Kent. 

1886. Micuart, General, C.S.I., Ascot. 

1889. SArGEN’T, Professor C. S., Director of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard 
College, Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 

1889. Scuticu, Dr William, Professor of Forestry in the Engineering 
College for India, Cooper’s Hill, Surrey. 

1886. SourHty, Hon. Robert, Cape Town. 

1881. Tempxe, Sir Richard, Bart., G.O.S.1., The Nash, Worcestershire. 


1886. 


Tokal, Tokio, Japan, 


G3 


APPENDIX. 


Date of LIFE MEMBERS. 
Election. 
1875. AcLAND, Sir Thomas Dyke, Bart., M.P., of Killerton, Exeter. 


1883. 
1874. 


1883. 
1883. 
1887. 


1884. 
1886. 
1877. 


1866. 
1877. 
1884. 


1870. 
1871. 
1875. 
1877. 
1882. 
1871. 
1867. 
1879. 
1879. 
1882. 
1890. 
1877. 
1872. 
1879. 
1876. 
1892. 
1875. 
1865. 
1880. 
1884. 
1867. 


1876. 
1877. 
1883. 
1872. 
1867. 
1875. 
1876. 
1881. 
1879. 


ADAM, Sir Charles Elphinstone, Bart. of Blairadam, Kinross-shire. 

Appineton, The Right Hon. Lord, Addington Manor, Winslow, 
Bucks. 

ALEXANDER, John, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Kandy, Ceylon, 

ATHOLE, His Grace the Duke of, K.T., Blair Castle, Blair Athole. 

BAILEY, Colonel F., R.E., Lecturer on Forestry, Edinburgh University, 
9 Wemyss Place, Edinburgh. 

BALrour oF BurteicH, The Right Hon. Lord, Kennet House, Alloa. 

Batrour, Edward, of Balbirnie, Markinch, Fife. 

Batrour, Isaac Bayley, Sc.D., M.D., F.L.S., Professor of Botany, 
Edinburgh. 

Barrig, James, Forester, Stevenstone, Torrington, North Devon. 

Barry, John W., of Fyling Hall, Fylingdales, Scarborough. 

Bates, Cadwallader John, of Heddon and Langley Castle, Northum- 
berland. 

Bayne, Lewis, Jeannie Bank, Perth. 

Beit, William, of Gribdae, Kirkeudbright. 

Bertram, William, Ellengowan Villa, Newington, Edinburgh. 

Boutckxow, C. F. H., of Brackenhoe, Middlesboro’-on-Tees. 

Bruck, Hon. Robert Preston, M.P., Broomhall, Dunfermline. 

Bruce, Hon. T. C., 24 Hill Street, Berkeley Square, London, W. 

Bruce, Thomas Rae, of Slogarie, New Galloway Station. 

Buccievucn, His Grace the Duke of, K.T., Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith. 

BucHANAN, Charles, Overseer, Penicuik House, Penicuik. 

CHOWLER, Christopher, Gamekeeper, Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith. 

Curisti£, John, of Cowden, Dollar. 

Cuay, J. Spender, Ford Manor, Lingfield, Surrey. 

CLERK, Sir George D., Bart., Penicuik House, Penicuik. 

CoLtquHoun, Andrew, Forester, Rossdhu, Luss, Dumbartonshire. 

Cowan, Charles W., of Logan House, Valleyfield, Penicuik. 

Cowan, George, 1 Gillsland Road, Edinburgh. 

Crate, Wm., M.D., C.M., F.R.S.E., 71 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh. 

Cross, David G., Forester, Kylisk, Nenagh, Ireland. 

Curr, Henry, Factor, Pitkellony House, Muthill, Perthshire. 

Currik, Sir Donald, K.C.M.G., M.P., of Garth Castle, Aberfeldy. 

DALGLEISH, John J., of Ardnamurchan, 8 Athole Crescent, Edin- 
burgh. 

DALGLEISH, Laurence, of Dalbeath, 8 Athole Crescent, Edinburgh. 

Dewar, Daniel, Forester, Beaufort Castle, Beauly. 

Dunpas, Charles H., of Dunira, Dalhonzie, Crieff. 

Dunpas, Robert, of Arniston, Gorebridge. 

Dunn, Malcolm, The Palace Gardens, Dalkeith. 

Eastwoop, James, The Gardens, Bryn-y-Newadd, Bangor, North Wales. 

Epwaxrps, William Peacock, S.S.C., 21 Hill Street, Edinburgh. 

Extrot, Walter, Manager, Ardtornish, Morvern, Oban. 

FALCONER, Dr John, St Ann’s, Lasswade. 


4 APPENDIX. 

Date of 

Election. 

1891. FarquHarson, A. J., F.H.A.S., Newtyle, Forfarshire. 

1888. Fercuson, R. C. Munro, M.P., of Raith and Novar. 

1869. Fisu, D. T., Hardwick House, Bury St Edmunds. 

1874. FirzwitiraM, The Right Hon. the Earl, K.G., Wentworth, Rotherham, 


Yorkshire. 


. FLemine, J. B., ‘‘ Beaconsfield,” Kelvinside, Glasgow. 

. Forses, Arthur Drummond, Millearne, Auchterarder, Perthshire. 

. Forses, William, Swinton, Masham, Yorkshire. 

. France, Charles 8., 11 Bridge Street, Aberdeen. 

. GoucH, William, Wood Manager, Wykeham, York. 

. GRAHAM, Wm., of Erins, Tarbert, Lochfyne. 

. Grant, John, Overseer, Daldowie, Tollcross. 

. Grant, Sir George Macpherson, Bart., M.P., Ballindalloch Castle, 


Banffshire. 


. Grimonpd, Alexander D., of Glenericht, Blairgowrie. 

. Harg, Colonel, 32 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. 

. HERBERT, H. A., of Muckross, Killarney. 

. Heywoop, Arthur, Sudbourne Hall, Wickham Market, Suffolk. 

. Horr, H. W., of Luffness, Drem. 

. Horne, John, Director, Forests and Gardens, Mauritius. 

. HorspurGH, John, 131 Princes Street, Edinburgh. 

. Huta, Louis, of Possingworth, Hawkhurst, Sussex, 

. Incuis, Alex., Tyninghame, Prestonkirk. 

. JENNER, Charles, Easter Duddingston Lodge, Edinburgh. 

. JoNAS, Henry, Land Agent and Surveyor, 4 Whitehall, London, 8. W. 
. KenneEpy, James, The Chesters, New Kilpatrick, near Glasgow. 

. Lercester, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Holkham Hall, Wells, 


Norfolk. 


. Leste, Charles P., of Castle-Leslie, Glasslough, Ireland. 

. Lesiig, The Hon. George Waldegrave, Leslie House, Leslie, Fife. 

. Loney, Peter, Estate Agent, Marchmont, Duns. 

. LoNSDALE, Claud, Rose Hill, Carlisle. 

. Love, J. W., c/o Mrs Boyce, Byron Street, St Kilda, Victoria, South 


Australia. 


. Loverace, The Right Hon. the Earl of, East Horsley Towers, Woking, 


Surrey. 


. LumspeEn, David, of Pitcairnfield, Perth. 

. LumspEN, Hugh Gordon, of Clova, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire. 

. Lurrrevt, George F., of Dunster Castle, Taunton, Somersetshire. 

. Macponatp, Ranald, Factor, Cluny Castle, Aberdeenshire. 

. M‘Doucatt, Captain J. W., jun., of Orchill, Braco, Perthshire. 

. Macpurr, Alex., of Bonhard, Perth. 

. M‘Inrosu, Dr W. C., Professor of Natural History, University of St 


Andrews, 2 Abbotsford Crescent, St Andrews, 


2. M‘Kenzin, Alex., Superintendent of Epping Forest, The Warren, 


Loughton, Essex. 


39. Mackernzin, Colin J., of Portmore, Eddleston, Peebles. 
72. MackrEnziz£, Donald F., Estate Office, Morton Hall, Edinburgh. 


APPENDIX. 5 


Date of 
Election. 


1880. 
1879. 
1879. 
1857. 
1880. 


1871. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1889. 
1881. 
1856. 
1887. 
1878. 


1855. 
1876. 
1866. 
1890. 
1883. 


1872. 
1854. 
1867. 
USM 7 
1882. 
1889. 


1883. 
1883. 


1873. 


1883. 
1880. 
1865. 
1877. 
1880. 
1855, 
18383. 
1872. 
1872. 
1878. 


1871. 
1869. 
1889. 


MACKENzIg, Sir Kenneth, Bart., Conon House, Dingwall. 

M‘LareEn, John, jun., Marionville, Sciennes Gardens, Edinburgh. 

MacRrrcutisz, David, C.A., 4 Archibald Place, Edinburgh. 

MactTirr, A. W., “Rothesay,” Bournemouth, Hants. 

Matcoum, Lieut.-Col. E. D., R.E., 18 Queen’s Gate Place, London, 
S.W. 

MAxwe .t, Wellwood H., of Munches, Dalbeattie. 

Mesuam, Captain, Pontryffydd, Bodvari, Rhyl. 

Micuig, John, Forester, Balmoral, Ballater. 

MircHeE.t, Francis, Forester, Harleston, Northamptonshire. 

Morrat, James, Assistant Factor, 48 Castle Street, Edinburgh. 

Naytor, Christopher John, Brynellywarch, Kerry, Montgomeryshire. 

PortsmMoutH, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Eggesford, North Devon. 

Proreir, Dr Alexander, Her Majesty’s Commissioner, Balmoral. 

PuNCHARD, Frederick, Underley Estate Office, Kirkby Lonsdale, West- 
moreland. 

RAMSDEN, Sir John, Bart., 6 Upper Brook Street, London, W. 

RircuH1£, William, of Middleton, Gorebridge, Edinburgh. 

ROBERTSON, James, Wood Manager, Panmure, Carnoustie. 

Rosrnson, William, 37 Southampton Street, Strand, London. 

Routo, The Hon. Wm. Chas. Wordsworth, Master of Rollo, Duncrub 
Park, Dunning, Perthshire. 

Rosesery, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Dalmeny Park, Edinburgh. 

RuTHERFORD, James, Agent, Kirkleatham, Redcar, Yorkshire. 

Scort, Daniel, Wood Manager, Darnaway, Forres. 

SmitH, Thomas Valentine, of Ardtornish, Morvern, Argyleshire. 

SmyTHE, David M., yr. of Methven Castle, Perth. 

SoMERVILLE, Dr William, B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture 
and Forestry, Durham College of Science, Newcastle. 

Sprot, Major Alexander, of Garnkirk. 

Srarrorp, The Most Hon. the Marquis of, M.P., Dunrobin Castle, 
Golspie. 

Srarr, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Lochinch, Castle Kennedy, Wig- 
townshire. 

Srormont, The Right Hon. Viscount, Scone Palace, Perth. 

SUTHERLAND, Evan C., of Skibo Castle, Dornoch. 

JALBERT, Peter, Forester, Glenericht, Blairgowrie. 

TrERRIS, James, Factor, Dullomuir, Blairadam, Kinross-shire. 

Tuomson, Alexander, Trinity Grove, Trinity Road, near Edinburgh. 

THomson, John Grant, Wood Manager, Grantown, Strathspey. 

Trorrer, Colonel H., of Morton Hall, Edinburgh. 

Trotrer, Colonel, R.A., The Bush, Ediuburgh. 

Uraqunart, B. C., of Meldrum, Aberdeenshire. 

WALKER, Major I. Campbell, Conservator of Forests, Forest Office, 
Madras. 

Wemyss, Randolph Gordon Erskine, of Wemyss and Torrie, Fife. 

Witp, Albert Edward, Conservator of Forests, Punjab, India. 

Witson, David, jun., of Carbeth, Killearn. 


6 APPENDIX. 


ORDINARY MEMBERS. 


The Names printed in italics are those of Members whose present Addresses 
are unknown. <Any information regarding these Members will be gladly 
received by the Secretary. 


Law V. Members in arrear shall not receive the Transactions while their 
Subscriptions remain unpaid. Any Member whose Annual Subscription to 
the Society remains unpaid for three years shall cease to be a Member of the 
Society, and no such Member shall be eligible for re-election till he shall 
have paid up his arrears. 


Date of 
Election. 


1882, AuLBotrn, Nathaniel, Tree Protective Composition Manufacturer, 50 
Shore, Leith. 

1881. Arruie, The Right Hon. the Earl of, Cortachy Castle, Forfarshire. 

1878, AITKEN, Andrew Peebles, M.A., Se.D., Professor of Chemistry, 
Veterinary College, Clyde Street, Edinburgh. 

1891. ALEXANDER, James, Gardener and Forester, Revesby Abbey, Boston, 
Lincolnshire. 

1865. ALLAN, John, Forester, Dalmeny Park, Edinburgh. 

1883. ANDERSON, David, Forester, Jardine Hall, Lockerbie. 

1887. ANNAND, Adam, Forester, Brucklay Castle, Aberdeenshire. 

1887. ANNAND, John F,, Assistant Forester, Brucklay Castle, Aberdeen- 
shire. 

1872. ANNANDALE, Robert B., Adderley Lodge, Market Drayton, Shropshire. 

1883. ARGYLL, His Grace the Duke of, K.T., LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.G.S., 
Inverary Castle, Argyleshire. 

1860. Austin & M‘Astan, Nurserymen, Buchanan Street, Glasgow. 


1880. BALpDEN, John, Dilston, Corbridge-on-Tyne, Northumberland. 
1880. BaLpEN, Robert S., Wood Manager, Castle Howard, York. 
1886. BALrour, John, of Balbirnie, Markinch, Fife. 

1889. Batrour, John, Gardener, Stravithie, St Andrews. 

1888. Barwass, James, Ironmonger, High Street, Perth. 

1867. Barris, David, Forester, Comlongan Castle, Annan. 

1882, BArrig, John, Land Steward, Gateforth Hall, Selby, Yorkshire. 
1889. Barron, John, Elvaston Nurseries, Borrowash, near Derby. 
1874. Barron, James, Forester, Hatfield House, Herts. 

1871. Baxrer, Robert, Forester, Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith. 

1883. Brn, Andrew, Forester, Broomhall, Charlestown, Fife. 

1866. Bett, James, The Gardens, Stratfieldsaye, Winchfield, Hants. 
1890. Berripcr, W., Sandy Cross, Bromyard, Worcester. 

1889. Berry, Francis, Forester, Culquoich, Inverkindie, Aberdeenshire. 
1869. Bisserr, William S., Overseer, Moncriefle House, Perth. 


| 


APPENDIX. 


Date of 
Election. 


1889. 
1883. 
1854. 
1872. 
1876. 
1857. 
1887. 
1883. 
1889. 
1860. 
1881. 
1878. 
1868. 


1887. 
1889. 
1883. 
18385. 
1873. 
1873. 


1887. 
1870. 


1890. 
1889. 
1865. 
1883. 


1884. 
1883. 
1887. 
1890. 
1872. 
1866. 
1891. 
1890. 
1882. 
1887. 
1887. 
1890. 
1879. 
1858. 
1872. 
1874. 
1875. 
1867. 


Buatr, Peter, Gardener, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent. 

BLAKg, Jas., Forester, Morton Hall, Edinburgh. 

Boa, Andrew, Land Steward, Dalton House, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Boa, Andrew, jun., Sub-Agent, Great Thurlow, Newmarket, Suffolk. 

Booru, John, 114 Kurfursteadain, Berlin. 

Borruwick, William, Forester, Dunnichen, Forfar. 

Bouucer, Professor, 18 Ladbroke Grove, London, 

Boyn, John, Forester, Pollok Estate, Pollokshaws, Glasgow. 

Britron, Horatio A., Timber Valuer, 6 Birch Street, Wolverhampton. 

Bropik, James, Land Steward, Glasslough, Armagh, Ireland. 

Broptig, Vernon Alex., Civil Service, Madras. 

Brown, J. A. Harvie, of Quarter, Dunipace House, Larbert. 

Brown, John E., F.L.S., Conservator of Forests, Forest Board Office, 
Adelaide, South Australia. 

Brown, J. R., Wentworth Nurseries, Hexham. 

Browy, P. 8., Tayview, Broughty Ferry. 

BRowNING, John M., The Gardens, Dupplin Castle, Perth. 

Bruck, Thomas, Assistant Forester, Cross Roads, Kinnell, Friockheim. 

Brypon, John, Forester, Rothes, Elgin. 

BucuAn, Alexander, A.M., F.R.S.E., Secretary of the Scottish 
Meteorological Society, 72 Northumberland Street, Edinburgh. 


CADELL, George, 22 Great George Street, Westminster, London. 

CAMERON, Alexander, Forester, Countlich Lodge, Ballinluig, Perth- 
shire. 

CampsELL, Alexander, of Auchindarroch, Lochgilphead. 

CAMPBELL, Colin, Agent, Bretby Park, Burton-on-Trent. 

CAMPBELL, James, of Tillichewan Castle, Dumbartonshire. 

CAMPBELL, John Macnaught, C.E., F.L.S., Assistant Curator, City 
Museum, Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. 

Curisti£, Alex. D., The Gardens, Ragley, Alcester, Warwickshire. 

Curisti£, William, Nurseryman, Fochabers. 

CLARK, Alexander, 226 High Street, Linlithgow. 

CLARK, Charles, Forester, Cawdor Castle, Nairn. 

CuArRK, David, Forester, Elie House, Elie, Fife. 

CuArK, James, Forester, Balvaird Cottage, Strathmiglo, Fife. 

CiarK, John, Forester, Haddo House, Aberdeen. 

Cocksurn, Philip, Dalkeith. 

Cours, Robt. T., Forester, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, 

Cook, Alfred, Forester, Empingham, Stamford. 

Cook, James, Land Steward, Arniston, Gorebridge. 

Cooker, R. W., of Messrs Dunning & Cooke, Newcastle. 

Coupak, Robert, Forester, Ashford, Cong, County Galway. 

Cowan, James, Forester, Bridgend, Islay. 

Cowik, John, Assistant Forester, Mountstuart, Rothesay. 

Cowper, R. W., Gortanore, Sittingbourne. 

CrasBeE, David, Forester, Cortachy Castle, Kirriemuir. 

CRABBE, James, Forester, Glamis Castle, Forfarshire. 


8. 


APPENDIX. 


Date of 
Election. 


1876. 
1887. 
1868. 


1891. 
1884. 
1869. 
1874. 
1865. 


1857. 
1884. 
1868. 
1889, 
1891. 
1884. 
1887. 
1882. 
1867. 
1889. 
1862. 
1866. 
1875. 
1889. 
1873. 


1885. 
1887. 
1873. 


1880. 
1872. 
1891. 
1869. 
1884. 
1890. 
1878. 
1891. 
1884. 
1883. 
1889. 
1878. 
1884. 
1857. 


1878. 
1874. 
1885. 


Crome, James, Assistant Forester, Kelly Castle, Arbirlot, Arbroath. 
Cumming, Allan, Forester, Milldeans, Kennoway, Fife. 
CUNNINGHAM, John, Forester, Ardross, Alness, Ross-shire. 


DacuisH, John, Rothley Lake, Cambo R. So. Northumberland. 

DauzreL, James, Forester, Culzean Castle, Maybole, Ayrshire. 

DANIELS, Peter, Forester, Slindon Hall, Arundel, Sussex. 

Davipson, George, Land Steward, Walton, Linlithgow. 

Davipson, John, Agent, Greenwich Hospital Estates, Haydon Bridge, 
Northumberland. 

Davipson, John, Forester, Aldbar, Brechin. 

Drane-Drake, Joseph Edward, Stokestown House, New Ross, Ireland. 

Dodds, George, Overseer, Rotherham Woods, Rotherham. 

Don, John, Seedsman, Chapel Bar, Nottingham. 

Donatp, A. S., Forester, Philiphaugh, Selkirk. 

Doveutry, Wm., Forester, Langholm Estate, Canonbie, Dumfriesshire. 

DovucG.as, Robert, 64 Princes Street, Edinburgh. 

Dovetas, Captain Palmer, of Cavers, Hawick. 

Dow, Thomas, Forester, Bretby, Burton-on-Trent. 

DruMmmonD, Robert, Road Surveyor, Midcalder. 

DrummMonp & Sons, William, Nurserymen, Stirling. 

Durr, James, Factor, Blackwood, Lesmahagow. 

DuncaAN, James, Land Steward, Glack, Old Meldrum. 

Duncan, J. W., Somerville Place, Broughty Ferry. 

DurwakbD, Robert, Manager, Blelack, Dinnet, Aberdeenshire. 


Eddington, Francis, Forester, Windlestone, Ferryhill, County Durham. 
ErskIN&E, William, of Oaklands, Trinity. 
Ewine, David, Forester, Strichen House, Aberdeen, 


Fercusson, Sir James Ranken, Bart., Spitalhaugh, West Linton. 
FINGLAND, John, Forester, Drumlanrig, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. 
Firru, W. M., Timber Merchant, 19 Montpelier, Edinburgh. 
FisuEr, William, Estate Agent, Wentworth Castle, Barnsley, Yorkshire, 
FLEMING, John, Albert Saw-Mills, Aberdeen. 

Forses, Arthur C., Wood Manager, Bowood, Calne, Wiltshire, 
Forses, Robert, Overseer, Clova, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, 
Foreman, Frederick, Nurseryman, Eskbank, Dalkeith, 

Forrest, Thomas, Assistant Forester, Dalzell Home Farm, Motherwell. 
Forrest, Sir William J., Bart. of Comiston, Edinburgh. 

Forster, William A., Forester, Belgrave Lodge, Pulford, Wrexham. 
ForsyruHek, John M., Wood Manager, Woburn, Bedfordshire, 

Fouts, Thomas, Publisher, 9 South Castle Street, Edinburgh, 
Fraser, P. Neill, of Rockville, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, 


GALLETLY, James, Overseer, Bonhard, Perth. 
GALLOWAY, George, Estate Offices, Woodhouses, Whitchurch, Salop. 
Gibp, James, Assistant Forester, Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, 


APPENDIX. 9 


Date of 
Election. 


1870. 
1887. 
1881. 
1876. 
1880. 
1887. 


1891. 


1868. 
1882. 
1887. 
1882. 
1867. 
1873. 
1883. 
1890. 


1872. 
1888. 


1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 


1873. 
1889. 
1887. 
1890. 
1891. 
1872. 
1888. 
1880. 
1889. 
1869. 
1866. 
1871. 
1883. 
1878. 
1871. 
1886, 
1866. 
1884. 
1887. 
1874. 
1872. 
1880. 


GILBERT, James, Forester, Gallovie, Kingussie. 

GILBERT, W. Matthews, The Scotsman Office, Edinburgh. 

GitcHRIST, William, Forester, Leuchars, Elgin. 

GLASSBROOK, Geo., Bailiff, Remenham Farm, Henley-on-Thames, Bucks. 

Glen, David A., Assistant Forester, Swinton, Masham, Yorks. 

Gomersall, Edward, Forester, Moor Crichel, Wimborne, Dorset. 

Gorrik, G. H., Estate Office, Dalkeith. 

Gossip, James, of Howden & Co., The Nurseries, Inverness. 

Gow, Robt., Assistant Forester, Raith, Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire. 

GRANT, Alexander, Assistant Forester, Edensor, Chatsworth, Derbyshire. 

Grant, Alex. M‘D., Assistant Forester, Newton, Winchburgh. 

GRANT, Donald, Forester, Drumin, Ballindalloch. 

Grant, James, Forester, Heath, Chesterfield. 

GREEN, Arthur A., 20 Annandale Street, Edinburgh. 

GreENwoop, C. H., Assistant Forester, Hamels Park, Buntingford, 
Herts. ‘ 

GREIVE, James, Messrs Dicksons & Co.’s Nurseries, Pilrig, Edinburgh. 

GRIEVE, James, Waterloo Hotel, Edinburgh. 


HAppincTon, the Right Hon. the Earl of, Tyninghame, Prestonkirk. 

Happon, Walter, Solicitor, Royal Bank, Hawick. 

HADFIELD, Gordon, Forest Department, Madras. 

Hamitton, Donald C., Forester, Bargany Mains, Girvan, Ayr- 
shire. 

HaAmi.ton, John B. Baillie, of Arnprior, Cambusmore, Callander. 

HANkKIns, Charles, Forester, Grimsthorpe, Bourne. 

HANSEN, Professor Carl, Royal Agricultural College, Copenhagen. 

Harpig, James F., Forester, Donibristle, Aberdour, 

Harpies, J. W., 12 Baltic Street, Leith. 

HARTLAND, Richard, The Lough Nurseries, Cork, 

HARWELL, John Hood, Overseer, Whitemoss, Kirknewton. 

HAveELock, W. B., Forester, Duncombe Park, Helmsley, York. 

Hayes, John, Overseer, Dormont, Lockerbie. 

HayMAn, John, Queenshill, Ringford. 

Henpverson, Arch., Forester, Clonad Cottage, Tullamore, King’s County, 

HENDERSON, John, Overseer, Vogrie, Ford, Dalkeith. 

HeEnpDERSON, W., The Gardens, Balbirnie, Markinch. 

Henry, Kennedy, Forester, Craighall, Rattray, Blairgowrie. 

HETHERTON, Walter, Forester, Merton, Beaford, Devon. 

Hopson, Richard Edmund, Hollybrooke, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. 

Hocartu, James, Forester, Culhorn, Stranraer. 

Hoace, Andrew, Forester, Castle Fraser, Kemnay, Aberdeenshire. 

Houmes, Joseph, The Gardens, Winton Castle, Pencaitland, 

Home, Edward, Assistant Forester, Edington, Chirnside, 

Home, George, Forester, Branxholme, Hawick. 

Horrroun, His Excellency The Right Hon. the Earl of, Governor 
of Victoria, Australia. 


76. Hut, Frank, Forester, Lilleshall, Newport, Salop. 


10 


APPENDIX. 


Date of 
Election. 


1891. 
1870. 


1886. 


1887. 
1883. 
1878. 
1888. 


1867. 
1880. 
1870. 
1876. 
1882. 
1882. 
1872. 
1887. 
1870. 
1879. 
1883. 
1884. 
1876. 


1890. 
1886. 
1890. 


1885. 
1873. 
1874. 
1880. 
1879. 
1883. 


1872. 
1870. 
1855. 
1890. 


1887. 
1869. 
1890. 
1879. 
1889. 
1882. 
1890. 
1889. 
1871. 


INGLIs, William, Forester, Brodick, Arran. 

IRELAND & THomson, Nurserymen and Seedsmen, 81 Princes Street, 
Edinburgh. 

IRVINE, Daniel, Overseer, Glendevon House, Dollar. 


Jack, Donald, Forester, Pellipar, Dungiven, Londonderry. 

JOHNSTON, Robert, Forester, Somerley, Ringwood, Hants. 
JOHNSTONE, Adam, Forester, Coollattin, Shillelagh, County Wicklow. 
JONES, James, Wood Merchant, Larbert. 


Kay, James, Wood Manager, Bute Estate, Rothesay. 

Keay, Robert B., Findon Estates Office, Conon Bridge. 

Kerr, David, Forester, Ladywell, Dunkeld. 

KELMAN, John, Forester, Glenkindie, Aberdeen. 

KENNEDY, John, Forester, Flakebridge, Appleby, Westmoreland. 
KENNEDY, Walter, Forester, New Tarbet, Parkhill, Ross-shire. 
KENNEDY, William, Overseer, Glen Carradale, Greenock. 

Ker, R. D., Writer to the Signet, 50 George Street, Edinburgh. 
Kipp, James B., Forester, Dunrobin Estates, Golspie. 
KincatrneEy, The Hon. Lord, 6 Heriot Row, Edinburgh. 
KINNEAR, Alex., Forester, Galloway House, Garlieston. 

Knox, Henry, Forester, Brae Lodge, Maybole, Ayrshire. 
Kyrxkg, R. V., of Penywern, Mold. 


LAIDLAW, William, Forester, Rochsoles Estate, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. 

Laidlaw, William, Forester, Fasque, Lettercairn. 

Larrp, David Pringle, of R. B. Laird & Sons, 17 Frederick Street, 
Edinburgh. 

LArirp, James W., of W. P. Laird & Sinclair, 73 Nethergate, Dundee. 

Lauriston, Alexander, Rufford Nursery, Ollerton, Newark. 

LeicuH, William, of Woodchester Park, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. 

LEISHMAN, John, Manager, Cavers Estate, Hawick. 

Lrnpsay, Robert, Curator, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 

Locu, Sir Henry B., K.C.B., Governor of Cape Colony, South Africa. 


M ‘Cott, James M., Factor, Craignish Castle, Lochgilphead, Argyleshire. 

M‘CorQuopaLe, D. A., Bank of Scotland, Carnoustie. 

M‘CorquopaLg, Donald, Forester, Dunrobin Castle, Golspie. 

M‘Crar, Alexander, c/o Mrs Christie, Lynedoch Road, New Scone, 
Perth. 

M‘Cuutocn, James, Forester, Gala House, Galashiels. 

M‘Curcueron, Robert, Forester, Whittinghame, Prestonkirk. 

M‘Dona.pD, James, Gardener, Foulis Castle, Ross-shire. 

M‘Dovca.t, Alex., Forester, Drumbuie Lodge, Dunkeld. 

M‘Dougall, Alexander, Assistant Forester, Cumbernauld Estate, Glasgow. 

M‘FARLANE, John, Forester, Tarbet, Loch Lomond. 

M‘Ger, John, Assistant Forester, Bute Estate, Rothesay. 

M‘Grsson, Adam, Forester and Overseer, Argaty, Doune. 

M‘Gratu, Patrick, Forester, Galtee Castle, Mitchelstown, Tipperary. 


APPENDIX. 11 


Date of 

Election, 

1890. M‘Grecor, A., The Schoolhouse, Penicuik. 

1878. M‘Grecor, Duncan, Forester, Camperdown, Dundee. 

1880. M‘Inrosu, A. G., Forester, Brocklesby Park, Ulceby, Lincolnshire. 
1885. MacIwnrosu, William, Idvies, Forfar. 

1882. M‘Intyre, John, Wood Merchant, Cardross, Dumbartonshire. 
1884. M‘Kay, James, Forester, Breadalbane Estates, Killin. 

1875. Mackay, John, Lauderdale Estate Office, Wyndhead, Lauder. 


1887. 
1891. 
1867. 
1882. 
1867. 
1882. 
1883. 
1878. 
1879. 
1878. 
1867. 
1866. 
1865. 


1882. 
1874. 


1883. 
1884. 
1876. 
1884. 
1886, 
USO 
1879. 
1889. 
1891. 
1873. 
1863. 


1863. 


1865. 
1889. 
1882. 


1891. 
1890. 
1869. 
1876. 
1889. 
1876, 


Mackay, Peter, Assistant Forester, Rochsoles, Airdrie. 

MAcKENpDRICK, James, Forester, Brodie Castle, Forres. 

Mackenzik, Alex., Warriston Nursery, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh. 

MAckKENZIE, Sir Alex. Muir, Bart. of Delvine, Dunkeld. 

Mackenzik, John Ord, of Dolphinton, W.S., 9 Hill Street, Edinburgh. 

Mackik, James H. J., Land Steward, Invermay, Dunning, Perthshire. 

M‘KiInNon, George, The Gardens, Melville Castle, Lasswade. 

Mackintosu, The, of Mackintosh, Moy Hall, Inverness. 

M‘Laren, Charles, Land Steward, Cally Lodge, Dunkeld. 

M‘Laren, John T., Overseer, Kennet, Alloa. 

M‘LrAN, Andrew, Forester, Rutherford, Roxburgh. 

M‘Lean, William, Forester, Eglinton Castle, Irvine. 

M‘LELLAN, Duncan, Superintendent of Parks, 7 Kelvingrove Terrace, 
Glasgow. 

M‘Letian, Robt., 5 Dowan Vale Terrace, Partick. 

M‘Leop, Angus A., Superintendent of City Gardens, 14 Royal Exchange, 
Edinburgh. 

M‘Leop, John, of Dickson & Turnbull, 26 George Street, Perth. 

Marin, Adam, Assistant Forester, Cluny Castle, Aberdeen. 

Martin, James, Forester, Knipton, Grantham, Lincolnshire. 

Masstr, William H., of Dicksons & Co., 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. 

MAXWELL, Sir Herbert E., Bart. of Monreith, M.P., Wigtownshire. 

MAXWELL, James, Assistant Forester, Bellstane, Drumlanrig. 

MEIKLE, R. A., Ri Cruin, Lochgilphead. 

MELVILLE, The Right Hon. Viscount, Melville Castle, Lasswade. 

Menzies, A. M‘G., The Nurseries, Larclifield, Dumfries. 

Menzies, George, Agent, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent. 

MeTHvEN, Henry, of Thomas Methven & Sons, 15 Princes Street, 
Edinburgh. 

Meruven, John, of Thomas Methven & Sons, Leith Walk Nurseries, 
Edinburgh. 

Micuie, Christopher Young, Forester, Cullen House, Banffshire. 

MILLER, William, Assistant Agent, Coombe A bbey, Coventry. 

Mine, Alexander, of James Dickson & Sons, 32 Hanover Street, 
Edinburgh. 

MiLne, R. W., Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 

MILNE, William, Foulden, Berwick-on-Tweed, 

MITcHELL, James, Aldie Castle, Kinross. 

MircueEt, John, Forester, Bolton Abbey, Skipton, Yorks. 

MircHetL, William, Brantinghampthorpe, Brough, Hull, 


MoreGan, George, Wood Merchant, Turret Bank, Crieff, 


12 


APPENDIN. 


Date of 
Election. 


1890. 
1866. 
1890. 
1876. 
1883. 


1885. 


1889. 
1887. 
1869. 
1871. 
1878. 


1874. 
1888. 
1883. 


1876. 
1888. 
1886. 
1870. 
1873. 
1877. 
1884. 
1879. 
1882. 


1890. 
1883. 
1887. 
1890. 
1888. 


1887. 
1867. 
1872. 
1870. 


1858. 
1875. 
1871. 


Murrnean, George, Factor, Haddo House, Aberdeen. 

Muirueap, John, Forester, Bicton, Budleigh Salterton, Devonshire. 
Munro, Donald, Forester, Cool, Ross-shire. 

Munro, Hugh, Forester, Holkham Hall, Norfolk. 

Murray, John, Assistant Forester, Murthly Castle, Perthshire. 


Newercarne, John W., Nurseryman, Dumfries. 
Nicor, W. R., Forester, Kilkerran, Maybole. 
Nicoit, John, 48 Castle Street, Edinburgh. 


Pacer, Andrew Duncan, Land Steward, Culzean, Maybole. 
PaLMER & Son, John, Nurserymen, Annan. 


. PARKER, James, Forester, Belvoir Castle, Grantham. 
. Parerson, W. G., Timber Merchant, Invergordon. 
. Paron, Hugh, Nurseryman, Kilmarnock. 


PaTreRson, Colin M., Resident Factor, Newbattle Park, Dalkeith. 

PaxToN, Thomas A., Forester, Newbattle, Dalkeith. 

PeesLes, Andrew, Estate Office, Albury, Guildford, Surrey. 

PENDREIGH, John, Assistant Forester, Port Bannatyne, Rothesay. 

PircAITHLEY, Alexander, Forester, Sudbourne Hall, Wickham Market, 
Suffolk. 

Puarr, Colonel Henry, Gorddinag, Langairfechan, near Bangor. 

Prater, T. Herbert, Canford Estate Office, Wimbourne, Dorset. 

Preston, Wm. M., Estate Office, Barron Hill, Beaumaris, 


Raz, William Alexander, Murthly Castle, Perthshire. 

RALSTON, James, Forester, Castlecary, Glasgow. 

RamaGk, J. L., Assistant Forester, Armsheugh, Grougar, Galston. 

RATTRAY, Thos., Forester, Westonbirt House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, 

Ricuarpson, Adam, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 

Riper, William H., 14 Bartholomew Close, London, E.C. 

Ropertson, A. B., Moncrieffe House, Bridge of Karn. 

20BERTSON, Donald, Forester, Novar, Evanton, Ross-shire. 

Roperrson, James, Assistant Forester, Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derby- 
shire. 

Rosertson, J. S., Cawdor Estate Office, Nairn. 

Ropertson, William, Assistant Forester, Ringwood, Birnam. 

20BERTSON, William, Assistant Forester, Scone, Perth. 

Rogerrson, William, Assistant Forester, Novar, Ross-shire. 

Rosson, John, Assistant Forester, Ardgowan Castle, Inverkip, 
Renfrewshire. 

Ross, John, Forester, Hopetoun, South Queensferry. 

2uSSELL, John, Manager, Craigie House, Ayr. 

Rust, Joseph, The Gardens, Evidge Castle, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. 

2UTHERFORD, John, Forester, Linthaugh, Jedburgh. 


SanppacH, Henry R., Hafodunos, Abergele. 
Sano, Edmund, of E. Sang & Sons, Nurserymen, Kirkealdy. 
Scarru, T. W., Land Agent, Raby Castle, Staindrop, Darlington, 


APPENDIX. We 


Date of 
Election. 


1870. 
1883. 
1881. 
1890. 
1883. 
1890. 
1870. 
1891. 
1887. 
1882. 
1889. 


1869. 
1868. 
1873. 
1871. 
1883. 
1886. 
1870. 
1883. 
1885. 
1870. 
1882. 
1875. 


1876. 
1876. 
1889. 
1876. 
1872, 


1869. 
1887. 
1882. 
1889. 
1891. 
1869. 
1871. 


1883. 


1888. 


1870. 
1879. 
1872. 
1889. 


Scorr, Adam, Forester, Southwick Park, Fareham, Hants. 

Scort, D. P., Hilltown Branch National Bank of Scotland, Dundee. 

Scorr, James, Forester, Woollaton Hall, Notts. 

Scort, John, Assistant Forester, Hornley, near Lancaster. 

Scorr, William, Assistant Forester, Blairhill, Dollar. 

ScrimcEour, John, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 

SuHanks, John, Forester, Kildrummy Castle, Mossat, Aberdeenshire, 

Suaw, James, Gardener, Belladrum, Beauly. 

Srmpson, Anthony, Assistant Forester, Dunrobin Castle, Golspie. 

Srycnatr, Peter, Wood Merchant, Perth. 

SINFIELD, George, Assistant Forester, Witch Wood Lodge, Staple 
Fitzpaine, Taunton. 

Srtxron, James, Forester, Stourhead Estate, Stourton, Bath. 

SLATER, Andrew, Overseer, Haystoun, Peebles. 

SmirH, G. B., Wire Fence Manufacturer, 61 West Regent St., Glascow, 

SmirH, James, The Gardens, Mentmore, Leighton-Buzzard, Bucks, 

SmiTH, James, The Gardens, Hopetoun, South Queensferry. 

Smitu, John, Surveyor, Romsey, Hampshire. 

Smiru, Thomas, Nurseryman, Stranraer, 

Situ, William, Chemist, Stockbridge, Edinburgh. 

Sprers, David, Overseer, Mugdrum, Newburgh, Fife. 

Srewart, John, Overseer, Abington, Lanarkshire. 

Srewart, John, 13 Burrell Square, Crieff. 

Srewart, J. M., Cherry Tree Cottage, Nusworth, Whitefield, near 
Manchester. 

Stewart, Robert, Forester, Stonefield, Tarbert, Lochfyne, N.B. 

STrRLiNG, John, Forester, Largie Castle, Tayinloan, Kintyre. 

Srortr, Robert, 92 High Street, Dalkeith. 

Sruart, Charles, Forester, Glenmoriston, Inverness. 

Swan, R. G., Auctioneer, Duns. 


Tarr, David, Overseer, Owston Park, Doncaster, Yorkshire, 
Taytor, Andrew, 11 Lutton Place, Edinburgh. 

Taytor, William, Assistant Forester, Dupplin Castle, Pertlishire. 
Taytor, William Fletcher, Knowefield Nurseries, Carlisle. 
TENNANT, Edward, 195 W. George Street, Glasgow. 

Tuomson, Lockhart, 8.8.C., 114 George Street, Edinburgh. 
TomiiNson, Wilson, Forester, Clumber Park, Worksop, Notts. 


Unperwoop, Henry E., Sub-Agent, Fornham, St Genevieve, Bury St 
Edmunds, Suffolk. 


VINCENT, Frederick D’A., 8 Ebury Street, London. 


Watt, G. Young, Land Agent, Grange House, Darlington. 
Watson, John, of Earnock, Hamilton. 

Wart, James, J.P., of Little & Ballantyne, Nurserymen, Carlisle. 
Watters, Dennis, Forester, Wester Elchies, Carron, Strathspey. 


14 APPENDIX. 

Date of 

Election. 

1887. Wauau, Thomas, R.H.S. Gardens, Cheswick, London. 


1874. 
1891. 
1866. 
1891. 


1883. 
1884. 
1883. 
1891. 
1875. 
1882. 
1889. 
1890. 
1887. 
1872. 
1883. 
1868. 


1875. 
1890. 


Wesster, Angus D., Overseer, Holwood Park, Kent. 

We su, James, of Dicksons & Co., 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. 

WELSH, William M., of Dicksons & Co., 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. 

WuittIncHAM, William, Estate Olfice, Norton Priory, near Runcorn, 
Cheshire. 

WuirTrTon, Peter, The Gardens, Methven Castle, Perth. 

Wuirton, James, The Gardens, Glamis Castle, Glamis. 

WILkik, Charles, Assistant Forester, Lennoxlove, Haddington, 

WILKIE, G., Architect, Hayfield, Peebles. 

WILKIE, Thos., 21 Belleville Road, Wandsworth, London, 

WILLIAMSON, A., Wood Manager, Eridge Castle, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. 

Wixiramson, A. T., 7 Kew Terrace, Edinburgh. 

WILLIAMSON, George, Tle Links, Leven, Fife. 

WILsoN, George, Forester, Penrice Castle, Swansea, Wales. 

Wilson, John, Forester, Sudbourne Hall, Wickhan Market, Suffolk. 

WINNING, John G., Estate Office, Branxholm, Hawick. 

WYLLIE, George, Ballogie, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. 


Younc, William, Forester, Morriston Cottage, Earlston, Berwickshire. 
> ’ cine, ’ 
YounlI£, Gcorge, Assistant Forester, Woburn, Beds. 


a 
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, Vol AM LLL 


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= 
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_ 


me C———_ 


—— 


feoyal Scot Arber Soc Trans, Vol AU] PL IT 


GROUND PLAN OF THE FOREST ACADEMY, EBERSWALDE. 


Laboratory. 


Class-Room for Chemistry. 


Laboratory for Research. 


Weighing-Room. Geological Hand- 
Collection. 


Reading-Room : Work-Room. 


Geological Museum. 


OF THE 


ROYAL 
— SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. — 
| VOL. XT PART IIT. 
| SECRETARY AND TREASURER, 
WILLIAM J. MOFFAT, : 
TPELLOW OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH, 
5 
| 
| 
5 
! 
| | 
: 5 
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; 
: 


EDINBURGH: 
PRENADED oPOR TERE SOCCER EY: 


SOLD BY DOUGLAS & FOULIS, CASTLE STREET. 
MDCCCXCIII. 


De an . a 


Aif\lLs 


BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT. 


THOMAS METHVEN & SONS, 


WMurserpmen and Seedsmen 
TO THE QUEEN, 


NVITE the attention of intending Planters to their large 

Stock of Seedling and Transplanted Forest and other Trees 

and Shrubs. They are this season in a healthy and vigorous 
condition, and well suited for successful transplanting. 


EVERGREEN AND DECIDUOUS SHRUBS. 
SHRUBS FOR GAME COVERT, AND UNDERWOOD. 
TREES AND SHRUBS FOR SEHA-SIDE PLANTING. 
THORN AND OTHER HEDGE PLANTS. 


Specimen Ornamental Trees for producing immediate 
effect on Lawns and AVENUES. 


RHODODENDRONS—all the Best Varieties. 
FRUIT TREES of the Best Kinds. 
ROSES—all sorts worthy of cultivation. 


SAMPLES ON APL LICATAee 


Special Prices for large Quantities. 


(= 406 


Seed Warehouse: 15 PRINCES STREET. 


Nurseries: LEITH WALK, WARRISTON, AND FETTES. 
EDINBURGH. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


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Printers to the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, Royal Physical Society, etc. 
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ADVERTISEMENTS. 


Established 1801. 


SEEDLING AND TRANSPLANTED FOREST TREES. 


Ornamental Trees and Shrubs, Roses and Fruit Trees. 


JAMES DICKSON & SONS, 


32 HANOVER STREET and INVERLEITH ROW, 
zDIN BU R.GeeeE 


CATALOGUES FREE ON APPLICATION. 


JAMES DICKSON & SONS received the highest awards for ‘‘ Conifers” and 
**Hardy Plants” at the International Chrysanthemum Exhibition, Edinburgh, 
1889 ; and again at the great Chrysanthemum Exhibition of 1890. 


Grown from Seed collected in the 
s North of Scotland, on high-lying 
grounds, and under the exposure of 


a rigorous climate. 


Hardy Ornamental Conifers, 
Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, 
Plants for Game Coverts, Hedges, &c. 


All are Fibrous-Rooted, Robust, and Grown Unsheltered. 
SENT TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. 
SPECIAL OFFERS FOR LARGE QUANTITIES, and Carriage Rates Reduced, 


CATALOGUES POST FREE. 


BENJAMIN REID & CO, 
FOREST-TREE NURSERIES, ABERDEEN. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


*““CERTIFICATE,” Highest Award at HORTICULTURAL SocIETY’s 
EXHIBITION AT CARLISLE, 1880. 
“SILVER MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL FoRESTRY EXHIBITION, 
EDINBURGH, 1884. 
**GOLD MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 
OF SCIENCE AND Art, EDINBURGH, 1886. 
‘*SILVER MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL ELECTRICAL 
EXHIBITION, EDINBURGH, 1890. 
“SILVER MEDAL,” Highest Award at INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL 
EXHIBITION, LoNDON, 1892. 


MACKENZIE & MONCUR, 


HOT-HOUSE BUILDERS, 
UPPER GROVE PLACE, EDINBURGH, 


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By Special Appointment to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. 


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Erected in Wood or Iron in the most substantial manner in any 
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PLANS AND ESTIMATES ON APPLICATION. 


All Communications to be sent to Edinburgh Address. 


Telegrams, ‘‘ Hothouse, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 805, Edinburgh. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS, 
A Large Stock of Healthy, Well-grown Stuff. 


FRUIT TREES, 


The Finest Collection in Scotland. 


GREENHOUSE and STOVE PLANTS, 


IMMENSE VARIETY TO CHOOSE FROM. 


R. B. LAIRD & SONS. 


BHDINBURGH. 


SEEDS— 
FLOWER, VEGETABLE, AGRICULTURAL, 


All of the finest Strains, and specially selected for 
our retail trade. 


Seed Warehouse and Office: 
17 SOUTH FREDERICK STREET. 


Nurseries: 
PINKHILL, MEADOW PARK, and BEECHWOOD MAINS, 
MURBRAYFIELD. 


Nurseries connected by Telephone. 


Telegraphic Address, “ Laird, Edinburgh.” Telephone No. 2033. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 
Weeds on Garden Walks, Ete. 
THE ‘‘PERFECT”’ 


WEED KILLER. 


A Liquid for destroying Weeds, Moss, Lichens, etc., on 
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It will keep them away for 12 months at least. May be applied with an ordinary 
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One gallon as sold makes 25 gallons for use, and is sufficient to treat 
80 to 100 square yards. 
Saves many times its cost in labour, and eradicates the weeds far more thoroughly 
than any hand weeding. 


Used at Kew Gardens, Royal Horticultural Gardens, etc. 
PRICE—Gal. 2/; 5 Gals. 1/6; 10 Gals. 1/4. 


Special Quotations for Larger Quantities. 
Carriage paid 10 gallons and upwards. Trial Sample post free. 


DISTRIBUTOR FOR 
Seemeec., WEED KILLER 


Holds 40 gallons. Wrought-Iron frame-work neatly ahi eh VAT SAP nents 
painted, Galvanised tubes with tap to regulate flow. =) SNS ; 

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Sole Manufacturers— 


THE HORTICULTURAL AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL C0., 


97 MILTON STREET, GLASGOW. 


Grown from carefully selected 
= seed—robust, hardy, and finely 
rooted— 


In our New Grounds at 


THE CASTLE NURSERIES, LIBERTON. 
DICKSONS & CoO. 


1 WATERLOO PLACE, 
EDINBURGH. 


Established over a Century. 


A complete collection of the most 
useful sorts, carefully grown and prepared S H R lJ BS 
for transplanting 


FORESTRY AND GARDENING TOOLS 
of every description. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


AUSTIN & M'ASLAN 


Wurserymen and Seedsmen, 
GLASGOW. 


ESTABLISHED 1717. 


SEED WAREHOUSE, . 89 MITCHELL STREET. 
334? DLORES, ; . SALKELD STREET, 
NURSERIES, . } . CATHCART. 


WE beg to offer a very Extensive Stock of splendidly rooted, 
vigorous plants, comprising— 

FOREST TREES.—Suitable for various Soils and Exposures. 
ORNAMENTAL TREES.—For Parks and Lawns, 
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—Underwood Shrubs for Game Coverts, etc. 


FLOWERING PLANTS.—For Woodlands. 


Catalogues Free on Application. For Large Quantities Special 
Quotations and Samples will be supplied. 


= 


GARDEN AND AGRICULTURAL SEEDS 


OF TESTED. OUALITY, 
PERMANENT PASTURE GRASSES.—Suitable for heavy 


clay as well as light gravelly and mossy Soils, for which we 
have received many very high commendations. 


LAWN and BOWLING-GREEN GRASSES.—These we be- 


lieve are Unsurpassed, and produce Magnificent Swards, 


TURNIPS, MANGOLDS, OARROTS, CLOVERS.—Purest 


Stocks, and cannot fail to give satisfaction. 


We beg to solicit the favour of a share of your Orders. 


TRANSACTIONS. 


CONTENTS. 


The Society, as a body, is not to be considered responsible for any statements or 
opinions advanced in the several papers, which must rest entirely on the authority 


of the respective authors. 


XX. Address delivered at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting, 9th 
August 1892. By Isaac BAyLey Batrour, Se.D., M.D., 
F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany 
in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal 
Botanic Garden, : ‘ : 3 : : 


XXI. On the Preparation of Wood Specimens for Exhibition. By 
GEORGE CADELL, Langley House, Surbiton, Surrey, 


XXII. The Afforestation of Large Areas in the Highlands and Islands 
of Scotland. By W. A. MAcKENzIr, Strabane, Brodick, 


Isle of Arran, 


XXIII. Report on the Plantations on the Estate of Raynham, Norfolk. 
By ARCHIBALD Gorrig, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Herts, 


XXIV. The Island of Arran as a Field for Planting. By W. A. 
MACKENZIE, Strabane, Brodick, Isle of Arran, : : 


XXY. Remarks on the Planting of the Sandhills on the Sea-Coast at 
Holkham, Norfolk. By ArcniBatp Gorrie, Brookmans 


Park, Hatfield, Herts, . 


XXVI. Our Timber Supplies from Abroad. By A. T, Winu1Amson, Kew 
Terrace, Edinburgh, 5 : : - - 


XXVII. Machine for Mending Broken Strands in Wire Fences. By 
' AnTHONY Simpson, Forester, Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, 


EXCURSION OF THE SOCIETY TO FIFESHIRE AND PERTHSHIRE. 
PEOCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL ScoTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


SYLLABUS OF SUBJECTS FOR COMPETITION IN 1893, 


PAGE 


301 


310 


318 


331 


341 


350 


353 


359 


TRANSACTIONS 


OF THE 


ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XX. Address delivered at the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting, 9th 
August 1892. By Isaac Baytey Batrour, 8c.D., M.D., 
F.R.S., Queen’s Botanist in Scotland, Professor of Botany 
in the University of Edinburgh, and Keeper of the Royal 
Botanic Garden. 


My first duty is to thank you for the honour you have done 
me in electing me again to preside over your meetings. The 
position in which you place me is one of which any scientific 
man might be proud, and if I do indulge such feelings, they are 
not unmixed with thoughts of the inadequacy of my service and 
of the forbearance with which you have been pleased to regard 
my deficiencies. In response to your request that I should 
during the coming year act as your President, I can only reply 
by assuring you that I shall continue to promote, as far as lies 
within my power, the interest of forestry, and the progress 
of this Society. 

In addressing to you this evening a few remarks, I must, at 
the outset, congratulate the Society on its prosperity. The 
secretary informs me that this is quite a record year for the 
Society in the matter of new blood; no less than fifty-five new 
members having been enrolled. Surely we have evidence in 
this of the spread of interest in the subject of forestry throughout 
the country, and that the efforts made by our Society are con- 
tinuing to operate with increasing effect in stimulating attention 
to the importance of our woodlands, alike from an utilitarian 
and from an esthetic point of view. And if our accession of 
strength has been so great, it is pleasant to have to state that 

VOL. XIII. PART III, x 


302 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


losses to the Society and the cause we are all engaged in carrying 
on, by the death of members, are not an average, and that no 
forester of outstanding ability has during the past year dis- 
appeared from our midst. 

In the remarks which I had the honour to address to the 
Society, from this chair, on the occasion of our last annual 
meeting, I briefly reviewed the position of the Society with 
reference to, and the progress it had made towards the attain- 
ment of aims for the promotion of scientific forestry after which 
it had been so long striving, and I ventured to express the hope 
that before another anniversary arrived the Society would be 
able to look back on its past endeavours with that feeling 
of satisfaction, which well-spent effort begets in the successful. 
It is most pleasing to me to find myself able to say that the past 
twelve months have been fruitful of solid achievement in the 
cause of forestry in Scotland; and the fruition, if it has not 
matured so rapidly as we had looked for, and if it is not so 
perfect as we could picture, is yet of a kind that we may, I 
think, be well content to have obtained, and I venture to hope 
we may claim to have succeeded in laying a foundation of the 
scientific education of foresters in this country. 

It was of forestry education that I spoke in a special manner 
at our annual meeting last year, and to-night I shall devote the 
short time I ask you to allow me to occupy to the same subject, 
in order that I may point out what has been done during the 
interval in the way of furthering this vital matter. 

You may recollect that I laid stress on the necessity of 
distinguishing the education of those attending our University 
from that of practical foresters, and I will to-night refer to those 
two sides of the question of education separately, for I do not 
require to remind the Society that it has interested itself alike 
in both. 

University Forestry Education—We met last year with a 
feeling of misfortune, in that we had lost the services of Dr 
Somerville, who had done such yeoman service for our cause in 
Edinburgh; and it seemed, for some time after his migration to 
Newcastle, that the difficulty of filling his official post amongst 
us as University Lecturer on Forestry, which we all knew would 
be so great, was to be even greater than we had supposed. But 
Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey, R.E., whose name is well known to all 
who are familiar with the aspects of Indian forestry, an officer of 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 9, 1892. 303 


wide experience, and whose personal qualities are no less admirable 
than his interest in forestry, stepped at short notice into the vacant 
lectureship and continued the work, which DrSomerville’s departure 
threatened to interrupt. It will, I am sure, be the sanguine 
hope of every member of the Society, that, under Lieutenant- 
Colonel Bailey, the progress of University teaching will proceed 
as rapidly and as effectually as it did under Dr Somerville, and 
the Society will extend a most hearty and sympathetic welcome 
to him. 

To the work conducted by Lieutenant-Colonel Bailey the 
Board of Agriculture continued the support given previously to 
Dr Somerville, and until sufficient endowment is obtained for 
the creation of a permanent Professorship of Forestry in the 
University, it is to be hoped the Board of Agriculture will not 
refuse to grant the £100 per annum by which so much has been 
already done. 

And this brings me to the question of the Endowment Fund for 
a Chair of Forestry in the University, to the raising of which the 
Society has devoted attention. As you are aware, the Highland and 
Agricultural Society has interested itself in this matter, and, like 
this Society, has obtained some money towards the fund. The 
amount already promised and in hand from all sources is, I 
understand, about a quarter of the total sum required, if the 
endowment is to be such as to place the Forestry Chair on a 
footing equal to that of other endowed chairs in the University 
of like character. The secretary will, at a later period, give us 
details of the figures. This is not altogether so satisfactory a 
result as we would wish for, but I see no element therein of 
discouragement. What I would say, and I believe you will all 
join me in saying it, is, we must get the money to endow the 
chair. For this purpose our efforts must be redoubled, and we 
must, in every possible way, endeavour to bring before those to 
whom good forestry is a matter of solid importance, the claims 
which forestry teaching in the University has upon them. A 
joint circular has been drawn up by the two Societies, this one 
and the Highland and Agricultural Society, and is to be issued 
at once. Let me, on behalf of this Society, ask our members to 
use every diligence in bringing it before those who should be 
willing and are able to subscribe to the fund. 

There is one other point bearing on university education in 
forestry which demands notice from me here. It is the position 


304 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of forestry side by side of others as one of education in the 
University. Members may remember that the Society addressed 
a communication to the Universities Commissioners on the 
subject of forestry teaching, and amongst the points urged upon 
their attention was the inclusion of forestry amongst subjects 
qualifying for a science degree. In a certain measure this has 
been favourably considered by the commissioners. In the draft 
ordinance for degrees in science in agriculture, the commissioners 
have placed forestry as one of the subjects of study in the cur- 
riculum, optional, however, with two other subjects, engineering 
and experimental physics. But this is not enough, What 
we want, and must have, is that it shall be compulsory, 
and I am not without hope that representations may be suc- 
cessful in securing the assignment to forestry of an essential 
place in the curriculum, a place which I do not think 
can be rightly denied to it. However this may be, there is 
ground for our expression of satisfaction, that the claims of our 
subject have been so far recognised by the Universities Commis- 
sioners. If their full recognition is not to be yet, time and 
organisation of the teaching of the subject will certainly bring it 
about. 

You will gather, then, that we have made some advance 
during the past year in pressing towards the development of 
university teaching of forestry in Edinburgh. We have not 
yet surmounted all the obstacles that stand between us and 
the realisation of our ideal; let us put even more energy into our 
endeavours and carry them to full success. 


I turn now to the Teaching of Practical Foresters. With 
regard to this the only point for dissatisfaction is the delay that 
has taken place in establishing the scheme which I unfolded in 
the remarks I made to the Society last year. By a notice in the 
Scotsman a few days ago, all of you will have learned that the 
scheme has been sanctioned, and the money required under it is 
now at our disposal. We may, I think, fairly exult over this 
achievement. We have now the means, in response to prolonged 
efforts, of providing for the education of foresters in the science 
underlying their profession, The day of carrying out the 
education of practical foresters has come, and as in the past 
we have shoulder to shoulder fought our battle for means of 
education, and have succeeded, so now we must in like manner 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 9, 1892. 305 


co-operate to make the working of the scheme of education a 
practical success. 

You know the essence of the scheme. Whilst educating 
foresters in the necessary sciences, work will be found for them 
in the Botanic Garden, and I hope elsewhere about Edinburgh. 
You may ask then what is to be our next step towards making _ 
this teaching a reality? We are all agreed, I take it, as to what 
we propose to do, to educate foresters in the sciences underlying 
their profession, and we have then two important points now to 
determine,—(1) When is the teaching to begin, and how is it to 
be conducted ? and (2) under what regulations are foresters to be 
admitted to the instruction ? 

I am glad of this opportunity to say something upon these 
heads, in order that through this Society young foresters through- 
out the country may become acquainted with our proposals :— 

As to the date of beginning- and the method of the course: 
I think October will be a convenient month in which to open 
the course of instruction. The present and next month are 
emphatically holiday months, and I should hore that by October 
it would be possible to arrange all preliminary matters. I 
have already been able to arrange for the teaching of several of 
the subjects proposed for the curriculum, and having secured as 
lecturers in several instances the assistants to the professors in 
the University, I am assured that the teaching will be of a most 
satisfactory kind. It will of course be our endeavour to make 
the instruction of as practical a character as possible, and the 
times of lecture and work will be so arranged that they will not 
interfere with the usual hours of labour, 

With regard to the second point :— Whatever rules are framed, 
they must be of a kind that will admit the right men, and 
will exclude the men who will not profit by the course. But it 
is not easy at the initiation of a scheme such as this to lay down 
definite rules, inasmuch as we have no means of estimating to 
what extent the opportunity we offer will, in the first instance, 
be taken advantage of, and it is evident that the number of men 
who can be taken on the staff of the Garden must be limited. 
But this is just one of these matters in which I look, and I am 
sure with justification, to the co-operation of members of the 
Society. This Society having given its imprimatur to the scheme, 
and nurserymen of Edinburgh having signified their willingness 
to aid in carrying it into effect, I have no doubt that a large 


306 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


number of competent men, should they desire to pass through 
the curriculum proposed, will be able to find employment in 
Edinburgh enabling them to do so. 

There is one condition I would mention that I believe will 
commend itself to you as of necessity attaching to the scheme. 
We must insist on all men coming to the course being practical 
men, who have had some years’ experience. The course is 
designed for them, and you will agree with me in thinking that 
men who have not had some such experience could not profit by 
the teaching we propose to give to the extent that those who have 
had such experience would do, and this condition is an essential 
one. And then whilst we are, so to speak, in the dark as to the 
amount of interest the course will arouse, yet we all believe it 
will attract considerable attention, and be appreciated amongst 
practical foresters, and therefore we must be prepared to institute 
some sort of means of selection amongst those who may apply for 
admission to the course, should we find from the number of 
applicants or other cause that it is necessary to do so. Beyond 
this I do not see that we need go at the present in the making of 
regulations. 

How are we now to make known to those who are likely to 
desire to attend our course the education we offer? I think the 
simplest plan that could be adopted would be this,—and I propose 
to adopt it,—to draw up a circular, which would be submitted to 
members of the Society able and willing to advise upon it, 
embodying a sketch of the course of instruction, the method in 
which it is to be carried out, and the regulations under which 
men may be admitted to it, along with a schedule to be filied up 
by an applicant, which would be returnable, say, by the middle of 
September, This circular and schedule, when adjusted, would be 
issued to proprietors, foresters, and others in the country who 
are interested in the subject and whom we could reach. 

Upon all these points concerning the scheme [ should be glad 
to have an expression of opinion, with suggestions from any 
member of the Society who will be so good as to favour me with 
them. During the excursion of the Society, which I hope to join, 
there will be opportunity of informal conversation upon the 
questions involved, and I shall be happy to discuss them with 
any members who may be willing to do so. 

In the way I have indicated, gentlemen, I hope that before 
many weeks are passed the scheme we have devised for the 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 9, 1892. 307 


teaching of practical foresters may be fairly launched. Personally, 
I shall do my best to make the scheme a success, and I believe it 
has in it the germs of success, in which belief I am fortified by 
the approval with which it has been received by the Society. 
But it is well that we should bear in mind that this is only the 
beginning of that portion of our ideal forestry school providing 
for practical foresters. We must not expect to be able to create 
all at once a perfect school for the teaching of our science. Like 
the tree itself, such a school, to be sound and durable, must grow 
slowly. But I would venture to hope that this beginning we’ 
shall shortly make is the foundation of a permanent school by 
which all the aspirations of foresters, so long expressed by this 
their representative Society, may be attained; for, however it 
may be in other spheres of work, I think we may, looking at 
our progress within the recent past, regard the flowing tide as 
being with us, on which I trust we may be carried to the full 
accomplishment of the aims we have set before us, 


Postscriet.—The circular alluded to above was issued in the 
form subjoined. It was found advisable to postpone the opening of 
the Course of Lectures until after Martinmas term day. 


Course of Instruction for Practical Foresters and Gardeners at the 
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 


C1iRCULAR. 


By arrangement between the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Works and 
the Board of Agriculture, a course of study in the Sciences underlying the 
Practice and in the Principles of Forestry and Horticulture will be instituted 
in the month of October of this year, at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 
for Practical Foresters and Gardeners. 

The curriculum will extend over two-and-a-half years, and will include the 
following subjects:—Chemistry, Physics, Meteorology, Geology, Surveying, 
and Mensuration, Entomology, Botany, Forestry, and Horticulture, and these 
will be taught practically as far as is possible. 

The curriculum will be free of charge to those who are admitted to it. 

The times of the classes will be arranged so as not to interfere with the 
usual hours of labour. 

No one will be admitted who has not had at least three years of practical 
experience in forestry or gardening, 

Applicants for admission must submit a recommendation and certificate of 
character from their employer.! 


1 If an applicant happens to be out of a situation, a recommendation and 
certificate of character from his last employer should be submitted, 


308 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


A certain number of men will be employed as members of the working 
staff of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, during the period of the 
curriculum. Such men will serve under all the regulations in force in the 
Garden, and will receive the current wages of their grade. Through the 
co-operation of the nurserymen in Edinburgh, arrangements will be made for 
the employment of others in the nurseries about Edinburgh during the period 
of the curriculum. 

Those who are admitted to the curriculum will be examined from time to 
time upon the subjects of study, and any one who does not show satisfactory 
progress may be debarred from continuing the curriculum. 

Practical foresters and gardeners desirous of entering on the curriculum 
are requested to fill up the form on the other side, and to return it not later 
than the 5th October, along with the recommendation and certificate of 
character mentioned above, addressed to the Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden, 
Edinburgh. 

Should it appear to be necessary or advisable, some method of selection 
amongst the applicants may be adopted. 

Applicants will be duly informed whether or no they have been admitted 
to the curriculum. Isaac BAYLEY BALFouR, 


Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 
15th September 1892. 


SCHEDULE. 


Form to be filled up by Applicants for admission to the Course of Instruction 
for Practical Foresters and Gardeners ut the Royal Botanic Garden, 
Edinburgh. 


Name 

Address 

Date of Birth 

Birthplace 

Forester or Gardener 

Name and address of present employer 

Length of time in present situation 

Previous situations and length of time in each 

Do you desire employment in the Royal Botanic Garden, or in a Nursery 
at Edinburgh, during the period of curriculum ? 


Roya Boranic GARDEN, 
EpinzureGu, 15th September 1892. 


Sir,—I have the honour to send the annexed prospectus (with form of 
application) of a Course of Instruction for Practical Foresters and Gardeners 
about to be instituted in this establishment, and to ask for your co-operation 
in making known the course to suitable men. I shall be glad to send 
additional application forms should you require them. 

I would specially invite your attention to that feature of the scheme by 
which it is proposed to find employment in and about Edinburgh for young 


ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, AUGUST 9, 1892. 309 


men from a distance desirous of taking advantage of the instruction offered, 
and in this way to enable them to support themselves during the period of 
study. The wage obtainable would be 17s. per week in this establishment, 
and about 2s. 6d. per day in nurseries, 

The advantages of the opportunities of study afforded by the scheme are 
so evident that they will probably be sufficient to induce good men to accept 
employment in Edinburgh at the rates mentioned, even although some 
diminution in their earnings is thereby involved. There is, however, the 
possibility that a deserving man might be called upon to make a pecuniary 
sacrifice in taking such employment which circumstances would not allow 
him to contemplate, and he might thus be precluded from attending the 
course. 

To meet such cases, and to supplement the wage obtainable, it has been 
suggested that the County Councils and other bodies having control of the 
administration of funds which could be allocated to such a purpose might, 
in different localities, see their way to making small grants, in the form of 
bursaries, to aid men desirous of working through the curriculum, and that 
many individual proprietors would be glad to give some additional pecuniary 
help to young men from their neighbourhood who wished to reap the 
benefit of the education offered. 

I therefore take the opportunity, whilst bringing under your notice the 
course of instruction proposed, to ask for your consideration of the sug- 
gestions I have mentioned, and to solicit your aid to give practical effect 
to them.—I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, 

Isaac BAYLEY BALFour. 


310 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


XXI. On the Preparation of Wood Specimens for Exhibition. By 
GrorGe CapELL, Langley House, Surbiton, Surrey. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Some little time since I was asked by the manager of the 
Kimberley and South African Exhibition, which is to be held 
in 1892-93, to draw up for the information of his executive com- 
mittee some suggestions for the effective display of their woods, 
with the view of their being sent on afterwards to the World’s Fair 
at Chicago. The idea of writing a short paper on the subject has 
thence emanated. While I am aware that it is somewhat of a rash 
adventure to put forward any suggestions, or, @ fortiori, to lay 
down any rules which may come under the notice of members of 
the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, who knew so well how 
to set off their exhibits to the best advantage, and to arrange them 
with the best taste, in 1884, yet I trust this rashness may be viewed 
with indulgence. For I may be permitted to remind them that 
neither in the pages of their own Z'ransactions, nor in The Timber 
Trades’ Journal, the organ of the British timber trade, is there, so 
far at least as I am aware, any code of directions laid down for 
those who are tyros in the art. The very temerity of my attempt, 
therefore, will find its best excuse in the evoking—if happily it 
may evoke criticism and correction, and in the framing by some 
competent authority—of whom the Society possesses within its 
ranks some well-known names—of rules and regulations for general 
guidance and adoption. For in these days when imperialism is so 
constantly brought under our notice, when its demands and aspira- 
tions have been focussed under one great centre, the Imperial 
Institute, we waut to know, and we shall expect it to teach us, 
what are the real resources of the empire, and whence any 
deficiencies known to exist within the bounds of our own islands 
may be satisfactorily and quickly supplied. 

I cannot think that, so far as woods are concerned, this information 
has been fairly, much less exhaustively, pushed, New woods have 
certainly been taken into favour, notably the padouk wood— 
Pterocarpus indicus—of the Andaman Islands, regarding which I 
read in the last annual circular of a well-known firm of timber 
importers as under :— 

“ Padouk.—The supplies have been 1°446 loads, and a good 
business has been done. The use of this wood is steadily extend- 
ing. Values range from 3s, to 3s. 9d. per cubic foot.” 


ON THE PREPARATION OF WOOD SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBITION. 311 


I fear, however, that this is the exception rather than the general 
rule, and that this wood owes the particular estimation in which it 
is held to the fact that the supplies of mahogany—a wood with 
which it more directly enters into competition—from Honduras, 
Mexico, and Cuba have been somewhat short recently. It is 
important, however, to notice this, because it is with special view 
to competition, and, wherever practicable, the substitution of 
British, that is Indian and Colonial, woods for those of foreign 
growth, that this necessity for uniformity in display is becoming 
more urgent. Even as I write the supply of English ash is scanty, 
and any really satisfactory substitute for it could at once command 
a market and a value. 

Now the exhibition of woods and timber specimens of all. sorts 
has before it two main objects—/irst, their interest for scientists ; 
second, their economic value. 

In the preparation of the specimens, therefore, these two objects 
should never be lost sight of; and in attempting to attain and 
illustrate them I would give the first place to 


Tue PREPARATION OF Forest PLANS AND CHARTS, 


I have elsewhere insisted upon the great usefulness of maps and 
plans, especially when the woods of a country which has different 
and sometimes sharply-defined zones, and correspondingly distinctive 
flora, are to be exhibited. To those who witnessed the display made 
by the Japanese Government at Edinburgh, or by the Government 
of Norway at Amsterdam, this insistence on my part may appear 
gratuitous. And I am aware that the Government of India, as 
well as our foreign neighbours, have nothing to learn regarding 
the usefulness of maps. Of the former, indeed, an intelligent 
French critic has thus written in reviewing the list of their 
exhibits :— 

“ Iiterature and General Cartography.—In my opinion this is 
the group which enables us to form the best judgment of the degree 
of perfection to which the technical value of personal administration 
has arrived. The Indian Forest Department has nothing to fear 
from the results of such criticism.” 

My insistence, therefore, is only advanced on the principle that 
gutta cavat lapidem non wi sed sepe cadendo.1 And if my 


1 A drop of water hollows out a stone not by force, but by constant 
dripping. 


312 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY 


humble efforts can more generally impress this view, I shall gladly 
underlie the charge of iteration and reiteration. 

To take a country with whose flora we are all more or less 
familiar, and which well illustrates my meaning, I append a rough 
Forest Chart of Switzerland. Here we have certain trees occupying 
with tolerable exclusiveness well-defined regions of the same 
country, while that country itself divides the distinctive flora 
of Northern Europe from the distinctive flora of Southern 
Europe. Such a map, of course more accurately prepared, should 
accompany every exhibition of wood specimens, explanatory 
tables being appended to show the number of trees of each sort, 
mature and maturing, which are or will become available in given 
years. We have further at a glance the position of the woods with 
reference to their accessibility, and the means available, whether by 
road or by water, for the transport of their products to an inland or 
sea-coast market. I should like to see such maps illustrating all the 
portions of the British empire, and I may perhaps be permitted to 
add that I should like to see such a map in an early volume of the 
Society’s Zransactions, which would do this good office for Scotland, 
which, so far as forestry is concerned, is facile princeps amongst 
its own immediate neighbours. 


PREPARATION OF Woop SPECIMENS. 


In regard to the size and shape of the wood specimens, of course 
tastes are various, quot homines, tot sententie. We have little bricks 
of wood carefully polished, and we have the rough unhewn product 
of the virgin jungle. Both have their 
values, and both have certainly their 
disadvantages, the latter to my mind 
preponderating. Looking to the 
objects I have noted above as apply- 
ing generally, [ would venture to limit 
the preparation of actual specimens 
to two classes with regard to their 
ultimate destinations, z.e., the museum 
of the botanist, or the timber-yard of 
the importer. Neither of these should, I think, be small. 

For scientific purposes I might admit, in deference to the opinion 
of others, those specimens made in book form (Fig. 1). Here the 
size should be not less than 12 inches by 12 by 3 inches, the bark 


Fig. 1. 


ON THE PREPARATION OF WOOD SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBITION. 313 


of the tree being left on the back, and one side of the specimen 
should be polished and the other plain. 

But for ordinary purposes I prefer something larger, even in 
spite of its comparative unhandiness. The segments which I have 
in my mind, but which I regret I can only imperfectly delineate, 
are as shown in Fig, 2. 


We 
ert 


Wii 
ethyl = 
avi 


cM mt 
ra 


ved 
pat 
Ber 


Here the specimens are primarily logs or trunks of trees with the 
bark on, not less than 3 feet in length, and cut first across, 
second transversely, and third at an oblique angle sloping from 
the core outwards to the bark. The grain of the wood is thus 
exposed as subjected to these several cuts; the proportion of sap- 
wood to heartwood is clearly apparent-—that in some woods, for 
example, the Indian ebony, Diospyros melanoxylon, being very 
remarkable ; and the colour of the outer and inner wood is in 
strong contrast. The bark is, except where the wood is exposed 
by the above cuts, carefully preserved, while the wood itself is on 
one side of the line from A to B polished, the other side being 
left in its natural condition. This form of specimen has the further 
advantage of evidencing the annual growth of the tree, a subject to 
which I shall come later on—the concentric rings, the medullary 
rays, and generally the botanical structure. 

For the test purposes of the importer the logs or beams can 
hardly be too large. The most reliable results will be given, ceteris 


314 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


paribus, by the largest logs, and the weight, for instance, of the 
cubic foot will, in some woods at any rate, be very much larger in 
the case of the log than in that of scantlings. The following results, 
for example, were obtained from beams of the Indian teak tree, 
Tectona grandis, which were 10 feet long by 4 inches by 6 inches. 

Weight per cubic foot, 45 to 50 lbs. 

Value of P=600. 

Modulus of elasticity = 5000.1 


To illustrate what I have above said regarding the power results 
obtained from scantlings, | may mention that in the professional 
papers published at Roorkee, the actual weight of the teak in log 
was given at 50 lbs. per cubic foot, and in scantlings at only 
35 lbs.—the latter having probably lost the essential oil which 
would be retained in the former. 


ILLUSTRATION OF RATE oF GROWTH. 


I am now brought to a consideration of the use of specimens in 
ascertaining the rate of growth, which is not the least interesting 
and instructive of their uses. For this purpose the kind of 
specimens I have commended, varying of course in size according 
to age, seems to lend itself most naturally to this part of my 
subject. Here again, however, we shall require explanatory tables. 
For we want to know the kind of soil in which the various 
specimens have been reared—the height above the sea-level of the 
forests or plantations whence they have been taken—the increment 
of annual growth, in fact everything that can tell us anything of 
the history and nature of the tree which is represented by its 
section. This is especially useful to the planter, whether repre- 
sented by an individual or by a government, who wishes to raise 
trees, not merely for ornament and use, but for pecuniary profit. 
I would make special reference in this regard to the specimens of 
oak shown by Sir James Campbell in 1884 as the products of the 


1 Pj sult of f lay 
P is the result o ormula 5p: 


W is the weight which causes the beam to break. 

L = length of beam in feet between the supports. 

3 = breadth of beam in inches, 

D = thickness of beam in inches. 

P being generally adopted to express the power of the beam to resist 
superimposed pressure. 


ON THE PREPARATION OF WOOD SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBITION, 315 


Forest of Dean, varying in age from thirty to two hundred and 
twenty-eight years, and to the thirty-three specimens of teak sent 
. from the Government plantation at Nilambir, South India. For 
these form, for foresters, exhibits second in interest to none. I 
do not want to intrude upon other men’s preserves, but the official 
reports of the Nilambér teak plantation are common. property, 
and from them, not to be too diffuse, I extract the kernel for the 
information of my readers, as under :— 


I. Trees of seven years of age grown 
(a) On alluvial soil showed a total height of 29 feet, and a 
girth at breast high of 12 inches. 
(6) On gneiss and laterite showed a total height of 30 feet, 
and a mean girth of 13 inches. 
II. Trees of thirty years of age grown 
(a) On alluvial soil showed a total height of 85 feet, and a 
girth at breast high of 35 inches. 
(0) On gneiss and laterite showed a total height of 50 feet, 
and a girth of 24 inches. 


Here it is interesting to notice how rapidly after the seventh 
year the trees planted in alluvial soil outstripped their companions 
which had tapped a less congenial substrata. And it conveys a 
lesson to us all, that while trees will certainly grow almost any- 
where, they can only be grown to profit and advantage where the 
subsoil is suited to their respective requirements. 

At the risk of being tedious, but for a direct reason which will 
be apparent a little further on, I append a few more figures 
regarding the rate of growth of teak in the same plantation. 

The periodical annual increment of growth in trees of nine years 
of age was found to be 1:1 cubic feet, in trees of nineteen years 
1:3 cubic feet, and in trees from nineteen to twenty-nine years 
2°8 cubic feet, showing the rapid ratio of annual growth which 
took place after they had attained the age of nineteen years. 


NOMENCLATURE. 


I come now to a subject which may be thought unnecessary. It 
seems a childish matter to insist upon giving the specimens a name, 
for the infant does that to its playthings or to the live pets which 
surround it. And yet the most extraordinary, and, I may add, the 
most fatal mistakes have arisen from incorrect nomenclature, and 


316 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


the consequent impossibility of identification. I knew of a case 
where a wood was highly appreciated for the natural oil it possessed, 
which enabled articles made from it successfully to resist intense - 
friction. A large consignment of this valuable wood was ordered 
and found to be absolutely worthless, being in fact another wood 
altogether. The samples of wood exhibited should bear not only 
the vernacular or local, and the botanical name, but also the name 
by which it is known to commerce. If it is not already known in 
the commercial world, then the name of the wood which it most 
resembles should be given. And in this branch of nomenclature, 
to give a wood a bad name is to spoil its chance of acceptance. 
I do not think, for example, that the market would jump at the 
“stinkwood” of Africa, although the tree, Oreodaphne bullata, which 
produces it is an excellent timber tree, and the wood is extremely 
useful for railway sleepers and the like. Any new wood should be 
launched under a good name, and if the stinkwood were rechristened 
the African oak, a name which it could rightfully adopt, its chance 
of success would at once be doubled. I have not thought it well 
to insist upon the fact of the wood bearing the true botanical 
name of the tree from which it is cut. For this goes without 
saying, and it would be better to leave the name out, or to place 
it thus,—species ?—than to give it a false name which could only 
be misleading. 


Fisres, Dyres, Gums, Resins, ETC. 


Lastly, I come to what are called the minor forest products. It 
is part of the object of an exhibition to show all the resources of 
the subject which it illustrates. There are many trees, such as the 
Canarium strictum, Pterocarpus marsupium, and a host of 
others, of which the gums they exude form not the least important 
part of their products. It cannot be said that the knowledge of 
these is by any means exhaustive. The importer would hail with 
delight any real substitute for gutta percha. However, a mere list 
of the fibres already known to commerce, and in a greater degree a 
list of those which have failed on trial to commend themselves, 
would in itself gratify neither my readers nor myself. These 
have formed pegs on which to hang the introduction of carding 
and cleaning machines innumerable, and the recollection of their 
worthlessness cannot but be painful to many who have embarked 
money in the attempt to establish them. 


ON THE PREPARATION OF WOOD SPECIMENS FOR EXHIBITION. 317 


CONCLUSION. 


I have given my readers figures for a reason which they may not, 
I trust, consider presumptuous. The forester, and, I may add, the 
Scottish forester, is his own best teacher, and they may like to 
make experiments to determine the data I have above given in the 
case of the trees growing in their own woods. For this purpose, 
and to bring the matter nearer home to them, I give below very 
briefly some data regarding the Pinus latifolia, one of the five 
Indians pecies of Coniferze, in oxder that they may compare them 
with results they themselves may obtain from their own Pinus 
sylvestris, Weight per cubic foot, 27 lbs. Value of P or trans- 
verse strength, 906-961.1_ I would also venture to commend to 
their attention the yield tables for the Scots pine, calculated from 
the detailed measurements of 351 Scots pine woods, situated in 
Alsace, Baden, Bavaria, Prussia, and Saxony, and converted into 
English measure by Dr Schlick, C.I.E., Ph.D. These would be 
extremely interesting for the purposes of comparison with the 
results obtained in their own woods; and, with a small collection of 
wood specimens, each forester might have for himself a museum 
not less instructive, so far as it goes, than the Imperial Institute, 
which will count its treasures by thousands. 


Note.—We were told that in 1881 the number of wood specimens 
named, numbered, and described for India alone were 2530, 
belonging to 906 species and 432 genera, and the number since 


identified has doubtless largely increased the tale. 


1 See ante, note to page 314, 


VOL, XIII. PART III. Y 


318 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


XXII. The Afforestation of Large Areas in the Highlands and 
Islands of Scotland. By W. A. Mackenzie, Strabane, 
Brodick, Isle of Arran. 


The fact of raw material being the basis upon which the wealth 
and prosperity of a fully peopled country depends, it behoves 
the rulers and leaders of the nation to put forth every 
possible effort to keep up the supply, in order that the workmen 
shall be fully employed, and thus prevent the draining of money 
from their own country to thatof others. In no country is this 
precaution more necessary than in our own, because, notwith- 
standing the opportunities we have for producing a large proportion 
of such timber as we buy in other countries, we, as a nation, take 
no advantage of these opportunities. The whole matter is left 
to individual efforts, which, from various causes, are inadequate to 
make more than a very slight impression on the wants of the 
country, by supplying marketable timber, or afforesting such 
portions of our waste lands as are not already so profitably 
employed. If the people of this country could be brought to see 
the importance of having the waste lands planted,—the importance 
not only to themselves, but to future generations,—they would 
make it a point of first-rate political consequence. Those who 
quite understand the question, and the value such a movement 
would be to the country, think it worthy of the consideration of 
statesmen of the first rank; and it certainly deserves to be laid 
before the people by their representatives, and made a parliamentary 
feature at a general election. Out of about ten millions of acres, 
more or less suitable for the profitable growth of timber, under a 
million acres are so employed, leaving for such a purpose at the 
disposal of Parliament, failing private enterprise, an area of about 
nine millions of acres. At the age of say seventy years, the timber 
on such an area would be worth to the country a clear sum of 
about £240,000,000, after paying for planting, fencing, maintenance, 
and interest at three per cent. on capital for thirty years, because 
after that age such woods, if judiciously managed, would pay all 
costs. But this is not all. Had it been so, it could not be 
supposed that the general public would evince much concern with 
a project which would take from fifty to seventy years to complete. 
ut the general community would, in a few years, receive a very 
direct benefit in the form of a more uniform and genial climate, 
while the benefit commercially to the adjoining lands would double 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS. 319 


the interest paid on cost of planting. These points are well 
known to most arboriculturists, and need not receive further 
attention here. At present, the great difficulty seems to be the 
want of money to carry on the work by private enterprise. But 
if encouraged by Government offering a subsidy of a certain sum 
for every acre planted in large areas, landowners would, no doubt, 
take advantage of such encouragement. And why should not 
Government encourage this industry by subsidy? just as they 
do steam shipping companies for carrying the mails to foreign 
countries, and many other schemes of national benefit. 

Another way to accomplish the end in view would be for 
Government to lease, under Act of Parliament, such lands as are 
not profitably occupied, leaving it in the option of the proprietor 
to redeem at any future period during the lease, the subjects so 
acquired, either at a valuation, or on paying the costs and interest 
up to the date of redemption. This could be carried out under 
the supervision of what is known as the Enclosure Commissioners, 
together or in connection with a School of Forestry. The work 
of supervision could be done by the commissioners at no additional 
cost to the country, and some of the practical details could be 
worked by, and under, the directions of the managers of the 
School of Forestry. 

A third way to effect the same purpose would be by the 
Government taking over all waste lands and planting them, 
reserving to the proprietor and his successors, power to resume the 
lands, together with the crops, buildings, fences, etc., on paying 
all the costs, and such interest as would be stipulated for in the 
parliamentary enactment giving such powers; or by paying to 
Government such a sum per annum, for a given time, as would 
cover capital and interest; taking care that the land could not be 
alienated from the present landlord and his successors, without 
his express consent, and that of his heirs, as is now required under 
the Acts of Entail. 

These are the brief outlines of several methods by which the 
Highlands and islands of Scotland could be clothed with growing 
timber within a reasonable time. 

Preparation of the Land.—The first operation is that of 
enclosing. This may be done in various ways—by wire on wood 
or iron posts, by walls built of such stones as may be found on 
the land, or by turf fences. The latter method has the advantage 
of sheltering the outer edge of the plantation for some years after 


320 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


planting, and provides a nice seed-bed for broom and whin, which 
may be sown on the “backing” of the mound. The cost of this 
method varies with the situation, but on the average it would be 
about 9d. per running yard. Owing to the liability of the ditches 
to get cut up by floods, these fences should only be employed on 
tolerably flat ground, or along the base or top of plantations, if 
such is practicable. This kind of fencing is so valuable as a 
shelter, that it would pay to cut catch drains at short intervals 
to run off the water. 

Next to the turf fencing in usefulness is a stone-faced dyke, 
built on the same principle as the turf fence, stones being used 
for the face throughout, with the exception of the cope, which 
should be of turf. This fence has also an earth “ backing” with 
a scarcement and ditch, and the cost would be from 7d. to 10d. 
per lineal yard, according to circumstances. 

The third, and most economical method in the end, is that of 
wire-fencing of various kinds, the most durable being throughout 
made of galvanised iron. A good fence is made with T iron 
standards, with two | droppers between each pair of T standards. 
The standards should be self-fixing, or fixed in a base of Portland 
cement. For fixing with cement, small pits should be dug at the 
proper distances apart and filled up with clean broken stones, in 
which the standards are placed in position. When this is done, 
very little cement will be required for concreting the mass into a 
solid block. The fence should consist of five wires, the top one 
being a barbed wire. The cost of this fence would vary according 
to the kind of posts or standards employed. On wood posts it 
would cost about 10d. per yard, and with T iron standards and 
droppers, all galvanised, about ls. 3d. 

It is impossible to say exactly what system of fencing should be 
adopted in any particular case, for much depends on the position 
of the proposed plantation. 

Draining.—YVhe draining of waste lands previous to planting 
is a very simple operation, and comparatively inexpensive when 
properly carried out. The best system, in the absence of brooks 
or runlets, is to run a large “leader” along the lowest parts of the 
ground to be drained, and into this run small lateral drains, at an 
angle of about 75°, being careful not to have too rapid a run to cause 
“ cutting” in floods, What are known as “ well eyes” (¢.¢., where 
the perennial discharge of water takes place on hill-sides) should 
always be ‘‘tapped” by a drain, and thus avoid the cost of draining 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS. 321] 


the whole “bog” formed by the spring. Land requiring to be 
drained can easily be detected by its wet, spongy appearance, and 
the vegetation with which it is covered. It is often found difficult 
to drain shallow basins having moorland “pan” underneath. The 
best and cheapest way to do this is by the use of explosives, such 
as tonite, which is a cheap and safe explosive. Begin the operation 
by driving a heavy crowbar right through the “ pan”—which is 
usually from a few inches to 2 feet below the surface—at every 10 
yards or so, and charge the holes with the explosive. If the “ pan” 
be about 2 feet below the surface, a two-ounce cartridge of tonite will 
be sufficient to fracture the pan for a few yards around ; but for 
less than 2 feet of depth, an ounce cartridge will be found sufficient. 
The cost will not exceed 20s. per acre. The advantage of draining 
the “pan” by this method is that it never again unites, being so 
thoroughly disintegrated by the concussion that it becomes mixed 
up with the soil. The writer has seen the effect of this method on 
land where it was performed sixteen years ago, and it is still quite 
open and friable, with a fine crop of young timber now growing 
upon it. 

Clearing the Land for Planting.— This operation is often 
difficult, but cheap and effectual means can be applied to most 
herbage, dank grass excepted. Heath should be burned in stripes, 
two or more yards wide, where it is so rank as to overtop ordinary 
plants of either Scots fir or larch, leaving about a yard between 
each stripe for shelter. The burning should be from bottom to top 
of hills, and on level or moderately level land across the path of 
prevailing winds. The burning is done best in March, during dry 
weather and moderate winds. Fire the heath in stripes, and give 
a stripe to two men or lads to keep under control, and to guide the 
burning in any required direction. The checking of the burning 
is effected by what is known as “ flogging,” and for this purpose 
branches of spruce or Scots fir are used, or better, properly made 
“mops.” These are made of stripes of any old woollen material 
about a foot in length, tied by means of wire to hazel or ash rods, 
supple enough to bend, but rigid enough not to turn in the hand. 
Old sacks do very well. By this means there should be no difficulty 
in keeping the burning in check. Ifa few stripes are being burned 
at the same time, it is better to have a spare man or two to look 
after any little spark that may be lurking in the heath ready to 
devour the shelter stripes. The cost of this operation will depend 
greatly on the force of the wind, and the activity of the persons in 


322 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


charge, but from 1s. to 2s. 6d. per burned acre should cover the 
total cost. 

Another kind of brushwood difficult to deal with is whins and 
sloes. Probably the most effective way of removing these is by 
horse-power, and is carried out in the following manner :—A chain 
is passed round each bush or clump, and is run through an “eye” 
link in the same manner as is done when dragging logs of wood. 
Two lads with a tractable horse would be able to clear a consider- 
able portion of land in a week ; but much would, of course, depend 
upon the thickness of the plants upon the ground, and no estimate 
can be given. Suffice it to say that the plan is found much cheaper 
and more effectual than grubbing by mattock, not costing one- 
fourth the price of the latter. Grass, particularly on damp ground, 
is almost an impossible obstacle to get rid of. The only effectual 
way to prevent choking is turfing (7.e., paring), but such grassy 
swards are seldom met with in situations forming the basis of this 
subject. 

Shelter.—In very exposed places this may be afforded in several 
ways, either artificially or naturally. By artificial I mean raising 
turf-dykes, or mous, such as those already mentioned; and by 
natural is meant shelter obtained by planting hardy trees in such 
positions as to break the wind. Plant either in narrow belts or in 
clumps throughout the entire area—elder, plane, mountain pine, 
and, especially in maritime districts, sea buckthorn; and except 
near the outside of the plantation, where the shelter must remain, 
in such a manner as to be removable in the course of the after- 
management, so as to form roads and shooting drives. Shelter- 
belts or clumps should be planted several years previous to planting 
the crop, so that they may have a hold of the ground before the 
young plants are put in. Artificial shelter by ridges or dykes is 
liable to serious objection, from the tendency of snow to form deep 
wreaths to their leeward, and thus large areas of plantation may be 
crushed down, as is often seen in upland districts. If hardy 
trees are planted, and whin and broom sown on the ridges, it is 
surprising what shelter is obtained. Another very good natural 
shelter is the “wattle” fence placed on exposed positions. These 
structures are easily and cheaply made by driving a line of stakes 
on the ridges, or on exposed situations, about a yard apart, taking 
birch, hazel, or any kind of brushwood, and weaving it roughly 
between the stakes and leaving it quite open to let the wind pass 
through, for otherwise the fences would be liable to destruction 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, 323 


during gales. This method is only available where plenty of 
underwood and scrub abound. 

The Selection of the trees and the Mode of Planting are matters 
for the forester on the spot to deal with effectually, as no hard 
and fast rule can be laid down to suit all cases. A general rule, 
however, is to select the plants of a size, age, and species to suit 
the soil, herbage, and situation, Generally speaking, the smaller 
the plants are, the cheaper and more successful will be the planta- 
tion; and taking the Highlands broadly, two-year seedlings, one 
year transplanted, are the handiest and most useful plants of most 
of the pine tribe. So much depends, however, on the exposure 
and soil, that where to plant, and what to plant, must be left in the 
hands of the practical forester. Volumes of theory could be and 
are written on this subject, but to no practical effect, even from 
the pen of the most subtle writer; the practised eye and experi- 
enced judgment of the forester are the only reliable medium. 
Examples—and striking examples—of what the practical forester 
can do, if left to his own discretion, can be seen in many parts of 
the country, as in Strathconon near Strathpeffer, and on the 
Lovat and Ord estates near Beauly. 

As has been said above, plants should be of such species as are 
suitable for the different soils, altitudes, and exposures that are to 
be found in all extensive areas. While that is so, a general idea 
may here be given. In planting for profit, it may be laid down as 
a rule, that even in inland situations, hardwoods, such as the oak, 
ash, plane, and elm, should not be planted above 800 feet altitude, 
and only in situations highly suitable. This, however, does not 
refer to such of these trees as may be used in forming wind-breaks 
or shelter-bands for plantations of large extent. It will be found 
that for planting in the Highlands the pine tribe is the most suc- 
cessful, and therefore the most profitable; but it cannot be too 
strongly impressed upon planters that the smallest plants of every 
variety will be found to be the most profitable ; being less liable to 
die during the early stages of growth, and, in after years, less likely 
to be overturned by wind storms. In the lower situations, and 
where rank herbage has to be contended with, transplanted plants 
may be necessary, but in all situations where the herbage is of a 
stunted nature, two-year seedlings of all the pine tribe will be more 
successful. On the higher ranges, where steep gradients are met 
with, seeding should be resorted to, and this more especially where 
rocky debris prevails. In such places no preparation is necessary, 


324 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


as the seed will get quickly covered by the natural process of dis- 
integration. 

As there are large areas in the Highlands highly suitable for the 
profitable growth of exotic conifers, these trees should be largely 
planted, giving Pinus monticola and other Pines light, deep, 
moderately dry soils; the Silver Firs, moist soils, with clayey 
subsoil ; and the Spruce Fir tribe, the cool damp soils, includ- 
ing moss. But these exotics should only be planted where the 
situation is naturally well sheltered. In such situations, too, in well 
chosen soils, the Wellingtonia gigantea and Sequoia sempervirens 
should find a place. Where the forester, from practical experience, 
can satisfy himself on the points above cited, success is almost a 
certainty. 

Planting.—There are various methods of successful planting. 
As a general rule the [Ta notch will be found suitable for two- 
year seedlings, twice transplanted, placing the plant in the slit a, 
which should be perpendicular to the prevailing wind. The same 
notch and the L notch are suitable for one-year seedlings, twice 
transplanted, and two-year seedlings, one year transplanted ; while 
the ordinary Hand-iron is the proper implement to be used for all 
pine seedlings, except in extremely rocky situations, in which case 
the pick ought to be used. As the after success of a plantation 
largely depends on the manner in which the planting operations are 
carried out, the greatest care should be taken to have the roots of 
the plants properly placed under the surface. Larger plants than 
those above named should be pitted. This latter method is very 
expensive, and the after results are not any better, but often 
worse, than what are got by seedlings and small transplants, 
Where afforestation can be done by cuttings of such as elder, 
poplar, and willow, their propagation is so easy and certain that 
the cuttings should be placed in their permanent position at once. 

The cost per acre of planting depends upon size, age, and variety 
of plants, together with the number of plants per acre, composition 
of the land, and the rate of wages in the district, and will be noticed 
further on. 

While discussing the question of planting, it will not be out of 
place to consider the distribution of the plants. It has been found 
that the grouping system is the most natural and also the most 
profitable arrangement. This is to be observed all over Scotland, 
both in natural woods and in those planted by man. Whether in 
natural woods it is due to the survival of the fittest I am unable to 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, 325 


say, but the grouping system is carried out by nature with unerring 
precision. It is therefore better to copy nature, and assist her as 
far as possible, and in few things is nature more grateful for assist- 
ance than in the making and management of woods. 

The “survival of the fittest,” or mixed system of planting, is that 
most generally practised, on account of its being thought that if one 
plant will not succeed another may. Under ordinary circumstances 
there is a good deal to be said in favour of this plan, but it is an 
expensive one, and usually gives the least margin of profit during 
the earlier stages of thinning, It is perhaps here that the practical 
and thoroughly experienced forester comes to the front, and plants 
only what he knows will pay best. 

Seeding.—There are various methods by which the seeding of 
large areas may be accomplished, especially with birch, ash, beech, 
plane, elm, and pine, all of which are easily raised from seed, and 
more especially the birch. A cheap and very efficient plan is, 
searifying the surface roughly with a log of wood, having its 
surface covered with iron spikes about 3 inches in length and 
1 inch square; the log being about 6 feet in length by 8 or 9 
inches in diameter, and having at one end a bolt, swivel eye, and 
chain for attaching a horse. This rude implement is easily dragged 
through rough land, or where a thick crop of heath has been burned. 
With a log of an oval shape, weighing about 2 ewts., the pulling 
strain will not exceed 12 cwts. A man and horse with such an 
implement should cover a very large area in a day, giving the land 
a double stroke, and keeping the lines about 3 feet apart. Under 
favourable circumstances about 8 acres can be accomplished, but 
4 to 6 acres may be considered a fair day’s work. It is an in- 
valuable implement for raising shelter-belts for plantations on large 
areas of mountain, and will prepare a good bed for the seed of 
birch, beech, ash, elm, and pines. The implement was suggested 
by seeing the effect of dragging wood through forests for lotting 
for sale, and observing the after results by natural seeding. The 
cost of the implement, with chain complete, is about 25s., and any 
forester could make one on being supplied with the iron spikes by 
a blacksmith. The spikes should be 6 inches in length, to give 
them a firm hold in the log. 

Where this implement cannot be got to work on account of the 
steepness of the ground, or because of boulders or rock, the mattock 
will be found to be best for good results. The operation with the 
mattock, however, is more expensive, as it will keep a man busy 


326 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


to do three-quarters of an acre per day of ten hours, seeding as he 
goes along; but the method can be made more economical by a boy 
sowing the seed after every two men. Where the ground is not 
covered with heath or herbage to any extent, broadcast sowing may 
be resorted to with good effect, especially on the face of steep 
slopes, and among disintegrating rocks. The action of natural 
agencies will soon cover the most of the seeds thus sown. 

Sowing may be performed from January to June, according to 
the species, beginning with oak, mountain ash, ete., and ending 
with Scots elm, the seeds of which should be taken fresh from the 
tree about the middle of June. It requires at least ten times the 
number of seeds as that of plants to stock the same area of ground. 
On an average 2 lbs. of seed is sufficient for an imperial acre. 
When sown broadcast, the seeds should be mixed with some 
foreign substance to enable this small quantity (2 lbs.) to be 
properly spread over so large an area. Any friable substance will 
do for this purpose, provided the seeds are evenly mixed with it. 
Pine seeds should only be sown in the drier soils, such as those 
having good natural drainage, or on soils properly drained by 
artificial means. 

Cost of Planting.—The cost of planting will be more clearly 
understood in tabular form, taking as our basis 640 acres, or one 
square mile, but a larger area costs proportionately less for fencing. 
On each acre the following average of plants and seed should be 
used :—50 hardwoods, 1000 larch, 3000 Scots fir, 250 Norway 
spruce, 100 silver fir, and seed as per table. In order to show a 
v, etc., it is better that the cost 


top) 
of three sizes of plants should be given, as below. 


comparison of the cost of plantin 


TABLE I, 
Four miles fencing, various, with gates, . ; 2 ; + -LBSOMO RD 
Cost of draining, average, ¢ ; F 3 5 ; 25 s0in0 
Cost of clearing land of rank ence: , 30 0 0 
£405 0 0 
30,000 Hardwoods, various, at 7s. per 1000, . £1010 0 
600,000 Larch, 2 year-seedlings, at 10s. per 1000, 800 0 0 
1,800,000 Scots fir, 2 year-seedlings, at 4s. ,, . 3860 0 O 
150,000 Spruce, 2 year-seedlings, at 3s.6d.,, . 26 5 0 
60,000 Silver fir, 2 year-seedlings, at 6s. ,, . 18 0 0 
—_-—— 714 15 0 


Carry forward, 7 y £19 oO 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, 327 


Brought forward, . 


Cost of seed for 40 acres—average 
Say 40 lbs. Birch, at 1s. 6d. per Ib., 
», 40 1bs. native Scots fir, at 4s. per lb., 
», 20 1bs. Elm (Scotch), at 1s. per lb.,. 


», 6 busbels Sycamore, at 2s. 6d. per bushel, 


Cost of labour seeding 40 acres, 


Cost of labour planting 600 acres with Hand -iron, 


TABLE II. 


Cost of fencing, draining, etc., as in No. I., 


30,000 enor ee various, at 17s. per 1000, 


600,000 Larch, 2 year, 1 year transplanted, 
at 15s. per 1000, ; 
1,800,000 native Scots fir, 1 year Harisplaatidl 
at 8s. per 1000, . : . 
150,000 Norway spruce, 2 year, 4 years 
transplanted, at 15s. per 1000, 
60,000 Silver fir, 9 to 12 inches, at 2 
1000, . 


5s. per 


Cost of seed for 40 acres, as before, . 
Cost of labour seeding 40 acres, as before, 
Cost of planting with garden spade, 


Tasie IIT. 


Cost of fencing, draining, etc., as before, 


30,000 Hardwoods, various, at 17s. per 1000, 


600,000 Larch, 2 year, 2 years transplanted, 
at 30s. per 1000, 
1,800,000 native Scots fir, 2 years pace gianicw! 
at 12s, per 1000, 
150,000 Norway spruce, 2 years eenaolanted, 
at 20s. per 1000, . 
60,000 Silver fir, at 30s. per 1000, 


Cost of seed, as before, . 
Cost of labour seeding, 
Cost of planting with garden eae 


£1119 15 0 


“say (0) (0) 
8s 0 0 
1 BOF 0 
015 O 

— MPA ey 0) 

: . TEE 90) AG) 

150 0 0O 

£1294 10_0 

F £405 0 0 
LEAS IO) il) 
450 0 0 
120; {0.00 
IGIPAKO. {0) 
7: “OPO 

———— 1383000) 10 

Pe nisy 0) 

12720) 70 

240 0 O 

* £2052 15 a0 

; £405, 0 -0 
25 Oy 10 
900 0 0 
1080 0 0O 
150) “OF 30 
90 0 0 

— 2245 10 0 

3 5 L2).L55,.0 

7 3 t 2 One 

270 0 0 

£2945, 6 0 


It will be seen from the foregoing tables that the difference 
in cost between the formation of plantations by seedlings and 


328 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


transplanted plants is very great, and experience has proved that the 
results are anything but correspondingly good. On the contrary, 
in such places as this paper refers to, it is found that the larger 
the plants of the pine tribe used, the higher is the death-rate. 
This is due to the greater mutilation of the roots of the larger 
plants, parching of the plants by drying winds immediately after 
planting, and their liability to be shaken about and loosened by 
storms during the first year or two of their existence. These are 
facts so well known as to hardly require mentioning here; but, at 
the same time, while they are generally true, it sometimes happens 
that there may be spaces in large areas where it is necessary, from 
various causes, to plant larger plants than seedlings. Only where 
necessity demands it, however, should the system be practised. 

It will be readily understood that the cost of stocking some 
kinds of land will be more than the estimates I have given, and 
some will be less, according to the cost of labour and other local 
circumstances. It must also be borne in mind that where such 
large numbers of plants are required, the cost of purchasing these 
may be reckoned as at least 10 per cent. less than the sums 
stated in the tables, which have been calculated at current prices; 
and in the seedling class a much greater reduction may be given 
on large orders, If orders be given two years in advance, as much 
as 40 per cent. of a reduction may be allowed, and this is a 
point worthy of the attention of those intending to plant on a large 
scale. That being so, the cost of plants under No. I. system 
would be reduced by £285, under No. II. system by £553, and 
No. III. by £898—a very considerable saving on initial cost, and 
in every way worthy of serious consideration. 

It will be seen from the list of plants I have given that no note 
has been taken of exotics, but the reason for this is very obvious. 
I may say, however, that if early orders are given for these, a 
reduction in the price of 50 per cent. may be secured, thus lower- 
ing prices to a very reasonable figure. When it is borne in mind 
that about one hundred of these exotics are sufficient for an acre, 
mixed with larch, Scots fir, and silver fir, as nurses, it is not, after 
all, so very expensive to raise plantations of those trees in suitable 
soils and situations. 

Management for first twenty years. 


As to the proper manage- 
ment of the plantation during the period of twenty years after 
planting, much depends upon circumstances. Should the work be 
carried out in a general way, as indicated in the foregoing pages, 


THE AFFORESTATION OF LARGE AREAS IN THE HIGHLANDS. 329 


very little will require to be done to the plantation for the first 
eight or ten years of its growth. The first thing necessary is to 
make good all deaths from whatever cause. This is more cheaply 
and effectually done two or three years after planting, because the 
blanks are then better seen. The next important point is to keep 
in repair fences and watercourses, artificial and natural, and this 
should continue till the plantation is at least twenty-five or thirty 
years old. 

At eight to ten years of age those portions of the plantation that 
are on the lower ground, in good soil, and otherwise under favour- 
able conditions, will require some thinning, or side pruning, as the 
case may be, the latter often being the more suitable. It need 
hardly be stated that the age of a plantation is no guide as to the 
proper time to thin, for much depends on the distance apart at 
which the plants were originally set, and the variety of plants, soils, 
and situations. Thinning should be done when the branches are 
beginning to interlace, and to such an extent as will allow a due 
amount of light and air to penetrate to all parts of the remaining 
plants. The least promising plants of every variety should be 
removed, even if those left should stand irregularly, for that can be 
rectified later on. When the intervening spaces are again closed 
up with growth, it is time to set about another thinning, and so on, 
till the final thinning takes place forty years or more afterwards. 
Hardwood plants are the better of being carefully trimmed during 
the first twenty years, with the pruning-knife, Prune so as to 
give the plants such form as may be desired. 

With regard to plants that may have been raised from seed, they 
will require earlier attention to thinning than the planted trees. 
This is quite natural, because under ordinary circumstances, in five 
or six years there will be quite a thicket of plants, on account of 
the way the seed was sown. The weakest plants should be pulled 
out by the hand, except in the case of birch seedlings, which should 
be cut close over, and put up into small bundles of about 20 inches 
in girth. These are valuable for besoms, and are much sought 
after for that purpose by the cleansing committees of large towns. 
On this account birch seeding is the most profitable, because, if 
properly done, it will begin to pay well about its seventh year, and 
will repay all costs and interest before it is twelve years old, besides 
leaving a heavy crop on the ground to be dealt with after that age. 
Before it is twenty years old half the crop may be removed for 
making bobbins. 


330 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


It is now neeessary to give some indication of the Cost of 
Management of the plantation. This is difficult to do with any 
degree of accuracy. If there is only one area to be managed, and 
all of the same age, the expense will be greater than if there are 
several areas of different ages. Taking the area of 640 acres, and 
ealculating from the average of similar plantations, the whole cost of 
management and maintenance may be estimated at 12s. per acre, 
or in all about £360. The thinning at about twenty years of age 
should pay itself, if the plantation is situated in a good locality. 
This is not the case as a general rule, but what the forester and the 
owner have to bear in mind, irrespective of profit from thinnings, 
is to thin in such a manner as will prevent injury from suffocation, 
and allow free circulation of air and light to the soil about the 
roots, so as to strengthen the latter against storms, and the 
possibility of the trees being upset by them. This done in proper 
time, the success of the plantation is assured. 


REPORT ON PLANTATIONS ON ESTATE OF RAYNHAM, NORFOLK, 3351 


XXIII. Report on the Plantations on the Estate of Raynham, 
Jorfolk. By ARCHIBALD GorRRIE. ! 


In compliance with instructions received, I inspected the various 
woods and plantations on the Marquis of Townshend’s estate at 
Raynham, in the autumn of 1874, and reported as follows on their 
condition and future management :— 


1. Brrow Wak CLump. 


This is a splendid clump of fine specimens of large, healthy, and 
ornamental trees. Some forty trees of various kinds, large in size 
and of great value, have been marked for felling. When this has 
been done, the clump will have a much finer effect from the Hall, 
near which it stands. 


2. Otp Nursery Woop. 


This plantation is composed of a rather large proportion of 
birch, and has been treated differently to the woods near the Hall, 
by removing many of the birch to make room for the more profitable 
trees—such as oak, ash, etc., which are very healthy and growing 
well. Marked 29 oak, 10 ash, 9 Spanish chestnut, and 3 silver fir 
for felling. 

3. PLANTATION. 


This is in a satisfactory state, and contains many fine trees of 
different kinds. The rows of beech on the outside are, however, 
somewhat coarse. This plantation should be laid down to pasture. 
Marked 27 fine oak, 15 beech, 2 ash, 2 Spanish chestnut, and 
1 sycamore. 


4, SHEREFORD PLANTATION. 


This wood consists of a large quantity of valuable hardwoods— 
oak, Spanish chestnut, ash, beech, sycamore, etc.—besides numerous 
poles of various kinds. Marked 27 ash, 16 fine oak, 9 Spanish 
chestnut, 6 sycamore, 2 beech, and a large quantity of poles. 


In these four plantations are found many well-grown, lofty, and 
robust trees in vigorous life, and growing fast into money. The 
marked trees and poles when removed will realise a large sum of 


1 Presented by Mr Archibald Gorrie, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Herts. 


332 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


money, and they can be well spared, with great benefit to the 
remaining trees. 


5. THe Kitceen Woop. 


It is proposed to clear away as much of this wood as will square 
it with the west front of the Hall, as marked out by stakes on the 
ground. This will be a grand improvement, as it opens up a wide 
extent of splendid scenery. To obtain this result 60 oak, 5 Spanish 
chestnut, 1 sycamore, and 1 old lime tree will have to be felled. 
This lot, except the sycamore, should be sold to a timber merchant 
as it stands, who should be bound to grub-fell all the trees. I 
mention grub-felling in preference to the usual mode, as it is of 
the utmost importance that the ground should be carefully stubbed 
and cleared of all roots and weeds, and laid down with the best per- 
manent grass seeds; and thus, in addition to greatly improving the 
view, the value of the pasturage would also be considerably enhanced. 

Marked about forty fine trees in this wood outside of the line 
of the vista, but could not complete it owing to the abundance 
and strength of the underwood. Great care is necessary here to 
preserve only the best specimen trees, such as will improve the 
appearance of the lawn, and the thinning ought to extend over a 
period of eight or ten years, the ground to be ultimately cleared 
and laid down with permanent grass seeds and thrown into the 
adjoining pasture. The landscape would be much improved by 
clearing away the thorn hedge on the south side of this wood. 


6. Youne KitcHen Woop. 


Several fine vistas from the Hall are projected through this 
division, and the trees to be felled carefully selected and marked. 
When opened up, the vistas will have a fine effect. There are 
some very large sycamores in this quarter, which, from injudicious 
pruning years ago, are unsound and fast losing value, and 
accordingly they are marked for conversion into money before they 
get to the price of firewood. Several of the best, however, are 
still very valuable, and will bring good prices, and their places 
will soon be well filled by the fine young trees that remain. 


7. PLreasureE GrounD PLANTATION. 


This consists of various kinds of forest trees, which, for want of 
being properly and timely thinned, are very much crowded, drawn 


REPORT ON PLANTATIONS ON ESTATE OF RAYNHAM, NORFOLK. 333 


up, and injured. The trees for felling have been carefully marked, 
so as to leave only the best specimens, and many years of careful 
management will be required to bring it into a perfect and profitable 
state. A large quantity of good larch, oak, ash, and sycamore, as 
also lots of poles, have been marked for felling, and all, except the 
oak, should be cut at once and removed before the wet weather 
sets in. 

A great improvement will be effected here, by straightening and 
widening the present vista towards Hardlings, as marked out. When 
the timber has been removed, and the ground thoroughly cleaned, 
levelled, and properly laid down with fine lawn grass seeds, and 
kept closely mown, a very marked improvement will be apparent. 


8. PLEASURE GROUNDS—NEXT HARDLING Woop. 


Oak and beech predominate in this section, and it requires to be 
carefully thinned in places ; but, owing to the impenetrable growth 
of underwood, the trees could not be marked. 


9, PLEASURE GrounDS—NursERY TO KITCHEN GARDEN. 


This plantation is very much drawn up and injured from over- 
crowding, but it has been partly thinned during the past two 
years. The whole has been closely inspected, and the trees marked 
that should be felled this winter to liberate the fine timber trees 
remaining. The youngest part of this wood has far too many laurels 
in it for either cover or ornament, and it is suggested to grub up full 
half of them, leaving the remainder in clumps of various sizes and 
shapes. This will give better cover for game, and be much more 
ornamental. 


10, PLeasureE GrounpsS—FLOwER GARDEN TO LopGE Garter. 


This consists of various kinds of very fine trees, but overcrowded 
and drawn up, and those to be felled could not be marked owing 
to the thick growth of underwood. The fine Wellingtonia by the 
side of the walk would be much improved with the admission of 
more air and light. 


11. Bett From Hat. To STABLES. 


Consists of oak, ash, elm, etc., all of which have been carefully 
inspected and marked, and a good view brought in from the gate 


and lawn in front of the Hall towards the lake. 
VOL, XIII. PART III, Z 


334 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


12. CLuMP AT BACK OF STABLES. 


This has been well thinned so as to get the specimen trees to 
feather low, with a view to hide the stables from the road and 
other places. The fence round the clump might be removed with 
advantage. 


13. STABLES AND Gas-HOoUwsE. 


The stable yard is very much exposed towards the church, and 
to the roads to the Hall, and as the buildings are without architec- 
tural pretensions, it is desirable to screen them by planting nine 
or ten trees at the spots indicated by the pegs in the ground. The 
young lime trees around the moat, which appear to have been 
planted to hide the old houses, so beautifully mantled with ivy 
and presenting an extremely picturesque appearance, should be 
transplanted to more suitable places, excepting one or two next the 
gas-house and four or five next the waggon lodge, as pointed out 
to the forester. 


14. TimpeR Yarp AND Haystacks, CARPENTER’s SHOP. 


These should be removed from their present sites, as planting 
them out cannot be recommended, because it would interfere very 
much with a charming view of the landscape across the lake and 
the beautiful scenery beyond. The building now used for a 
carpenter’s shop is old and dilapidated, and from want of room and 
light it is ill adapted for men to work in. It is therefore suggested 
that it should be cleared away and a new one erected as near the 
sawmill, and as much out of view, as possible, taking care to secure 
a convenient site, with sufficient space for storing rough timber. 
If this plan is adopted, the hay can be stacked on or near the site 
of the present carpenter’s shop ; and then there will be no necessity 
to plant trees where the stakes are put in at the back of the stables, 
especially as every tree there planted would interfere very much in 
course of time with the view of much interesting scenery. By the 
removal of these unsightly objects the results would be in every 
way most satisfactory. 


15. Park, NORTH SIDE OF LAKE. 


All along the north side of the lake there is a jumble of fine 
young oak, elm, beech, ete., much too thick for park trees. A 


REPORT ON PLANTATIONS ON ESTATE OF RAYNHAM, NORFOLK. 335 


number have therefore been marked, with a view to improve both 
the landscape and the pasture. When they are removed it will give 
a fine effect from the West Raynham approach, more especially if 
the lake is cleaned out, as I consider that no landscape view can 
be reckoned complete in which water does not form a part, and 
when it does exist it ought always to be made the most of. 


16. Harpuine’s PASTURE. 


This is also a perfect jumble of fine young park trees growing 
into one another, and require to be well opened up to show the 
beautiful landscape they now shut out from the West Raynham 
entrance. A number of trees have been marked, and when they 
are removed, it may be found necessary to take down more, to 
open up the beautiful scenery. 


17. TREES NEAR THE CHURCH. 


Several of the trees around the church have been marked, which, 
when felled, will show a great improvement. I would suggest that 
the Irish yew in the churchyard be transplanted, or cut down, as it 
quite obstructs a charming view from the church door. 


18. Mr Savory’s Pasture. 


This division is well furnished with splendid park trees, and 
forms a fine feature in the landscape viewed from the opposite side 
of the lake near the Hall. The horse-chestnuts, limes, elms, and 
walnuts would be difficult to match anywhere else. Marked ten 
trees for felling ; and great care will be necessary in marking any 
more, for fear of showing the village from the Hall. 


19. BELT BY SIDE oF LAKE, 


This should be carefully thinned, and put into Mr Savory’s 
pasture as far as the osier bed. Great care must be taken to leave 
only the best of the outside trees. 


20. Rounp BusH PLANTATION. 


Consists of oak, ash, beech, elm, etc., very much drawn up. It 
should be thinned gradually, with great care, every two or three 
years, till only the best trees are left. 


336 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


21. Brick-KILN PLANTATION. 


This is similar to the last, and the same remarks apply. After 
being properly thinned, both should be put into the adjoining 
pastures. 


22. Mr ButcHer’s Meapow, NEAR Hitt HovueGHron. 


Marked twenty-seven good trees in this meadow. In the 
corner of the meadow, next the village, are some splendid trees, in 
a very healthy state. 


23. GALONEL FIFTEEN-ACRE PLANTATION. 


The middle of this wood consists of very fine old oak, ash, beech, 
and sycamore ; and it is recommended that several of the beech be 
felled, as they are interfering with the growth of the more profit- 
able timber. The young part of the wood is being much injured 
for want of thinning, and requires immediate attention to that 
operation. 


24. Woop sy LopGE Next FAKENHAM Roap. 


Marked thirty trees of various kinds in this wood, leaving only 
the best park trees, with the view of improving the appearance of 
the place when the marked trees are removed. Other places 
require more immediate attention to thinning than this, but it 
should not be too long postponed, else evil will result. 


25. Entrance LopGe to HALt—rFrom FAKENHAM ROAD. 


The beit on the right side going to the Hall has had trees 
marked at several points, to break up the monotony of the long 
even line of plantation. On the left side several trees have been 
marked. When these are all removed, some beautiful glimpses of 
scenery will be opened to view from the drive. The unsightly and 
inconvenient gate which crosses this approach, and the fence 
dividing the park, are very undesirable, and should be removed. 
The whole might then be pastured with sheep, if cattle are an 
objection near to the mansion. The appearance of the park would 
be very much improved thereby, and much convenience gained. 


REPORT ON PLANTATIONS ON ESTATE OF RAYNHAM, NORFOLK. 337 


26. Otp CiLump or TREES IN THE PARK. 


Marked thirteen trees in this clump, which has a ripe and rather 
stunted-in-growth appearance, and probably several more trees 
might be taken down. 


27. Rounp CLumpe 1n Mr Case’s PASTURE. 


In this meadow, marked six ash and five oak trees for felling. 


98. THE V PLANTATION. 


This plantation is getting too much drawn up, and ought to be 
thinned at once, although the small oaks will not pay for felling. 
The same remarks apply to the young clump next to it, only, as 
many of the Scots fir as will make gocd trees should be left, as the 
extensive park is deficient of evergreen trees. 


29. YounaG PLANTATION FROM SHEREFORD Woop TO 
FAKENHAM Roap. 


It is to be regretted that in this extensive plantation nearly all 
the young trees are too much drawn up, and it is suggested that 
all the parts which have been thinned during the past two or three 
years should be gone over again immediately, leaving the Scots fir 
where possible, and carefully thinning out the others, The 
sacrifice of a little bark on the underwood is really unimportant, 
conipared to the great benefit that will accrue to the growing crop 
of timber, by timely and repeated thinning, and especially when 
the young trees have been previously neglected. 

A row of full-grown beech runs along the south side of this 
plantation, beginning at the Shereford end, which might be sold, 
as they are injuring the young trees, and they are not required for 
the landscape, as the young plantation would immediately take 
their place. There are also three rows of ash, on the park side of 
the plantation, opposite the beech, of which the inside row would 
be better removed, because if it remains it will ultimately injure 
the live fence. A good wide drive, or ride, from one end of this 
plantation to the other would be highly beneficial. It should be 
run as near the middle of the wood as possible, so as to be con- 
venient for getting out the timber, as well as for shooting and 
other purposes. 


338 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


30. CLump NEXT Mr Bate’s PASTURE. 


This clump, by the side of Mr Bate’s pasture, next the Fakenham 
Road, is composed of fine young trees, which are, however, far too 
much drawn up. It should be thinned properly, and then put 
into Mr Bate’s pasture, as, from its proximity to the road, it 
cannot be of any use for cover. 


31. Mitt Hitt Cover—rrom Pusiic Roap To Rose GREEN. 


This large young wood is chiefly composed of oak, very much 
crowded and drawn up. It should be treated in the same manner 
as recommended for No, 29—the young plantation from Shereferd 
Wood to the Fakenham Road. <A good drive is also very much 
wanted in this plantation. 


32. Mansy’s Car. 


This wood consists of oak, ash, elm, beech, alder, larch, spruce, 
Scots fir, and a considerable number of very fine, sound, healthy 
poplars, which are growing fast. With the exception of the 
poplars, the trees have been badly neglected, and in consequence 
are much drawn up in many places. No time should be lost in 
commencing to thin; and many of the poles, being clean and 
straight, would sell well. The wood might be divided, for con- 
venience in working, into four or five falls, taking one each year, 
and beginning where the poles are most crowded. 


33. Messrs Norton AND OVERMAN’s MEADOWS. 


Examined the large poplars in these meadows, and found many 
of them beginning to decay and obviously losing value, I marked 
forty-three trees, some of them of a very large size. Owing to the 
wet, unsound nature of the ground, which will never be drier than 
at present, it would be better to get the trees removed at once, 
before wet, wintry weather comes, As the forester has so much 
work on his hands at present, and likely to have more, it would 
be best to sell the poplars as they stand to a timber merchant, to 
take them down and remove them at his own expense, 


34. Mr Bearr’s PAstTure. 


Marked a very large ash and a large walnut, both of which are 
beginning to decay; also twenty-five other trees, which, when 


REPORT ON PLANTATIONS ON ESTATE OF RAYNHAM, NORFOLK. 339 


taken down, will not only improve the landscape, but be also very 
beneficial to the pasturage. 


35. NorMAn’s BorrouGuH. 


Part of this wood, behind the keeper’s house, was thinned about 
four years ago. ‘The fir division requires immediate attention, the 
trees in which are of great length, and useful for building and 
other purposes, and a large number might be taken out with much 
benefit to the remaining crop. There are a great number of fine 
young oaks, and of young firs of several kinds, which require more 
light and air for their development. More attention should also 
be given to the formation of better drives, as good roads through 
all woods add considerably to their value. The soil being of a 
peaty nature by the roadside, near the Horse Shoe Inn, it is very 
suitable for growing rhododendrons, which would make excellent 
cover and be very ornamental. 


36. Rasy Woop. 


This wood is partly old and partly young, and chiefly composed 
of oak. A considerable quantity of fine timber might be taken 
out of the older part, with much benefit to the remainder. The 
young oaks are much drawn from crowding, and require very 
careful attention. The drive in this wood should be altered to a 
more convenient position, 


37. AsH CAR. 


Consists principally of ash, oak, alder, and fir. There is also a 
number of sound poplars of a large size. This division, like nearly 
all the others on the estate, requires immediate thinning. Many 
of the poles are very good, and will pay well for cutting. ~- 


38. RupHAM GrRaNncE—MrR Savory’s Farm. 


Marked all the trees necessary to be felled around the premises, 
and in the meadows. It is a great pity that these trees have 
been so badly neglected. In marking them, special attention was 
paid to shelter, and to the landseape effect, which will come out 
well when the trees are cleared away. There will be enough of 
timber here for an auction sale. 


340 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


39. CoxrorD PLANTATION. 


Considering the poverty of the soil, this is a very satisfactory 
wood, and consists of fine old Scots fir, oak, beech, ete., and in a 
few places a little thinning would be beneficial. The Scots fir is in 
large fine lengths of first-rate quality, and very valuable for building 
and many other purposes. As trees thrive so well on this poor 
soil, it would be a great improvement, and a highly remunerative 
investment, to plant extensively in this district. As there is so 
much oak and other hardwood plantations on the estate already, 
and no young fir woods of any extent, it would be advisable to 
plant here only the fir tribe, introducing among them a fair 
sprinkling of the most suitable of the newer conifers. 

Judging from this fine old plantation, it is quite clear that the 
profits of planting such land would be great. Pleasure alone may 
satiate ; but when pleasure is combined with profit, their union 
invariably affords a lasting source of gratification to the happy 
possessor, 


THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 341 


XXIV. The Island of Arran as a Field for Planting. By 
W. A. Mackenzie, Strabane, Brodick, Isle of Arran. 


In Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland, lies the 
Island of Arran. It is about fourteen miles west from the 
Ayrshire coast, and about six miles east from Kintyre, the 
southern part of Argyllshire. Its form is that of an irregular 
ellipse, having its greatest length of about twenty miles from 
north to south, with an average breadth of a little over ten miles. 
A country in itself as regards its physical conditions, it may be 
said to contain on a small scale every characteristic of the 
adjoining mainland, from the bleak and sterile climate of the 
Grampian range of mountains to the soft and balmy breezes of 
the south of England—the high, heather-clad hills of the Scottish 
Highlands, to the gently undulating plains of the south. The 
great variety of its climate makes Arran an interesting field for 
botanists, for here are to be found specimens of nearly all the flora 
of the British Islands; and those who are lovers of botanical 
research will certainly be well rewarded by a visit to this 
picturesque and attractive retreat. To the arboriculturist, too, 
who mourns the amount of waste land that might profitably be 
clothed with timber, Arran would not be altogether devoid of 
interest. In it are many acres of wild, uncultivated land that at 
present yield no return, further, perhaps, than some grouse and a 
few deer, which could be planted with trees that in the course of 
time would well repay the cost, sufficient proof of which is seen in 
the several thriving patches of wood that already adorn some of 
its mountain slopes. 

Before entering into the arboriculture of the island, or its 
admirable adaptability as a field for planting, it will be necessary 
to consider for a little its geological formation, together with its 
geographical position and physical character, The physical 
character is practically due to the geological structure, for it is its 
geological structure that makes the physical features of the island 
of so marked a character, and gives rise to its extreme diversities 
of soil and climate. In the north are high and precipitous 
mountains, embosomed among which are wild and romantic glens, 
with beautiful streams rushing impetuously towards the sea. 
Towards the south the hills are much less lofty, and spread out 
below into broad undulating plains, which stretch on all sides 
seaward, and are divided into fields and meadows of considerable 


042 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


fertility. The variety of the geological formation produces a 
corresponding diversity in the soil, and the physiological character 
a marked influence on the climate. Apart from these, however, 
its geographical position bears very directly on its climate, for, 
situated as it is almost on the verge of the Atlantic, the island 
enjoys a much greater uniformity of temperature, and a more 
copious rainfall, than almost any other place in Scotland; and as 
these are very important factors in the rearing of forests and the 
production of timber, it follows that if the soil is suitable arbori- 
culture could be very successfully practised. 

Including, as it does, the granite, slate, old and new red sand- 
stone, whinstone, lime, hornblend, porphyry, quartz, basalt, 
claystone, pitchstone, and various sections of the Coal formation, 
including shale, Arran may be said to be quite a geological 
museum; but it is not needful to go minutely into the 
geological details of the island. For my purpose it will be 
sufficient to divide the island into two parts—a northern and a 
southern, of nearly equal area. The northern portion is mainly 
composed of granite, slate, and old red sandstone; while the 
southern consists principally of the Carboniferous series, with 
porphyry, greenstone, basalt, etc., and the disintegration of these 
different rocks has given to the soil of Arran its present character. 
The lapse of time has in many places covered the rock with 
rich alluvial soil, in some parts attaining the depth of many feet, 
and generally of sufficient depth to grow large sized forest trees. 

From what is indicated above, it will be quite understood that 
the variety of soil to be found in the island is very great. About 
Brodick it is of a loamy nature—argillaceous in places—while 
farther south it becomes of a lighter and more sandy character, 
but with patches of alluvial loam interspersed throughout. The 
subsoil is generally of a gravelly marl. In the southern parts of 
the island the soil is of a clayey consistency, and the subsoil is 
also clay mixed with gravel and sand, and very retentive of water. 
The western side of the island is gravelly and moorish, but with 
frequent patches of excellent alluvial soil. In the northern parts 
the soil is generally of a light sandy nature. 

Perhaps it might be argued that the physical features of Arran 
are not such as to encourage any desire to plant timber, for its 
exposure to the Atlantic gales, and the lie of its principal mountain 
ranges, are not very favourable for forest culture. This difficulty, 
however, is not so real as apparent, and could easily be overcome 


THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 343 


by careful and judicious selection, and planting of “ shelter-belts” 
of those trees best suited for exposed maritime situations, and 
once established, forests of finer varieties would rise up in the 
shelter of those belts. Notwithstanding that some of the 
mountain ranges run in a south-west and north-east direction, 
many quiet and sheltered glens, lying at right angles to the 
prevailing winds, might well be clad with timber; and those less 
favourably situated could also be adapted to the same useful 
purpose of timber production by the sheltering method above 
suggested. 

Including the islets of Holy Isle and Pladda, Arran has an area 
of 103,950 acres. Of this, at present about 23,000 acres are under 
arable and pasture lands, 2300 acres under roads, water, etc., and 
about 1360 acres under wood, thus leaving over 77,000 acres 
lying waste, and crying out to be dealt with in some profitable 
manner. That the whole of this could be profitably planted is of 
course an impossibility, but many acres which at present yield no 
appreciable return could be utilised for sylviculture, and made a 
profitable field for the capitalist who might feel inclined to lay out 
his money in such an investment. In the northern parts of the 
island there is a large area that could not possibly be made 
to grow timber—a great part of the land lying upwards of 1000 
feet above sea-level, and having no depth of soil. In many 
places, in fact, there is nothing but bare rocks and beds of shingle. 
Up to a certain altitude these places could be sown with the 
seeds of trees suitable for the climate. The southern part, how- 
ever, is not quite so hostile to vegetation, for the hills have a less 
altitude, in few cases reaching over 1200 feet, and in several 
instances clothed with grass to their very summits. Neither is 
the bare rock so extensive, and in many parts natural wood has 
already taken possession of the ground, But although that is 
the case, the southern portion of the island is not nearly so 
suitable for timber growing as the northern, for, owing to the 
manner in which the ground slopes on all sides to the sea, the 
exposure is so great as to make it next to impossible to grow any 
kind of timber except that of the trees best suited for maritime 
situations. It would be unreasonable, then, to suppose that the 
whole of the 77,000 acres, or anything like that area, could be 
planted, but suppose that one-fourth (a very moderate estimate) 
could be utilised for forest culture, what a material increase there 
would be in the comparative value of Arran. Of the 77,000 


344 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


acres of waste, we may then say that one-fourth is at too high 
an altitude for planting, while one-half is of such a nature, 
either from exposure, or variety, or depth of soil, as would 
render it also unsuitable. The remaining fourth could, I have 
no hesitation in affirming, be converted from a wild waste into 
flourishing forests, thereby adding beauty to the landscape, and 
giving the shelter so necessary to many parts of the island. 

To understand properly what the future of forestry in Arran 
might be, or what Arran is as a field for sylviculture, it will be 
necessary to consider its present state, and to look into the 
condition and prospects of the woods now existing on the 
island. Besides the 1360 acres which have been planted, and 
which will be considered in detail, several tracts of natural wood 
are to be found, but these are not of suflicient consequence to 
demand much attention. They consist principally of birch, 
with here and there some hazel, elm, oak, mountain ash, etc., in 
few places reaching sufficient size to come under the category of 
timber trees ; but these natural productions prove the suitability 
of the soil and climate for afforestation. Of these the birch 
(Letula alba) is the commonest tree. Although there is a con- 
siderable quantity of natural birch, it is not now of much 
commercial value in Arran. 

In many places near the coast natural coppice grows 
luxuriantly, and in some of the more inland parts, too, it is 
found in a thriving condition. In wet parts, and on the 
banks of the small rivers, the alder grows abundantly, but 
attains no great size. 

The ash, which grows well on the same soil, is found to be 
a better paying tree, but through inattention it does not nearly 
reach its full size, although in some cases very good timber is got. 
For instance, one ash tree measured, and by no means the largest 
met with, contained 20 cubic feet of good sound timber, Oak 
does not thrive very well, taking the island as a whole, but near 
Brodick some large trunks are to be found, for where sheltered 
it grows very well, and at the present time is being planted in 
several favourable situations. The natural oak, however, seldom 
attains to such dimensions as to be of any importance, and is not 
sufliciently plentiful to be of much value as coppice. 

Among the other trees that grow naturally may be mentioned 
the elm, beech, sycamore, mountain ash, and poplar, but the 
natural specimens of these trees are comparatively diminutive, and 


THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 345 


hardly worthy of attention. Those trees of the same kinds which 
have been planted, however, go to prove that their cultivation 
would be a success if judiciously practised. 

It might be interesting to mention here a few of the rarer 
exotic trees and shrubs that are to be found growing and flourish- 
ing on the island. Of these, perhaps the most noteworthy is the 
“Blue Gum” of Tasmania, Zucalyptus globulus, several of which 
are growing in favoured situations. At Lamlash are two of these 
trees, one the largest on the island, growing in the grounds of 
Craigard House. They are said to have been planted some 
twenty years ago, and the larger is now about 30 feet in height. 
This tree was unfortunately blown down during the heavy gale 
last October, but by the instructions of Captain Brown it has been 
raised very carefully, and may be little the worse for the mis- 
fortune. Smaller specimens of the Hucalyptus are growing at 
Corrie and Strabane, the Corrie ones coming next in size to those 
at Lamlash. At Corrie there are also two of the Australian tree 
fern, Dicksonia antiartica, with several Australian palms, and 
acacias, all in a thriving condition. The fuchsia grows very 
abundantly in the grounds around Brodick Castle, and is to be 
met with in quantity in other parts of Arran. At Strabane 
there is a small apple tree upon which mistletoe is flourishing. 

From these facts, and looking to the delicate constitution of some 
of the plants mentioned, it is not difficult to conclude that the 
climate of Arran is a very mild one, and in every way favourable 
to the growth of trees and shrubs. When these delicate plants, 
natives of a warmer and more genial climate than Britain can 
boast of, grow with such luxuriance in the open air, surely the 
hardier timber trees, natives of this and even more ungenial 
climates, could be made to grow with great profit to the owner. 
In further proof of this, let us now consider in detail the present 
plantations in Arran. 

I. The Merkland Wood, situated immediately to the back 
of Brodick Castle, is by far the largest plantation in Arran, and 
covers nearly 500 acres. It was formed seventy-five years ago, 
‘and all the plants were pitted. The soil is of a calcareo-argillaceous 
nature. This wood contains larch, silver fir, spruce, oak, ash, 
beech, and a few other kinds, but the principal trees are larch and 
silver fir. The silver fir grows with remarkable vigour, and has 
attained very large proportions, in some cases measuring upwards 
of 100 feet in height, and 8 feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground. 


346 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


A number of these large trees were blown down by recent storms, 
and some of them contained over 100 cubic feet of timber. Five 
trunks were measured, and they were found to contain 136, 118, 
107, 100, and 94 cubic feet. Several of the standing specimens 
measure over 150 cubic feet, and one of the largest, but of earlier 
planting, contains 400 cubic feet. The larch also thrives remark- 
ably well, and yields a fair quantity of saleable timber. Growing 
upwards of 75 feet high, and measuring from 3 to 6 feet in girth 
at 5 feet up, the trees contain on an average from 25 to 30 cubic 
feet of timber. Besides the silver fir and larch, the Scots fir 
grows well, but not to so great size. Spruce is a better grower, 
and attains larger proportions, the cubic contents of many of the 
trees being about 40 feet. 

Deciduous trees do not grow nearly so well as the conifers, 
although beech, oak, and sycamore constitute a fair proportion of 
the wood. 

II. The Glenrosa and Glensherrig Wood, consisting mainly of 
larch and Scots fir, was planted about fifty-four years ago, and 
has grown well. At the present time it has reached its maximum 
value, for the larch is ripe and ought to be felled, as some of the 
trees are beginning to decay. A large number of the larch trees 
contain over 20 cubic feet, while some contain as much as 40 to 
50 cubic feet. The Scots fir are similar to those in Merkland 
Wood. This wood covers the south-eastern and north-eastern 
slopes of the Glenrosa and Glensherrig Hill, and. reaches to about 
800 feet above the level of the sea, at which height the trees are 
growing splendidly. The soil is of a clayey nature, with a rocky 
subsoil at no great depth. 

III. Immediately to the west of Merkland Wood, and growing 
on a similar soil resting on rock, is the Stronach Wood, consisting 
of two divisions of various ages. Both divisions are growing well, 
and contain quite a variety of trees—larch, silver fir, and Scots fir 
being the principal crop. The younger portion is thirty-four years 
of age, and contains some very promising larch ; the older portion 
is ready for felling, most of the trees being ripe. 

IV. In the neighbourhood of Brodick there is another section 
called Strathwhillan and Corrygills Wood. Larch and Scots fir 
here again constitute the bulk of the crop. It was planted thirty- 
three years ago, and is growing remarkably well. 

V. Glen Ashdale Wood is the only other wood in Arran of any 
size. It was planted thirty-five years ago, and is growing very 


THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 347 


well. Larch is the principal tree, and the wood is in a very 
healthy condition, there being many of the trees over 50 feet in 
height. Ash grows well in the lower parts of this wood. 

Besides the foregoing, there are numerous small patches of wood 
at Lagg, Sannox, Machrie, Whitefarlane, and other parts of the 
island, and an examination of these, together with those I have 
mentioned, would fully convince the most sceptical of the adapt- 
ability of the island for the growth of timber trees. 

To plant to the greatest advantage, a careful choice and 
arrangement of trees would have to be made, for those best suited 
for one part of the island might not suit another part with a 
different exposure. The most difficult part of the island to deal 
with would be the southern portion, for, as I have already said, 
this section is more exposed to the fierce Atlantic storms than is 
the northern part. Round the shores of the south there are 
arable and pasture farms, but at a short distance inland the land 
is lying waste, or very nearly so, and could be easily made to 
grow timber. Shelter-belts could be raised round the outside and 
in exposed places, and with the protection of these many valuable 
kinds of trees could be raised. These shelter-belts should consist 
of the following trees and shrubs, in the order given :—1st, outside, 
a belt of sea buckthorn, about 3 yards deep; 2nd, a belt of elder, 
about 3 yards. Inside of these there should be a belt of sycamore 
with beech still farther inland. These trees would grow in any 
exposure in this arrangement, and within these the pines and 
future timber trees might safely be planted. This method of 
raising shelter would require to be practised all over the island, 
but more particularly in the south. Many of the more sheltered 
glens, however, could be planted without any preliminary treat- 
ment of this kind, and would grow excellent timber. Glenrosa, 
for instance, has only been partly planted, and the trees have 
grown exceedingly well. There is also a large part of Glen- 
sherrig still uncovered with wood, which might well be planted 
without any shelter, and many other places could easily be 
seeded. 

Judging by the trees now growing in the island, the best kinds 
to plant are larch, silver fir, Scots pine, spruce, and such decidu- 
ous trees as ash, beech, sycamore, etc. A mixture of these would 
generally be the best,—but in some parts the larch thrives so well 
that it seeds and grows spontaneously, and as it is one of the 
trees best adapted for Arran, and also one of the most profitable 


348 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


of timber producing trees, it should form a large proportion of 
any mixed plantation. 

An average of 3500 plants is sufficient for an acre, and the 
following would form a very good mixture :— 


Scots fir, . " ; : ‘ «em LOD 
Larch, ; : . : ; : 750 
Pinaster, . : . : : : 500 
Spruce, : “ . . : : 500 
Silver fir, . : ; : , ‘ 250 
Beech, : ; ; : ‘ : 200 
Laricio, . 2 F é E : 200 
Douglas fir, : : . : - 100 

3500 


These plants should be what is known as two-year, one year 
transplanted, and would not cost more than £3, 5s. per acre. 

That this mixture would be suitable for the whole island is 
certainly impracticable, but for a large part it would be quite 
appropriate, grouping the kinds as required. 

While this table is given as a guide, it should by no means be 
practised over the whole breadth of the island, where planting 
can be executed with profit. Generally speaking, where the 
herbage permits, nothing larger should be planted than two-year 
seedlings, silver fir excepted. In the exposed situations having 
light sandy soils, plant Pinus Pinaster and P. Laricio ; where the 
soil is light and thin, among rock debris, in crevices, and such 
places, sow such seeds as are suitable for the spot, giving of pine 
seeds 2} lbs. to the acre, mixed with the seeds of the broom to 
make them spread properly. Seeding is the most natural, and 
under certain circumstances the least expensive method of stocking 
the ground, with the best results. Next to seeding comes seedling 
plants, either one or two years old, the good results from which 
are assured by the woods that have been cut down during the 
early part of the present century. The least profitable of all 
methods is the transplanting of large plants; the future growth 
and ultimate success of the trees so planted being governed by the 
size and age at which they were transplanted. The less frequently 
forest trees are handled, the less liable are they in after years to 
fall victims to diseases of the roots, and other ills now so 
prevalent. 

Taking the island as a whole, a large part of it could be 


THE ISLAND OF ARRAN AS A FIELD FOR PLANTING. 349 


planted without any preliminary preparations except the shelter- 
belts, and even in some instances they could be dispensed with. 
Some parts however, otherwise suitable, might be found to be 
too wet, and a certain amount of draining would be necessary: 
about one quarter of the whole area available for planting would 
require this kind of treatment. In addition to draining, some 
fencing would be required, and the fences should either be dry 
stone dykes or wire, the former being the more serviceable, as 
they would form good shelter for the young plantations. The 
fences surrounding the existing woods are chiefly dry stone dykes, 
with, in a few instances, a wire running along the top. The 
expense of the fencing, however, would not be very heavy, and 
on the average the total cost of stocking an acre, including plants, 
labour, etc., would not greatly exceed £5. This outlay would be 
well repaid in a few years, not only by the sale of the produce, 
but also by the shelter given to stock and crops, which would 
materially improve both, greatly to the advantage of the agricul- 
tural community, and to the amenity of the island, 


VOL. XIII. PART III. PAN 


350 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


XXV. Remarks on the Planting of the Sandhills on the Sea-Coast 
at Holkham, Norfolk. By ARcHIBALD GorRIE,! 


Holkham Sandhills, the property of the Right Honourable the 
Earl of Leicester, K.G., were rabbit warrens until the year 1850. 
They extend about 3} miles along the Norfolk coast, from 5 to 25 
chains wide, bounded by the German Ocean on the north, and on 
the south by rich pasture land reclaimed from the sea, dating as 
far back as 1660, when the first enclosure was made. These hills 
are held together by a plant called Psamma arenarius, which has 
a strong creeping perennial root, with many tubers at the joints 
about the size of a pea. It is planted and encouraged on the 
Norfolk coast to aid in fixing the sand against the action of the 
wind and tides, which it does in a remarkable manner. The 
‘‘marrum,” as it is locally called, or Bent-grass, is considered of 
so much importance that there are severe laws to prohibit its being 
destroyed. Mats are made of it, and it is also used as thatch. 

Elymus arenarius, the Sea Lyme-grass, a strong, rough, glaucous 
plant, common on sandy shores, is also frequent here, and answers 
the same purpose in fixing the sand as the “marrum.” In 
analysing the soluble matter afforded by this grass, Sir H. Davy 
found it to contain more than one-third of its weight in sugar. It 
is not, however, eaten by any of our domestic animals. 

About 1850 I sowed several kinds of pine seeds on the sand- 
hills, putting some of the seeds in small pellets of clay and inserting 
them in the sand, and in various other ways. I did this for two 
or three years in succession, but it ended in failure. I then 
planted a few plants of well-established Pinus austriaca, P. 
Laricio, and Scots fir, and had them thoroughly protected from 
rabbits, never thinking they would do much good in the pure 
sand, but I was agreeably surprised at the end of the first season. 
The plants all lived and made one or two inches of young wood, 
and seemed healthy; the second year they did better, when I drew 
the Earl of Leicester’s attention to the matter, and he was so 
satisfied with the growth of the trees that were planted that he at 
once set about destroying the rabbits, and planted a small portion 
of the hills every year till the whole is now completed. 

The east end of the hills, nearly two miles in length, which was 


1 Presented by Mr Archibald Gorrie, Brookmans Park, Hatfield, Herts, 


PLANTING OF SANDHILLS ON SEA-COAST AT HOLKHAM, 351 


only partly planted previous to 1875, is a very thrifty young 
plantation, not only being a shelter for the adjoining pasture, 
but forming a grand and peculiar feature in the landscape, 
and the trees doing much better than the most sanguine could 
expect. 

Mr Munro, the Earl of Leicester’s intelligent forester, writes to 
me about this division of the hills, and says: “When he came 
to Holkham in 1877, the trees in many cases were very good, but 
the tops of the Pinws Laricio were very much cut with the northerly 
winds and blowing sands. He at once commenced planting the 
tops of the hills, principally with P. austriaca and a sprinking of 
P. maritima. When these got hold and began to get up, the 
Laricio, which were cut by wind, began to improve, and by 1882 
a very decided improvement was visible. ‘Since then, seeing the 
progress the plantations made, he went on extending them, until 
the area planted is now double what it was in 1882.” 

The proportions in which the plants are used are— 


Pinus Laricio, 50 per cent., planted 8 yards apart. 


Ma is Or K . 
5  austriaca, 25 ss me 5 to 7 yards apart. 
” sylvestris, 20 ” ” ” ” 

» maritima, 5 ee 2 nfs ‘ 


Let it be distinctly understood that the plantations are ornamental, 
and are not planted for profit, hence the distance between the trees, 
giving plenty room for developing their laterals. The austriaca and 
maritima, being on the higher and more exposed situations, and 
fully exposed to every storm from the German Ocean, are planted 5 to 
7 yards apart, as they cannot possibly make the same growth as the 
Laricio, which are more sheltered. The Laricio are now in many 
cases 30 to 35 feet high, their lateral branches covering an area equal 
to a circle of 8 yards in diameter, and are full of health. The 
Scots fir and austriaca are making a proportionate growth. When 
at Holkham last spring, Mr Munro had just finished planting a large 
area of the West Sandhills, and, notwithstanding the previous cold . 
and unpropitious winter and spring, I only saw a single dead plant, 
which reflects great credit on Mr Munro’s management. 

Altogether this is a most interesting item in forestry, but I am 
not aware of any notice of this or similar undertakings having been 
mentioned in any British work on forestry. Professor Wagner, 
however, writing to the Prussian Minister of Agriculture, and 


352 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


recommending to him the cultivation of Lathyrus sylvestris, a 
strong perennial rooted species of the Everlasting Pea tribe, for 
the immense area of barren sandhills along the coast of Northern 
Germany, points out that it would form a far superior means 
for bringing these vast wastes under profitable and permanent 
cultivation than the planting of pine and fir trees. Little faith 
was, however, put in that statement, until its correctness had been 
visibly proved on a large scale by Imperial Privy Councillor of 
Commerce, Otto Kuchnemann, of Stettin, Pommerania, Germany, 
who had for many years, and at heavy expense, endeavoured to grow 
on his sandhills pine and fir trees, but had failed to succeed, the 
young trees being partly smothered or uprooted by the ever-shifting 
sand, and those surviving were vegetating so weakly that the 
attempt was tantamount to failure. Now a flock of sheep is kept 
on the Lathyrus fodder grown on the identical sandhills where six 
years ago not a blade of grass could be seen. 


OUR TIMBER SUPPLIES FROM ABROAD, 353 


XXVI. Our Timber Supplies from Abroad. By A. T. WILLtIAMson, 
Kew Terrace, Edinburgh. 


This subject is of the greatest interest and importance, not only 
to those immediately associated with the production and consump- 
tion of timber, but to every member of the community. There is 
very great difficulty in arriving at the exact value of the wood 
imported into this country, but, on a fairly accurate calculation, 
it may be set down at £20,000,000 annually. The returns 
periodically issued by the Board of Trade afford an idea of the 
number of loads, and the figures given in this paper show the vast 
and far-reaching influence which timber has upon our national 
industries. There is no doubt that trade in timber is largely 
influenced by the condition of other trades; but, at the same time, 
it has to be borne in mind that our timber supplies have a very 
important influence on other trades. It is often supposed that 
for many purposes wood cannot be superseded by any other 
material, but this is entirely erroneous. It is in a large degree 
dependent upon the facilities by which timber can be supplied 
whether or not the same proportion shall be consumed. In many 
branches of industry timber finds a keen competitor in iron, in 
some instances in brick, and occasionally in stone. In these cases 
the ultimate consideration with the consumer is the question of 
cost. That the use of timber has enormously increased is clearly 
seen by the figures that follow; and this expansion is largely due 
to the ingenuity of those associated with timber production, in 
introducing such inventions and facilities as enables it to success- 
fully compete in price with other materials. The credit of 
producing this result is to be shared alike by the forester, the 
timber merchant, and the timber manufacturer. The timber 
merchant, it may be said, is merely the distributor, and has little 
influence in guiding either the production or consumption. This 
may be true as regards the merchant in other commodities, but, as 
will be seen in the following remarks, the merchant in timber has 
had a very great influence in the development of the trade. 

In the year 1890 the total imports from foreign countries and 
the colonies amounted to 7,056,688 loads. This was made up of 
2,278,374 loads of hewn or rough log timber, and 4,778,314 loads 
of sawn and manufactured wood. These figures show the large 
proportion that is brought in a prepared and partially prepared 


354 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 


condition, being fully double the quantity imported in its raw 
state. This is a condition to be regretted on many grounds. The 
amount of money represented in the manufacturing cannot be less 
than £3,000,000, a sum which one would think might easily be 
conserved to our own workmen. The cost of freight for waste 
and superfluous wood is saved when it is in a manufactured state, 
but the superiority of our workmen, and the greater excellence of 
their workmanship, should and does more than compensate for this 
item. This has been proved by years of practical experience in 
the large quantities of manufactured flooring and lining that is 
sent to the Australian markets, not from Sweden, but from Scot- 
land, the timber being first imported from Sweden into Scotland, 
prepared here, and then exported again to Australia. 

It may be interesting to look at the enormous development 
of the import of manufactured timber in the past thirty years. 
Although statistics of any value are difficult to procure, we have 
been able to get a fairly approximate table for London, which 
represents something like one-fifth of the whole country, and which 
may therefore give a fair idea of the whole. The increase in the 
total imports has been practically steady and continuous, but, 
looking at the raw timber by itself, it has remained stationary, or 
has had a backward tendency. For 1860, the number of loads 
of hewn timber was 233,000; for 1890, the number of loads of 
similar timber was 219,700. The quantity of sawn or manufactured 
timber bears a very marked contrast with this. In 1860, manu- 
factured timber was imported to the extent of 7,125,000 pieces, 
while in 1890 they had grown to no less than 33,198,000 pieces. 
This advance has been a gradual one throughout the thirty 
years, each year as nearly as possible adding 10 per cent. to its 
predecessor. 

We have given the total imports for 1890, viz., 7,056,688 loads. 
Deducting from this 507,058 loads of furniture woods from various 
countries, 6,549,630 loads remain of the more common supplies. 
These imports, chiefly drawn from Scandinavia, Russia, Germany, 
and British North America, are made up as follows :— 


Scandinavia, ; i ; 2,648,666 loads, 
[Rg OA eae : ; ; aa Sy fe Ge ow 
Germany, ; ; ; 287,482 ,, 
British North America, . ; 1,866,671  ,, 


All other countries, 4 : 733,637 ,, 


OUR TIMBER SUPPLIES FROM ABROAD. 355 


It is thus seen that Norway and Sweden furnish us with about 
40 per cent. of our timber supplies, and the 2,643,666 loads sent 
to us are made up of 673,305 loads of rough and 1,970,361 loads 
of manufactured timber. 

The question may naturally be put—Why is Scandinavian timber 
so much favoured by us? It must be better or cheaper, but that 
is only true toa limited extent. The great development of Swedish 
imports is a matter of only recent years. It is impossible to make 
an accurate comparison of the qualities of imported timber, treating 
it nationally, because the shipments of some ports are superior to 
the shipments of other ports in the same country; but, on the 
whole, the balance of quality in respect of both the Scots fir and 
the spruce, which form 90 per cent. of the imports, is considerably 
in favour of Russia, The freight from Russian ports is also 
generally from 10 per cent. to 15 per cent. lower than from the 
upper ports of Sweden, whence the larger bulk is shipped. The 
Swedes, however, have displayed characteristic enterprise in adapting 
their conditions to meet the situation. They have greatly improved 
their machinery, more carefully selected their timber, and lowered 
their prices so as to secure British orders, and have thus equalised 
matters with their Russian competitors. Not content, however, 
with having placed themselves on an equal footing with Russia, 
they have turned the scale in their favour in the eyes of the British 
buyer by granting six months’ credit on all transactions, the Russians 
being unable or unwilling to give more than three months. It is 
in this way that the merchant has had so much influence on the 
development of the trade, to which we made allusion in the early 
part of this paper. These specially favourable terms induced an 
accumulation of stock in our merchants’ hands, and allowed them 
to place before the consumer, in the most favourable light, the 
merits of Swedish supplies, and generally influenced their use. 

The question arising here is, of course,—Can Sweden maintain 
the annual output of such enormous quantities of timber? The 
answer is generally admitted to be, on the whole, in the affirmative. 
Great Britain and Ireland receive one-half of the total quantity of 
wood shipped ; and, when the vast area is considered, it must be 
admitted that even the figures given are only capable of clearing 
out the woods of a comparatively limited area; and Scots fir and 
spruce being fast-growing trees, the re-afforestation is proceeding as 
quickly as the deforestation. 


356 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOGIETY. 


The Russian supplies come second in their amount. These are 
represented by shipments chiefly from Riga, Cronstadt, and Arch- 
angel. The Riga shipments are principally composed of spruce 
deals and battens, while the Cronstadt and Archangel are largely 
composed of Scots fir, or redwood. Swedish timber has never been 
able to compete with Russian in respect of quality, and for all 
high-class joiner work architects demand that Archangel or St 
Petersburg redwood be used. The extent of the Russian forests 
is not known; and with regard to the prospects of their supplies 
being maintained, there is at present no question, nor will be for 
generations to come, in the ordinary course of events. A notable 
change has taken place during the past few years in connection with 
Russian oak, which forms a rather important item in the exports. 
Formerly Riga, on the Baltic, was the chief port of shipment, 
the oak being brought from the forests some hundreds of miles 
to the southward; but now the largest proportion of the oak 
grown within the same regions as formerly is conveyed south- 
wards, and is shipped at Fiume, in Austria. The oak shipped 
at that port has acquired a high reputation for cabinet and 
furniture work, 

The German imports are comparatively small, and are largely 
made up of pit-wood and rough timber. Germany can scarcely be 
considered a great timber exporting country, being largely indebted 
to Sweden for her own supplies. France sends us, particularly 
to the British Channel, immense quantities of pit-wood, but her 
home supplies of heavy timber are quite inadequate to meet her 
wants. France imports, from Sweden and other countries, several 
millions of loads to meet home wants. 

The supplies of timber from British North America, chiefly 
from Canada, amounting to 1,366,571 loads, although only half 
of the Swedish, represents quite as much money value. The chief 
item is the American pine timber, a substitute for which has not 
been found in European countries. The maintenance of supplies 
from this source must be adversely contrasted with Sweden. 
Writers on forestry have deplored the waste in the American 
forests, and it is generally admitted that it is prodigious. At the 
same time, the vastness of the forest areas have maintained the 
equilibrium of the trade. While most kinds of timber have 
been, through competition, kept to the lowest value, pine timber 
from Canada has not only maintained its price, but has actually 


OUR TIMBER SUPPLIES FROM ABROAD. 357 


experienced a steady rise. Consumption, or extra demand, has not 
caused this, but it arises from the fact of the demolition of the 
forests within reasonable distance of the seaboard. There is a 
growing tendency to import manufactured Canadian pine, and 
the figures of same, compared with hewn, may be quoted,—the 
1,366,571 loads being made up of 180,966 loads of hewn, and 
1,185,605 loads of sawn and manufactured timber. There is less 
to be said against the growth of Canadian manufactured imports 
than that of Sweden, as the freight saved on deals and battens 
over logs is very considerable, the rate from Sweden being only 
about 8s. per load, while from America it is about 24s. 

The vast forests of immense trees in British Columbia have recently 
been drawn upon for introduction into this country as a substitute 
for yellow pine, but so far the experiment has proved unsatisfactory. 
The timber can be got larger and cleaner, but it lacks that mild 
nature which is characteristic of the Canadian pine. It is found 
difficult to sustain a polish, and is too strong in the reed for fine 
household or ship work. The supplies in British Columbia are 
practically unlimited, and for rough work, in beams, etc., might 
adapt itself, but the distance from our shores quite handicaps it 
in competition with other woods used for similar purposes. 

Pitch pine timber has taken a most important place in our 
industries. The supplies available are immense, and there is every 
probability that they will be maintained. The cheapness of this 
wood has popularised its use, notwithstanding the fact that the 
cost of freight is about 35s. per load. It is sold here at something 
like 50s. per load, which, with insurance and other charges, cannot 
leave more than 10s. per load at port of shipment. It is cut 
down, sawn, and transported a long distance for this sum, 
which gives us some indication of what could be done were our 
foresters at home to exercise their ingenuity on the question of 
transport from the woods, 

Kauri timber from New Zealand now receives much favour. 
It is, however, classed as a fancy wood, and is only utilised for 
cabinet purposes, so it can scarcely be included in an article 
on common timber. New Zealand is too far away to draw upon 
for ordinary carpenter’s timber, which really forms 80 per cent. 
of our imports. 

A class of wood that is becoming popular is ‘“ Whitewood,” 
called also “Canary wood” or “Butternut.” It is taking the 


358 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


place of the long familiar yellow pine, and the price being some- 
what less, it is being generally used. The beautiful clean grain, 
free from knots and shakes, and the great width it is capable of 
producing, have acquired it a favour in most industries. It is 
imported from both Canada and the United States. The supply 
of it is said to be more limited than that of the yellow pine, but 
statistics of the forests and their timber are not available for any 
practical purposes. 

The total imports to Scotland in 1891 amounted to 878,924 
loads. One-fourth of this was American timber, consisting of 
yellow pine, pitch pine, hardwoods, and spruce; two-thirds Baltic 
and north of Europe, Scots fir, and spruce; and the remainder 
made up of sundries—teak, kauri, and other special woods. 

Before concluding, it may be interesting to take notice of an 
experiment being made at the present time by the Swedish 
shippers. Considering their British business practically established, 
the shippers conferred together and agreed to bind themselves to 
place their credit on nearly the same footing as their Russian 
neighbours. The effect of this action has not yet become fully 
apparent, but although these terms have only been in operation 
a few months, the decline of Swedish sales has been so marked 
that considerations for the abolition of this rule are already exercising 
them. We have referred to this part of the subject with the view 
of showing how much more influence than the actual merits or 
demerits in price, a hidden cause may exert on the development 
of a given industry. The question is a common one,—Why will 
foreigners, removed from our shores by hundreds of miles and 
frequently by thousands, entrust our merchants with six months 
credit, while our own foresters, agents, and landlords will not 
trust them a day, although the timber is retained in their own 
hands? . Forestry in this country has little interest for the 
mercantile community, but the foreigner gives us a substantial 
interest in the subject, and we in return reciprocate the benefit by 
obtaining our supplies of timber from abroad. 


MACHINE FOR MENDING BROKEN STRANDS IN WIRE FENCES. 359 


XXVII. Machine for Mending Broken Strands in Wire Fences. 
Invented by ANTHONY Simpson, Forester, Dunrobin Castle, 
Golspie. 


Where wire fences are extensively employed, a machine for 
mending the broken strands is very desirable. No doubt the 
“ratchet” straining-posts are now in frequent use, but they are by 
no means predominant, and being a recent invention, the fences 
erected before their advent require attention occasionally, if not 
frequently; and often a “ratchet” straining-post may not be in 
keeping with the surroundings. 

I have fully tested this machine, and found it to be a marked 
improvement on any others that I have either used, seen, or heard 
of. By the use of it a great amount of time, labour, and expense 
is saved, and I can thoroughly recommend it to all foresters and 
others employed in the erection and repair of wire fences. 

The merits of my invention are— 

(1) It is a more expeditious way of mending broken strands in 
wire fences than any method hitherto known and practised. 

(2) It is so constructed that it can be applied to strain the wire 
at the point where it is broken, so that it can be easily tied there 
again. 

(3) It can also be used at the straining-posts in the erection of 
wire fences as an ordinary straining machine. 

The following illustration shows the various parts of the 
machine, and the method of working. 


EXPLANATION. 


A. Frame; with (4) headstock, and (c) bracket. 
B. Screwed spindle, revolving in the headstock and bracket. 
C. Travelling screwed socket. 
D. Lever for working the main screw. 
EE. Hinged clips, with (aa) lever screws. 


In operating with the machine, run out the travelling socket to the end of 
the screw ; place the ends of the broken wire in the clips and secure them tightly 
by the screws aa, so that they will not slip in the straining; work the main 
screw by the lever D till the ends of the wire overlap sufficiently to form a 
proper knot, which is made in the usual manner; then unscrew the clips, and 
the job is finished, 


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Ropal Scottish Arboricultural Society. 


EXCURSION 


TO 


PirEsHIRE AND .PERTHS@ERE 


Loo 2. 


ROYAL 
SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY, 


EXCURSION TO FIFESHIRE AND 
PERTHSHIRE. 


THE FirreentH ANNUAL Excursion of the Society was held 
on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of August, when the estates of 
Stravithie, Balbirnie, and Falkland, in Fifeshire; and Scone, 
Meikleour, Murthly, Methven, The Cairnies, and Balgowan, in 
Perthshire, were visited. For the occasion, the headquarters 
of the Society were at the Salutation Hotel, Perth. 

Easy of access by rail from all parts of the country—north 
and south—it was expected that an Excursion to this district, 
so full of interest to the arboriculturist, would be exceedingly 
popular with the members. So it turned out to be. A better 
attended Excursion has not been held in the history of the 
Society. The weather on the three days left little to be desired 
by those who had to pass the most of their time in the open 
air, and, on the second day, éclat was given to the pro- 
ceedings by the presence of a party of members of the British 
Association, who, having completed the business of the meeting 
at Edinburgh of the Association, made an excursion north 
to see the beauties of Scone and Murthly in company with 
the members of the Arboricultural Society. Among other 
gentlemen taking part in the Excursion were :—Charles 
Adamson, Leven; John Alexander, Kandy, Ceylon; John 
Allan, Dalmeny; Professor Bayley Balfour, President of the 
Society ; John Barron, Borrowash, Derby ; J. Barton, Hatfield, 
Herts; R. Baxter, Dalkeith; Lewis Bayne, Scone; James 
Berry, Berwick ; W. 5S. Bissett, Bridge of Earn; Andrew Boa, 
Dalton, Newcastle ; A. Boa, jun., Great Thurlow, Suffolk ; John 
Boyd, Pollok, Pollokshaws; Charles Buchanan, Penicuik; J. 
Clark, Haddo House, Aberdeen; Dr Cleghorn, Stravithie; Philip 
Cockburn, Dalkeith; James Cook, Arniston, Gorebridge; James 
Crabbe, Glamis; George Croucher, Ochtertyre, Crieff; John 


4 


Cunningham, Ardross, Alness; James Dalziel, Maybole ; John 
Davidson, Auldbar, Brechin; J. W. Deas, Edinburgh; A. S. 
Donald, Philiphaugh, Selkirk; Robert Douglas, Edinburgh ; 
P. Drummond, Stirling; J. W. Duncan, Broughty Ferry ; 
Malcolm Dunn, Dalkeith ; William Erskine, Edinburgh; A. J. 
Farquharson, Newtyle, Forfarshire ; John Fleming, Aberdeen ; 
Robert Forbes, Clova, Aberdeenshire; F. Foreman, Eskbank, 
Dalkeith ; James Forgan, Sunnybraes, Largo; Thomas Foulis, 
Edinburgh; J. Galletly, Bonhard, Perth ; W. M. Gilbert, Edin- 
burgh; William Gilchrist, Leuchars, Elgin; John Gilroy, 
Berwick ; C. 8S. Goodchild, Suffolk ; John G. Gordon, Edinburgh ; 
G. H. Gorrie, Dalkeith; J. A. Gossip, Inverness; James 
Granger, Penicuik ; A. A. Green, Edinburgh ; Professor Green, 
Cambridge ; Archibald Henderson, Tullamore, King’s County, 
Ireland ; William Henderson, Balbirnie ; Daniel Irvine, Perth ; 
James Jones, Larbert; James Kay, Rothesay; John Kerr, 
Gorebridge; R. G. Kerr, Musselburgh; D. P. Laird, Edin- 
burgh; James Laurie, Murthly; Peter M‘Farlane, Perth ; 
D. M‘Gregor, Camperdown, Dundee; Major M‘Gregor, Peni- 
cuik; D. F. M‘Kenzie, Morton Hall, Liberton; Rev. Mr 
M‘Kerchar; A. M‘Kinnon, Scone, Perth; George M‘Kinnon, 
Melville, Lasswade; J. T. M‘Laren, Alloa; Alexander M‘Rae, 
Leven ; J. M‘Rorie, Cowdenbeath ; John Methven, Edinburgh ; 
John Methven, Blythswood, Renfrewshire; John Michie, 
Balmoral; A. Milne, Edinburgh; R. P. Milne, Berwick-on- 
Tweed; William Milne, Berwick-on-Tweed ; James Mitchell, 
Fossaway; James Moffat, Edinburgh; William J. Moffat, 
Secretary of the Society ; G. Morgan, Crieff; Malcolm Morgan, 
Crieff; J. Murdoch, Dalkeith ; Colin M. Patterson, Newbattle ; 
Thomas Patterson, Eskside House, Dalkeith ; W. A. Rae, Kings- 
wood, Murthly; William Rayson, Chelsea, London; James 
tobertson, Panmure, Carnoustie ; William Robertson, Murthly, 
Perth; James Romanes, Meadowbank, Dalkeith; James Ruther- 
ford, Redcar, Yorkshire ; D. Scott, Darnaway, Forres ; Andrew 
Slater, Haystoun, Peebles ; William Smith, Edinburgh ; Professor 
Somerville, Newcastle ; R. Storie, Dalkeith ; James Tait, Peni- 
cuik; M. Temple, Carron House, Falkirk; Hon. Waldegrave- 
Leslie; James Watt, Carlisle; James Welsh, Edinburgh ; 
Peter Whitton, Methven, Perth ; A. T. Williamson, Edinburgh ; 
G. Williamson, Leven ; and J. J. Wilson, Penicuik. 


5 


FIRST DAY. 


Wednesday, 10th August. 


STRAVITHIE, BALBIRNIE, LESLIE, AND FALKLAND 
PALACE, FIFE. 


An early start had to be made this morning by the party from 
Edinburgh, which left the Waverley Station at 6.35 A.M., by train 
for Stravithie Station. About sixty gentlemen assembled on 
the platform wearing the Scots Fir badge of the Society, and 
there were several additions made to that number en route. 

Leaving Edinburgh behind, the journey was through one of 
the richest agricultural districts in the Lothians, and at this 
season of the year the crops were at their best, giving promise 
of a bountiful harvest. About ten miles from Edinburgh, the 
“Q@ueen’s Ferry” was reached, and the gigantic structure of the 
Forth Bridge, spanning the estuary with cyclopean strides, was 
crossed at a height of nearly 200 feet. The views from the 
Bridge on such a fine day, both up and down the Forth, are 
probably unrivalled in railway travelling, and to arborists both 
shores of the Firth presented a very interesting sight, being in 
great part richly clothed with woodlands to the water’s edge. 
Immediately below the Bridge on the Lothian shore lie the 
woods of Dalmeny; and above the Bridge on the same side are 
the wooded slopes of Hopetoun, stretching back a considerable 
distance into the country. 

On the opposite Fife shore above the Bridge are the well- 
wooded domains of Broomhall, Torry, and Valleyfield running 
far up the country; while below the Bridge, on the north side 
of the Firth, are the fine picturesque woods of Donibristle and 
Aberdour. Passing North Queensferry and the ancient burgh 
of Inverkeithing, the line sweeps to the right through pleasant 
fields and hedgerows thickly studded with trees, with the 
domain of Donibristle on the right, and Fordell, Otterstone, 
and Cockairne, on the left, all famed among arborists for their 
fine trees, and the scene of one of the earliest excursions of the 
Society. The shore of the Firth is again reached at the prettily 
situated village of Aberdour, a favourite watering-place of the 
Edinburgh folk, and celebrated in the ancient ballad of Sir 
Patrick Spens, which tells that on returning from Norway, 
where he had conveyed the Princess Margaret of Scotland to be 
married to King Eric,— 

** Half owre, half owre to Aberdour 
It’s fifty fathoms deep ; 
And there lies the good Sir Patrick Spens, 
Wi’ the Scots lords at his feet.” 


6 


On the right, after passing the railway station, a glimpse is 
had of the extensive remains of Aberdour Castle, a stronghold 
and residence of the Earls of Morton since 1351, but which was 
accidentally burned about 160 years ago, and has since lain in 
ruins. From here the line runs close to the north shore of the 
Firth of Forth, past Burntisland, Kinghorn, and Kirkealdy, 
and all the way the sea views on a fine day are very beautiful. 
The views inland are generally limited, but the low hillsides 
are noticed to be well clothed with woods. At the foot of 
a rocky height close to the left of the line about a mile beyond 
Burntisland, a monument, erected a few years ago, marks the 
spot where King Alexander III. was killed, on the 12th March 
1286, by falling over the precipice while riding to Kinghorn 
Tower in the dusk of the evening. On nearing Kirkcaldy, the 
richly-wooded policies of Raith are observed on the left, with 
the elegant mansion-house standing on a fine site peeping out 
from among the trees. Leaving the busy manufacturing town 
of Kirkcaldy, where the leading article of trade, floorcloth, 
scents the air, and passing the thriving towns of Dysart and 
Sinclairtown, we leave the main line at Thornton Junction, 
and the journey for the rest of the way to Stravithie is along 
the East of Fife Railway. About three miles from Thornton 
the famed Cameron Bridge distillery is passed, standing close 
to the line soon after it enters the pretty valley of the Leven, 
down which the route les to the town of Leven at the mouth 
of the river. Keeping the fine golfing links on the right, the 
railway sweeps north and eastwards round Largo Bay, celebrated 
in the fisherman’s song, The Boatie Rows— 


** T cuist my line in Largo Bay, 
And fishes I caught nine ; 
There’s three to boil, and three to fry, 
And three to bait the line.” 


The village of Lower Largo, lying along the shore, was the 
birthplace, in 1676, of Alexander Selkirk, the original of Defoe’s 
Robinson Crusoe; and within the grounds of Largo House, 
situated in a well-wooded park on the rising ground on the 
left, are the remains of Largo Castle, the residence in the end 
of the fifteenth century of the famed sea warrior, Sir Andrew 
Wood of Largo. Nearing Elie, a favourite water-place, lying 
close to the sea shore on the right, the policies of Elie House 
are seen alongside of the line, and the route is through a 
well-cultivated country, past the fishing village of St Monans, 
with its curious ancient church, said to have been founded 
about 1362 by David IL, and the thriving town of Anstruther, 
the native place of Tennant the poet, and the scene of his 


7 


Anster Fair, in which he so graphically describes the feats 
of the heroine “Maggie Lauder,” till the “East Neuk o’ Fife” 
is reached at the ancient and picturesque royal burgh of Crail. 
The route now bends sharp to the westward, and runs through 
a highly cultivated district, past the stations of Kingsbarns and 
Boarhills, on to Stravithie, which was reached about ten o’clock. 
Here Dr Cleghorn was in waiting to receive the party, and 
gave them a most hospitable welcome. Let us pause to say a 
word about this most genial of ex-presidents of the Society, 
and of his beautiful little estate. 

Stravithie is situated about five miles from the venerable 
city of St Andrews, and is the ancestral home of Hugh F. C. 
Cleghorn, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., one of the best known 
and most popular of foresters that Scotland has ever produced. 
For many years at the head of forestry affairs in India, he has, 
since his return home about twenty years ago, taken the keenest 
interest in Scottish forestry, and promoted every movement to 
advance the education and practical training of foresters. A 
member of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society since 1865, 
he has filled the office of President for five terms, first in 1872 
and 1873, and again from 1883 to 1885, during which latter 
period the Forestry Exhibition was held at Edinburgh, when 
he took a prominent part in carrying out the scheme, and was 
the moving spirit of its success. For these and other reasons 
Scottish foresters owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Cleghorn, and 
the visit of the Arboricultural Society to Stravithie may fitly 
be called their pilgrimage to the forester’s Mecca. Dr Cleghorn 
takes great personal interest in all the affairs of his estate, and 
is his own forester in arranging and managing his plantations. 
These are well placed for sheltering and ornamenting the 
estate, which extends to upwards of a thousand acres, divided 
into several well-cultivated farms, occupied by prosperous 
tenants. In a rather high-lying and naturally bare district, 
shelter was an important point in the formation of the planta- 
tions, but still they have been laid out with the view of also 
obtaining a fair return for the land they occupy; and Dr 
Cleghorn has carried out several experiments as to the best 
methods of planting, so as to combine shelter, ornament, and 
profit. The oldest trees, chiefly hardwoods, are growing in the 
policies around the mansion, and along the prettily wooded 
glen through which flows the limpid Kenly burn. 

Taking carriage at Stravithie Station, the party drove through 
a bit of nice open country, with waving grain on each side of 
the road, and along a shady avenue to Stravithie House, which 
is perched on the side of a bosky dell, with rose-covered walls 
and entourage of beautiful pines, whose colours on this sunny 


8 


morning told well against the foliage of the older beeches 
which fill up the valley. In a marquee erected on the lawn 
the company were hospitably entertained to an elegant déjeuner. 
The table was resplendent with flowers, and on it were also the 
fruits of the season. To the breakfast, it is needless to say, the 
party, after their long railway journey, did every justice. The 
doctor himself presided, and by his great kindness and cordiality 
made every one feel perfectly at home. 

Mr Joun METHVEN, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society, 
gave expression to the sentiments of the company in a few 
well-chosen sentences. We cannot, he said, rise from the table 
without thanking Dr Cleghorn for his magnificent hospitality, 
of which we have been the recipients this morning. We hold 
Dr Cleghorn in the highest admiration. He is the “Grand Old 
Forester.” To-day he has laid one more obligation upon us all, 
in addition to the many good offices he has performed for the 
Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. We know by repute 
what Dr Cleghorn did for forestry in India; our own eyes 
have seen what he has done for forestry in Seotland; and 
we love and revere the man for his own sake, and honour and 
admire him for his works. Let us thank him most heartily. 

(As a souvenir of the visit, Mr Methven then handed to Dr 
Cleghorn an oak walking-stick, which combined with it an 
ingenious steel band-saw arrangement. The presentation was 
of an impromptu kind, the patent saw-stick having only been 
brought to the notice of the Society on the previous evening 
by the Hon. Waldegrave-Leslie. It was on account of its 
novel ingenuity, and not on account of its intrinsic value, 
that a suggestion was promptly acceded to, that a specimen 
should be presented to Dr Cleghorn.) 

Dr CLEGHORN, in rising to reply, was received with loud 
applause. At the outset he intimated letters of apology from 
Professor Bayley Balfour, President of the Society ; Professor 
M‘Intosh, St Andrews; Colonel Bailey, Lecturer on Forestry 
in Edinburgh University ; and his nephew, Major Sprot of 
the Carabineers—all of whom regretted their inability to be 
present. It is six years, the doctor continued, since this visit 
of the Arboricultural Society was talked of. At my time 
of life that is a long period, and I was beginning to think I 
was not to see the Society at Stravithie ; but now that you are 
here, I rejoice greatly. I am only sorry you cannot remain 
longer with me, for I understand you have to leave by train 
almost immediately. But I thank you very much for coming 
here. I consider it very kind of you to pay me this visit, 
and once more I bid you all a cordial welcome. I thank Mr 
Methven for his too kind words, and for the way you have 


9 


received them: I am also obliged to you for this useful present, 
which I shall keep as a memento of your visit. 

An adjournment was then made to the policies, and on a 
sunny slope near the mansion there was planted, in com- 
memoration of the visit of the Society to Stravithie, a fine 
example of the Golden Retinospora, or Cypress, of Japan, 
etinospora prsifera aurea, which was presented to the Society 
by Mr Alexander Milne, of Messrs Dickson & Sons, Inverleith 
Nurseries, Edinburgh. The sapling was well and truly planted, 
each member of the Council carefully placing a good spadeful 
of the rich loamy soil around its roots till the hillock was 
neatly finished, and then the best wishes of the party for its 
future welfare were cordially expressed. 

Under the guidance of the doctor, the party then had what 
was little more than a scamper through the well-kept grounds 
and garden, which, as already hinted, are charmingly situated 
in the dell of the Kenly burn. The grounds contain many 
fine beeches, which is the tree par excellence of the East 
Neuk ; and a representative collection of the newer Conifers, 
most of which thrive well here when sheltered from the bitter 
north-eastern blast, which, blowing in from the North Sea in 
the spring months, is the greatest evil that trees have to 
contend with in this district of Fife. On the sunny slopes of 
the lawn and along the sheltered glen are many nice speci- 
mens of Conifers, all of which have been planted since 1864, 
when Dr Cleghorn succeeded to his paternal estate. Among 
them are a number of specimens of Indian Conifers, raised 
from seeds which Dr Cleghorn brought home from their natural 
habitats in Northern India, and on the Himalaya Mountains, 
in 1864 and 1870; and in about a quarter of a century they 
have grown into graceful young trees. The doctor is naturally 
proud of them, as they vividly recall many pleasant incidents 
of Eastern life and travel, amidst which some of the best years 
of his life were spent. The gracefully drooping Deodar, or 
Indian Cedar, and the equally beautiful if rather tender Pinus 
excelsa, are both good specimens at their age; and there are. 
also nice plants of Cupressus torulosa, Abies Webbiana, A. 
Pindrow, and A. Morinda—the latter, however, being very 
lable to be nipped by the cold east wind in spring,—all of 
which have been raised from seeds brought home by Dr 
Cleghorn. Of other Conifers there are fine examples of the 
Douglas fir, Menzies’ spruce, Spanish fir, Lawson’s cypress, the 
Swiss stone pine, Thuja gigantea, Thujopsis borealis, Wellingtonia 
gigantea, and others. A fine young specimen of the maidenhair 
tree, Salisburia adiantifolia, after attaining a height of about 
- 20 feet in fourteen years, succumbed to the severe frost of the 


10 


winter in 1880-81. An interesting plant is a young walnut 
tree, planted by the Edinburgh Botanical Club to commemorate 
their visit to Stravithie in 1890. The policies are well furnished 
with an underwood of hollies, laurels, rhododendrons, yews, ete. ; 
and most of the common forest trees, besides the beech already 
noted, thrive well. Many fine trees of the Wych elm, ash, oak, 
Scots fir, larch, etc., are met with in the plantations, which 
extend to about seventy acres, and lie at an average of 300 feet 
above sea-level, about three miles inland, and fully exposed 
to the north and east. The soil is of medium quality, rather 
cold and in places retentive, and rests on the Carboniferous 
formation of the east of Fife. 

For the measurements of the most of the fine trees in the 
following table we were indebted to Dr Cleghorn. The table 
gives a good idea of the growth of trees under able manage- 
ment in an exposed district, by no means favourable to tree life. 


TREES AT STRAVITHIE. 


3 ae 
Botanical Name. Age, & s a Exposure. Remarks. 
MH | Gis 
; ; years. feet. ft.ins.| _ 7a 
Abies Douglasii, 23 40 | 3 10 | sheltered | Thrives well in shelter. 
shetihe, 25.) 82/207) iy, |e) PSR eae 
», pectinata, 105: | 79.9 "0 A very fine silver fir. 

»  LPinsapo, st 10 |\:2)0 3 Busy ay suffered from 
»,  Webbiana, . 20 28 | 2 1 96 Beautiful thriving tree. 
Araucaria imbricata, . | 22 D200 Qe x { Mug aa ped by east 
Cedrus Deodura, . 20 18) 2-0 N, Grown from seed from 

; Simla, 1864. 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, 25 2/2 8 Ss. Growing luxuriantly. 
Fagus sylvatica, 95 | 7 2) InGlen | Fine cleanstem; healthy. 
” ” 65 7 8 ” » ” ” 
ums ” G 62 (hes 29 ” 9 ” 
Fraxinus excelsa, . 55 | 6 9 5. Thrives well. 
Juglans regia, q ou slecl9 w { Planted by Edinburgh 
hs go 23 Botanical Club, 1890. 
Larix ewroped, 70 5) 5) Mle ta), AL00) s. Heavy crop of cones. 
53 fs 50 84 15 4 s. Fine old tree. 
- i : 50 96° || 5 2 S. a yy 
Tibocedrus decurrens, 25 25 | 2) 10 S. Handsome tree. 
Pinus Cembra, ant 22 |2 4 | sheltered | Very fine specimen. 
Bes 28 Bh ail Qld { Grown from seed from 
a2 , ? Hi Rag Le Roky 
pela HOE m5 | 6 R entioned in Jeffrey’s 
Quercus robur, 75 Jw DS) { Trees of Fife, 
ae meaty. ne 92 5 6 S. In the Glen ; fine. 
Thuja gigantea, 25 40 |2 6 5. Fine free-growing tree. 
Ulmus montana, . dd 70 | 7 4) In Glen { Dvineee in_ the 
Wellingtonia gigantea, 25 44/3 9 s. Does well in shelter. 


11 


BALBIRNIE. 


Returning by the same route to Thornton, it was expected 
that Markinch would be reached about one o’clock; but the 
railway journey was tedious, and it was nearly two o'clock 
before the party arrived at their destination. The neigh- 
bourhood is rich in historical incidents. It comprises many 
ancient seats of old Scottish families—Balfours, Beatouns (now 
Bethune), Leslies, Lindsays, Melvilles, and others of renown in 
Scottish annals—but few of them can be seen from the route, 
and none were visited except the modern home of the Balfours 
of Balbirnie, for which the party was bound. 

The drive from the station through the small country town 
of Markinch was about half a mile, when the extensive and 
beautiful policies of Balbirnie, the seat of Mr John Balfour of 
Balbirnie, were entered, through the sylvan glades of which the 
company were led for the next two or three hours, to see the 
principal features of interest to arborists, and to admire the 
fine trees and rich sylvan landscape. The mansion is a hand- 
some edifice, standing in a romantic spot, richly embosomed 
among stately trees, and surrounded by beautiful gardens and 
well-kept grounds of considerable extent. During the long 
possession of the present highly esteemed proprietor, great 
improvements have been carried out on all parts of the estate, 
which is now among the best organised, as it is the largest 
in acreage, in the county of Fife. 

The company were most cordially received in front of the 
mansion by Colonel and Mrs Balfour, Mr Edward Balfour, 
younger of Balbirnie, and other members of the family, and 
immediately proceeded on a tour through the grounds and 
park under the guidance of Mr Edward Balfour. A large 
number of very fine trees were seen. In a grand old beech 
avenue one of the trees girthed 10 feet 9 inches at 5 feet up, 
and had 25 feet of a clean bole, with many others closely 
approaching it in size. A walk along a charming burnside, 
where a dark-leaved boxwood formed a fine feature in the 
underwood, was much enjoyed ; and not less enchanting was 
the sight of the beautifully undulating and well-wooded park, 
the trees being chiefly beeches with fine wide-spreading heads. 
A grand birch, standing a little to the south of the mansion- 
house, attracted much notice. At about 9 feet up it spread out 
its branches like a candelabra, the arms being of great thickness, 
and presented a very curious and picturesque appearance. 

On returning to the pleasure- grounds, the company were 
hospitably entertained to luncheon, which was served in a large 


12 


marquee specially erected for the occasion, on the beautiful 
greensward of the lawn near the mansion. Mr Edward Balfour 
presided, and, when the repast was finished, 

Mr Joun Metuven asked the company to drink to the health 
of Colonel Balfour, who had been so kind as to invite the 
Arboricultural Society to visit his beautiful demesne, and had 
so hospitably received them. Balbirnie was one of the first 
places he had any distinct recollection of. When he was a boy 
he had seen it frequently. He had often visited it since, and 
he could truly say that Balbirnie had always been kept up as 
the estate of a Scottish gentleman ought to be, and he was 
certain that would be the opinion of them all after they had 
seen its beauties. They most heartily congratulated Colonel 
Balfour on keeping his years so well, and they would ask the 
chairman to convey to his father their obligations to him for 
his kindness to the Society. 

Mr Epwarp BALrour, younger of Balbirnie, who was received 
with loud applause, said his father, who was not able to be 
present, had asked him to thank them for the honour they had 
done him in coming to look at his property. Colonel Balfour 
had been resident on this place for fifty-five years, and in their 
walk round the estate they would see traces of his hand in 
everything connected with it. They did not think of their 
home here perhaps in the same way as Mr Methven had spoken 
of it ; at the same time they did not consider they had anything 
to be ashamed of in having Balbirnie as a show-place to-day. 
He was afraid they would only see some of what he might 
call the ornamental woods. The commercial timber was too 
far away for them to inspect in the‘ limited time which he 
understood was at their disposal. On their way to Falkland, 
however, they would see a part of these woods in the distance 
as they drove along the highway. 

Dr SoMERVILLE proposed the health of Mr Edward Balfour, 
who had so ably presided over the luncheon, and for his kind- 
ness in acting as their guide over the estate. 

Mr Epwarp BALFouvrR, in reply, said that he should like to 
come with the Society next year, if they would honour him 
with an invitation. 

After luncheon, two hours were spent pleasantly and profit- 
ably in inspecting the trees in the policies and pleasure-grounds. 
Many splendid old beech trees were met with, as also excellent 
oaks and larches, and fine specimens of other deciduous trees. 
A number of the trees were measured. The largest beech was 
15 feet 10 inches in girth at 5 feet up. A very fine oak was 
9 feet 9 inches in circumference. A tall sycamore, with a 
shapely head, was 11 feet 6 inches in girth; and another tree 


13 


of the same kind at the back of the gardens, girthed 13 feet at 
4 feet up. A larch tree, girthing 9 feet 4 inches, was about 
100 feet in height ; and a Scots fir 90 feet high girthed 9 feet. 
In The Dell there was a good display of the newer conifers, 
interspersed with hardwoods, and much admiration was ex- 
pressed at the judicious use which had been made of the red 
and white foxglove in the adornment of this lovely spot. 
Among the newer Conifers here were a number of beautiful 
Albert firs, one of which was 45 feet high, and girthed 3 feet 
14 inch at 5 feet up. Abzes grandis and the Douglas fir were 
growing freely, and promising to make very fine trees. 
One of the remarkable things in The Dell is a magnificent 
specimen of Rhododendron catawbiense. Rising from the 
ground in a single stem, it almost immediately parts into two, 
each about 2 feet 8 inches in girth. From these there has 
grown out a spread of branches no less than 152 feet in cir- 
cumference, with a height of 16 feet. After a pleasant ramble 
through the fine old wood growing on the height to the south 
of The Dell, where numerous tall and shapely trees, chiefly 
beech, were noted, the ground beneath being well furnished 
with thriving shrubs, principally rhododendrons, we arrived 
at the gardens, near which is the pinetum, with many fine 
specimens of the newer Conifers, including a fine row of 
Araucaria imbricata, averaging over 30 feet in height and 
4 feet in girth at 5 feet up. Among the finest of the conifers 
were the following specimens, for the dimensions of which we 
were indebted to Mr Henderson, the gardener at Balbirnie :— 


CoNIFERS AT BALBIRNIE. 


Botanical Name. Height. Girth at 5 feet up. 

feet. ft. ins. 

Abies Albertiana, . 3 : 43 4 0 
» grandis, : : : 60 4 9 
ee ManinNda, . : mail 33 3 4 
», nobilis, : d ‘ie 46 6 0 
», Nordmaniiana, . bai 36 3 0 
» orientalis, 5 el 32 4 8 
Cedrus atlantica, . ; ; 34 4 ii 
a Deodara, : : 39 5 0 

3,  LAbant, : F ¢ 50 5 7 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, . ; 28 1 6 
Pinus Cembra, . ; : 36 3 9 
Taxodium sempervirens, : 40 7 0 


Some splendid specimens of golden hollies were also seen, 
about 50 feet high, with a stem girthing 4 feet 11 inches at 


14 


5 feet up in one that was measured, all being well-furnished 
and brightly coloured trees. A rapid run was made through 
the beautiful gardens, hothouses, and conservatories, which 
were all seen in perfect order. The gardens, grounds, and policies 
through which we had been led, gave evidence everywhere of a 
most enlightened and liberal management. 

In returning towards the mansion, the company were much 
interested in a small military tent erected on the ground, which 
had belonged to the grandfather of the present proprietor, who 
commanded the Scots Greys at Waterloo. Alongside of it was 
an officer’s tent of the present day, which illustrated the advance 
made in the comfortable housing of the officers of the British 
army on the “tented field” since the days of Waterloo. At the 
mansion the party had the privilege of inspecting the pictorial 
treasures which adorn the walls of the spacious public rooms ; 
and among them was a lovely full-length portrait of Mrs 
Edward Balfour, which was greatly admired. They also saw 
there the original charter of the lands of Balbirnie to the 
present family, dating from 1234 a.D.—over six centuries ago. 

A photograph was taken by Mr Philip Cockburn, the Society’s 
photographer, in front of the house, of the whole of the numer- 
ous company, which included Colonel and Mrs Balfour, Mr and 
Mrs E. Balfour, and other members of the Balbirnie family. 
Thanks were again accorded to Colonel and Mrs Balfour, and 
Mr E. Balfour, for their great kindness and courtesy ‘during 
the afternoon, and a hearty cheer for the family was raised 
as the carriages drove off. 


LESLIE. 


A very courteous invitation was given to the Society by Mr 
Waldegrave-Leslie to visit his estate, about two miles distant, 
when leaving Balbirnie, but for want of time this could not be 
accepted. The following notes, however, of Leslie will be read 
with interest. 

Marching with the parish of Markinch is that of Leslie, where 
is located the property of the ancient family of Rothes. The 
late countess (sixteenth in the succession) died rather more 
than six years ago, much lamented by all ranks of society. Her 
sweetness of character, generosity, and beneficence will not 
readily be forgotten by those who had the privilege of her 
acquaintance. The property is now in the hands of the Hon. 
George Waldegrave-Leslie, LL.D., as liferenter ; and under his 
management the estate bears quite a different aspect to what 
it did some thirty yearsago. Nearly every farm-house, cottage, 
and farm-steading has been put into thoroughly good condition, 


15 


and in many cases entirely rebuilt. At the new and commodi- 
ous farm-steading of Cadham, tenanted by Mr David Russell, 
partner in the firm of Robert Tullis & Co., papermakers (whose 
extensive mills lie below in the valley of the Leven), there is an 
avenue of young plane trees, planted on each side of the public 
road leading to the town of Leslie. Beyond this is a lodge, 
painted Indian red, made of strong planks of timber driven 
vertically into the ground 9 inches apart, and sheeted up on 
each side with 14 inch deals, between which flax refuse is tightly 
packed. This makes a very comfortable tenement, warm in 
winter, and cool in summer. A set of hand-wrought iron gates 
from Falkland Palace, famous for having confined the redoubt- 
able Rob Roy in one of his cattle-lifting expeditions, open on a 
new road leading to Leslie House. On the east side is a thriving 
plantation of Scots pine and rhododendrons, sheltering it from 
the east wind. The road is over a mile in length, and for the 
first half it is planted on each side with lime trees and Wey- 
mouth and Scots pines alternately. The river Leven runs for 
about two miles through the policies, and is seen in the bottom 
of the valley, till the road enters Queen Mary’s famous beech 
avenue. The trees in the avenue stood well until the destructive 
“Royal Charter Gale” of 1859, when many of the noblest fell, 
blown down by the violence of the storm. The gaps have been 
filled up with oaks—the oak being the badge of the Leslie clan. 
This avenue now forms an approach to the east front of Leslie 
House, towards which a turreted bridge of substantial masonry 
carries it across the Lothie Burn, at a beautiful spot, well known 
in the locality as “The meeting of the waters.” Leslie House 
was built by the Duke of Rothes, when Lord Chancellor of 
Scotland, after the same design, quadrangle and all, as Holy- 
rood House, and by the same architect, Sir John Bruce of 
Kinross. In the year 1759 three sides of it were burnt to the 
ground, including a gallery 17 feet longer than that of Holy- 
rood, and containing the second best library in Scotland. The 
remaining, or fourth side of the quadrangle now constitutes 
Leslie House—and is yet far too large for the size of the 
estate, two-thirds of which were sold to pay the cost of the 
extravagant funeral of the Duke of Rothes. This funeral was 
ordered by King Charles II., and is said to have cost over 
£266,000, a sum equivalent to something like two millions 
sterling. The funeral procession is said to have been 15 miles 
in length. The procession walked from the palace of Holyrood 
to Queensferry, and thence to Leslie Kirkyard, where His 
grace’s remains now lie in the aisle of the Rothes family. 

On the south side of Leslie House are a series of terrace 
gardens leading down to the Leven. At the end of the upper 


16 


terrace is a remarkably fine beech tree, which girths nearly 17 
feet. A winding road leads down to the river and up the other 
side of the valley to the Duchess Gate. Looking from there to 
the north, the East Lomond Hill is seen to great advantage ; 
and looking round from this coign of vantage towards the 
south-east, a deep gorge lies immediately below, well planted 
with trees, with a glorious view of the sea some miles off, and 
also the Bass Rock, North Berwick Law, and Tantallon Castle, 
all of which are clearly seen on a fine day. 

On Leslie green stands the parish church, said to be King 
James V. “Christ’s Kirk on the Green,” also a remarkable 
stone called the “Bull Stane,” so named from the fact that 
bulls were chained to it, for the semi-barbarian pastime of 
baiting. Two famous trees also stand on the green; one, an 
oak, under which King James V. is said to have sat and dealt 
out justice to his lieges; and another, the “Dieul” tree, a 
sycamore, from the boughs of which culprits were hung for 
crimes worthy of death. 

In the gardens at Leslie House are several very fine coniferous 
trees, from twenty to thirty years of age, among which is an 
Abies Albertiana, supposed to be one of the finest of its kind in 
Scotland. 


FALKLAND. 


Towards five o’clock the carriages left Balbirnie for Falkland 
Palace, the seat of the Marquis of Bute. The road traversed a 
pleasant and level country, a part of the “ Howe o’ Fife,” and at 
about four miles from Balbirnie, the picturesque old burgh of 
Falkland, in the centre of which the old. palace stands, was 
reached. Here there was only time to make a limited inspection 
of the rich sylvan wealth and beauties of this ancient hunting- 
seat of the Scottish Court. The palace, begun, it is said, by 
James III., was finished in 1537 by James V., who, after his defeat 
at Solway Moss, returned here to die on the 13th December 
1542. His daughter, Mary Queen of Scots—of whose birth at 
Linlithgow he heard shortly before he expired, and exclaimed, 
“Tt came with a lass, and it will go with a lass,” referring 
to the royal titles—often resided within its stately walls. It 
suffered long from decay after being deserted by royalty :— 

‘¢ The fretted roof looked dark and cold, 

And tottered all around ; 

The carved work of ages old 
Dropped wither’d on the ground ; 

The casement’s antique tracery 
Was eaten by the dew ; 

And the night breeze, whistling mournfully, 
Crept keen and coldly through.” 


17 


But its remains have of late been carefully preserved, and 
present many features of interest to the antiquary. The 
modern house, which is nearly a mile distant, was erected about 
fifty years ago, from designs by the architect Burn of Edinburgh. 
It is a handsome building in the Tudor style, and the grounds 
and gardens around it are laid out with much taste and skill. 

The old palace, which is at present being put into order by 
the Marquis of Bute, was examined with much interest, both 
externally and internally. It is classic ground, and many of 
the events in Scottish history associated with it were anew 
recounted as the party paced the ancient halls which royal feet 
had trodden in days of yore, and peeped into the horrid dungeons 
where, among others, David Duke of Rothesay, eldest son of 
King Robert III., was starved to death by his uncle, the then 
Duke of Albany. Numerous sycamores, a tree so closely 
associated with the name of Mary Queen of Scots, were found 
growing upon and near the historic pile. Two of these in the 
garden, which were measured, were respectively 10 feet 6 inches 
and 10 feet 4 inches in girth. Major Wood, the Marquis of 
Bute’s factor, kindly provided tea and other refreshments for 
the company, who afterwards drove through the quaint, old- 
world “burgh toun,” the “ Falkland on the Grene” of the muse 
of James V. :— 

‘¢ Was nevir in Scotland hard nor sene 
Sic dansin nor deray, 


Nouthir at Falkland on the Grene, 
Nor Pebillis at the Play ’— 


to the modern house of Falkland. Amid a wealth of arboreal 
treasures seen there, perhaps the most remarkable trees were a 
group of three Deodars and a splendid specimen of the redwood 
tree, Sequoia sempervirens, which was 9 feet in circumference at 
5 feet up, and from 65 to 70 feet high. It was generally acknow- 
ledged to be one of the best, if not the best, grown tree of this 
species in the east of Scotland. Some very fine specimens of 
the cut-leaved alder—a by no means common tree—were growing 
in the policies ; as also fine examples of Cryptomeria japonica 
and C. elegans, Abies Morinda, and the tulip tree, Liriodendron 
tulipfera. The beauty of the house, the skilful manner in which 
the policies are laid out, the disposition, variety, and healthy 
aspect of the trees, and the scrupulously neat aspect of the 
whole place, were very much admired, and it was with some 
regret that the party had to hasten their departure from so 
favoured a spot. Mr M. Dunn, on behalf of the Society, pro- 
posed a vote of thanks to the Marquis of Bute for his courtesy 
in opening the ancient palace and grounds to them, and for his 
hospitality, all of which the members had greatly appreciated. 


18 

The following remarks on the woods and plantations on the 
Falkland estate have been kindly supplied by the forester, Mr 
Henry Smith :—‘ The woodlands on the Falkland estates in 
Fife are chiefly situated on the northern slopes of the Lomond 
hills. The plantations in the vicinity of the mansion consist of 
the usual variety of hardwood trees. The most notable of these 
are the beautiful avenue of aged limes and the old beeches on 
the north approach. In the House Park and Mospie Den there 
are numerous specimens of conifers in a vigorous condition and 
growing freely. The plantations on the slopes of East Lomond 
hill are chiefly larch, spruce, and Scots fir, with a mixture of 
beech, ash, sycamore, oak, and elm in the lower portions. 
The larch make healthy growth, although much exposed at the 
highest parts at an altitude of about a thousand feet above sea- 
level. These woods are very picturesque, and form a beautiful 
feature in the landscape. The chief portion of the woodlands, 
however, are towards the west—on the Black and Green Hills, 
which are extensively planted with excellent larch, Scots fir, 
and spruce, with a mixture of hardwoods in suitable places. 
The larch grown in this wood with a northern aspect is of large 
dimensions, very healthy and sound at the heart, and only shows 
the slightest symptoms of ‘blister.’ They excel in quality any 
larch grown on the low ground on heavier soil. Beyond this 
plantation is the ‘Brax Wood,’ composed of Norway spruce, 
which grows at an altitude of 1114 feet, and surpasses any 
spruce grown elsewhere on the estate. It is perfectly sound, 
and constitutes a very heavy crop. 

“The common rhododendron, Rhododendron ponticum, was 
introduced about forty years ago on the ‘ Black Hill, where, 
like the larch, it grows vigorously on the light sandy soil, and 
propagates itself freely from seed, from which a supply of nice 
plants is obtained for other parts of the estate. 

“ Another notable portion of the woodlands is the remains of 
the royal oak forest at Drumdrill, which extends to about 40 
acres. The fine oaks are growing vigorously from the stools of 
the original trees at about 50 feet apart, with oak and hazel as 
underwood. 

“The woods on the Lomonds extend in all to about 600 acres, 
and are from sixty to seventy years of age, and are all in 
excellent health. A large portion of the woods on the lower 
parts of the estate are a mixture of the usual forest trees. The 
larch makes rapid growth, but is showing signs of decay after 
twenty-five to thirty years’ growth. The chief ailments are dry 
rot at the butt and blister on the bark of the stem. The Douglas 
fir, Abies Douglasii, has been extensively planted for the last 
twenty years on the best ground, at about 25 feet apart. 


19 


Nursed with the usual forest trees, it is now well established, 
and remains healthy‘and vigorous, especially on virgin soil. Of 
these low ground plantations there is about 500 acres, which are 
carrying a healthy crop from ten to forty years of age. In 
more recent years extensive plantations have been formed, and 
within the last six years 300 acres have been planted with larch, 
Scots fir, and spruce. Douglas fir and hardwoods have been 
introduced where the soil was adapted for them. These young 
woods are in the most promising condition. They are well 
cared for, and protected with rabbit-proof fences. With the 
exception of a few small patches, none of the woodlands on the 
estate are vacant, and to these attention is now being directed, 
so that there will soon be nothing left for the planter’s opera- 
tions. The woods and plantations on the Falkland estate 
extend to about 1500 acres in all, and comprise some of the 
healthiest plantations in the county of Fife.” 

Leaving Falkland, the route was across the Howe of Fife, 
past Strathmiglo and the rural village of Gateside, and across 
the Ochils through the richly wooded and romantic Glenfarg 
into lower Strathearn. The well-known glowing description of 
the scenery of the district, as seen from the Wicks of Baiglie, an 
elevated spot on the north front of the Ochils, a little to the left 
of where Glenfarg debouches on the strath, in Sir Walter Scott’s 
Fair Maid of Perth, does no more than justice to the splendid 
panorama seen from that coign of vantage, while he quotes 
with appreciation the lines of the poet :— 


** ¢ Behold the Tiber!’ the vain Roman cried, 
Viewing the ample Tay from Baiglie’s side ; 
But where’s the Scot that would the vaunt repay, 
And hail the puny Tiber for the Tay ?” 


A drive of a few miles through a well-cultivated and beauti- 
fully wooded country, past the Bridge of Earn, and over the 
shoulder of Moncreiffe Hill, brought the party in view of the 
lights of the “ Fair City” of Perth, for darkness had fallen before 
the party, at about ten o'clock at night, drew up at the door 
of the Salutation Hotel—glad to attain its friendly shelter after 
the fatigues of a long day. Here, as on two former excursions, 
the headquarters of the Society were fixed. 


20 


SECOND DAY. 
Thursday, 11th August. 


SCONE PALACE, MEIKLEOUR, AND MURTHLY, 
PERTHSHIRE. 


Those who were astir early in the morning spent an hour or 
two very pleasantly before breakfast in viewing the city of 
Perth and its surroundings, rich in stirring events of history 
and the romance of former days. Perth, anciently called St 
Johnstoun, was the capital of Scotland till the time of James III., 
who removed the seat of government to Edinburgh in 1482. The 
Fair City still takes precedence of all royal burghs, except the 
capital. Among the many objects which interested the arborists 
were the beautiful green expanses of the North and South 
Inches, the latter having a fine avenue of old trees running 
across it, along the sides of the road to Edinburgh; and the 
nurseries of Messrs Dickson & Turnbull, famed for the raising 
of coniferous trees and general forest plants, lying on the 
opposite side of the Tay, and stretching far up the steep slopes 
of the Hill of Kinnoull. Other objects worthy ofa visit are too 
numerous to be detailed ; but the ancient church of St John, 
said to be the oldest existing edifice in the city, and still 
a grand ecclesiastical pile, capacious enough to accommodate 
three congregations—of the East, West, and Middle parishes— 
with over 3300 seats ; the City Hall, near the church, containing 
some interesting paintings; the High Street, South Street, 
Kirkgate, Skinnergate, Watergate, and Speygate, and _par- 
ticularly the fine esplanade stretching from the bridge down- 
wards, called Tay Street, on which stand the modern Public 
Buildings for the city and county, presenting a handsome and 
picturesque frontage to the river, are all within a short distance, 
and should be seen by those who are making their first visit to 
the ‘Fair City. Nor should the splendid view from the fine 
bridge spanning the Tay be omitted by those who admire 
scenery of the most varied and lovely description. 

Breakfast was at 8 A.M. sharp, as the Excursion had to be on 
the way for Scone Palace, the seat of the Earl of Mansfield, at 
8.30. There had been a shower of rain over night, but when 
the members turned out of the hotel the sun was shining 
brightly, and there was every promise of another fine day. 
This promise was more than realised. Driving off from the 
Salutation Hotel, around which a large crowd had assembled, 
we crossed the bridge and proceeded along the road to the left, 
on the north side of the Tay. About a couple of miles from 


21 


Perth, the policies of Scone, lying on the left, were entered by 
a plain wooden gate, and here the party were met and welcomed 
by Mr Lewis Bayne, forester on Scone estates; and Mr Alex. 
M‘Kinnon, gardener, who accompanied them over the grounds. 
Pursuing our way along the drive through the richly wooded 
park, its fine arboreal features were greatly admired and 
specially noted by the large party, which now numbered over 
one hundred. Hard by the entrance was observed a remarkably 
handsome specimen of the weeping beech, which attracted 
general notice from its peculiarly graceful drooping branches 
and handsome proportions. Stretching away from the entrance 
is a fine irregular avenue of limes, elms, and oaks, and as we 
drive along we get beautiful peeps of the stately park studded 
with noble trees, and of a charming stretch of country beyond. 
It is still a demesne worthy of the ancient royal palace of 
Scotland, upon which we now gaze with patriotic pride—its 
softly toned red walls being in many places covered with ivy, 
which has crept up to the battlemented parapet. Over its 
towers floats the Mansfield flag. On nearing the palace, Lord 
Stormont did the Society the honour to come personally to 
receive them at the entrance to the private grounds, and to act as 
their guide in the inspection of the beautiful pleasure-grounds, 
gardens, and pinetum, rich in remarkable specimens of grand 
old trees, and luxuriant examples of the newer Conifers, which 
attracted the special attention of the Excursionists. Here it 
had been arranged that the company was to be met by a party 
of about sixty of the members of the British Association, who 
were to travel specially from Edinburgh to join the Excursion 
for the day, but as there were no signs of their arrival, the 
Society proceeded without them to view the policies. And first 
a visit was made to the splendidly kept pinetum. Many of the 
visitors would liked to have spent a little more time here than 
was permissible. Here all the hardy coniferous trees of the 
world find themselves assembled together. What a glorious 
congress they make ; and what an educative value there is in 
such a pinetum as that at Scone. The lawn is like velvet ; 
trees stately and rare rise in all directions, and to each apper- 
tains a neat label with its name, and in many instances the 
date of its planting. Nota few of the specimens are memorial 
trees, planted by royal and noble hands, and as such are 
proportionately valued above their neighbours. It would be out 
of place to merely catalogue the rare pines which grow in this 
well-tended spot. It may suffice to say that worthy of most 
special mention, perhaps, are examples of Abies Albertiana, A. 
Douglasii, A. grandis, A. Menzesvi, A. Nordmanniana, Welling- 
tonia gigantea, Araucaria imbricata, and Pinus monticola. 
20 


22 


We may here give the dimensions of the most notable among 
the numerous grand specimens of conifers in the pinetum and 
pleasure-grounds at Scone, as kindly supplied to us by the 
gardener, Mr M‘Kinnon, who takes great care and pleasure in 
tending them. 


CoNIFERS AT SCONE PALACE. 


Botanical Name. | Age. Height. (Girth at 5 ft. up. 
| years. | feet. inches. feet. inches. 
Abies Albertiana, . . 5 30 52 6 5 4 

», cephalonica, . : : 3l 41 6 3 6 
3, concolor, A ‘ : 31 41 4 4 0 
» Douglasti, . : . | 64 83 0 9 7 
», grandis, . . : ; 31 48 6 ALogle 
;, Hookeriana, . : : 20 19 0 Hae 
», Menziesti, : ; ov | 39 72 8 8 6 
», nobilis, . : : ‘ 39 73 3 7 0 
» Nordmanniana, : : 31 47 9 4 4 
», Linsapo, : api eoo 47 0 fie 
Araucaria imbricata, : Sep ipa) 40 0 4 6 
Cedrus atlantica, . ‘ > Ao 53 0 4 6 
;,  Deodara, 5 2 ;: 37 45 6 4 6 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, . : 351 30 0 3% 210 
Pinus austriaca, 3 : ; 31 43 9 4 1 
:,  Cembra,. : : ; 39 46 0 4 6 
3, deffreyt,. ; : : 31 33 0 3 7 
;, monticola, j : : 39 73 0 6 0 
3s ponderosa, : A ‘ 31 50 0 6 9 
Tuxodium sempervirens, . . 28 42 a hig 4 
Thuja gigantea, , : : 31 29 0 3 8 
Thujopsis borealis, . : F 31 31 0 ane 
Wellingtonia gigantea, . : 31 62 0 (| 6 


Specimens of Abies ajanensis, A. Alcoquiana, A. concolor 
violacea, A. pungens, A. p. glauca, and others of later introduc- 
tion, have been planted in recent years. They-are fine thriving 
trees, varying in height from 10 to 15 feet. 

A run through the garden was much enjoyed. One of the 
most beautiful things seen there was a border in front of 
one of the conservatories, which was a perfect triumph of 
horticultural art, being composed of Echiveras, Sedums, and 
Saxifrages in bloom, with lovely golden and silvery foliaged 
Cypresses, Junipers, and Retinosporas rising among them. In 
the grounds near the palace is a splendid specimen of the 
Douglas fir, which was planted in 1834. It is now over 80 feet 
in height. Let us pause for a moment in front of this stately 
tree to recite shortly the pathetic story of the gentleman 
whose name it bears. It is all the more appropriate, as he 
was born in the old village of Scone, which stood not far from 
the spot where the tree now grows. We take the narrative 


23 


from Mr Hunter’s book on The Woods and Forests of Perthshire, 
a work which should be in every forester’s library :— 

“David Douglas was born at Scone in 1798, and was the son 
of a working mason. He received his education at the parish 
school of Kinnoull, after which he served his apprenticeship 
in Scone Gardens. In 1818, when at Valleyfield, near Culross, 
on the Firth of Forth, in the gardens of Sir Robert Preston, 
he had excellent opportunities of studying the choice collection 
of exotic plants which it then contained; and, through the 
kindness of the head gardener, he obtained access to Sir 
Robert’s large botanical library. He was afterwards employed 
in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, where his botanical knowledge 
gained for him the favourable notice of Sir William Hooker, 
whom he accompanied in several of his excursions, including 
the one through the Western Highlands to collect materials for 
the Flora Scotica. He was subsequently recommended to the 
Horticultural Society of London by Sir William, and was sent 
several times to America to collect the indigenous plants for the 
Society. His first visit to America was in 1823, in which year 
he secured many valuable plants, and greatly increased the 
Society’s collection of fruit trees. He returned home in the 
autumn of the same year, but was sent out again in July 1824, 
for the purpose of exploring the botanical riches of the country 
adjoining the Columbia river and southwards to California. 
When the vessel touched at Rio de Janeiro, he collected many 
rare orchideous plants, shot many curious birds in his voyage 
round Cape Horn, sowed a collection of garden seeds in the 
island of Juan Fernandez, Robinson Crusoe’s island, and arrived 
at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia on the 7th April 1825, 
During this visit he sent home the first seeds of the Douglas 
fir to Britain, and on returning home in the spring of 1827, he 
crossed the Rocky Mountains to Hudson’s Bay, and reached 
England in the autumn of that year. Through the influence 
of Mr Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society 
of London, he was introduced to the Literary and Scientific 
Society of London; and he was elected, free of expense, a 
member of the Linnean, Geological, and Zoological Societies, 
to which he contributed some valuable papers. After remaining 
for a couple of years in London, he again sailed for North-West 
America to continue his favourite pursuit in the autumn of 
1829. He afterwards visited the Sandwich Islands, where he 
met with his death under very shocking circumstances, having 
fallen into a pit made by the natives to ensnare wild animals. 
He was attacked by a bull already entrapped, was dreadfully 
mutilated, and eventually killed. The intelligence of his 
dreadful end, which took place on the 12th July 1834, in the 


24 


thirty-sixth year of his age, created a profound sensation in 
the country. A very neat monument to his memory has been 
erected in his native village, where his talents and services 
endeared him to his fellow-townsmen.” 

All honour to Douglas, and other intrepid pioneers, to whose 
bravery, ability, and untiring research this country at the 
present moment owes many of its finest conifers. 

Near Scone Palace, as is well known, still grow many ancient 
trees which link the present day with the centuries when the 
Stuarts reigned in Scotland. Ona sloping bank at the south- 
west front of the palace is the famous sycamore, which was 
planted by Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. A large limb is 
broken off, but it is still a handsome tree, with a dark um- 
brageous head. It is 13 feet 4 inches at 5 feet up, and is 63 feet 
high. It was noted, as a sign of decay, that several large fungi 
had made their appearance at a fork in the bole about 20 feet 
from the ground. Another sycamore, said to have been planted 
by James VL., girthed 12 feet 9 inches ; and in the park below 
is an oak which was put in the earth by the same royal hands. 
It is 55 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet at the base, and 14 
feet 1 inch at 3 feet from the ground, 13 feet 3 inches at 5 feet 
up, and has a spread of branches of 75 feet. A magnificent 
black Italian poplar, over 100 feet high, with cork-like bark, 
girthed 15 feet 6 inches; and there were many other notable 
trees in this locality worthy of measurement had time per- 
mitted. Skirting the Coronation Mound, we pass through the 
old entrance to the palace, and note on the right the ancient 
cross of the village of Scone. Beyond it is a lime avenue, which 
we traverse. The avenue is about ninety years of age. Forty 
years ago the trees, then well grown, were successfully shifted 
each 8 or 9 feet; and almost as remarkable was the feat 
achieved in 1881. A violent gale of that year blew down 
several of the limes, which were, however, hauled into the 
perpendicular position again, and the earth beaten well about 
their roots, while, to keep them up, strong ropes were attached 
to the neighbouring trees. This bold experiment succeeded, 
the limes took root again, and every year since they have been 
covered with abundance of fresh foliage. 

Leaving the policies by the gate at the end of the avenue 
opening on the public road, a few neat, cosy-looking cottages, 
clustered with roses and other climbing plants, are all that 
now remain of the once populous village of Old Scone; the 
new village of Scone lying on the higher ground about two 
miles to the eastward. On the rising ground to the right, in 
front of us, was seen a fine thriving oak plantation, with 
a luxuriant undergrowth of rhododendrons, in which the late 


25 


forester on the Scone estates, the well-known Mr William 
M‘Corquodale, took great interest, and pointed to it with 
laudable pride on former visits of the Society, as a fine 
example of successful tree culture, combined with the orna- 
mental and game-protecting character of the undergrowth. 

Proceeding up the New Scone road, and turning in through 
a gate on the left, a long walk was taken through a fine oak 
wood of 300 acres, and about eighty years of age; and also 
through the extensive Muirward plantations, where thriving 
trees of many kinds were seen at various stages of growth. 
These fine woods afforded an opportunity to the practical 
foresters for comparing the growth and thriftiness of the various 
kinds of forest trees when grown under similar circumstances. 
A considerable area of Scots fir which was passed, was raised, 
we were informed, by Lord Stormont, from seed gathered in the 
“Black Wood” of Rannoch, and was planted here in 1849. It 
was thriving well, and exhibited all the characteristic features 
of the Rannoch “black fir” in its native habitat. In the 
Muirward plantations, Scots fir and larch were the predominant 
species, but many of the newer Coniferz have been introduced, 
particularly in the young plantations, and they all seem to be 
thriving remarkably well, especially Abzes grandis, A. nobilis, 
A. Menziesii, and the Douglas fir, the last being a favourite 
tree with the late Mr M‘Corquodale, who planted it freely 
on the Scone estates wherever it was likely to thrive, and, so 
far as was seen, that was everywhere. A space of 13 acres 
in the plantations we were passing through was planted by 
him, in 1857, with a pure crop of Douglas fir, and the company 
examined it with great interest as they quickly walked through 
it, the trees being vigorous and well grown, and promising, 
when matured, to prove a remunerative crop. Six of them 
accurately measured in the autumn of 1891 by Mr Bayne, the 
forester, were respectively as follows :— 


Dovueuas Firs 1x MUIRWARD. 


No. Height. Girth at 5 feet up. 

ft. ins. ft. ings. 

1 67 6 ait gy 

2 58 2 4 7 

3 62 4 3 11 

4 70 66 4 384 

5 58 10 Be oy 

6 62 5 2 11} 


26 


In the Scone woods, and grown as ordinary plantation trees, 
are many fine samples of the Douglas and other firs introduced 
to Britain within the past sixty years; and in a mixed 
plantation, forty-one years of age, occupying a very exposed 
site in the district, the following trees occur. These measure- 
ments were also taken by Mr Bayne in the autumn of 1891, and 
it will be noticed how much the Menzies’ fir has outstripped all 
the other trees. There is no Douglas fir in this plantation. 


CoNIFERS IN SCONE Woops. 


Botanical Name. Height. a a 
ft. ins, ft. ins. 
Abies Menziesti (1), : 60) .5 Gen 
a Pe (2); 5 : 61 70 6. 8} 
», Nordmanniana, . : 49 6 4 8 
5, ePimsapo, =". : : 3/2780 oer 
Lariz europea, . : : 5G LS Br WO 
Pinus austriaca, . - : 36 610 4 0 
», Cembra, . : - 39 «(0 2 4% 
Shari *. - : HOMO Ba) 
3). SYlvestris, « : 3 48 0 3. 8 


Two of the finest of the older trees in the Scone woods are 
a larch 97 feet 3 inches in height, with a girth of 8 feet 1 inch 
at 5 feet up, and a Scots fir, 74 feet 3 inches high, and 7 feet 
10 inches in girth at the same distance from the ground. 

With Lord Stormont and Mr Dunn making the pace, the 
walk through the woods, in the warmth of the day, was felt 
by many of the members to be rather fatiguing; and a quarter 
of an hour's rest, waiting until the last of the stragglers had 
appeared, was by no means unacceptable. Lord Stormont 
having been thanked for his great courtesy, the drive was 
resumed through a fine country rich in woodlands, attractive 
in its scenery, and waving with bounteous crops of wheat and 
corn. The company had a peep, in passing, at the fine new 
house of Newmiln, which is being built in this locality for 
Sir John Millais, R.A., to take the place of the one that was 
recently burned; and with Dunsinane Hill and Birnam Wood 
in sight, there was no lack of subjects of conversation to 
enliven the journey. At the village of Guildtown, a raid was 
made on the supplies of the small hostelry there by the tired 
and thirsty foresters, which will, no doubt, form a subject of 
conversation at many a cottage fireside in the long winter 
months, and pass into one of the wondrous legends of the place. 


27 


Continuing the charming drive, the Tay was first touched at 
Taymount, the scene of the marvellous fishing exploits of the 
immortal Mr Briggs, who here killed his first salmon, as duly 
narrated in the veracious pages of Punch. Stobhall, which we 
next pass en route, is an ancient stronghold, the seat of Lord 
Willoughby de Eresby—an edifice said to have been in exist- 
ence seven hundred years ago, surrounded by beautifully wooded 
policies, in which grow many splendid old trees, among which are 
gigantic specimens of walnut, spruce, lime, larch, Scots fir, and 
others. 


MEIKLEOUR. 


Passing Cargill village and church, and crossing the Bridge 
of Isla, the policies of Meikleour commence on the left, and the 
Great Beech Hedge, for which Meikleour is famed far and wide, 
is immediately in front of us. This hedge is said to have been 
planted about 1746; it is about 86 feet in average height, 
and one-third of a mile in length, and being kept neatly and 
regularly trimmed, it has long been an object of great interest 
among arborists. Mr Matheson, the gardener and forester on 
the estate, who joined us here and acted as guide through the 
grounds and policies, mentioned that for the last fifty years the 
hedge has been regularly cut on the side next the road. On 
the other side the trees are left to grow very much at will. 
The hedge is pruned from a double ladder on wheels 30 feet 
high, which was modelled after the machines of the same kind 
used in connection with the cutting of the tall lime avenues at 
Versailles. The heavier branches are cut off with a single 
point saw, and the twigs, up to a length of 45 feet, with an 
averuncator. To prune higher than that is a work of some 
difficulty. One of the lithest of the foresters climbs as near to 
the top as possible, fastening himself to the strongest branch 
he can get by means of a belt round his waist, and holding on to 
another branch with his left hand. In his right hand he wields 
a light billhook, and by this method can prune to a height of 
75 feet. Above that the necessity for pruning is not so great. 

On the invitation of the Dowager Marchioness of Lansdowne, 
a flying visit was paid to the policies of Meikleour. The house 
occupies a charming situation on the north-east bank of the 
Tay, near to where the Isla mingles its waters with that noble 
river, and from it numerous delightful views can be obtained 
of the surrounding country. The mansion-house is a beautiful 
modern edifice designed by the late Mr Bryce, Edinburgh, in 
the French style—two chief features being a grand circular 
staircase and a tasteful balcony. The policies contain many 


28 


rich sylvan features, and the avenue in front of the mansion is 
composed of lines of fine old trees, between which an arched 
vista is maintained towards Dunsinane Hill, standing con- 
spicuously in the distance. This Gothic arch reaches a height 
of 70 to 80 feet, and is 80 yards in length. Several of the trees, 
particularly the beeches, which form the avenue are of great 
size, the largest of them girthing 13 feet 9 inches at 5 feet from 
the ground. The preservation of this unique arboreal feature 
is also maintained by means of regular pruning. In the 
immediate vicinity of this elegant mansion-house are many 
fine trees. Among these is a great silver fir fully 100 feet 
high, with a girth of 13 feet 11 inches, and with a diameter of 
branches of 60 feet, resting for the most part on the ground 
around the bole. Its Abies Pinsapo like habit puzzled some of 
the members. A Weymouth pine, Pinus Strobus, near it, with 
eleven main stems growing straight up from a bole about a foot 
from the ground, like so many Lombardy poplars, was a great 
curiosity. The bole girthed 14 feet 4 inches. There were also 
seen a grand scarlet oak, some fine Spanish chestnuts, and 
many tall and graceful limes. 

Lady Lansdowne came upon the terrace of the mansion- 
house, and met several of the officials, who thanked her for her 
kindness. At Meikleour the British Association party, who 
were headed by Professor Bayley Balfour, the President of the 
Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, caught up the arbori- 
culturists. They only numbered some five-and-twenty—sixty 
being expected, but the rainy morning at Edinburgh had 
stopped a good many—and of that number about a third were 
ladies. They had been considerably delayed in the start. for 
Scone, but they saw over the park and most of the other 
features around the palace. After a short walk to the top of 
the slope overlooking the river, where a lovely reach of it was 
seen and greatly admired, the party, thus reinforced, drove off 
for Murthly, passing through the pretty rural villages of 
Meikleour, Spittalfield, and Caputh. The Tay was again 
crossed by the handsome new bridge of Caputh, built a few 
years ago in place of an ancient ferry, which, when the river 
was in flood, was often perilous to use. 


MURTHLY. 


On the south bank of the Tay, from Caputh Bridge to Birnam, 
a distance of about four miles, lie the richly- wooded and 
extensive policies of Murthly Castle, the seat of Mr W. Steuart 
lothringham, in which the rest of the day was to be spent. 


29 


It is classic ground to the arborist, “Great Birnam Wood” 
of Shakespeare’s Macbeth forming a part of the policies. 
Several grand monarchs of the forest, which are supposed to 
have been vigorous trees about that era, are still seen in the 
district, although none of such a great age are now found 
within the precincts of the ancient Birnam Wood. At the 
present day Murthly is probably more famed for its exotic 
trees than for those of native origin. The whole extent of the 
beautiful pleasure-grounds is thickly studded with fine speci- 
mens of the coniferous order of trees. Every hardy species 
of exotic conifer that thrives in Britain has been more or less 
numerously planted within the past half century, and most of 
them are in a remarkably thriving state. The Araucaria from 
Chili, Deodar from Upper India, Douglas fir from British 
Columbia, and a host of other beautiful and interesting coni- 
ferous trees from all parts of the temperate regions of the 
earth, are growing here in the greatest luxuriance, and many 
of them in numbers not found upon any other estate in the 
country. Lovers of conifers, who were of the Excursion, had 
therefore a great treat at Murthly, where several days, instead 
of an afternoon, might be profitably spent in examining the 
beautiful habits and fine proportions of the thousands of 
conifers in the extensive grounds. Still, with the castles, 
both old and new, the chapel, avenues, gardens, terraces, and 
old trees, as well as the lovely and romantic landscape with the 
broad and clear waters of the Tay in the foreground, there is 
much beside the exotic conifers to attract the notice and 
satisfy the taste of all visitors to this estate. 

Entering the policies at the East Lodge, the party reached 
Murthly at 2.15 p.m, and were most kindly welcomed by 
Mr W. Steuart Fothringham, with whom were his relatives 
Lord Carnegie and Mr Benson. Luncheon was served in a 
large marquee, and a company of 170 sat down to this 
repast. 

Professor BAyLEY BALFour asked permission to make a few 
remarks. They were there that day on an unique occasion. 
The Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society had for years been 
in the habit of holding annual excursions to different parts of 
the country, but that day they had combined to form a joint 
excursion with members of the British Association, which 
had been holding its meetings last week in Edinburgh. He 
felt in speaking just now that he spoke in a dual capacity, 
in the first instance as President of the Royal Scottish Arbori- 
cultural Society, and in the second place as a member of the 

* British Association. This was the first time that the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society had visited Murthly. He need 


30 


hardly say that they appreciated very much the honour which 
had been done them that day. He had only to ask them to 
look around the tables, and see the numbers who had taken 
advantage of the privilege which Mr Steuart Fothringham 
had given them, to see how much that privilege had been 
appreciated. In their drive through Perthshire that day they 
had passed through a lovely country, and at last had reached 
Murthly, which some of them had seen before. Others were 
visiting it for the first time. He was quite sure that those 
who had not seen it before would acknowledge, before the 
day was over, that it surpassed anything that they had seen 
of the kind elsewhere. This part of Scotland appeared to be 
really the home of the conifer. The situation, shelter, the 
moisture of the atmosphere, as well as the soil, seemed to be 
particularly favourable to the growth of conifers. He did not 
mean to say that deciduous trees did not also grow well here; 
but he thought he was right in dwelling upon the point that 
coniferous trees were the special feature of this locality. They 
would not only find admirable individual trees, but specimen 
conifers growing in picturesque groups in a most luxuriant 
way. He believed that many of their friends from the south 
of England and other places would be surprised to find the 
wealth of vegetation that was exhibited upon this estate. In 
proposing a vote of thanks to Mr Steuart Fothringham for his 
hearty reception, he thought he might say that this was a very 
important occasion, on which they could show to their English 
friends what the Scottish people were doing for forestry. The 
Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society had for years laboured 
in the cause of forestry. The annual excursion was a very 
important educative influence, and the meeting they were 
having that day would not, he was sure, be the least important 
of any of those which the Society had held. This educative 
influence of the Society would, he hoped, go on increasing ; 
and in a few years he trusted that they would perfect their 
educative system to such an extent that foresters from Scot- 
land would be recognised even more than they were at present 
all the world over. He asked them to accord their heartiest 
vote of thanks to Mr Steuart Fothringham for the very great 
privilege he had given them that day of coming to view his 
grounds, and in the second place for the very cordial and 
hearty manner in which he had entertained them. 

Mr Sreven Bourng, on behalf of the members of the British 
Association, spoke of the great pleasure it had given him, in 
driving through the country that day, to see the land every- 
where so well utilised. Coming from the south as he did, he 
was quite surprised to see the luxuriance of the crops. It spoke 


31 


volumes for the excellent agriculture of the country. He could 
not help drawing a contrast between it and Ireland, with 
which also he was well acquainted, though Ireland in many 
respects was exceptionally favoured. What a pleasure it had 
been, for example, to see as they drove along the road the 
humblest cottage covered with flowers, whereas in Ireland it 
was the rarest thing to see a flower in connection with the 
houses of the peasantry. In Ireland, too, they might pass 
through large tracts of country and rarely see a tree. Here 
the land was clothed with woodlands, which added not only to 
its value but to its picturesque aspect. It was with great 
pleasure that they had come north that day to see something 
of the woodlands of Perthshire, and he joined with Professor 
Bayley Balfour in thanking Mr Steuart Fothringham for his 
reception of them that day. 

Mr Stevart FotTHrinGHAM, who was meer with much 
applause, said he thanked the ladies and gentlemen assembled 
round the table for the manner in which they had received 
the speeches of the two gentlemen who had been good enough 
to propose a vote of thanks to him. The only thing he had to 
say was, that he was very glad to see them there. It was 
little use having fine trees on an estate if they were not to be 
used for purposes of education, and of allowing those interested 
in the growing of them to see what had been done here with 
them during the last half century. Many of them had been 
planted there for a very long time. The days of the planting 
of some of them were known and remembered. Of others they 
had not the record. It would help them in their studies to see 
how the trees would grow in this country. At the Conifer 
Conference many people seemed quite surprised that they were 
able to grow the newer conifers so well in what he believed 
they called “barren and destitute” Scotland. But after they 
had seen specimens of wood from Murthly and other parts 
of the country, they were forced to come to the conclusion 
that they could grow conifers in Scotland just as well as 
they could do in England. “And now, ladies and gentle- 
men,” said the young laird of Murthly in conclusion, “1 
invite you to come with me through the grounds and see 
for yourselves.” 

Under the genial leadership of Mr Steuart Fothringham, the 
rest of the afternoon was most agreeably spent in visiting this 
enchanting arboreal paradise, where something of interest met 
the eye at almost every step, and the eager looks and inquiring 
remarks of the numerous company, plainly told how deeply 
they were interested in all they saw, and how much they 
admired the sylvan riches of Murthly. The gardens, lawns, 


~ 


32 


terraces, drives, avenues, and approaches to the castle at 
Murthly cover an area of over 100 acres. The woods and 
policies on the estate around are about 2757 acres in extent. 
The walk which the members of the Society had through this 
beautiful demesne could not fail to recall the days when the 
newer Conifers, with which the policies and woodlands are so 
profusely adorned, were first introduced into this country. 
The romance of these days, including as it does stories of 
adventure in almost unknown lands, and a spirit of commercial 
and scientific enterprise which was creditable to all concerned, 
has still to be written. It exists in fragmentary shape in many 
volumes, but a work which gave a connected narrative of the 
wanderings in search of trees by Douglas and Jeffrey and 
other mighty travellers in the wilds of America and elsewhere, 
would be greatly appreciated by arboriculturists. The laird of 
Murthly of that day was Sir William Steuart, Bart., who in 
earlier life was an enthusiastic traveller and naturalist. When 
travelling in the backwoods of America, he made it his duty 
and pleasure to collect the seeds of many coniferous trees which 
were scarcely known in this country. In particular, on the 
Rocky Mountains and in the North-West Provinces of America, 
he secured the seeds of many rare conifers and brought them 
home to Murthly, where, with other choice pines from other 
countries of the world, they are now growing with a grace 
and luxuriance not to be surpassed in any other part of the 
country. These beautiful trees have been planted out with a 
skilful hand. They form avenues and groves and tree-clad 
terraces, all designed to produce the most pleasing effects ; and 
the company wandering in this huge pinetum, as the policies 
and woodlands may justly be called, found at every step some 
fresh object of admiration and pleasure. 

Let us recount a few of the wonders. Leading from the 
castle to the private chapel is an Araucaria avenue about 170 
yards in length. The trees in it are over 30 feet in height, and 
in the healthiest condition. To the south-east of the new castle 
there is a grove of about twenty Araucarias, even grander than 
those in the avenue. Parallel with this avenue is the Yew 
Walk, composed entirely of yew trees. Some of them are of 
great age. The branches meeting overhead are so trimmed 
that the avenue resembles one long Gothic archway, dimly 
lighted and impressive, and with a brown carpet formed by the 
fallen leaves of the yew. Adown this solemn walk the dead 
bodies of the lairds of Murthly are borne when being removed 
from the castle to the chapel on their way to their last 
resting-place. 

Near the principal entrance to the castle is the Deodar 


33 


Avenue, about 150 yards in length, formed of trees notable for 
their beauty and uniformity. The Deodar or Sunk Terrace, a 
short distance from the castle, is one of the sights of the place. 
It is reached by a broad flight of steps. The terrace is about 
170 yards in length, and the trees, about 35 feet high, are 
thriving splendidly. Along the slopes of the terrace are a 
fine collection of hybrid rhododendrons, and when they are 
in bloom, their varied colours against their own dark foliage 
and the lighter green of the Deodars have a most charming 
appearance. There are also two grand avenues composed 
entirely of Douglas firs. One is known as the Douglas 
Straight Avenue, consisting entirely of examples of this tree, 
averaging 80 feet in height ; and the other, by the river, known 
as the Douglas Winding Terrace Avenue, about a quarter of a 
mile in length, and consisting of fine well-grown trees about 
forty years of age. This terrace is a most interesting sight. 
The trees run from 60 to 85 feet in height, girth well, and their 
graceful fan-shaped branches spread out nobly around them. 
The soil on which they grow is a light sandy loam of average 
quality resting on deep gravel, while in other places the 
situation is rather marshy. Behind the Douglas pines one 
meets at various points in these avenues groups and specimens 
of other handsome trees, such as Abies Hookeriana, A. Vettchit, 
A. brachyphylla, A. concolor, A. polita, and Pinus monticola. 
At the north end of the Deodar Terrace is a line of most hand- 
some specimens of Cupressus Lawsoniana—as fine as can be 
seen anywhere in the country. Then there is what is called 
the “ Low Terrace,” about a quarter of a mile in length, planted 
with Douglas firs, araucarias, cypresses, cedars of Lebanon, and 
Prince Albert’s fir ; and in this neighbourhood is “ The Rosary,” 
surrounded by a raised bank with Lawson’s cypresses, Crypto- 
meria elegans, araucarias, and hemlock spruce. 

This does not by any means exhaust the arboreal treasures 
of these lovely policies. A fine sight is the Dolphin Terrace, 
about half a mile in length, containing magnificent specimens 
of Abies Menziesit, averaging 70 feet in height, Abces nobilis— 
lovely trees they are, and other stately conifers. Adjoining it 
is a short avenue of purple beeches, contrasting well with the 
conifers ; and the rivulets, waterfalls, and ornamental pools in 
this part of the grounds greatly enhance its appearance. There 
is likewise the American Garden Terrace, above half a mile 
in length, consisting of Douglas firs, Wellingtonias, Abzes 
Nordmanniana, A. lasiocarpa, A. nobilis, Cryptomeria japonica, 
and other trees. Murthly estate can boast of possessing three 
of the first Wellingtonias sent out by Veitch about 1856; and 
in the neighbourhood of the American Terrace is one of these 


34 


interesting trees, which is now about 70 feet in height. The 
Grand Avenue, broad and stately, is a quarter of a mile in 
length. Leading direct to the castle, it consists of four rows 
of lime trees of rare beauty and uniformity, with yews between ; 
and between the central road and the trees are broad grassy 
lawns. At one end is a triumphal arch, and joining it from 
the east is a long avenue of Pinus Cembra and Wellingtonias, 
with oaks in the background. 

In the Lime Avenue, which was planted in 1711, there are 
many handsome trees. The best dozen of these run from 10 feet 
to 8 feet in girth, and their height is from 100 to 120 feet. On 
the day that we saw them the limes were in flower, scenting 
the air with their delightful fragrance. 

All these grand arboreal features, and many more of which 
time and space would fail to tell, were formed under the direct 
supervision of the late Sir William Steuart, who also added 
greatly to the grass drives which intersect every portion of this 
charming property. One of these followed by the party for 
some time brought Birnam Hill prominently into view; and in 
the course of the walk several trees were taped or their height 
specially noted. As we give a table of the large coniferous trees, 
these need not be individually referred to here. Mention, 
however, may be made of two Spanish chestnuts in one field, 
one 70 feet high, 18 feet 74 inches in girth at 5 feet up, and 
26 feet 5 inches at a foot from the ground, and the other 80 feet 
high, 17 feet 14 inch in girth, and with a spread of branches 
of 38 feet. A bird cherry had a girth of 11 feet 93 inches, and 
a beech was 14 feet 6 inches at 5 feet up, with a spread of 
branches of 65 feet. These trees were in the park, which the 
party entered by a strong and serviceable flight of steps made 
of Douglas fir. A cedar of Lebanon was 11 feet 8 inches in 
girth and 65 feet 10 inches in height. 

The present laird of Murthly is a gentleman who takes the 
keenest interest in arboriculture, and the greatest of pleasure 
and pride in the arboreal treasures which have fallen to his 
lot to possess. At the recent Conifer Conference at Chiswick, 
London, he was one of the largest exhibitors, and was awarded 
a Silver Medal for the number and excellence of the specimens 
of Conifers which he contributed. Although the policies do 
not now present any great scope for additional planting, it is 
certain that they will be maintained in their present high state 
of perfection, and their beauties added to, wherever that is 
possible. 

The following is a list of some of the finest specimens of 
Conifers at Murthly, as supplied by Mr Laurie, the gardener 
on the estate :— 


35 


CoNIFERS AT MURTHLY. 


. Diameter 
; : : : Girth at 
Botanical Name. Situation, Height of 
i ee Branches. 
| ft. ins.) ft. ins.| ft. ins. 
Abies Albertiana, Low Terrace, . | 704) Daly On eOnl Ss 2ustO) | 
», Douglasit, . . | Short Deodar Avenue, e206) sort soe LOAN nO 
it Standishii, Near ‘‘ Horse-Shoe,” HESe ee VG* SSh) 25leeG 
» grandis, Low Terrace, . 64, | 25} Aon 81 2206 
» magnifica, . . | Near Old Castle, «tol epe OL Ron dele en, 
», Menziesti, . . | By Carriage Drive, . oy AOU A ORION. ese ado a) 
», nobilis, Dolphin Terrace, al Det Ah. Gite 24 yn 0 
Ary eA ordmanniana, ” ” codices “Gaim 40, Osi Onegr 
»  ortentalis, . - M 2 Stoo "Osetra am Oeema() 
» Pinsapo, Near Rose Cottage, . sO} 85). wsSiiipater adil yy. 
a a 4 », Old Castle, 5 @ [Sar SE esse meen 
Araucaria imbricata, », New Castle, on | 425 100 ae FO LO 10 
5 3 », Chapel Walk, wien. Gi) 4, O90 
Cedrus Deodara, . »» Old Castle, Heatley GSP. 
>»,  Labani, Low Terrace, 65010) Sa eee 
5 Bs c ealmulower Gardens, 05.0 60 sell) Wesees: Og | eee 
Cryptomeria japonica, | Winding Terrace, 36" 3 | 4° 927/26 710 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, | Near Sunk Terrace, . Web Oda bie abl 
3 thyoides, », Deodar Avenue, Ooi. (0st OF ame 
Tnbocedrus decurrens, . | Foot of Sunk Terrace, of, 83), 3G) I tb) 0 
Pinus monticola, Near Rose Cottage, ; "66-0" 745 OF 10h 28 
*3 a “* Horse-Shoe,”’ 67 0) | foe 265180 
Taxus baccata, . | Flower Garden; 5 8 )|) a. aC iy oa a ee 
Thuja gigantea, . . | Sunk Terrace, [oS (Onl does) lalbeeO 
Thujopsis borealis, nf 55 : : = P00” 5 6) ele HOR On a0 
Wellingtonia gigantea, | American Ter.; pltd. 1857, | 66 9/ 9 31/26 0O 
Ly 39 ” ” 861, 61 0 6 6 seeeee 
Fe Winding Terrace, Feu ak I fo} UH) NL) 


There are numerous other specimens of most of these about 
as fine as the above, growing in various parts of the grounds; 
and the collection of Conifers grown at Murthly numbers in all 
over seventy species, besides many varieties. The heights were 
taken by a man going up the tree with a long rod, and the 
measurements are all as accurate as it is possible to take 
them. They constitute a useful record. 


PAY MOUNT: 


The return journey to Perth was made by the direct road 
along the south side of the Tay; passing at about three miles 
from Murthly the famed Douglas Fir plantation at Taymount, 
which the party halted to inspect, through the kind permis- 
sion of the Earl of Mansfield, the proprietor of the estate. 
Situated a short distance off the road, it was soon reached by a 
few of the most active of the party, the practical members of 
which expressed their high satisfaction with what they 
observed of the Douglas fir, here growing as an ordinary 


36 


plantation tree without any mixture of other kinds. The 
trees were a full crop of straight clean boles, as shapely and 
symmetrical as gun barrels, without a branch to the height of 
25 to 30 feet, and with a dark green close canopy overhead, a 
perfect beau-ideal of good forestry. The plantation covers 
about 14 acres, and was planted in 1860. The soil appeared to 
be of a moorish texture, and by no means of an inviting nature; 
still the Douglas firs were thriving admirably in it, and the 
remark was freely expressed that it was among the best illus- 
trations of skilled practical forestry seen on any of the 
excursions. A few specimens of the trees were measured by 
the forester, Mr Bayne, in the autumn of 1891, the dimensions 
of which were as follows :— 


Dovucuias Frrs at TAYMOUNT. 


No. Height. | Girth at 5 feet up. |Stem to First Branch. 
ft. ins. ft. ins, ft. 
le 68 0 5 84 Py 
2, 695 0 Sag | 28 
3. 63 «6 cae mt) 23 
4, Cia 16 4 10 23 
5. tir, 0) 4 wee: 35 


About three miles nearer Perth, on the left of the road, there 
was pointed out as we passed the site of the battle of Luncarty, 
where the Scots, under Kenneth IIL. in 990 finally overthrew 
the Danes, and where, for their timeous succour at the crisis of 
the fight, the noble family of Hay acquired both fame and 
lands. The most notable feature of Luncarty at the present 
day is the extensive bleachfield, said to cover about one 
hundred and fifty acres, and to be one of the largest of its kind 
in the country. Perth was reached about half-past eight 
o’clock—the members more than pleased with the grand day 
they had enjoyed. 


ANNUAL DINNER. 


The annual dinner of the Society was held at nine o'clock, in 
the Salutation Hotel, under the presidency of Professor Bayley 
Balfour, who was supported by Alderman James Rutherford, 
J.P., Redcar, Yorkshire; Mr John Alexander, Ceylon Forest 
Department; Mr David P. Laird; and Mr W. J. Moffat, 
secretary. Mr M. Dunn, Dalkeith, and Mr James Watt, J.P., 
Carlisle, were the croupiers. 


37 


The loyal toasts having been honoured, 

Mr James Wart, Carlisle, proposed the toast of the British 
Association, and expressed the pleasure it had given the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society to have been joined that day 
by a section of its members. 

Professor BAYLEY BALFour, in reply, said it was very good 
of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society to make arrange- 
ments for the members of the British Association joining their 
excursion that day. He only regretted that a larger number 
of the British Association did not take advantage of it. 
Those who had attended, however, had enjoyed themselves 
very much. 

Mr DuwN gave as a toast, which was cordially received, the 
health of the senior members of the Royal Scottish Arboricul- 
tural Society, which was replied to by Mr Boa. 

Mr Micuir, Her Majesty’s forester, Balmoral, proposed the 
nursery trade, which was responded to by Mr Gossir of 
Inverness. 

The visitors were proposed by Mr Larrp, and replied to by 
Mr Gooncuitp, Suffolk. 


THIRD DAY. 
Friday, 12th August. 


METHVEN, LYNEDOCH, GLENALMOND, 
THE CAIRNIES, KEILLOUR, AND BALGOWAN. 


Owing to the number of places to be visited and the con- 
sequent frequent stoppages, an early start had to be made 
to-day so as to accomplish the journey in time to catch the 
evening trains for the north and south at the close of the 
Excursion. Throughout this day excellent weather was also 
enjoyed. The sky was overcast in the morning, and, more 
than once in the course of the day, it looked as if a rain-storm 
were brewing; but at times the clouds cleared away, and 
blinks of sunshine were not unfrequent. 

Perth was left at 9 A.m., and the drive, through a prettily- 
wooded country, passes Huntingtower Castle, an ancient seat 
of the Gowrie family, and the scene of the “ Raid of Ruthven.” 
Five miles out is Methven Castle, the seat of William Smythe, 
Esq., where the first visit of the day was to be made. The 
estate has been owned by the Smythe family since 1664. The 

2D 


38 


fine baronial castle dates from 1680, with many modern additions 
and conveniences. The castle stands on a site overlooking 
the beautiful and well-kept grounds, as well as a wide stretch 
of the open country. A large number of trees of great size 
stud the grounds and policies, and many fine specimens of the 
newer Conifer are interspersed among them. The famed 
“ Pepperwell Oak” stands in the park in front of the castle, 
and is probably the most notable tree of great age in the 
parish. Many historical events took place in the troublous 
times of the Middle Ages in the ancient Wood of Methven, which 
was then of much greater extent than what at present exists 
on the Methven estate. It is now comprised in about two 
hundred acres of ancient woodlands lying along the banks 
of the river Almond, and containing many fine old trees and 
picturesque scenes. The party had the privilege of walking 
through it on the way from Methven Castle to Lynedoch, 
as will be duly narrated, and the members viewed with much 
interest the ancient remains of this celebrated wood. 

We entered the Methven Castle policies at the East Lodge, 
near to the village of Almondbank. The drive of about a mile 
and a half from the lodge to the castle, passes first through 
a fine stretch of woodland in which oak predominates, skirts 
the north side of the Loch of Methven, with its rustie boat- 
‘ house and numerous waterfowl, and pursues its way along 
high ground, from which splendid views are obtained, through 
part of the old forest of Methven, with oak and birch and 
hazel growing in a state of nature. Alongside of the drive 
a number of the newer conifers have been planted among the 
hardwoods, and are thriving admirably; as also some fine tall 
larches, which were in vigorous health and perfect foliage. 
About half a mile from the castle the party were met and 
cordially welcomed by Colonel Smythe,! the eldest son of the 
proprietor of the estate, who was accompanied by his brother, 
Mr F. H. Smythe, and Mr Whitton, the gardener, who acted 
as leaders over the estate. A commencement was at once 
made with an inspection of the arboreal treasures of this 
interesting demesne. Colonel Smythe had brought with him 
a book containing most interesting details concerning a 
number of the notable trees of the place, which had been 
carefully kept for many years by Mr Bishop, who occupied 
the position of landsteward on the property from 1794 to 
1850, when he died. After that time the record, unfortunately, 
was not kept up so continuously; but Colonel Smythe, who is 
a member of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society, has 
taken the matter in hand again, and has arranged for the 


1 Now the Laird of Methven, 


39 


continuance of these “Chronicles” of Methven. A small 
clump of Spanish chestnuts was pointed out, which, it was 
set forth in the chronicles by Mr Bishop, had been planted in 
1832 from seed which ripened on other trees upon the estate 
in 1826. This was a rare occurrence at Methven, and, so far 
as is known, has not happened again, though the same trees 
are yet in perfect health, and bear nuts annually. One of 
the 1832 chestnuts was measured in 1880, and was 6 feet 
2 inches in girth. Now it girths 6 feet 10 inches, so that in 
twelve years it has added 8 inches to its circumference. Pass- 
ing the north front of the castle, a number of tall and very 
large trees were seen in the grounds to the westward behind 
the gardens. One of a line of stately beeches girthed 12 feet 
7 inches. It had a fine clean bole, and was in a very healthy 
state. We next had a glance through the nicely kept gardens 
and hothouses, which are in perfect harmony with the fine 
old baronial castle. Beautiful shrubs, roses, and choice 
herbaceous, plants occupy the borders in the charming old- 
fashioned way, and give them a quaint interest which prim- 
kept modern borders are generally without. 

In the dell below the castle an ash tree growing by the side 
of the burn was pointed out, concerning which several very 
interesting particulars were recorded. When a sapling 3 feet 
9 inches high, it had been picked up on the roadside by the 
late Colonel Smythe, the present proprietor’s brother, and 
planted in 1799. It became a great favourite, and its girth 
was diligently recorded, sometimes every year, sometimes at 
longer intervals, between 1811 and 1850. In 1811 we learn 
that at 3 feet from the ground it was 1 foot 64 inches; and the 
subsequent measurements were recorded as follows :— 


Date. Girth. Date. Girth. 

ft. ins. ft. ins. 
18; . 5 1s 18455 . » 4 53 
1818, 2 3 1847, . . a) <4" 0 
1819, 2 4# 1849, . - - 4 8% 
1820, 2 216 1850, 4 93 
1821, Z+28 11863, . 5 STUDS 4G: 
1827, ole 3 Pe 1880, . 5 : Gur6 
1829, 3 44 1883, . 5 est 9 
1832, a dF 11891, . - : bod 
1834, 3. 10 1892, . ° im eget 
1841, 4 2 | 


Colonel Smythe, before his death in 1847, gave orders that 
his horse should be shot and buried underneath the shade of 


1At4 feet up, The other measurements presumably are‘ at 3 feet, follow- 
ing the course of thé first measurement. : i : 


40 


the ash tree. This was actually carried out, as was poetically 
set forth on a card which until recently hung around the tree, 
but has now disappeared— 


‘€ Donald’s dead, his troubles ended, 
From future drudgery set free, 
And now his body lies extended, 
To nurse his master’s foundling tree.” 


Of a second ash planted alongside of it in 1805, there is also 
a continuous record of its growth since 1811, when it was 
32 inches in girth at 3 feet up. The measurements since, 
as recorded in Mr Bishop’s book, are— 


Date. Girth. Date. Girth. 
ft. ins. fits fins: 
1821, . - c i +02 18455 - 5 Ze ab? 
1827, « : : a} 5s 1863, . - 5 Bio uis 
IRS VAY Ihe . : 1 7 1880, . - oy ee 
1834, . “ A Tha MSO C - Tees! 
1842,-. 3 ‘ 2 va 1892, e - Aas 


Crossing the burn by a rustic bridge, we are close to the 
largest, and possibly the oldest, tree in the place, the Pepper- 
well Oak, as already stated, which stands near the bottom of 
the slope below the mansion-house. The earliest authentic 
account of it which Bishop says he could get was in 1722, 
when David Smythe, then the laird of Methven, was confined 
in the Tower of London for his political opinions. Under 
these circumstances there came a man to Methven Castle, who, 
thinking that the wife of the imprisoned laird might want 
money, offered her for the tree 100 merks Scots, which was equal 
to £5, 12s. 6d. of our present currency. This, of course, was 
refused. In reference to its age, Bishop says that he attended 
an old man’s funeral in 1795, who had been heard to say that 
he knew a man who had repeatedly thought of cutting the 
tree down while young, as a supple for his flail, so that, Bishop 
remarks, “it may not perhaps be so old as it looks.” These old 
men’s stories regarding trees have always had to be received 
cum grano salis. Recalling the aspect of some of the Sherwood 
Forest oaks, one would say that the Pepperwell Oak was of 
considerable antiquity. The measurements of the tree from 
1795, at 4 feet up, are exceeding instructive. Here they are,— 


Date. Girth. Date. Girth. 
ft. ins. ft. ins. 

1/95, ve “ - 14 6 1847, . . of LS 

0 f23 {i ae 2 ci, LOU: 1850, . ° ° 19° al 

1830, . s ~ ti eel) 1880, . = >. sora 

1842, , = See ws 1892, . = » 29, 


41 


In 1891 Colonel Smythe measured it, and got 19 feet 10 inches, 
and on our visit, when the tape was passed round it, the bole 
measured 19 feet 11 inches; but this apparently large increase 
in a season may be easily accounted for otherwise than by 
supposing that the tree is still adding rapidly to its girth. 

Bishop writes further regarding it that, although the tree 
evidently belongs to the species of British oak known to 
botanists as Quercus robur pedunculata, it had in its flowers 
certain characteristics of Q. 7. sessilifora, a remark which 
showed that Bishop had a very observant eye. The sessilifora. 
characteristics were found by the members of the Arbori- 
cultural Society, just as they were by Bishop, though no 
doubt existed that the Pepperwell Oak was of the pedunculata 
variety. In 1836 the tree seems to have been surveyed, and it 
was estimated to contain about 700 feet of timber, which, at 3s. 
a foot—the price current then—was worth £105. The Pepper- 
well Oak has, however, been battered by storms since that 
time, and has lost three very large limbs, which has destroyed 
its symmetrical appearance, though so far it has not shown 
any signs of decay. Underneath it is a seat made from a slab 
of beech cut from a tree which grew farther up the slope, and 
which measured 4 feet 8 inches in diameter. 

Among other large trees which were measured on this sunny 
southern slope was a larch, which in 1882 was 12 feet 4 inches 
in girth, and was now found to be 12 feet 65 inches; and a 
clump of Spanish chestnuts—those from which the seed already 
referred to was procured. The largest of the group was 11 feet 
5 inches in circumference in 1880, 12 feet 5 inches in 1891, and 
12 feet 7 inches in August 1892. A grand oak with a fine 
straight bole, which was 13 feet 1 inch in 1880, gave now a 
measurement of 14 feet ; and an ash, which was 13 feet 6 inches 
in 1880, was now 14 feet in girth. Running aslant of the slope, 
a nice avenue of Deodars was seen which had been grown from 
seed sent home by Lord Elgin in 1863 or 1864, when he was 
Governor-General of India. Between the castle and the gardens 
are a large number of fine specimens of the newer Conifere, 
among which is a fine example of Cryptomeria japonica, 5 feet 
9 inches in girth at 4 feet up, and about 40 feet in height; 
an Abies Hookeriana (in cone), 30 feet high; a Wellingtonia 
gigantea, 61 feet in height, 8 feet 24 inches in girth at 
4 feet up, 12 feet 3 inches at the base, and covered with 
cones; and an Abies Albertiana, 70 feet in height, were also 
inspected. 

The following list of the finest specimens of conifers at 
Methven Castle, and their dimensions, has been kindly furnished 
by Mr Whitton, who has raised many of them from seed or 


42 


cuttings, and they bear good evidence of the skill and care 
he has bestowed upon them :— 


ConrIFERS AT METHVEN CASTLE. 


Botanical Name. Age. Height. Ny ve ae 

feet. ft. ins, 

Abies Albertiana, F : 23 68 any 
», Douglasii, . : , 3 65 6 10 
ise grandis, .. : : 21 35 4 0 
»,  Hookeriana, 3 A 34 15 p Aaetage! | 
», magnifica, . : ; 15 25 22 
», Morinda, . : su} 50 50 6) faa 
Sel MOUULIS ea we ; ‘ 21 35 Fie 
», Nordnanniana, : 22 35 Ques 
5,  Lattoniana, ; : 34 25 2 #2 
Araucaria imbricata, . : 35 35 4 38 
Jedrus atlantica, ; F 35 20 a) 0 
»,  Deodara, . : ‘ 25 50 Pa ats) 

wo wnbani, *: : : 150 (2) 90 9 10 
Cryptomeria japonica, . c 30 30 5 5 
Cupressus Lawsonianda, ; 35 45 Desend, 
Libocedrus decurrens, . : 30 24 3 
Pinus Cembra, . ; ‘ 50 35 Beet!) 
» Lambertiana, . ’ 50 30 aR Be? 
Thujopsis borealis, . é 33 37 38 4 
Wellingtonia gigantea, ‘ 25 61 (oo 


Mr and Mrs and Miss Smythe received the visitors on the 
castle terrace, and Mr Smythe (who is over ninety years of 
age) addressed a few cordial words of welcome to them. The 
place, he said, had many historical associations connected with 
it. At one time it belonged to the Royal House of Stuart. It 
was there that Margaret, Queen Dowager of James IV., and 
daughter of Henry VII. of England, died in 1540, and other 
royal associations lingered round the castle. The estate passed 
to the Lennox family, and was by them sold in the end of the 
seventeenth century to one of his ancestors, and it had remained 
with them ever since. He was glad to see them there, and he 
trusted they had enjoyed their walk through the grounds. 

Before the party passed on, cheers were given in honour of 
Mr and Mrs Smythe and family. 

[It may be noted here that this was the last public appear- 
ance of Mr Smythe. He died full of age and honour just one 
month after the Society had visited his beautiful demesne, and 
the tributes of respect which were paid to him by the public 
press of the country showed how his long and useful public life 
had been appreciated by his fellow-countrymen. ] 

Before the party left Methven they were entertained to 
refreshments on the lawn in front of the castle. 


43 


Professor BAYLEY BALrour tendered the cordial thanks of 
the company to Mr and Mrs Smythe and family for their 
kindness, and expressed a hope that Colonel Smythe might 
see his way to allow some of the interesting records, of which 
mention has already been made, to be published. 

Colonel SMyTHE, in reply, expressed the pleasure it had been 
to them all to see the Arboricultural Society there that day. 
He had been a member of the Society for the past ten years, 
but he had never been able to attend any of the meetings. 
Professor Bayley Balfour had referred to Mr Bishop’s book. If 
it would be of any use to the Society, he should be glad to 
put it at their service. The record had been extremely well 
kept up to forty years ago, but since then there had not been 
so much put in. A beginning, however, had again been made, 
which he hoped would be continued. 

Leaving the castle, the party walked or drove through a bit 
of Methven Wood, heavily timbered with oak, larch, and beech, 
to the deep and romantic valley of the Almond, to see one of the 
largest beeches on the estate. The ground around it has been 
cleared to give this handsome tree light and air; and a more 
beautiful example of Fagus sylvatica could not be desired. It 
ranks among the largest beeches in the country. It is over 100 
feet in height, with a magnificent head adorned with the 
richest foliage. In the Woods and Forests of Perthshire, 1883, 
the girth of this grand tree is given at 14 feet 9 inches at 5 feet 
up. On measuring it the arborists got a girth of 16 feet 8 inches. 
It has a splendid bole of 20 feet, and divides there into five main 
limbs, each of which is in itself a respectable tree. In the 
immediate vicinity of the beech is a fine oak, which, however, 
from want of time, was not measured. In 1883 it was 8 feet 
9 inches in girth at 5 feet from the ground; and, throwing its 
arms over the Almond, is a handsome sycamore, also of large 
girth. The beech, it should be said, was grandly anchored in 
the ground by roots which gave at the base of the tree a 
measurement of nearly 24 feet; but it was observed with 
regret that rabbits had eaten away a good deal of the bark 
from the base. Colonel Smythe mentioned that he meant to 
surround the tree immediately with a rabbit-proof net. 

Methven Wood, through which we have been passing, is 
redolent of traditions of both the great Scottish liberators, 
Wallace and Bruce. There was a battle fought here between 
Bruce and the Earl of Pembroke in 1306, which ended dis- 
astrously to the Scots, who, tradition says, were encamped on 
this very spot where the beech tree now stands, cooking their 
supper, when Pembroke’s forces burst in upon them. 

On the way up from the dell attention was called to a fine 


44 


oak which had been struck by lightning in a recent storm. 
The lightning had loosened the bark on one side, and had left 
a spiral-like gap about 2 inches in width down the injured side 
of the bole. 


LYNEDOCH. 


Lynedoch, belonging to the Earl of Mansfield, was the next 
stoppage. The drive from Methven Wood to it was through 
some fine woodland scenery, on the north side of the river 
Almond, which was crossed at the bridge of Dalerue. The chief 
objects of attraction at Lynedoch—which formerly belonged to 
General Sir Thomas Graham, of Peninsular War fame, after- 
wards Lord Lynedoch—are the two famous Douglas fir trees, 
of which all arborists have heard, the smaller of the two 
having produced the seed from which has been raised the 
many thousands of Douglas firs now growing on the Scone 
estates. In the sheltered valley where the Douglas firs stand 
there are many other fine specimens of forest trees, both 
spruces and firs, ranging from about 10 to 14 feet in girth, 
and towering to a height of over 100 feet, with long, straight, 
clean boles of excellent timber. A short distance farther up 
the valley, on Dronach Haugh, is the widely heard of grave of 
“Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,” who having fled from Perth in 
1666, to escape the plague, were in this secluded spot attacked 
and carried off by the fatal disease, and lie buried where they 
died, in their sylvan retreat. Their romantic story and sad fate 
attracts many visitors from distant parts to this sequestered 
nook in the valley, to read on their tombstone the simple 
epitaph, “They lived—they loved—they died.” 

To Lynedoch, and afterwards to The Cairnies, the party were 
accompanied by Colonel Smythe and Mr F. H. Smythe. On 
arriving at Lynedoch the party left the carriages and pro- 
ceeded a short distance on foot to view the famed Douglas firs 
growing ina small haugh on the banks of the river Almond. 
The larger of the Douglas firs, planted in 1834, was 93 feet in 
height and girthed 12 feet 1 inch at 5 feet up. When the 
Society last visited Lynedoch, in 1884, the measurements 
were—height, 92 feet, and girth, 10 feet 10 inches; giving 
about 180 cubic feet of timber. It is a magnificent tree, and is 
in the most perfect health. The other is 72 feet 2 inches in 
height—its leader having been broken several times—and it 
girths 11 feet 2 inches. In 1884 it girthed 9 feet 10 inches at 
4 feet up, and 6 feet 10 inches at 27 feet up. It is this tree 
(“Eve” it is named) which is the parent of all the younger 
Douglas firs, which are so plentifully disposed on the Earl of 
Mansfield’s estates, and for the sake of its cones, it is enclosed 


45 


within a squirrel-proof fence, while all the trees within jumping 
distance around it have been cleared away. Last year some- 
thing like 12,000 cones were gathered, and as many as 30,000 
cones are said to have been gathered off it in a single season, 
Among other big trees in this sheltered spot were two silver 
firs over 100 feet in height, and girthing respectively 11 feet 
11 inches, and 13 feet 8 inches. There was also a grand spruce, 
Abies excelsa, towering to over 106 feet in height, with a girth 
of 10 feet at 5 feet up,—the finest spruce on the estates. 

These trees were surveyed with the greatest admiration. At 
Lynedoch the woods have been very greatly improved since 
they were purchased by the Earl of Mansfield about forty 
years ago; and the members rambled through them for the 
best part of an hour—the timber being everywhere of great 
value. 


GLENALMOND AND THE CAIRNIES. 


The carriages were again mounted, and what proved to be 
a long drive was undertaken to the Logiealmond district, where 
several estates were down on the programme to be visited. 

Pursuing an oak-shaded road for several miles up the valley, 
we passed Logie House and policies, a beautiful seat of the Earl 
of Mansfield, with some splendid trees—including a Weymouth 
pine, Pinus Strobus, 90 feet high, and 7 feet 6 inches in girth 
at 5 feet up—in the grounds around it. Onwards we sped 
through the rural village of Harrietfield for a distance of about 
9 miles, until we arrived at Glenalmond House, the seat of 
Mrs Malcolm Patton, where a short time was devoted to 
viewing the fine specimens of the newer Conifers, which thrive 
particularly well in the locality. Many clumps of Douglas fir 
were met with growing well in this upland region, and 
admiration was also expressed at the long stretch of oak trees 
planted by the late Mr M‘Corquodale, which extended for 
miles on both sides of the road. 

During the drive we kept in sight for a considerable time 
the famous Glenalmond College, a beautiful example of Early 
English Gothie architecture, which rose grandly on the other 
side of the valley over a fine screen of sheltering trees. 
Meeting Mr John M‘Lagan, overseer on The Cairnies estates, 
who acted as our guide, a visit was paid to the Pine Haugh as 
soon as we reached Glenalmond. It lies on the north bank of 
the river Almond, and contains a large number of well-grown 
and beautiful coniferous trees. Among the best of them was a 
Pinus monticola over 70 feet in height, and 5 feet 5 inches in 
girth at 5 feet up. In this haugh the late Lord-Justice Clerk 
Patton laid out between two and three acres for the purpose of 


46 


putting the different varieties of the newer conifers to a com- 
petitive trial. The trees are planted in groups, and among 
others to be found here are Abies Albertiana, A. Menziesii, A. 
grandis, A. Douglasii, and A. cephalonica; Pinus strobus, P. 
Laricio, P. austriaca, P. Cembra, P. montana, and P. monticola. 
The palm was awarded to the Menzies spruce for luxuriance 
of growth and the production of the most timber; but Pinus 
monticola, Abies Albertiana, A. Douglasii, and A. grandis were 
also doing very well in this high locality, at the base of the 
Grampians. Time, however, did not admit of a very prolonged 
examination of this interesting spot, for the main body of the 
excursionists had turned off for The Cairnies at Harrietfield, 
and did not pursue their way so far as this up the glen. 

Crossing the river Almond again at the bridge of Buchanty, 
at the foot of the wildly romantic Sma’ Glen—near the top of 
which, in the narrow bottom of the rocky defile, stands Ossian’s 
Stone, said to mark the burial-place of the ancient Gaelic poet— 
the road turns to the left towards The Cairnies estate of Colonel 
T. M. Harris, and a stop was made at The Cairnies House, the 
residence of Mrs Malcolm Patton. Here the late Right Hon. 
George Patton, Lord-Justice Clerk, carried on extensively the 
planting of the newer Conifer for many years previous to his 
death in 1869, and most of them are growing with a freedom 
and luxuriance seldom seen in much more favourable localities 

for tree growth. This particularly applies to the species of 
- conifers from the temperate regions of North-West America. 
Abies Albertiana, A. concolor, A. Douglasii, A. grandis, A. 
magnifica, A. Menziesii, A. nobilis, A. Pattoniana—named after 
the Lord-Justice Clerk—and many others are all seen in large 
numbers, and thriving remarkably well. 

At The Cairnies the company were hospitably entertained 
to lunch by Mrs Malcolm Patton, and afterwards spent some 
time in viewing the sylvan beauties of the policies and the 
estate in the neighbourhood of the mansion, with which all 
were very much charmed. Just within the entrance gate 
nothing could be finer than the noble avenue of the most 
graceful species of coniferous trees, which led to a conifer- 
encircled lawn of great beauty, the charming aspect of which 
is probably unique in any part of Britain. 

The Cairnies was one of the earliest homes of the newer 
Conifers. The late Lord-Justice Clerk, who succeeded to the 
property in 1831, spared, we are told by Mr Hunter in his 
Woods and Forests of Perthshire, neither trouble nor expense 
in securing specimens of the rarer varieties, with the view of 
testing their adaptability to the climate of this country, both 
as ornamental and as forest trees. He might well be proud 


47 


of them could he have but looked upon them to-day. In the 
policies some of the newer conifers are growing with a beauty 
and luxuriance that rivetted the attention of the visitors. It 
would be difficult to say which were most praised. The Prince 
Albert firs were truly splendid. The seeds of this favourite tree 
were first sent home to this country by Jeffrey, during the first 
year of his Oregon expedition, on which he started in 1850, and 
some of the earliest seeds were sown by Mr Patton soon after 
their arrival in Scotland. Several of the Albert firs at The 
Cairnies are acknowledged to be among the finest in the 
country, and there are many noteworthy trees of Abies 
concolor, A. Douglas, A. grandis, A. nobilis, A. Menzesir, A. 
Nordmanniana, A. Pinsapo; Cupressus Lawsoniana, Pinus 
monticola, Thuja gigantea, Thujopsis borealis, and Wellingtonia 
gigantea. The dimensions of some of the best of the conifers 
are given in the following table, but there are scores of the 
same trees equally large, and perhaps even larger. As Mr 
M‘Lagan, to whom we were indebted for the measurements, 
truly remarked, it was not an easy matter to pick out the 
biggest among so many, and especially when they are.growing 
so thickly crowded together as they are at The Cairnies. The 
trees measured are all from thirty to thirty-five years of age. 


ConrIFeRsS AT THE CAIRNIES. 


Botanical Name. | Height. | Girth at 5 feet up. 

feet. ft. ins. 

Abies Albertiana, . : ; 63 6 9 
», cephalonica, . : ; 47 5 0 
PEERCOUCOLOT, 1 a : : 55 6 0 
», Douglasii, . : : 61 5 4 

» grandis, , ; ‘ 61 5 8 
»,  Hookeriana, : : 25 1 6 

», magnifica, . : 50 3 6 

:, Menziesti, . ‘ é Me 6 8 

si forinda, |. : 35 3 0 

», nobilis, : : ; 65 5 9 

», Nordmanniana, : 57 4 10 
PN OMENLALES, ©, ; : 50 3 3 
», Lattoniana, . : . 30 3 0 
Seemarow, . ‘ ; Do 3 0 

», Pinsapo, : : ; 26 3 2 

»,  Webbiana, . ; 5 36 2; 8 
Araucaria imbricata, . : 3 2 2 
Cupressus Lawsoniana, « : 36 3 4 
Pinus Cembra,  . . & 45 4 0 
1»  monticola, . ; ‘ 70 5 3 
Taxodium sempervirens, : 42 3 2 
Thuja gigantea, . : 4 48 2 6 
7 2 


Wellingtonia gigantea, . 5 45 


48 


A great feature of interest was the visit which was paid 
to the original tree of Abies Pattoniana, which was found 
growing in the corner of the grounds near to the gardens. It 
was called after Mr Patton, who was a leading member of the 
Oregon Association, and the tree, needless to say, was inspected 
with much interest. 

Previous to leaving this charming spot, the officials of the 
Society were received by Mrs Malcolm Patton, to whom Pro- 
fessor Bayley Balfour tendered the thanks of the Society for 
her great kindness and hospitality. They had all been 
delighted with the visit which they had paid to her beautiful 
and romantic grounds. 


KEILLOUR AND BALGOWAN. 


At this point about one half the company, who had to catch 
early trains, took carriages direct to Perth. The other half 
went on to visit the pinetum at Keillour and the estate of 
Balgowan, belonging to Captain Black, who had in the kindest 
possible manner driven over to The Cairnies to conduct the 
party in person over his property. 

As we drove across the purple heather-clad moor, it was 
noticed that much of it had been planted in recent years with 
larch, Scots fir, and spruce, freely sprinkled with Menzies and 
Douglas firs, as well as others of the newer Conifers, which 
were all making satisfactory progress. 

A drive of about a couple of miles brought the company to 
Keillour Pinetum, on the property of Captain Black of Bal- 
gowan, where many fine specimens of coniferous trees of all 
kinds were seen of great size, and growing with remarkable 
vigour on what, within the memory of men still living, was a 
cold bleak moor, not worth enclosing for the scanty pasture it 
afforded. 

The pinetum was originally the property of Mr Smythe of 
Methven, and the trees would be planted about 1834 by the 
same hand as set out many of those at Methven Castle. The 
Douglas fir, Menzies spruce, Abies grandis, A. nobilis, Pinus 
monticola, Araucaria imbricata, and many others are doing 
well in the pinetum, which is about 6 acres in extent. It 
occupies a position in the centre of a very extensive plantation 
of spruce, Scots fir, and larch, all doing well, though the moor 
is black and bleak, and marshy in places, with a cool tilly 
bottom not generally supposed to be well adapted for growing 
conifers, especially the rarer varieties. Many of them, how- 
ever, are not only healthy but luxuriant. The giant of the 
place was a grand Abies Menziesii over 100 feet high, and 


49 


girthing 14 feet 8 inches at 5 feet from the ground. It was 
planted in 1834, of which mention is made by Bishop in the 
Methven Castle records, and is at the present moment probably 
the finest tree of the kind in the United Kingdom. It was very 
much admired, clothed as it was with foliage down to the very 
ground. Near it are Wellingtonias, Redwoods, Deodars, and 
many other firs and pines, but none of them have attained to the 
dimensions of this gigantic Menzies spruce. Among the pines, 
Pinus monticola was found to be thriving particularly well, and 
seems to be one of the best of the North American pines for 
growing in Scotland. The Deodars and Pinus Cembra were 
not happy looking, the soil being possibly too poor and cold 
for their tastes. 

A very curious and striking variety was seen of the Balsam 
fir, Abies balsamea, from North America. It puzzled the 
botanists of the company to say exactly what it was, being 
so different in appearance from the typical form as to seem 
another species. Professor Bayley Balfour carried off some 
well-coned branches of it, and these having been forwarded 
to Dr Masters of the Gardeners’ Chronicle, one of the recognised 
authorities on Conifers, he pronounced it to be Abies balsamea. 

Leaving the pinetum, the party drove at a rapid pace to 
Captain Black’s home nurseries, near Keillour Castle, where 
was growing a large and healthy stock of young trees—chiefly 
the rarer conifers raised from seed gathered off the trees in the 
pinetum. Again the road was taken, and driving rapidly down 
country, Balgowan, the seat of Captain J. S. Black, and the 
birthplace of General Lord Lynedoch, the Peninsular warrior, 
was soon reached, at the bottom of the wide “braes.” In the 
beautiful and well-laid-out grounds around the mansion were 
seen many fine trees and handsome specimens of the newer 
Coniferze, an inspection of which fitly closed what may be 
called a “Conifer Excursion.” It was a misfortune that so 
short a time could be spent here, where there was so much 
that was worthy of careful inspection. But time was flying, 
and the company, in order to see something of the policies, 
had literally to gallop through them. In the grounds were 
some grand ancestral trees, and many of the rarer conifers 
in the most vigorous health and perfect beauty. 

Among notable trees which were measured were a Cedar of 
Lebanon, 12 feet 10 inches in girth; a beech, 11 feet 2 inches; 
and an oak, 13 feet 9 inches,—all taken at 5 feet up. Splendid 
examples also were seen of Abies Albertiana, A. Douglasii, 
A. grandis, A. nobilis, A. Nordmanniana, Cupressus Lawsoniana, 
Thuja gigantea, and Thujopsis borealis. The views all around 
were very beautiful—the rich agricultural country, stretching 


50 


away from the mansion-house, looking well under the beams 
of the now declining sun. Before leaving, the company 
were conducted to the front of the mansion, where, on the 
smoothly-shaven lawn, there was set out a sumptuous tea, over 
which Mrs Black presided with charming grace. A quarter 
of an hour was spent in a most agreeable way, enjoying the 
hospitality of Captain and Mrs Black, and then adieu had to 
be said. Professor Bayley Balfour once more gave expression 
to the gratitude of the company for the kindness they had 
received in Perthshire on this occasion, and to Captain and 
Mrs Black tendered the most cordial thanks of the Society. 
Three cheers having been given for their host and hostess, the 
company took carriages and started on their way for Perth. 
Driving rapidly through the village of Methven, and along the 
road traversed in the morning, the party reached the railway 
station just in time to catch the last trains going north and 
south. 

It is one of the peculiarities of the excursions of the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society, that the latest always seems 
the best. The 1892 excursion takes its place as the best 
attended the Society has ever held, and in point of interest, it 
certainly holds its own with those which have preceded it. 


Aopul Acottish Arboricultural Society. 


PROCEEDINGS 


THIRTY-NINTH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 


So2; 


doval Acottish Arboricultural Society. 


Instituted 16th February 1854. 


PATRON. 


HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN. 


The Thirty-Ninth Annual General Meeting of the Royal 
Scottish Arboricultural Society was held in the Society’s Rooms, 
5 St AnprReEw Square, EpinBurRGH, on the evening of Tuesday 
the 9th day of August, 1892. The President of the Society, 
Isaac Baytey Batrour, Esq., M.D., D.Sc., Professor of Botany, 
Edinburgh University, in the Chair, There was a large attendance 
of Members from all parts of the country. 


Minutes Reap. 


The Minutes of last Annual General Meeting were read and 
approved of. 

For the information of the Members, the Szecrerary read the 
Minutes of the various Council Meetings held during the past 
year, 

ELecTION oF NEw Members. 


The SecreTary notified the following list of Candidates for 
Membership, stating at the same time that the number was the 
largest submitted to the Society for Election since the year of the 
Forestry Exhibition. The Candidates proposed and duly elected 
were :— 


Apamson, Christopher, Merchant, Leven, Fife. 
Atrp, Archibald, Assistant Forester, Scone, Perth. 
BAILLIZ, Thomas, Assistant Forester, Tomnacroich, Fortingall, Perth- 
shire. 
BALLINGAL, Neil, Sweet Bank, Markinch, Fife. 
5 Barty, Rev. Dr, The Manse, Kirkeolm, Stranraer, 
Bonp, Thomas, Forester, Gartshore Estate, Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, 
CuapMan, Andrew, Breckonhill, Lockerbie, 


10 


20 


30 


40 


55 


4 


Cuark, John, jun., Assistant Forester, Haddo House, Aberdeen. 

CuiarkK, William, 66 Queen Street, Edinburgh. 

Cowan, George, 1 Gillsland Road, Edinburgh. 

Davipson, John, Forester, Dalzell Farm, Motherwell. 

Davipson, William, Assistant Forester, Glamis, Forfarshire. 

Dick, Robert, Assistant Forester, Wykeham Abbey, Yorkshire. 

Dow, R., Forester, Douglas Castle, Douglas. 

Euiot, John, Assistant Forester, Scone, Perth. 

Forean, James, Sunnybraes, Largo, Fife. 

ForGan, William, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 

Fraser, George, 24 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. 

FRAsER, Simon, Forester, Boidon, Luss. 

Gipson, William, Overseer, Kildonan, Barrhill, Ayrshire. 

Harvie, D., Factor, Dalzell Farm, Motherwell. 

Hay, John, Overseer, Birchhill Cottage, Clackmannan. 

Heron, James, Gardener, Pollok House, Pollokshaws. 

HoneEyMAN, Thomas, Factor, Clunes, Auchnacarry. 

Kerr, John, Yorkston, Gorebridge. 

Kerr, Robert G., St Clement’s Wells, Musselburgh. 

M‘Dowatt, James, Gardener, Kildonan, Ayrshire. 

M‘Kay, Allan, Assistant Forester, Dunrobin, Golspie. 

M‘Rag, Alexander, Wemyss Saw Mills, Leven, Fife. 

Macsean, Simon, Forester, Drumnaglass, by Inverness. 

MacCowan, Daniel, Assistant Forester, Hornby Castle, Lancaster. 

Macxkenziz, W. A., Assistant Factor, Strabane, Brodick. 

MacLennan, William, Factor, Prestonhall, Dalkeith. 

MAxweE LL, James, Assistant Forester, Bellstane, DrumJanrig, Dumfries- 
shire. 

Meruven, John, The Gardens, Blythswood, Renfrewshire. 

Mine, J. K., Kevock Tower, Lasswade. 

Murpocu, John, Rosemount, Dalkeith. 

Murray, Alexander, Forester, Murthly, Perth. 

Murray, John, Forester, Airthrey Castle, Bridge of Allan. 

Pirriz, George, Wood Merchant, Dalkeith. 

Porrs, G. H., Fettes Mount, Lasswade. 

Prouproot, William, Forester, Raith, Kirkcaldy. 

Ramsay, Walter, Assistant Forester, Pollok Estate, Pollokshaws. 

Rircuie, Alexander, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 

Scorr, David, Overseer, Duinfries House, Cumnock. 

Scort, John, Forester and Bailiff, Gilling Castle Estate, Yorks. 

Smiru, Charles, Gardener, Colesbourne Park, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. 

Srewart, Sir Mark J., Bart., M.P., of Southwick, Kirkeudbrightshire. 

SuTHERLAND, John D., Estate Agent, Oban. 

Tart, James, Builder, Penicuik. 

Taytor, Alexander, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 

TENNANT, Edward, The Glen, Innerleithen, Peeblesshire. 

Wattacer, Robert, Professor of Agriculture, Edinburgh University. 

Winton, Thomas, Timber Merchant, Dundee. 

Youne, H, O., Milford Nurseries, Milford, Surrey. 


VoTE OF SYMPATHY. 


Mr M. Dunn moved that the Society send an expression of 
“sympathy to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lothian in connec- 
tion with the death of Lord Ancram. The Marquis, he said, 
was a past president of the Society, and took a great interest in 
all forestry matters. Mr R. D. Ker, W.S., seconded the motion, 
which was cordially adopted. 


Evection oF Orrice-BEARERS. 
The following were elected for Office for year 1892-93 :— 


PRESIDENT. 
Isaac BAYLEY BALFour, Se. D., M.D., F.L.8., Professor of Botany, Edinburgh. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS., 


Hueu Ciecuorn, M.D., LL.D., ¥.R.S.E., of Stravithie, St Andrews. 
Wettwoop H. Maxwe ut of Munches, Kirkeudbrightshire. 

W. M. Weusu, Nurseryman and Seedsman, 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, 
Rospert Linpsay, Curator, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 

JOHN Mrruven, Nurseryman, 15 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 


COUNCIL. 


Rogperr BAxtEr, Forester, Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith. 

DANIEL Dewar, Forester, Beaufort, Beauly. 

D. F. Mackenzie, Factor, Morton Hall, Liberton., 

D. Scorr, Wood Manager, Darnaway, Forres. 

WiLi1AM SoMERVILLE, D.Cic., B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Professor of Agriculture 
and Forestry, Durham College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

CHARLES BuCHANAN, Overseer, Penicuik House, Penicuik, 

JAMES Cook, Land Steward, Arniston, Gorebridge. 

Roserr Hurcurson, F.R.S.E., University Club, Edinburgh. 

JAMES Kay, Forester, Bute Estate, Rothesay. 

JAMES Morrart, Assistant Factor, 48 Castle Street, Edinburgh. 

Lewis BAyNng&, Forester, Scone, Perthshire. 

Matcoim Dunn, The Palace Gardens, Dalkeith. 

D. P. Latrp, Nurseryman, Pinkhill, Murrayfield, Midlothian, 

R. C. Munro-Frercuson, M.P., of Raith and Novar. 

ANDREW SLATER, Overseer, Haystoun, Peebles, 


SECRETARY AND TREASURER. 
WisiAM J, Morrat, 5 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh. 


AUDITOR. 
JoHN Orp Mackenzib, W.S., of Dolphinton, 9 Hill Street, Edinburgh, 


6 


JUDGES, 


D. Scorr, Wood Manager, Darnaway, Forres (Convener). 
D. Dewar, Forester, Beaufort Castle, Beauly. 

JOHN ALLAN, Forester, Dalmeny. 

A. Mine (of Messrs Dickson & Sons), Edinburgh. 


COMMITTEE ON TRANSACTIONS. 


Dr CLEGHORN of Stravithie, St Andrews (Convener). 

Professor I. BAYLEY BALFour, Edinburgh. 

Matcoitm Dunn, The Palace Gardens, Dalkeith. 

Rosert LinpsAy, Curator, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. 

JOHN METHVEN (of Messrs Thomas Methven & Sons), Edinburgh. 

Wma. SomERVILLE, Professor of Agriculture and Forestry, Durham 
College of Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST. 
PHILIP CocKBURN, Dalkeith. 


LOCAL SECRETARIES. 
Scotland. 


DANIEL DEWAR, Forester, Beaufort Castle, Beauly. 

WILiiAM Dovueury, Forester, Langholm Estate, Canonbie. 

JOHN FINGLAND, Forester, Drumlanrig, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. 
JAMES Kay, Forester, Bute Estate, Rothesay. 

DonaLp M‘CorquopatE, Forester, Dunrobin Castle, Golspie. 
WitiiAM M‘LEAN, Forester, Eglinton Castle, Irvine. 

C. Y. Micuig, Forester, Cullen House, Banffshire. 

JoHN Micute8, Forester, Balmoral, Ballater. 

JAMES ROBERTSON, Forester, Panmure House, Carnoustie. 

D. Scorr, Forester, Darnaway Castle, Forres, 


England. 


JAMES BARTON, Forester, Hatfield, Herts. 

JAMES BarRIE, Forester, Stevenstone Estate, Torrington, Devon. 

JAMES BELL, The Gardens, Stratfieldsaye, Winchfield, Hants. 

ANDREW Boa, junior, Sub-Agent, Great Thurlow, Suffolk. 

Rosert T, Conus, Forester, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. 

JoHN Davipson, Secretary, English Arboricultural Society, Haydon- 
Bridge-on-Tyne. 

J. M. ForsyrHe, Wood Manager, Woburn, Beds. 

Frank Hutt, Forester, Lillieshall, Newport, Salop. 

JAMES RuruprrorD, Agent, Kirkleatham, Redcar, Yorkshire. 

D. Tarr, Estate Bailiff, Owston Park, Doncaster, Yorks, 

A. D. Wepstrer, Hollydale, Keston, Kent. 


Ireland. 
Rosert Coupar, Forester, Ashford, Cong, County Galway. 


~“I 


CHAIRMAN’s ADDRESS. 


The President then delivered the Annual Address,! in which he 
reviewed the work done by the Society during the past year, 
particularly in regard to the Endowment of the Chair of Forestry 
in the University of Edinburgh. He also spoke at some length 
upon the development of the scheme he promulgated at the 
Annual Meeting last year, as to the establishment of a Course 
of Instruction, whereby practical foresters attending the classes 
would find regular employment during the curriculum, either in 
the Royal Botanic Garden, or, through the courtesy of the 
owners, in the nurseries in or about Edinburgh. He had great 
pleasure in stating that the scheme was now an assured fact, and 
looked forward with hopefulness to the commencement of its work 
at the beginning of the Winter Session. 

Mr Jonun MerTHVEN said,—I am sure you will all agree with me 
in according to Professor Bayley Balfour a hearty vote of thanks for 
his interesting address. I can, I think, assure him of the hearty 
co-operation of my brethren in the nursery trade in carrying out 
the admirable scheme which he has explained to us this evening. 
The scheme is in my opinion well adapted to enable young 
foresters to attain a knowledge of the scientific side of their 
profession ; and, unless they were so equipped, they could hardly be 
said to be well qualified for the responsible positions which many of 
them would be called upon to fill in connection with the estates of 
this country. At the present moment the trained young forester 
was a very scarce article. Many of you must have noticed, during 
the past two or three years, the number of advertisements which 
had appeared for young foresters. One reason for that was the 
depopulation of the rural districts. Instead of Edinburgh getting 
men from the country, we have to send a considerable number of 
men from Edinburgh to the country—men who really had little 
or no training in wielding the axe and the hedge-bill. I do not 
see why young gardeners should not be taught something of 
forestry, and young foresters something of gardening. They are 
closely related professions; and to me it is one of the recom- 
mendations of Professor Balfour’s scheme, that the gardener and 
the forester will be trained and taught together. 

Mr Dunn, in seconding the vote of thanks, said,—That to 
Professor Bayley Balfour is due the credit of being the first to 


1 A verbatim report of the Address appears in the Transactions, 


8 


formulate a practical scheme for educating young working foresters 
as well as gardeners, in the science of their profession. It has been 
talked of for a long time ; now we rejoice that it is on the eve of 
accomplishment. We are all pleased to hear that Mr Methven 
and the other gentlemen in the nursery trade mean to give their 
support to Professor Bayley Balfour to make this a really workable 
and efficient scheme. 

Professor BAYLEY BALFour in reply, said,—I thank you very 
much for this expression of confidence. I shall ask the Society 
to help me to circulate further information regarding the scheme 
as soon as the details are definitely arranged. I should like 
to say how pleased I am to have confirmation, of what I knew 
would be the case, that the nurserymen of Edinburgh mean to 
co-operate in promoting this scheme. With their co-operation, I 
am sure we shall be able to carry it out to a successful issue. In 
drawing up this scheme, I have taken the same view that I think 
most of you take—that the education of the forester and the 
gardener is fundamentally the same. They are both dealing 
with the same class of objects, and the cultivation of the one is 
practically, in so far as the scientific principles are concerned, the 
cultivation of the other. It is only when you come to the higher 
branches of culture that the two diverge. It will do both a great 
amount of good to know something of the work of the other. 


THe CHAIR OF FORESTRY. 


Dr SomerviLLtE—At this late hour I will not detain you 
by a long statement on this subject. As a matter of fact, very 
little indeed is necessary. Professor Bayley Balfour has laid 
before us a very complete scheme for the training of working 
foresters. We can leave that scheme with confidence in his hands. 
I would only impress this upon him as very desirable, that the 
authorities at the Botanic Garden should avoid giving a certificate 
to any man who has passed through the course, but who is not 
a thoroughly practical forester. I do not know how Professor 
Balfour can best keep out those men who have not a knowledge 
of practical forestry, but I have no doubt he will find some safe 
way to overcome this difficulty. The teaching which has already 
been given has even now borne good fruit. They would have seen 
with pleasure that one of the students who had taken the 
University Course of Forestry Lectures—Mr A. C. Forbes—had 
suddenly sprung into the very front rank, having just been 


4 


appointed head forester on the extensive English and Irish 
estates of the Marquis of Lansdowne. I think that is an example 
which may well stimulate other young men to greater efforts in 
their scientific studies. In regard to the Endowment Fund for a 
Chair of Forestry in the University, this Society has continued its 
exertions to some purpose. It has brought the subject before the 
University Commission, and the Commission has given it a very 
favourable hearing. Forestry has now found a place among the 
subjects of study for the Bachelor of Science degree, It is most 
desirable that any one who takes the B.Sc. degree in Agriculture 
should have a competent knowledge of Forestry, which is surely 
a most important department of Rural Economy. I notice in a 
document issued by the Commission, that there is a specific 
recommendation that a Chair of Forestry should be established 
in the University of Edinburgh. Now, we are to have in the 
Botanic Garden the practical teaching of working foresters; but 
it is also right that we should have the higher teaching in the 
University of Edinburgh—teaching that will be more fitted for 
proprietors, and factors, and lawyers, as also for the young men 
who have passed through the course of study in the Garden, and 
who may desire to go on to the University. I cannot conceive of a 
better way for a proprietor to spend a little of bis money than 
in setting apart for the staff on his estate one scholarship, or bursary, 
which would enable a deserving young man, who had passed 
through the Course at the Garden, to crown his training, as it 
were, by taking a year or more at the University. In various 
other ways a Chair of Forestry in the University is really a most 
important thing; and the response which has been made to the 
application for funds, I consider extremely satisfactory. We have 
here a list of subscriptions amounting to close on £2000. 
Now we are aiming at raising £5000; because, counting on the 
encouragement that Government has already given us, we have 
every reason to expect that when we raise £5000, Government 
will add £5000 more. What we still want, therefore, is £2500 
or £3000, and surely we may safely count on the patriotism of 
Scotsmen to raise that sum. It has been suggested that the 
list of subscriptions should appear in the public prints, accom- 
panied by a statement of the objects which the Society aimed at. 
I think we have cause for thankfulness that we have every prospect 
of an early and satisfactory termination to our exertions. 

The Hon. Mr Wauprecrave-Lesuiz thought that without much 


10 


difficulty they might get some of the accumulated funds of the 
Highland and Agricultural Society. He thought it was quite 
within the scope of that Society to make such a grant for the 
endowment of the Chair of Forestry. 

Professor BayLtey Batrour said he was sure they would all 
be glad if they could get hold of some of the accumulated funds 
Mr Leslie had mentioned; and he trusted Mr Leslie would use 
his influence with the Highland Society to get it to make a 
liberal grant. 


THe TREASURER’S REPORT. 


The TREASURER stated that there was a balance brought forward 
from last account of £32, 15s. 9d., and that the income for the 
year 1891, including £98, 3s. 6d. of Annual Subscriptions, 
amounted to £131, 16s. 

These two sums, together with an overdraft from Bank, met the 
expenditure on Printing, Stationery, Prizes, Office Rent, Salary, 
Postages, etc., which amounted to £187, 14s. 2d. 

The nett funds of the Society amounted to £101, 2s., being the 
amount at credit of deposit account with National Bank of Scotland, 
after giving effect to the balance of operations on current account, 
and adding the cash in hand. 

The Council regretted that they had to show a deficit on the 
business of the year of £55, 18s. 2d., which was, however, to be 
accounted for wholly by the non-payment of Subscriptions, no less 
a sum than £58, 16s. 6d. of arrears having had to be written off as 
irrecoverable. 

With the severe purging the roll had thus received, and the 
large accession this year of new members, it was to be hoped that 
no deficit would appear in future years. 

Mr James Cook, Arniston, Gorebridge, moved the adoption of 
the Report, which was agreed to. 


Tue Prize Essays AND AWARDS. 


Mr Anprew Stater, Overseer, Haystoun, Peebles, Convener 
of the Judges, then read their Report on the Essays, and the 
following Awards were made in accordance therewith,—the 
sealed envelope accompanying the Essay being opened by the 
Secretary, and the author’s name announced to the meeting. 


ll 


Report by the Judges on the Essays, etc., sent to the Royal Scottish 
Arboricultural Society for Competition in 1892. 


The Essays and Reports submitted to us for adjudication number 
thirteen, and although there are none of outstanding merit, they 
may, on the whole, be considered of an average character. 

We would impress upon writers the necessity of basing, as far as 
possible, whatever they advance on experience and reliable data, so 
that the papers may be of real practical value, and a trustworthy 
source for reference. 

It would also be desirable, when writing these papers, that the 
authors should endeavour to compress their ideas into as little space 
as possible. They would thus save themselves and the editor 
a considerable amount of trouble, and the judges would doubtless 
read them with greater favour. 


Crass I. 
The first paper on the list is— 
I. On the Preparation of Wood Specimens for Exhibition. 


By Georce Cape, Langley House, Langley Avenue, 
Surbiton, Surrey. 


It is one of considerable interest and merit, and although the 
author has diverged somewhat from his subject, we consider 
the foreign matter he has introduced of greater value than that 
on which it is supposed to treat. We recommend to the author 
the Award of the No. 1 Sitver Mepat. 


IT. On. the Present State and Future Prospects of Arbori- 
culture in the County of Perth. By ALrxANDER 
PITCAITHLEY, Forester, Sudbourne Hall, Wickham 
Market, Suffolk. 

Owing to the extent and varied character of the woodlands of 
Perthshire, no better field could well be placed before a writer to 
obtain material for forming an essay of an interesting and instructive 
character. The writer has failed to take advantage of this, and we 
consider that he has not done anything like justice to the subject. 
We therefore recommend a No. 2 Sirver MEDAL. 


III. On Burnham Beeches and fifty of the most remarkable 
of its Beech Trees. By A. C. Forses, Bowood, 
Calne, Wilts. 


This paper is accompanied by photographs of a dozen of 
the most picturesque specimens of these trees, and the. reporter 


12 


gives a number of measurements, and appears to deal pretty 
fully with the subject. Although it is no fault of the writer of 
this report, we consider that such papers are of little practical 
value to the members of this Society, and that the subject of 
“Old or Remarkable Trees” should be deleted from the 
Syllabus. A No, 2 Sttver Mepat is recommended. 


IV. On the use of Electric Power in the Forest. By 
A. T. Witttamson, 7 Kew Terrace, Edinburgh. 

The author deals with a power that may at some future period 
be of practical use to the forester. In the meantime we con- 
sider that, until its utility in the forest has been fully exemplified, 
such a paper is premature, and we can only Commend it. 


V. On the Island of Arran as a Field for Planting. By 
W. A. Mackenzig, Strabane, Brodick. 

A well-written and descriptive essay on the Arboricuitural 
features of the island. It shows their present condition, and what 
their future might be were the author’s suggestions carried out. 
A No. 1 Sirver MepAt is recommended. 


VI. On Replanting Open Spaces in Woods. By W. A. 
MAcKENZzIE£, Strabane, Brodick. 
So far as it goes, this is a fairly practical and useful report, 
and we recommend a No. 2 SitvErR MEDAL. 


VIL. On the Afforestation of Large Areas in the Highlands 
and Islands of Scotland. By W. A. Mackenziz, 
Strabane, Brodick. 

This essay, although of a somewhat theoretical character, is of 
considerable merit, and we consider the writer entitled to the 
Mepat offered. (Medal presented by William M. Welsh, Esq., 
of Messrs Dicksons & Co., 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh. ) 


VIIL. On the Advantage of Forming Belts of Plantations on 
Hill Pasture. By A. Simpson, Assistant Forester, 
Dunrobin, Golspie. 

To do justice to this subject, one requires, among other matters, 
to have a thorough knowledge of soils and the habits of forest 
trees, and also of those of Live Stock. We cannot help believing 
that the writer is deficient in some of these, and that his figures 
are to a certain extent fanciful. He has, however, dealt with the 
subject in a fairly practical way, and we consider that the merits of 
the essay will be met by the award of a No. 2 Sirver MEDAL. 


13 


TX. On our Timber Supplies from Abroad. By A. T. 
Wiuiamson, 7 Kew Terrace, Edinburgh. 


This subject has been treated by the writer in an interesting 
and intelligent manner, and if his figures are correct, we consider 
it a most useful paper. We recommend the award of a No. 1 
Srttver MepDAL. 


X. An Invention for drawing together Broken Wires in 
Fences. By Anruony Simpson, Assistant Forester, 
Dunrobin, Golspie. 


The reporter claims to be the sole inventor of this instrument. 
While we have no reason to doubt this statement, other machines 
of a somewhat similar nature have been in use for a considerable 
time. To the inventor a Bronzz MEDAL is recommended. 


Crass II. 


I. On the Renovation of Overgrown Shrubberies, By RosBert 
W. Mitnz, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perthshire. 


This essay is spoilt by its inordinate length, and the indis- 
criminate catalogue of plants it contains, many of which are unfit 
for shrubberies in this country. The writer seems to have a good 
knowledge of the names of plants, but little experience as to where 
or how they should be allocated. He is deserving of encourage- 
ment, but we regret that we can only recommend a Bronze MEDAL 


II. On the Management of a Home Nursery. By Joun 
Scrimceour, Assistant Forester, Lynedoch, Perth. 


This paper, for its class, is practical and well put together, and 
we recommend the award of the No. 2 Sirver MEDAL, 


III. On the Formation and Management of Live Fences. By 
A. Simpson, Assistant Forester, Dunrobin, Golspie. 


The writer of this paper has dealt in a simple way with his 
subject, and no exception can be taken to the details he gives, 
provided they are adapted to local circumstances, A Bronze 
MEDAL is recommended. 

Epinseurau, August 5, 1892. 


Mr Dunn, Dalkeith, moved a vote of thanks to the Judges, 
which was heartily accorded. 


14 


PRESENTATIONS TO THE Society’s LIBRARY AND MuSsEuM. 


l. Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
part 2, 1890. 
Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 
part 1, 1891. 
3. Bulletin from the Department of Agriculture, Victoria, 
December 1890. 
4. Annual Report of the Secretary for Agriculture, Nova Scotia, 
1891. 
5. Annual Report of the Agricultural Research Association, 
1891. 
6. Transactions of the Botanical Society, Edinburgh, 1891. 
7. A Collection of Wood Specimens from the Forests of Ceylon, 
by Mr John Alexander, Forest Department, Ceylon. 


bo 


ARRANGEMENTS FOR Excursion IN 1893. 


Mr Dunn, Dalkeith, said a number of places had been mentioned 
to the Council for the Excursion of 1893. It had been suggested, 
for example, that the Excursion should be to the New Forest, 
Hants, and that Her Majesty might be asked graciously to grant 
them permission to inspect Windsor Forest. That at present was 
a very popular idea. It had also been mooted that they might 
pay a visit to Ireland; and there were yet many parts of Scotland 
to explore—in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire, 
and Strathspey. He asked a remit, as usual, to the Council to 
make the arrangements. After a short discussion the suggestions 
were approved, and the remit agreed to. 


A hearty vote of thanks to the President for occupying the 
chair brought the meeting to a close. 


In Councit. 


Members are invited to read short practical papers on any 
subject connected with Forestry at the Annual General Meeting. 
Those who intend to do so are requested to intimate, in writing, 
the Title of their subject to the Secretary, on or before the 10th of 
June 1893; stating the time they may require for reading the 


pope. 


15 
The following subjects are offered for competition im L893¢— 


[The Judges are empowered to fix the value of the Prizes to be 
awarded according to the respective merits of the Essays. 


All Essays and Reports intended for Competition must be lodged 
with the Secretary not later than 10th June 1893, and all Collections 
of Cones, Seeds, and Rustic Work, not less than three days before the 
Annual Meeting. Hach Essay, Report, Collection, or Article must 
bear a Morro, and be accompanied by a sealed envelope bearing 
outside the sAME Morto, and the Class to which the Competitor 
belongs, and containing inside, a CARD with the NAME and ADDRESS 
of the Competitor. 


Judges cannot compete during their term of office. 


Successful Competitors may either have the medals or their con- 
verted values, which are as follows :—Gold, £5; No. 1 Silver Medal, 
£3; No. 2 Silver, £2; Bronze, 10s. | 


Crass I.—For Oren ComMPETITION. 


I. For an approved Report showing the Financial Results of 
the Cultivation of Woods and Plantations. (/%ve Guineas offered 
by the President of the Society, Isaac Bayley Balfour, M.D., D.Sc., 
Professor of Botany in the University of Edinburgh. ) 

It is not necessary that the names of the estates on which the woods 
grow should be published, but the reporter must give the annual 
value of the land previous to planting; statistics of the cost of 
forming the plantations, including draining and fencing ; the expenses 


of management, the income derived, and the present value of the 
Woods. 


II. For an approved Report detailing the methods employed 
to bring about the Natural Regeneration of a Wood, and the 
subsequent Treatment as regards Artificial Assistance, should 
such have been rendered necessary owing to the Natural Sowing 
having been irregular, insufficient, or too dense. (live Guineas 
offered by Alexander Mackenzie, Esq., Superintendent, Epping 
Forest, Essex.) 


The author must cite some particular case, and give the results of a 

systematic attempt at natural regeneration, bearing in mind the 

fact that a patchy imperfect restocking cannot be regarded as 
satisfactory or successful. 


16 


IV. For an approved Essay on Pruning of Trees, alike from a 
Sylvicultural and an Arboricultural point of view ; describing in 
detail the principles that should guide the practice, the methods 
to be followed in the practice, the effects produced, and the 
results to be aimed at. (/ive Guineas offered by the President 
of the Society, Isaac Bayley Balfour, M.D., D.Sc., Professor of 
Botany, Edinburgh University.) 


Yote.—Both Coniferous and Dicotyledonous trees must be dealt with in 
the Essay, but the pruning of fruit trees is excluded. 


VY. For an approved Essay on the best methods of Pruning 
Avenue and Park Trees, keeping in view the production of timber 
and the landscape effect ; also on the best methods for renovating 
old Park Trees. (Szlver Medal offered by Wm. M. Welsh, Esq., 
of Messrs Dicksons & Co., 1 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh.) 


VI. For an approved Essay on the advantages of forming 
Belts of Plantations on Hill Pasture Land. (Three Guineas or 
Medal offered by John Methven, Esq., Leith Walk Nurseries, 
Edinburgh.) 

The author to give details of the best method of laying out the plantations, 
their proper width, the best system of draining and fencing, and the 
most suitable varieties of trees to be grown. 


VII. For an approved Report on the Newer Conifer growing 
in any County in Scotland. (A Medal.) 

The Report to give the age, height, and girth of stem at 5 feet up, of the 
best trees of each species; the diameter of spread of branches of 
ornamental specimens ; the altitude, aspect, and exposure, and the 
nature of the soil and subsoil where they grow. Details should be 
given of any special merit or feature displayed in their habit and 
rate of growth, and of their qualities and uses for economic or 
ornamental purposes, 


VIII. For an approved Essay on the Valuation of Woods 
or Plantations for the purpose of Transfer. (A Medal.) 
The writer to describe the method (a) of valuing matured woods, 
(b) middle-aged woods, (c) park trees and others that may be, 
in addition to their value as timber, considered as ornamental, 
(d) young woods, and (e) coppice. 


1X. For an approved Report on the Plantations of which the 
competitor is Forester. Reporter to state the extent of planta- 
tions, the kinds of timber grown, soil, situation, age, management, 
etc. This is a standing subject. (A Medal.) 


17 


X. For an approved Report on the Present State and Future 
Prospects of Arboriculture in the County of Fife. (A Medal.) 


XI. For an approved Report on the Present State and Future 
Prospects of Arboriculture in the County of Inverness, (A 
Medal.) 


Vote. —The Council desire it to be understood with reference to subjects 
VI. and VIL., that the Counties will be changed annually, 


XII. On the best Method of Procedure in growing a 
continuous Crop of Timber in Woods or Plantations. (4 Medal.) 


The E-say should deal with the different kinds of Woods, the ages, 
and proportion per acre of the trees at different stages, and whether 
these have been raised by natural or artificial means. Reference 
may be made to any system practised abroid which might prove 
applicable in this country. 


XIII. For an approved Essay on the best method of Rearing 
Plantations with the view of obtaining timber of a clean growth, 
fine quality, and high commercial value. (A J/edal.) 


The author must keep in mind the necessity of raising timber to success- 
fully compete with the best quality of that imported from abroad. 


XIV. For an approved Essay on the Recropping of Land with 
trees of the same Species. (A Medal.) 


Special reference must be made to the growing of Larch after Larch, and 
the reporter should cite examples, describe their altitude and 
exposure, as well as the character of the soil, and also the time that 
elapsed after clearing before replanting took place, 


XV. For an approved Essay on the best method of Afforesting 
Bog Land, and the most suitable varieties of Trees with which 
to plant the same. (A Medal.) 


XVI. For an approved Essay on the best system of managing 
Coppice. (A Medal.) 


XVII. For an approved Essay on the Thinning of Woods, viz.— 
Close versus Wide Thinning ; the advantage of the one over the 
other as regards growth and quality of timber. (A Medal.) 


XVIII. For the best Collection of the Wood Sections of British 
grown Trees and Shrubs, properly mounted for the Microscopical 
examination of the cells, medullary rays, etc. The Sections must 
be prepared and mounted by the competitor. (A Medal.) 


18 


XIX. For an approved Essay on the best method of Prevent- 
ing the Inroads of the Pine Saw-fly—Lophyrus pini of Curtis. 
(A Medal.) 


XX. For an approved Report on the most advantageous 
methods, not generally practised in this country, of Transporting 
Timber. (A Medal.) 


The reporter specially to describe any means, other than by horse-power, 
of moving felled timber from the interior of woods to their margins, 
or to roads. 


XXI. For an approved Essay on any Disease incidental to 
Forest Trees. A standing subject. (A Medal.) 


XXII. For an approved Report from personal observation on 
the Management of Forests in any other country than Britain. 
(A Medal.) 


Special reference to be made to appliances, modes of culture, and treat- 
ment nut generally practised in this country. 


XXIII. For an approved Essay on the best methods of utilising 
Small-wood in the manufacture of Fancy-wood articles, Turnery, 
Wood Wool, ete. (A Medal.) 


XXIV. For an approved Essay or Report on any other subject 
connected with Arboriculture. (A Medal.) 


XXV. For an instrument or method for expeditiously obtain- 
ing the diameter of trees at a given height, or for any other useful 
invention or marked improvement on any of the implements 
used in Forestry. Models or implements to be accompanied by 
a report, (A Medal.) 


19 


Cuass [J.—For Assistant FORESTERS ONLY. 


J. For an approved Essay on the Rearing of Natural and 
Artificial Undercover for Game, and the best methods of encourag- 
ing and regulating their growth. (A Medal.) 


II. For an approved Report, based on personal observation, 
on the Management of a Home Nursery. (A Medal.) 


III. For an approved Essay on the best size of Plants, and 
Method of Planting, to produce the best results in different Soils 
and Situations, (A Medal.) 


IV. For an approved Essay on the best methods of Forming 
and Maintaining Fences. (A Medal.) 


The writer to give details of the rearing and management of Live and 
Dead Fences, with the cost, and the comparative value of each, 
taking into consideration economy, efficiency, and durability. 


V. For an approved Essay on the Peeling and Harvesting 
of different kinds of British Bark used in Tanning. (A Medal.) 


VI. For an approved Essay on the best method of protecting 
Trees from injury by Ground Game. (A Medal.) 


VII. For an approved Essay on Pruning of Forest Trees. 
(A Medal.) 


VIII. For an approved Essay or Report on any other subject 
connected with Arboriculture. (A Medal.) 


IX. For the best and approved Model in Rustic, or 
Ornamental Woodwork, of any subject designed and executed 
by the competitor. Model not to exceed six feet in length. 
(A Medal.) 


The Council invite the attention of young Foresters to the fore- 
going subjects, as they are desirous to encourage their efforts. 
VOL, XIII, PART III. 2F 


ILLUSTRATIONS FUND. 


The Council beg to direct special attention to this Fund, the 
object of which is to obtain contributions to defray the expense 
of illustrating the Society’s 7’ransactions. 

The following donations have been received from time to 
time :— 


Dr Cleghorn of Stravithie, 5 { ie boalOged 
Do., additional, , : , 2; SOG) 
Do., do. (1890), . J sone 

Mr D. F. Mackenzie, Morton Hall, . ; PIM 

Do., additional (1890), O10) 0 

Mr Malcolm Dunn, Dalkeith, . VALS 

Do., additional (1890), 1) SO 
Sir Dietrich Brandis (1891), 5b 


THE Society’s ALBUM. 


The Council wish it to be known that the Society has an 
Album for the Photographs of Members, and the Secretary will 
be glad to receive contributions, 


W. J. MOFFAT, 
Secretary and Treasurer. 


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